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+***The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Story of the Mormons:***
+***From the Date of their Origin to the Year 1901, by Linn****
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+The Story of the Mormons:
+From the Date of their Origin to the Year 1901
+
+by William Alexander Linn
+
+December, 2000  [Etext #2443]
+
+
+*The Project Gutenberg Etext The Story of the Mormons, by Linn*
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+
+THE STORY OF THE MORMONS: FROM THE DATE OF THEIR ORIGIN TO THE
+YEAR 1901
+
+by WILLIAM ALEXANDER LINN
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+No chapter of American history has remained so long unwritten as
+that which tells the story of the Mormons. There are many books
+on the subject, histories written under the auspices of the
+Mormon church, which are hopelessly biased as well as incomplete;
+more trustworthy works which cover only certain periods; and
+books in the nature of "exposures by former members of the
+church, which the Mormons attack as untruthful, and which rest,
+in the minds of the general reader, under a suspicion of personal
+bias. Mormonism, therefore, to-day suggests to most persons only
+one doctrine--polygamy--and only one leader--Brigham Young, who
+made his name familiar to the present generations. Joseph Smith,
+Jr., is known, where known at all, only in the most general way
+as the founder of the sect, while the real originator of the
+whole scheme for a new church and of its doctrines and
+government, Sidney Rigdon, is known to few persons even by name.
+
+The object of the present work is to present a consecutive
+history of the Mormons, from the day of their origin to the
+present writing, and as a secular, not as a religious, narrative.
+The search has been for facts, not for moral deductions, except
+as these present themselves in the course of the story. Since the
+usual weapon which the heads of the Mormon church use to meet
+anything unfavorable regarding their organization or leaders is a
+general denial, this narrative has been made to rest largely on
+Mormon sources of information. It has been possible to follow
+this plan a long way because many of the original Mormons left
+sketches that have been preserved. Thus we have Mother Smith's
+picture of her family and of the early days of the church; the
+Prophet's own account of the revelation to him of the golden
+plates, of his followers' early experiences, and of his own
+doings, almost day by day, to the date of his death, written with
+an egotist's appreciation of his own part in the play; other
+autobiographies, like Parley P. Pratt's and Lorenzo Snow's; and,
+finally, the periodicals which the church issued in Ohio, in
+Missouri, in Illinois, and in England, and the official reports
+of the discourses preached in Utah,--all showing up, as in a
+mirror, the character of the persons who gave this Church of
+Latter Day Saints its being and its growth.
+
+In regard to no period of Mormon history is there such a lack of
+accurate information as concerning that which covers their moves
+to Ohio, thence to Missouri, thence to Illinois, and thence to
+Utah. Their own excuse for all these moves is covered by the one
+word "persecution" (meaning persecution on account of their
+religious belief), and so little has the non-Mormon world known
+about the subject that this explanation has scarcely been
+challenged. Much space is given to these early migrations, as in
+this way alone can a knowledge be acquired of the real character
+of the constituency built up by Smith in Ohio, and led by him
+from place to place until his death, and then to Utah by Brigham
+Young.
+
+Any study of the aims and objects of the Mormon leaders must rest
+on the Mormon Bible ("Book of Mormon") and on the "Doctrine and
+Covenants," the latter consisting principally of the
+"revelations" which directed the organization of the church and
+its secular movements. In these alone are spread out the original
+purpose of the migration to Missouri and the instructions of
+Smith to his followers regarding their assumed rights to the
+territory they were to occupy; and without a knowledge of these
+"revelations" no fair judgment can be formed of the justness of
+the objections of the people of Missouri and Illinois to their
+new neighbors. If the fraudulent character of the alleged
+revelation to Smith of golden plates can be established, the
+foundation of the whole church scheme crumbles. If Rigdon's
+connection with Smith in the preparation of the Bible by the use
+of the "Spaulding manuscript" can be proved, the fraud itself is
+established. Considerable of the evidence on this point herein
+brought together is presented at least in new shape, and an
+adequate sketch of Sidney Rigdon is given for the first time. The
+probable service of Joachim's "Everlasting Gospel," as suggesting
+the story of the revelation of the plates, has been hitherto
+overlooked.
+
+A few words with regard to some of the sources of information
+quoted:
+
+"Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith and his Progenitors for
+Many Generations" ("Mother Smith's History," as this book has
+been generally called) was first published in 1853 by the Mormon
+press in Liverpool, with a preface by Orson Pratt recommending
+it; and the Millennial Star (Vol. XV, p. 682) said of it: "Being
+written by Lucy Smith, the mother of the Prophet, and mostly
+under his inspiration, will be ample guarantee for the
+authenticity of the narrative.... Altogether the work is one of
+the most interesting that has appeared in this latter
+dispensation." Brigham Young, however, saw how many of its
+statements told against the church, and in a letter to the
+Millennial Star (Vol. XVII, p. 298), dated January 31, 1858, he
+declared that it contained "many mistakes," and said that "should
+it ever be deemed best to publish these sketches, it will not be
+done until after they are carefully corrected." The preface to
+the edition of 1890, published by the Reorganized Church at
+Plano, Illinois, says that Young ordered the suppression of the
+first edition, and that "under this order large numbers were
+destroyed, few being preserved, some of which fell into the hands
+of those now with the Reorganized Church. For this destruction we
+see no adequate reason. "James J. Strang, in a note to his
+pamphlet, "Prophetic Controversy," says that Mrs. Corey (to whom
+the pamphlet is addressed) "wrote the history of the Smiths
+called 'Mother Smith's History.'" Mrs. Smith was herself quite
+incapable of putting her recollections into literary shape.
+
+The autobiography of Joseph Smith, Jr., under the title "History
+of Joseph Smith," began as a supplement to Volume XIV of the
+Millennial Star, and ran through successive volumes to Volume
+XXIV. The matter in the supplement and in the earlier numbers was
+revised and largely written by Rigdon. The preparation of the
+work began after he and Smith settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. In his
+last years Smith rid himself almost entirely of Rigdon's counsel,
+and the part of the autobiography then written takes the form of
+a diary which unmasks Smith's character as no one else could do.
+Most of the correspondence and official documents relating to the
+troubles in Missouri and Illinois are incorporated in this
+work.
+
+Of the greatest value to the historian are the volumes of the
+Mormon publications issued at Kirtland, Ohio; Independence,
+Missouri; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Liverpool, England. The first of
+these, Evening and Morning Star (a monthly, twenty-four numbers),
+started at Independence and transferred to Kirtland, covers the
+period from June, 1832, to September, 1834; its successor, the
+Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, was issued at Kirtland
+from 1834 to 1837. This was followed by the Elders' journal,
+which was transferred from Kirtland to Far West, Missouri, and
+was discontinued when the Saints were compelled to leave that
+state. Times and Seasons was published at Nauvoo from 1839 to
+1845. Files of these publications are very scarce, the volumes of
+the Times and Seasons having been suppressed, so far as possible,
+by Brigham Young's order. The publication of the Millennial Star
+was begun in Liverpool in May, 1840, and is still continued. The
+early volumes contain the official epistles of the heads of the
+church to their followers, Smith's autobiography, correspondence
+describing the early migrations and the experiences in Utah, and
+much other valuable material, the authenticity of which cannot be
+disputed by the Mormons. In the Journal of Discourses (issued
+primarily for circulation in Europe) are found official reports
+of the principal discourses (or sermons) delivered in Salt Lake
+City during Young's regime. Without this official sponsor for the
+correctness of these reports, many of them would doubtless be
+disputed by the Mormons of to-day.
+
+The earliest non-Mormon source of original information quoted is
+"Mormonism Unveiled," by E. D. Howe (Painesville, Ohio, 1834).
+Mr. Howe, after a newspaper experience in New York State, founded
+the Cleveland (Ohio) Herald in 1819, and later the Painesville
+(Ohio) Telegraph. Living near the scene of the Mormon activity in
+Ohio when they moved to that state, and desiring to ascertain the
+character of the men who were proclaiming a new Bible and a new
+church, he sent agents to secure such information among the
+Smiths' old acquaintances in New York and Pennsylvania, and made
+inquiries on kindred subjects, like the "Spaulding manuscript."
+His book was the first serious blow that Smith and his associates
+encountered, and their wrath against it and its author was
+fierce.
+
+Pomeroy Tucker, the author of "Origin and Progress of the
+Mormons" (New York, 1867), was personally acquainted with the
+Smiths and with Harris and Cowdery before and after the
+appearance of the Mormon Bible. He read a good deal of the proof
+of the original edition of that book as it was going through the
+press, and was present during many of the negotiations with
+Grandin about its publication. His testimony in regard to early
+matters connected with the church is important.
+
+Two non-Mormons who had an early view of the church in Utah and
+who put their observations in book form were B. G. Ferris ("Utah
+and the Mormons," New York, 1854 and 1856) and Lieutenant J. W.
+Gunnison of the United States Topographical Engineers ("The
+Mormons," Philadelphia, 1856). Both of these works contain
+interesting pictures of life in Utah in those early days.
+
+There are three comprehensive histories of Utah,--H. H.
+Bancroft's "History of Utah" (p. 889), Tullidge's "History of
+Salt Lake City" (p. 886), and Orson F. Whitney's "History of
+Utah," in four volumes, three of which, dated respectively March,
+1892, April, 1893, and January, 1898, have been issued. The
+Reorganized Church has also published a "History of the Church of
+Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" in three volumes. While
+Bancroft's work professes to be written from a secular
+standpoint, it is really a church production, the preparation of
+the text having been confided to Mormon hands. "We furnished Mr.
+Bancroft with his material," said a prominent Mormon church
+officer to me. Its plan is to give the Mormon view in the text,
+and to refer the reader for the other side to a mass of
+undigested notes, and its principal value to the student consists
+in its references to other authorities. Its general tone may be
+seen in its declaration that those who have joined the church to
+expose its secrets are "the most contemptible of all"; that those
+who have joined it honestly and, discovering what company they
+have got into, have given the information to the world, would far
+better have gone their way and said nothing about it; and, as to
+polygamy, that "those who waxed the hottest against" the practice
+"are not as a rule the purest of our people" (p. 361); and that
+the Edmunds Law of 1882 "capped the climax of absurdity" (p.
+683).
+
+Tullidge wrote his history after he had taken part in the "New
+Movement." In it he brought together a great deal of information,
+including the text of important papers, which is necessary to an
+understanding of the growth and struggles of the church. The work
+was censored by a committee appointed by the Mormon
+authorities.
+
+Bishop Whitney's history presents the pro-Mormon view of the
+church throughout. It is therefore wholly untrustworthy as a
+guide to opinion on the subjects treated, but, like Tullidge's,
+it supplies a good deal of material which is useful to the
+student who is prepared to estimate its statements at their true
+value.
+
+The acquisition by the New York Public Library of the Berrian
+collection of books, early newspapers, and pamphlets on
+Mormonism, with the additions constantly made to this collection,
+places within the reach of the student all the material that is
+necessary for the formation of the fairest judgment on the
+subject.
+
+W. A. L. HACKENSACK, N. J., 1901.
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+BOOK I. THE MORMON ORIGIN
+
+CHAPTER I. FACILITY OF HUMAN BELIEF: The Real Miracle of Mormon
+Success--Effrontery of the Leaders' Professions--Attractiveness
+of Religious Beliefs to Man--Wherein the World does not make
+Progress--The Anglo-Saxon Appetite for Religious Novelties
+
+CHAPTER II. THE SMITH FAMILY: Solomon Mack and his Autobiography
+--Religious Characteristics of the Prophet's Mother--The Family
+Life in Vermont--Early Occupations in New York State--Pictures of
+the Prophet as a Youth--Recollections of the Smiths by their New
+York Neighbors
+
+CHAPTER III. HOW JOSEPH SMITH BECAME A MONEY-DIGGER: His Use of a
+Divining Rod--His First Introduction to Crystal-gazing--Peeping
+after Hidden Treasure--How Joseph obtained his own "Peek-stone"--
+Methods of Midnight Money-digging
+
+CHAPTER IV. FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLDEN BIBLE: Variations in
+the Early Descriptions--Joseph's Acquaintance with the Hales--His
+Elopement and Marriage--What he told a Neighbor about the Origin
+of his Bible Discovery--Early Anecdotes about the Book
+
+CHAPTER V. THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF THE REVELATION OF THE BIBLE:
+The Versions about the Spanish Guardian--Important Statement by
+the Prophet's Father--The Later Account in the Prophet's
+Autobiography--The Angel Visitor and the Acquisition of the
+Plates--Mother Smith's Version
+
+CHAPTER VI. TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION OF THE BIBLE: Martin
+Harris's Connection with the Work--Smith's Removal to
+Pennsylvania --How the Translation was carried on--Harris's Visit
+to Professor Anthon--The Professor's Account of his Visit--The
+Lost Pages--The Prophet's Predicament and his Method of
+Escape--Oliver Cowdery as an Assistant Translator--Introduction
+of the Whitmers--The Printing and Proof--reading of the New
+Bible--Recollections of Survivors
+
+CHAPTER VII. THE SPAULDING MANUSCRIPT: Solomon Spaulding's
+Career--History of "The Manuscript Found"--Statements by Members
+of the Author's Family--Testimony of Spaulding's Ohio Neighbors
+about the Resemblance of his Story to the Book of Mormon--The
+Manuscript found in the Sandwich Islands
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SIDNEY RIGDON: His Biography--Connection with the
+Campbells--Efficient Church Work in Ohio--His Jealousy of his
+Church Leaders--Disciples' Beliefs and Mormon Doctrines--
+Intimations about a New Bible--Rigdon's First Connection with
+Smith--The Rigdon-Smith Translation of the Scriptures--Rigdon's
+Conversion to Mormonism
+
+CHAPTER IX. "THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL": Probable Origin of the Idea
+of a Bible on Plates--Cyril's Gift from an Angel and Joachim's
+Use of it--Where Rigdon could have obtained the Idea Prominence
+of the "Everlasting Gospel" in Mormon Writings
+
+CHAPTER X. THE WITNESSES TO THE PLATES: Text of the Two
+"Testimonies"--The Prophet's Explanation of the First--Early
+Reputation and Subsequent History of the Signers--The Truth about
+the Kinderhook Plates and Rafinesque's Glyphs
+
+CHAPTER XI. THE MORMON BIBLE: Some of its Errors and
+Absurdities--Facsimile of the First Edition Title-page--The
+Historical Narrative of the Book--Its Lack of Literary
+Style--Appropriated Chapters of the Scriptures--Specimen
+Anachronisms
+
+CHAPTER XII. ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH: Smith's Ordination by
+John the Baptist--The First Baptisms--Early Branches of the
+Church--The Revelation about Church Officers--Cowdery's Ambition
+and How it was Repressed--Smith's Title as Seer, Translator, and
+Prophet--His Arrest and Release--Arrival of Parley P. Platt and
+Rigdon in Palmyra--The Command to remove to Ohio
+
+CHAPTER XIII. THE MORMONS' BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES--CHURCH
+GOVERNMENT: Long Years of Apostasy--Origin of the Name "Mormon"
+--Original Titles of the Church--Belief in a Speedy Millennium--
+The Future Possession of the Earth--Smith's Revelations and how
+they were obtained--The First Published Editions--Counterfeit
+Revealers--What is Taught of God--Brigham Young's Adam Sermon--
+Baptism for the Dead--The Church Officers
+
+BOOK II. IN OHIO
+
+CHAPTER I. THE FIRST CONVERTS AT KIRTLAND: Original Missionaries
+sent out to the Lamanites--Organization of a Church in Ohio--
+Effect of Rigdon's Conversion--General Interest in the New Bible
+and Prophet--How Men of Education came to believe in Mormonism--
+Result of the Upturning of Religious Belief
+
+CHAPTER II. WILD VAGARIES OF THE CONVERTS: Convulsions and
+Commissions--Common Religious Excitements of those Days--
+Description of the "Jerks"--Smith's Repressing Influence
+
+CHAPTER III. GROWTH OF THE CHURCH: The Appointment of Elders--
+Beginning of the Proselyting System--Smith's Power Entrenched--
+His Temporal Provision--Repression of Rigdon--The Tarring and
+Feathering of Smith and Rigdon--Treatment of the Mormons and of
+Other New Denominations compared--Rigdon's Punishment
+
+CHAPTER IV. GIFTS OF TONGUES AND MIRACLES: How Persons "Spoke in
+Tongues"--Seeing the Lord Face to Face--Early Use of Miracles--
+The Story of the "Book of Abraham"--The Prophet as a Translator
+of Greek and Egyptian.
+
+CHAPTER V. SMITH'S OHIO BUSINESS ENTERPRISES: Young's Picture of
+the Prophet's Experience as a Retail Merchant--The Land
+Speculation--Laying out of the City--Building of the Temple--
+Consecration of Property--How the Leaders looked out for
+themselves--Amusing Explanation of Section III of the "Doctrine
+and Covenants"--The Story of the Kirtland Bank--The Church View
+of its Responsibility for the Currency--The Business Crash and
+Smith's Flight to Missouri
+
+CHAPTER VI. LAST DAYS AT KIRTLAND: Pictures of the Prophet--
+Accusations against Church Leaders in Missouri--Serious Charge
+against the Prophet--W. W, Phelps's Rebellion--Smith's
+Description of Leading Lights of the Church--Charges concerning
+Smith's Morality--The Church accused of practising Polygamy--A
+Lively Fight at a Church Service--Smith's and Rigdon's Defence of
+their Conduct--The Later History of Kirtland
+
+BOOK III. IN MISSOURI
+
+CHAPTER I. THE DIRECTIONS TO THE SAINTS ABOUT THEIR ZION: Western
+Missouri in the Early Days--Pioneer Farming and Home-making--The
+Trip of the Four Mormon Missionaries--Direction about the
+Gathering of the Elect--How they were to possess the Land of
+Promise--Their Appropriation of the Good Things purchased of
+their Enemies
+
+CHAPTER II. SMITH'S FIRST VISITS TO MISSOURI: Founding the City
+of Zion and the Temple--Marvellous Stories that were told--
+Dissatisfaction of Some of the Prophet's Companions
+
+CHAPTER III.THE EXPULSION FROM JACKSON COUNTY: Rapid Influx of
+Mormons--Result of the Publication of the Revelations--First
+Friction with their Non-Mormon Neighbors--Manifesto of the
+Mormons' Opponents--Their Big Mass Meeting--Demands on the
+Mormons--Destruction of the Star Printing-office--The Mormons'
+Agreement to leave--Smith's Advice to his Flock--Repudiation of
+the Mormon Agreement and Renewal of Hostilities--The Battle at
+Big Blue--Evacuation of the County--March of the Army of Zion--An
+Inglorious Finale
+
+CHAPTER IV. FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE JACKSON COUNTY
+PEOPLE: A Fair Offer Rejected--The Mormon Counter Propositions--
+Governor Dunklin on the Situation
+
+CHAPTER V. IN CLAY, CALDWELL, AND DAVIESS COUNTIES: Welcome of
+the Mormons by New Neighbors--Effect of their Claims about
+Possessing the Land--Ordered out of Clay County--Founding of Far
+West--A Welcome to Smith and Rigdon
+
+CHAPTER VI. RADICAL DISSENSIONS IN THE CHURCH: Trial of Phelps
+and Whitmer--Conviction of Oliver Cowdery on Serious Charges--
+Expulsion of Leading Members--Origin of the Danites--Suggested by
+the Prophet at Kirtland--The Danite Constitution and Oath--Origin
+of the Tithing System
+
+CHAPTER VII. BEGINNING OF ACTIVE HOSTILITIES: Result of Smith's
+Domineering Course--Jealousy caused by the Scattering of the
+Saints--Founding of Adam-ondi-Ahman--Rigdon's Famous Salt
+Sermon--Open Defiance of the Non-Mormons--The Mormons in
+Politics--An Election Day Row--Arrests and Threats
+
+CHAPTER VIII. A STATE OF CIVIL WAR: Calling out of the Militia--
+Proposed Expulsion of the Mormons from Carroll County--The Siege
+of De Witt--The Prophet's Defiance--Work of his "Fur Company"--
+Gentile Retaliation--The Battle of Crooked River--The Massacre at
+Hawn's Mills--Governor Boggs's "Order of Extermination"
+
+CHAPTER IX. THE FINAL EXPULSION FROM THE STATE: General Lucas's
+Terms to the Mormons--Surrender of Far West and Arrest of Mormon
+Leaders--General Clark's Address to the Mormons--His Report to
+the Governor--General Wilson's Picture of Adam-ondi-Ahman--Fate
+of the Mormon Prisoners--Testimony at their Trial--Smith's
+Escape--Migration to Illinois
+
+BOOK IV. IN ILLINOIS
+
+CHAPTER I. THE RECEPTION OF THE MORMONS: Incidents in the Early
+History of the State--Defiant Lawlessness--Politicians the First
+to Welcome the Newcomers--Landowners Among their First Friends
+
+CHAPTER II. THE SETTLEMENT OF NAUVOO: Smith's Leadership
+Illustrated--The Land Purchases--A Reconciliation of Conflicting
+Revelations--Smith's Financiering--Shameful Misrepresentation to
+Immigrants
+
+CHAPTER III. THE BUILDING UP OF THE CITY: Unhealthfulness of its
+Site--Rapid Growth of the Place--Early Pictures of it--Foreign
+Proselyting--Why England was a Good Field--Method of Work there--
+The Employment of Miracles--How the Converts were Sent Over
+
+CHAPTER IV. THE NAUVOO CITY GOVERNMENT: Dr. Galland's
+Suggestions--An Important Revelation--Church Buildings Ordered--
+Subserviency of the Legislature--Dr. John C. Bennett's Efficient
+Aid--Authority granted to the City Government--The Nauvoo Legion
+--Bennett's Welcome--The Temple and How it was Constructed
+
+CHAPTER V. THE MORMONS IN POLITICS: Smith's Decree against Van
+Buren--How the Prophet swung the Mormon Vote back to the
+Democrats--The Attempted Assassination of Governor Boggs--Smith's
+Arrest and What Resulted from it--Defeat of a Whig Candidate by a
+Revelation
+
+CHAPTER VI. SMITH A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
+His Letter to Clay and Calhoun--Their Replies and Smith's Abusive
+Wrath--The Prophet's Views on National Politics--Reform Measures
+that He Proposed--His Nomination by the Church Paper--Experiences
+of Missionaries sent out to Work Up his Campaign
+
+CHAPTER VII. SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN NAUVOO: Character of its
+Population--Treatment of Immigrant Converts--Some Disreputable
+Gentile Neighbors--The Complaints of Mormon Stealings--
+Significant Admissions--Mormon Protection against Outsiders--The
+Whittlers
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SMITH'S PICTURE OF HIMSELF AS AUTOCRAT: Glances at
+his Autobiography--Difficulties Connected with the Building
+Enterprises--A Plain Warning to Discontented Workmen--Trouble
+with Rigdon--Pressed by his Creditors--Transaction with Remick--
+Currency Law passed by his City Council--How Smith regarded
+himself as a Prophet--His Latest Prophecies
+
+CHAPTER IX. SMITH'S FALLING OUT WITH BENNETT AND HIGBEE:
+Bennett's Expulsion and the Explanations concerning it--His
+Attacks on his Late Companions--Charges against Nauvoo Morality--
+The Case of Nancy Rigdon--The Higbee Incident
+
+CHAPTER X. THE INSTITUTION OF POLYGAMY: An Examination of its
+Origin--Its Conflict with the Teachings of the Mormon Bible and
+Revelations--Early Loosening of the Marriage View under Smith--
+Proof of the Practice of Polygamy in Nauvoo--Testimony of Eliza
+R. Snow--How her Brother Lorenzo shook off his Bachelorhood--John
+B. Lee as a Polygamist--Ebenezer Robinson's Statement--Objects of
+"The Holy Order"--The Writing of the Revelation about Polygamy--
+Its First Public Announcement--Sidney Rigdon's Innocence in the
+Matter
+
+CHAPTER XI. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF POLYGAMY: Text
+of the Revelation--Orson Pratt's Presentation of it--The Doctrine
+of Sealing--Necessity of Sealing as a Means of Salvation--Attempt
+to show that Christ was a Polygamist
+
+CHAPTER XII. THE SUPPRESSION OF THE EXPOSITOR: Dr. Foster and the
+Laws--Rebellion against Smith's Teachings--Leading Features of
+the Expositor--Trial of the Paper and its Editors before the City
+Council--Destruction of the Press and Type--Smith's Proclamation
+
+CHAPTER XIII. UPRISING OF THE NON-MORMONS: Resolutions Adopted at
+Warsaw--Organizing and Arming of the People--Action of Governor
+Ford--Smith's Arrest--Departure of the Prisoners for Carthage
+
+CHAPTER XIV. THE MURDER OF THE PROPHET: Legal Proceedings after
+his Arrival in Carthage--The Governor and the Militia--The
+Carthage Jail and its Guards--Action of the Warsaw Regiment--The
+Attack on the Jail and the Killing of the Prophet and his
+Brother--Funeral Services in Nauvoo--Final Resting-place of the
+Bodies--Result of Indictments of the Alleged Murderers--Review of
+the Prophet's Character
+
+CHAPTER XV. AFTER SMITH'S DEATH: The People in a Panic--The
+Mormon Leaders for Peace--The Future Government of the Church--
+Brigham Young's Victory--Rigdon's Trial before the High Council--
+Verdict Against Him--His Church in Pennsylvania--His Ambition to
+be the Head of a Distinct Church--A Visit from Heavenly
+Messengers--His Last Days
+
+CHAPTER XVI. RIVALRIES OVER THE SUCCESSION: The Claim of the
+Prophet's Eldest Son--Trouble caused by the Prophet's Widow--The
+Reorganized Church--Strang's Church in Wisconsin--Lyman Wight's
+Colony in Texas
+
+CHAPTER XVII. BRIGHAM YOUNG: His Early Years--His Initiation into
+the Mormon Church--Fidelity to the Prophet--Embarrassments of his
+Position as Head of the Church--His View about Revelations--Plan
+for Home Mission Work--His Election as President
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. RENEWED TROUBLE FOR THE MORMONS: More Charges of
+Stealing--Significant Admission by Young--Business Plight of
+Nauvoo--More Politics--Defiant Attitude of Mormon Leaders--An
+Editor's View of Legal Rights--Stories about the Danites--Brother
+William on Brigham Young--The "Burnings"--Sheriff Backenstos's
+Proclamations--Lieutenant Worrell's Murder--Mormon Retaliation--
+Appointment of the Douglas-Hardin Commission
+
+CHAPTER XIX. THE EXPULSION OF THE MORMONS: General Hardin's
+Proclamation--County Meetings of Non-Mormons--Their Ultimatum--
+The Commission's Negotiations--Non-Mormon Convention at
+Carthage--The Agreement for the Mormon Evacuation
+
+CHAPTER XX. THE EVACUATION OF NAUVOO: Major Warren as a Peace
+Preserver--The Mormons' Disposition of their Property--Departure
+of the Leaders hastened by Indictments--Arrival of New Citizens--
+Continued Hostility of the Non-Mormons--"The Last Mormon War"--
+Panic in Nauvoo--Plan for a March on the Mormon City--Fruitless
+Negotiations for a Compromise--The Advance against the City--The
+Battle and its Results--Terms of Peace--The Final Evacuation
+CHAPTER XXI. NAUVOO AFTER THE EXODUS: Arrival of Governor Ford--
+The Final Work on the Temple--The "Endowment" Ceremony and Oath--
+Futile Efforts to sell the Temple--Its Destruction by Fire and
+Wind--The Nauvoo of To-day
+
+BOOK V. THE MIGRATION TO UTAH
+
+CHAPTER I. PREPARATIONS FOR THE LONG MARCH: Uncertainty of their
+Destination--Explanations to the People--Disposition of Real and
+Personal Property--Collection of Draft Animals--Activity in Wagon
+and Tent Making--The Old Charge of Counterfeiting--Pecuniary
+Sacrifices of the Mormons in Illinois
+
+CHAPTER II. FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MISSOURI: The First
+Crossings of the River--Camp Arrangements--Sufferings from the
+Cold--The Story of the Westward March--Motley Make-up of the
+Procession--Expedients for obtaining Supplies--Terrible
+Sufferings of the Expelled Remnant--Privations at Mt. Pisgah
+
+CHAPTER III. THE MORMON BATTALION: Extravagant Claims Regarding
+it Disproved--General Kearney's Invitation--Source of the Initial
+Suggestion--How the Mormons profited by the Organization--The
+March to California--Colonel Thomas L. Kane's Visit to the
+Missouri--His Intimate Relations with the Mormon Church
+
+CHAPTER IV. THE CAMPS ON THE MISSOURI: Friendly Welcome of the
+Mormons by the Indians--The Site of Winter Quarters--Busy Scenes
+on the River Bank--Sickness and Death--The Building of a
+Temporary City
+
+CHAPTER V. THE PIONEER TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS: Early Views of the
+Unexplored West--The First White Visitors to that Country--
+Organization of the Pioneer Mormon Band--Rules observed on the
+March--Successful Buffalo Hunting--An Indian Alarm--Dearth of
+Forage--Post-offices of the Plains--A Profitable Ferry
+
+CHAPTER VI. FROM THE ROCKIES TO SALT LAKE VALLEY: No Definite
+Stopping-place in View--Advice received on the Way--The Mormon
+Expedition to California by Way of Cape Horn--Brannan's Fall from
+Grace--Westward from Green River--Advance Explorers through a
+Canon--First View of Great Salt Lake Valley--Irrigation and Crop
+Planting begun
+
+CHAPTER VII. THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES: Their Leaders and Make-up
+--Young's Return Trip--Last Days on the Missouri--Scheme for a
+Permanent Settlement in Iowa--Westward March of Large Companies
+
+BOOK VI. IN UTAH
+
+CHAPTER I. THE FOUNDING OF SALT LAKE CITY: Utah's First White
+Explorers--First Mormon Services in the Valley--Young's View of
+the Right to the Land--The First Buildings--Laying out the
+City--Early Crop Disappointment--Discomforts of the First
+Winter-- Primitive Dwelling-places--The Visitation of
+Crickets--Glowing Accounts sent to England
+
+CHAPTER II. PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT: Schools and Manufactures
+--How the City appeared in 1849--Sufferings during the Winter of
+1908--Immigration checked by the Lack of Food--Aid supplied by
+the California Goldseekers--Danger of a Mormon Exodus--Young's
+Rebuke to his Gold-seeking Followers--The Crop Failure of 1855
+and the Famine of the Following Winter--The Tabernacle and Temple
+
+CHAPTER III. THE FOREIGN IMMIGRATION TO UTAH: The Commercial
+joint Stock Company Scandal--Deceptive Statements made to Foreign
+Converts--John Taylor's Address to the Saints in Great Britain--
+Petition to Queen Victoria--Mormon Duplicity illustrated--Young's
+Advice to Emigrants--Glowing Pictures of Salt Lake Valley--The
+Perpetual Emigrating Fund--Details of the Emigration System
+
+CHAPTER IV. THE HAND-CART TRAGEDY: Young's Scheme for Economy--
+His Responsibility for the Hand-cart Experiment--Details of the
+Arrangement--Delays at Iowa City--Unheeded Warnings--Privations
+by the Way--Early Lack of Provisions--Suffering caused by
+Insufficient Clothing--Deaths of the Old and Infirm--Horrors of
+the Camps in the Mountains--Frozen Corpses found at Daybreak--
+Sufferings of a Party at Devil's Gate--Young's Attempt to shift
+the Responsibility
+
+CHAPTER V. EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY: The Aim at Independence--
+First Local Government--Adoption of a Constitution for the State
+of Deseret--Babbitt's Application for Admission as a Delegate--
+Memorial opposing his Claim--His Rejection--The Territorial
+Government
+
+CHAPTER VI. BRIGHAM YOUNG'S DESPOTISM: Causes that contributed to
+its Success--Helplessness of the New-comers from Europe--
+Influence of Superstition--Young's Treatment of the Gladdenites--
+His Appropriation of Property Laws passed by the Mormon
+Legislature--Bishops as Ward Magistrates--A Mormon Currency and
+Alphabet--What Emigrants to California learned about Mormon
+Justice
+
+CHAPTER VII. THE "REFORMATION": Young's Disclosures about the
+Character of his Flock--The Stealing from One Another--The Threat
+about "Laying Judgment to the Line"--Plain Declarations about the
+taking of Human Lives--First Steps of the "Reformation"--An
+Inquisition and Catechism--An Embarrassing Confession--Warning to
+those who would leave the Valley
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SOME CHURCH-INSPIRED MURDERS: The Story of the
+Parrishes--Carrying out of a Cold-blooded Plot--Judge
+Cradlebaugh's Effort to convict the Murderers--The Tragedy of the
+Aikin Party--The Story of Frederick Loba's Escape
+
+CHAPTER IX. BLOOD ATONEMENT: Early Intimations concerning it--
+Jedediah M. Grant's Explanation of Human Sacrifices--Brigham
+Young's Definition of "Laying Judgment to the Line"--Two of the
+Sacrifices described--"The Affair at San Pete"
+
+CHAPTER X. TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT: Brigham Young the First
+Governor--Colonel Kane's Part in his Appointment--Kane's False
+Statements to President Fillmore--Welcome to the Non-Mormon
+Officers--Their Early Information about Young's
+Influence--Pioneer Anniversary Speeches--Judge Brocchus's Offence
+to the Mormons-- Young's Threatening and Abusive Reply--The
+Judge's Alarm about his Personal Safety--Return of the Non-Mormon
+Federal Officers to Washington--Young's Defence
+
+CHAPTER XI. MORMON TREATMENT OF FEDERAL OFFICERS: A Territorial
+Election Law--Why Colonel Steptoe declined the Governorship--
+Young's Assertion of his Authority--His Reappointment--Two Bad
+Judicial Appointments--Judge Stiles's Trouble about the
+Marshals-- Burning of his Books and Papers--How Judge Drummond's
+Attempt at Independence was foiled--The Mormon View of Land
+Titles--Hostile Attitude toward the Government Surveyors--Reports
+of the Indian Agents
+
+CHAPTER XII. THE MORMON "WAR": What the Federal Authorities had
+learned about Mormonism--Declaration of the Republican National
+Convention of 1856--Striking Speech by Stephen A. Douglas--
+Alfred Cumming appointed Governor with a New Set of Judges--
+Statement in the President's Message--Employment of a Military
+Force--The Kimball Mail Contract--Organization of the Troops--
+General Harney's Letter of Instruction--Threats against the
+Advancing Foe--Mobilization of the Nauvoo Legion--Captain Van
+Vliet's Mission to Salt Lake City--Young's Defiance of the
+Government--His Proclamation to the Citizens of Utah--"General"
+Wells's Order to his Officers--Capture and Burning of a
+Government Train--Colonel Alexander's Futile March--Colonel
+Johnston's Advance from Fort Laramie--Harrowing Experience of
+Lieutenant Colonel Cooke's Command
+
+CHAPTER XIII. THE MORMON PURPOSE: Correspondence between Colonel
+Alexander and Brigham Young--Illustration of Young's Vituperative
+Powers--John Taylor's Threat--Incendiary Teachings in Salt Lake
+City--A Warning to Saints who would Desert--The Army's Winter
+Camp --Proclamation by Governor Cumming--Judge Eckles's
+Court--Futile Preparations at Washington
+
+CHAPTER XIV. COLONEL KANE'S MISSION: His Wily Proposition to
+President Buchanan--His Credentials from the President--Arrival
+in California under an Assumed Name--Visit to Camp Scott--General
+Johnston ignored--Reasons why both the Government and the Mormons
+desired Peace--Kane's Success with Governor Cumming--The
+Governor's Departure for Salt Lake City--Deceptions practiced on
+him in Echo Canon--His Reception in the City--Playing into Mormon
+Hands--The Governor's Introduction to the People--Exodus of
+Mormons begun
+
+CHAPTER XV. THE PEACE COMMISSION: President Buchanan's
+Volte-face--A Proclamation of Pardon--Instructions to Two Peace
+Commissioners--Chagrin of the Military--Governor Cumming's
+Misrepresentations--Conferences between the Commissioners and
+Young--Brother Dunbar's Singing of "Zion"--Young's Method of
+Surrender--Judge Eckles on Plural Marriages--The Terms made with
+the Mormons--March of the Federal Troops to the Deserted City--
+Return of the Mormons to their Homes
+
+CHAPTER XVI. THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE: Circumstances
+Indicative of Mormon Official Responsibility--The Make-up of the
+Arkansas Party--Motives for Mormon Hostility to them--Parley P.
+Pratt's Shooting in Arkansas--Refusal of Food Supplies to the
+Party after leaving Salt Lake City--Their Plight before they were
+attacked--Successful Measures for Defence--Disarrangement of the
+Mormon Plans--John D. Lee's Treacherous Mission--Pitiless
+Slaughter of Men, Women, and Children--Testimony given at Lee's
+Trial--The Plundering of the Dead--Lee's Account of the Planning
+of the Massacre--Responsibility of High Church Officers--Lee's
+Report to Brigham Young and Brigham's Instructions to him--The
+Disclosures by "Argus"--Lee's Execution and Last Words
+
+CHAPTER XVII. AFTER THE "WAR": Judge Cradlebaugh's Attempts to
+enforce the Law--Investigation of the Mountain Meadows Massacre--
+Governor Cumming's Objections to the Use of Troops to assist the
+Court--A Washington Decision in Favor of Young's Authority--The
+Story of a Counterfeit Plate--Five Thousand Men under Arms to
+protect Young from Arrest--Sudden Departure of Cumming--Governor
+Dawson's Brief Term--His Shocking Treatment at Mormon Hands--
+Governor Harding's Administration--The Morrisite Tragedy
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. ATTITUDE OF THE MORMONS DURING THE SOUTHERN
+REBELLION: Press and Pulpit Utterances--Arrival of Colonel
+Connor's Force--His March through Salt Lake City to Camp Douglas
+--Governor Harding's Plain Message to the Legislature--Mormon
+Retaliation--The Governor and Two Judges requested to leave the
+Territory--Their Spirited Replies--How Young escaped Arrest by
+Colonel Connor's Force--Another Yielding to Mormon Power at
+Washington
+
+CHAPTER XIX. EASTERN VISITORS To SALT LAKE CITY: Schuyler
+Colfax's Interviews with Young--Samuel Bowles's Praise of the
+Mormons and his Speedy Correction of his Views--Repudiation of
+Colfax's Plan to drop Polygamy--Two more Utah Murders--Colfax's
+Second Visit
+
+CHAPTER XX. GENTILE IRRUPTION AND MORMON SCHISM: Young's Jealousy
+of Gentile Merchants--Organization of the Zion Cooperative
+Mercantile Institution--Inception of the "New Movement"--Its
+Leaders and Objects--The Peep o' Day and the Utah Magazine--
+Articles that aroused Young's Hostility--Visit of the Prophet's
+Sons to Salt Lake City--Trial and Excommunication of Godbe and
+Harrison--Results of the "New Movement".
+
+CHAPTER XXI. THE LAST YEARS OF BRIGHAM YOUNG: New Governors--
+Shaffer's Rebuke to the Nauvoo Legion--Conflict with the New
+Judges--Brigham Young and Others indicted--Young's Temporary
+Imprisonment--A Supreme Court Decision in Favor of the Mormon
+Marshal and Attorney--Outside Influences affecting Utah Affairs--
+Grant's Special Message to Congress--Failure of the Frelinghuysen
+Bill in the House--Signing of the Poland Bill--Ann Eliza Young's
+Suit for Divorce--The Later Governors
+
+CHAPTER XXII. BRIGHAM YOUNG'S DEATH: His Character--Explanation
+of his Dictatorial Power--Exaggerated Views of his Executive
+Ability--Overestimations by Contemporaries--Young's Wealth and
+how he acquired it--His Revenue from Divorces--Unrestrained
+Control of the Church Property--His Will--Suit against his
+Executors--List of his Wives--His Houses in Salt Lake City
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF POLYGAMY: Varied Provisions for
+Plural Wives--Home Accommodations of the Leaders--Horace
+Greeley's Observation about Woman's Place in Utah--Meaus of
+overcoming Female Jealousy--Young and Grant on the Unhappiness of
+Mormon Wives--Acceptance of Fanatical Teachings by Women--Kimball
+on a Fair Division of the Converts--Church Influence in Behalf of
+Plural Marriages--A Prussian Convert's Dilemma--President
+Cleveland on the Evils of Polygamy
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. THE FIGHT AGAINST POLYGAMY: First Measures
+introduced in Congress--The Act of 1862--The Cullom Bill of 1869
+--Its Failure in the Senate--The United States Supreme Court
+Decision regarding Polygamy--Conviction of John Miles--Appeal of
+Women of Salt Lake City to Mrs. Hayes and the Women of the United
+States--President Hayes's Drastic Recommendation to Congress--
+Recommendations of Presidents Garfield and Arthur--Passage of the
+Edmunds Bill--Its Provisions--The Edmunds-Tucker Amendment--
+Appointment of the Utah Commission--Determined Opposition of the
+Mormon Church--Placing their Flags at Half Mast--Convictions
+under the New Law--Leaders in Hiding or in Exile--Mormon Honors
+for those who took their Punishment--Congress asked to
+disfranchise All Polygamists--The Mormon Church brought to Bay--
+Woodruff's Famous Proclamation--How it was explained to the
+Church--The Roberts Case and the Vetoed Act of 1901--How
+Statehood came
+
+CHAPTER XXV. THE MORMONISM OF TO-DAY: Future Place of the Church
+in American History--Main Points of the Mormon Political Policy--
+Unbroken Power of the Priesthood--Fidelity of the Younger
+Members--Extension of the Membership over Adjoining
+States--Mission Work at Home and Abroad--Decreased Foreign
+Membership--Effect of False Promises to Converts--The Settlements
+in Canada and Mexico --Polygamy still a Living Doctrine--Reasons
+for its Hold on the Church--Its Appeal to the Female
+Members--Importance of a Federal Constitutional Amendment
+forbidding Polygamous Marriages--Scope of the Mormon Political
+Ambition
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE MORMONS
+
+BOOK I. THE MORMON ORIGIN
+
+CHAPTER I. FACILITY OF HUMAN BELIEF
+
+Summing up his observations of the Mormons as he found them in
+Utah while secretary of the territory, five years after their
+removal to the Great Salt Lake valley, B. G. Ferris wrote, "The
+real miracle [of their success] consists in so large a body of
+men and women, in a civilized land, and in the nineteenth
+century, being brought under, governed, and controlled by such
+gross religious imposture. "This statement presents, in concise
+form, the general view of the surprising features of the success
+of the Mormon leaders, in forming, augmenting, and keeping
+together their flock; but it is a mistaken view. To accept it
+would be to concede that, in a highly civilized nation like ours,
+and in so late a century, the acceptance of religious beliefs
+which, to the nonbelievers, seem gross superstitions, is so
+unusual that it may be classed with the miraculous. Investigation
+easily disproves this.
+
+It is true that the effrontery which has characterized Mormonism
+from the start has been most daring. Its founder, a lad of low
+birth, very limited education, and uncertain morals; its
+beginnings so near burlesque that they drew down upon its
+originators the scoff of their neighbors,--the organization
+increased its membership as it was driven from one state to
+another, building up at last in an untried wilderness a
+population that has steadily augmented its wealth and numbers;
+doggedly defending its right to practise its peculiar beliefs and
+obey only the officers of the church, even when its course in
+this respect has brought it in conflict with the government of
+the United States. Professing only a desire to be let alone, it
+promulgated in polygamy a doctrine that was in conflict with the
+moral sentiment of the Christian world, making its practice not
+only a privilege, but a part of the religious duty of its
+members. When, in recent years, Congress legislated against this
+practice, the church fought for its peculiar institution to the
+last, its leading members accepting exile and imprisonment; and
+only the certainty of continued exclusion from the rights of
+citizenship, and the hopelessness of securing the long-desired
+prize of statehood for Utah, finally induced the church to bow to
+the inevitable, and to announce a form of release for its members
+from the duty of marrying more wives than one. Aside from this
+concession, the Mormon church is to-day as autocratic in its hold
+on its members, as aggressive in its proselyting, and as earnest
+in maintaining its individual religious and political power, as
+it has been in any previous time in its history.
+
+In its material aspects we must concede to the Mormon church
+organization a remarkable success; to Joseph Smith, Jr., a
+leadership which would brook no rival; to Brigham Young the
+maintenance of an autocratic authority which enabled him to hold
+together and enlarge his church far beyond the limits that would
+have been deemed possible when they set out across the plains
+with all their possessions in their wagons. But it is no more
+surprising that the Mormons succeeded in establishing their
+church in the United States than it would have been if they had
+been equally successful in South America; no more surprising that
+this success should have been won in the nineteenth century than
+it would have been to record it in the twelfth.
+
+In studying questions of this kind, we are, in the first place,
+entirely too apt to ignore the fact that man, while comparatively
+a "superior being," is in simple fact one species of the animals
+that are found upon the earth; and that, as a species, he has
+traits which distinguish him characteristically just as certain
+well-known traits characterize those animals that we designate as
+"lower." If a traveller from the Sun should print his
+observations of the inhabitants of the different planets, he
+would have to say of those of the Earth something like this: "One
+of Man's leading traits is what is known as belief. He is a
+credulous creature, and is especially susceptible to appeals to
+his credulity in regard to matters affecting his existence after
+death." Whatever explanation we may accept of the origin of the
+conception by this animal of his soul-existence, and of the
+evolution of shadowy beliefs into religious systems, we must
+concede that Man is possessed of a tendency to worship something,
+--a recognition, at least, of a higher power with which it
+behooves him to be on friendly terms,--and so long as the
+absolute correctness of any one belief or doctrine cannot be
+actually proved to him, he is constantly ready to inquire into,
+and perhaps give credence to, new doctrines that are presented
+for his consideration. The acceptance by Man of novelties in the
+way of religions is a characteristic that has marked his species
+ever since its record has been preserved. According to Max
+Matter, "every religion began simply as a matter of reason, and
+from this drifted into a superstition"; that is, into what
+non-believers in the new doctrine characterize as a superstition.
+Whenever one of these driftings has found a lodgement, there has
+been planted a new sect. There has never been a year in the
+Christian era when there have not been believers ready to accept
+any doctrine offered to them in the name of religion. As
+Shakespeare expresses it, in the words of Bassanio:--
+
+"In religion, What damned error but some sober brow Will bless
+it, and approve it with a text, Hiding the grossness with fair
+ornament?"
+
+In glancing at the cause of this unchanged susceptibility to
+religious credulity--unchanged while the world has been making
+such strides in the acquisition of exact information--we may find
+a summing up of the situation in Macaulay's blunt declaration
+that "natural theology is not a progressive science; a Christian
+of the fifth century with a Bible is on a par with a Christian of
+the nineteenth century with a Bible. The "orthodox" believer in
+that Bible can only seek a better understanding of it by studying
+it himself and accepting the deductions of other students.
+Nothing, as the centuries have passed, has been added to his
+definite knowledge of his God or his own future existence. When,
+therefore, some one, like a Swedenborg or a Joseph Smith, appears
+with an announcement of an addition to the information on this
+subject, obtained by direct revelation from on high, he supplies
+one of the greatest desiderata that man is conscious of, and we
+ought, perhaps, to wonder that his followers are not so numerous,
+but so few. Progress in medical science would no longer permit
+any body like the College of the Physicians of London to
+recognize curative value in the skull of a person who had met
+with a violent death, as it did in the seventeenth century; but
+the physician of the seventeenth century with a pharmacopoeia was
+not "on a par with" a physician of the nineteenth century with a
+pharmacopoeia.
+
+Nor has man changed in his mental susceptibilities as the
+centuries have advanced. It is a failure to recognize this fact
+which leads observers like Ferris to find it so marvellous that a
+belief like Mormonism should succeed in the nineteenth century.
+Draper's studies of man's intellectual development led him to
+declare that "man has ever been the same in his modes of thought
+and motives of action, "and to assert his purpose to" judge past
+occurrences in the same way as those of our own time."* So
+Macaulay refused to accept the doctrine that "the world is
+constantly becoming more and more enlightened, "asserting that
+"the human mind, instead of marching, merely marks time. "Nothing
+offers stronger confirmation of the correctness of these views
+than the history of religious beliefs, and the teachings
+connected therewith since the death of Christ.
+
+* "Intellectual Development of Europe," Vol. II, Chap. 3.
+
+
+The chain of these beliefs and teachings--including in the list
+only those which offer the boldest challenge to a sane man's
+credulity--is uninterrupted down to our own day. A few of them
+may be mentioned by way of illustration. In one century we find
+Spanish priests demanding the suppression of the opera on the
+ground that this form of entertainment caused a drought, and a
+Pope issuing a bull against men and women having sexual
+intercourse with fiends. In another, we find an English tailor,
+unsuccessfully, allotting endless torments to all who would not
+accept his declaration that God was only six feet in height, at
+the same time that George Fox, who was successful in establishing
+the Quaker sect, denounced as unchristian adoration of Janus and
+Woden, any mention of a month as January or a day as Wednesday.
+Luther, the Protestant pioneer, believed that he had personal
+conferences with the devil; Wesley, the founder of Methodism,
+declared that "the giving up of (belief) in witchcraft is, in
+effect, giving up the Bible. "Education and mental training have
+had no influence in shaping the declarations of the leaders of
+new religious sects.* The learned scientist, Swedenborg, told of
+seeing the Virgin Mary dressed in blue satin, and of spirits
+wearing hats, just as confidently as the ignorant Joseph Smith,
+Jr., described his angel as "a tall, slim, well-built, handsome
+man, with a bright pillar upon his head."
+
+* "The splendid gifts which make a seer are usually found among
+those whom society calls 'common or unclean.' These brutish
+beings are the chosen vessels in whom God has poured the elixirs
+which amaze humanity. Such beings have furnished the prophets,
+the St. Peters, the hermits of history." BALZAC, in "Cousin
+Pons."
+
+
+The readiness with which even believers so strictly taught as are
+the Jews can be led astray by the announcement of a new teacher
+divinely inspired, is illustrated in the stories of their many
+false Messiahs. One illustration of this--from the pen of
+Zangwill --may be given:--
+
+"From all the lands of the Exile, crowds of the devout came to do
+him homage and tender allegiance--Turkish Jews with red fez or
+saffron-yellow turban; Jerusalem Jews in striped cotton gowns and
+soft felt hats; Polish Jews with foxskin caps and long caftans;
+sallow German Jews, gigantic Russian Jews, highbred Spanish Jews;
+and with them often their wives and daughters-- Jerusalem
+Jewesses with blue shirts and head-veils, Egyptian Jewesses with
+sweeping robes and black head-shawls, Jewesses from Ashdod and
+Gaza, with white visors fringed with gold coins; Polish Jewesses
+with glossy wigs; Syrian Jewesses with eyelashes black as though
+lined with kohl; fat Jewesses from Tunis, with clinging breeches
+interwoven with gold and silver."
+
+This homage to a man who turned Turk, and became a doorkeeper of
+the Sultan, to save himself from torture and death!
+
+Savagery and civilization meet on this plane of religious
+credulity. The Indians of Canada believed not more implicitly in
+the demons who howled all over the Isles of Demons, than did the
+early French sailors and the priests whose protection the latter
+asked. The Jesuit priests of the seventeenth century accepted,
+and impressed upon their white followers in New France, belief in
+miracles which made a greater demand on credulity than did any of
+the exactions of the Indian medicine man. That the head of a
+white man, which the Iroquois carried to their village, spoke to
+them and scolded them for their perfidy, "found believers among
+the most intelligent men of the colony, "just as did the story of
+the conversion of a sick Huguenot immigrant, with whose gruel a
+Mother secretly mixed a little of the powdered bone of a Jesuit
+martyr.* And French Canada is to-day as "orthodox" in its belief
+in miracles as was the Canada of the seventeenth century. The
+church of St. Anne de Beaupre, below Quebec, attracts thousands
+annually, and is piled with the crutches which the miraculously
+cured have cast aside. Masses were said in 1899 in the church of
+Notre Dame de Bonsecours at Montreal, at the expense of a pilots'
+association, to ward off wrecks in the treacherous St. Lawrence;
+and in the near-by provinces there were religious processions to
+check the attacks of caterpillars in the orchards.
+
+* Parkman's "Old Regime in Canada."
+
+
+Nor need we go to Catholic Quebec for modern illustrations of
+this kind of faith. "Bareheaded people stood out upon the corner
+in East 113th Street yesterday afternoon, "said a New York City
+newspaper of December 18, 1898, "because they were unable to get
+into the church of Our Lady Queen of Angels, where a relic of St.
+Anthony of Padua was exposed for veneration. "Describing a
+service in the church of St. Jean Baptiste in East 77th Street,
+New York, where a relic alleged to be a piece of a bone of the
+mother of the Virgin was exposed, a newspaper of that city, on
+July 24th, 1901, said: "There were five hundred persons, by
+actual count, in and around the crypt chapel of St. Anne when
+afternoon service stopped the rush of the sick and crippled at
+4.30 o'clock yesterday. There were many more at the 8 o'clock
+evening Mass. What did these people seek at the shrine? Only the
+favor of St. Anne and a kiss and touch of the casket that, by
+church authority, contains bone of her body. "France has to-day
+its Grotto of Lourdes, Wales its St. Winefride's Well, Mexico its
+"wonder-working doll" that makes the sick well and the childless
+mothers, and Moscow its "wonder-working picture of the Mother of
+God," before which the Czar prostrates himself.
+
+Not in recent years has the appetite for some novelty on which to
+fasten belief been more manifest in the United States than it was
+at the close of the nineteenth century. Old beliefs found new
+teachers, and promulgators of new ideas found followers.
+Instructors in Brahminism attracted considerable attention. A
+"Chapter of the College of Divine Sciences and Realization"
+instituted a revival of Druid sun-adoration on the shores of Lake
+Michigan. An organization has been formed of believers in the
+One-Over-At-Acre, a Persian who claimed to be the forerunner of
+the Millennium, and in whom, as Christ, it is said that more than
+three thousand persons in this country believe. We have among us
+also Jaorelites, who believe in the near date of the end of the
+world, and that they must make their ascent to heaven from a
+mountain in Scotland. The hold which the form of belief called
+Christian Science has obtained upon people of education and
+culture needs only be referred to. Along with this have come the
+"divine healers," gaining patients in circles where it would be
+thought impossible for them to obtain even consideration, and one
+of them securing a clientage in a Western city which has enabled
+him to establish there a church of his own.
+
+In fact, instead of finding in enlightened countries like the
+United States and England a poor field for the dissemination of
+new beliefs, the whole school of revealers find there their best
+opportunities. Discussing this susceptibility, Aliene Gorren, in
+her "Anglo-Saxons and Others," reaches this conclusion: "Nowhere
+are so many persons of sound intelligence in all practical
+affairs so easily led to follow after crazy seers and seeresses
+as in England and the United States. The truth is that the mind
+of man refuses to be shut out absolutely from the world of the
+higher abstractions, and that, if it may not make its way thither
+under proper guidance, it will set off even at the tail of the
+first ragged street procession that passes."
+
+The "real miracle" in Mormonism, then,--the wonderful feature of
+its success,--is to be sought, not in the fact that it has been
+able to attract believers in a new prophet, and to find them at
+this date and in this country, but in its success in establishing
+and keeping together in a republic like ours a membership who
+acknowledge its supreme authority in politics as well as in
+religion, and who form a distinct organization which does not
+conceal its purpose to rule over the whole nation. Had Mormonism
+confined itself to its religious teachings, and been preached
+only to those who sought its instruction, instead of beating up
+the world for recruits and conveying them to its home, the Mormon
+church would probably to-day be attracting as little attention as
+do the Harmonists of Pennsylvania.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. THE SMITH FAMILY
+
+Among the families who settled in Ontario County, New York, in
+1816, was that of one Joseph Smith. It consisted of himself, his
+wife, and nine children. The fourth of these children, Joseph
+Smith, Jr., became the Mormon prophet.
+
+The Smiths are said to have been of Scotch ancestry. It was the
+mother, however, who exercised the larger influence on her son's
+life, and she has left very minute details of her own and her
+father's family.* Her father, Solomon Mack, was a native of Lyme,
+Connecticut. The daughter Lucy, who became Mrs. Joseph Smith,
+Sr., was born in Gilsum, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, on July
+8, 1776. Mr. Mack was remembered as a feeble old man, who rode
+around the country on horseback, using a woman's saddle, and
+selling his own autobiography. The "tramp" of those early days
+often offered an autobiography, or what passed for one, and, as
+books were then rare, if he could say that it contained an
+account of actual adventures in the recent wars, he was certain
+to find purchasers.
+
+* "Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith and his Progenitors for
+Many Generations," Lucy Smith.
+
+
+One of the few copies of this book in existence lies before me.
+It was printed at the author's expense about the year 1810. It is
+wholly without interest as a narrative, telling of the poverty of
+his parents, how he was bound, when four years old, to a farmer
+who gave him no education and worked him like a slave; gives some
+of his experiences in the campaigns against the French and
+Indians in northern New York and in the war of the Revolution,
+when he was in turn teamster, sutler, and privateer; describes
+with minute detail many ordinary illnesses and accidents that
+befell him; and closes with a recital of his religious awakening,
+which was deferred until his seventy-sixth year, while he was
+suffering with rheumatism. At that time it seemed to him that he
+several times "saw a bright light in a dark night," and thought
+he heard a voice calling to him. Twenty-two of the forty-eight
+duodecimo pages that the book contains are devoted to hymns
+"composed," the title-page says, "on the death of several of his
+relatives," not all by himself. One of these may be quoted
+entire:--
+
+"My friends, I am on the ocean, So sweetly do I sail; Jesus is my
+portion, He's given me a pleasant gale.
+
+"The bruises sore, In harbor soon I'll be, And see my redeemer
+there That died for you and me."
+
+Mrs. Smith's family seem to have had a natural tendency to belief
+in revelations. Her eldest brother, Jason, became a "Seeker"; the
+"Seekers" of that day believed that the devout of their times
+could, through prayer and faith, secure the "gifts" of the Gospel
+which were granted to the ancient apostles.* He was one of the
+early believers in faith-cure, and was, we are told, himself
+cured by that means in 1835. One of Lucy's sisters had a
+miraculous recovery from illness. After being an invalid for two
+years she was "borne away to the world of spirits, "where she saw
+the Saviour and received a message from Him for her earthly
+friends.
+
+* A sect called "Seekers," who arose in 1645, taught, like the
+Mormons, that the Scriptures are defective, the true church lost,
+and miracles necessary to faith.
+
+
+Lucy herself came very exactly under the description given by
+Ruth McEnery Stuart of one of her negro characters: "Duke's
+mother was of the slighter intelligences, and hence much given to
+convictions. Knowing few things, she 'believed in' a great many."
+Lucy Smith had neither education nor natural intelligence that
+would interfere with such "beliefs" as came to her from family
+tradition, from her own literal interpretations of the Bible, or
+from the workings of her imagination. She tells us that after her
+marriage, when very ill, she made a covenant with God that she
+would serve him if her recovery was granted; thereupon she heard
+a voice giving her assurance that her prayer would be answered,
+and she was better the next morning. Later, when anxious for the
+safety of her husband's soul, she prayed in a grove (most of the
+early Mormons' prayers were made in the woods), and saw a vision
+indicating his coming conversion; later still, in Vermont, a
+daughter was restored to health by her parent's prayers.
+
+According to Mrs. Smith's account of their life in Vermont, they
+were married on January 24, 1796, at Tunbridge, but soon moved to
+Randolph, where Smith was engaged in "merchandise, "keeping a
+store. Learning of the demand for crystallized ginseng in China,
+he invested money in that product and made a shipment, but it
+proved unprofitable, and, having in this way lost most of his
+money, they moved back to a farm at Tunbridge. Thence they moved
+to Royalton, and in a few months to Sharon, where, on December
+23, 1805, Joseph Smith, Jr., their fourth child, was born.* Again
+they moved to Tunbridge, and then back to Royalton (all these
+places in Vermont). From there they went to Lebanon, New
+Hampshire, thence to Norwich, Vermont, still "farming" without
+success, until, after three years of crop failure, they decided
+to move to New York State, arriving there in the summer of 1816.
+
+* There is equally good authority for placing the house in which
+Smith was born across the line in Royalton.
+
+
+Less prejudiced testimony gives an even less favorable view than
+this of the elder Smith's business career in Vermont. Judge
+Daniel Woodward, of the county court of Windsor, Vermont, near
+whose father's farm the Smiths lived, says that the elder Smith
+while living there was a hunter for Captain Kidd's treasure, and
+that" he also became implicated with one Jack Downing in
+counterfeiting money, but turned state's evidence and escaped the
+penalty."* He had in earlier life been a Universalist, but
+afterward became a Methodist. His spiritual welfare gave his wife
+much concern, but although he had "two visions "while living in
+Vermont, she did not accept his change of heart. She admits,
+however, that after their removal to New York her husband obeyed
+the scriptural injunction, "your old men shall dream dreams," and
+she mentions several of these dreams, the latest in 1819, giving
+the particulars of some of them. One sample of these will
+suffice. The dreamer found himself in a beautiful garden, with
+wide walks and a main walk running through the centre." On each
+side of this was a richly carved seat, and on each seat were
+placed six wooden images, each of which was the size of a very
+large man. When I came to the first image on the right side it
+arose, bowed to me with much deference. I then turned to the one
+which sat opposite to me, on the left side, and it arose and
+bowed to me in the same manner as the first. I continued turning
+first to the right and then to the left until the whole twelve
+had made the obeisance, after which I was entirely healed (of a
+lameness from which he then was suffering). I then asked my guide
+the meaning of all this, but I awoke before I received an
+answer."
+
+* Historical Magazine, 1870.
+
+
+A similar wakefulness always manifested itself at the critical
+moment in these dreams. What the world lost by this insomnia of
+the dreamer the world will never know.
+
+The Smiths' first residence in New York State was in the village
+of Palmyra. There the father displayed a sign, "Cake and Beer
+Shop, "selling" gingerbread, pies, boiled eggs, root beer, and
+other like notions, "and he and his sons did odd jobs, gardening,
+harvesting, and well-digging, when they could get them.*
+
+* Tucker's "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," p. 12.
+
+
+They were very poor, and Mrs. Smith added to their income by
+painting oilcloth table covers. After a residence of three years
+and a half in Palmyra, the family took possession of a piece of
+land two miles south of that place, on the border of Manchester.
+They had no title to it, but as the owners were nonresident
+minors they were not disturbed. There they put up a little log
+house, with two rooms on the ground floor and two in the attic,
+which sheltered them all. Later, the elder Smith contracted to
+buy the property and erected a farmhouse on it; but he never
+completed his title to it.
+
+While classing themselves as farmers, the Smiths were regarded by
+their neighbors as shiftless and untrustworthy. They sold
+cordwood, vegetables, brooms of their own manufacture, and maple
+sugar, continuing to vend cakes in the village when any special
+occasion attracted a crowd. It may be remarked here that, while
+Ontario County, New York, was regarded as "out West" by seaboard
+and New England people in 1830, its population was then almost as
+large as it is to-day (having 40,288 inhabitants according to the
+census of 1830 and 48,453 according to the census of 1890). The
+father and several of the boys could not read, and a good deal of
+the time of the younger sons was spent in hunting, fishing, and
+lounging around the village.
+
+The son Joseph did not rise above the social standing of his
+brothers. The best that a Mormon biographer, Orson Pratt, could
+say of him as a youth was that "He could read without much
+difficulty, and write a very imperfect hand, and had a very
+limited understanding of the elementary rules of arithmetic.
+These were his highest and only attainments, while the rest of
+those branches so universally taught in the common schools
+throughout the United States were entirely unknown to him."* He
+was "Joe Smith" to every one. Among the younger people he served
+as a butt for jokes, and we are told that the boys who bought the
+cakes that he peddled used to pay him in pewter twoshilling
+pieces, and that when he called at the Palmyra Register office
+for his father's weekly paper, the youngsters in the press room
+thought it fun to blacken his face with the ink balls.
+
+* "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," p. 16.
+
+
+Here are two pictures of the young man drawn by persons who saw
+him constantly in the days of his vagabondage. The first is from
+Mr. Tucker's book:--
+
+"At this period in the life and career of Joseph Smith, Jr., or
+'Joe Smith,' as he was universally named, and the Smith family,
+they were popularly regarded as an illiterate, whiskey-drinking,
+shiftless, irreligious race of people--the first named, the chief
+subject of this biography, being unanimously voted the laziest
+and most worthless of the generation. From the age of twelve to
+twenty years he is distinctly remembered as a dull-eyed,
+flaxenhaired, prevaricating boy noted only for his indolent and
+vagabondish character, and his habits of exaggeration and
+untruthfulness. Taciturnity was among his characteristic
+idiosyncrasies, and he seldom spoke to any one outside of his
+intimate associates, except when first addressed by another; and
+then, by reason of his extravagancies of statement, his word was
+received with the least confidence by those who knew him best. He
+could utter the most palpable exaggeration or marvellous
+absurdity with the utmost apparent gravity. He nevertheless
+evidenced the rapid development of a thinking, plodding,
+evilbrewing mental composition--largely given to inventions of
+low cunning, schemes of mischief and deception, and false and
+mysterious pretensions. In his moral phrenology the professor
+might have marked the organ of secretiveness as very large, and
+that of conscientiousness omitted. He was, however, proverbially
+good natured, very rarely, if ever, indulging in any combative
+spirit toward any one, whatever might be the provocation, and yet
+was never known to laugh. Albeit, he seemed to be the pride of
+his indulgent father, who has been heard to boast of him as the
+'genus of the family,' quoting his own expression."*
+
+* "Remarkable Visions."
+
+
+The second (drawn a little later) is by Daniel Hendrix, a
+resident of Palmyra, New York, at the time of which he speaks,
+and an assistant in setting the type and reading the proof of the
+Mormon Bible:--
+
+"Every one knew him as Joe Smith. He had lived in Palmyra a few
+years previous to my going there from Rochester. Joe was the most
+ragged, lazy fellow in the place, and that is saying a good deal.
+He was about twenty-five years old. I can see him now in my
+mind's eye, with his torn and patched trousers held to his form
+by a pair of suspenders made out of sheeting, with his calico
+shirt as dirty and black as the earth, and his uncombed hair
+sticking through the holes in his old battered hat. In winter I
+used to pity him, for his shoes were so old and worn out that he
+must have suffered in the snow and slush; yet Joe had a jovial,
+easy, don't-care way about him that made him a lot of warm
+friends. He was a good talker, and would have made a fine stump
+speaker if he had had the training. He was known among the young
+men I associated with as a romancer of the first water. I never
+knew so ignorant a man as Joe was to have such a fertile
+imagination. He never could tell a common occurrence in his daily
+life without embellishing the story with his imagination; yet I
+remember that he was grieved one day when old Parson Reed told
+Joe that he was going to hell for his lying habits."*
+
+* San Jacinto, California, letter of February 2, 1897, to the St.
+Louis Globe-Democrat.
+
+
+To this testimony may be added the following declarations,
+published in 1833, the year in which a mob drove the Mormons out
+of Jackson County, Missouri. The first was signed by eleven of
+the most prominent citizens of Manchester, New York, and the
+second by sixty-two residents of Palmyra:--
+
+"We, the undersigned, being personally acquainted with the family
+of Joseph Smith, Sr., with whom the Gold Bible, so called,
+originated, state: That they were not only a lazy, indolent set
+of men, but also intemperate, and their word was not to be
+depended upon; and that we are truly glad to dispense with their
+society."
+
+"We, the undersigned, have been acquainted with the Smith family
+for a number of years, while they resided near this place, and we
+have no hesitation in saying that we consider them destitute of
+that moral character which ought to entitle them to the
+confidence of any community. They were particularly famous for
+visionary projects; spent much of their time in digging for money
+which they pretended was hid in the earth, and to this day large
+excavations may be seen in the earth, not far from their
+residence, where they used to spend their time in digging for
+hidden treasures. Joseph Smith, Sr., and his son Joseph were, in
+particular, considered entirely destitute of moral character, and
+addicted to vicious habits."*
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 261.
+
+
+Finally may be quoted the following affidavit of Parley Chase:--
+
+"Manchester, New York, December 2, 1833. I was acquainted with
+the family of Joseph Smith, Sr., both before and since they
+became Mormons, and feel free to state that not one of the male
+members of the Smith family were entitled to any credit
+whatsoever. They were lazy, intemperate, and worthless men, very
+much addicted to lying. In this they frequently boasted their
+skill. Digging for money was their principal employment. In
+regard to their Gold Bible speculation, they scarcely ever told
+two stories alike. The Mormon Bible is said to be a revelation
+from God, through Joseph Smith, Jr., his Prophet, and this same
+Joseph Smith, Jr., to my knowledge, bore the reputation among his
+neighbors of being a liar."*
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 248.
+
+
+The preposterousness of the claims of such a fellow as Smith to
+prophetic powers and divinely revealed information were so
+apparent to his local acquaintances that they gave them little
+attention. One of these has remarked to me in recent years that
+if they had had any idea of the acceptance of Joe's professions
+by a permanent church, they would have put on record a much
+fuller description of him and his family.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. HOW JOSEPH SMITH BECAME A MONEY-DIGGER
+
+The elder Smith, as we have seen, was known as a money-digger
+while a resident of Vermont. Of course that subject as a matter
+of conversation in his family, and his sons were a character to
+share in his belief in the existence of hidden treasure. The
+territory around Palmyra was as good ground for their
+explorations as any in Vermont, and they soon let their neighbors
+know of a possibility of riches that lay within their reach.
+
+The father, while a resident of Vermont, also claimed ability to
+locate an underground stream of water over which would be a good
+site for a well, by means of a forked hazel switch,* and in this
+way doubtless increased the demand for his services as a
+well-digger, but we have no testimonials to his success. The son
+Joseph, while still a young lad, professed to have his father's
+gift in this respect, and he soon added to his accomplishments
+the power to locate hidden riches, and in this way began his
+career as a money-digger, which was so intimately connected with
+his professions as a prophet.
+
+* The so-called "divining rod" has received a good deal of
+attention from persons engaged in psychical research. Vol. XIII,
+Part II, of the "Proceedings of the Society Of Psychical
+Research" is devoted to a discussion of the subject by Professor
+W. F. Barrett of the Royal College of Science for Ireland, in
+Dublin, and in March, 1890, a commission was appointed in France
+to study the matter.
+
+
+Writers on the origin of the Mormon Bible, and the gradual
+development of Smith the Prophet from Smith the village loafer
+and money-seeker, have left their readers unsatisfied on many
+points. Many of these obscurities will be removed by a very
+careful examination of Joseph's occupations and declarations
+during the years immediately preceding the announcement of the
+revelation and delivery to him of the golden plates.
+
+The deciding event in Joe's career was a trip to Susquehanna
+County, Pennsylvania, when he was a lad. It can be shown that it
+was there that he obtained an idea of vision-seeing nearly ten
+years before the date he gives in his autobiography as that of
+the delivery to him of the golden plates containing the Book of
+Mormon, and it was there probably that, in some way, he later
+formed the acquaintance of Sidney Rigdon. It can also be shown
+that the original version of his vision differed radically from
+the one presented, after the lapse of another ten years spent
+under Rigdon's tutelage, in his autobiography. Each of these
+points is of great incidental value in establishing Rigdon's
+connection with the conception of a new Bible, and the manner of
+its presentation to the public. Later Mormon authorities have
+shown a dislike to concede that Joe was a money-digger, but the
+fact is admitted both in his mother's history of him and by
+himself. His own statement about it is as follows:--
+
+"In the month of October, 1825, I hired with an old gentleman by
+the name of Josiah Stoal, who lived in Chenango County, State of
+New York. He had heard something of a silver mine having been
+opened by the Spaniards in Harmony, Susquehanna County, State of
+Pennsylvania, and had, previous to my hiring with him, been
+digging in order, if possible, to discover the mine. After I went
+to live with him he took me, among the rest of his hands, to dig
+for the silver mine, at which I continued to work for nearly a
+month, without success in our undertaking, and finally I
+prevailed with the old gentleman to cease digging for it. Hence
+arose the very prevalent story of my having been a moneydigger."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, Supt., p. 6.
+
+
+Mother Smith's account says, however, that Stoal "came for Joseph
+on account of having heard that he possessed certain keys by
+which he could discern things invisible to the natural eye"; thus
+showing that he had a reputation as a "gazer" before that date.
+It was such discrepancies as these which led Brigham Young to
+endeavor to suppress the mother's narrative.
+
+The "gazing" which Joe took up is one of the oldest--perhaps the
+oldest--form of alleged human divination, and has been called
+"mirror-gazing," "crystal-gazing," "crystal vision," and the
+like. Its practice dates back certainly three thousand years,
+having been noted in all ages, and among nations uncivilized as
+well as civilized. Some students of the subject connect with such
+divination Joseph's silver cup "whereby indeed he divineth"
+(Genesis xliv. 5). Others, long before the days of Smith and
+Rigdon, advanced the theory that the Urim and Thummim were clear
+crystals intended for "gazing" purposes. One writer remarks of
+the practice, "Aeschylus refers it to Prometheus, Cicero to the
+Assyrians and Etruscans, Zoroaster to Ahriman, Varro to the
+Persian Magi, and a very large class of authors, from the
+Christian Fathers and Schoolmen downward, to the devil."* An act
+of James I (1736), against witchcraft in England, made it a crime
+to pretend to discover property "by any occult or crafty science.
+"As indicating the universal knowledge of "gazing," it may be
+further noted that Varro mentions its practice among the Romans
+and Pausanias among the Greeks. It was known to the ancient
+Peruvians. It is practised to-day by East Indians, Africans
+(including Egyptians), Maoris, Siberians, by Australian,
+Polynesian, and Zulu savages, by many of the tribes of American
+Indians, and by persons of the highest culture in Europe and
+America.** Andrew Lang's collection of testimony about visions
+seen in crystals by English women in 1897 might seem convincing
+to any one who has not had experience in weighing testimony in
+regard to spiritualistic manifestations, or brought this
+testimony alongside of that in behalf of the "occult phenomena"
+of Adept Brothers presented by Sinnett.***
+
+* Recent Experiments in Crystal Vision," Vol. V, "Proceedings of
+the Society for Psychical Research."
+
+** Lang's "The Making of Religion," Chap. V.
+
+*** "The Occult World."
+
+
+"Gazers" use different methods. Some look into water contained in
+a vessel, some into a drop of blood, some into ink, some into a
+round opaque stone, some into mirrors, and many into some form of
+crystal or a glass ball. Indeed, the "gazer" seems to be quite
+independent as to the medium of his sight-seeing, so long as he
+has the "power." This "power" is put also to a great variety of
+uses. Australian savages depend on it to foretell the outcome of
+an attack on their enemies; Apaches resort to it to discover the
+whereabouts of things lost or stolen; and Malagasies, Zulus, and
+Siberians" to see what will happen. "Perhaps its most general use
+has been to discover lost objects, and in this practice the seers
+"have very often been children, as we shall see was the case in
+the exhibition which gave Joe Smith his first idea on the
+subject. In the experiments cited by Lang, the seers usually saw
+distant persons or scenes, and he records his belief that
+"experiments have proved beyond doubt that a fair percentage of
+people, sane and healthy, can see vivid landscapes, and figures
+of persons in motion, in glass balls and other vehicles."
+
+It can easily be imagined how interested any member of the Smith
+family would have been in an exhibition like that of a
+"crystal-gazer," and we are able to trace very consecutively
+Joe's first introduction to the practice, and the use he made of
+the hint thus given.
+
+Emily C. Blackman, in the appendix to her "History of Susquehanna
+County, Pennsylvania" (1873), supplies the needed important
+information about Joe's visits to Pennsylvania in the years
+preceding the announcement of his Bible. She says that it is
+uncertain when he arrived at Harmony (now Oakland), "but it is
+certain he was here in 1825 and later. "A very circumstantial
+account of Joe's first introduction to a "peep-stone" is given in
+a statement by J. B. Buck in this appendix. He says:--
+
+"Joe Smith was here lumbering soon after my marriage, which was
+in 1818, some years before he took to 'peeping', and before
+diggings were commenced under his direction. These were ideas he
+gained later. The stone which he afterward used was in the
+possession of Jack Belcher of Gibson, who obtained it while at
+Salina, N. Y., engaged in drawing salt. Belcher bought it because
+it was said to be a 'seeing-stone.' I have often seen it. It was
+a green stone, with brown irregular spots on it. It was a little
+longer than a goose's egg, and about the same thickness. When he
+brought it home and covered it with a hat, Belcher's little boy
+was one of the first to look into the hat, and as he did so, he
+said he saw a candle. The second time he looked in he exclaimed,
+'I've found my hatchet' (it had been lost two years), and
+immediately ran for it to the spot shown him through the stone,
+and it was there. The boy was soon beset by neighbors far and
+near to reveal to them hidden things, and he succeeded
+marvellously. Joe Smith, conceiving the idea of making a fortune
+through a similar process of 'seeing,' bought the stone of
+Belcher, and then began his operations in directing where hidden
+treasures could be found. His first diggings were near Capt.
+Buck's sawmill, at Red Rock; but because the followers broke the
+rule of silence, 'the enchantment removed the deposit.'"
+
+One of many stories of Joe's treasure-digging, current in that
+neighborhood, Miss Blackman narrates. Learning from a strolling
+Indian of a place where treasure was said to be buried, Joe
+induced a farmer named Harper to join him in digging for it and
+to spend a considerable sum of money in the enterprise. "After
+digging a great hole, that is still to be seen, "the story
+continues, "Harper got discouraged, and was about abandoning the
+enterprise. Joe now declared to Harper that there was an
+'enchantment' about the place that was removing the treasure
+farther off; that Harper must get a perfectly white dog (some
+said a black one), and sprinkle his blood over the ground, and
+that would prevent the 'enchantment' from removing the treasure.
+Search was made all over the country, but no perfectly white dog
+could be found. "Then Joe said a white sheep would do as well;
+but when this was sacrificed and failed, he said "The Almighty
+was displeased with him for attempting to palm off on Him a white
+sheep for a white dog. This informant describes Joe at that time
+as "an imaginative enthusiast, constitutionally opposed to work,
+and a general favorite with the ladies."
+
+In confirmation of this, R. C. Doud asserted that "in 1822 he was
+employed, with thirteen others, by Oliver Harper to dig for gold
+under Joe's direction on Joseph McKune's land, and that Joe had
+begun operations the year previous."
+
+F. G. Mather obtained substantially the same particulars of Joe's
+digging in connection with Harper from the widow of Joseph McKune
+about the year 1879, and he said that the owner of the farm at
+that time "for a number of years had been engaged in filling the
+holes with stone to protect his cattle, but the boys still use
+the northeast hole as a swimming pond in the summer."*
+
+* Lippincott's Magazine, August, 1880.
+
+
+Confirmation of the important parts of these statements has been
+furnished by Joseph's father. When the reports of the discovery
+of a new Bible first gained local currency (in 1830), Fayette
+Lapham decided to visit the Smith family, and learn what he could
+on the subject. He found the elder Smith very communicative, and
+he wrote out a report of his conversation with him, "as near as I
+can repeat his words, "he says, and it was printed in the
+Historical Magazine for May, 1870. Father Smith made no
+concealment of his belief in witchcraft and other things
+supernatural, as well as in the existence of a vast amount of
+buried treasure. What he said of Joe's initiation into
+"crystal-gazing" Mr. Lapham thus records:--
+
+"His son Joseph, whom he called the illiterate,* when he was
+about fourteen years of age, happened to be where a man was
+looking into a dark stone, and telling people therefrom where to
+dig for money and other things. Joseph requested the privilege of
+looking into the stone, which he did by putting his face into the
+hat where the stone was. It proved to be not the right stone for
+him; but he could see some things, and among them he saw the
+stone, and where it was, in which he could see whatever he wished
+to see.... The place where he saw the stone was not far from
+their house, and under pretence of digging a well, they found
+water and the stone at a depth of twenty or twenty-two feet.
+After this, Joseph spent about two years looking into this stone,
+telling fortunes, where to find lost things, and where to dig for
+money and other hidden treasures."
+
+* Joe's mother, describing Joe's descriptions to the family, at
+their evening fireside, of the angel's revelations concerning the
+golden plates, says (p. 84): "All giving the most profound
+attention to a boy eighteen years of age, who had never read the
+Bible through in his life; he seemed much less inclined to the
+perusal of books than any of the rest of our children."
+
+If further confirmation of Joe's early knowledge on this subject
+is required, we may cite the Rev. John A. Clark, D.D., who,
+writing in 1840 after careful local research, said: "Long before
+the idea of a golden Bible entered their [the Smiths'] minds, in
+their excursions for money-digging.... Joe used to be usually
+their guide, putting into a hat a peculiar stone he had, through
+which he looked to decide where they should begin to dig."*
+
+* "Gleanings by the Way" (1842), p. 225.
+
+
+We come now to the history of Joe's own "peek-stone" (as the
+family generally called it), that which his father says he
+discovered by using the one that he first saw. Willard Chase, of
+Manchester, New York, near Palmyra, employed Joe and his brother
+Alvin some time in the year 1822 (as he fixed the date in his
+affidavit)* to assist him in digging a well. "After digging about
+twenty feet below the surface of the earth, "he says, "we
+discovered a singularly appearing stone which excited my
+curiosity. I brought it to the top of the well, and as we were
+examining it, Joseph put it into his hat and then his face into
+the top of the hat. It has been said by Smith that he brought the
+stone from the well, but this is false. There was no one in the
+well but myself. The next morning he came to me and wished to
+obtain the stone, alleging that he could see in it; but I told
+him I did not wish to part with it on account of its being a
+curiosity, but would lend it. After obtaining the stone, he began
+to publish abroad what wonders he could discover by looking in
+it, and made so much disturbance among the credulous part of the
+community that I ordered the stone to be returned to me again. He
+had it in his possession about two years. "Joseph's brother Hyrum
+borrowed the stone some time in 1825, and Mr. Chase was unable to
+recover it afterward. Tucker describes it as resembling a child's
+foot in shape, and "of a whitish, glassy appearance, though
+opaque."**
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 240.
+
+** Tucker closes his chapter about this stone with the
+declaration "that the origin [of Mormonism] is traceable to the
+insignificant little stone found in the digging of Mr. Chase's
+well in 1822." Tucker was evidently ignorant both of Joe's
+previous experience with "crystal-gazing" in Pennsylvania and of
+"crystal-gazing" itself.
+
+
+The Smiths at once began turning Chase's stone to their own
+financial account, but no one at the time heard that it was
+giving them any information about revealed religion. For pay they
+offered to disclose by means of it the location of stolen
+property and of buried money. There seemed to be no limit to the
+exaggeration of their professions. They would point out the
+precise spot beneath which lay kegs, barrels, and even hogsheads
+of gold and silver in the shape of coin, bars, images,
+candlesticks, etc., and they even asserted that all the hills
+thereabout were the work of human bands, and that Joe, by using
+his "peek-stone," could see the caverns beneath them.* Persons
+can always be found to give at least enough credence to such
+professions to desire to test them. It was so in this case. Joe
+not only secured small sums on the promise of discovering lost
+articles, but he raised money to enable him to dig for larger
+treasure which he was to locate by means of the stone. A Palmyra
+man, for instance, paid seventy-five cents to be sent by him on a
+fool's errand to look for some stolen cloth.
+
+* William Stafford's affidavit, Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p.
+237.
+
+
+Certain ceremonies were always connected with these money-digging
+operations. Midnight was the favorite hour, a full moon was
+helpful, and Good Friday was the best date. Joe would sometimes
+stand by, directing the digging with a wand. The utmost silence
+was necessary to success. More than once, when the digging proved
+a failure, Joe explained to his associates that, just as the
+deposit was about to be reached, some one, tempted by the devil,
+spoke, causing the wished-for riches to disappear. Such an
+explanation of his failures was by no means original with Smith,
+the serious results of an untimely spoken word having been long
+associated with divers magic performances. Joe even tried on his
+New York victims the Pennsylvania device of requiring the
+sacrifice of a black sheep to overcome the evil spirit that
+guarded the treasure. William Stafford opportunely owned such an
+animal, and, as he puts it, "to gratify my curiosity, "he let the
+Smiths have it. But some new "mistake in the process" again
+resulted in disappointment. "This, I believe," remarks the
+contributor of the sheep, "is the only time they ever made
+money-digging a profitable business. "The Smiths ate the sheep.
+
+These money-seeking enterprises were continued from 1820 to 1827
+(the year of the delivery to Smith of the golden plates). This
+period covers the years in which Joe, in his autobiography,
+confesses that he "displayed the corruption of human nature. "He
+explains that his father's family were poor, and that they worked
+where they could find employment to their taste; "sometimes we
+were at home and sometimes abroad. "Some of these trips took them
+to Pennsylvania, and the stories of Joe's "gazing" accomplishment
+may have reached Sidney Rigdon, and brought about their first
+interview. Susquehanna County was more thinly settled than the
+region around Palmyra, and Joe found persons who were ready to
+credit him with various "gifts"; and stories are still current
+there of his professed ability to perform miracles, to pray the
+frost away from a cornfield, and the like.*
+
+* Lippincott's Magazine, August, 1880.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLDEN BIBLE
+
+Just when Smith's attention was originally diverted from the
+discovery of buried money to the discovery of a buried Bible
+engraved on gold plates remains one of the unexplained points in
+his history. He was so much of a romancer that his own statements
+at the time, which were carefully collected by Howe, are
+contradictory. The description given of the buried volume itself
+changed from time to time, giving strength in this way to the
+theory that Rigdon was attracted to Smith by the rumor of his
+discovery, and afterward gave it shape. First the book was
+announced to be a secular history, says Dr. Clark; then a gold
+Bible; then golden plates engraved; and later metallic plates,
+stereotyped or embossed with golden letters.* Daniel Hendrix's
+recollection was that for the first few months Joe did not claim
+the plates any new revelation or religious significance, but
+simply that they were a historical record of an ancient people.
+This would indicate that he had possession of the "Spaulding
+Manuscript" before it received any theological additions.
+
+* "Gleanings by the Way," p. 229.
+
+
+The account of the revelation of the book by an angel, which is
+accepted by the Mormons, is the one elaborated in Smith's
+autobiography, and was not written until 1838, when it was
+prepared under the direction of Rigdon (or by him). Before
+examining this later version of the story, we may follow a little
+farther Joe's local history at the time.
+
+While the Smiths were conducting their operations in
+Pennsylvania, and Joseph was "displaying the corruption of human
+nature, "they boarded for a time in the family of Isaac Hale, who
+is described as a "distinguished hunter, a zealous member of the
+Methodist church, "and (as later testified to by two judges of
+the Court of Common Pleas of Susquehanna County)" a man of
+excellent moral character and of undoubted veracity."* Mr. Hale
+had three daughters, and Joe received enough encouragement to his
+addresses to Emma to induce him to ask her father's consent to
+their marriage. This consent was flatly refused. Mr. Hale made a
+statement in 1834, covering his knowledge of Smith and the origin
+of the Mormon Bible.** When he became acquainted with the future
+prophet, in 1825, Joe was employed by the so-called "money-
+diggers," using his "peek-stone." Among the reasons which Mr.
+Hale gave for refusing consent to the marriage was that Smith was
+a stranger and followed a business which he could not approve.
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 266.
+
+** Ibid., p. 262.
+
+
+Joe thereupon induced Emma to consent to an elopement, and they
+were married on January 18, 1827, by a justice of the peace, just
+across the line in New York State. Not daring to return to the
+house of his father-in-law, Joe took his wife to his own home,
+near Palmyra, New York, where for some months he worked again
+with his father.
+
+In the following August Joe hired a neighbor named Peter Ingersol
+to go with him to Pennsylvania to bring from there some household
+effects belonging to Emma. Of this trip Ingersol said, in an
+affidavit made in 1833:--
+
+"When we arrived at Mr. Hale's in Harmony, Pa., from which place
+he had taken his wife, a scene presented itself truly affecting.
+His father-in-law addressed Joseph in a flood of tears: 'You have
+stolen my daughter and married her. I had much rather have
+followed her to her grave. You spend your time in digging for
+money--pretend to see in a stone, and thus try to deceive
+people.' Joseph wept and acknowledged that he could not see in a
+stone now nor never could, and that his former pretensions in
+that respect were false. He then promised to give up his old
+habits of digging for money and looking into stones. Mr. Hale
+told Joseph, if he would move to Pennsylvania and work for a
+living, he would assist him in getting into business. Joseph
+acceded to this proposition, then returned with Joseph and his
+wife to Manchester....
+
+"Joseph told me on his return that he intended to keep the
+promise which he had made to his father-in-law; 'but,' said he,
+it will he hard for me, for they [his family] will all oppose, as
+they want me to look in the stone for them to dig money'; and in
+fact it was as he predicted. They urged him day after day to
+resume his old practice of looking in the stone. He seemed much
+perplexed as to the course he should pursue. In this dilemma he
+made me his confidant, and told me what daily transpired in the
+family of Smiths.
+
+"One day he came and greeted me with joyful countenance. Upon
+asking the cause of his unusual happiness, he replied in the
+following language: 'As I was passing yesterday across the woods,
+after a heavy shower of rain, I found in a hollow some beautiful
+white sand that had been washed up by the water. I took off my
+frock and tied up several quarts of it, and then went home. On
+entering the house I found the family at the table eating dinner.
+They were all anxious to know the contents of my frock. At that
+moment I happened to think about a history found in Canada,
+called a Golden Bible;* so I very gravely told them it was the
+Golden Bible. To my surprise they were credulous enough to
+believe what I said. Accordingly I told them I had received a
+commandment to let no one see it, for, says I, no man can see it
+with the natural eye and live. However, I offered to take out the
+book and show it to them, but they refused to see it and left the
+room. 'Now,' said Joe, 'I have got the d--d fools fixed and will
+carry out the fun.' Notwithstanding he told me he had no such
+book and believed there never was such book, he told me he
+actually went to Willard Chase, to get him to make a chest in
+which he might deposit the Golden Bible. But as Chase would not
+do it, he made the box himself of clapboards, and put it into a
+pillow-case, and allowed people only to lift it and feel of it
+through the case."**
+
+* The most careful inquiries bring no information that any such
+story was ever current in Canada.
+
+** Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 234.
+
+
+In line with this statement of Joe to Ingersol is a statement
+which somewhat later he made to his brother-in-law, Alva Hale,
+that "this 'peeking' was all d--d nonsense; that he intended to
+quit the business and labor for a livelihood."*
+
+* Ibid., p. 268.
+
+
+Joe's family were quite ready to accept his statement of his
+discovery of golden plates for more reasons than one. They saw in
+it, in the first place, a means of pecuniary gain. Abigail Harris
+in a statement (dated "11th mo., 28th, 1833") of a talk she had
+with Joe's father and mother at Martin Harris's house, said:--
+
+"They [the Smiths] said the plates Joe then had in possession
+were but an introduction to the Gold Bible; that all of them upon
+which the Bible was written were so heavy that it would take four
+stout men to load them into a cart; that Joseph had also
+discerned by looking through his stone the vessel in which the
+gold was melted from which the plates were made, and also the
+machine with which they were rolled; he also discovered in the
+bottom of the vessel three balls of gold, each as large as his
+fist. The old lady said also that after the book was translated,
+the plates were to be publicly exhibited, admission 25 cts."*
+
+* Ibid, p. 253.
+
+
+But aside from this pecuniary view, the idea of a new Bible would
+have been eagerly accepted by a woman like Mrs. Smith, and a mere
+intimation by Joe of such a discovery would have given him, in
+her, an instigator to the carrying out of the plot. It is said
+that she had predicted that she was to be the mother of a
+prophet. She tells us that although, in Vermont, she was a
+diligent church attendant, she found all preachers
+unsatisfactory, and that she reached the conclusion that "there
+was not on earth the religion she sought. "Joe, in his
+description of his state of mind just before the first visit of
+the angel who told him about the plates, describes himself as
+distracted by the "war and tumult of opinions. "He doubtless
+heard this subject talked of by his mother in the home circle,
+but none of his acquaintances at the time had any reason to think
+that he was laboring under such mental distress.
+
+The second person in the neighborhood whom Joe approached about
+his discovery was Willard Chase, in whose well the "peek-stone"
+was found. Mr. Chase in his statement (given at length by Howe)
+says that Joe applied to him, soon after the above quoted
+conversation with Ingersol, to make a chest in which to lock up
+his Gold Book, offering Chase an interest in it as compensation.
+He told Chase that the discovery of the book was due to the
+"peek-stone," making no allusion whatever to an angel's visit. He
+and Chase could not come to terms, and Joe accordingly made a box
+in which what he asserted were the plates were placed.
+
+Reports of Joe's discovery soon gained currency in the
+neighborhood through the family's account of it, and neighbors
+who had accompanied them on the money-seeking expeditions came to
+hear about the new Bible, and to request permission to see it.
+Joe warded off these requests by reiterating that no man but him
+could look upon it and live. "Conflicting stories were afterward
+told," says Tucker, "in regard to the manner of keeping the book
+in concealment and safety, which are not worth repeating, further
+than to mention that the first place of secretion was said to be
+under a heavy hearthstone in the Smith family mansion."
+
+Joe's mother and Parley P. Pratt tell of determined efforts of
+mobs and individuals to secure possession of the plates; but
+their statements cannot be taken seriously, and are contradicted
+by Tucker from personal knowledge. Tucker relates that two local
+wags, William T. Hussey and Azel Vandruver, intimate
+acquaintances of Smith, on asking for a sight of the book and
+hearing Joe's usual excuse, declared their readiness to risk
+their lives if that were the price of the privilege. Smith was
+not to be persuaded, but, the story continues, "they were
+permitted to go to the chest with its owner, and see WHERE the
+thing was, and observe its shape and size, concealed under a
+piece of thick canvas. Smith, with his accustomed solemnity of
+demeanor, positively persisting in his refusal to uncover it,
+Hussey became impetuous, and (suiting his action to his word)
+ejaculated, 'Egad, I'll see the critter, live or die,' and
+stripping off the canvas, a large tile brick was exhibited. But
+Smith's fertile imagination was equal to the emergency. He
+claimed that his friends had been sold by a trick of his."*
+
+* "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," p. 31.
+
+
+Mother Smith, in her book, gives an account of proceedings in
+court brought by the wife of Martin Harris to protect her
+husband's property from Smith, on the plea that Smith was
+deceiving him in alleging the existence of golden plates; and she
+relates how one witness testified that Joe told him that "the box
+which he had contained nothing but sand, "that a second witness
+swore that Joe told him, "it was nothing but a box of lead, "and
+that a third witness declared that Joe had told him "there was
+nothing at all in the box. "When Joe had once started the story
+of his discovery, he elaborated it in his usual way. "I
+distinctly remember, "says Daniel Hendrix," his sitting on some
+boxes in the store and telling a knot of men, who did not believe
+a word they heard, all about his vision and his find. But Joe
+went into such minute and careful details about the size, weight,
+and beauty of the carvings on the golden tablets, and strange
+characters and the ancient adornments, that I confess he made
+some of the smartest men in Palmyra rub their eyes in wonder."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. THE DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF THE REVELATION OF THE BIBLE
+
+The precise date when Joe's attention was first called to the
+possibility of changing the story about his alleged golden plates
+so that they would serve as the basis for a new Bible such as was
+finally produced, and as a means of making him a prophet, cannot
+be ascertained. That some directing mind gave the final shape to
+the scheme is shown by the difference between the first accounts
+of his discovery by means of the stone, and the one provided in
+his autobiography. We have also evidence that the story of a
+direct revelation by an angel came some time later than the
+version which Joe gave first to his acquaintances in
+Pennsylvania.
+
+James T. Cobb of Salt Lake City, who has given much time to
+investigating matters connected with early Mormon history,
+received a letter under date of April 23, 1879, from Hiel and
+Joseph Lewis, sons of the Rev. Nathaniel Lewis, of Harmony,
+Pennsylvania, and relatives of Joseph's father-in-law, in which
+they gave the story of the finding of the plates as told in their
+hearing by Joe to their father, when he was translating them.
+This statement, in effect, was that he dreamed of an iron box
+containing gold plates curiously engraved, which he must
+translate into a book; that twice when he attempted to secure the
+plates he was knocked down, and when he asked why he could not
+have them, "he saw a man standing over the spot who, to him,
+appeared like a Spaniard, having a long beard down over his
+breast, with his throat cut from ear to ear and the blood
+streaming down, who told him that he could not get it alone." (He
+then narrated how he got the box in company with Emma.) In all
+this narrative there was not one word about visions of God, or of
+angels, or heavenly revelations; all his information was by that
+dream and that bleeding ghost. The heavenly visions and messages
+of angels, etc., contained in the Mormon books were
+afterthoughts, revised to order."
+
+In direct confirmation of this we have the following account of
+the disclosure of the buried articles as given by Joe's father to
+Fayette Lapham when the Bible was first published:--
+
+"Soon after joining the church he [Joseph] had a very singular
+dream.... A very large, tall man appeared to him dressed in an
+ancient suit of clothes, and the clothes were bloody. This man
+told him of a buried treasure, and gave him directions by means
+of which he could find the place. In the course of a year Smith
+did find it, and, visiting it by night, "I by some supernatural
+power" was enabled to overturn a huge boulder under which was a
+square block of masonry, in the centre of which were the articles
+as described. Taking up the first article, he saw others below;
+laying down the first, he endeavored to secure the others; but,
+before he could get hold of them, the one he had taken up slid
+back to the place he had taken it from, and, to his great
+surprise and terror, the rock immediately fell back to its former
+place, nearly crushing him [Joseph] in its descent. (While trying
+in vain to raise the rock again with levers, Joseph felt
+something strike him on the breast, a third blow knocking him
+down; and as he lay on the ground he saw the tall man, who told
+him that the delivery of the articles would be deferred a year
+because Joseph had not strictly followed the directions given to
+him. The heedless Joseph allowed himself to forget the date fixed
+for his next visit, and when he went to the place again, the tall
+man appeared and told him that, because of his lack of
+punctuality, he would have to wait still another year before the
+hidden articles would be confided to him. "Come in one year from
+this time, and bring your oldest brother with you," said the
+guardian of the treasures, "then you may have them. "Before the
+date named arrived, the elder brother had died, and Joseph
+decided that his wife was the proper person to accompany him. Mr.
+Lapham's report proceeds as follows:--
+
+"At the expiration of the year he [Joseph] procured a horse and
+light wagon, with a chest and pillowcase, and proceeded
+punctually with his wife to find the hidden treasure. When they
+had gone as far as they could with the wagon, Joseph took the
+pillow-case and started for the rock. Upon passing a fence a host
+of devils began to screech and to scream, and make all sorts of
+hideous yells, for the purpose of terrifying him and preventing
+the attainment of his object; but Joseph was courageous and
+pursued his way in spite of them. Arriving at the stone, he again
+lifted it with the aid of superhuman power, as at first, and
+secured the first or uppermost article, this time putting it
+carefully into the pillow-case before laying it down. He now
+attempted to secure the remainder; but just then the same old man
+appeared, and said to him that the time had not yet arrived for
+their exhibition to the world, but that when the proper time came
+he should have them and exhibit them, with the one he had now
+secured; until that time arrived, no one must be allowed to touch
+the one he had in his possession; for if they did, they would be
+knocked down by some superhuman power. Joseph ascertained that
+the remaining articles were a gold hilt and chain, and a gold
+ball with two pointers. The hilt and chain had once been part of
+a sword of unusual size; but the blade had rusted away and become
+useless. Joseph then turned the rock back, took the article in
+the pillow-case, and returned to the wagon. The devils, with more
+hideous yells than before, followed him to the fence; as he was
+getting over the fence, one of the devils struck him a blow on
+the side, where a black and blue spot remained three or four
+days; but Joseph persevered and brought the article safely home.
+"I weighed it," said Mr. Smith, Sr., "and it weighed 30 pounds.
+In answer to our question as to what it was that Joseph had thus
+obtained, he said it consisted of a set of gold plates, about six
+inches wide and nine or ten inches long. They were in the form of
+a book."*
+
+* Historical Magazine, May, 1870.
+
+
+We may now contrast these early accounts of the disclosure with
+the version given in the Prophet's autobiography (written, be it
+remembered, in Nauvoo in 1838), the one accepted by all orthodox
+Mormons. One of its striking features will be found to be the
+transformation of the Spaniard-with-his-throat-cut into a
+messenger from Heaven.*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, Supt.
+
+
+It was, according to this later account, when he was in his
+fifteenth year, and when his father's family were "proselyted to
+the Presbyterian church," that he became puzzled by the divergent
+opinions he heard from different pulpits. One day, while reading
+the epistle of James (not a common habit of his, as his mother
+would testify), Joseph was struck by the words, "If any of you
+lack wisdom, let him ask of God. "Reflecting on this injunction,
+he retired to the woods" on the morning of a beautiful clear day
+early in the spring of 1820, and there he for the first time
+uttered a spoken prayer. "As soon as he began praying he was
+overcome by some power, and "thick darkness" gathered around him.
+Just when he was ready to give himself up as lost, he managed to
+call on God for deliverance, whereupon he saw a pillar of light
+descending upon him, and two personages of indescribable glory
+standing in the air above him, one of whom, calling him by name,
+said to the other, "This is my beloved Son, hear him."
+Straightway Joseph, not forgetting the main object of his going
+to the woods, asked the two personages: "which of all the sects
+was right. "He was told that all were wrong, and that he must
+join none of them; that all creeds were an abomination, and that
+all professors were corrupt. He came to himself lying on his
+back.
+
+The effect on the boy of this startling manifestation was not
+radically beneficial, as he himself concedes. "Forbidden to join
+any other religious sects of the day, of tender years, "and badly
+treated by persons who should have been his friends, he admits
+that in the next three years he "frequently fell into many
+foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth and the
+corruption of human nature, which, I am sorry to say, led me into
+diverse temptations, to the gratification of many appetites
+offensive in the sight of God. "It was during this period that he
+was most active in the use of his "peek-stone."
+
+On the night of September 21, 1823, to proceed with his own
+account, when again praying to God for the forgiveness of his
+sins, the room became light, and a person clothed in a robe of
+exquisite whiteness, and having "a countenance truly like
+lightning, "called him by name, and said that his visitor was a
+messenger sent from God, and that his name was Nephi. This was a
+mistake on the part of somebody, because the visitor's real name
+was Moroni, who hid the plates where they were deposited. Smith
+continues:--
+
+"He said there was a book deposited, written upon golden plates,
+giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent and
+the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness
+of the Everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by
+the Saviour to the ancient inhabitants. Also, there were two
+stones in silver bows (and these stones, fastened to a
+breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim)
+deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these
+stones was what constituted seers in ancient or former times, and
+that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the
+book."
+
+The messenger then made some liberal quotations from the
+prophecies of the Old Testament (changing them to suit his
+purpose), and ended by commanding Smith, when he got the plates,
+at a future date, to show them only to those as commanded, lest
+he be destroyed. Then he ascended into heaven. The next day the
+messenger appeared again, and directed Joseph to tell his father
+of the commandment which he had received. When he had done so,
+his father told him to go as directed. He knew the place (ever
+since known locally as "Mormon Hill") as soon as he arrived
+there, and his narrative proceeds as follows:--
+
+"Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario Co., N. Y.,
+stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any
+in the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from
+the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates,
+deposited in a stone box; this stone was thick and rounded in the
+middle on the upper side, and thinner toward the edges, so that
+the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge
+all round was covered with earth. Having removed the earth and
+obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone,
+and with a little exertion raised it up, I looked in, and there,
+indeed, did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim and
+breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they
+lay was formed by laying stones together in a kind of cement. In
+the bottom of the box were laid two stones crosswise of the box,
+and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with
+them. I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by
+the messenger. I was again informed that the time for bringing
+them out had not yet arrived, neither would till four years from
+that time; but he told me that I should come to that place
+precisely one year from that time, and that he would there meet
+with me, and that I should continue to do so until the time
+should come for obtaining the plates".
+
+Mother Smith gives an explanation of Joe's failure to secure the
+plates on this occasion, which he omits: "As he was taking them,
+the unhappy thought darted through his mind that probably there
+was something else in the box besides the plates, which would be
+of pecuniary advantage to him.... Joseph was overcome by the
+power of darkness, and forgot the injunction that was laid upon
+him. "The mistakes which the Deity made in Joe's character
+constantly suggest to the lay reader the query why the Urim and
+Thummim were not turned on Joe.
+
+On September 22, 1827, when Joe visited the hill (following his
+own story again), the same messenger delivered to him the plates,
+the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate, with the warning that
+if he "let them go carelessly" he would be "cut off", and a
+charge to keep them until the messenger called for them.
+
+Mother Smith's story of the securing of the plates is to the
+effect that about midnight of September 21 Joseph and his wife
+drove away from his father's house with a horse and wagon
+belonging to a Mr. Knight. He returned after breakfast the next
+morning, bringing with him the Urim and Thummim, which he showed
+to her, and which she describes as "two smooth, three-cornered
+diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows
+that were connected with each other in much the same way as
+old-fashioned spectacles. "She says that she also saw the
+breastplate through a handkerchief, and that it "was concave on
+one side and convex on the other, and extended from the neck
+downward as far as the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It
+had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening
+it to the breast.... The whole plate was worth at least $500."
+The spectacles and breastplate seem to have been more familiar to
+Mother Smith than to any other of Joseph's contemporaries and
+witnesses.
+
+The substitution of the spectacles called Urim and Thummim for
+the "peek-stone" was doubtless an idea of the associate in the
+plot, who supplied the theological material found in the Golden
+Bible. Tucker considers the "spectacle pretension" an
+afterthought of some one when the scheme of translating the
+plates into a Bible was evolved, as "it was not heard of outside
+of the Smith family for a considerable period subsequent to the
+first story."* This is confirmed by the elder Smith's early
+account of the discovery. It would be very natural that Rigdon,
+with his Bible knowledge, should substitute the more respectable
+Urim and Thummim for the "peek-stone" of ill-repute, as the
+medium of translation.
+
+* "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," p. 33.
+
+
+The Urim and Thummim were the articles named by the Lord to Moses
+in His description of the priestly garments of Aaron. The Bible
+leaves them without description;* and the following verses
+contain all that is said of them: Exodus xxviii. 30; Leviticus
+viii. 8; Numbers xxvii. 21; Deuteronomy xxxiii. 8; Samuel xxviii.
+6; Ezra ii. 63; Nehemiah vii. 65. Only a pretence of using
+spectacles in the work of translating was kept up, later
+descriptions of the process by Joe's associates referring
+constantly to the employment of the stone.
+
+* "The Hebrew words are generally considered to be plurales
+excellentoe, denoting light (that is, revelation) and truth....
+There are two principal opinions respecting the Urim and Thummim.
+One is that these words simply denote the four rows of precious
+stones in the breastplate of the high priest, and are so called
+from their brilliancy and perfection; which stones, in answer to
+an appeal to God in difficult cases, indicated His mind and will
+by some supernatural appearance.... The other principal opinion
+is that the Urim and Thummim were two small oracular images
+similar to the Teraphim, personifying revelation and truth, which
+were placed in the cavity or pouch formed by the folds of the
+breastplate, and which uttered oracles by a voice.... We incline
+to Mr. Mede's opinion that the Urim and Thummim were 'things well
+known to the patriarchs' as divinely appointed means of inquiries
+of the Lord, suited to an infantile state of religion.
+"Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature," Kitto and Alexander,
+editors.
+
+
+Joe says that while the plates were in his possession
+"multitudes" tried to get them away from him, but that he
+succeeded in keeping them until they were translated, and then
+delivered them again to the messenger, who still retains them.
+Mother Smith tells a graphic story of attempts to get the plates
+away from her son, and says that when he first received them he
+hid them until the next day in a rotten birch log, bringing them
+home wrapped in his linen frock under his arm.* Later, she says,
+he hid them in a hole dug in the hearth of their house, and again
+in a pile of flax in a cooper shop; Willard Chase's daughter
+almost found them once by means of a peek-stone of her own.
+
+* Elder Hyde in his "Mormonism" estimates that "from the
+description given of them the plates must have weighed nearly two
+hundred pounds."
+
+
+Mother Smith says that Joseph told all the family of his vision
+the evening of the day he told his father, charging them to keep
+it secret, and she adds:--
+
+"From that time forth Joseph continued to receive instructions
+from the Lord, and we continued to get the children together
+every evening for the purpose of listening while he gave us a
+relation of the same. I presume our family presented an aspect as
+singular as any that ever lived upon the face of the earth--all
+seated in a circle, father, mother, sons, and daughters, and
+giving the most profound attention to a boy eighteen years old,
+who had never read the Bible through in his life.... We were now
+confirmed in the opinion that God was about to bring to light
+something upon which we could stay our mind, or that would give
+us a more perfect knowledge of the plan of salvation and the
+redemption of the human family."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. TRANSLATION AND PUBLICATION OF THE BIBLE
+
+The only one of his New York neighbors who seems to have taken a
+practical interest in Joe's alleged discovery was a farmer named
+Martin Harris, who lived a little north of Palmyra. Harris was a
+religious enthusiast, who had been a Quaker (as his wife was
+still), a Universalist, a Baptist, and a Presbyterian, and whose
+sanity it would have been difficult to establish in a surrogate's
+court. The Rev. Dr. Clark, who knew him intimately, says, "He had
+always been a firm believer in dreams, visions, and ghosts."
+
+*Howe describes him as often declaring that he had talked with
+Jesus Christ, angels, and the devil, and saying that "Christ was
+the handsomest man he ever saw, and the devil looked like a
+jackass, with very short, smooth hair similar to that of a mouse.
+"Daniel Hendrix relates that as he and Harris were riding to the
+village one evening, and he remarked on the beauty of the moon,
+Harris replied that if his companion could only see it as he had,
+he might well call it beautiful, explaining that he had actually
+visited the moon, and adding that it "was only the faithful who
+were permitted to visit the celestial regions." Jesse Townsend, a
+resident of Palmyra, in a letter written in 1833, describes him
+as a visionary fanatic, unhappily married, who "is considered
+here to this day a brute in his domestic relations, a fool and a
+dupe to Smith in religion, and an unlearned, conceited hypocrite
+generally. "His wife, in an affidavit printed in Howe's book (p.
+255), says: "He has whipped, kicked, and turned me out of the
+house." Harris, like Joe's mother, was a constant reader of and a
+literal believer in the Bible. Tucker says that he "could
+probably repeat from memory every text from the Bible, giving the
+chapter and verse in each case. "This seems to be an
+exaggeration.
+
+* "Gleanings by the Way."
+
+
+Mother Smith's account of Harris's early connection with the
+Bible enterprise says that her husband told Harris of the
+existence of the plates two or three years before Joe got
+possession of them; that when Joe secured them he asked her to go
+and tell Harris that he wanted to see him on the subject, an
+errand not to her liking, because "Mr. Harris's wife was a very
+peculiar woman, "that is, she did not share in her husband's
+superstition. Mrs. Smith did not succeed in seeing Harris, but he
+soon afterward voluntarily offered Joe fifty dollars "for the
+purpose of helping Mr. Smith do the Lord's work. "As Harris was
+very "close" in money matters, it is probable that Joe offered
+him a partnership in the scheme at the start. Harris seems to
+have placed much faith in the selling quality of the new Bible.
+He is said to have replied to his wife's early declaration of
+disbelief in it: "What if it is a lie. If you will let me alone I
+will make money out of it."* The Rev. Ezra Booth said: "Harris
+informed me [after his removal to Ohio] that he went to the place
+where Joseph resided [in Pennsylvania], and Joseph had given it
+[the translation] up on account of the opposition of his wife and
+others; and he told Joseph, 'I have not come down here for
+nothing, and we will go on with it.'"**
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 254.
+
+** Ibid., p. 182.
+
+
+Just at this time Joe was preparing to move to the neighborhood
+of Harmony, Pennsylvania, having made a trip there after his
+marriage, during which, Mr. Hale's affidavit says, "Smith stated
+to me that he had given up what he called 'glass-looking,' and
+that he expected to work hard for a living and was willing to do
+so. "Smith's brother-in-law Alva, in accordance with arrangements
+then made, went to Palmyra and helped move his effects to a house
+near Mr. Hale's. Joe acknowledges that Harris's gift or loan of
+fifty dollars enabled him to meet the expenses of moving.
+
+Parley P. Pratt, in a statement published by him in London in
+1854, set forth that Smith was driven to Pennsylvania from
+Palmyra through fear of his life, and that he took the plates
+with him concealed in a barrel of beans, thus eluding the efforts
+of persons who tried to secure them by means of a search warrant.
+Tucker says that this story rests only on the sending of a
+constable after Smith by a man to whom he owed a small debt. The
+great interest manifested in the plates in the neighborhood of
+Palmyra existed only in Mormon imagination developed in later
+years.
+
+According to some accounts, all the work of what was called
+"translating" the writing on the plates into what became the
+"Book of Mormon" was done at Joe's home in New York State, and
+most of it in a cave, but this was not the case. Smith himself
+says: "Immediately after my arrival [in Pennsylvania] I commenced
+copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable
+number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated
+some of them, which I did between the time I arrived, at the
+house of my wife's father in the month of December (1827) and the
+February following.
+
+A clear description of the work of translating as carried on in
+Pennsylvania is given in the affidavit made by Smith's
+father-in-law, Isaac Hale, in 1834.* He says that soon after
+Joe's removal to his neighborhood with his wife, he (Hale) was
+shown a box such as is used for the shipment of window glass, and
+was told that it contained the "book of plates"; he was allowed
+to lift it, but not to look into it. Joe told him that the first
+person who would be allowed to see the plates would be a young
+child .** The affidavit continues:--
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 264.
+
+** Joe's early announcement was that his first-born child was to
+have this power, but the child was born dead. This was one of the
+earliest of Joe's mistakes in prophesying.
+
+
+"About this time Martin Harris made his appearance upon the
+stage, and Smith began to interpret the characters, or
+hieroglyphics, which he said were engraven upon the plates, while
+Harris wrote down the interpretation. It was said that Harris
+wrote down 116 pages and lost them. Soon after this happened,
+Martin Harris informed me that he must have a GREATER WITNESS,
+and said that he had talked with Joseph about it. Joseph informed
+him that be could not, or durst not, show him the plates, but
+that he [Joseph] would go into the woods where the book of plates
+was, and that after he came back Harris should follow his track
+in the snow, and find the book and examine it for himself. Harris
+informed me that he followed Smith's directions, and could not
+find the plates and was still dissatisfied.
+
+"The next day after this happened I went to the house where
+Joseph Smith, Jr., lived, and where he and Harris were engaged in
+their translation of the book. Each of them had a written piece
+of paper which they were comparing, and some of the words were, I
+my servant seeketh a greater witness, but no greater witness can
+be given him.... I inquired whose words they were, and was
+informed by Joseph or Emma (I rather think it was the former),
+that they were the words of Jesus Christ. I told them that I
+considered the whole of it a delusion, and advised them to
+abandon it. The manner in which he pretended to read and
+interpret was the same as when he looked for the moneydiggers,
+with the stone in his hat and his hat over his face, while the
+book of plates was at the same time hid in the woods.
+
+"After this, Martin Harris went away, and Oliver Cowdery came and
+wrote for Smith, while he interpreted as above described.
+
+"Joseph Smith, Jr., resided near me for some time after this, and
+I had a good opportunity of becoming acquainted with him, and
+somewhat acquainted with his associates; and I conscientiously
+believe, from the facts I have detailed, and from many other
+circumstances which I do not deem it necessary to relate, that
+the whole Book of Mormon (so-called) is a silly fabrication of
+falsehood and wickedness, got up for speculation, and with a
+design to dupe the credulous and unwary."
+
+Harris's natural shrewdness in a measure overcame his fanaticism,
+and he continued to press Smith for a sight of the plates. Smith
+thereupon made one of the first uses of those "revelations" which
+played so important a part in his future career, and he announced
+one (Section 5, "Doctrine and Covenants"*), in which "I, the
+Lord" declared to Smith that the latter had entered into a
+covenant with Him not to show the plates to any one except as the
+Lord commanded him. Harris finally demanded of Smith at least a
+specimen of the writing on the plates for submission to experts
+in such subjects. As Harris was the only man of means interested
+in this scheme of publication, Joe supplied him with a paper
+containing some characters which he said were copied from one of
+the plates. This paper increased Harris's belief in the reality
+of Joe's discovery, but he sought further advice before opening
+his purse. Dr. Clark describes a call Harris made on him early
+one morning, greatly excited, requesting a private interview. On
+hearing his story, Dr. Clark advised him that the scheme was a
+hoax, devised to extort money from him, but Harris showed the
+slip of paper containing the mysterious characters, and was not
+to be persuaded.
+
+* All references to the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants" refer to
+the sections and verses of the Salt Lake city edition of 1890.
+
+
+Seeking confirmation, however, Harris made a trip to New York
+City in order to submit the characters to experts there. Among
+others, he called on Professor Charles Anthon. His interview with
+Professor Anthon has been a cause of many and conflicting
+statements, some Mormons misrepresenting it for their own
+purposes and others explaining away the professor's accounts of
+it. The following statement was written by Professor Anthon in
+reply to an inquiry by E. D. Howe:--
+
+"NEW YORK, February 17, 1834.
+
+"DEAR SIR: I received your favor of the 9th, and lose no time in
+making a reply. The whole story about my pronouncing the Mormon
+inscription to be 'reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics' is perfectly
+false. Some years ago a plain, apparently simple-hearted farmer
+called on me with a note from Dr. Mitchell, of our city, now
+dead, requesting me to decypher, if possible, the paper which the
+farmer would hand me, and which Dr. M. confessed he had been
+unable to understand. Upon examining the paper in question, I
+soon came to the conclusion that it was all a trick--perhaps a
+hoax. When I asked the person who brought it how he obtained the
+writing, he gave me, as far as I can recollect, the following
+account: A 'gold book' consisting of a number of plates fastened
+together in the shape of a book by wires of the same metal, had
+been dug up in the northern part of the state of New York, and
+along with the book an enormous pair of 'spectacles'! These
+spectacles were so large that, if a person attempted to look
+through them, his two eyes would have to be turned toward one of
+the glasses merely, the spectacles in question being altogether
+too large for the breadth of the human face. Whoever examined the
+plates through the spectacles, was enabled, not only to read
+them, but fully to understand their meaning. All this knowledge,
+however, was confined to a young man who had the trunk containing
+the book and spectacles in his sole possession. This young man
+was placed behind a curtain in the garret of a farmhouse, and
+being thus concealed from view, put on the spectacles
+occasionally, or rather, looked through one of the glasses,
+decyphered the characters in the book, and, having committed some
+of them to paper, handed copies from behind the curtain to those
+who stood on the outside. Not a word, however, was said about the
+plates being decyphered 'by the gift of God.' Everything in this
+way was effected by the large pair of spectacles. The farmer
+added that he had been requested to contribute a sum of money
+toward the publication of the 'golden book,' the contents of
+which would, as he had been assured, produce an entire change in
+the world, and save it from ruin. So urgent had been these
+solicitations, that he intended selling his farm, and handing
+over the amount received to those who wished to publish the
+plates. As a last precautionary step, however, he had resolved to
+come to New York, and obtain the opinion of the learned about the
+meaning of the paper which he had brought with him, and which had
+been given him as part of the contents of the book, although no
+translation had been furnished at the time by the young man with
+the spectacles. On hearing this odd story, I changed my opinion
+about the paper, and, instead of viewing it any longer as a hoax
+upon the learned, I began to regard it as a part of a scheme to
+cheat the farmer of his money, and I communicated my suspicions
+to him, warning him to beware of rogues. He requested an opinion
+from me in writing, which, of course, I declined giving, and he
+then took his leave, carrying his paper with him.
+
+"This paper was in fact a singular scrawl. It consisted of all
+kinds of crooked characters, disposed in columns, and had
+evidently been prepared by some person who had before him at the
+time a book containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew
+letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters inverted, or
+placed sideways, were arranged and placed in perpendicular
+columns; and the whole ended in a rude delineation of a circle,
+divided into various compartments, decked with various strange
+marks, and evidently copied after the Mexican Calendar, given by
+Humbolt, but copied in such a way as not to betray the source
+whence it was, derived. I am thus particular as to the contents
+of the paper, inasmuch as I have frequently conversed with my
+friends on the subject since the Mormonite excitement began, and
+well remember that the paper contained anything else but
+'Egyptian Hieroglyphics.'
+
+"Some time after, the farmer paid me a second visit. He brought
+with him the golden book in print, and offered it to me for sale.
+I declined purchasing. He then asked permission to leave the book
+with me for examination. I declined receiving it, although his
+manner was strangely urgent. I adverted once more to the roguery
+which had been, in my opinion, practised upon him, and asked him
+what had become of the gold plates. He informed me that they were
+in a trunk with the large pair of spectacles. I advised him to go
+to a magistrate, and have the trunk examined. He said 'the curse
+of God' would come upon him should he do this. On my pressing
+him, however, to pursue the course which I had recommended, he
+told me he would open the trunk if I would take 'the curse of
+God' upon myself. I replied I would do so with the greatest
+willingness, and would incur every risk of that nature provided I
+could only extricate him from the grasp of the rogues. He then
+left me.
+
+"I have thus given you a full statement of all that I know
+respecting the origin of Mormonism, and must beg you, as a
+personal favor, to publish this letter immediately, should you
+find my name mentioned again by these wretched fanatics. Yours
+respectfully,
+
+"CHARLES ANTHON."*
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," pp. 270-272. A letter from Professor
+Anthon to the Rev. Dr. Coit, rector of Trinity Church, New
+Rochelle, New York, dated April 3, 1841, containing practically
+the same statement, will be found in Clark's" "Gleanings by the
+Way," pp. 233-238.
+
+
+While Mormon speakers quoted Anthon as vouching for the
+mysterious writing, their writers were more cautious. P. P.
+Pratt, in his "Voice of Warning" (1837), said that Professor
+Anthon was unable to decipher the characters, "but he presumed
+that if the original records could be brought, he could assist in
+translating them. Orson Pratt, in his "Remarkable Visions"
+(1848), saw in the Professor's failure only a verification of
+Isaiah xxix. 11 and 12:--
+
+"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book
+that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying,
+Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed:
+and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying,
+Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."
+
+John D. Lee, in his "Mormonism Unveiled," mentions the generally
+used excuse of the Mormons for the professor's failure to
+translate the writing, namely, that Anthon told Harris that "they
+were written in a sealed language, unknown to the present age.
+"Smith, in his autobiography, quotes Harris's account of his
+interview as follows:--
+
+"I went to New York City and presented the characters which had
+been translated, with the translation thereof, to Prof. Anthon, a
+man quite celebrated for his literary attainments. Prof. Anthon
+stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had
+before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those
+which were not yet translated, and he said they were Egyptian,
+Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic, and he said they were the true
+characters."
+
+Harris declared that the professor gave him a certificate to this
+effect, but took it back and tore it up when told that an angel
+of God had revealed the plates to Joe, saying that "there were no
+such things as ministering angels. "This account by Harris of his
+interview with Professor Anthon will assist the reader in
+estimating the value of Harris's future testimony as to the
+existence of the plates.
+
+Harris's trip to New York City was not entirely satisfactory to
+him, and, as Smith himself relates, "He began to tease me to give
+him liberty to carry the writings home and show them, and desired
+of me that I would enquire of the Lord through the Urim and
+Thummim if he might not do so. "Smith complied with this request,
+but the permission was twice refused; the third time it was
+granted, but on condition that Harris would show the manuscript
+translation to only five persons, who were named, one of them
+being his wife.
+
+In including Mrs. Harris in this list, the Lord made one of the
+greatest mistakes into which he ever fell in using Joe as a
+mouthpiece. Mrs. Harris's Quaker belief had led her from the
+start to protest against the Bible scheme, and to warn her
+husband against the Smith family, and she vigorously opposed his
+investment of any money in the publication of the book. On the
+occasion of his first visit to Joe in Pennsylvania, according to
+Mother Smith, Mrs. Harris was determined to accompany him, and he
+had to depart without her knowledge; and when he went the second
+time, she did accompany him, and she ransacked the house to find
+the "record" (as the plates are often called in the Smiths'
+writings).
+
+When Harris returned home with the translated pages which Joe
+intrusted to him (in July, 1828), he showed them to his family
+and to others, who tried in vain to convince him that he was a
+dupe. Mrs. Harris decided on a more practical course. Getting
+possession of the papers, where Harris had deposited them for
+safe keeping, she refused to restore them to him. What eventually
+became of them is uncertain, one report being that she afterward
+burned them.
+
+This should have caused nothing more serious in the way of delay
+than the time required to retranslate these pages; for certainly
+a well-equipped Divinity, who was revealing a new Bible to
+mankind, and supplying so powerful a means of translation as the
+Urim and Thummim, could empower the translator to repeat the
+words first written. Indeed, the descriptions of the method of
+translation given afterward by Smith's confederates would seem to
+prove that there could have been but one version of any
+translation of the plates, no matter how many times repeated.
+Thus, Harris described the translating as follows:--
+
+"By aid of the seer stone [no mention of the magic spectacles]
+sentences would appear and were read by the prophet and written
+by Martin, and, when finished, he would say 'written'; and if
+correctly written, that sentence would disappear, and another
+appear in its place; but if not written correctly, it remained
+until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was
+engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used."*
+
+* Elder Edward Stevenson in the Deseret News (quoted in Reynold's
+"Mystery of the Manuscript Fund," p. 91).
+
+David Whitmer, in an account of this process written in his later
+years, said:--
+
+"Joseph would put the seer stone into a hat [more testimony
+against the use of the spectacles] and put his face in the hat,
+drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in
+the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of
+something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared
+the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it
+was the translation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the
+English to O. Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it
+was written down and repeated to brother Joseph to see if it were
+correct, then it would disappear and another character with the
+interpretation would appear."*
+
+* "Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon."
+
+
+But to Joseph the matter of reproducing the lost pages of the
+translation did not seem simple. When Harris's return to
+Pennsylvania was delayed, Joe became anxious and went to Palmyra
+to learn what delayed him, and there he heard of Mrs. Harris's
+theft of the pages. His mother reports him as saying in
+announcing it, "my God, all is lost! all is lost!" Why the
+situation was as serious to a sham translator as it would have
+been simple to an honest one is easily understood. Whenever Smith
+offered a second translation of the missing pages which differed
+from the first, a comparison of them with the latter would
+furnish proof positive of the fraudulent character of his
+pretensions.
+
+All the partners in the business had to share in the punishment
+for what had occurred. The Smiths lost all faith in Harris. Joe
+says that Harris broke his pledge about showing the translation
+only to five persons, and Mother Smith says that because of this
+offence "a dense fog spread itself over his fields and blighted
+his wheat. "When Joe returned to Pennsylvania an angel appeared
+to him, his mother says, and ordered him to give up the Urim and
+Thummim, promising, however, to restore them if he was humble and
+penitent, and "if so, it will be on the 22d of September."* Here
+may be noted one of those failures of mother and son to agree in
+their narratives which was excuse enough for Brigham Young to try
+to suppress the mother's book. Joe mentions a "revelation" dated
+July, 1828 (Sec. 3, "Doctrine and Covenants"), in which Harris
+was called "a wicked man, "and which told Smith that he had lost
+his privileges for a season, and he adds, "After I had obtained
+the above revelation, both the plates and the Urim and Thummim
+were taken from me again, BUT IN A FEW DAYS they were returned to
+me."**
+
+* "Biographical Sketches," by Lucy Smith, p. 125.
+
+** Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 8.
+
+
+For some ten months after this the work of translation was
+discontinued, although Mother Smith says that when she and his
+father visited the prophet in Pennsylvania two months after his
+return, the first thing they saw was "a red morocco trunk lying
+on Emma's bureau which, Joseph shortly informed me, contained the
+Urim and Thummim and the plates." Mrs. Harris's act had evidently
+thrown the whole machinery of translation out of gear, and Joe
+had to await instructions from his human adviser before a plan of
+procedure could be announced. During this period (in which Joe
+says he worked on his father's farm), says Tucker, "the stranger
+[supposed to be Rigdon] had again been at Smith's, and the
+prophet had been away from home, maybe to repay the former's
+visits."*
+
+* "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," p. 48.
+
+
+Two matters were decided on in these consultations, viz., that no
+attempt would be made to retranslate the lost pages, and that a
+second copy of all the rest of the manuscript should be prepared,
+to guard against a similar perplexity in case of the loss of
+later pages. The proof of the latter statement I find in the fact
+that a second copy did exist. Ebenezer Robinson, who was a
+leading man in the church from the time of its establishment in
+Ohio until Smith's death, says in his recollections that, when
+the people assembled on October 2, 1841, to lay the corner-stone
+of Nauvoo House, Smith said he had a document to put into the
+corner-stone, and Robinson went with him to his house to procure
+it. Robinson's story proceeds as follows:--
+
+"He got a manuscript copy of the Book of Mormon, and brought it
+into the room where we were standing, and said, 'I will examine
+to see if it is all here'; and as he did so I stood near him, at
+his left side, and saw distinctly the writing as he turned up the
+pages until he hastily went through the book and satisfied
+himself that it was all there, when he said, 'I have had trouble
+enough with this thing'; which remark struck me with amazement,
+as I looked upon it as a sacred treasure."
+
+Robinson says that the manuscript was written on foolscap paper
+and most of it in Oliver Cowdery's handwriting. He explains that
+two copies were necessary, "as the printer who printed the first
+edition of the book had to have a copy, as they would not put the
+original copy into his hands for fear of its being altered. This
+accounts for David Whitmer having a copy and Joseph Smith having
+one."*
+
+* The Return, Vol- II, p. 314. Ebenezer Robinson, a printer,
+joined the Mormons at Kirtland, followed Smith to Missouri, and
+went with the flock to Nauvoo, where he and the prophet's
+brother, Don Carlos, established the Times and Seasons. When the
+doctrine of polygamy was announced to him and his wife, they
+rejected it, and he followed Rigdon to Pennsylvania when Rigdon
+was turned out by Young. In later years he was engaged in
+business enterprises in Iowa, and was a resident of Davis City
+when David Whitmer announced the organization of his church in
+Missouri, and, not accepting the view of the prophet entertained
+by his descendants in the Reorganized Church, Robinson accepted
+baptism from Whitmer. The Return was started by him in January,
+1889, and continued until his death, in its second year. His
+reminiscences of early Mormon experiences, which were a feature
+of the publication, are of value.
+
+Major Bideman, who married the prophet's widow, partly completed
+and occupied Nauvoo House after the departure of the Mormons for
+Utah, and some years later he took out the cornerstone and opened
+it, but found the manuscript so ruined by moisture that only a
+little was legible.
+
+In regard to the missing pages, it was decided to announce a
+revelation, which is dated May, 1829 (Sec. 10, "Doctrine and
+Covenants"), stating that the lost pages had got into the hands
+of wicked men, that "Satan has put it into their hearts to alter
+the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have
+translated, "in accordance with a plan of the devil to destroy
+Smith's work. He was directed therefore to translate from the
+plates of Nephi, which contained a "more particular account" than
+the Book of Lehi from which the original translation was made.
+
+When Smith began translating again, Harris was not reemployed,
+but Emma, the prophet's wife, acted as his scribe until April 15,
+1829, when a new personage appeared upon the scene. This was
+Oliver Cowdery.
+
+Cowdery was a blacksmith by trade, but gave up that occupation,
+and, while Joe was translating in Pennsylvania, secured the place
+of teacher in the district where the Smiths lived, and boarded
+with them. They told him of the new Bible, and, according to
+Joe's later account, Cowdery for himself received a revelation of
+its divine character, went to Pennsylvania, and from that time
+was intimately connected with Joe in the translation and
+publication of the book.
+
+In explanation of the change of plan necessarily adopted in the
+translation, the following preface appeared in the first edition
+of the book, but was dropped later:--
+
+"TO THE READER.
+
+"As many false reports have been circulated respecting the
+following work, and also many unlawful measures taken by evil
+designing persons to destroy me, and also the work, I would
+inform you that I translated, by the gift and power of God, and
+caused to be written, one hundred and sixteen pages, the which I
+took from the book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from
+the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon; which said account,
+some person or persons have stolen and kept from me,
+notwithstanding my utmost efforts to recover it again--and being
+commanded of the Lord that I should not translate the same over
+again, for Satan had put it into their hearts to tempt the Lord
+their God, by altering the words; that they did read contrary
+from that which I translated and caused to be written; and if I
+should bring forth the same words again, or, in other words, if I
+should translate the same over again, they would publish that
+which they had stolen, and Satan would stir up the hearts of this
+generation, that they might not receive this work, but behold,
+the Lord said unto me, I will not suffer that Satan shall
+accomplish his evil design in this thing; therefore thou shalt
+translate from the plates of Nephi until ye come to that which ye
+have translated, which ye have retained; and behold, ye shall
+publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those
+who have altered my words. I will not suffer that they shall
+destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is
+greater than the cunning of the Devil. Wherefore, to be obedient
+unto the commandments of God, I have, through His grace and
+mercy, accomplished that which He hath commanded me respecting
+this thing. I would also inform you that the plates of which hath
+been spoken, were found in the township of Manchester, Ontario
+County, New York. --THE AUTHOR."
+
+In June, 1829, Smith accepted an invitation to change his
+residence to the house of Peter Whitmer, who, with his sons,
+David, John, and Peter, Jr., lived at Fayette, Seneca County, New
+York, the Whitmers promising his board free and their assistance
+in the work of translation. There, Smith says, they resided
+"until the translation was finished and the copyright secured."
+
+As five of the Whitmers were "witnesses" to the existence of the
+plates, and David continued to be a person of influence in Mormon
+circles throughout his long life, information about them is of
+value. The prophet's mother again comes to our aid, although her
+account conflicts with her son's. The prophet says that David
+Whitmer brought the invitation to take up quarters at his
+father's, and volunteered the offer of free board and assistance.
+Mother Smith says that one day, as Joe was translating the
+plates, he came, in the midst of the words of the Holy Writ, to a
+commandment to write at once to David Whitmer, requesting him to
+come immediately and take the prophet and Cowdery to his house,"
+as an evildesigning people were seeking to take away his
+[Joseph's] life in order to prevent the work of God from going
+forth to the world. "When the letter arrived, David's father told
+him that, as they had wheat sown that would require two days'
+harrowing, and a quantity of plaster to spread, he could not go
+"unless he could get a witness from God that it was absolutely
+necessary. "In answer to his inquiry of the Lord on the subject,
+David was told to go as soon as his wheat was harrowed in.
+Setting to work, he found that at the end of the first day the
+two days' harrowing had been completed, and, on going out the
+next morning to spread the plaster, he found that work done also,
+and his sister told him she had seen three unknown men at work in
+the field the day before: so that the task had been accomplished
+by "an exhibition of supernatural power."*
+
+* "Biographical Sketches," Lucy Smith, p. 135.
+
+
+The translation being ready for the press, in June, 1829 (I
+follow Tucker's account of the printing of the work), Joseph, his
+brother Hyrum, Cowdery, and Harris asked Egbert B. Grandin,
+publisher of the Wayne Sentinel at Palmyra, to give them an
+estimate of the cost of printing an edition of three thousand
+copies, with Harris as security for the payment. Grandin told
+them he did not want to undertake the job at any price, and he
+tried to persuade Harris not to invest his money in the scheme,
+assuring him that it was fraudulent. Application was next made to
+Thurlow Weed, then the publisher of the Anti-Masonic Inquirer, at
+Rochester, New York. "After reading a few chapters," says Mr.
+Weed, "it seemed such a jumble of unintelligent absurdities that
+we refused the work, advising Harris not to mortgage his farm and
+"beggar his family." Finally, Smith and his associates obtained
+from Elihu F. Marshall, a Rochester publisher, a definite bid for
+the work, and with this they applied again to Grandin, explaining
+that it would be much more convenient for them to have the
+printing done at home, and pointing out to him that he might as
+well take the job, as his refusal would not prevent the
+publication of the book. This argument had weight with him, and
+he made a definite contract to print and bind five thousand
+copies for the sum of $3000, a mortgage on Harris's farm to be
+given him as security. Mrs. Harris had persisted in her refusal
+to be in any way a party to the scheme, and she and her husband
+had finally made a legal separation, with a division of the
+property, after she had entered a complaint against Joe, charging
+him with getting money from her husband on fraudulent
+representation. At the hearing on this complaint, Harris denied
+that he had ever contributed a dollar to Joe at the latter's
+persuasion.
+
+Tucker, who did much of the proof-reading of the new Bible,
+comparing it with the manuscript copy, says that, when the
+printing began, Smith and his associates watched the manuscript
+with the greatest vigilance, bringing to the office every morning
+as much as the printers could set up during the day, and taking
+it away in the evening, forbidding also any alteration. The
+foreman, John H. Gilbert, found the manuscript so poorly prepared
+as regards grammatical construction, spelling, punctuation, etc.,
+that he told them that some corrections must be made, and to this
+they finally consented.
+
+Daniel Hendrix, in his recollections, says in confirmation of
+this:--
+
+"I helped to read proof on many pages of the book, and at odd
+times set some type.... The penmanship of the copy furnished was
+good, but the grammar, spelling and punctuation were done by John
+H. Gilbert, who was chief compositor in the office. I have heard
+him swear many a time at the syntax and orthography of Cowdery,
+and declare that he would not set another line of the type. There
+were no paragraphs, no punctuation and no capitals. All that was
+done in the printing office, and what a time there used to be in
+straightening sentences out, too. During the printing of the book
+I remember that Joe Smith kept in the background."
+
+The following letter is in reply to an inquiry addressed by me to
+Albert Chandler, the only survivor, I think, of the men who
+helped issue the first edition of Smith's book:--
+
+"COLDWATER, MICH., Dec. 22, 1898.
+
+"My recollections of Joseph Smith, Jr. and of the first steps
+taken in regard to his Bible have never been printed. At the time
+of the printing of the Mormon Bible by Egbert B. Grandin of the
+Sentinel I was an apprentice in the bookbindery connected with
+the Sentinel office. I helped to collate and stitch the Gold
+Bible, and soon after this was completed, I changed from
+book-binding to printing. I learned my trade in the Sentinel
+office.
+
+"My recollections of the early history of the Mormon Bible are
+vivid to-day. I knew personally Oliver Cowdery, who translated
+the Bible, Martin Harris, who mortgaged his farm to procure the
+printing, and Joseph Smith Jr., but slightly. What I knew of him
+was from hearsay, principally from Martin Harris, who believed
+fully in him. Mr. Tucker's 'Origin, Rise, and Progress of
+Mormonism' is the fullest account I have ever seen. I doubt if I
+can add anything to that history.
+
+"The whole history is shrouded in the deepest mystery. Joseph
+Smith Jr., who read through the wonderful spectacles, pretended
+to give the scribe the exact reading of the plates, even to
+spelling, in which Smith was woefully deficient. Martin Harris
+was permitted to be in the room with the scribe, and would try
+the knowledge of Smith, as he told me, saying that Smith could
+not spell the word February, when his eyes were off the
+spectacles through which he pretended to work. This ignorance of
+Smith was proof positive to him that Smith was dependent on the
+spectacles for the contents of the Bible. Smith and the plates
+containing the original of the Mormon Bible were hid from view of
+the scribe and Martin Harris by a screen.
+
+"I should think that Martin Harris, after becoming a convert,
+gave up his entire time to advertising the Bible to his neighbors
+and the public generally in the vicinity of Palmyra. He would
+call public meetings and address them himself. He was
+enthusiastic, and went so far as to say that God, through the
+Latter Day Saints, was to rule the world. I heard him make this
+statement, that there would never be another President of the
+United States elected; that soon all temporal and spiritual power
+would be given over to the prophet Joseph Smith and the Latter
+Day Saints. His extravagant statements were the laughing stock of
+the people of Palmyra. His stories were hissed at, universally.
+To give you an idea of Mr. Harris's superstitions, he told me
+that he saw the devil, in all his hideousness, on the road, just
+before dark, near his farm, a little north of Palmyra. You can
+see that Harris was a fit subject to carry out the scheme of
+organizing a new religion.
+
+"The absolute secrecy of the whole inception and publication of
+the Mormon Bible stopped positive knowledge. We only knew what
+Joseph Smith would permit Martin Harris to publish, in reference
+to the whole thing.
+
+"The issuing of the Book of Mormon scarcely made a ripple of
+excitement in Palmyra.
+
+ALBERT CHANDLER."*
+
+* Mr. Chandler moved to Michigan in 1835, and has been connected
+with several newspapers in that state, editing the Kalamazoo
+Gazette, and founding and publishing the Coldwater Sentinel. He
+was elected the first mayor of Coldwater, serving several terms.
+He was in his eighty-fifth year when the above letter was
+written.
+
+
+The book was published early in 1830. On paper the sale of the
+first edition showed a profit of $3250 at $1.25 a volume, that
+being the lowest price to be asked on pain of death, according to
+a "special revelation" received by Smith. By the original
+agreement Harris was to have the exclusive control of the sale of
+the book. But it did not sell. The local community took it no
+more seriously than they did Joe himself and his family. The
+printer demanded his pay as the work progressed, and it became
+necessary for Smith to spur Harris on by announcing a revelation
+(Sec. 19, "Doctrine and Covenants"), saying, "I command thee that
+thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to
+the printing of the Book of Mormon. "Harris accordingly disposed
+of his share of the farm and paid Grandin.
+
+To make the book "go," Smith now received a revelation which
+permitted his father, soon to be elevated to the title of
+Patriarch, to sell it on commission, and Smith, Sr., made
+expeditions through the country, taking in pay for any copies
+sold such farm produce or "store goods" as he could use in his
+own family. How much he "cut" the revealed price of the book in
+these trades is not known, but in one instance, when arrested in
+Palmyra for a debt of $5.63, he, under pledge of secrecy, offered
+seven of the Bibles in settlement, and the creditor, knowing that
+the old man had no better assets, accepted the offer as a joke.*
+
+* "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," Tucker, p. 63.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. THE SPAULDING MANUSCRIPT
+
+The history of the Mormon Bible has been brought uninterruptedly
+to this point in order that the reader may be able to follow
+clearly each step that had led up to its publication. It is now
+necessary to give attention to two subjects intimately connected
+with the origin of this book, viz., the use made of what is known
+as the "Spaulding manuscript," in supplying the historical part
+of the work, and Sidney Rigdon's share in its production.
+
+The most careful student of the career of Joseph Smith, Jr., and
+of his family and his associates, up to the year 1827, will fail
+to find any ground for the belief that he alone, or simply with
+their assistance, was capable of composing the Book of Mormon,
+crude in every sense as that work is. We must therefore accept,
+as do the Mormons, the statement that the text was divinely
+revealed to Smith, or must look for some directing hand behind
+the scene, which supplied the historical part and applied the
+theological. The "Spaulding manuscript" is believed to have
+furnished the basis of the historical part of the work.
+
+Solomon Spaulding, born in Ashford, Connecticut, in 1761, was
+graduated from Dartmouth College in 1785, studied divinity, and
+for some years had charge of a church. His own family described
+him as a peculiar man, given to historical researches, and
+evidently of rather unstable disposition. He gave up preaching,
+conducted an academy at Cherry Valley, New York, and later moved
+to Conneaut, Ohio, where in 1812 he had an interest in an iron
+foundry. His attention was there attracted to the ancient mounds
+in that vicinity, and he set some of his men to work exploring
+one of them. "I vividly remember how excited he became," says his
+daughter,when he heard that they had exhumed some human bones,
+portions of gigantic skeletons, and various relics. "From these
+discoveries he got the idea of writing a fanciful history of the
+ancient races of this country.
+
+The title he chose for his book was "The Manuscript Found." He
+considered this work a great literary production, counted on
+being able to pay his debts from the proceeds of its sale, and
+was accustomed to read selections from the manuscript to his
+neighbors with evident pride. The impression that such a
+production would be likely to make on the author's neighbors in
+that frontier region and in those early days, when books were
+scarce and authors almost unknown, can with difficulty be
+realized now. Barrett Wendell, speaking of the days of Bryant's
+early work, says:--
+
+"Ours was a new country...deeply and sensitively aware that it
+lacked a literature. Whoever produced writings which could be
+pronounced adorable was accordingly regarded by his fellow
+citizens as a public benefactor, a great public figure, a
+personage of whom the nation could be proud."* This feeling lends
+weight to the testimony of Mr. Spaulding's neighbors, who in
+later years gave outlines of his work.
+
+* "Literary History of America."
+
+
+In order to find a publisher Mr. Spaulding moved with his family
+to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. A printer named Patterson spoke well
+of the manuscript to its author, but no one was found willing to
+publish it. The Spauldings afterward moved to Amity,
+Pennsylvania, where Mr. Spaulding died in 1816. His widow and
+only child went to live with Mrs. Spaulding's brother, W. H.
+Sabine, at Onondaga Valley, New York, taking their effects with
+them. These included an old trunk containing Mr. Spaulding's
+papers. "There were sermons and other papers," says his daughter,
+"and I saw a manuscript about an inch thick, closely written,
+tied up with some stories my father had written for me, one of
+which he called 'The Frogs of Windham.' On the outside of this
+manuscript were written the words 'Manuscript Found.' I did not
+read it, but looked through it, and had it in my hands many
+times, and saw the names I had heard at Conneaut, when my father
+read it to his friends. "Mrs. Spaulding next went to her father's
+house in Connecticut, leaving her personal property at her
+brother's. She married a Mr. Davison in 1820, and the old trunk
+was sent to her at her new home in Hartwick, Otsego County, New
+York. The daughter was married to a Mr. McKinstry in 1828, and
+her mother afterward made her home with her at Monson,
+Massachusetts, most of the time until her death in 1844.
+
+When the newly announced Mormon Bible began to be talked about in
+Ohio, there were immediate declarations in Spaulding's old
+neighborhood of a striking similarity between the Bible story and
+the story that Spaulding used to read to his acquaintances there,
+and these became positive assertions after the Mormons had held a
+meeting at Conneaut. The opinion was confidently expressed there
+that, if the manuscript could be found and published, it would
+put an end to the Mormon pretence.
+
+About the year 1834 Mrs. Davison received a visit at Monson from
+D. P. Hurlbut, a man who had gone over to the Mormons from the
+Methodist church, and had apostatized and been expelled. He
+represented that he had been sent by a committee to secure "The
+Manuscript Found" in order that it might be compared with the
+Mormon Bible. As he brought a letter from her brother, Mrs.
+Davison, with considerable reluctance, gave him an introduction
+to George Clark, in whose house at Hartwick she had left the old
+trunk, directing Mr. Clark to let Hurlbut have the manuscript,
+receiving his verbal pledge to return it. He obtained a
+manuscript from this trunk, but did not keep his pledge.*
+
+* Condensed from an affidavit by Mrs. McKinstry, dated April 3,
+1880, in Scribner's Magazine for August, 1880.
+
+
+The Boston Recorder published in May, 1839, a detailed statement
+by Mrs. Davison concerning her knowledge of "The Manuscript
+Found." After giving an account of the writing of the story, her
+statement continued as follows:--
+
+"Here [in Pittsburg] Mr. Spaulding found a friend and
+acquaintance in the person of Mr. Patterson, who was very much
+pleased with it, and borrowed it for perusal. He retained it for
+a long time, and informed Mr. Spaulding that, if he would make
+out a title-page and preface, he would publish it, as it might be
+a source of profit. This Mr. Spaulding refused to do. Sidney
+Rigdon, who has figured so largely in the history of the Mormons,
+was at that time connected with the printing office of Mr.
+Patterson, as is well known in that region, and, as Rigdon
+himself has frequently stated, became acquainted with Mr.
+Spaulding's manuscript and copied it. It was a matter of
+notoriety and interest to all connected with the printing
+establishment. At length the manuscript was returned to its
+author, and soon after we removed to Amity where Mr. Spaulding
+deceased in 1816. The manuscript then fell into my hands, and was
+carefully preserved."
+
+This statement stirred up the Mormons greatly, and they at once
+pronounced the letter a forgery, securing from Mrs. Davison a
+statement in which she said that she did not write it. This was
+met with a counter statement by the Rev. D. R. Austin that it was
+made up from notes of a conversation with her, and was correct.
+In confirmation of this the Quincy [Massachusetts] Whig printed a
+letter from John Haven of Holliston, Massachusetts, giving a
+report of a conversation between his son Jesse and Mrs. Davison
+concerning this letter, in which she stated that the letter was
+substantially correct, and that some of the names used in the
+Mormon Bible were like those in her husband's story. Rigdon
+himself, in a letter addressed to the Boston Journal, under date
+of May 27, 1839, denied all knowledge of Spaulding, and declared
+that there was no printer named Patterson in Pittsburg during his
+residence there, although he knew a Robert Patterson who had
+owned a printing-office in that city. The larger part of his
+letter is a coarse attack on Hurlbut and also on E. D. Howe, the
+author of "Mormonism Unveiled, "whose whole family he charged
+with scandalous immoralities." If the use of Spaulding's story in
+the preparation of the Mormon Bible could be proved by nothing
+but this letter of Mrs. Davison, the demonstration would be weak;
+but this is only one link in the chain.
+
+Howe, in his painstaking efforts to obtain all probable
+information about the Mormon origin from original sources,
+secured the affidavits of eight of Spaulding's acquaintances in
+Ohio, giving their recollections of the "Manuscript Found."*
+Spaulding's brother, John, testified that he heard many passages
+of the manuscript read and, describing it, he said:--
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," pp. 278-287.
+
+
+ "It was an historical romance of the first settlers of America,
+endeavoring to show that the American Indians are the descendants
+of the Jews, or the lost tribe. It gave a detailed account of
+their journey from Jerusalem, by land and sea, till they arrived
+in America, under the command of Nephi and Lehi. They afterwards
+had quarrels and contentions, and separated into two distinct
+nations, one of which he denominated Nephites, and the other
+Lamanites. Cruel and bloody Wars ensued, in which great
+multitudes were slain.... I have recently read the "Book of
+Mormon," and to my great surprise I find nearly the same
+historical matter, names, etc., as they were in my brother's
+writings. I well remember that he wrote in the old style, and
+commenced about every sentence with 'and it came to pass,' or
+'now it came to pass,' the same as in the 'Book of Mormon,' and,
+according to the best of my recollection and belief, it is the
+same as my brother Solomon wrote, with the exception of the
+religious matter."
+
+John Spaulding's wife testified that she had no doubt that the
+historical part of the Bible and the manuscript were the same,
+and she well recalled such phrases as "it came to pass."
+
+Mr. Spaulding's business partner at Conneaut, Henry Lake,
+testified that Spaulding read the manuscript to him many hours,
+that the story running through it and the Bible was the same, and
+he recalls this circumstance: "One time, when he was reading to
+me the tragic account of Laban, I pointed out to him what I
+considered an inconsistency, which he promised to correct, but by
+referring to the 'Book of Mormon,' I find that it stands there
+just as he read it to me then.... I well recollect telling Mr.
+Spaulding that the so frequent use of the words 'and it came to
+pass,' 'now it came to pass,' rendered it ridiculous."
+
+John N. Miller, an employee of Spaulding in Ohio, and a boarder
+in his family for several months, testified that Spaulding had
+written more than one book or pamphlet, that he had heard the
+author read from the "Manuscript Found," that he recalled the
+story running through it, and added: "I have recently examined
+the 'Book of Mormon,' and find in it the writings of Solomon
+Spaulding, from beginning to end, but mixed up with Scripture and
+other religious matter which I did not meet with in the
+'Manuscript Found'.... The names of Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, and in
+fact all the principal names, are brought fresh to my
+recollection by the 'Gold Bible.'"
+
+Practically identical testimony was given by the four other
+neighbors. Important additions to this testimony have been made
+in later years. A statement by Joseph Miller of Amity,
+Pennsylvania, a man of standing in that community, was published
+in the Pittsburg Telegraph of February 6, 1879. Mr. Miller said
+that he was well acquainted with Spaulding when he lived at
+Amity, and heard him read most of the "Manuscript Found," and had
+read the Mormon Bible in late years to compare the two. "On
+hearing read, "he says," the account from the book of the battle
+between the Amlicites (Book of Alma), in which the soldiers of
+one army had placed a red mark on their foreheads to distinguish
+them from their enemies, it seemed to reproduce in my mind, not
+only the narration, but the very words as they had been impressed
+on my mind by the reading of Spaulding's manuscript.... The
+longer I live, the more firmly I am convinced that Spaulding's
+manuscript was appropriated and largely used in getting up the `
+Book of Mormon."
+
+Redick McKee, a resident of Amity, Pennsylvania, when Spaulding
+lived there, and later a resident of Washington, D. C., in a
+letter to the Washington [Pennsylvania] Reporter, of April 21,
+1869, stated that he heard Spaulding read from his manuscript,
+and added: "I have an indistinct recollection of the passage
+referred to by Mr. Miller about the Amlicites making a cross with
+red paint on their foreheads to distinguish them from enemies in
+battle."
+
+The Rev. Abner Judson, of Canton, Ohio, wrote for the Washington
+County, Pennsylvania, Historical Society, under date of December
+20, 1880, an account of his recollections of the Spaulding
+manuscript, and it was printed in the Washington [Pennsylvania]
+Reporter of January 7, 1881. Spaulding read a large part of his
+manuscript to Mr. Judson's father before the author moved to
+Pittsburg, and the son, confined to the house with a lameness,
+heard the reading and the accompanying conversations. He says:
+"He wrote it in the Bible style. 'And it came to pass,' occurred
+so often that some called him 'Old Come-to-pass.' The 'Book of
+Mormons' follows the romance too closely to be a stranger ....
+When it was brought to Conneaut and read there in public, old
+Esquire Wright heard it and exclaimed, "Old Come-to-pass' has
+come to life again."*
+
+* Fuller extracts from the testimony of these later witnesses
+will be found in Robert Patterson's pamphlet, "Who wrote the Book
+of Mormon," reprinted from the "History of Washington County,
+Pa."
+
+
+The testimony of so many witnesses, so specific in its details,
+seems to prove the identity of Spaulding's story and the story
+running through the Mormon Bible. The late President James H.
+Fairchild of Oberlin, Ohio, whose pamphlet on the subject we
+shall next examine, admits that "if we could accept without
+misgiving the testimony of the eight witnesses brought forward in
+Howe's book, we should be obliged to accept the fact of another
+manuscript" (than the one which President Fairchild secured); but
+he thinks there is some doubt about the effect on the memory of
+these witnesses of the lapse of years and the reading of the new
+Bible before they recalled the original story. It must be
+remembered, however, that this resemblance was recalled as soon
+as they heard the story of the new Bible, and there seems no
+ground on which to trace a theory that it was the Bible which
+originated in their minds the story ascribed to the manuscript.
+
+The defenders of the Mormon Bible as an original work received
+great comfort some fifteen years ago by the announcement that the
+original manuscript of Spaulding's "Manuscript Found" had been
+discovered in the Sandwich Islands and brought to this country,
+and that its narrative bore no resemblance to the Bible story.
+The history of this second manuscript is as follows: E. D. Howe
+sold his printing establishment at Painesville, Ohio, to L. L.
+Rice, who was an antislavery editor there for many years. Mr.
+Rice afterward moved to the Sandwich Islands, and there he was
+requested by President Fairchild to look over his old papers to
+see if he could not find some antislavery matter that would be of
+value to the Oberlin College library. One result of his search
+was an old manuscript bearing the following certificate: 'The
+writings of Solomon Spaulding,' proved by Aaron Wright, Oliver
+Smith, John N. Miller and others. The testimonies of the above
+gentlemen are now in my possession.
+
+"D. P. HURLBUT."
+
+President Fairchild in a paper on this subject which has been
+published* gives a description of this manuscript (it has been
+printed by the Reorganized Church at Lamoni, Iowa), which shows
+that it bears no resemblance to the Bible story. But the
+assumption that this proves that the Bible story is original
+fails immediately in view of the fact that Mr. Howe made no
+concealment of his possession of this second manuscript. Hurlbut
+was in Howe's service when he asked Mrs. Davison for an order for
+the manuscript, and he gave to Howe, as the result of his visit,
+the manuscript which Rice gave to President Fairchild. Howe in
+his book (p. 288) describes this manuscript substantially as does
+President Fairchild, saying:--
+
+* "Manuscript of Solomon Spaulding and the 'Book of Mormon,'"
+Tract No. 77, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland,
+Ohio.
+
+
+"This is a romance, purporting to have been translated from the
+Latin, found on twenty-four rolls of parchment in a cave on the
+banks of Conneaut Creek, but written in a modern style, and
+giving a fabulous account of a ship's being drlven upon the
+American coast, while proceeding from Rome to Britain, a short
+time pious to the Christian era, this country then being
+inhabited by the Indians."*
+
+* Howe says in his book, "The fact that Spaulding in the latter
+part of his life inclined to infidelity is established by a
+letter in his handwriting now in our possession. "This letter was
+given by Rice with the other manuscript to President Fairchild
+(who reproduces it), thus adding to the proof that the Rice
+manuscript is the one Hurlbut delivered to Howe.
+
+Mr. Howe adds this important statement:--
+
+"This old manuscript has been shown to several of the foregoing
+witnesses, who recognize it as Spaulding's, he having told them
+that he had altered his first plan of writing, by going further
+back with dates, and writing in the old scripture style, in order
+that it might appear more ancient. They say that it bears no
+resemblance to the 'Manuscript Found.'"
+
+If Howe had considered this manuscript of the least importance as
+invalidating the testimony showing the resemblance between the
+"Manuscript Found" and the Mormon Bible, he would have destroyed
+it (if he was the malignant falsifier the Mormons represented him
+to be), and not have first described it in his book; and then
+left it to be found by any future owner of his effects. Its
+rediscovery has been accepted, however, even by some non-Mormons,
+as proof that the Mormon Bible is an original production.*
+
+* Preface to "The Mormon Prophet," Lily Dugall.
+
+
+Mrs. Ellen E. Dickenson, a great-niece of Spaulding, who has
+painstakingly investigated the history of the much-discussed
+manuscript, visited D. P. Hurlbut at his home near Gibsonburg,
+Ohio, in 1880 (he died in 1882), taking with her Oscar Kellogg, a
+lawyer, as a witness to the interview.* She says that her visit
+excited him greatly. He told of getting a manuscript for Mr. Howe
+at Hartwick, and said he thought it was burned with other of Mr.
+Howe's papers. When asked, "Was it Spaulding's manuscript that
+was burned?" he replied: "Mrs. Davison thought it was; but when I
+just peeked into it, here and there, and saw the names Mormon,
+Moroni, Lamanite, Lephi, I thought it was all nonsense. Why, if
+it had been the real one, I could have sold it for $3000;** but I
+just gave it to Howe because it was of no account. "During the
+interview his wife was present, and when Mrs. Dickenson pressed
+him with the question, "Do you know where the 'Manuscript Found'
+is at the present time?" Mrs. Hurlbut went up to him and said,
+"Tell her what you know." She got no satisfactory answer, but he
+afterward forwarded to her an affidavit saying that he had
+obtained of Mrs. Davison a manuscript supposing it to be
+Spaulding's "Manuscript Found," adding: "I did not examine the
+manuscript until after I got home, when upon examination I found
+it to contain nothing of the kind, but being a manuscript upon an
+entirely different subject. This manuscript I left with E. D.
+Howe."
+
+With this presentation of the evidence showing the similarity
+between Spaulding's story and the Mormon Bible narrative, we may
+next examine the grounds for believing that Sidney Rigdon was
+connected with the production of the Bible.
+
+* A full account of this interview is given in her book, "New
+Light on Mormonism" (1885).
+
+** There have been surmises that Hurlbut also found the
+"Manuscript Found" in the trunk and sold this to the Mormons. He
+sent a specific denial of this charge to Robert Patterson in
+1879.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SIDNEY RIGDON
+
+The man who had more to do with founding the Mormon church than
+Joseph Smith, Jr., even if we exclude any share in the production
+of the Mormon Bible, and yet who is unknown even by name to most
+persons to whom the names of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are
+familiar, was Sidney Rigdon. Elder John Hyde, Jr., was well
+within the truth when he wrote: "The compiling genius of
+Mormonism was Sidney Rigdon. Smith had boisterous impetuosity but
+no foresight. Polygamy was not the result of his policy but of
+his passions. Sidney gave point, direction, and apparent
+consistency to the Mormon system of theology. He invented its
+forms and the manner of its arguments.... Had it not been for the
+accession of these two men [Rigdon and Parley P. Pratt] Smith
+would have been lost, and his schemes frustrated and abandoned."*
+
+* "Mormonism: Its Leaders and Designs" (1857). Hyde, an
+Englishman, joined the Mormons in that country when a lad and
+began to preach almost at once. He sailed for this country in
+1853 and joined the brethren in Salt Lake City. Brigham Young's
+rule upset his faith, and he abandoned the belief in 1854. Even
+H. H. Bancroft concedes him to have been "an able and honest man,
+sober and sincere."
+
+Rigdon (according to the sketch of him presented in Smith's
+autobiography,* which he doubtless wrote) was born in St. Clair
+township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1793.
+His father was a farmer, and he lived on the farm, receiving only
+a limited education, until he was twenty-six years old. He then
+connected himself with the Baptist church, and received a license
+to preach. Selecting Ohio as his field, he continued his work in
+rural districts in that state until 1821, when he accepted a call
+to a small Baptist church in Pittsburg.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, Supt.
+
+
+Twenty years before the publication of the Mormon Bible, Thomas
+and Alexander Campbell, Scotchmen, had founded a congregation in
+Washington County, Pennsylvania, out of which grew the religious
+denomination known as Disciples of Christ, or Campbellites, whose
+communicants in the United States numbered 871,017 in the year
+1890. The fundamental principle of their teaching was that every
+doctrine of belief, or maxim of duty, must rest upon the
+authority of Scripture, expressed or implied, all human creeds
+being rejected. The Campbells (who had been first Presbyterians
+and then Baptists) were wonderful orators and convincing debaters
+out of the pulpit, and they drew to themselves many of the most
+eloquent exhorters in what was then the western border of the
+United States. Among their allies was another Scotchman, Walter
+Scott, a musician and schoolteacher by profession, who assisted
+them in their newspaper work and became a noted evangelist in
+their denomination. During a visit to Pittsburg in 1823, Scott
+made Rigdon's acquaintance, and a little later the flocks to
+which each preached were united. In August, 1824, Rigdon
+announced his withdrawal from his church. Regarding his
+withdrawal the sketch in Smith's autobiography says:--
+
+"After he had been in that place [Pittsburg] some time, his mind
+was troubled and much perplexed with the idea that the doctrines
+maintained by that society were not altogether in accordance with
+the Scriptures. This thing continued to agitate his mind more and
+more, and his reflections on these occasions were particularly
+trying; for, according to his view of the word of God, no other
+church with whom he could associate, or that he was acquainted
+with, was right; consequently, if he was to disavow the doctrine
+of the church with whom he was then associated, he knew of no
+other way of obtaining a living, except by manual labor, and at
+that time he had a wife and three children to support."
+
+For two years after he gave up his church connection he worked as
+a journeyman tanner. This is all the information obtainable about
+this part of his life. We next find him preaching at Bainbridge,
+Ohio, as an undenominational exhorter, but following the general
+views of the Campbells, advising his hearers to reject their
+creeds and rest their belief solely on the Bible.
+
+In June, 1826, Rigdon received a call to a Baptist church at
+Mentor, Ohio, whose congregation he had pleased when he preached
+the funeral sermon of his predecessor. His labors were not
+confined, however, to this congregation. We find him acting as
+the "stated" minister of a Disciples' church organized at Mantua,
+Ohio, in 1827, preaching with Thomas Campbell at Shalersville,
+Ohio, in 1828, and thus extending the influence he had acquired
+as early as 1820, when Alexander Campbell called him "the great
+orator of the Mahoning Association". In 1828 he visited his old
+associate Scott, was further confirmed in his faith in the
+Disciples' belief, and, taking his brother-in-law Bentley back
+with him, they began revival work at Mentor, which led to the
+conversion of more than fifty of their hearers. They held
+services at Kirtland, Ohio, with equal success, and the story of
+this awakening was the main subject of discussion in all the
+neighborhood round about. The sketch of Rigdon in Smith's
+autobiography closes with this tribute to his power as a
+preacher: "The churches where he preached were no longer large
+enough to contain the vast assemblies. No longer did he follow
+the old beaten track, ...but dared to enter on new grounds,
+...threw new light on the sacred volume, ...proved to a
+demonstration the literal fulfilment of prophecy ...and the reign
+of Christ with his Saints on the earth in the Millennium."
+
+In tracing Rigdon's connection with Smith's enterprise, attention
+must be carefully paid both to Rigdon's personal characteristics,
+and to the resemblance between the doctrines he had taught in the
+pulpit and those that appear in the Mormon Bible.
+
+Rigdon's mental and religious temperament was just of the
+character to be attracted by a novelty in religious belief. He,
+with his brother-in-law, Adamson Bentley, visited Alexander
+Campbell in 1821, and spent a whole night in religious
+discussion. When they parted the next day, Rigdon declared that
+"if he had within the last year promulgated one error, he had a
+thousand," and Mr. Campbell, in his account of the interview,
+remarked, "I found it expedient to caution them not to begin to
+pull down anything they had builded until they had reviewed,
+again and again, what they had heard; not even then rashly and
+without much consideration."*
+
+* Millennial Harbinger, 1848, p. 523.
+
+
+A leading member of the church at Mantua has written, "Sidney
+Rigdon preached for us, and, notwithstanding his extravagantly
+wild freaks, he was held in high repute by many."*
+
+* "Early History of the Disciples' Church in the Western
+Reserve," by A: S. Hayden (1876), p. 239.
+
+
+An important church discussion occurred at Warren, Ohio, in 1828.
+Following out the idea of the literal interpretation of the
+Scriptures taught in the Disciples' church, Rigdon sprung on the
+meeting an argument in favor of a community of goods, holding
+that the apostles established this system at Jerusalem, and that
+the modern church, which rested on their example, must follow
+them. Alexander Campbell, who was present, at once controverted
+this position, showing that the apostles, as narrated in Acts,
+"sold their possessions" instead of combining them for a profit,
+and citing Bible texts to prove that no "community system"
+existed in the early church. This argument carried the meeting,
+and Rigdon left the assemblage, embittered against Campbell
+beyond forgiveness. To a brother in Warren, on his way home, he
+declared, "I have done as much in this reformation as Campbell or
+Scott, and yet they get all the honor of it. "This claim is set
+forth specifically in the sketch of Rigdon in Smith's
+autobiography. Referring to Rigdon and Alexander Campbell, this
+statement is there made:--
+
+"After they had separated from the different churches, these
+gentlemen were on terms of the greatest friendship, and
+frequently met together to discuss the subject of religion, being
+yet undetermined respecting the principles of the doctrine of
+Christ or what course to pursue. However, from this connection
+sprung up a new church in the world, known by the name of
+'Campbellites'; they call themselves 'Disciples.' The reason why
+they were called Campbellites was in consequence of Mr.
+Campbell's periodical, above mentioned [the Christian Baptist],
+and it being the means through which they communicated their
+sentiments to the world; other than this, Mr. Campbell was no
+more the originator of the sect than Elder Rigdon."
+
+Rigdon's bitterness against the Campbells and his old church more
+than once manifested itself in his later writings. For instance,
+in an article in the Messenger and Advocate (Kirtland), of June,
+1837, he said: "One thing has been done by the coming forth of
+the Book of Mormon. It has puked the Campbellites effectually; no
+emetic could have done so half as well.... The Book of Mormon has
+revealed the secrets of Campbellism and unfolded the end of the
+system. "In this jealousy of the Campbells, and the discomfiture
+as a leader which he received at their hands, we find a
+sufficient object for Rigdon's desertion of his old church
+associations and desire to build up something, the discovery of
+which he could claim, and the government of which he could
+control.
+
+To understand the strength of the argument that the doctrinal
+teachings of the Mormon Bible were the work of a Disciples'
+preacher rather than of the ne'er-do-well Smith, it is only
+necessary to examine the teachings of the Disciples' church in
+Ohio at that time. The investigator will be startled by the
+resemblance between what was then taught to and believed by
+Disciples' congregations and the leading beliefs of the Mormon
+Bible. In the following examples of this the illustrations of
+Disciples' beliefs and teachings are taken from Hayden's "Early
+History of the Disciples' Church in the Western Reserve."
+
+The literal interpretation of the Scriptures, on which the Mormon
+defenders of their faith so largely depend,--as for explanations
+of modern revelations, miracles, and signs,--was preached to so
+extreme a point by Ohio Disciples that Alexander Campbell had to
+combat them in his Millennial Harbinger. An outcome of this
+literal interpretation was a belief in a speedy millennium,
+another fundamental belief of the early Mormon church. "The hope
+of the millennial glory," says Hayden, "was based on many
+passages of the Holy Scriptures.... Millennial hymns were learned
+and sung with a joyful fervor.... It is surprising even now, as
+memory returns to gather up these interesting remains of that
+mighty work, to recall the thorough and extensive knowledge which
+the convert quickly obtained. Nebuchadnezzar's vision... many
+portions of the Revelation were so thoroughly studied that they
+became the staple of the common talk." Rigdon's old Pittsburg
+friend, Scott, in his report as evangelist to the church
+association at Warren in 1828, said: "Individuals eminently
+skilled in the word of God, the history of the world, and the
+progress of human improvements see reasons to expect great
+changes, much greater than have yet occurred, and which shall
+give to political society and to the church a different, a very
+different, complexion from what many anticipate. The
+millennium--the millennium described in the Scriptures--will
+doubtless be a wonder, a terrible wonder, to all."
+
+Disciples' preachers understood that they spoke directly for God,
+just as Smith assumed to do in his "revelations." Referring to
+the preaching of Rigdon and Bentley, after a visit to Scott in
+March, 1828, Hayden says, "They spoke with authority, for the
+word which they delivered was not theirs, but that of Jesus
+Christ." The Disciples, like the Mormons, at that time looked for
+the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. Scott* was an enthusiastic
+preacher of this. "The fourteenth chapter of Zechariah," says
+Hayden, "was brought forward in proof--all considered as
+literal-- that the most marvellous and stupendous physical and
+climatic changes were to be wrought in Palestine; and that Jesus
+Christ the Messiah was to reign literally in Jerusalem, and in
+Mount Zion, and before his ancients, gloriously."
+
+* "In a letter to Dr. Richardson, written in 1830, he [Scott]
+says the book of Elias Smith on the prophecies is the only
+sensible work on that subject he had seen. He thinks this and
+Crowley on the Apocalypse all the student of the Bible wants. He
+strongly commends Smith's book to the doctor. This seems to be
+the origin of millennial views among us. Rigdon, who always
+caught and proclaimed the last word that fell from the lips of
+Scott or Campbell, seized these views (about the millennium and
+the Jews) and, with the wildness of his extravagant nature,
+heralded them everywhere."--"Early History of the Disciples'
+Church in the Western Reserve," p. 186.
+
+
+Campbell taught that "creeds are but statements, with few
+exceptions, of doctrinal opinion or speculators' views of
+philosophical or dogmatic subjects, and tended to confusion,
+disunion, and weakness." Orson Pratt, in his "Divine Authenticity
+of the Book of Mormon," thus stated the early Mormon view on the
+same subject: "If any man or council, without the aid of
+immediate revelation, shall undertake to decide upon such
+subjects, and prescribe 'articles of faith' or 'creeds' to govern
+the belief or views of others, there will be thousands of
+well-meaning people who will not have confidence in the
+productions of these fallible men, and, therefore, frame creeds
+of their own.... In this way contentions arise."
+
+Finally, attention may be directed to the emphatic declarations
+of the Disciples' doctrine of baptism in the Mormon Bible:--
+
+"Ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye
+baptize them.... And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and
+come forth again out of the water."--3 Nephi Xi. 23, 26.
+
+"I know that it is solemn mockery before God that ye should
+baptize little children.... He that supposeth that little
+children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the
+bond of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity;
+wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go
+down to hell. For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God
+saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish
+because he hath no baptism."--Moroni viii. 9, xc, 15.
+
+There are but three conclusions possible from all this: that the
+Mormon Bible was a work of inspiration, and that the agreement of
+its doctrines with Disciples' belief only proves the correctness
+of the latter; that Smith, in writing his doctrinal views, hit on
+the Disciples' tenets by chance (he had had no opportunity
+whatever to study them); or, finally, that some Disciple, learned
+in the church, supplied these doctrines to him.
+
+Advancing another step in the examination of Rigdon's connection
+with the scheme, we find that even the idea of a new Bible was
+common belief among the Ohio Disciples who listened to Scott's
+teaching. Describing Scott's preaching in the winter of
+1827-1828, Hayden says:--
+
+"He contended ably for the restoration of the true, original
+apostolic order which would restore to the church the ancient
+gospel as preached by the apostles. The interest became an
+excitement; ...the air was thick with rumors of a 'new religion,'
+a 'new Bible.'"
+
+Next we may cite two witnesses to show that Rigdon had a
+knowledge of Smith's Bible in advance of its publication. His
+brother-in-law, Bentley, in a letter to Walter Scott dated
+January 22, 1841, said, "I know that Sidney Rigdon told me there
+was a book coming out, the manuscript of which had been found
+engraved on gold plates, as much as two years before the Mormon
+book made its appearance or had been heard of by me."*
+
+* Millennial Harbinger, 1844, p. 39. The Rev. Alexander Campbell
+testified that this conversation took place in his presence.
+
+
+One of the elders of the Disciples' church was Darwin Atwater, a
+farmer, who afterward occupied the pulpit, and of whom Hayden
+says, "The uniformity of his life, his undeviating devotion, his
+high and consistent manliness and superiority of judgment, gave
+him an undisputed preeminence in the church." In a letter to
+Hayden, dated April 26, 1873, Mr. Atwater said of Rigdon: "For a
+few months before his professed conversion to Mormonism it was
+noticed that his wild extravagant propensities had been more
+marked. That he knew before the coming of the Book of Mormon is
+to me certain from what he said during the first of his visits at
+my father's, some years before. He gave a wonderful description
+of the mounds and other antiquities found in some parts of
+America, and said that they must have been made by the
+aborigines. He said there was a book to be published containing
+an account of those things. He spoke of these in his eloquent,
+enthusiastic style, as being a thing most extraordinary. Though a
+youth then, I took him to task for expending so much enthusiasm
+on such a subject instead of things of the Gospel. In all my
+intercourse with him afterward he never spoke of antiquities, or
+of the wonderful book that should give account of them, till the
+Book of Mormon really was published. He must have thought I was
+not the man to reveal that to."*
+
+* "Early History of the Disciples' Church in the Western
+Reserve," p. 239.
+
+
+Dr. Storm Rosa, a leading physician of Ohio, in, a letter to the
+Rev. John Hall of Ashtabula, written in 1841, said: "In the early
+part of the year 1830 I was in company with Sidney Rigdon, and
+rode with him on horseback for a few miles.... He remarked to me
+that it was time for a new religion to spring up; that mankind
+were all right and ready for it."*
+
+* "Gleanings by the Way," p. 315.
+
+
+Having thus established the identity of the story running through
+the Spaulding manuscript and the historical part of the Mormon
+Bible, the agreement of the doctrinal part of the latter with
+what was taught at the time by Rigdon and his fellow-workers in
+Ohio, and Rigdon's previous knowledge of the coming book, we are
+brought to the query: How did the Spaulding manuscript become
+incorporated in the Mormon Bible?
+
+It could have been so incorporated in two ways: either by coming
+into the possession of Rigdon and being by him copied and placed
+in Smith's hands for "translation," with the theological parts
+added;* or by coming into possession of Smith in his wanderings
+around the neighborhood of Hartwick, and being shown by him to
+Rigdon. Every aspect of this matter has been discussed by Mormon
+and non-Mormon writers, and it can only be said that definite
+proof is lacking. Mormon disputants set forth that Spaulding
+moved from Pittsburg to Amity in 1814, and that Rigdon's first
+visit to Pittsburg occurred in 1822. On the other hand, evidence
+is offered that Rigdon was a "hanger around" Patterson's
+printing-office, where Spaulding offered his manuscript, before
+the year 1816, and the Rev. John Winter, M.D., who taught school
+in Pittsburg when Rigdon preached there, and knew him well,
+recalled that Rigdon showed him a large manuscript which he said
+a Presbyterian minister named Spaulding had brought to the city
+for publication. Dr. Winter's daughter wrote to Robert Patterson
+on April 5, 1881: "I have frequently heard my father speak of
+Rigdon having Spaulding's manuscript, and that he had gotten it
+from the printers to read it as a curiosity; as such he showed it
+to father, and at that time Rigdon had no intention of making the
+use of it that he afterward did." Mrs. Ellen E. Dickenson, in a
+report of a talk with General and Mrs. Garfield on the subject at
+Mentor, Ohio, in 1880, reports Mrs. Garfield as saying "that her
+father told her that Rigdon in his youth lived in that
+neighborhood, and made mysterious journeys to Pittsburg."*** She
+also quotes a statement by Mrs. Garfield's** father, Z. Rudolph,
+"that during the winter previous to the appearance of the Book of
+Mormon, Rigdon was in the habit of spending weeks away from his
+home, going no one knew where."**** Tucker says that in the
+summer of 1827 "a mysterious stranger appears at Smith's
+residence, and holds private interviews with the far-famed
+money-digger.... It was observed by some of Smith's nearest
+neighbors that his visits were frequently repeated." Again, when
+the persons interested in the publication of the Bible were so
+alarmed by the abstraction of pages of the translation by Mrs.
+Harris, "the reappearance of the mysterious stranger at Smith's
+was," he says, "the subject of inquiry and conjecture by
+observers from whom was withheld all explanation of his identity
+or purpose."*****
+
+* "Rigdon has not been in full fellowship with Smith for more
+than a year. He has been in his turn cast aside by Joe to make
+room for some new dupe or knave who, perhaps, has come with more
+money. He has never been deceived by Joe. I have no doubt that
+Rigdon was the originator of the system, and, fearing for its
+success, put Joe forward as a sort of fool in the play."--Letter
+from a resident near Nauvoo, quoted in the postscript to
+Caswall's "City of the Mormons". (1843)
+
+** For a collection of evidence on this subject, see Patterson's
+"Who Wrote the Mormon Bible?"
+
+**(Scribner's Magazine, October, 1881.
+
+*** "New Light on Mormonism," p. 252.
+
+***** "Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism," pp. 28, 46.
+
+
+In a historical inquiry of this kind, it is more important to
+establish the fact that a certain thing WAS DONE than to prove
+just HOW or WHEN it was done. The entire narrative of the steps
+leading up to the announcement of a new Bible, including Smith's
+first introduction to the use of a "peek-stone" and his original
+employment of it, the changes made in the original version of the
+announcement to him of buried plates, and the final production of
+a book, partly historical and partly theological, shows that
+there was behind Smith some directing mind, and the only one of
+his associates in the first few years of the church's history who
+could have done the work required was Sidney Rigdon.
+
+President Fairchild, in his paper on the Spaulding manuscript
+already referred to, while admitting that "it is perhaps
+impossible at this day to prove or disprove the Spaulding
+theory," finds any argument against the assumption that Rigdon
+supplied the doctrinal part of the new Bible, in the view that "a
+man as self-reliant and smart as Rigdon, with a superabundant
+gift of tongue and every form of utterance, would never have
+accepted the servile task of mere interpolation; "there could
+have been no motive to it." This only shows that President
+Fairchild wrote without knowledge of the whole subject, with
+ignorance of the motives which did exist for Rigdon's conduct,
+and without means of acquainting himself with Rigdon's history
+during his association with Smith. Some of his motives we have
+already ascertained: We shall find that, almost from the
+beginning of their removal to Ohio, Smith held him in a
+subjection which can be explained only on the theory that Rigdon,
+the prominent churchman, had placed himself completely in the
+power of the unprincipled Smith, and that, instead of exhibiting
+self-reliance, he accepted insult after insult until, just before
+Smith's death, he was practically without influence in the
+church; and when the time came to elect Smith's successor, he was
+turned out-of-doors by Brigham Young with the taunting words,
+"Brother Sidney says he will tell our secrets, but I would say, `
+'O don't, Brother Sidney! Don't tell our secrets--O don't.' But
+if he tells our secrets we will tell his. Tit for tat! President
+Fairchild's argument that several of the original leaders of the
+fanaticism must have been "adequate to the task" of supplying the
+doctrinal part of the book, only furnishes additional proof of
+his ignorance of early Mormon history, and his further assumption
+that "it is difficult--almost impossible--to believe that the
+religious sentiments of the Book of Mormon were wrought into
+interpolation" brings him into direct conflict, as we shall see,
+with Professor Whitsitt,* amuch better equipped student of the
+subject.
+
+* Post, pp. 92. 93.
+
+
+If it should be questioned whether a man of Rigdon's church
+connection would deliberately plan such a fraudulent scheme as
+the production of the Mormon Bible, the inquiry may be easily
+satisfied. One of the first tasks which Smith and Rigdon
+undertook, as soon as Rigdon openly joined Smith in New York
+State, was the preparation of what they called a new translation
+of the Scriptures. This work was undertaken in conformity with a
+"revelation" to Smith and Rigdon, dated December, 1830 (Sec. 35,
+"Doctrine and Covenants") in which Sidney was told, "And a
+commandment I give unto thee, that thou shalt write for him; and
+the Scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own
+bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect. The "translating" was
+completed in Ohio, and the manuscript, according to Smith, "was
+sealed up, no more to be opened till it arrived in Zion."* This
+work was at first kept as a great secret, and Smith and Rigdon
+moved to the house of a resident of Hiram township, Portage
+County, Ohio, thirty miles from Kirtland, in September, 1831, to
+carry it on; but the secret soon got out. The preface to the
+edition of the book published at Plano, Illinois, in 1867, under
+the title, "The Holy Scriptures translated and corrected by the
+Spirit of Revelation, by Joseph Smith, Jr., the Seer," says that
+the manuscript remained in the hands of the prophet's widow from
+the time of his death until 1866, when it was delivered to a
+committee of the Reorganized Mormon conference for publication.
+Some of its chapters were known to Mormon readers earlier, since
+Corrill gives the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew in his
+historical sketch, which was dated 1839.
+
+* Millenial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 361.
+
+
+The professed object of the translation was to restore the
+Scriptures to their original purity and beauty, the Mormon Bible
+declaring that "many plain and precious parts" had been taken
+from them. The real object, however, was to add to the sacred
+writings a prediction of Joseph Smith's coming as a prophet,
+which would increase his authority and support the pretensions of
+the new Bible. That this was Rigdon's scheme is apparent from the
+fact that it was announced as soon as he visited Smith, and was
+carried on under his direction, and that the manuscript
+translation was all in his handwriting.*
+
+* Wyl's "Mormon Portraits," p.124.
+
+
+Extended parts of the translation do not differ at all from the
+King James version, and many of the changes are verbal and
+inconsequential. Rigdon's object appears in the changes made in
+the fiftieth chapter of Genesis, and the twenty-ninth chapter of
+Isaiah. In the King James version the fiftieth chapter of Genesis
+contains twenty-six verses, and ends with the words, "So Joseph
+died, being an hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him,
+and he was put in a coffin in Eygpt." In the Smith-Rigdon version
+this chapter contains thirty-eight verses, the addition
+representing Joseph as telling his brethren that a branch of his
+people shall be carried into a far country and that a seer shall
+be given to them, "and that seer will I bless, and they that seek
+to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise I give unto
+you; for I will remember you from generation to generation; and
+his name shall be called Joseph. And he shall have judgment, and
+shall write the word of the Lord."
+
+The twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah is similarly expanded from
+twenty-four short to thirty-two long verses. Verses eleven and
+twelve of the King James version read:--
+
+"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book
+that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying,
+Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed.
+
+"And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying,
+Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."
+
+The Smith-Rigdon version expands this as follows:-- "11. And it
+shall come to pass, that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you
+the words of a book; and they shall be the words of them which
+have slumbered.
+
+"12. And behold, the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall
+be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the
+ending thereof.
+
+"13. Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up, the
+things which are sealed shall not be delivered in the day of the
+wickedness and abominations of the people. Wherefore, the book
+shall be kept from them.
+
+"14. But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he shall
+deliver the words of the book, which are the words of those who
+have slumbered in the dust; and he shall deliver these words unto
+another, but the words that are sealed he shall not deliver,
+neither shall he deliver the book.
+
+"15. For the book shall be sealed by the power of God, and the
+revelation which was sealed shall be kept in the book until the
+own due time of the Lord, that they may come forth; for, behold,
+they reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the
+end thereof."
+
+No one will question that a Rigdon who would palm off such a
+fraudulent work as this upon the men who looked to him as a
+religious teacher would hesitate to suggest to Smith the scheme
+for a new Bible. During the work of translation, as we learn from
+Smith's autobiography, the translators saw a wonderful vision, in
+which they "beheld the glory of the Son on the right hand of the
+Father," and holy angels, and the glory of the worlds,
+terrestrial and celestial. Soon after this they received an
+explanation from heaven of some obscure texts in Revelation.
+Thus, the sea of glass (iv. 6) "is the earth in its sanctified,
+immortal, and eternal state"; by the little book which was eaten
+by John (chapter x) "we are to understand that it was a mission
+and an ordinance for him to gather the tribes of Israel."
+
+It may be added that this translation is discarded by the modern
+Mormon church in Utah. The Deseret Evening News, the church organ
+at Salt Lake City, said on February 21, 1900:--
+
+"The translation of the Bible, referred to by our correspondents,
+has not been adopted by this church as authoritative. It is
+understood that the Prophet Joseph intended before its
+publication to subject the manuscript to an entire examination,
+for such revision as might be deemed necessary. Be that as it
+may, the work has not been published under the auspices of this
+church, and is, therefore, not held out as a guide. For the
+present, the version of the scriptures commonly known as King
+James's translation is used, and the living oracles are the
+expounders of the written word."
+
+We may anticipate the course of our narrative in order to show
+how much confirmation of Rigdon's connection with the whole
+Mormon scheme is furnished by the circumstances attending the
+first open announcement of his acceptance of the Mormon
+literature and faith. We are first introduced to Parley P. Pratt,
+sometime tin peddler, and a lay preacher to rural congregations
+in Ohio when occasion offered. Pratt in his autobiography tells
+of the joy with which he heard Rigdon preach, at his home in
+Ohio, doctrines of repentance and baptism which were the "ancient
+gospel" that he (Pratt) had "discovered years before, but could
+find no one to minister in"; of a society for worship which he
+and others organized; of his decision, acting under the influence
+of the Gospel and prophecies "as they had been opened to him," to
+abandon the home he had built up, and to set out on a mission
+"for the Gospel's sake"; and of a trip to New York State, where
+he was shown the Mormon Bible. "As I read," he says, "the spirit
+of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the
+book was true."
+
+Pratt was at once commissioned, "by revelation and the laying on
+of hands," to preach the new Gospel, and was sent, also by
+"revelation" (Sec. 32, "Doctrine and Covenants"), along with
+Cowdery, Z. Peterson, and Peter Whitmer, Jr., "into the
+wilderness among the Lamanites." Pratt and Cowdery went direct to
+Rigdon's house in Mentor, where they stayed a week. Pratt's own
+account says: "We called on Mr. Rigdon, my former friend and
+instructor in the Reformed Baptist Society. He received us
+cordially, and entertained us with hospitality."*
+
+* "Autobiography of P. P. Pratt," p. 49.
+
+
+In Smith's autobiography it is stated that Rigdon's visitors
+presented the Mormon Bible to him as a revelation from God, and
+what followed is thus described:--
+
+"This being the first time he had ever heard of or seen the Book
+of Mormon, he felt very much prejudiced at the assertion, and
+replied that 'he had one Bible which he believed was a revelation
+from God, and with which he pretended to have some acquaintance;
+but with respect to the book they had presented him, he must say
+HE HAD SOME CONSIDERABLE DOUBT' Upon which they expressed a
+desire to investigate the subject and argue the matter; but he
+replied, 'No, young gentlemen, you must not argue with me on the
+subject. But I will read your book, and see what claim it has
+upon my faith, and will endeavor to ascertain whether it be a
+revelation from God or not'. After some further conversation on
+the subject, they expressed a desire to lay the subject before
+the people, and requested the privilege of preaching in Elder
+Rigdon's church, TO WHICH HE READILY CONSENTED. The appointment
+was accordingly published, and a large and respectable
+congregation assembled. Oliver Cowdery and Parley P. Pratt
+severally addressed the meeting. At the conclusion Elder Rigdon
+arose and stated to the congregation that the information they
+that evening had received was of an extraordinary character, and
+certainly demanded their most serious consideration; and, as the
+apostle advised his brethren 'to prove all things and hold fast
+that which is good,' so he would exhort his brethren to do
+likewise, and give the matter a careful investigation, and NOT
+TURN AGAINST IT, WITHOUT BEING FULLY CONVINCED OF ITS BEING AN
+IMPOSITION, LEST THEY SHOULD POSSIBLY RESIST THE TRUTH."
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 47.
+
+
+Accepting this as a correct report of what occurred (and we may
+consider it from Rigdon's pen), we find a clergyman who was a
+fellow-worker with men like Campbell and Scott expressing only
+"considerable doubt" of the inspiration of a book presented to
+him as a new Bible, "readily consenting" to the use of his church
+by the sponsors for this book, and, at the close of their
+arguments, warning his people against rejecting it too readily
+"lest they resist the truth"! Unless all these are misstatements,
+there seems to be little necessity of further proof that Rigdon
+was prepared in advance for the reception of the Mormon Bible.
+
+After this came the announcement of the conversion and baptism by
+the Mormon missionaries of a "family" of seventeen persons living
+in some sort of a "community" system, between Mentor and
+Kirtland. Rigdon, who had merely explained to his neighbors that
+his visitors were "on a curious mission," expressed disapproval
+of this at first, and took Cowdery to task for asserting that his
+own conversion to the new belief was due to a visit from an
+angel. But, two days later, Rigdon himself received an angel's
+visit, and the next Sunday, with his wife, was baptized into the
+new faith.
+
+Rigdon, of course, had to answer many inquiries on his return to
+Ohio from a visit to Smith which soon followed his conversion,
+but his policy was indignant reticence whenever pressed to any
+decisive point. To an old acquaintance who, after talking the
+matter over with him at his house, remarked that the Koran of
+Mohammed stood on as good evidence as the Bible of Smith, Rigdon
+replied: "Sir, you have insulted me in my own house. I command
+silence. If people come to see us and cannot treat us civilly,
+they can walk out of the door as soon as they please."* Thomas
+Campbell sent a long letter to Rigdon under date of February 4,
+1831, in which he addressed him as "for many years not only a
+courteous and benevolent friend, but a beloved brother and
+fellow-laborer in the Gospel--but alas! how changed, how fallen."
+Accepting a recent offer of Rigdon in one of his sermons to give
+his reasons for his new belief, Mr. Campbell offered to meet him
+in public discussion, even outlining the argument he would offer,
+under nine headings, that Rigdon might be prepared to refute it,
+proposing to take his stand on the sufficiency of the Holy
+Scriptures, Smith's bad character, the absurdities of the Mormon
+Bible and of the alleged miraculous "gifts," and the objections
+to the "common property" plan and the rebaptizing of believers.
+Rigdon, after glancing over a few lines of this letter, threw it
+into the fire unanswered.**
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 112.
+
+** Ibid., p. 116-123.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. "THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL"
+
+Having presented the evidence which shows that the historical
+part of the Mormon Bible was supplied by the Spaulding
+manuscript, we may now pay attention to other evidence, which
+indicates that the entire conception of a revelation of golden
+plates by an angel was not even original, and also that its
+suggestor was Rigdon. This is a subject which has been overlooked
+by investigators of the Mormon Bible.
+
+That the idea of the revelation as described by Smith in his
+autobiography was not original is shown by the fact that a
+similar divine message, engraved on plates, was announced to have
+been received from an angel nearly six hundred years before the
+alleged visit of an angel to Smith. These original plates were
+described as of copper, and the recipient was a monk named Cyril,
+from whom their contents passed into the possession of the Abbot
+Joachim, whose "Everlasting Gospel," founded thereon, was offered
+to the church as supplanting the New Testament, just as the New
+Testament had supplanted the Old, and caused so serious a schism
+that Pope Alexander IV took the severest measures against it.*
+
+* Draper's "Intellectual Development of Europe," Vol. II, Chap.
+III. For an exhaustive essay on the "Everlasting Gospel," by
+Renan, see Revue des Deux Mondes, June, 1866. For John of Parma's
+part in the Gospel, see "Histoire Litteraire de la France"
+(1842), Vol. XX, p. 24.
+
+
+The evidence that the history of the "Everlasting Gospel" of the
+thirteenth century supplied the idea of the Mormon Bible lies not
+only in the resemblance between the celestial announcement of
+both, but in the fact that both were declared to have the same
+important purport--as a forerunner of the end of the world --and
+that the name "Everlasting Gospel" was adopted and constantly
+used in connection with their message by the original leaders in
+the Mormon church.
+
+If it is asked, How could Rigdon become acquainted with the story
+of the original "Everlasting Gospel," the answer is that it was
+just such subjects that would most attract his attention, and
+that his studies had led him into directions where the story of
+Cyril's plates would probably have been mentioned. He was a
+student of every subject out of which he could evolve a sect,
+from the time of his Pittsburg pastorate. Hepworth Dixon said,
+"He knew the writings of Maham, Gates, and Boyle, writings in
+which love and marriage are considered in relation to Gospel
+liberty and the future life."* H. H. Bancroft, noting his
+appointment as Professor of Church History in Nauvoo University,
+speaks of him as "versed in history, belles-lettres, and
+oratory."** Mrs. James A. Garfield told Mrs. Dickenson that
+Rigdon taught her father Latin and Greek.*** David Whitmer, who
+was so intimately acquainted with the early history of the
+church, testified: "Rigdon was a thorough biblical scholar, a man
+of fine education and a powerful orator."**** A writer,
+describing Rigdon while the church was at Nauvoo, said, "There is
+no divine in the West more learned in biblical literature and the
+history of the world than he."***** All this indicates that a
+knowledge of the earlier "Everlasting Gospel" was easily within
+Rigdon's reach. We may even surmise the exact source of this
+knowledge. Mosheim's "Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern"
+was at his disposal. Editions of it had appeared in London in
+1765, 1768, 1774, 1782, 1790, 1806, 1810, and 1826, and among the
+abridgments was one published in Philadelphia in 1812. In this
+work he could have read as follows:--
+
+"About the commencement of this [the thirteenth] century there
+were handed about in Italy several pretended prophecies of the
+famous Joachim, abbot of Sora in Calabria, whom the multitude
+revered as a person divinely inspired, and equal to the most
+illustrious prophets of ancient times. The greatest part of these
+predictions were contained in a certain book entitled, 'The
+Everlasting Gospel,' and which was also commonly called the Book
+of Joachim. This Joachim, whether a real or fictitious person we
+shall not pretend to determine, among many other future events,
+foretold the destruction of the Church of Rome, whose corruptions
+he censured with the greatest severity, and the promulgation of a
+new and more perfect gospel in the age of the Holy Ghost, by a
+set of poor and austere ministers, whom God was to raise up and
+employ for that purpose."
+
+* "Spiritual Wives," p. 62.
+
+** "Utah," p. 146.
+
+*** Scribner's Magazine, October, 1881.
+
+**** "Address to All Believers in Christ;" p. 35.
+
+***** Letter in the New York Herald.
+
+
+Here is a perfect outline of the scheme presented by the original
+Mormons, with Joseph as the divinely inspired prophet, and an
+"Everlasting Gospel," the gift of an angel, promulgated by poor
+men like the travelling Mormon elders.
+
+The original suggestion of an "Everlasting Gospel" is found in
+Revelation xiv. 6 and 7:--
+
+"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
+everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,
+and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, "Saying
+with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour
+of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and
+earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water."** "Bisping
+(after Gerlach) takes Rev. xiv. 6-11 to foretell that three great
+events at the end of the last world-week are immediately to
+precede Christ's second advent (1) the announcement of the
+'eternal' Gospel to the whole world (Matt. xxiv. 14); (2)the Fall
+of Babylon; (3)a warning to all who worship the beast.... Burger
+says this vision can denote nothing but a last admonition and
+summons to conversion shortly before the end."--Note in
+"Commentary by Bishops and Other Clergy of the Anglican Church."
+
+This was the angel of Cyril; this the announcement of those
+"latter days" from which the Mormon church, on Rigdon's motion,
+soon took its name.
+
+That Rigdon's attention had been attracted to an "Everlasting
+Gospel" is proved by the constant references made to it in
+writings of which he had at least the supervision, from the very
+beginning of the church. Thus, when he preached his first sermon
+before a Mormon audience--on the occasion of his visit to Smith
+at Palmyra in 1830--he took as his text a part of the version of
+Revelation xiv. which he had put into the Mormon Bible (1 Nephi
+xiii. 40), and in his sermon, as reported by Tucker, who heard
+it, holding the Scriptures in one hand and the Mormon Bible in
+the other, he said, "that they were inseparably necessary to
+complete the everlasting gospel of the Saviour Jesus Christ." In
+the account, in Smith's autobiography, of the first description
+of the buried book given to Smith by the angel, its two features
+are named separately, first, "an account of the former
+inhabitants of this continent," and then "the fulness of the
+Everlasting Gospel. "That Rigdon never lost sight of the
+importance, in his view, of an "Everlasting Gospel" may be seen
+from the following quotation from one of his articles in his
+Pittsburg organ, the Messenger and Advocate, of June 15, 1845,
+after his expulsion from Nauvoo: "It is a strict observance of
+the principles of the fulness of the Everlasting Gospel of Jesus
+Christ, as contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of
+Covenants, which alone will insure a man an inheritance in the
+kingdom of our God."
+
+The importance attached to the "Everlasting Gospel" by the
+founders of the church is seen further in the references to it in
+the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," which it is not necessary
+to cite,* and further in a pamphlet by Elder Moses of New York
+(1842), entitled "A Treatise on the Fulness of the Everlasting
+Gospel, setting forth its First Principles, Promises, and
+Blessings," in which he argued that the appearance of the angel
+to Smith was in direct line with the Scriptural teaching, and
+that the last days were near.
+
+* For examples see Sec. 68, 1; Sec. 101, 22; Sec. 124, 88.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. THE WITNESSES TO THE PLATES
+
+In his accounts to his neighbors of the revelation to him of the
+golden plates on which the "record" was written, Smith always
+declared that no person but him could look on those plates and
+live. But when the printed book came out, it, like all subsequent
+editions to this day, was preceded by the following
+"testimonies":--
+
+
+"THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES
+
+"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto
+whom this work shall come, that we through the grace of God the
+Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which
+contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi,
+and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also the people of
+Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we
+also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of
+God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of
+a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have
+seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been
+shewn unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare
+with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from
+heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld
+and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that
+it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,
+that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it
+is marvellous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord
+commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be
+obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these
+things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall
+rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless
+before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him
+eternally in the heavens. And the honour be to the Father, and to
+the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
+
+"OLIVER COWDERY,DAVID WHITMER, MARTIN HARRIS.
+
+"AND ALSO THE TESTIMONY OF THE EIGHT WITNESSES
+
+"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto
+whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jun., the
+translator of this work, has shewn unto us the plates of which
+hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold; and as many
+of the leaves as the said Smith has translated we did handle with
+our hands; and we also saw the engravings thereon, all of which
+has the appearance of ancient work, and of curious workmanship.
+And this we bear record with words of soberness, that the said
+Smith has shewn unto us, for we have seen and hefted, and know of
+a surety that the said Smith has got the plates of which we have
+spoken. And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the
+world that which we have seen; and we lie not, God bearing
+witness of it.
+
+"CHRISTIAN WHITMER, HIRAM PAGE, JACOB WHITMER, JOSEPH SMITH,
+SEN., PETER WHITMER, JUN., HYRUM SMITH, JOHN WHITMER, SAMUEL H.
+SMITH."
+
+In judging of the value of this testimony, we may first inquire,
+what the prophet has to say about it, and may then look into the
+character and qualification of the witnesses.
+
+We find a sufficiently full explanation of Testimony No. 1 in
+Smith's autobiography and in his "revelations." Nothing could be
+more natural than that such men as the prophet was dealing with
+should demand a sight of any plates from which he might be
+translating. Others besides Harris made such a demand, and Smith
+repeated the warning that to look on them was death. This might
+satisfy members of his own family, but it did not quiet his
+scribes, and he tells us that Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Harris
+"teased me so much" (these are his own words) that he gave out a
+"revelation" in March, 1829 (Sec. 5, "Doctrine and Covenants"),
+in which the Lord was represented as saying that the prophet had
+no power over the plates except as He granted it, but that to his
+testimony would be added "the testimony of three of my servants,
+whom I shall call and ordain, unto whom I will show these things,
+"adding," and to none else will I grant this power, to receive
+this same testimony among this generation. "The Lord was
+distrustful of Harris, and commanded him not to be talkative on
+the subject, but to say nothing about it except, "I have seen
+them, and they have been shown unto me by the power of God."
+
+Smith's own account of the showing of the plates to these three
+witnesses is so luminous that it may be quoted. After going out
+into the woods, they had to stand Harris off by himself because
+of his evil influence. Then:--
+
+"We knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in
+prayer when presently we beheld a light above us in the air of
+exceeding brightness; and behold an angel stood before us. In his
+hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to
+have a view of; he turned over the leaves one by one, so that we
+could see them and discover the engravings thereon distinctly. He
+then addressed himself to David Whitmer and said, 'David, blessed
+is the Lord and he that keeps his commandments'; when immediately
+afterward we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us
+saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and
+they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of
+them is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now
+see and hear.'
+
+"I now left David and Oliver, and went into pursuit of Martin
+Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently
+engaged in prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet
+prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him
+in prayer, that he might also realize the same blessings which we
+had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and
+immediately obtained our desires; for before we had yet finished,
+the same vision was opened to our view, AT LEAST IT WAS AGAIN TO
+ME [Joe thus refuses to vouch for Harris's declaration on the
+subject]; and I once more beheld and heard the same things;
+whilst, at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently
+in ecstasy of joy, 'Tis enough, mine eyes hath beheld,' and,
+jumping up, he shouted 'Hosannah,' blessing God, and otherwise
+rejoiced exceedingly."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, Supt., p. 19.
+
+
+If this story taxes the credulity of the reader, his doubts about
+the value of this "testimony" will increase when he traces the
+history of the three witnesses. Surely, if any three men in the
+church should remain steadfast, mighty pillars of support for the
+prophet in his future troubles, it should be these chosen
+witnesses to the actual existence of the golden plates. Yet every
+one of them became an apostate, and every one of them was loaded
+with all the opprobrium that the church could pile upon him.
+
+Cowdery's reputation was locally bad at the time. "I was
+personally acquainted with Oliver Cowdery," said Danforth Booth,
+an old resident of Palmyra, in 1880. "He was a pettifogger; their
+(the Smiths') cat-paw to do their dirty work."* Smith's trouble
+with him, which began during the work of translating, continued,
+and Smith found it necessary to say openly in a "revelation"
+given out in Ohio in 1831 (Sec. 69), when preparations were
+making for a trip of some of the brethren to Missouri, "It is not
+wisdom in me that he should be intrusted with the commandments
+and the monies which he shall carry unto the land of Zion, except
+one go with him who will be true and faithful."
+
+* Among affidavits on file in the county clerk's office at
+Canandaigua, New York.
+
+
+By the time Smith took his final departure to Missouri, Cowdery
+and David and John Whitmer had lost caste entirely, and in June,
+1838, they fled to escape the Danites at Far West. The letter of
+warning addressed to them and signed by more than eighty Mormons,
+giving them three days in which to depart, contained the
+following accusations:--
+
+"After Oliver Cowdery had been taken by a state warrant for
+stealing, and the stolen property found in the house of William
+W. Phelps; in which nefarious transaction John Whitmer had also
+participated. Oliver Cowdery stole the property, conveyed it to
+John Whitmer, and John Whitmer to William W. Phelps; and then the
+officers of law found it. While in the hands of an officer, and
+under an arrest for this vile transaction, and, if possible, to
+hide your shame from the world like criminals (which, indeed, you
+were), you appealed to our beloved brethren, President Joseph
+Smith Jr. and Sidney Rigdon, men whose characters you had
+endeavored to destroy by every artifice you could invent, not
+even the basest lying excepted....
+
+"The Saints in Kirtland having elected Oliver Cowdery to a
+justice of the peace, he used the power of that office to take
+their most sacred rights from them, and that contrary to law. He
+supported a parcel of blacklegs, and in disturbing the worship of
+the Saints; and when the men whom the church had chosen to
+preside over their meetings endeavored to put the house to order,
+he helped (and by the authority of his justice's office too)
+these wretches to continue their confusion; and threatened the
+church with a prosecution for trying to put them out of the
+house; and issued writs against the Saints for endeavoring to
+sustain their rights; and bound themselves under heavy bonds to
+appear before his honor; and required bonds which were both
+inhuman and unlawful; and one of these was the venerable father,
+who had been appointed by the church to preside--a man of upwards
+of seventy years of age, and notorious for his peaceable habits.
+
+"Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Lyman E. Johnson, united with
+a gang of counterfeiters, thieves, liars and blacklegs of the
+deepest dye, to deceive, cheat and defraud the Saints out of
+their property, by every art and stratagem which wickedness could
+invent; using the influence of the vilest persecutions to bring
+vexatious lawsuits, villainous prosecutions, and even stealing
+not excepted.... During the full career of Oliver Cowdery and
+David Whitmer's bogus money business, it got abroad into the
+world that they were engaged in it, and several gentlemen were
+preparing to commence a prosecution against Cowdery; he finding
+it out, took with him Lyman E. Johnson, and fled to Far West with
+their families; Cowdery stealing property and bringing it with
+him, which has been, within a few weeks past, obtained by the
+owner by means of a search warrant, and he was saved from the
+penitentiary by the influence of two influential men of the
+place. He also brought notes with him upon which he had received
+pay, and made an attempt to sell them to Mr. Arthur of Clay
+County."*
+
+* "Documents in Relation to the Disturbances with the Mormons,"
+Missouri Legislature (1841), p. 103.
+
+
+Rigdon, who was the author of this arraignment, realizing that
+the enemies of the church would not fail to make use of this
+aspersion of the character of the witnesses, attempted to "hedge"
+by saying, in the same document, "We wish to remind you that
+Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were among the principal of
+those who were the means of gathering us to this place by their
+testimony which they gave concerning the plates of the Book of
+Mormon, that they were shown to them by an angel; which testimony
+we believe now as much as before you had so scandalously
+disgraced it." Could affrontery go to greater lengths?
+
+Cowdery and David Whitmer fled to Richmond, Missouri, where
+Whitmer lived until his death in January, 1888. Cowdery went to
+Tiffin, Ohio, where, after failing to obtain a position as an
+editor because of his Mormon reputation, he practised law. While
+living there he renounced his Mormon views, joined the Methodist
+church, and became superintendent of a Sunday-school. Later he
+moved to Wisconsin, but, after being defeated for the legislature
+there, he recanted his Methodist belief, and rejoined the Saints
+while they were at Council Bluffs, in October, 1848, after the
+main body had left for Salt Lake Valley. He addressed a meeting
+there by invitation, testifying to the truth of the Book of
+Mormon, and the mission of Smith as a prophet, and saying that he
+wanted to be rebaptized into the church, not as a leader, but
+simply as a member.* He did not, however, go to Utah with the
+Saints, but returned to his old friend Whitmer in Missouri, and
+died there in 1850. It has been stated that he offered to give a
+full renunciation of the Mormon faith when he united with the
+Methodists at Tiffin, if required, but asked to be excused from
+doing so on the ground that it would invite criticism and bring
+him into contempt.** One of his Tiffin acquaintances afterward
+testified that Cowdery confessed to him that, when he signed the
+"testimony," he "was not one of the best men in the world," using
+his own expression.*** The Mormons were always grateful to him
+for his silence under their persecutions, and the Millennial
+Star, in a notice of his death, expressed satisfaction that in
+the days of his apostasy "he never, in a single instance, cast
+the least doubt on his former testimony," adding, "May he rest in
+peace, to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection
+into eternal life, is the earnest desire of all Saints."
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XI, p.14.
+
+** "Naked Truths about Mormonism," A. B. Demming, Oakland,
+California, 1888.
+
+*** "Gregg's History of Hancock County, Illinois," p. 257.
+
+
+The Whitmers were a Dutch family, known among their neighbors as
+believers in witches and in the miraculous generally, as has been
+shown in Mother Smith's account of their sending for Joseph. A
+"revelation" to the three witnesses which first promised them a
+view of the plates (Sec. 17) told them, "It is BY YOUR FAITH you
+shall obtain a view of them," and directed them to testify
+concerning the plates, "that my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., may
+not be destroyed." One of the converts who joined the Mormons at
+Kirtland, Ohio, testified in later years that David Whitmer
+confessed to her that he never actually saw the plates,
+explaining his testimony thus: "Suppose that you had a friend
+whose character was such that you knew it impossible that he
+could lie; then, if he described a city to you which you had
+never seen, could you not, by the eye of faith, see the city just
+as he described it?"*
+
+* Mrs. Dickenson's "New Light on Mormonism."
+
+
+The Mormons have found consolation in the fact that Whitmer
+continued to affirm his belief in the authenticity of the Mormon
+Bible to the day of his death. He declared, however, that Smith
+and Young had led the flock astray, and, after the open
+announcement of polygamy in Utah, he announced a church of his
+own, called "The Church of Christ," refusing to affiliate even
+with the Reorganized Church because of the latter's adherence to
+Smith. In his "Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon, "a
+pamphlet issued in his eighty-second year, he said, "Now, in 1849
+the Lord saw fit to manifest unto John Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery
+and myself nearly all the remaining errors of doctrine into which
+we had been led by the heads of the church." The reader from all
+this can form an estimate of the trustworthiness of the second
+witness on such a subject.
+
+We have already learned a great deal about Martin Harris's mental
+equipment. A lawyer of standing in Palmyra told Dr. Clark that,
+after Harris had signed the "testimony," he pressed him with the
+question: "Did you see the plates with your natural eyes, just as
+you see this pencil case in my hand? Now say yes or no." Harris
+replied (in corroboration of Joe's misgiving at the time): "Why,
+I did not see them as I do that pencil case, yet I saw them with
+the eye of faith. I saw them just as distinctly as I see anything
+around me--though at the time they were covered over with a
+cloth."*
+
+* "Gleanings by the Way."
+
+
+Harris followed Smith to Ohio and then to Missouri, but was ever
+a trouble to him, although Smith always found his money useful.
+In 1831, in Missouri, it required a "revelation" (Sec. 58) to
+spur him to "lay his monies before the Bishop." As his money grew
+scarcer, he received less and less recognition from the Mormon
+leaders, and was finally expelled from the church. Smith thus
+referred to him in the Elders' Journal, July, 1837, one of his
+publications in Ohio: "There are negroes who wear white skins as
+well as black ones, granny Parish, and others who acted as
+lackeys, such as Martin Harris."
+
+Harris did not appear on the scene during the stay of the Mormons
+in Illinois, having joined the Shakers and lived with them a year
+or two. When Strang claimed the leadership of the church after
+Smith's death, Harris gave him his support, and was sent by him
+with others to England in 1846 to do missionary work. His arrival
+there was made the occasion of an attack on him by the Millennial
+Star, which, among other things, said:--
+
+"We do not feel to warn the Saints against him, for his own
+unbridled tongue will soon show out specimens of folly enough to
+give any person a true index to the character of the man; but if
+the Saints wish to know what the Lord hath said of him, they may
+turn to the 178th page of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and
+the person there called a WICKED MAN is no other than Martin
+Harris, and he owned to it then, but probably might not now. It
+is not the first time the Lord chose a wicked man as a witness.
+Also on page 193, read the whole revelation given to him, and ask
+yourselves if the Lord ever talked in that way to a good man.
+Every one can see that he must have been a wicked man."*
+
+*Vol. VIII, p. 123.
+
+
+Harris visited Palmyra in 1858. He then said that his property
+was all gone, that he had declined a restoration to the Mormon
+church, but that he continued to believe in Mormonism. He thought
+better of his declination, however, and sought a reunion with the
+church in Utah in 1870. His backslidings had carried him so far
+that the church authorities told him it would be necessary for
+him to be rebaptized. This he consented to with some reluctance,
+after, as he said, "he had seen his father seeking his aid. He
+saw his father at the foot of a ladder, striving to get up to
+him, and he went down to him, taking him by the hand, and helped
+him up."* He settled in Cache County, Utah, where he died on July
+10, 1875, in his ninety-third year. "He bore his testimony to the
+truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon a short time before he
+departed," wrote his son to an inquirer, "and the last words he
+uttered, when he could not speak the sentence, were 'Book,'
+'Book,' 'Book.'"
+
+* For an account of Harris's Utah experience, see Millennial
+Star, Vol. XLVIII, pp.357-389.
+
+
+The precarious character of Smith's original partners in the
+Bible business is further illustrated by his statement that, in
+the summer of 1830, Cowdery sent him word that he had discovered
+an error in one of Smith's "revelations,"* and that the Whitmer
+family agreed with him on the subject. Smith was as determined in
+opposing this questioning of his divine authority as he always
+was in stemming any opposition to his leadership, and he made
+them all acknowledge their error. Again, when Smith returned to
+Fayette from Harmony, in August, 1830 (more than a year after the
+plates were shown to the witnesses), he found that "Satan had
+been lying in wait," and that Hiram Page, of the second list of
+witnesses, had been obtaining revelations through a "peek-stone"
+of his own, and that, what was more serious, Cowdery and the
+Whitmer family believed in them. The result of this was an
+immediate "revelation" (Sec. 28) directing Cowdery to go and
+preach the Gospel to the Lamanites (Indians) on the western
+border, and to take along with him Hiram Page, and tell him that
+the things he had written by means of the "peek-stone" were not
+of the Lord.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 36.
+
+
+Neither Smith's autobiography nor the "Book of Doctrine and
+Covenants" contains any explanation of the second "testimony."
+The list of persons who signed it, however, leaves little doubt
+that the prophet yielded to their "teasing" as he did to that of
+the original three. The first four signers were members of the
+Whitmer family. Hiram Page was a root-doctor by calling, and a
+son-in-law of Peter Whitmer, Sr. The three Smiths were the
+prophet's father and two of his brothers.*
+
+* Christian Whitmer died in Clay County, Missouri, November 27,
+1835; Jacob died in Richmond County, April 21, 1866; Peter died
+in Clay County, September 22, 1836; Hiram Page died on a farm in
+Ray County, August 12, 1852.
+
+
+The favorite Mormon reply to any question as to the value of
+these "testimonies" is the challenge, "Is there a person on the
+earth who can prove that these eleven witnesses did not see the
+plates?" Curiously, the prophet himself can be cited to prove
+this, in the words of the revelation granting a sight of the
+plates to the first three, which said, "And to none else will I
+grant this power, to receive this same testimony among this
+generation." A footnote to this declaration in the "Doctrine and
+Covenants" offers, as an explanation of Testimony No. 2; the
+statement that others "may receive a knowledge by other
+manifestations." This is well meant but transparent.
+
+Mother Smith in later years added herself to these witnesses. She
+said to the Rev. Henry Caswall, in Nauvoo, in 1842, "I have
+myself seen and handled the golden plates." Mr. Caswall adds:--
+
+"While the old woman was thus delivering herself, I fixed my eyes
+steadily upon her. She faltered and seemed unwilling to meet my
+glances, but gradually recovered her self-possession. The
+melancholy thought entered my mind that this poor old creature
+was not simply a dupe of her son's knavery, but that she had
+taken an active part in the deception."
+
+Two matters have been cited by Mormon authorities to show that
+there was nothing so very unusual in the discovery of buried
+plates containing engraved letters. Announcement was made in 1843
+of the discovery near Kinderhook, Illinois, of six plates similar
+to those described by Smith. The story, as published in the Times
+and Seasons, with a certificate signed by nine local residents,
+set forth that a merchant of the place, named Robert Wiley, while
+digging in a mound, after finding ashes and human bones, came to
+"a bundle that consisted of six plates of brass, of a bell shape,
+each having a hole near the small end, and a ring through them
+all"; and that, when cleared of rust, they were found to be
+"completely covered with characters that none as yet have been
+able to read." Hyde, accepting this story, printed a facsimile of
+one of these plates on the cover of his book, and seems to rest
+on Wiley's statement his belief that "Smith did have plates of
+some kind." Stenhouse,* who believed that Smith and his witnesses
+did not perpetrate in the new Bible an intentional fraud, but
+thought they had visions and "revelations," referring to the
+Kinderhook plates, says that they were "actually and
+unquestionably discovered by one Mr. R. Wiley." Smith himself,
+after no one else could read the writing on them, declared that
+he had translated them, and found them to be a history of a
+descendant of Ham.**
+
+* T. B. H. Stenhouse, a Scotchman, was converted to the Mormon
+belief in 1846, performed diligent missionary work in Europe, and
+was for three years president of the Swiss and Italian missions.
+Joining the brethren in Utah with his wife, he was persuaded to
+take a second wife. Not long afterward he joined in the protest
+against Young's dictatorial course which was known as the "New
+Movement," and was expelled from the church. His "Rocky Mountain
+Saints" (1873) contains so much valuable information connected
+with the history of the church that it has been largely drawn on
+by E. W. Tullidge in his "History of Salt Lake City and Its
+Founders," which is accepted by the church.
+
+**Millennial Star, January 15, 1859, where cuts of the plates
+(here produced) are given.
+
+
+But the true story of the Kinderhook plates was disclosed by an
+affidavit made by W. Fulgate of Mound Station, Brown County,
+Illinois, before Jay Brown, Justice of the Peace, on June 30,
+1879. In this he stated that the plates were "a humbug, gotten up
+by Robert Wiley, Bridge Whitton, and myself. Whitton (who was a
+blacksmith) cut the plates out of some pieces of copper Wiley and
+I made the hieroglyphics by making impressions on beeswax and
+filling them with acid, and putting it on the plates. When they
+were finished, we put them together with rust made of nitric
+acid, old iron and lead, and bound them with a piece of hoop
+iron, covering them completely with the rust." He describes the
+burial of the plates and their digging up, among the spectators
+of the latter being two Mormon elders, Marsh and Sharp. Sharp
+declared that the Lord had directed them to witness the digging.
+The plates were borrowed and shown to Smith, and were finally
+given to one "Professor" McDowell of St. Louis, for his museum.*
+
+* Wyl's "Mormon Portraits," p. 207. The secretary of the Missouri
+Historical Society writes me that McDowell's museum disappeared
+some years ago, most of its contents being lost or stolen, and
+the fate of the Kinderhook plates cannot be ascertained.
+
+
+In attacking Professor Anthon's statement concerning the alleged
+hieroglyphics shown to him by Harris, Orson Pratt, in his "Divine
+Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," thought that he found
+substantial support for Smith's hieroglyphics in the fact that
+"Two years after the Book of Mormon appeared in print, Professor
+Rafinesque, in his Atlantic journal for 1832, gave to the public
+a facsimile of American glyphs,* found in Mexico. They are
+arranged in columns.... By an inspection of the facsimile of
+these forty-six elementary glyphs, we find all the particulars
+which Professor Anthon ascribes to the characters which he says
+'a plain-looking countryman' presented to him. "These" elementary
+glyphs "of Rafinesque are some of the characters found on the
+famous "Tablet of the Cross" in the ruins of Palenque, Mexico,
+since so fully described by Stevens. A facsimile of the entire
+Tablet may be found on page 355, Vol. IV, Bancroft's "Native
+Races of the Pacific States." Rafinesque selected these
+characters from the Tablet, and arranged them in columns
+alongside of other ancient writings, in order to sustain his
+argument that they resembled an old Libyan alphabet. Rafinesque
+was a voluminous writer both on archaeological and botanical
+subjects, but wholly untrustworthy. Of his Atlantic Journal (of
+which only eight numbers appeared) his biographer, R. E. Call,
+says that it had "absolutely no scientific value." Professor Asa
+Gray, in a review of his botanical writings in Silliman's
+Journal, Vol. XL, No. 2, 1841, said, "He assumes thirty to one
+hundred years as the average time required for the production of
+a new species, and five hundred to one thousand for a new genus."
+Professor Gray refers to a paper which Rafinesque sent to the
+editor of a scientific journal describing twelve new species of
+thunder and lightning. He was very fond of inventing names, and
+his designation of Palenque as Otolum was only an illustration of
+this. So much for the "elementary glyphs."
+
+* "Glyph: A pictograph or word carved in a compact distinct
+figure."--"Standard Dictionary.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. THE MORMON BIBLE
+
+The Mormon Bible,* both in a literary and a theological sense, is
+just such a production as would be expected to result from
+handing over to Smith and his fellow-"translators" a mass of
+Spaulding's material and new doctrinal matter for collation and
+copying. Not one of these men possessed any literary skill or
+accurate acquaintance with the Scriptures. David Whitmer, in an
+interview in Missouri in his later years, said, "So illiterate
+was Joseph at that time that he didn't know that Jerusalem was a
+walled city, and he was utterly unable to pronounce many of the
+names that the magic power of the Urim and Thummim revealed."
+Chronology, grammar, geography, and Bible history were alike
+ignored in the work. An effort was made to correct some of these
+errors in the early days of the church, and Smith speaks of doing
+some of this work himself at Nauvoo. An edition issued there in
+1842 contains on the title-page the words, "Carefully revised by
+the translator." Such corrections have continued to the present
+day, and a comparison of the latest Salt Lake edition with the
+first has shown more than three thousand changes.
+
+* The title of this Bible is "The Book of Mormon"; but as one of
+its subdivisions is a Book of Mormon, I use the title "Mormon
+Bible," both to avoid confusion and for convenience.
+
+
+The person who for any reason undertakes the reading of this book
+sets before himself a tedious task. Even the orthodox Mormons
+have found this to be true, and their Bible has played a very
+much less considerable part in the church worship than Smith's
+"revelations" and the discourses of their preachers. Referring to
+Orson Pratt's* labored writings on this Bible, Stenhouse says,
+"Of the hundreds of thousands of witnesses to whom God has
+revealed the truth of the 'Book of Mormon,' Pratt knows full well
+that comparatively few indeed have ever read that book, know
+little or nothing intelligently of its contents, and take little
+interest in it."** An examination of its contents is useful,
+therefore, rather as a means of proving the fraudulent character
+of its pretension to divine revelation than as a means of
+ascertaining what the members of the Mormon church are taught.
+
+* Orson Pratt was a clerk in a store in Hiram, Ohio, when he was
+converted to Mormonism. He seems to have been a natural student,
+and he rose to prominence in the church, being one of the first
+to expound and defend the Mormon Bible and doctrines, holding a
+professorship in Nauvoo University, publishing works on the
+higher mathematics, and becoming one of the Twelve Apostles.
+
+** "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 553.
+
+
+The following page(omitted in this etext) presents a facsimile of
+the title-page of the first edition of this Bible. The editions
+of to-day substitute "Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun.," for "By
+Joseph Smith, junior, author and proprietor."
+
+The first edition contains 588 duodecimo pages, and is divided
+into 15 books which are named as follows: "First Book of Nephi,
+his reign and ministry," 7 chapters; "Second Book of Nephi," 15
+chapters; "Book of Jacob, the Brother of Nephi," 5 chapters;
+"Book of Enos," 1 chapter; "Book of Jarom," 1 chapter; "Book of
+Omni," 1 chapter; "Words of Mormon," 1 chapter; "Book of Mosiah,"
+13 chapters; "Book of Alma, a Son of Alma," 30 chapters; "Book of
+Helaman," 5 chapters; "Third Book of Nephi, the Son of Nephi,
+which was the son of Helaman," 14 chapters; "Fourth Book of
+Nephi, which is the Son of Nephi, one of the Disciples of Jesus
+Christ," 1 chapter; "Book of Mormon," 4 chapters; "Book of
+Ether," 6 chapters; "Book of Moroni," 10 chapters. The chapters
+in the first edition were not divided into verses, that work,
+with the preparation of the very complete footnote references in
+the later editions, having been performed by Orson Pratt.
+
+The historical narrative that runs through the book is so
+disjointedly arranged, mixed up with doctrinal parts, and
+repeated, that it is not easy to unravel it. The following
+summary of it is contained in a letter to Colonel John Wentworth
+of Chicago, signed by Joseph Smith, Jr., which was printed in
+Wentworth's Chicago newspaper and also in the Mormon Times and
+Seasons of March 1, 1842:--
+
+"The history of America is unfolded from its first settlement by
+a colony that came from the Tower of Babel at the confusion of
+languages, to the beginning of the 5th century of the Christian
+era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient
+times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The
+first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of
+Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem
+about 600 years before Christ. They were principally Israelites
+of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about
+the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded
+them in the inhabitance of the country. The principal nation of
+the second race fell in battle toward the close of the fourth
+century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this
+country."
+
+This history purports to have been handed down, on metallic
+plates, from one historian to another, beginning with Nephi, from
+the time of the departure from Jerusalem. Finally (4 Nephi i. 48,
+49*), the people being wicked, Ammaron, by direction of the Holy
+Ghost, hid these sacred records "that they might come again unto
+the remnant of the house of Jacob."
+
+* All references to the Mormon Bible by chapter and verse refer
+to Salt Lake City edition of 1888.
+
+
+To bring the story down to a comparatively recent date, and
+account for the finding of the plates by Smith, the Book of
+Mormon was written by the "author." This subdivision is an
+abridgment of the previous records. It relates that Mormon, a
+descendant of Nephi, when ten years old, was told by Ammaron
+that, when about twenty-four years old, he should go to the place
+where the records were hidden, take only the plates of Nephi, and
+engrave on them all the things he had observed concerning the
+people. The next year Mormon was taken by his father, whose name
+also was Mormon, to the land of Zarahemla, which had become
+covered with buildings and very populous, but the people were
+warlike and wicked. Mormon in time, "seeing that the Lamanites
+were about to overthrow the land," took the records from their
+hiding place. He himself accepted the command of the armies of
+the Nephites, but they were defeated with great slaughter, the
+Lamanites laying waste their cities and driving them northward.
+
+Finally Mormon sent a letter to the king of the Lamanites, asking
+that the Nephites might gather their people "unto the land of
+Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah, and there we would
+give them battle." There, in the year 384 A.D., Mormon "made this
+record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah
+all the records which have been entrusted to me by the hand of
+the Lord, save it were those few plates which I gave unto my son
+Moroni."* This hill, according to the Mormon teaching, is the
+hill near Palmyra, New York, where Smith found the plates, just
+as Mormon had deposited them.
+
+* Hyde gives a list of twenty-four additional plates mentioned in
+this Bible which must still await digging up in the hill near
+Palmyra.
+
+
+In the battle which took place there the Nephites were
+practically annihilated, and all the fugitives were killed except
+Moroni, the son of Mormon, who undertook the completion of the
+"record." Moroni excuses the briefness of his narrative by
+explaining that he had not room in the plates, "and ore have I
+none" (to make others). What he adds is in the nature of a
+defence of the revealed character of the Mormon Bible and of
+Smith's character as a prophet. Those, for instance, who say that
+there are no longer "revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor
+healing, nor speaking with tongues," are told that they know not
+the Gospel of Christ and do not understand the Scriptures. An
+effort is made to forestall criticism of the "mistakes" that are
+conceded in the title-page dedication by saying, "Condemn me not
+because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his
+imperfection, neither them who have written before him" (Book of
+Mormon ix. 31).
+
+Evidently foreseeing that it would be asked why these "records,"
+written by Jews and their descendants, were not in Hebrew, Mormon
+adds (chap. ix. 32, 33):--
+
+"And now behold, we have written this record according to our
+knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the
+reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according
+to our manner of speech.
+
+"And if our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have
+written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also;
+and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had
+no imperfection in our record."
+
+Few parts of this mythical Bible approached nearer to the
+burlesque than this excuse for having descendants of the Jews
+write in "reformed Egyptian."
+
+The secular story of the ancient races running through this Bible
+is so confused by the introduction of new matter by the "author"*
+and by repetitions that it is puzzling to pick it out. The Book
+of Ether was somewhat puzzling even to the early Mormons, and we
+find Parley P. Pratt, in his analysis of it, printed in London in
+1854, saying, "Ether SEEMS to have been a lineal descendant of
+Jared."
+
+*Professor Whitsitt, of the Southern Baptist Theological
+Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, in his article on Mormonism in
+"The Concise Dictionary of Religious Knowledge, and Gazetteer"
+(New York, 1891), divides the Mormon Bible into three sections,
+viz.: the first thirteen books, presented as the works of Mormon;
+the Book of Ether, with which Mormon had no connection; and the
+fifteenth book," which was sent forth by the editor under the
+name of Moroni. "He thus explains his view of the "editing" that
+was done in the preparation of the work for publication:--
+
+"The editor undertook to rewrite and recast the whole of the
+abridgment (of Nephi's previous history), but his industry failed
+him at the close of the Book of Omni. The first six books that he
+had rewritten were given the names of the small plates.... The
+book called the 'Words of Mormon' in the original work stood at
+the beginning, as a sort of preface to the entire abridgment of
+Mormon; but when the editor had rewritten the first six books, he
+felt that these were properly his own performance, and the 'Words
+of Mormon' were assigned a position just in front of the Book of
+Mosiah, when the abstract of Mormon took its real
+commencement....
+
+"The question may now be raised as to who was the editor of the
+Book of Mormon.... In its theological positions and coloring the
+Book of Mormon is a volume of Disciple theology (this does not
+include the later polygamous doctrine and other gross Mormon
+errors). This conclusion is capable of demonstration beyond any
+reasonable question. Let notice also be taken of the fact that
+the Book of Mormon bears traces of two several redactions. It
+contains, in the first redaction, that type of doctrine which the
+Disciples held and proclaimed prior to November 18, 1827, when
+they had not yet formally embraced what is commonly considered to
+be the tenet of baptismal remission. It also contains the type of
+doctrine which the Disciples have been defending since November
+18, 1827, under the name of the ancient Gospel, of which the
+tenet of socalled baptismal remission is a leading feature. All
+authorities agree that Mr. Smith obtained possession of the work
+on September 22, 1827, a period of nearly two months before the
+Disciples concluded to embrace this tenet. The editor felt that
+the Book of Mormon would be sadly incomplete if this notion were
+not included. Accordingly, he found means to communicate with Mr.
+Smith, and, regaining possession of certain portions of the
+manuscript, to insert the new item.... Rigdon was the only
+Disciple minister who vigorously and continuously demanded that
+his brethren should adopt the additional points that have been
+indicated."
+
+
+Very concisely, this Bible story of the most ancient race that
+came to America, the Jaredites, may be thus stated:--
+
+This race, being righteous, were not punished by the Lord at
+Babel, but were led to the ocean, where they constructed a vessel
+by direction of the Lord, in which they sailed to North America.
+According to the Book of Ether, there were eight of these
+vessels, and that they were remarkable craft needs only the
+description given of them to show: "They were built after a
+manner that they were exceeding tight, even that they would hold
+water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like
+unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish;
+and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight
+like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a
+tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto
+a dish" (Book of Ether ii. 17). This description certainly
+establishes the general resemblance of these barges to some kind
+of a dish, but the rather careless comparison of their length
+simply to that of a "tree" leaves this detail of construction
+uncertain.
+
+Just before they embarked in these vessels, a brother of Jared
+went up on Mount Shelem, where the Lord touched sixteen small
+stones that he had taken up with him, two of which were the Urim
+and Thummim, by means of which Smith translated the plates. These
+stones lighted up the vessels on their trip across the ocean.
+Jared's brother was told by the spirit on the mount, "Behold, I
+am Jesus Christ. "A footnote in the modern edition of this Bible
+kindly explains that Jared's brother "saw the preexistent spirit
+of Jesus."
+
+When they landed (somewhere on the Isthmus of Darien), the Lord
+commanded Nephi to make "plates of ore," on which should be
+engraved the record of the people. This was the origin of Smith's
+plates. In time this people divided themselves, under the
+leadership of two of Lehi's sons--Nephi and Laman--into Nephites
+and Lamanites (with subdivisions). The Lamanites, in the course
+of two hundred years, had become dark in color and "wild and
+ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people; full of idolatry and
+filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents and
+wandering about in the wilderness, with a short skin girdle about
+their loins, and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the
+bow and the cimeter and the ax" (Enos i, 2o). The Nephites, on
+the other hand, tilled the land and raised flocks. Between the
+two tribes wars waged, the Nephites became wicked, and in the
+course of 320 years the worst of them were destroyed (Book of
+Alma).
+
+Then the Lord commanded those who would hearken to his voice to
+depart with him to the wilderness, and they journeyed until they
+came to the land of Zarahemla, which a footnote to the modern
+edition explains "is supposed to have been north of the head
+waters of the river Magdalena, its northern boundary being a few
+days' journey south of the Isthmus" (of Darien). There they found
+the people of Zarahemla, who had left Jerusalem when Zedekiah was
+carried captive into Babylon. New teachers arose who taught the
+people righteousness, and one of them, named Alma, led a company
+to a place which was called Mormon, "where was a fountain of pure
+water, and there Alma baptized the people. The Book of Alma, the
+longest in this Bible, is largely an account of the secular
+affairs of the inhabitants, with stories of great battles, a
+prediction of the coming of Christ, and an account of a great
+migration northward, and the building of ships that sailed in the
+same direction.
+
+Nephi describes the appearance of Christ to the people of the
+western continent, preceded by a star, earthquakes, etc. On the
+day of His appearance they heard "a small voice" out of heaven,
+saying, "Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in
+whom I have glorified my name; hear ye him." Then Christ appeared
+and spoke to them, generally in the language of the New Testament
+(repeating, for instance, the Sermon on the Mount*), and
+afterward ascended into heaven in a cloud. The expulsion of the
+Nephites northward, and their final destruction, in what is now
+New York State, followed in the course of the next 384 years.
+
+* In the Mormon version of this sermon the words, "If thy right
+eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee," and "If thy
+right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee," are
+lacking. The Deseret Evening News of February 21, 1900, in
+explaining this omission, says that the report by Mormon of the
+"discourse delivered by Jesus Christ to the Nephites on this
+continent after his resurrection from the dead... may not be full
+and complete."
+
+
+There is throughout the book an imitation of the style of the
+Holy Scriptures. Verse after verse begins with the words "and it
+came to pass," as Spaulding's Ohio neighbors recalled that his
+story did. The following extract, from 1 Nephi, chap. viii, will
+give an illustration of the literary style of a large part of the
+work:--
+
+"1.. And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner
+of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of
+the seeds of fruit of every kind.
+
+"2. And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the
+wilderness, he spake unto us, saying, Behold, I have dreamed a
+dream; or in other words, I have seen a vision.
+
+"3. And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have
+reason to rejoice in the Lord, because of Nephi and also of Sam;
+for I have reason to suppose that they, and also many of their
+seed, will be saved.
+
+"4. But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of
+you; for behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary
+wilderness.
+
+"5. And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a
+white robe; and he came and stood before me.
+
+"6. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow
+him.
+
+"7. And it came to pass that as I followed him, I beheld myself
+that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
+
+"8. And after I had travelled for the space of many hours in
+darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy
+on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.
+
+"9. And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord, I
+beheld a large and spacious field.
+
+"10. And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was
+desirable to make one happy.
+
+"11. And it came to pass that I did go forth, and partake of the
+fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all
+that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit
+thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever
+seen."
+
+Whole chapters of the Scriptures are incorporated word for word.
+In the first edition some of these were appropriated without any
+credit; in the Utah editions they are credited. Beside these,
+Hyde counted 298 direct quotations from the New Testament, verses
+or sentences, between pages 2 to 428, covering the years from 600
+B.C. to Christ's birth. Thus, Nephi relates that his father, more
+than two thousand years before the King James edition of the
+Bible was translated, in announcing the coming of John the
+Baptist, used these words, "Yea, even he should go forth and cry
+in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his
+paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know
+not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not
+worthy to unloose" (1 Nephi x. 8). In Mosiah v. 8, King Benjamin
+is represented as saying, 124 years before Christ was born, "I
+would that you should take upon you the name of Christ as there
+is no other name given whereby salvation cometh."
+
+The first Nephi represents John as baptizing in Bethabara (the
+spelling is Beathabry in the Utah edition), and Alma announces
+(vii. 10) that "the Son of God shall be born of Mary AT
+JERUSALEM." Shakespeare is proved a plagiarist by comparing his
+words with those of the second Nephi, who, speaking twenty-two
+hundred years before Shakespeare was born, said (2 Nephi i. 14),
+"Hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs you must soon
+lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveller
+can return."
+
+The chapters of the Scriptures appropriated bodily, and the
+places where they may be found, are as follows:--
+
+ First Edition Utah Edition
+
+Isaiah xlviii and xlix pp. 52 to 56 1 Nephi, ch. xx, xxi Isaiah 1
+and li ...pp. 76 2 Nephi, ch. vii Isaiah lii .... . pp. 498 3
+Nephi, ch. xx Isaiah liv .... . pp. 501, 502 3 Nephi, ch. xx
+Isaiah ii to xiv . . pp. 86 to 101 2 Nephi, ch. xii to xxiv
+Malachi iii, iv ... pp. 503 to 505 3 Nephi, ch. xxiv, xxv Matthew
+v, vi, vii . .pp. 479 to 483 3 Nephi, ch. xii to xix 1
+Corinthians xiii ... pp. 580 Moroni, ch. vii
+
+Among the many anachronisms to be found in the book may be
+mentioned the giving to Laban of a sword with a blade "of the
+most precious steel" (1 Nephi iv. 9), centuries before the use of
+steel is elsewhere recorded. and the possession of a compass by
+the Jaredites when they sailed across the ocean (Alma xxxvii.
+38), long before the invention of such an instrument. The ease
+with which such an error could be explained is shown in the
+anecdote related of a Utah Mormon who, when told that the compass
+was not known in Bible times, responded by quoting Acts xxviii.
+13, where Paul says, "And from thence we fetched a compass." When
+Nephi and his family landed in Central America" there were beasts
+in the forest of every kind, both the cow, and the ox, and the
+ass, and the horse" (ix Nephi xviii. 25). If Nephi does not
+prevaricate, there must have been a fatal plague among these
+animals in later years, for horses, cows, and asses were unknown
+in America until after its discovery by Europeans. Moroni, in the
+Book of Ether (ix. 18, 19), is still more generous, adding to the
+possessions of the Jaredites sheep and swine* and elephants and
+"cureloms and cumoms." Neither sheep nor swine are indigenous to
+America; but the prophet is safe as regards the "cureloms and
+cumoms," which are animals of his own creation.
+
+* "And," it is added, "many other kinds of animals which were
+useful for the use of man, "thus ignoring the Hebrew antipathy to
+pork.
+
+
+The book is full of incidental proofs of the fraudulent
+profession that it is an original translation. For instance, in
+incorporating 1 Corinthians iii. 4, in the Book of Moroni, the
+phrase "is not easily provoked" is retained, as in the King James
+edition. But the word "easily" is not found in any Greek
+manuscript of this verse, and it is dropped in the Revised
+Version of 1881.
+
+Stenhouse calls attention to many phrases in this Bible which
+were peculiar to the revival preachers of those days, like
+Rigdon, such as "Have ye spiritually been born of God?" "If ye
+have experienced a change of heart."
+
+The first edition was full of grammatical errors and amusing
+phrases. Thus we are told, in Ether xv. 31, that when Coriantumr
+smote off the head of Shiz, the latter "raised upon his hands and
+fell." Among other examples from the first edition may be quoted:
+"and I sayeth"; "all things which are good cometh of God";
+"neither doth his angels"; and "hath miracles ceased." We find in
+Helaman ix. 6, "He being stabbed by his brother by a garb of
+secrecy." This remains uncorrected.
+
+Alexander Campbell, noting the mixture of doctrines in the book,
+says, "He [the author] decides all the great controversies
+discussed in New York in the last ten years, infant baptism, the
+Trinity, regeneration, repentance, justification, the fall of
+man, the atonement, transubstantiation, fasting, penance, church
+government, the call to the ministry, the general resurrection,
+eternal punishment, who may baptize, and even the questions of
+Freemasonry, republican government and the rights of man."*
+
+* "Delusions: an Analysis of the Book of Mormon" (1832). An
+exhaustive examination of this Bible will be found in the "Braden
+and Kelley Public Discussion."
+
+
+Such is the book which is accepted to this day as an inspired
+work by the thousands of persons who constitute the Mormon
+church. This acceptance has always been rightfully recognized as
+fundamentally necessary to the Mormon faith. Orson Pratt
+declared, "The nature of the message in the Book of Mormon is
+such that, if true, none can be saved who reject it, and, if
+false, none can be saved who receive it." Brigham Young told the
+Conference at Nauvoo in October, 1844, that "Every spirit that
+confesses that Joseph Smith is a prophet, that he lived and died
+a prophet, and that the Book of Mormon is true, is of God, and
+every spirit that does not is of Anti-Christ." There is no
+modification of this view in the Mormon church of to-day.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
+
+The director of the steps taken to announce to the world a new
+Bible and a new church realized, of course, that there must be
+priests, under some name, to receive members and to dispense its
+blessing. No person openly connected with Smith in the work of
+translation had been a clergyman. Accordingly, on May 15, 1829
+(still following the prophet's own account), while Smith and
+Cowdery were yet busy with the work of translation, they went
+into the woods to ask the Lord for fuller information about the
+baptism mentioned in the plates. There a messenger from heaven,
+who, it was learned, was John the Baptist, appeared to them in a
+cloud of light, "and having laid his hands on us, he ordained us,
+saying unto us, 'Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of
+Messiah, I confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys
+of the ministering angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and
+of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.'" The
+messenger also informed them that "the power of laying on of
+hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost" would be conferred on them
+later, through Peter, James, and John, "who held the keys of the
+priesthood of Melchisedec"; but he directed Smith to baptize
+Cowdery, and Cowdery then to perform the same office for Smith.
+This they did at once, and as soon as Cowdery came out of the
+water he "stood up and prophesied many things" (which the prophet
+prudently omitted to record). The divine authority thus
+conferred, according to Orson Pratt, exceeds that of the bishops
+of the Roman church, because it came direct from heaven, and not
+through a succession of popes and bishops.*
+
+* Orson Pratt, in his "Questions and Answers on Doctrine" in his
+Washington newspaper, the Seer (p. 205), thus defined the Mormon
+view of the Roman Catholic church:--
+
+Q."Is the Roman Catholic Church the Church of Christ?" A."No, for
+she has no inspired priesthood or officers."
+
+Q."After the Church of Christ fled from earth to heaven what was
+left?" A."A set of wicked apostates, murderers and idolaters,"
+etc.
+
+Q."Who founded the Roman Catholic Church?" A."The devil, through
+the medium of the apostates, who subverted the whole order of God
+by denying immediate revelation, and substituting in place
+thereof tradition and ancient revelations as a sufficient rule of
+faith and practice."
+
+
+Smith and Cowdery at once began telling of the power conferred
+upon them, and giving their relatives and friends an opportunity
+to become members of the new church. Smith's brother Samuel was
+the first convert won over, Cowdery baptizing him. His brother
+Hyrum came next,* and then one J. Knight, Sr., of Colesville, New
+York.** Each new convert was made the subject of a "revelation,"
+each of which began, "A great and marvelous work is about to come
+forth among the children of men." Hyrum Smith, and David and
+Peter Whitmer, Jr., were baptized in Seneca Lake in June, and
+"from this time forth," says Smith, "many became believers and
+were baptized, while we continued to instruct and persuade as
+many as applied for information."
+
+* Hyrum wanted to start in to preach at once, and a "revelation"
+was necessary to inform him: "You need not suppose you are called
+to preach until you are called.... Keep my commandments; hold
+your peace" (Sec.11).
+
+** Colesville is the township in Broome County of which
+Harpursville is the voting place. Smith organized his converts
+there about two miles north of Harpursville.
+
+
+By April 6, 1830, branches of the new church had been established
+at Fayette, Manchester, and Colesville, New York, with some
+seventy members in all, it has been stated. Section 20 of the
+"Doctrine and Covenants" names April 6, 1830, as the date on
+which the church was "regularly organized and established,
+agreeable to the laws of our country." This date has been
+incorrectly given as that on which the first step was taken to
+form a church organization. What was done then was to organize in
+a form which, they hoped, would give the church a standing as a
+legal body.* The meeting was held at the house of Peter Whitmer.
+Smith, who, it was revealed, should be the first elder, ordained
+Cowdery, and Cowdery subsequently ordained Smith. The sacrament
+was then administered, and the new elders laid their hands on the
+others present.
+
+* Whitmer's "Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon."
+
+
+"The revelation" (Sec. 20) on the form of church government is
+dated April, 1830, at least six months before Rigdon's name was
+first associated with the scheme by the visit of Cowdery and his
+companions to Ohio. If the date is correct, it shows that Rigdon
+had forwarded this "revelation" to Smith for promulgation, for
+Rigdon was unquestionably the originator of the system of church
+government. David Whitmer has explained, "Rigdon would expound
+the Old Testament Scriptures of the Bible and Book of Mormon, in
+his way, to Joseph, concerning the priesthood, high priests,
+etc., and would persuade Brother Joseph to inquire of the Lord
+about this doctrine and about that doctrine, and of course a
+revelation would always come just as they desired it."*
+
+* Whitmer's "Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon."
+
+
+The "revelation" now announced defined the duty of elders,
+priests, teachers, deacons, and members of the Church of Christ.
+An apostle was an elder, and it was his calling to baptize,
+ordain, administer the sacrament, confirm, preach, and take the
+lead in all meetings. A priest's duty was to preach, baptize,
+administer the sacrament, and visit members at their houses.
+Teachers and deacons could not baptize, administer the sacrament,
+or lay on hands, but were to preach and invite all to join the
+church. The elders were directed to meet in conference once in
+three months, and there was to be a High Council, or general
+conference of the church, by which should be ordained every
+President of the high priesthood, bishop, high counsellor, and
+high priest.
+
+Smith's leadership had, before this, begun to manifest itself. He
+had, in a generous mood, originally intended to share with others
+the honor of receiving "revelations," the first of these in the
+"Book of Doctrine and Covenants," saying, "I the Lord also gave
+commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things to
+the world." In the original publication of these "revelations,"
+under the title "Book of Commandments," we find such headings as,
+"A revelation given to Oliver," "A revelation given to Hyrum,"
+etc. These headings are all changed in the modern edition to
+read, "Given through Joseph the Seer," etc.
+
+Cowdery was the first of his associates to seek an open share in
+the divine work. Smith was so pleased with his new scribe when
+they first met at Harmony, Pennsylvania, that he at once received
+a "revelation" which incited Cowdery to ask for a division of
+power. Cowdery was told (Sec. 6), "And behold, I grant unto you a
+gift, if you desire of me, to translate even as my servant
+Joseph. "Cowdery's desire manifested itself immediately, and
+Joseph almost as quickly became conscious that he had committed
+himself too soon. Accordingly, in another "revelation," dated the
+same month of April, 1829 (Sec. 8), he attempted to cajole Oliver
+by telling him about a "gift of Aaron" which he possessed, and
+which was a remarkable gift in itself, adding, "Do not ask for
+that which you ought not." But Cowdery naturally clung to his
+promised gift, and kept on asking, and he had to be told right
+away in still another "revelation" (Sec. 9), that he had not
+understood, but that he must not murmur, since his work was to
+write for Joseph. If he was in doubt about a subject, he was
+advised to "study it out in your mind"; and if it was right, the
+Lord promised, "I will cause that your bosom shall burn within
+you"; but if it was not right, "you shall have a stupor of
+thought, that shall cause you to forget the thing which is
+wrong." To assist him until he became accustomed to discriminate
+between this burning feeling and this stupor, the Lord told him
+very plainly, "It is not expedient that you should translate
+now." That all this rankled in Cowdery's heart was shown by his
+attempt to revise one of Smith's "revelations," and the support
+he gave to Hiram Page's "gazing."
+
+Cowdery continued to annoy the prophet, and Smith decided to get
+rid of him. Accordingly in July, 1830, came a "revelation,"
+originally announced as given direct to Joseph's wife Emma,
+instructing her to act as her husband's scribe, "that I may send
+my servant Oliver Cowdery whithersoever I will." This occurred on
+a trip the Smiths had made to Harmony. On their return to
+Fayette, Smith found Cowdery still persistent, and he accordingly
+gave out a "revelation" to him, telling him again that he must
+not "write by way of commandment," inasmuch as Smith was at the
+head of the church, and directing him to "go unto the Lamanites
+(Indians) and preach my Gospel unto them." This was the first
+mention of the westward movement of the church which shaped all
+its later history.
+
+A "revelation" in June, 1829 (Sec. 18), had directed the
+appointment of the twelve apostles, whom Cowdery and David
+Whitmer were to select. The organized members now began to
+inquire who was their leader, and Smith, in a "revelation" dated
+April 6, 1830 (Sec. 21), addressed to himself, announced: "Behold
+there shall be a record kept among you, and in it thou shalt be
+called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus
+Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the
+Father, and the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ"; and the church
+was directed in these words, "For his word ye shall receive, as
+if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith." Thus was
+established an authority which Smith defended until the day of
+his death, and before which all who questioned it went down.
+
+Some of the few persons who at this time expressed a willingness
+to join the new church showed a repugnance to being baptized at
+his hands, and pleaded previous baptism as an excuse for evading
+it. But Smith's tyrannical power manifested itself at once, and
+he straightway announced a "revelation" (Sec. 22), in which the
+Lord declared, "All old covenants have I caused to be done away
+in this thing, and this is a new and everlasting covenant, even
+that which was from the beginning."
+
+Five days after the formal organization, the first sermon to the
+Mormon church was preached in the Whitmer house by Oliver
+Cowdery, Smith probably concluding that it would be wiser to
+confine himself to the receipt of "revelations" rather than to
+essay pulpit oratory too soon. Six additional persons were then
+baptized. Soon after this the first Mormon miracle was
+performed--the casting out of a devil from a young man named,
+Newel Knight.
+
+The first conference of the organized church was held at Fayette,
+New York, in June, 1830, with about thirty members present. In
+recent "revelations" the prophet had informed his father and his
+brothers Hyrum and Samuel that their calling was "to exhortation
+and to strengthen the church," so that they were provided for in
+the new fold.
+
+The region in New York State where the Smiths had lived and were
+well known was not favorable ground for their labors as church
+officers, conducting baptisms and administering the sacrament.
+When they dammed a small stream in order to secure a pool for an
+announced baptism, the dam was destroyed during the night. A
+Presbyterian sister-in-law of Knight, from whom a devil had been
+cast, announced her conversion to Smith's church, and, when she
+would not listen to the persuasions of her pastor, the latter
+obtained legal authority from her parents and carried her away by
+force. She succeeded, however, in securing the wished-for
+baptism. All this stirred up public feeling against Smith, and he
+was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.
+
+At the trial testimony was offered to show that he had obtained a
+horse and a yoke of oxen from his dupes, on the statement that a
+"revelation" had informed him that he was to have them, and that
+he had behaved improperly toward the daughters of one of these
+men. But the parties interested all testified in his favor, and
+the prosecution failed. He was immediately rearrested on a
+warrant and removed to Colesville, amid the jeers of the people
+in attendance. Knight was subpoenaed to tell about the miracle
+performed on him, and Smith's old character of a money-digger was
+ventilated; but the court found nothing on which to hold him.
+Mormon writers have dilated on these "persecutions", but the
+outcome of the hearings indicated fair treatment of the accused
+by the arbiters of the law, and the indignation shown toward him
+and his associates by their neighbors was not greater than the
+conduct of such men in assuming priestly rights might evoke in
+any similar community.
+
+Smith returned to his home in Pennsylvania after this, and
+endeavored to secure the cooperation of his father-in-law in his
+church plans, but without avail. It was four years later that Mr.
+Hale put on record his opinion of his son-in-law already quoted.
+Failing to find other support in Harmony, and perceiving much
+public feeling against him, Smith prepared for his return to New
+York by receiving a "revelation" (Sec.20) which directed him to
+return to the churches organized in that state after he had sold
+his crops. "They shall support thee", declared the "revelation";
+but if they receive thee not I shall send upon them a cursing
+instead of a blessing". For Smith's protection the Lord further
+declared: "Whosoever shall lay their hand upon you by violence ye
+shall command to be smitten in my name, and behold, I will smite
+them according to your words, IN MINE OWN DUE TIME. And whosoever
+shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law." This
+threat, it will be noted, was safeguarded by not requiring
+immediate fulfillment.
+
+Smith returned to Fayette in September, and continued church work
+thereabouts in company with his brothers and John and David
+Whitmer.
+
+Meanwhile Parley P. Pratt had made his visit to Palmyra and
+returned to Ohio, and in the early winter Rigdon set out to make
+his first open visit to Smith, arriving in December. Martin
+Harris, on the ground that Rigdon was a regularly authorized
+clergyman, tried to obtain the use of one of the churches of the
+town for him, but had to content himself with the third-story
+hall of the Young Men's Association. There Rigdon preached a
+sermon to a small audience, principally of non-Mormons, annoucing
+himself as a "messenger of God". The audience regarded the sermon
+as blasphemous, and no further attempt was made to secure this
+room for Mormon meetings. Rigdon, however, while in conference
+with Smith, preached and baptized the neighborhood, and Smith and
+Harris tried their powers as preachers in barns and under a tree
+in the open air.
+
+A well-authenticated story of the manner in which one of the
+Palmyra Mormons received his call to preach is told by Tucker*
+and verified by the principal actor. Among the first baptized in
+New York State were Calvin Stoddard and his wife (Smith's sister)
+of Macedon. Stoddard told his neighbors of wonderful things he
+had seen in the sky, and about his duty to preach. One night,
+Steven S. Harding, a young man who was visiting the place, went
+with a companion to Stoddard's house, and awakening him with
+knocks on the door, proclaimed in measured tones that the angel
+of the Lord commanded him to "go forth among the people and
+preach the Gospel of Nephi." Then they ran home and went to bed.
+Stoddard took the call in all earnestness, and went about the
+next day repeating to his neighbors the words of the "celestial
+messenger," describing the roaring thunder and the musical sounds
+of the angel's wings that accompanied the words. Young Harding,
+who participated in this joke, became Governor of Utah in 1862,
+and incurred the bitter enmity of Brigham Yound and the church by
+denouncing polygamy, and asserting his own civil authority.**
+
+* "Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism," pp. 80, 285
+
+**Stoddard and Smith had a quarrel over a lot in Kirtland in
+1835, and Smith knocked down his brother-in-law and was indicted
+for assault and battery, but was acquitted on the ground of
+self-defence.
+
+
+AS a result of Smith's and Rigdon's conferences came a
+"revelation" to them both (Sec. 35), delivered as in the name of
+Jesus Christ, defining somewhat Rigdon's position. How nearly it
+met his demands cannot be learned, but it certainly granted him
+no more authority than Smith was willing to concede. It told him
+that he should do great things, conferring the Holy Ghost by the
+laying on of hands, as did the apostles of old, and promising to
+show miracles, signs, and wonders unto all believers. He was told
+that Joseph had received the "keys of the mysteries of those
+things that have been sealed," and was directed to "watch over
+him that his faith fail not." This "revelation" ordered the
+retranslation of the Scriptures.
+
+The most important result of Rigdon's visit to Smith was a
+decision to move the church to Ohio. This decision was
+promulgated in the form of "revelations" dated December, 1830,
+and January, 1831, which set forth (Secs. 37, 38):--
+
+"And that ye might escape the power of the enemy, and be gathered
+unto me a righteous people, without spot and blameless:
+
+"Wherefore, for this cause I give unto you the commandment that
+ye should go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law;
+and there you shall be endowed with power from on high; and from
+thence whomsoever I will shall go forth among all nations, and it
+shall be told them what they shall do; for I have a great work
+laid up in store, for Israel shall be saved.... And they that
+have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left or rented as
+seemeth them good."
+
+A sufficient reason for the removal was the failure to secure
+converts where Smith was known, and the ready acceptance of the
+new belief among Rigdon's Ohio people. The Rev. Dr. Clark says,
+"You might as well go down in the crater of Vesuvius and attempt
+to build an icehouse amid its molten and boiling lava, as to
+convince any inhabitant in either of these towns [Palmyra or
+Manchester] that Joe Smith's pretensions are not the most gross
+and egregious falsehood."*
+
+* "Gleanings by the Way."
+
+
+The Rev. Jesse Townsend of Palmyra, in a reply to a letter of
+inquiry about the Mormons, dated December 24, 1833 (quoted in
+full by Tucker), says: "All the Mormons have left this part of
+the state, and so palpable is their imposture that nothing is
+here said or thought of the subject, except when inquiries from
+abroad are occasionally made concerning them. I know of no one
+now living in this section of the country that ever gave them
+credence."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. THE MORMONS' BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES--CHURCH
+GOVERNMENT
+
+The Mormons teach that, for fourteen hundred years to the time of
+Smith's "revelations," there had been "a general and awful
+apostasy from the religion of the New Testament, so that all the
+known world have been left for centuries without the Church of
+Christ among them; without a priesthood authorized of God to
+administer ordinances; that every one of the churches has
+perverted the Gospel."* As illustrations of this perversion are
+cited the doing away of immersion for the remission of sins by
+most churches, of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy
+Ghost, and of the miraculous gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit.
+The new church presented a modern prophet, who was in direct
+communication with God and possessed power to work miracles, and
+who taught from a Golden Bible which says that whoever asserts
+that there are no longer "revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts,
+nor healing, nor speaking with tongues and the interpretation of
+tongues,... knoweth not the Gospel of Christ" (Book of Mormon ix.
+7, 8).
+
+* Orson Pratt's "Remarkable Visions," No. 6.
+
+
+It is impossible to decide whether the name "Mormon" was used by
+Spaulding in his "Manuscript Found," or was introduced by Rigdon.
+It is first encountered in the Mormon Bible in the Book of Mosiah
+xviii. 4, as the name of a place where there was a fountain in
+which Alma baptized those whom his admonition led to repentance.
+Next it occurs in 3 Nephi v. 20: "I am Mormon, and a pure
+descendant of Lehi." This Mormon was selected by the "author" of
+the Bible to stand sponsor for the condensation of the "records"
+of his ancestors which Smith unearthed. It was discovered very
+soon after the organization of the Mormon church was announced
+that the word was of Greek derivation, uopuw or uopuwv <Greek>
+meaning bugbear, hobgoblin. In the form of "mormo" it is
+Anglicized with the same meaning, and is used by Jeremy Collier
+and Warburton.* The word "Mormon" in zoology is the generic name
+of certain animals, including the mandril baboon. The discovery
+of the Greek origin and meaning of the word was not pleasing to
+the early Mormon leaders, and they printed in the Times and
+Seasons a letter over Smith's signature, in which he solemnly
+declared that "there was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from
+which I, through the grace of God, translated the Book of
+Mormon," and gave the following explanation of the derivation of
+the word:
+
+* See "Century Dictionary."
+
+
+"Before I give a definition to the word, let me say that the
+Bible, in its widest sense, means good; for the Saviour says,
+according to the Gospel of St. John, 'I am the Good Shepherd';
+and it will not be beyond the common use of terms to say that
+good is amongst the most important in use, and, though known by
+various names in different languages, still its meaning is the
+same, and is ever in opposition to bad. We say from the Saxon,
+good; the Dane, god; the Goth, gods; the German, gut; the Dutch,
+goed; the Latin, bonus; the Greek, kalos; the Hebrew, tob; the
+Egyptian, mo. Hence, with the addition of more, or the
+contraction mor, we have the word Mormon, which means literally
+more good.
+
+This lucid explanation was doubtless entirely satisfactory to the
+persons to whom it was addressed.
+
+In the early "revelations" collected in the "Book of
+Commandments" the new church was not styled anything more
+definite than "My Church," and the title-page of that book, as
+printed in 1833, says that these instructions are "for the
+government of the Church of Christ." The name "Mormons" was not
+acceptable to the early followers of Smith, who looked on it as a
+term of reproach, claiming the designation "Saints." This
+objection to the title continues to the present day. It was not
+until May 4, 1834, that a council of the church, on motion of
+Sidney Rigdon, decided on its present official title, "Church of
+Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
+
+The belief in the speedy ending of the world, on which the title
+"Latter-Day Saints" was founded, has played so unimportant a part
+in modern Mormon belief that its prominence as an early tenet of
+the church is generally overlooked. At no time was there more
+widespread interest in the speedy second coming of Christ and the
+Day of Judgment than during the years when the organization of
+the Mormon church was taking place. We have seen how much
+attention was given to a speedy millennium by the Disciples
+preachers. It was in 1833 that William Miller began his sermons
+in which he fixed on the year 1843 as the end of the world, and
+his views not only found acceptance among his personal followers,
+but attracted the liveliest interest in other sects.
+
+The Mormon leaders made this belief a part of their early
+doctrine. Thus, in one of the first "revelations" given out by
+Smith, dated Fayette, New York, September, 1830, Christ is
+represented as saying that "the hour is nigh" when He would
+reveal Himself, and "dwell in righteousness with men on earth a
+thousand years." In the November following, another "revelation"
+declared that "the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a
+cloud, with power and great glory." Soon after Smith arrived in
+Kirtland a "revelation," dated February, 1831, announced that
+"the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand." In January, 1833,
+Smith predicted that "there are those now living upon the earth
+whose eyes shall not be closed in death until they shall see all
+these things of which I have spoken" (the sweeping of the wicked
+from the United States, and the return of the lost tribes to it).
+Smith declared in 1843 that the Lord had promised that he should
+see the Son of Man if he lived to be eighty-five (Sec. 130).*
+When Ferris was Secretary of Utah Territory, in 1852-1853, he
+found that the Mormons were still expecting the speedy coming of
+Christ, but had moved the date forward to 1870. All through
+Smith's autobiography and the Millennial Star will be found
+mention of every portent that might be construed as an indication
+of the coming disruption of this world. As late as December 6,
+1856, an editorial in the Millennial Star said, "The signs of the
+times clearly indicate to every observing mind that the great day
+of the second advent of Messiah is at hand."
+
+* Speaking of W. W. Phelps's last years in Utah, Stenbouse says:
+"Often did the old man, in public and in private, regale the
+Saints with the assurance that he had the promise by revelation
+that he should not taste of death until Jesus came." Phelps died
+on March 7, 1872.
+
+
+As the devout Mohammedan* passes from earth to a heaven of
+material bliss, so the Mormons are taught that the Saints, the
+sole survivors of the day of judgment, will, with resurrected
+bodies, possess the purified earth. The lengths to which Mormon
+preachers have dared to go in illustrating this view find a good
+illustration in a sermon by arson Pratt, printed in the Deseret
+News, Salt Lake City, of August 21, 1852. Having promised that
+"farmers will have great farms upon the earth when it is so
+changed," and foreseeing that some one might suggest a difficulty
+in providing land enough to go round, he met that in this way:--
+
+* The similarity between Smith's early life and visions and
+Mohammed's has been mentioned by more than one writer. Stenhouse
+observes that Smith's mother "was to him what Cadijah was to
+Mohammed," and that "a Mohammedan writer, in a series of essays
+recently published in London, treats of the prophecies concerning
+the Arabian Prophet, to be found in the Old and New Testaments,
+precisely as Orson Pratt applied them to the American Prophet."
+
+
+"But don't be so fast, says one; don't you know that there are
+only about 197,000,000 of square miles, or about 126,000,000,000
+of acres upon the surface of the globe? Will these accommodate
+all the inhabitants after the resurrection? Yes; for if the earth
+should stand 8000 years, or 80 centuries, and the population
+should be a thousand millions in every century, that would be
+80,000,000,000 of inhabitants, and we know that many centuries
+have passed that would not give the tenth part of this; but
+supposing this to be the number, there would then be over an acre
+and a half for each person upon the surface of the globe."
+
+By eliminating the wicked, so that only one out of a hundred
+would share this real estate, he calculated that every Saint
+"would receive over 150 acres, which would be quite enough to
+raise manna, flax to make robes of, and to have beautiful
+orchards of fruit trees."
+
+The Mormon belief is stated by the church leaders to rest on the
+Holy Bible, the Mormon Bible, and the "Book of Doctrine and
+Covenants," together with the teachings of the Mormon instructors
+from Smith's time to the present day. Although the Holy Bible is
+named first in this list, it has, as we have seen, played a
+secondary part in the church ritual, its principal use by the
+Mormon preachers having been to furnish quotations on which to
+rest their claims for the inspiration of their own Bible and for
+their peculiar teachings. Mormon sermons (usually styled
+discourses) rarely, if ever, begin with a text. The "Book of
+Doctrine and Covenants" "containing," as the title-page declares,
+"the revelations given to Joseph Smith, Jr., for the building up
+of the Kingdom of God in the last days," was the directing
+authority in the church during Smith's life, and still occupies a
+large place in the church history. An examination of the origin
+and character of this work will therefore shed much light on the
+claims of the church to special direction from on high.
+
+There is little doubt that this system of "revelation" was an
+idea of Rigdon. Smith was not, at that time, an inventor; his
+forte was making use of ideas conveyed to him. Thus, he did not
+originate the idea of using a "peek-stone," but used one freely
+as soon as he heard of it. He did not conceive the idea of
+receiving a Bible from an angel, but readily transformed the
+Spaniard-with-his-throat-cut to an angel when the perfected
+scheme was presented to him. We can imagine how attractive
+"revelations" would have been to him, and how soon he would
+concentrate in himself the power to receive them, and would adapt
+them to his personal use.
+
+David Whitmer says, "The revelations, or the Book of
+Commandments, up to June, 1829, were given through the stone
+through which the Book of Mormon was translated"; but that after
+that time" they came through Joseph as a mouthpiece; that is, he
+would inquire of the Lord, pray and ask concerning a matter, and
+speak out the revelation, which he thought to be a revelation
+from the Lord; but sometimes he was mistaken about its being from
+the Lord."* Who drew the line between truth and error has never
+been explained, but Smith would certainly have resented any such
+scepticism.
+
+* "Address to Believers in the Book of Mormon."
+
+
+Parley P. Pratt thus describes Smith's manner of receiving
+"revelations" in Ohio, "Each sentence was uttered slowly and very
+distinctly, and with a pause between each sufficiently long for
+it to be recorded by an ordinary writer in long hand."*
+
+
+* Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 65.
+
+
+These "revelations" made the greatest impression on Smith's
+followers, and no other of his pretensions seems to have so
+convinced them of his divine credentials. The story of Vienna
+Jaques well illustrates this. A Yankee descendant of John
+Rodgers, living in Boston, she was convinced by a Mormon elder,
+and joined the church members while they were in Kirtland, taking
+with her her entire possession, $1500 in cash. This money, like
+that of many other devoted members, found its way into Smith's
+hands--and stayed there. But he had taken her into his family,
+and her support became burdensome to him. So, when the Saints
+were "gathering" in Missouri, he announced a "revelation" in
+these words (Sec. 90):--
+
+"And again, verily, I [the Lord] say unto you, it is my will that
+my handmaid, Vienna Jaques, should receive money to bear her
+expenses, and go up unto the land of Zion; and the residue of the
+money may be consecrated unto me, and she be rewarded in mine own
+due time. Verily, I say unto you, that it is meet in mine eyes
+that she should go up unto the land of Zion, and receive an
+inheritance from the hand of the Bishop, that she may settle down
+in peace, inasmuch as she is faithful, and not to be idle in her
+days from thenceforth."
+
+The confiding woman obeyed without a murmur this thinly concealed
+scheme to get rid of her, migrated with the church from Missouri
+to Illinois and to Utah, and was in Salt Lake City in 1833,
+supporting herself as a nurse, and "doubly proud that she has
+been made the subject of a revelation from heaven."*
+
+* "Utah and the Mormons," p. 182.
+
+
+These "revelations" have been published under two titles. The
+first edition was printed in Jackson, Missouri, in 1833, in the
+Mormon printing establishment, under the title, "Book of
+Commandments for the Government of the Church of Christ,
+organized according to Law on the 6th of April, 1830." This
+edition contained nothing but "revelations," divided into
+sixty-five "chapters," and ending with the one dated Kirtland,
+September, 1831, which forms Section 64 of the Utah edition of
+"Doctrine and Covenants." David Whitmer says that when, in the
+spring of 1832, it was proposed by Smith, Rigdon, and others to
+publish these revelations, they were earnestly advised by other
+members of the church not to do so, as it would be dangerous to
+let the world get hold of them; and so it proved. But Smith
+declared that any objector should "have his part taken out of the
+Tree of Life."*
+
+* It has been stated that the "Book of Commandments" was never
+really published, the mob destroying the sheets before it got
+out. But David Whitmer is a very positive witness to the
+contrary, saying, "I say it was printed complete (and
+copyrighted) and many copies distributed among the members of the
+church before the printing press was destroyed."
+
+
+Two years later, while the church was still in Kirtland, the
+"revelations" were again prepared for publication, this time
+under the title, "Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the
+Latter-Day Saints, carefully selected from the revelations of
+God, and compiled by Joseph Smith, Jr.; Oliver Cowdery, Sidney
+Rigdon, F. G. Williams, proprietors." On August 17, 1835, a
+general assembly of the church held in the Kirtland Temple voted
+to accept his book as the doctrine and covenants of their faith.
+Ebenezer Robinson, who attended the meeting, says that the
+majority of those so voting "had neither time nor opportunity to
+examine the book for themselves; they had no means of knowing
+whether any alterations had been made in any of the revelations
+or not."* In fact, many important alterations were so made, as
+will be pointed out in the course of this story. One method of
+attempting to account for these changes has been by making the
+plea that parts were omitted in the Missouri editions. On this
+point, however, Whitmer is very positive, as quoted.
+
+* In his reminiscences in The Return.
+
+
+At the very start Smith's revelations failed to "come true." An
+amusing instance of this occurred before the Mormon Bible was
+published. While the "copy" was in the hands of the printer,
+Grandin, Joe's brother Hyrum and others who had become interested
+in the enterprise became impatient over Harris's delay in raising
+the money required for bringing out the book. Hyrum finally
+proposed that some of them attempt to sell the copyright in
+Canada, and he urged Joe to ask the Lord about doing so. Joe
+complied, and announced that the mission to Canada would be a
+success. Accordingly, Oliver Cowdery and Hiram Page made a trip
+to Toronto to secure a publisher, but their mission failed
+absolutely. This was a critical test of the faith of Joe's
+followers. "We were all in great trouble," says David Whitmer,*
+"and we asked Joseph how it was that he received a 'revelation'
+from the Lord for some brethren to go to Toronto and sell the
+copyright, and the brethren had utterly failed in their
+undertaking. Joseph did not know how it was, so he inquired of
+the Lord about it, and behold, the following 'revelation' came;
+through the stone: 'Some revelations are from God, some
+revelations are of man, and some revelations are of the Devil.'"
+No rule for distinguishing and separating these revelations was
+given; but Whitmer, whose faith in Smith's divine mission never
+cooled, thus disposes of the matter, "So we see that the
+revelation to go to Toronto and sell the copyright was not of
+God." Of course, a prophet whose followers would accept such an
+excuse was certain of his hold upon them. This incident well
+illustrates the kind of material which formed the nucleus of the
+church.
+
+* "Address to All Believers in Christ," p. 30.
+
+
+Smith never let the previously revealed word of the Lord protect
+any of his flock who afterward came in conflict with his own
+plans. For example: On March 8, 1831, he announced a "revelation"
+(Sec. 47), saying, "Behold, it is expedient in me that my servant
+John [Whitmer] should write and keep a regular history" of the
+church. John fell into disfavor in later years, and, when he
+refused to give up his records, Smith and Rigdon addressed a
+letter to him,* in connection with his dismissal, which said that
+his notes required correction by them before publication,
+"knowing your incompetency as a historian, that writings coming
+from your pen could not be put to press without our correcting
+them, or else the church must suffer reproach. Indeed, sir, we
+never supposed you capable of writing a history." Why the Lord
+did not consult Smith and Rigdon before making this appointment
+is one of the unexplained mysteries.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, p. 133.
+
+
+These "revelations," which increased in number from 16 in 1829 to
+19 in 1830, numbered 35 in 1831, and then decreased to 16 in
+1832, 13 in 1833, 5 in 1834, 2 in 1835, 3 in 1836, 1 in 1837, 8
+in 1838 (in the trying times in Missouri), 1 in 1839, none in
+1840, 3 in 1841, none in 1842, and 2, including the one on
+polygamy, in 1843. We shall see that in his latter days, in
+Nauvoo, Smith was allowed to issue revelations only after they
+had been censored by a council. He himself testified to the
+reckless use which he made of them, and which perhaps brought
+about this action. The following is a quotation from his diary:--
+
+"May 19, 1842.-- While the election [of Smith as mayor by the
+city council] was going forward, I received and wrote the
+following revelation: 'I Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my
+servant Joseph, by the voice of the Spirit, Hiram Kimball has
+been insinuating evil and forming evil opinions against you with
+others; and if he continue in them, he and they shall be
+accursed, for I am the Lord thy God, and will stand by thee and
+bless thee.' Which I threw across the room to Hiram Kimball, one
+of the counsellors."
+
+Thus it seems that there was some limit to the extent of Joe's
+effrontery which could be submitted to.
+
+We shall see that Brigham Young in Utah successfully resisted
+constant pressure that was put upon him by his flock to continue
+the reception of "revelations." While he was prudent enough to
+avoid the pitfalls that would have surrounded him as a revealer,
+he was crafty enough not to belittle his own authority in so
+doing. In his discourse on the occasion of the open announcement
+of polygamy, he said, "If an apostle magnifies his calling, his
+words are the words of eternal life and salvation to those who
+hearken to them, just as much so as any written revelations
+contained in these books" (the two Bibles and the "Doctrine and
+Covenants").
+
+Hiram Page was not the only person who tried to imitate Smith's
+"revelations." A boy named Isaac Russell gave out such messages
+at Kirtland; Gladdin Bishop caused much trouble in the same way
+at Nauvoo; the High Council withdrew the hand of fellowship from
+Oliver Olney for setting himself up as a prophet; and in the same
+year the Times and Seasons announced a pamphlet by J. C.
+Brewster, purporting to be one of the lost books of Esdras,
+"written by the power of God."
+
+In the Times and Seasons (p. 309) will he found a report of a
+conference held in New York City on December 4, 1840, at which
+Elder Sydney Roberts was arraigned, charged with "having a
+revelation that a certain brother must give him a suit of clothes
+and a gold watch, the best that could be had; also saluting the
+sisters with what he calls a holy kiss." He was told that he
+could retain his membership if he would confess, but he declared
+that "he knew the revelations which he had spoken were from God."
+So he was thereupon "cut off."
+
+The other source of Mormon belief--the teachings of their leading
+men--has been no more consistent nor infallible than Smith's
+"revelations." Mormon preachers have been generally uneducated
+men, most of them ambitious of power, and ready to use the pulpit
+to strengthen their own positions. Many an individual elder, firm
+in his faith, has travelled and toiled as faithfully as any
+Christian missionary; but these men, while they have added to the
+church membership, have not made its beliefs.
+
+Smith probably originated very little of the church polity,
+except the doctrine of polygamy, and what is published over his
+name is generally the production of some of his counsellors.
+Section 130 of the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," headed
+"Important Items of Instruction, given by Joseph the Prophet,
+April 2, 1843," contains the following:--
+
+"When the Saviour shall appear, we shall see him as he is. We
+shall see that he is a man like ourselves....
+
+"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's;
+the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and
+bones, but is a personage of spirit. Were it not so, the Holy
+Ghost could not dwell in us."
+
+An article in the Millennial Star, Vol. VI, for which the prophet
+vouched, contains the following:--
+
+"The weakest child of God which now exists upon the earth will
+possess more dominion, more property, more subjects, and more
+power in glory than is possessed by Jesus Christ or by his
+Father; while, at the same time, Jesus Christ and his Father will
+have their dominion, kingdom and subjects increased in
+proportion."
+
+One more illustration of Smith's doctrinal views will suffice. In
+a funeral sermon preached in Nauvoo, March 20, 1842, he said: "As
+concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will
+come from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there
+will not be 'added unto their stature one cubit,' neither taken
+from it. All will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in
+their bodies but not blood."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, p. 213.
+
+
+In "The Latter-Day Saints' Catechism or Child's Ladder," by Elder
+David Moffat, Genesis v. 1, and Exodus xxxiii. 22, 23, and xxiv.
+10 are cited to prove that God has the form and parts of a man.
+
+The greatest vagaries of doctrinal teachings are found during
+Brigham Young's reign in Utah. In the way of a curiosity the
+following diagram and its explanation, by Orson Hyde, may be
+reproduced from the Millennial Star, Vol. IX, p. 23:--
+
+"The above diagram (not included in this etext) shows the order
+and unity of the Kingdom of God. The eternal Father sits at the
+head, crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Wherever the other
+lines meet there sits a king and priest under God, bearing rule,
+authority and dominion under the Father. He is one with the
+Father because his Kingdom is joined to his Father's and becomes
+part of it.... It will be seen by the above diagram that there
+are kingdoms of all sizes, an infinite variety to suit all grades
+of merit and ability. The chosen vessels of God are the kings and
+priests that are placed at the heads of their kingdoms. They have
+received their washings and anointings in the Temple of God on
+earth."
+
+Young's ambition was not to be satisfied until his name was
+connected with some doctrine peculiarly his own. Accordingly, in
+a long sermon preached in the Tabernacle on April 9, 1852, he
+made this announcement (the italics and capitals follow the
+official report):--
+
+"Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, saint
+and sinner. When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he
+came into it with a CELESTIAL BODY, and brought Eve, ONE OF HIS
+WIVES, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is
+MICHAEL, the ARCHANGEL, the ANCIENT OF DAYS, about whom holy men
+have written and spoken.* HE is our FATHER and our GOD, AND THE
+ONLY GOD WITH WHOM 'WE' HAVE TO DO... Every man upon the earth,
+professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it and WILL
+KNOW IT SOONER OR LATER.... I could tell you much more about
+this; but were I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be
+nothing to it, in the estimation of the superstitious and over
+righteous of mankind.... Jesus, our Elder Brother, was begotten
+in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of
+Eden, and who is our Father in heaven."**
+
+* Young, in a public discourse on October 23, 1853, declared that
+he rejected the story of Adam's creation as "baby stories my
+mother taught me when I was a child." But the Mormon Bible (2
+Nephi ii. 18-22) tells the story of Adam's fall.
+
+** Journal of Discourses, VOL I, pp. 50, 51.
+
+
+This doctrine was made a leading point of difference between the
+Utah church and the Reorganized Church, when the latter was
+organized, but it is no longer defended even in Utah. The Deseret
+Evening News of March 21, 1900, said on this point, "That which
+President Young set forth in the discourse referred to is not
+preached either to the Latter-Day Saints or to the world as a
+part of the creed of the church."
+
+Young never hesitated to rebuke an associate whose preaching did
+not suit him. In a discourse in Salt Lake City, on March 8, 1857,
+he rebuked Orson Pratt, one of the ablest of the church writers,
+declaring that Pratt did not "know enough to keep his foot out of
+it, but drowns himself in his philosophy." He ridiculed his
+doctrine that "the devils in hell are composed of and filled with
+the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, and possess all the knowledge,
+wisdom, and power of the gods, "and said, "When I read some of
+the writings of such philosophers they make me think, 'O dear,
+granny, what a long tail our puss has got.'"*
+
+* Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 297.
+
+
+The Mormon church still holds that an existing head of that
+organization can always interpret the divine will regarding any
+question. This was never more strikingly illustrated than when
+Woodruff, by a mere dictum, did away with the obligatory
+character of polygamy.
+
+When the Mormons were under a cloud in Illinois, in 1842, John
+Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, applied to Smith for a
+statement of their belief, and received in reply a list of 13
+"Articles of Faith" over Smith's signature. This statement was
+intended to win for them sympathy as martyrs to a simple
+religious belief, and it has been cited in Congress as proof of
+their soul purity. But as illustrating the polity of the church
+it is quite valueless.
+
+The doctrine of polygamy and the ceremonies of the Endowment
+House will be considered in their proper place. One distinctive
+doctrine of the church must be explained before this subject is
+dismissed, namely, that which calls for "baptism for the dead."
+This doctrine is founded on an interpretation of Corinthians xv.
+29: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if
+the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the
+dead?"
+
+An explanation of this doctrine in the Times and Seasons of May
+1, 1841, says:--"This text teaches us the important and cheering
+truth that the departed spirit is in a probationary state, and
+capable of being affected by the proclamation of the Gospel....
+Christ offers pardon, peace, holiness, and eternal life to the
+quick and the dead, the living, on condition of faith and baptism
+for remission of sins; the departed, on the same condition of
+faith in person and baptism by a living kinsman in his behalf. It
+may be asked, will this baptism by proxy necessarily save the
+dead? We answer, no; neither will the same necessarily save the
+living."
+
+This doctrine was first taught to the church in Ohio. In later
+years, in Nauvoo, Smith seemed willing to accept its paternity,
+and in an article in the Times and Seasons of April 15, x 842,
+signed "Ed.," when he was its editor, he said that he was the
+first to point it out. The article shows, however, that it was
+doubtless written by Rigdon, as it indicates a knowledge of the
+practice of such baptism by the Marcionites in the second
+century, and of Chrysostom's explanation of it. A note on
+Corinthians xv. 29, in "The New Testament Commentary for English
+Readers," edited by Lord Bishop Ellicott of Gloucester and
+Bristol (London, 1878), gives the following historical sketch of
+the practice:--
+
+"There have been numerous and ingenious conjectures as to the
+meaning of this passage. The only tenable interpretation is that
+there existed amongst some of the Christians at Corinth a
+practice of baptizing a living person in the stead of some
+convert who had died before that sacrament had been administered
+to him. Such a practice existed amongst the Marcionites in the
+second century, and still earlier amongst a sect called the
+Cerinthians. The idea evidently was that, whatever benefit flowed
+from baptism, might be thus vicariously secured for the deceased
+Christian. St. Chrysostom gives the following description of
+it:--
+
+"After a catechumen (one prepared for baptism but not actually
+baptized) was dead, they hid a living man under the bed of the
+deceased; then, coming to the bed of the dead man, they spoke to
+him, and asked whether he would receive baptism; and, he making
+no answer, the other replied in his stead, and so they baptized
+the living for the dead: Does St. Paul then, by what he here
+says, sanction the superstitious practice? Certainly not. He
+carefully separated himself and the Corinthians, to whom he
+immediately addresses himself, from those who adopted this custom
+.... Those who do that, and disbelieve a resurrection, refute
+themselves. This custom possibly sprang up among the Jewish
+converts, who had been accustomed to something similar in their
+faith. If a Jew died without having been purified from some
+ceremonial uncleanness, some living person had the necessary
+ablution performed on him, and the dead were so accounted clean."
+
+Other commentators have found means to explain this text without
+giving it reference to a baptism for dead persons, as, for
+instance, that it means, "with an interest in the resurrection of
+the dead."* Another explanation is that by "the dead" is meant
+the dead Christ, as referred to in Romans vi. 3, "Know ye not
+that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
+baptized into his death?"
+
+* "Commentary by Bishops and Other Clergy of the Anglican
+Church."
+
+
+This doctrine was a very taking one with the uneducated Mormon
+converts who crowded into Nauvoo, and the church officers saw in
+it a means to hasten the work on the Temple. At first families
+would meet on the bank of the Mississippi River, and some one, of
+the order of the Melchisedec Priesthood, would baptize them
+wholesale for all their dead relatives whose names they could
+remember, each sex for relatives of the same. But as soon as the
+font in the Temple was ready for use, these baptisms were
+restricted to that edifice, and it was required that all the
+baptized should have paid their tithings. At a conference at
+Nauvoo in October, 1841, Smith said that those who neglected the
+baptism of their dead "did it at the peril of their own
+salvation."*
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. II, p. 578.
+
+
+The form of church government, as worked out in the early days,
+is set forth in the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants." The first
+officers provided for were the twelve apostles,* and the next the
+elders, priests, teachers, and deacons, Edward Partridge being
+announced as the first bishop in 1831. The church was loosely
+governed for the first years after its establishment at Kirtland.
+A guiding power was provided for in a revelation of March 8, 1833
+(Sec. 90), when Smith was told by the Lord that Rigdon and F. G.
+Williams were accounted as equal with him "in holding the keys of
+this last kingdom." These three first held the famous office of
+the First Presidency, representing the Trinity.
+
+* (Sec. 18, June, 1829.)
+
+
+On February 17, 1834 (Sec. 102), a General High Council of
+twenty-four High Priests assembled at Smith's house in Kirtland
+and organized the High Council of the church, consisting of
+Twelve High Priests, with one or three Presidents, as the case
+might require. The office of High Priest, and the organization of
+a High Council were apparently an afterthought, and were added to
+the "revelation" after its publication in the "Book of
+Commandments." Other forms of organization that were from time to
+time decided on were announced in a revelation dated March 28,
+1835 (Sec. 107), which defined the two priesthoods, Melchisedec
+and Aaronic, and their powers. There were to be three Presiding
+High Priests to form a Quorum of the Presidency of the church; a
+Seventy, called to preach the Gospel, who would form a Quorum
+equal in authority to the Quorum of the Twelve, and be presided
+over by seven of their number. Smith soon organized two of these
+Quorums of Seventies. At the time of the dedications of the
+Temple at Nauvoo, in 1844, there were fifteen of them, and to-day
+they number more than 120.
+
+Each separate church organization, as formed, was called a Stake,
+and each Stake had over it a Presidency, High Priests, and
+Council of Twelve. We find the meaning of the word "Stake" in
+some of Smith's earlier "revelations." Thus, in the one dated
+June 4, 1833, regarding the organization of the church at
+Kirtland, it was said, "It is expedient in me that this Stake
+that I have set for the strength of Zion be made strong." Again,
+in one dated December 16, 1839, on the gathering of the Saints,
+it is stated, "I have other places which I will appoint unto
+them, and they shall be called Stakes for the curtains, or the
+strength of Zion." In Utah, to-day, the Stakes form groups of
+settlements, and are generally organized on county lines.
+
+The prophet made a substantial provision for his father, founding
+for him the office of Patriarch, in accordance with an
+unpublished "revelation." The principal business of the Patriarch
+was to dispense "blessings," which were regarded by the faithful
+as a sort of charm, to ward off misfortune. Joseph, Sr., awarded
+these blessings without charge when he began dispensing them at
+Kirtland, but a High Council held there in 1835 allowed him $10 a
+week while blessing the church. After his formal anointing in
+1836 he was known as Father Smith, and the next year his salary
+was made $1.50 a day.* Hyrum became Patriarch when his father
+died in 1840, his brother William succeeded him, his Uncle John
+came next, and his Uncle Joseph after John. Patriarchal blessings
+were advertised in the Mormon newspaper in Nauvoo like other
+merchandise. They could be obtained in writing, and contained
+promises of almost anything that a man could wish, such as
+freedom from poverty and disease, life prolonged until the coming
+of Christ, etc.** In 1875 the price of a blessing in Utah had
+risen to $2. The office of Patriarch is still continued, with one
+chief Patriarch, known as Patriarch of the Church, and
+subordinate Patriarchs in the different Stakes. The position of
+Patriarch of the church has always been regarded as a hereditary
+one, and bestowed on some member of the Smith family, as it is
+to-day.
+
+* The departure of the Patriarch from Ohio was somewhat dramatic.
+As his wife tells the story in her book, the old man was taken by
+a constable before a justice of the peace on a charge of
+performing the marriage service without any authority, and was
+fined $3000, and sentenced to the penitentiary in default of
+payment. Through the connivance of the constable, who had been a
+Mormon, the prisoner was allowed to leap out of a window, and he
+remained in hiding at New Portage until his family were ready to
+start for Missouri. The revelation of January 19, 1841, announced
+that he was then sitting "with Abraham at his right hand."
+
+
+* Ferris's "Utah and the Mormons," p. 314, and "Wife No. 19," p.
+581.
+
+
+
+BOOK II. IN OHIO
+
+CHAPTER I. THE FIRST CONVERTS AT KIRTLAND
+
+The four missionaries who had been sent to Ohio under Cowdery's
+leadership arrived there in October, 1830. Rigdon left Kirtland
+on his visit to Smith in New York State in the December
+following, and in January, 1831, he returned to Ohio, taking
+Smith with him.
+
+The party who set out for Ohio, ostensibly to preach to the
+Lamanites, consisted of Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter
+Whitmer, Jr., and Ziba Peterson, the latter one of Smith's
+original converts, who, it may be noted, was deprived of his land
+and made to work for others a year later in Missouri, because of
+offences against the church authorities. These men preached as
+they journeyed, making a brief stop at Buffalo to instruct the
+Indians there. On reaching Ohio, Pratt's acquaintance with
+Rigdon's Disciples gave him an opportunity to bring the new Bible
+to the attention of many people. The character of the Smiths was
+quite unknown to the pioneer settlers, and the story of the
+miraculously delivered Bible filled many of them with wonder
+rather than with unbelief.
+
+The missionaries began the work of organizing a church at once.
+Some members of Rigdon's congregation had already formed a
+"common stock society," and were believers in a speedy
+millennium, and to these the word brought by the new-comers was
+especially welcome. Cowdery baptized seventeen persons into the
+new church. Rigdon at the start denied his right to do this, and,
+in a debate between him and the missionaries which followed at
+Rigdon's house, Rigdon quoted Scripture to prove that, even if
+they had seen an angel, as they declared, it might have been
+Satan transformed. Cowdery asked if he thought that, in response
+to a prayer that God would show him an angel, the Heavenly Father
+would suffer Satan to deceive him. Rigdon replied that if Cowdery
+made such a request of the Heavenly Father "when He has never
+promised you such a thing, if the devil never had an opportunity
+of deceiving you before, you give him one now."* But after a
+brief study of the new book, Rigdon announced that he, too, had
+had a "revelation," declaring to him that Mormonism was to be
+believed. He saw in a vision all the orders of professing
+Christians pass before him, and all were "as corrupt as
+corruption itself," while the heart of the man who brought him
+the book was "as pure as an angel."
+
+* "It seemed to be a part of Rigdon's plan to make such a fight
+that, when he did surrender, the triumph of the cause that had
+defeated him would be all the more complete."--Kennedy, "Early
+Days of Mormonism."
+
+
+The announcement of Rigdon's conversation gave Mormonism an
+advertisement and a support that had a wide effect, and it
+alarmed the orthodox of that part of the country as they had
+never been alarmed before. Referring to it, Hayden says, "The
+force of this shock was like an earthquake when Symonds Ryder,
+Ezra Booth, and many others submitted to the 'New Dispensation.'"
+Largely through his influence, the Mormon church at Kirtland soon
+numbered more than one hundred members.
+
+During all that autumn and early winter crowds went to Kirtland
+to learn about the new religion. On Sundays the roads would be
+thronged with people, some in whatever vehicles they owned, some
+on horseback, and some on foot, all pressing forward to hear the
+expounders of the new Gospel and to learn the particulars of the
+new Bible. Pioneers in a country where there was little to give
+variety to their lives, they were easily influenced by any
+religious excitement, and the announcement of a new Bible and
+prophet was certain to arouse their liveliest interest. They had,
+indeed, inherited a tendency to religious enthusiasm, so recently
+had their parents gone through the excitements of the early days
+of Methodism, or of the great revivals of the new West at the
+beginning of the century, when (to quote one of the descriptions
+given by Henry Howe) more than twenty thousand persons assembled
+in one vast encampment, "hundreds of immortal beings moving to
+and fro, some preaching, some praying for mercy, others praising
+God. Such was the eagerness of the people to attend, that entire
+neighborhoods were forsaken, and the roads literally crowded by
+those pressing forward on their way to the groves."* Any new
+religious leader could then make his influence felt on the
+Western border: Dylkes, the "Leatherwood God," had found it
+necessary only to announce himself as the real Messiah at an Ohio
+campmeeting, in 1828, to build up a sect on that assumption.
+Freewill Baptists, Winebrennerians, Disciples, Shakers, and
+Universalists were urging their doctrines and confusing the minds
+of even the thoughtful with their conflicting views. We have seen
+to what beliefs the preaching of the Disciples' evangelists had
+led the people of the Western Reserve, and it did not really
+require a much broader exercise of faith (or credulity) to accept
+the appearance of a new prophet with a new Bible.
+
+* "Historical Collections of the Great West."
+
+
+While the main body of converts was made up of persons easily
+susceptible to religious excitement, and accustomed to have their
+opinions on such subjects formed for them, men of education and
+more or less training in theology were found among the early
+adherents to the new belief. It is interesting to see how the
+minds of such men were influenced, and this we are enabled to do
+from personal experiences related by some of them.
+
+One of these, John Corrill, a man of intelligence, who stayed
+with the church until it was driven out of Missouri, then became
+a member of the Missouri Legislature, and wrote a brief history
+of the church to the year 1839, in this pamphlet answered very
+clearly the question often asked by his friends, "How did you
+come to join the Mormons?" A copy of the new Bible was given to
+him by Cowdery when the missionaries, on their Western trip,
+passed through Ashtabula County, Ohio, where he lived. A brief
+reading convinced him that it was a mere money-making scheme, and
+when he learned that they had stopped at Kirtland, he did not
+entertain a doubt, that, under Rigdon's criticism, the
+pretensions of the missionaries would be at once laid bare. When,
+on the contrary, word came that Rigdon and the majority of his
+society had accepted the new faith, Corrill asked himself: "What
+does this mean? Are Elder Rigdon and these men such fools as to
+be duped by these impostors?" After talking the matter over with
+a neighbor, he decided to visit Kirtland, hoping to bring Rigdon
+home with him, with the idea that he might be saved from the
+imposition if he could be taken from the influence of the
+impostors. But before he reached Kirtland, Corrill heard of
+Rigdon's baptism into the new church. Finding Kirtland in a state
+of great religious excitement, he sought discussions with the
+leaders of the new movement, but not always successfully.
+
+Corrill started home with a "heart full of serious reflections."
+Were not the people of Berea nobler than the people of
+Thessalonica because "they searched the Scriptures daily; whether
+these things were so?" Might he not be fighting against God in
+his disbelief? He spent two or three weeks reading the Mormon
+Bible; investigated the bad reports of the new sect that reached
+him and found them without foundation; went back to Kirtland, and
+there convinced himself that the laying on of hands and "speaking
+with tongues" were inspired by some supernatural agency; admitted
+to himself that, accepting the words of Peter (Acts ii. 17-20),
+it was "just as consistent to look for prophets in this age as in
+any other." Smith seemed to have been a bad man, but was not
+Moses a fugitive from justice, as the murderer of a man whose
+body he had hidden in the sand, when God called him as a prophet?
+The story of the long hiding and final delivery of the golden
+plates to Smith taxed his credulity; but on rereading the
+Scriptures he found that books are referred to therein which they
+do not contain--Book of Nathan the Prophet, Book of Gad the Seer,
+Book of Shemaiah the Prophet, and Book of Iddo the Seer (1 Chron.
+xxix. 29; 2 Chron. ix. 29 and xii. 15). This convinced him that
+the Scriptures were not complete. Daniel and John were commanded
+to seal the Book. David declared (Psalms xxxv.) "that truth shall
+spring out of the earth," and from the earth Smith took the
+plates; and Ezekiel (xxxvii. 15-21) foretold the existence of two
+records, by means of which there shall be a gathering together of
+the children of Israel. It finally seemed to Corrill that the
+Mormon Bible corresponded with the record of Joseph referred to
+by Ezekiel, the Holy Bible being the record of Judah.
+
+Not fully satisfied, he finally decided, however, to join the new
+church, with a mental reservation that he would leave it if he
+ever found it to be a deception. Explaining his reasons for
+leaving it when he did, he says, "I can see nothing that
+convinces me that God has been our leader; calculation after
+calculation has failed, and plan after plan has been overthrown,
+and our prophet seemed not to know the event till too late."
+
+The two other most prominent converts to the new church in Ohio
+were the Rev. Ezra Booth, a Methodist preacher of more than
+ordinary culture, of Mantua, and Symonds Ryder, a native of
+Vermont, whom Alexander Campbell had converted to the Disciples'
+belief in 1828, and who occupied the pulpit at Hiram when called
+on. Booth visited Smith in 1831, with some members of his own
+congregation, and was so impressed by the miraculous curing of
+the lame arm of a woman of his party by Smith, that he soon gave
+in his allegiance. Ryder had always found one thing lacking in
+the Disciples' theology--he looked for some actual "gift of the
+Holy Spirit" in the way of "signs" that were to follow them that
+believed. He was eventually induced to announce his conversion to
+the new church after "he read in a newspaper, an account of the
+destruction of Pekin in China, and remembered that, six weeks
+before, a young Mormon girl had predicted the destruction of that
+city. "This statement was made in the sermon preached at his
+funeral. Both of these men confessed their mistake four months
+later, after Booth had returned from a trip to Missouri with
+Smith.
+
+Among the ignorant, even the most extravagant of the claims of
+the Mormon leaders had influence. One man, when he heard an elder
+in the midst of a sermon "speak with tongues," in a language he
+had never heard before, "felt a sudden thrill from the back of
+his head down his backbone," and was converted on the spot. John
+D. Lee, of Catholic education, was convinced by an elder that the
+end of the world was near, and sold his property in Illinois for
+what it would bring, and moved to Far West, in order to be in the
+right place when the last day dawned. Lorenzo Snow, the recent
+President of the church, says that he was "thoroughly convinced
+that obedience to those [the Mormon] prophets would impart
+miraculous powers, manifestations, and revelations," the first
+manifestation of which occurred some weeks later, when he heard a
+sound over his head "like the rustling of silken robes, and the
+spirit of God descended upon me."*
+
+* Biography of Snow, by his sister Eliza.
+
+
+The arguments that control men's religious opinions are too
+varied even for classification. In a case like Mormonism they
+range from the really conscientious study of a Corrill to the
+whim of the Paumotuan, of whom Stevenson heard in the South Seas,
+who turned Mormon when his wife died, after being a pillar of the
+Catholic church for fifteen years, on the ground that "that must
+be a poor religion that could not save a man his wife." Any
+person who will examine those early defences of the Mormon faith,
+Parley P. Pratt's "A Voice of Warning," and Orson Pratt's "Divine
+Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," will find what use can be
+made of an insistence on the literal acceptance of the Scriptures
+in defending such a sect as theirs, especially with persons whose
+knowledge of the Scriptures is much less than their reverence for
+them.
+
+Professor J. B. Turner,* writing in 1842, when the early
+teachings of Mormonism had just had their effect in what is now
+styled the middle West, observed that these teachings had made
+more infidels than Mormon converts. This is accounted for by the
+fact that persons who attempted to follow the Mormon argument by
+studying the Scriptures, found their previous interpretation of
+parts of the Holy Bible overturned, and the whole book placed
+under a cloud. W. J. Stillman mentions a similar effect in the
+case of Ruskin. When they were in Switzerland, Ruskin would do no
+painting on Sunday, while Stillman regarded the sanctity of the
+first day of the week as a "theological fiction." In a discussion
+of the subject between them, Stillman established to Ruskin's
+satisfaction that there was no Scriptural authority for
+transferring the day of rest from the seventh to the first day of
+the week." The creed had so bound him to the letter, "says
+Stillman, "that the least enlargement of the stricture broke it,
+and he rejected, not only the tradition of the Sunday Sabbath,
+but the whole of the ecclesiastical interpretation of the texts.
+He said, 'If they have deceived me in this, they have probably
+deceived me in all.'" The Mormons soon learned that it was more
+profitable for them to seek converts among those who would accept
+without reasoning.
+
+* "Mormonism in all Ages."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. WILD VAGARIES OF THE CONVERTS
+
+The scenes at Kirtland during the first winter of the church
+there reached the limit of religious enthusiasm. The younger
+members outdid the elder in manifesting their belief. They saw
+wonderful lights in the air, and constantly received visions.
+Mounting stumps in the field, they preached to imaginary
+congregations, and, picking up stones, they would read on them
+words which they said disappeared as soon as known. At the
+evening prayer-meetings the laying on of hands would be followed
+by a sort of fit, in which the enthusiasts would fall apparently
+lifeless on the floor, or contort their faces, creep on their
+hands or knees, imitate the Indian process of killing and
+scalping, and chase balls of fire through the fields.*
+
+*Corrill's "Brief History of the Church," p. 16; Howe's
+"Mormonism Unveiled," p. 104.
+
+
+Some of the young men announced that they had received
+"commissions" to teach and preach, written on parchment, which
+came to them from the sky, and which they reached by jumping into
+the air. Howe reproduces one of these, the conclusion of which,
+with the seal, follows:--
+
+"That you had a messenger tell you to go and get the other night,
+you must not show to any son of Adam. Obey this, and I will stand
+by you in all cases. My servants, obey my commandments in all
+cases, and I will provide.
+
+ "Be ye always ready, Be ye always ready, Whenever I shall call,
+Be ye always ready, My seal.
+
+"There shall be something of great importance revealed when I
+shall call you to go: My servants, be faithful over a few things,
+and I will make you a ruler over many. Amen, Amen, Amen."
+
+Foolishly extravagant as these manifestations appear (Corrill
+says that comparatively few members indulged in them), there was
+nothing in them peculiar to the Mormon belief. The meetings of
+the Disciples, in the year of Smith's arrival in Ohio and later,
+when men like Campbell and Scott spoke, were swayed with the most
+intense religious enthusiasm. A description of the effect of
+Campbell's preaching at a grove meeting in the Cuyahoga Valley in
+1831 says:--
+
+"The woods were full of horses and carriages, and the hundreds
+already there were rapidly swelled to many thousands; all were of
+one race-the Yankee; all of one calling, or nearly, the
+farmer.... When Campbell closed, low murmurs broke and ran
+through the awed crowd; men and women from all parts of the vast
+assembly with streaming eyes came forward; young men who had
+climbed into small trees from curiosity, came down from
+conviction, and went forward for baptism."*
+
+* Riddle's "The Portrait."
+
+It is easy to cite very "orthodox" precedents for such
+manifestations. One of these we find in the accounts of what were
+called "the jerks," which accompanied a great revival in 1803,
+brought about by the preaching of the Rev. Joseph Badger, a Yale
+graduate and a Congregationalist, who was the first missionary to
+the Western Reserve. J. S. C. Abbott, in his history of Ohio,
+describing the "jerks," says:--
+
+"The subject was instantaneously seized with spasms in every
+muscle, nerve and tendon. His head was thrown backward and
+forward, and from side to side, with inconceivable rapidity. So
+swift was the motion that the features could no more be discerned
+than the spokes of a wheel can be seen when revolving with the
+greatest velocity.... All were impressed with a conviction that
+there was something supernatural in these convulsions, and that
+it was opposing the spirit of God to resist them."
+
+The most extravagant enthusiasm of the Kirtland converts, and the
+most extravagant claims of the Mormon leaders at that time, were
+exceeded by the manifestations of converts in the early days of
+Methodism, and the miraculous occurrences testified to by Wesley
+himself,*--a cloud tempering the sun in answer to his prayer; his
+horse cured of lameness by faith; the case of a blind Catholic
+girl who saw plainly when her eyes rested on the New Testament,
+but became blind again when she took up the Mass Book.
+
+* For examples see Lecky's "England in the Nineteenth Century,
+Vol. III, Chap. VIII, and Wesley's "Journal."
+
+
+These Mormon enthusiasts were only suffering from a manifestation
+to which man is subject; and we can agree with a Mormon elder
+who, although he left the church disgusted with its
+extravagances, afterward remarked, "The man of religious feeling
+will know how to pity rather than upbraid that zeal without
+knowledge which leads a man to fancy that he has found the ladder
+of Jacob, and that he sees the angel of the Lord ascending and
+descending before his eyes."
+
+When Smith and Rigdon reached Kirtland they found the new church
+in a state of chaos because of these wild excitements, and of an
+attempt to establish a community of possessions, growing out of
+Rigdon's previous teachings. These communists held that what
+belonged to one belonged to all, and that they could even use any
+one's clothes or other personal property without asking
+permission. Many of the flock resented this, and anything but a
+condition of brotherly love resulted. Smith, in his account of
+the situation as they found it, says that the members were
+striving to do the will of God, "though some had strange notions,
+and false spirits had crept in among them. With a little caution
+and some wisdom, I soon assisted the brothers and sisters to
+overcome them. The plan of 'common stock,' which had existed in
+what was called 'the family,' whose members generally had
+embraced the Everlasting Gospel, was readily abandoned for the
+more perfect law of the Lord,"*--which the prophet at once
+expounded.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, Supt., p. 56.
+
+
+Smith announced that the Lord had informed him that the ravings
+of the converts were of the devil, and this had a deterring
+effect; but at an important meeting of elders to receive an
+endowment, some three months later, conducted by Smith himself,
+the spirits got hold of some of the elders. "It threw one from
+his seat to the floor," says Corrill. "It bound another so that
+for some time he could not use his limbs or speak; and some other
+curious effects were experienced. But by a mighty exertion, in
+the name of the Lord, it was exposed and shown to be of an evil
+source."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. GROWTH OF THE CHURCH
+
+In order not to interrupt the story of the Mormons' experiences
+in Ohio, leaving the first steps taken in Missouri to be treated
+in connection with the regular course of events in that state, it
+will be sufficient to say here that Cowdery, Pratt, and their two
+companions continued their journey as far as the western border
+of Missouri, in the winter of 1830 and 1831, making their
+headquarters at Independence, Jackson County; that, on receipt of
+their reports about that country, Smith and Rigdon, with others,
+made a trip there in June, 1831, during which the corner-stones
+of the City of Zion and the Temple were laid, and officers were
+appointed to receive money for the purchase of the land for the
+Saints, its division; etc. Smith and Rigdon returned to Kirtland
+on August 27, 1831.
+
+The growth of the church in Ohio was rapid. In two or three weeks
+after the arrival of the four pioneer missionaries, 127 persons
+had been baptized, and by the spring of 1831 the number of
+converts had increased to 1000. Almost all the male converts were
+honored with the title of elder. By a "revelation" dated February
+9, 1831 (Sec. 42), all of these elders, except Smith and Rigdon,
+were directed to "go forth in the power of my spirit, preaching
+my Gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with
+the voice of a trump. "This was the beginning of that extensive
+system of proselyting which was soon extended to Europe, which
+was so instrumental in augmenting the membership of the church in
+its earlier days, and which is still carried on with the utmost
+zeal and persistence. The early missionaries travelled north into
+Canada and through almost all the states, causing alarm even in
+New England by the success of their work. One man there, in 1832,
+reprinted at his own expense Alexander Campbell's pamphlet
+exposing the ridiculous features of the Mormon Bible, for
+distribution as an offset to the arguments of the elders. Women
+of means were among those who moved to Kirtland from
+Massachusetts. In three years after Smith and Rigdon met in
+Palmyra, Mormon congregations had been established in nearly all
+the Northern and Middle states and in some of the Southern, with
+baptisms of from 30 to 130 in a place.*
+
+Smith had relaxed none of his determination to be the one head of
+the church. As soon as he arrived in Kirtland he put forth a long
+"revelation" (Sec. 43) which left Rigdon no doubt of the
+prophet's intentions. It declared to the elders that "there is
+none other [but Smith appointed unto you to receive commandments
+and revelations until he be taken," and that "none else shall be
+appointed unto his gift except it be through him. "Not only was
+Smith's spiritual power thus intrenched, but his temporal welfare
+was looked after. "And again I say unto you," continues this
+mouthpiece of the Lord, "if ye desire the mysteries of the
+Kingdom, provide for him food and raiment and whatsoever he
+needeth to accomplish the work wherewith I have commanded him."
+In the same month came another declaration, saying (Sec. 41 " is
+meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., should have a house
+built, in which to live and translate" (the Scriptures). With a
+streak of generosity it was added, "It is meet that my servant
+Sidney Rigdon should live as seemeth him good."
+
+*Turner's "Mormonism in all Ages," p. 38.
+
+
+The iron hand with which Smith repressed Rigdon from the date of
+their arrival in Ohio affords strong proof of Rigdon's complicity
+in the Bible plot, and of Smith's realization of the fact that he
+stood to his accomplice in the relation of a burglar to his mate,
+where the burglar has both the boodle and the secret in his
+possession. An illustration of this occurred during their first
+trip to Missouri. Rigdon and Smith did not agree about the
+desirability of western Missouri as a permanent abiding-place for
+the church. The Rev. Ezra Booth, after leaving the Mormons,
+contributed a series of letters on his experience with Smith to
+the Ohio Star of Ravenna.* In the first of these he said: "On our
+arrival in the western part of the state of Missouri we
+discovered that prophecy and visions had failed, or rather had
+proved false. This fact was so notorious that Mr. Rigdon himself
+says that 'Joseph's vision was a bad thing.'" Smith nevertheless
+directed Rigdon to write a description of that promised land,
+and, when the production did not suit him, he represented the
+Lord as censuring Rigdon in a "revelation" (Sec. 63):--
+
+* Copied in Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled."
+
+
+"And now behold, verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, am not
+pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalteth himself in his
+heart, and receiveth not counsel, but grieveth the spirit.
+Wherefore his writing is not acceptable unto the Lord; and he
+shall make another, and if the Lord receiveth it not, behold he
+standeth no longer in the office which I have appointed him."
+
+That the proud-minded, educated preacher, who refused to allow
+Campbell to claim the foundership of the Disciples' church,
+should take such a rebuke and threat of dismissal in silence from
+Joe Smith of Palmyra, and continue under his leadership,
+certainly indicates some wonderful hold that the prophet had upon
+him.
+
+While the travelling elders were doing successful work in adding
+new converts to the fold, there was beginning to manifest itself
+at Kirtland that "apostasy" which lost the church so many members
+of influence, and was continued in Missouri so far that Mayor
+Grant said, in Salt Lake City, in 1856, that "one-half at least
+of the Yankee members of this church have apostatized."* The
+secession of men like Booth and Ryder, and their public exposure
+of Smith's methods, coupled with rumors of immoral practices in
+the fold, were followed by the tarring and feathering of Smith
+and Rigdon on the night of Saturday, March 25, 1832. The story of
+this outrage is told in Smith's autobiography, and the details
+there given may be in the main accepted.
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 201.
+
+Smith and his wife were living at the house of a farmer named
+Johnson in Hiram township, while he and Rigdon were translating
+the Scriptures. Mrs. Smith had taken two infant twins to bring
+up, and on the night in question she and her husband were taking
+turns sitting up with these babies, who were just recovering from
+the measles. While Smith was sleeping, his wife heard a tapping
+on the window, but gave it no attention. The mob, believing that
+all within were asleep, then burst in the door, seized Smith as
+he lay partly dressed on a trundle bed, and rushed him out of
+doors, his wife crying "murder." Smith struggled as best he
+could, but they carried him around the house, choking him until
+he became unconscious. Some thirty yards from the house he saw
+Rigdon, "stretched out on the ground, whither they had dragged
+him by the heels." When they had carried Smith some thirty yards
+farther, some of the mob meantime asking, "Ain't ye going to kill
+him?" a council was held and some one asked, "Simmons, where's
+the tarbucket?" When the bucket was brought up they tried to
+force the "tarpaddle" into Smith's mouth, and also, he says, to
+force a phial between his teeth. He adds:
+
+"All my clothes were torn off me except my shirt collar, and one
+man fell on me and scratched my body with his nails like a mad
+cat. They then left me, and I attempted to rise, but fell again.
+I pulled the tar away from my lips, etc., so that I could breathe
+more freely, and after a while I began to recover, and raised
+myself up, when I saw two lights. I made my way toward one of
+them, and found it was father Johnson's. When I had come to the
+door I was naked, and the tar made me look as though I had been
+covered with blood; and when my wife saw me she thought I was all
+smashed to pieces, and fainted. During the affray abroad, the
+sisters of the neighborhood collected at my room. I called for a
+blanket; they threw me one and shut the door; I wrapped it around
+me and went in.... My friends spent the night in scraping and
+removing the tar and washing and cleansing my body, so that by
+morning I was ready to be clothed again.... With my flesh all
+scarified and defaced, I preached [that morning] to the
+congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day
+baptized three individuals."
+
+Rigdon's treatment is described as still more severe. He was not
+only dragged over the ground by the heels, but was well covered
+with tar and feathers; and when Smith called on him the next day
+he found him delirious, and calling for a razor with which to
+kill his wife.
+
+All Mormon accounts of this, as well as later persecutions,
+attempt to make the ground of attack hostility to the Mormon
+religious beliefs, presenting them entirely in the light of
+outrages on liberty of opinion. Symonds Ryder (whom Smith accuses
+of being one of the mob), says that the attack had this origin:
+The people of Hiram had the reputation of being very receptive
+and liberal in their religious views. The Mormons therefore
+preached to them, and seemed in a fair way to win a decided
+success, when the leaders made their first trip to Missouri.
+Papers which they left behind outlining the internal system of
+the new church fell into the hands of some of the converts, and
+revealed to them the horrid fact that a plot was laid to take
+their property from them and place it under the control of Smith,
+the Prophet.... Some who had been the dupes of this deception
+determined not to let it pass with impunity; and, accordingly, a
+company was formed of citizens from Shalersville, Garretsville,
+and Hiram, and took Smith and Rigdon from their beds and tarred
+and feathered them."*
+
+* Hayden's "Early History of the Disciples' Church in the Western
+Reserve," p. 221.
+
+
+This manifestation of hostility to the leaders of the new church
+was only a more pronounced form of that which showed itself
+against Smith before he left New York State. When a man of his
+character and previous history assumes the right to baptize and
+administer the sacrament, he is certain to arouse the animosity,
+not only of orthodox church members, but of members of the
+community who are lax in their church duties. Goldsmith
+illustrates this kind of feeling when, in "She Stoops to
+Conquer," he makes one of the "several shabby fellows with punch
+and tobacco" in the alehouse say, "I loves to hear him, the
+squire sing, bekeays he never gives us nothing that's low," and
+another responds, "O, damn anything that's low." The AntiMormon
+feeling was intensified and broadened by the aggressiveness with
+which the Mormons sought for converts in the orthodox flocks.
+
+Beliefs radically different from those accepted by any of the
+orthodox denominations have escaped hostile opposition in this
+country, even when they have outraged generally accepted social
+customs. The Harmonists, in a body of 600, emigrated to
+Pennsylvania to escape the persecution to which they were
+subjected in Germany, purchased 5000 acres of land and organized
+a town; moved later to Indiana, where they purchased 25,000
+acres; and ten years afterward returned to Pennsylvania, and
+bought 5000 acres in another place,--all the time holding to
+their belief in a community of goods and a speedy coming of
+Christ, as well as the duty of practicing celibacy,--without
+exciting their neighbors or arousing their enmity. The
+Wallingford Community in Connecticut, and the Oneida Community in
+New York State, practised free love among themselves without
+persecution, until their organizations died from natural causes.
+The leaders in these and other independent sects were clean men
+within their own rules, honest in their dealings with their
+neighbors, never seeking political power, and never pressing
+their opinions upon outsiders. An old resident of Wallingford
+writes to me, "The Community were, in a way, very generally
+respected for their high standard of integrity in all their
+business transactions."
+
+As we follow the career of the Mormons from Ohio to Missouri, and
+thence to Illinois, we shall read their own testimony about the
+character of their leading men, and about their view of the
+rights of others in each of their neighborhoods. When Horace
+Greeley asked Brigham Young in Salt Lake City for an explanation
+of the "persecutions" of the Mormons, his reply was that there
+was "no other explanation than is afforded by the crucifixion of
+Christ and the kindred treatment of God's ministers, prophets,
+and saints in all ages"; which led Greeley to observe that, while
+a new sect is always decried and traduced,--naming the Baptists,
+Quakers, Methodists, and Universalists,--he could not remember
+"that either of them was ever generally represented and regarded
+by the other sects of their early days as thieves, robbers, and
+murderers."*
+
+* "Overland Journey," p. 214.
+
+
+Another attempt by Rigdon to assert his independence of Smith
+occurred while the latter was still at Mr. Johnson's house and
+Rigdon was in Kirtland. The fullest account of this is found in
+Mother Smith's "History," pp. 204-206. She says that Rigdon came
+in late to a prayer-meeting, much agitated, and, instead of
+taking the platform, paced backward and forward on the floor.
+Joseph's father told him they would like to hear a discourse from
+him, but he replied, "The keys of the Kingdom are rent from the
+church, and there shall not be a prayer put up in this house this
+day." This caused considerable excitement, and Smith's brother
+Hyrum left the house, saying, "I'll put a stop to this fuss
+pretty quick," and, mounting a horse, set out for Johnson's and
+brought the prophet back with him. On his arrival, a meeting of
+the brethren was held, and Joseph declared to them, "I myself
+hold the keys of this Last Dispensation, and will forever hold
+them, both in time and eternity, so set your hearts at rest upon
+that point. All is right." The next day Rigdon was tried before a
+council for having "lied in the name of the Lord," and was
+"delivered over to the buffetings of Satan," and deprived of his
+license, Smith telling him that "the less priesthood he had, the
+better it would be for him." Rigdon, Mrs. Smith says, according
+to his own account, "was dragged out of bed by the devil three
+times in one night by the heels," and, while she does not accept
+this literally, she declares that "his contrition was as great as
+a man could well live through." After awhile he got another
+license.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. GIFTS OF TONGUES AND MIRACLES
+
+In January, 1833, Smith announced a revival of the "gift of
+tongues," and instituted the ceremony of washing the feet.* Under
+the new system, Smith or Rigdon, during a meeting, would call on
+some brother, or sister, saying, "Father A., if you will rise in
+the name of Jesus Christ you can speak in tongues." The rule
+which persons thus called on were to follow was thus explained,
+"Arise upon your feet, speak or make some sound, continue to make
+sounds of some kind, and the Lord will make a language of it." It
+was not necessary that the words should be understood by the
+congregation; some other Mormon would undertake their
+interpretation. Much ridicule was incurred by the church because
+of this kind of revelation. Gunnison relates that when a woman
+"speaking in tongues" pronounced "meliar, meli, melee," it was at
+once translated by a young wag, "my leg, my thigh, my knee," and,
+when he was called before the Council charged with irreverence,
+he persisted in his translation, but got off with an
+admonition.** At a meeting in Nauvoo in later years a doubting
+convert delivered an address in real Choctaw, whereupon a woman
+jumped up and offered as a translation an account of the glories
+of the new Temple.
+
+* This ceremony has fallen into disuse in Utah.
+
+** "The Mormons." p. 74.
+
+
+At the conference of June 4, 1831, Smith ordained Elder Wright to
+the high priesthood for service among the Indians, with the gift
+of tongues, healing the sick, etc. Wright at once declared that
+he saw the Saviour. At one of the sessions at Kirtland at this
+time, as described by an eye-witness, Smith announced that the
+day would come when no man would be permitted to preach unless he
+had seen the Lord face to face. Then, addressing Rigdon, he
+asked, "Sidney, have you seen the Lord?" The obedient Sidney made
+reply, "I saw the image of a man pass before my face, whose locks
+were white, and whose countenance was exceedingly fair, even
+surpassing all beauty that I ever beheld." Smith at once rebuked
+him by telling him that he would have seen more but for his
+unbelief.
+
+Almost simultaneously with Smith's first announcement of his
+prophetic powers, while working his "peek-stone" in Pennsylvania
+and New York, he, as we have seen, claimed ability to perform
+miracles, and he announced that he had cast out a devil at
+Colesville in 1830.* The performance of miracles became an
+essential part of the church work at Kirtland, and had a great
+effect on the superstitious converts. The elders, who in the
+early days labored in England, laid great stress on their
+miraculous power, and there were some amusing exposures of their
+pretences. The Millennial Star printed a long list of successful
+miracles dating from 1839 to 1850, including the deaf made to
+hear, the blind to see, dislocated bones put in place, leprosy
+and cholera cured, and fevers rebuked. Smith, Rigdon, and Cowdery
+took a leading part in this work at Kirtland.** To a man nearly
+dead with consumption Rigdon gave assurance that he would recover
+"as sure as there is a God in heaven." The man's death soon
+followed. When a child, whose parents had been persuaded to trust
+its case to Mormon prayers instead of calling a physician,***
+died, Smith and Rigdon promised that it would rise from the dead,
+and they went through certain ceremonies to accomplish that
+object.****
+
+* For particulars of this miracle, see Millennial Star, Vol. XIV,
+pp. 28, 32.
+
+** While Smith was in Washington in 1840, pressing on the federal
+authorities the claims of the Mormons for redress for their
+losses in Missouri, he preached on the church doctrines. A member
+of Congress who heard him sent a synopsis of the discourse to his
+wife, and Smith printed this entire in his autobiography
+(Millennial Star, Vol. XVII, p. 583). Here is one passage: "He
+[Smith] performed no miracles. He did not pretend to possess any
+such power." This is an illustration of the facility with which
+Smith could lie, when to do so would serve his purpose.
+
+*** The Saints were early believers in faith cure. Smith, in a
+sermon preached in 1841, urged them "to trust in God when sick,
+and live by faith and not by medicine or poison" (Millennial
+Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 663). A coroner's jury, in an inquest over a
+victim of this faith in London, England, cautioned the sect
+against continuing this method of curing (Times and Seasons,
+1842, p. 813).
+
+**** For further illustrations of miracle working, in Ohio, see
+Kennedy's "Early Days of Mormonism," Chap. V.
+
+
+The lengths to which Smith dared go in his pretensions are well
+illustrated in an incident of these days. Among the curiosities
+of a travelling showman who passed through Kirtland were some
+Egyptian mummies. As the golden plates from which the Mormon
+Bible was translated were written in "reformed Egyptian," the
+translator of those plates was interested in all things coming
+from Egypt, and at his suggestion the mummies were purchased by
+and for the church. On them were found some papyri which Joseph,
+with the assistance of Phelps and Cowdery, set about
+"translating." Their success was great, and Smith was able to
+announce: "We found that one of these rolls contained the
+writings of Abraham, another the writings of Joseph.* Truly we
+could see that the Lord is beginning to reveal the abundance of
+truth." That there might be no question about the accuracy of
+Smith's translation, he exhibited a certificate signed by the
+proprietor of the show, saying that he had exhibited the
+"hieroglyphic characters" to the most learned men in many cities,
+"and from all the information that I could ever learn or meet
+with, I find that of Joseph Smith, Jr., to correspond in the most
+minute matters." * When the papyri were shown to Josiah Quincy
+and Charles Francis Adams, on the occasion of their visit to
+Nauvoo in 1844, Joseph Smith, pointing out the inscriptions,
+said: "That is the handwriting of Abraham, the Father of the
+Faithful. This is the autograph of Moses, and these lines were
+written by his brother Aaron. Here we have the earliest account
+of the creation, from which Moses composed the first Book of
+Genesis."--"Figures of the Past," p. 386.
+
+Smith's autobiography contains this memorandum: "October 1, 1835.
+This afternoon I labored on the Egyptian alphabet in company with
+Brother O. Cowdery and W. W. Phelps, and during the research the
+principals of astronomy, as understood by Father Abraham and the
+Ancients, unfolded to our understanding. "When he was in the
+height of his power in Nauvoo, Smith printed in the Times and
+Seasons a reproduction of these hieroglyphics accompanied by this
+alleged translation, of what he called "the Book of Abraham," and
+they were also printed in the Millennial Star.* The translation
+was a meaningless jumble of words after this fashion:--
+
+* See Vol. XIX, p. 100, etc., from which the accompanying
+facsimile is taken.
+
+
+"In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my father, I,
+Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place
+of residence, and finding there was greater happiness and peace
+and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the Fathers, and
+the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same,
+having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring to be
+one also who possessed great knowledge, and to possess greater
+knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness."
+
+Remy submitted a reproduction of these hieroglyphics to Theodule
+Deveria, of the Museum of the Louvre, in Paris, who found, of
+course, that Smith's purported translation was wholly fraudulent.
+For instance, his Abraham fastened on an altar was a
+representation of Osiris coming to life on his funeral couch, his
+officiating priest was the god Anubis, and what Smith represents
+to indicate an angel of the Lord is "the soul of Osiris, under
+the form of a hawk."* Smith's whole career offered no more brazen
+illustration of his impostures than this.
+
+* See "A Journey to Great Salt Lake City", by Jules Remy (1861),
+Note XVII.
+
+
+A visitor to the Kirtland Temple some years later paid Joseph's
+father half a dollar in order to see the Egyptian curios, which
+were kept in the attic of that structure.
+
+A well-authenticated anecdote, giving another illustration of
+Smith's professed knowledge of the Egyptian language is told by
+the Rev. Henry Caswall, M.A., who, after holding the
+Professorship of Divinity in Kemper College, in Missouri, became
+vicar of a church in England. Mr. Caswall, on the occasion of a
+visit to Nauvoo in 1842, having heard of Smith's Egyptian lore,
+took with him an ancient Greek manuscript of the Psalter, on
+parchment, with which to test the prophet's scholarship. The
+belief of Smith's followers in his powers was shown by their
+eagerness to have him see this manuscript, and their persistence
+in urging Mr. Caswall to wait a day for Smith's return from
+Carthage that he might submit it to the prophet. Mr. Caswall the
+next day handed the manuscript to Smith and asked him to explain
+its contents. After a brief examination, Smith explained: "It
+ain't Greek at all, except perhaps a few words. What ain't Greek
+is Egyptian, and what ain't Egyptian is Greek. This book is very
+valuable. It is a dictionary of Egyptian hieroglyphics. These
+figures (pointing to the capitals] is Egyptian hieroglyphics
+written in the reformed Egyptian. These characters are like the
+letters that were engraved on the golden plates."*
+
+* "The City of the Mormons," p. 36 (1842).
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. SMITH'S OHIO BUSINESS ENTERPRISES
+
+When Rigdon returned to Ohio with Smith in January, 1831, it
+seems to have been his intention to make Kirtland the permanent
+headquarters of the new church. He had written to his people from
+Palmyra, "Be it known to you, brethren, that you are dwelling on
+your eternal inheritance." When Cowdery and his associates
+arrived in Ohio on their first trip, they announced as the
+boundaries of the Promised Land the township of Kirtland on the
+east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Within two months of his
+arrival at Kirtland Smith gave out a "revelation" (Sec. 45), in
+which the Lord commanded the elders to go forth into the western
+countries and buildup churches, and they were told of a City of
+Refuge for the church, to be called the New Jerusalem. No
+definite location of this city was given, and the faithful were
+warned to "keep these things from going abroad unto the world."
+Another "revelation" of the same month (Sec. 48) announced that
+it was necessary for all to remain for the present in their
+places of abode, and directed those who had lands "to impart to
+the eastern brethren," and the others to buy lands, and all to
+save money" to purchase lands for an inheritance, even the city."
+
+The reports of those who first went to Missouri induced Smith and
+Rigdon, before they made their first trip to that state, to
+announce that the Saints would pass one more winter in Ohio. But
+when they had visited the Missouri frontier and realized its
+distance from even the Ohio border line, and the actual
+privations to which settlers there must submit, their zeal
+weakened, and they declared, "It will be many years before we
+come here, for the Lord has a great work for us to do in Ohio."
+The building of the Temple at Kirtland, and the investments in
+lots and in business enterprises there showed that a permanent
+settlement in Ohio was then decided on.
+
+Smith's first business enterprise for the church in Ohio was a
+general store which he opened in Hiram. This establishment has
+been described as "a poorly furnished country store where
+commerce looks starvation in the face."* The difficulty of
+combining the positions of prophet, head of the church, and
+retail merchant was naturally great. The result of the
+combination has been graphically pictured by no less an authority
+than Brigham Young. In a discourse in Salt Lake City, explaining
+why the church did not maintain a store there, Young said:--
+
+* Salt Lake Herald, November 17, 1877.
+
+
+"You that have lived in Nauvoo, in Missouri, in Kirtland, Ohio,
+can you assign a reason why Joseph could not keep a store and be
+a merchant? Let me just give you a few reasons; and there are men
+here who know just how matters went in those days. Joseph goes to
+New York and buys $20,000 worth of goods, comes into Kirtland and
+commences to trade. In comes one of the brethren. Brother Joseph,
+let me have a frock pattern for my wife: What if Joseph says,
+'No, I cannot without money.' The consequence would be, 'He is no
+Prophet,' says James. Pretty soon Thomas walks in. 'Brother
+Joseph, will you trust me for a pair of boots?' 'No, I cannot let
+them go without money.' 'Well,' says Thomas, 'Brother Joseph is
+no Prophet; I have found THAT out and I am glad of it.' After a
+while in comes Bill and Sister Susan. Says Bill, 'Brother Joseph,
+I want a shawl. I have not got any money, but I wish you to trust
+me a week or a fortnight.' Well, Brother Joseph thinks the others
+have gone and apostatized, and he don't know but these goods will
+make the whole church do the same, so he lets Bill have a shawl.
+Bill walks of with it and meets a brother. 'Well,' says he, 'what
+do you think of Brother Joseph?' 'O, he is a first rate man, and
+I fully believe he is a Prophet. He has trusted me with this
+shawl.' Richard says, 'I think I will go down and see if he won't
+trust me some.' In walks Richard. Brother Joseph, I want to trade
+about $20.' 'Well,'says Joseph, 'these goods will make the people
+apostatize, so over they go; they are of less value than the
+people.' Richard gets his goods. Another comes in the same way to
+make a trade of $25, and so it goes. Joseph was a first rate
+fellow with them all the time, provided he never would ask them
+to pay him. And so you may trace it down through the history of
+this people."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 215.
+
+
+If this analysis of the flock which Smith gathered in Ohio, and
+which formed the nucleus of the settlements in Missouri, was not
+permanently recorded in an official church record, its
+authenticity would be vigorously assailed.
+
+Later enterprises at Kirtland, undertaken under the auspices of
+the church, included a steam sawmill and a tannery, both of which
+were losing concerns. But the speculation to which later Mormon
+authorities attributed the principal financial disasters of the
+church at Kirtland was the purchase of land and its sale as town
+lots.* The craze for land speculation in those days was not
+confined, however, to the Mormons. That was the period when the
+purchase of public lands of the United States seemed likely to
+reach no limit. These sales, which amounted to $2,300,000 in
+1830, and to $4,800,000 in 1834, lumped to $14,757,600 in 1835,
+and to $24,877,179 in 1836. The government deposits (then made in
+the state banks) increased from $10,000,000 on January 1, 1835,
+to $41,500,000 on June 1, 1836, the increase coming from receipts
+from land sales. This led to that bank expansion which was
+measured by the growth of bank capital in this country from
+$61,000,000 to $200,000,000 between 1830 and 1834, with a further
+advance to $251,000,000.
+
+* "Real estate rose from 100 to 800 per cent and in many cases
+more. Men who were not thought worth $50 or $100 became
+purchasers of thousands. Notes (sometimes cash), deeds and
+mortgages passed and repassed, till all, or nearly all, supposed
+they had become wealthy, or at least had acquired a
+competence."--Messenger and Advocate, June, 1837.
+
+
+The Mormon leaders and their people were peculiarly liable to be
+led into disaster when sharing in this speculators' fever. They
+were, however, quick to take advantage of the spirit of the
+times. The Zion of Missouri lost its attractiveness to them, and
+on February 23, 1833, the Presidency decided to purchase land at
+Kirtland, and to establish there on a permanent Stake of Zion.
+The land purchases of the church began at once, and we find a
+record of one Council meeting, on March 23, 1833, at which it was
+decided to buy three farms costing respectively $4000, $2100, and
+$5000. Kirtland was laid out (on paper) with 32 streets, cutting
+one another at right angles, each four rods wide. This provided
+for 225 blocks of 20 lots each. Twenty-nine of the streets were
+named after Mormons. Joseph and his family appear many times in
+the list of conveyors of these lots. The original map of the
+city, as described in Smith's autobiography, provided for 24
+public buildings temples, schools, etc.; no lot to contain more
+than one house, and that not to be nearer than 25 feet from the
+street, with a prohibition against erecting a stable on a house
+lot.*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, pp. 438-439.
+
+
+Of course this Mormon capital must have a grand church edifice,
+to meet Smith's views, and he called a council to decide about
+the character of the new meeting-house. A few of the speakers
+favored a modest frame building, but a majority thought a log one
+better suited to their means. Joseph rebuked the latter, asking,
+"Shall we, brethren, build a house for our God of logs?" and he
+straightway led them to the corner of a wheat field, where the
+trench for the foundation was at once begun.* No greater
+exhibition of business folly could have been given than the
+undertaking of the costly building then planned on so slender a
+financial foundation.
+
+* Mother Smith's "Biographical Sketches" p. 213.
+
+
+The corner-stone was laid on July 23, 1833, and the Temple was
+not dedicated until March 27, 1836. Mormon devotion certainly
+showed itself while this work was going on. Every male member was
+expected to give oneseventh of his time to the building without
+pay, and those who worked on it at day's wages had, in most
+instances, no other income, and often lived on nothing but corn
+meal. The women, as their share, knit and wove garments for the
+workmen.
+
+The Temple, which is of stone covered with a cement stucco (it is
+still in use), measures 60 by 80 feet on the ground, is 123 feet
+in height to the top of the spire, and contains two stories and
+an attic.
+
+The cost of this Temple was $40,000, and, notwithstanding the
+sacrifices made by the Saints in assisting its construction, and
+the schemes of the church officers to secure funds, a debt of
+from $15,000 to $20,000 remained upon it. That the church was
+financially embarrassed at the very beginning of the work is
+shown by a letter addressed to the brethren in Zion, Missouri, by
+Smith, Rigdon, and Williams, dated June 25, 1833, in which they
+said, "Say to Brother Gilbert that we have no power to assist him
+in a pecuniary point, as we know not the hour when we shall be
+sued for debts which we have contracted ourselves in New York."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 450.
+
+
+To understand the business crash and scandals which compelled
+Smith and his associates to flee from Ohio, it is necessary to
+explain the business system adopted by the church under them.
+This system began with a rule about the consecration of property.
+As originally published in the Evening and Morning Star, and in
+chapter xliv of the "Book of Commandments," this rule declared,
+"Thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast,
+unto me, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken," with
+a provision that the Bishop, after he had received such an
+irrevocable deed, should appoint every man a steward over so much
+of his property as would be sufficient for himself and family. In
+the later edition of the "Doctrine and Covenants" this was
+changed to read, "And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and
+consecrate thy properties for their support," etc.
+
+By a "revelation" given out while the heads of the church were in
+Jackson County, Missouri, in April, 1832 (Sec. 82), a sort of
+firm was appointed, including Smith, Rigdon, Cowdery, Harris, and
+N. K. Whitney, "to manage the affairs of the poor, and all things
+pertaining to the bishopric," both in Ohio and Missouri. This
+firm thus assumed control of the property which "revelation" had
+placed in the hands of the Bishop. This arrangement was known as
+The Order of Enoch. Next came a "revelation" dated April 23,
+1834. (Sec. 104), by which the properties of the Order were
+divided, Rigdon getting the place in which he was living in
+Kirtland, and the tannery; Harris a lot, with a command to
+"devote his monies for the proclaiming of my words"; Cowdery and
+Williams, the printing-office, with some extra lots to Cowdery;
+and Smith, the lot designed for the Temple, and "the inheritance
+on which his father resides." The building of the Temple having
+brought the Mormon leaders into debt, this "revelation," was
+designed to help them out, and it contained these further
+directions, in the voice of the Lord, be it remembered: "The
+covenants being broken through transgression, by covetousness and
+feigned words, therefore you are dissolved as a United Order with
+your brethren, that you are not bound only up to this hour unto
+them, only on this wise, as I said, by loan as shall be agreed by
+this Order in council, as your circumstances will admit, and the
+voice of the council direct.....
+
+"And again verily I say unto you, concerning your debts, behold
+it is my will that you should pay all your debts; and it is my
+will that you should humble yourselves before me, and obtain this
+blessing by your diligence and humility and the prayer of faith;
+and inasmuch as you are diligent and humble, and exercise the
+prayer of faith, behold, I will soften the hearts of those to
+whom you are in debt, until I shall send means unto you for your
+deliverance.... I give you a promise that you shall be delivered
+this once out of your bondage; inasmuch as you obtained a chance
+to loan money by hundreds, or thousands even until you shall loan
+enough [meaning borrow] to deliver yourselves from bondage, it is
+your privilege; and pledge the properties which I have put into
+your hands this once.... The master will not suffer his house to
+be broken up. Even so. Amen."
+
+It does not appear that the Mormon leaders took advantage of this
+authorization to borrow money on Kirtland real estate, if they
+could; but in 1835 they set up several mercantile establishments,
+finding firms in Cleveland, Buffalo, and farther east who would
+take their notes on six months' time." A great part of the goods
+of these houses, "says William Harris, "went to pay the workmen
+on the Temple, and many were sold on credit, so that when the
+notes became due the houses were not able to meet them."
+
+Smith's autobiography relates part of one story of an effort of
+his to secure money at this trying time, the complete details of
+which have been since supplied. He simply says that on July 25,
+1836, in company with his brother Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon, and
+Oliver Cowdery, he started on a trip which brought them to Salem,
+Massachusetts, where "we hired a house and occupied the same
+during the month, teaching the people from house to house."* The
+Mormon of to-day, in reading his "Doctrine and Covenants," finds
+Section 111 very perplexing. No place of its reception is given,
+but it goes on to say:--
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XV, p. 281.
+
+
+"I, the Lord your God, am not displeased with your coming this
+journey, notwithstanding your follies; I have much treasure in
+this city for you, for the benefit of Zion;...and it shall come
+to pass in due time, that I will give this city into your hands,
+that you shall have power over it, insomuch that they shall not
+discover your secret parts; and its wealth pertaining to gold and
+silver shall be yours. Concern not yourself about your debts, for
+I will give you power to pay them.... And inquire diligently
+concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this
+city; for there are more treasures than one for you in this
+city."
+
+"This city" was Salem, Massachusetts, and the "revelation" was
+put forth to brace up the spirits of Smith's fellow-travellers. A
+Mormon named Burgess had gone to Kirtland with a story about a
+large amount of money that was buried in the cellar of a house in
+Salem which had belonged to a widow, and the location of which he
+alone knew. Smith credited this report, and looked to the
+treasure to assist him in his financial difficulties, and he took
+the persons named with him on the trip. But when they got there
+Burgess said that time had so changed the appearance of the
+houses that he could not be sure which was the widow's, and he
+cleared out. Smith then hired a house which he thought might be
+the right one,--it proved not to be,--and it was when his
+associates were--becoming discouraged that the ex-money-digger
+uttered the words quoted, to strengthen their courage. "We speak
+of these things with regret," says Ebenezer Robinson, who
+believed in the prophet's divine calling to the last.*
+
+* The Return, July, 1889.
+
+
+Brought face to face with apparent financial disaster, the next
+step taken to prevent this was the establishment of a bank. Smith
+told of a "revelation" concerning a bank "which would swallow up
+all other banks." An application for a charter was made to the
+Ohio legislature, but it was refused. The law of Ohio at that
+time provided that "all notes and bills, bonds and other
+securities [of an unchartered bank] shall be held and taken in
+all courts as absolutely void." This, however, did not deter a
+man of Smith's audacity, and soon came the announcement of the
+organization of the "Kirtland Safety Society Bank," with an
+alleged capital of $4,000,000. The articles of agreement had been
+drawn up on November 2, 1836, and Oliver Cowdery had been sent to
+Philadelphia to get the plates for the notes at the same time
+that Orson Hyde set out to the state capital to secure a charter.
+Cowdery took no chances of failure, and he came back not only
+with a plate, but with $200,000 in printed bills. To avoid the
+inconvenience of having no charter, the members of the Safety
+Society met on January 2, 1837, and reorganized under the name of
+the "Kirtland Society Anti-banking Company," and, in the hope of
+placing the bills within the law (or at least beyond its reach),
+the word "Bank" was changed with a stamp so that it read
+"Anti-BANK-ing Co.," as in the facsimile here presented.
+
+W. Harris thus describes the banking scheme:--
+
+"Subscribers for stock were allowed to pay the amount of their
+subscriptions in town lots at five or six times their real value;
+others paid in personal property at a high valuation, and some
+were paid in cash. When the notes were first issued they were
+current in the vicinity, and Smith took advantage of their credit
+to pay off with them the debts he and his brethren had contracted
+in the neighborhood for land, etc. The Eastern creditors,
+however, refused to take them. This led to the expedient of
+exchanging them for the notes of other banks.
+
+Accordingly, the Elders were sent into the country to barter off
+Kirtland money, which they did with great zeal, and continued the
+operation until the notes were not worth twelve and a half cents
+to the dollar."*
+
+* "Mormonism Portrayed," p. 31
+
+
+Just how much of this currency was issued the records do not
+show. Hall says that Brigham Young, who had joined the flock at
+Kirtland, disposed of $10,000 worth of it in the States, and that
+Smith and other church officers reaped a rich harvest with it in
+Canada, explaining, "The credit of the bank here was good, even
+high."* Kidder quotes a gentleman living near Kirtland who said
+that the cash capital paid in was only about $5000, and that they
+succeeded in floating from $50,000 to $100,000. Ann Eliza,
+Brigham's "wife No. 19," says that her father invested everything
+he had but his house and shop in the bank, and lost it all.
+
+* "Abominations of Mormonism Exposed" (1852), pp. 19, 20.
+
+
+Cyrus Smalling, one of the Seventy at Kirtland, wrote an account
+of Kirtland banking operations under date of March 10, 1841, in
+which he said that Smith and his associates collected about $6000
+in specie, and that when people in the neighborhood went to the
+bank to inquire about its specie reserve, "Smith had some one or
+two hundred boxes made, and gathered all the lead and shot the
+village had, or that part of it that he controlled, and filled
+the boxes with lead, shot, etc., and marked them $1000 each.
+Then, when they went to examine the vault, he had one box on a
+table partly filled for them to see; and when they proceeded to
+the vault, Smith told them that the church had $200,000 in
+specie; and he opened one box and they saw that it was silver;
+and they were seemingly satisfied, and went away for a few days
+until the elders were packed off in every direction to pass their
+paper money."*
+
+* "Mormons; or Knavery Exposed" (1841).
+
+
+Smith believed in specie payments to his bank, whatever might be
+his intentions as regards the redemption of his notes, for, in
+the Messenger and Advocate (pp. 441-443), following the by-laws
+of the Anti-banking Company, was printed a statement signed by
+him, saying:--
+
+"We want the brethren from abroad to call on us and take stock in
+the Safety Society, and we would remind them of the sayings of
+the Prophet Isaiah contained in the 60th chapter, and more
+particularly in the 9th and 17th verses which are as follows:--
+
+"Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish
+first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold
+with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God.
+
+"For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver,
+etc."
+
+The Messenger and Advocate (edited by W. A. Cowdery), of July,
+1837, contained a long article on the bank and its troubles,
+pointing out, first, that the bank was opened without a charter,
+being "considered a kind of joint stock association," and that
+"the private property of the stockholders was holden in
+proportion to the amount of their subscriptions for the
+redemption of the paper," and also that its notes were absolutely
+void under the state law. The editor goes on to say:--
+
+"Previously to the commencement of discounting by the bank, large
+debts had been contracted for merchandise in New York and other
+cities, and large contracts entered into for real estate in this
+and adjoining towns; some of them had fallen due and must be met,
+or incur forfeitures of large sums. These causes, we are bound to
+believe, operated to induce the officers of the bank to let out
+larger sums than their better judgments dictated, which almost
+invariably fell into or passed through the hands of those who
+sought our ruin.... Hundreds who were enemies either came or sent
+their agents and demanded specie, till the officers thought best
+to refuse payment."
+
+This subtle explanation of the suspension of specie payments is
+followed with a discussion of monopolies, etc., leading up to a
+statement of the obligations of the Mormons in regard to the
+discredited bank-notes, most of which were in circulation
+elsewhere. To the question; "Shall we unite as one man, say it is
+good, and make it good by taking it on a par with gold?" he
+replies, "No," explaining that, owing to the fewness of the
+church members as compared with the world at large, "it must be
+confined in its circulation and par value to the limits of our
+own society." To the question, "Shall we then take it at its
+marked price for our property," he again replies, "No,"
+explaining that their enemies had received the paper at a
+discount, and that, to receive it at par from them, would "give
+them voluntarily and with one eye open just that advantage over
+us to oppress, degrade and depress us." This combined financial
+and spiritual adviser closes his article by urging the brethren
+to set apart a portion of their time to the service of God, and a
+portion to "the study of the science of our government and the
+news of the day."
+
+A card which appeared in the Messenger and Advocate of August,
+1837, signed by Smith, warned "the brethren and friends of the
+church to beware of speculators, renegades, and gamblers who are
+duping the unwary and unsuspecting by palming upon them those
+bills, which are of no worth here."
+
+The actual test of the bank's soundness had come when a request
+was made for the redemption of the notes. The notes seem to have
+been accepted freely in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where it was
+taken for granted that a cashier and president who professed to
+be prophets of the Lord would not give countenance to bank paper
+of doubtful value.* When stories about the concern reached the
+Pittsburg banks, they sent an agent to Kirtland with a package of
+the notes for redemption. Rigdon loudly asserted the stability of
+the institution; but when a request for coin was repeated, it was
+promptly refused by him on the ground that the bills were a
+circulating medium" for the accommodation of the public, "and
+that to call any of them in would defeat their object.**
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 71.
+
+** "Early Days of Mormonism," p. 163.
+
+
+Other creditors of the Mormons were now becoming active in their
+demands. For failing to meet a note given to the bank at
+Painesville, Smith, Rigdon, and N. K. Whitney were put under
+$8000 bonds. Smith, Rigdon, and Cowdery were called into court as
+indorsers of paper for one of the Mormon firms, and judgment was
+given against them. To satisfy a firm of New York merchants the
+heads of the church gave a note for $4500 secured by a mortgage
+on their interest in the new Temple and its contents.* The
+Egyptian mummies were especially excepted from this mortgage.
+Mother Smith describes how these relics were saved by "various
+stratagems" under an execution of $50 issued against the prophet.
+
+* Ibid., pp. 159-160.
+
+
+The scheme of calling the bank corporation an "anti-banking"
+society did not save the officers from prosecution under the
+state law. Informers against violators of the banking law
+received in Ohio a share of the fine imposed, and this led to the
+filing of an information against Rigdon and Smith in March, 1837,
+by one S. D. Rounds, in the Geauga County Court, charging them
+with violating the law, and demanding a penalty of $1000 They
+were at once arrested and held in bail, and were convicted the
+following October. They appealed on the ground that the
+institution was an association and not a bank; but this plea was
+never ruled upon by the court, as the bank suspended payments and
+closed its doors in November, 1837, and, before the appeal could
+be argued, Smith and Rigdon had fled from the state to Missouri.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. LAST DAYS AT KIRTLAND
+
+It is easy to understand that a church whose leaders had such
+views of financial responsibility as Smith's and Rigdon's, and
+whose members were ready to apostatize when they could not obtain
+credit at the prophet's store, was anything but a harmonious
+body. Smith was not a man to maintain his own dignity or to spare
+the feelings of his associates. Wilford Woodruff, describing his
+first sight of the prophet, at Kirtland, in 1834, said he found
+him with his brother Hyrum, wearing a very old hat and engaged in
+the sport of shooting at a mark. Woodruff accompanied him to his
+house, where Smith at once brought out a wolfskin, and said,
+"Brother Woodruff, I want you to help me tan this," and the two
+took off their coats and went to work at the skin.* Smith's
+contempt for Rigdon was never concealed. Writing of the situation
+at Kirtland in 1833, he spoke of Rigdon as possessing "a
+selfishness and independence of mind which too often manifestly
+destroys the confidence of those who would lay down their lives
+for him."** Smith was in the habit of announcing, from his lofty
+pulpit in the Temple, "The truth is good enough without dressing
+up, but brother Rigdon will now proceed to dress it up."*** Some
+of the new converts backed out as soon as they got a close view
+of the church. Elder G. A. Smith, a cousin of Joseph, in a sermon
+in Salt Lake City, in 1855, mentioned some incidents of this
+kind. One family, who had journeyed a long distance to join the
+church in Kirtland, changed their minds because Joseph's wife
+invited them to have a cup of tea "after the word of wisdom was
+given." Another family withdrew after seeing Joseph begin playing
+with his children as soon as he rested from the work of
+translating the Scriptures for the day. A Canadian ex-Methodist
+prayed so long at family worship at Father Johnson's that Joseph
+told him flatly "not to bray so much like a jackass." The prayer
+thereupon returned to Canada.
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 101.
+
+** Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, pp. 584-585.
+
+*** Lippincott's Magazine, August, 1880.
+
+
+But the discontented were not confined to new-comers. Jealousy
+and dissatisfaction were constantly manifesting themselves among
+Smith's old standbys. Written charges made against Cowdery and
+David Whitmer, when they were driven out of Far West, Missouri,
+told them: "You commenced your wickedness by heading a party to
+disturb the worship of the Saints in the first day of the week,
+and made the house of the Lord in Kirtland to be a scene of abuse
+and slander, to destroy the reputation of those whom the church
+had appointed to be their teachers, and for no other cause only
+that you were not the persons." In more exact terms, their
+offence was opposition to the course pursued by Smith. During the
+winter and spring of 1837, these rebels included in their list F.
+G. Williams, of the First Presidency, Martin Harris, D. Whitmer,
+Lyman E. Johnson, P. P. Pratt, and W. E. McLellin. In May, 1837,
+a High Council was held in Kirtland to try these men. Pratt at
+once objected to being tried by a body of which Smith and Rigdon
+were members, as they had expressed opinions against him. Rigdon
+confessed that he could not conscientiously try the case, Cowdery
+did likewise, Williams very properly withdrew, and "the Council
+dispersed in confusion."* It was never reassembled, but the
+offenders were not forgotten, and their punishment came later.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, p. 10.
+
+
+Mother Smith attributes much of the discord among the members at
+this time to "a certain young woman," an inmate of David
+Whitmer's house, who began prophesying with the assistance of a
+black stone. This seer predicted Smith's fall from office because
+of his transgressions, and that David Whitmer or Martin Harris
+would succeed him. Her proselytes became so numerous that a
+written list of them showed that "a great proportion of the
+church were decidedly in favor with the new party."*
+
+* "Biographical Sketches," p. 221.
+
+
+While Smith was thus fighting leading members of his own church,
+he was called upon to defend himself against a serious charge in
+court. A farmer near Kirtland, named Grandison Newell, received
+information from a seceding Mormon that Smith had directed the
+latter and another Mormon named Davis to kill Newell because he
+was a particularly open opponent of the new sect. The affidavit
+of this man set forth that he and Davis had twice gone to
+Newell's house to carry out Smith's order, and were only
+prevented by the absence of the intended victim. Smith was placed
+under $500 bonds on this charge, but on the formal hearing he was
+discharged on the ground of insufficient evidence.*
+
+* Fanny Brewer of Boston, in an affidavit published in 1842,
+declared, "I am personally acquainted with one of the employees,
+Davis by name, and he frankly acknowledged to me that he was
+prepared to do the deed under the direction of the prophet, and
+was only prevented by the entreaties of his wife."
+
+
+A rebellious spirit had manifested itself among the brethren in
+Missouri soon after Smith returned from his first visit to that
+state. W. W. Phelps questioned the prophet's "monarchical power
+and authority," and an unpleasant correspondence sprung up
+between them. As Smith did not succeed by his own pen in
+silencing his accusers, a conference of twelve high priests was
+called by him in Kirtland in January, 1833, which appointed Orson
+Hyde and Smith's brother Hyrum to write to the Missouri brethren.
+In this letter they were told plainly that, unless the rebellious
+spirit ceased, the Lord would seek another Zion. To Phelps the
+message was sent, "If you have fat beef and potatoes, eat them in
+singleness of heart, and not boast yourself in these things." It
+was, however, as a concession to this spirit of complaint,
+according to Ferris, that Smith announced the "revelation" which
+placed the church in the hands of a supreme governing body of
+three.
+
+Smith himself furnishes a very complete picture of the disrupted
+condition of the Mormons in 1838, in an editorial in the Elders'
+journal, dated August, of that year. The tone of the article,
+too, sheds further light on Smith's character. Referring to the
+course of "a set of creatures" whom the church had excluded from
+fellowship, he says they "had recourse to the foulest lying to
+hide their iniquity...; and this gang of horse thieves and
+drunkards were called upon immediately to write their lives on
+paper." Smith then goes on to pay his respects to various
+officers of the church, all of whom, it should be remembered,
+held their positions through "revelation" and were therefore
+professedly chosen directly by God.
+
+Of a statement by Warren Parish, one of the Seventy and an
+officer of the bank, Smith says: "Granny Parish made such an
+awful fuss about what was conceived in him that, night after
+night and day after day, he poured forth his agony before all
+living, as they saw proper to assemble. For a rational being to
+have looked at him and heard him groan and grunt, and saw him
+sweat and struggle, would have supposed that his womb was as much
+swollen as was Rebecca's when the angel told her there were two
+nations there." He also accuses Parish of immorality and stealing
+money.
+
+Here is a part of Smith's picture of Dr. W. A. Cowdery, a
+presiding high priest: "This poor pitiful beggar came to Kirtland
+a few years since with a large family, nearly naked and
+destitute. It was really painful to see this pious Doctor's (for
+such he professed to be) rags flying when he walked upon the
+streets. He was taken in by us in this pitiful condition, and we
+put him into the printing-office and gave him enormous wages, not
+because he could earn it, but merely out of pity.... A truly
+niggardly spirit manifested itself in all his meanness."
+
+Smith's old friend Martin Harris, now a high priest, and Cyrus
+Smalling, one of the Seventy, are lumped among Parish's
+"lackeys,", of whom Smith says: "They are so far beneath contempt
+that a notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a
+gentleman to make." Of Leonard Rich, one of the seven presidents
+of the seventy elders, Smith says that he "was generally so drunk
+that he had to support himself by something to keep from falling
+down." J. F. Boynton and Luke Johnson, two of the Twelve, are
+called "a pair of young blacklegs," and Stephen Burnett, an
+elder, is styled "a little ignorant blockhead, whose heart was so
+set on money that he would at any time sell his soul for $50, and
+then think he had made an excellent bargain."
+
+Smith's own personal character was freely attacked, and the
+subject became so public that it received notice in the Elders'
+Journal. One charge was improper conduct toward an orphan girl
+whom Mrs. Smith had taken into her family. Smith's autobiography
+contains an account of a council held in New Portage, Ohio, in
+1834, at which Rigdon accused Martin Harris of telling A. C.
+Russel that "Joseph drank too much liquor when he was translating
+the Book of Mormon," and Harris set up as a defence that "this
+thing occurred previous to the translating of the Book."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XV, p. 12.
+
+
+There was a good deal of talk concerning a confession "about a
+girl," which Oliver Cowdery was reported to have said that Smith
+made to him. Denials of this for Cowdery appeared in the Elders'
+Journal of July, 1838, one man's statement ending thus, "Joseph
+asked if he ever said to him (Oliver) that he (Joseph) confessed
+to any one that he was guilty of the above crime; and Oliver,
+after some hesitation, answered no."
+
+The Elders' Journal of August, 1838, contains a retraction by
+Parley P. Pratt of a letter he had written, in which he censured
+both Smith and Rigdon, "using great severity and harshness in
+regard to certain business transactions." In that letter Pratt
+confessed that "the whole scheme of speculation" in which the
+Mormon leaders were engaged was of the "devil," and he begged
+Smith to make restitution for having sold him, for $2000, three
+lots of land that did not cost Smith over $200.
+
+Not only was the moral character of Smith and other individual
+members of the church successfully attacked at this time, but the
+charge was openly made that polygamy was practised and
+sanctioned. In the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," published in
+Kirtland in 1835, Section 101 was devoted to the marriage rite.
+It contained this declaration: "Inasmuch as this Church of Christ
+has been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy,
+we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife, and
+one woman one husband, except in case of death, when either is at
+liberty to marry again." The value of such a denial is seen in
+the ease with which this section was blotted out by Smith's later
+"revelation" establishing polygamy.
+
+An admission that even elders did practise polygamy at that time
+is found in a minute of a meeting of the Presidents of the
+Seventies, held on April 29, 1837, which made this declaration:
+"First, that we will have no fellowship whatever with any elder
+belonging to the Quorum of the Seventies, who is guilty of
+polygamy."*
+
+* Messenger and Advocate, p. 511.
+
+
+Again: The Elders' journal dated Far West, Missouri, 1838,
+contained a list of answers by Smith to certain questions which,
+in an earlier number, he had said were daily and hourly asked by
+all classes of people. Among these was the following: "Q. Do the
+Mormons believe in having more wives than one? A. No, not at the
+same time." (He condemns the plan of marrying within a few weeks
+or months of the death of the first wife.) The statement has been
+made that polygamy first suggested itself to Smith in Ohio, while
+he was translating the so-called "Book of Abraham" from the
+papyri found on the Egyptian mummies. This so-called translation
+required some study of the Old Testament, and it is not at all
+improbable that Smith's natural inclination toward such a
+doctrine as polygamy secured a foundation in his reading of the
+Old Testament license to have a plurality of wives.
+
+For the business troubles hanging over the community, Smith and
+Rigdon were held especially accountable. The flock had seen the
+funds confided by them to the Bishop invested partly in land that
+was divided among some of the Mormon leaders. Smith and Rigdon
+were provided with a house near the Temple, and a printing-office
+was established there, which was under Smith's management.
+Naturally, when the stock and notes of the bank became valueless,
+its local victims held its organizers responsible for the
+disaster. Mother Smith gives us an illustration of the depth of
+this feeling. One Sunday evening, while her husband was preaching
+at Kirtland, when Joseph was in Cleveland "on business pertaining
+to the bank," the elder Smith reflected sharply upon Warren
+Parish, on whom the Smiths tried to place the responsibility for
+the bank failure. Parish, who was present, leaped forward and
+tried to drag the old man out of the pulpit. Smith, Sr., appealed
+to Oliver Cowdery for help, but Oliver retained his seat. Then
+the prophet's brother William sprang to his father's assistance,
+and carried Parish bodily out of the church. Thereupon John
+Boynton, who was provided with a sword cane, drew his weapon and
+threatened to run it through the younger Smith. "At this
+juncture," says Mrs. Smith, "I left the house, not only terrified
+at the scene, but likewise sick at heart to see the apostasy of
+which Joseph had prophesied was so near at hand."*
+
+* "Biographical Sketches," p. 221.
+
+
+Eliza Snow gives a slightly different version of the same
+outbreak, describing its wind-up as follows:--
+
+John Boynton and others drew their pistols and bowie knives and
+rushed down from the stand into a congregation, Boynton saying he
+would blow out the brains of the first man who dared lay hands on
+him.... Amid screams and shrieks, the policemen in ejecting the
+belligerents knocked down a stove pipe, which fell helter-skelter
+among the people; but, although bowie knives and pistols were
+wrested from their owners and thrown hither and thither to
+prevent disastrous results, no one was hurt, and after a short
+but terrible scene to be enacted in a Temple of God, order was
+restored and the services of the day proceeded as usual."*
+
+* "Biography of Lorenzo Snow," p. 20.
+
+
+Smith made a stubborn defence of his business conduct. He
+attributed the disaster to the bank to Parish's peculation, and
+the general troubles of the church to "the spirit of speculation
+in lands and property of all kinds," as he puts it in his
+autobiography, wherein he alleges that "the evils were actually
+brought about by the brethren not giving heed to my counsel." If
+Smith gave any such counsel, it is unfortunate for his reputation
+that neither the church records nor his "revelations" contain any
+mention of it.
+
+The final struggle came in December, 1837, when Smith and Rigdon
+made their last public appearance in the Kirtland Temple. Smith
+was as bold and aggressive as ever, but Rigdon, weak from
+illness, had to be supported to his seat. An eye-witness of the
+day's proceedings says* that "the pathos of Rigdon's plea, and
+the power of his denunciation, swayed the feelings and shook the
+judgments of his hearers as never in the old days of peace, and,
+when he had finished and was led out, a perfect silence reigned
+in the Temple until its door had closed upon him forever. Smith
+made a resolute and determined battle; false reports had been
+circulated, and those by whom the offence had come must repent
+and acknowledge their sin or be cut off from fellowship in this
+world, and from honor and power in that to come." He not only
+maintained his right to speak as the head of the church, but,
+after the accused had partly presented their case, and one of
+them had given him the lie openly, he proposed a vote on their
+excommunication at once and a hearing of their further pleas at a
+later date. This extraordinary proposal led one of the accused to
+cry out, "You would cut a man's head off and hear him afterward."
+Finally it was voted to postpone the whole subject for a few
+days.
+
+* "Early Days of Mormonism," Kennedy, p. 169.
+
+
+But the two leaders of the church did not attend this adjourned
+session. Alarmed by rumors that Grandison Newell had secured a
+warrant for their arrest on a charge of fraud in connection with
+the affairs of the bank (unfounded rumors, as it later appeared),
+they fled from Kirtland on horseback on the evening of January
+12, 1838, and Smith never revisited that town. In his description
+of their flight, Smith explained that they merely followed the
+direction of Jesus, who said, "When they persecute you in one
+city, flee ye to another." He describes the weather as extremely
+cold, and says, "We were obliged to secrete ourselves sometimes
+to elude the grasp of our pursuers, who continued their race more
+than two hundred miles from Kirtland, armed with pistols, etc.,
+seeking our lives." There is no other authority for this story of
+an armed pursuit, and the fact seems to be that the non-Mormon
+community were perfectly satisfied with the removal of the mock
+prophet from their neighborhood.
+
+Although Kirtland continued to remain a Stake of the church, the
+real estate scheme of making it a big city vanished with the
+prophet. Foreclosures of mortgages now began; the church
+printing-office was first sold out by the sheriff and then
+destroyed by fire, and the so-called reform element took
+possession of the Temple. Rigdon had placed his property out of
+his own hands, one acre of land in Kirtland being deeded by him
+and his wife to their daughter.
+
+The Temple with about two acres of land adjoining was deeded by
+the prophet to William Marks in 1837, and in 1841 was redeeded to
+Smith as trustee in trust for the church. In 1862 it was sold
+under an order of the probate court by Joseph Smith's
+administrator, and conveyed the same day to one Russel Huntley,
+who, in 1873, conveyed it to the prophet's grandson, Joseph
+Smith, and another representative of the Reorganized Church
+(nonpolygamist). The title of the latter organization was
+sustained in 1880 by judge L. S. Sherman, of the Lake County
+Court of Common Pleas, who held that, "The church in Utah has
+materially and largely departed from the faith, doctrines, laws,
+ordinances and usages of said original Church of Jesus Christ of
+Latter-Day Saints, and has incorporated into its system of faith
+the doctrines of celestial marriage and a plurality of wives, and
+the doctrine of Adam-God worship, contrary to the laws and
+constitution of said original church," and that the Reorganized
+Church was the true and lawful successor to the original
+organization. At the general conference of the Reorganized
+Church, held at Lamoni, Iowa, in April, 1901, the Kirtland
+district reported a membership of 423 members.
+BOOK III. IN MISSOURI
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. THE DIRECTIONS TO THE SAINTS ABOUT THEIR ZION
+
+The state of Missouri, to which the story of the Mormons is now
+transferred, was, at the time of its admission to the Union, in
+1821, called "a promontory of civilization into an ocean of
+savagery." Wild Indian tribes occupied the practically unexplored
+region beyond its western boundary, and its own western counties
+were thinly settled. Jackson County, which in 1900 had 195,193
+inhabitants, had a population of 2823 by the census of 1830, and
+neighboring counties not so many. It was not until 1830 that the
+first cabin of a white man was built in Daviess County. All this
+territory had been released from Indian ownership by treaty only
+a few years when the first Mormons arrived there.
+
+The white settler's house was a log hut, generally with a dirt
+floor, a mudplastered chimney, and a window without glass, a
+board or quilt serving to close it in time of storm or severe
+cold. A fireplace, with a skillet and kettle, supplied the place
+of a well-equipped stove. Corn was the principal grain food, and
+wild game supplied most of the meat. The wild animals furnished
+clothing as well as food; for the pioneers could not afford to
+pay from 15 to 25 cents a yard for calico, and from 25 to 75
+cents for gingham.* Some persons indulged in homespun cloth for
+Sunday and festal occasions, but the common outside garments were
+made of dressed deerskins. Parley P. Pratt, in his autobiography,
+speaks of passing through a settlement where "some families were
+entirely dressed in skins, without any other clothing, including
+ladies young and old."
+
+* "When the merchants sold a calico or gingham dress pattern they
+threw in their profit by giving a spool of thread (two hundred
+yards), hooks and eyes and lining. In the thread business,
+however, it was only a few years after that thirty and fifty yard
+spools took the place of the two hundred yards."--"History of
+Daviess County", p. 161.
+
+
+The pioneer agriculturist of those days not only lacked the
+transportation facilities and improved agricultural appliances
+which have assisted the developers of the Northwest, but they did
+not even understand the nature and capability of the soil. The
+newcomers in western Missouri looked on the rich prairie land as
+worthless, and they almost invariably directed their course to
+the timber, where the soil was more easily broken up, and
+material for buildings was available. The first attempts to
+plough the prairie sod were very primitive. David Dailey made the
+first trial in Jackson County with what was called a "barshear
+plough" (drawn by from four to eight yokes of oxen), the "shear"
+of which was fastened to the beam. This cut the sod in one
+direction pretty well, but when he began to cross-furrow, the sod
+piled up in front of the plough and stopped his progress.
+Determined to see what the soil would grow, he cut holes in the
+sod with an axe, and in these dropped his seed. The first sod was
+broken in Daviess County in 1834, with a plough made to order,
+"to see what the prairies amounted to in the way of raising a
+crop." Such was the country toward which the first Mormon
+missionaries turned their faces.
+
+We have seen that the first intimation in the Mormon records of a
+movement to the West was found in Smith's order to Oliver Cowdery
+in 1830 to go and establish the church among the Lamanites
+(Indians), and that Rigdon expected that the church would remain
+in Ohio, when he wrote to his flock from Palmyra. The four
+original missionaries--Cowdery, P. P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer, and
+Peterson--did not stop long in Kirtland, but, taking with them
+Frederick G. Williams, they pushed on westward to Sandusky,
+Cincinnati, and St. Louis, preaching to some Indians on the way,
+until they reached Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, early
+in 1831. That county forms a part of the western border of the
+state, and from 1832, until the railroad took the place of wagon
+trains, Independence was the eastern terminus of the famous Santa
+Fe trail, and the point of departure for many companies destined
+both for Oregon and California. Pratt, describing their journey
+west of St. Louis, says: "We travelled on foot some three hundred
+miles, through vast prairies and through trackless wilds of snow;
+no beaten road, houses few and far between. We travelled for
+whole days, from morning till night, without a house or fire. We
+carried on our backs our changes of clothing, several books, and
+corn bread and raw pork."*
+
+* "Autobiography of P. P. Pratt," p. 54.
+
+
+The sole idea of these pioneers seemed to be to preach to the
+Indians. Arriving at Independence, Whitmer and Peterson went to
+work to support themselves as tailors, while Cowdery and Pratt
+crossed the border into the Indian country. The latter, however,
+were at once pronounced by the federal officers there to be
+violators of the law which forbade the settlement of white men
+among the Indians, and they returned to Independence, and
+preached thereabout during the winter. Early in February the four
+decided that Pratt should return to Kirtland and make a report,
+and he did so, travelling partly on foot, partly on horseback,
+and partly by steamer.
+
+As early as March, 1830, Smith had conceived the idea (or some
+one else for him) of a gathering of the elect "unto one place" to
+prepare for the day of desolation (Sec. 29). In October, 1830,
+the four pioneers were commanded to start "into the wilderness
+among the Lamanites," and on January 2, 1831, while Rigdon was
+visiting Smith in New York State, another "revelation" (Sec. 38)
+described the land of promise as "a land flowing with milk and
+honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh."
+This land they and their children were to possess, both "while
+the earth shall stand, and again in eternity." A "revelation"
+(Sec. 45), dated March 7, 1831, at Kirtland, called on the
+faithful to assemble and visit the Western countries, where they
+were promised an inheritance, to be called "the New Jerusalem, a
+land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints
+of most High God." These things they were to "keep from going
+abroad into the world" for the present.
+
+The manner in which the elect were told by "revelation" that they
+should possess their land of promise has a most important bearing
+on the justification of the opposition which the Missourians soon
+manifested toward their new neighbors. In one of these
+"revelations," dated Kirtland, February, 1831 (Sec. 42), Christ
+is represented as saying, "I will consecrate the riches of the
+Gentiles unto my people which are of the house of Israel."
+Another, in the following June (Sec. 52), which directed Smith's
+and Rigdon's trip, promised the elect, "If ye are faithful ye
+shall assemble yourselves together to rejoice upon the land in
+Missouri, which is the land of your inheritance, WHICH IS NOW THE
+LAND OF YOUR ENEMIES." Another, given while Smith was in
+Missouri, in August, 1831 (Sec. 59), promised to those "who have
+come up into this land with an eye single to My glory," that
+"they shall inherit the earth," and "shall receive for their
+reward the good things of the earth." On the same date the Saints
+were told that they should "open their hearts even to purchase
+the whole region of country as soon as time will permit,...lest
+they receive none inheritance save it be by the shedding of
+blood." It seems to have been thought wise to add to this last
+statement, after the return of the party to Ohio, and a
+"revelation" dated August, 1831 (Sec. 63), was given out, stating
+that the land of Zion could be obtained only "by purchase or by
+blood," and "as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies
+are upon you, and ye shall be scourged from city to city."
+
+* Tullidge, in his "History of Salt Lake City" (1886), defining
+the early Mormon view of their land rights, after quoting Brigham
+Young's declaration to the first arrivals in Salt Lake Valley,
+that he (or the church) had "no land to sell," but "every man
+should have his land measured out to him for city and family
+purposes," says: "Young could with absolute propriety give the
+above utterances on the land question. In the early days of the
+church they applied to land not only owned by the United States,
+but within the boundaries of states of the Union." After quoting
+from the above-cited "revelation" the words "save they be by the
+shedding of blood," he explains, "The latter clause of the
+quotation signifies that the Mormon prophet foresaw that, unless
+his disciples purchased 'this whole region of country' of the
+unpopulated Far West of that period, the land question held
+between them and anti-Mormons would lead to the shedding of
+blood, and that they would be in jeopardy of losing their
+inheritance; and this was realized."
+
+As to their obligation to pay for any of the "good things"
+purchased of their enemies, a "revelation" dated September 11,
+1831 (the month after the return from Missouri), gave this
+advice:--
+
+"Behold it is said in my laws, or forbidden, to get in debt to
+thine enemies;
+
+"But behold it is not said at any time, that the Lord should not
+take when he pleased, and pay as seemeth him good.
+
+"Wherefore as ye are agents, and ye are on the Lord's errand; and
+whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord, it is the
+Lord's business, and it is the Lord's business to provide for his
+Saints in these last days, that they may obtain an inheritance in
+the land of Zion."--"Book of Commandments," Chap. 65.
+
+In the modern version of this "revelation" to be found in Sec. 64
+of the "Doctrine and Covenants," the latter part of this
+declaration is changed to read, "And he hath set you to provide
+for his saints in these last days," etc.
+
+So eager were the Saints to occupy their land of Zion, when the
+movement started, that the word of "revelation" was employed to
+give warning against a hasty rush to the new possessions, and to
+establish a certain supervision of the emigration by the Bishop
+and other agents of the church. Notwithstanding this, the rush
+soon became embarrassing to the church authorities in Missouri,
+and a modified view of the Lord's promise was thus stated in the
+Evening and Morning Star of July, 1832, "Although the Lord has
+said that it is his business to provide for the Saints in these
+last days, he is not BOUND to do so unless we observe his sayings
+and keep them." Saints in the East were warned against giving
+away their property before moving, and urged not to come to
+Missouri without some means, and to bring with them cattle and
+improved breeds of sheep and hogs, with necessary seeds.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. SMITH'S FIRST VISITS TO MISSOURI--FOUNDING THE CITY
+AND THE TEMPLE
+
+On June 7, 1831, a "revelation" was given out (Sec. 52)
+announcing that the next conference would be held in the promised
+land in Missouri, and directing Smith and Rigdon to go thither,
+and naming some thirty elders, including John Corrill, David
+Whitmer, P. P. and Orson Pratt, Martin Harris, and Edward
+Partridge, who should also make the trip, two by two, preaching
+by the way. Booth says: "Only about two weeks were allowed them
+to make preparations for the journey, and most of them left what
+business they had to be closed by others. Some left large
+families, with the crops upon the ground."*
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled."
+
+
+Smith's party left Kirtland on June 19, and arrived at
+Independence in the following month, journeying on foot after
+reaching St. Louis, a distance of about three hundred miles.
+Smith was delighted with the new country, with "its beautiful
+rolling prairies, spread out like real meadows; the varied timber
+of the bottoms; the plums and grapes and persimmons and the
+flowers; the rich soil, the horses, cattle, and hogs, and the
+wild game.... The season is mild and delightful nearly three
+quarters of the year, and as the land of Zion is situated at
+about equal distances from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as
+well as from the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, it bids fair to
+become one of the most blessed places on the earth."* The town of
+Independence then consisted of a brick courthouse, two or three
+stores, and fifteen or twenty houses, mostly of logs.
+
+* Smith's "Autobiography," Millennial Star, Vol. XIV.
+
+
+The usual "revelation" came first (Sec. 57), announcing that
+"this is the land of promise and the place for the City of Zion,"
+with Independence as its centre, and the site of the Temple a lot
+near the courthouse. It was also declared that the land should be
+purchased by the Saints, "and also every tract lying westward,
+even unto the line running directly between Jew and Gentile"
+(whatever that might mean), "and also every tract bordering by
+the prairies." Sidney Gilbert was ordered to "plant himself"
+there, and establish a store, "that he might sell goods without
+fraud," to obtain money for the purchase of land. Edward
+Partridge was "to divide the Saints their inheritance," and W. W.
+Phelps* and Cowdery were to be printers to the church.
+
+* Phelps came from Canandaigua, New York, where, Howe says, he
+was an avowed infidel. He had been prominent in politics and had
+edited a party newspaper. Disappointed in his political ambition,
+he threw in his lot with the new church.
+
+
+Marvellous stories were at once circulated of the grandeur that
+was to characterize the new city, of the wealth that would be
+gathered there by the faithful who would survive the speedy
+destruction of the wicked, and of the coming of the lost tribes
+of Israel, who had been located near the north pole, where they
+had become very rich. While not tracing these declarations to
+Smith himself, Booth, who was one of the party, says that they
+were told by persons in daily intercourse with him. It is doing
+the prophet no injustice to say that they bear his imprint.
+
+The laying of the foundation of the City of Zion was next in
+order. Rigdon delivered an address in consecrating the ground, in
+which he enjoined them to obey all of Smith's commands. A small
+scrub oak tree was then cut down and trimmed, and twelve men,
+representing the Apostles, conveyed it to a designated place.
+Cowdery sought out the best stone he could find for a
+corner-stone, removed a little earth, and placed the stone in the
+excavation, delivering an address. One end of the oak tree was
+laid on this stone, "and there," says Booth, "was laid down the
+first stone and stick which are to form an essential part of the
+splendid City of Zion."
+
+The next day the site of the Temple was consecrated, Smith laying
+the cornerstone. When the ceremonies were over, the spot was
+merely marked by a sapling, from two sides of which the bark was
+stripped, one side being marked with a "T" for Temple, and the
+other with "ZOM," which Smith stated stood for "Zomas," the
+original of Zion. At the foot of this sapling lay the
+corner-stone--"a small stone, covered over with bushes."
+
+Such ceremonies might have been viewed with indulgence if
+conducted in some suburb of Kirtland. But when men had travelled
+hundreds of miles at Smith's command, suffering personal
+privations as well as submitting to pecuniary sacrifices, it was
+a severe test of their faith to have two small trees and t wo
+round stones in the wilderness offered to them as the only
+tangible indications of a land of plenty. Rigdon expressed
+dissatisfaction with the outcome, as we have seen; Booth left the
+church as soon as he got back to Ohio; members of the party
+called Cowdery and Smith imperious, and the prophet and Rigdon
+incurred the charge of "excessive cowardice" on the way.
+
+Smith made a second trip to Independence, leaving Ohio on April
+2, 1832, and arriving there on his return the following June. His
+stay in Missouri this time was marked by nothing more important
+than his acknowledgment as President of the high priesthood by a
+council of the church there, and a "revelation" which declared
+that Zion's "borders must be enlarged, her Stakes must be
+strengthened."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. THE EXPULSION FROM JACKSON COUNTY--THE ARMY OF ZION
+
+The efforts of the church leaders to check too precipitate an
+emigration to the new Zion were not entirely successful, and,
+according to the Evening and Morning Star of July, 1833, the
+Mormons with their families then numbered more than twelve
+hundred, or about one-third of the total population of the
+county. The elders had been pushing their proselyting work
+throughout the States and in Canada, and the idea of a land of
+plenty appealed powerfully to the new believers, and especially
+to those of little means. The branch of the church established at
+Colesville, New York, numbering about sixty members, emigrated in
+a body and settled twelve miles from Independence. Other
+settlements were made in the rural districts, and the non-Mormons
+began to be seriously exercised over the situation. The Saints
+boasted openly of their future possession of the land, without
+making clear their idea of the means by which they would obtain
+title to it. An open defiance in the name of the church appeared
+in an article in the Evening and Morning Star for July, 1833,
+which contained this declaration:--
+
+"No matter what our ideas or notions may be on the subject; no
+matter what foolish report the wicked may circulate to gratify an
+evil disposition; the Lord will continue to gather the righteous
+and destroy the wicked, till the sound goes forth, IT IS
+FINISHED."
+
+With even greater fatuity came the determination to publish the
+prophet's "revelations" in the form of the "Book of
+Commandments." Of the effect of this publication David Whitmer
+says, "The main reason why the printing press [at Independence]
+was destroyed, was because they published the 'Book of
+Commandments.' It fell into the hands of the world, and the
+people of Jackson County saw from the revelations that they were
+considered intruders upon the Land of Zion, as enemies of the
+church, and that they should be cut off out of the Land of Zion
+and sent away."*
+
+* "Address to All Believers in Christ," p. 54.
+
+
+Corrill says of the causes of friction between the Mormons and
+their neighbors:--*
+
+* Corrill's" Brief History of the Church," p. 19.
+
+
+"The church got crazy to go up to Zion, as it was then called.
+The rich were afraid to send up their money to purchase lands,
+and the poor crowded up in numbers, without having any places
+provided, contrary to the advice of the Bishop and others, until
+the old citizens began to be highly displeased. They saw their
+country filling up with emigrants, principally poor. They
+disliked their religion, and saw also that, if let alone, they
+would in a short time become a majority, and of course rule the
+county. The church kept increasing, and the old citizens became
+more and more dissatisfied, and from time to time offered to sell
+their farms and possessions, but the Mormons, though desirous,
+were too poor to purchase them."*
+
+* After the survey of Jackson County, Congress granted to the
+state of Missouri a large tract of land, the sale of which should
+be made for educational purposes, and the Mormons took title to
+several thousand acres of this, west of Independence.
+
+
+The active manifestation of hostility toward the new-comers by
+the residents of Jackson County first took shape in the spring of
+1832, in the stoning of Mormon houses at night and the breaking
+of windows. Soon afterward a county meeting was called to take
+measures to secure the removal of the Mormons from that county,
+but nothing definite was done. The burning of haystacks, shooting
+into houses, etc., continued until July, 1833, when the Mormon
+opponents circulated a statement of their complaints, closing
+with a call for a meeting in the courthouse at Independence, on
+Saturday, July 20. The text of this manifesto, which is important
+as showing the spirit as well as the precise grounds of the
+opposition, is as follows:--
+
+"We, the undersigned, citizens of Jackson County, believing that
+an important crisis is at hand, as regards our civil society, in
+consequence of a pretended religious sect of people that have
+settled, and are still settling, in our county, styling
+themselves Mormons, and intending, as we do, to rid our society,
+peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must; and believing as we do,
+that the arm of the civil law does not afford us a guarantee, or
+at least, a sufficient one, against the evils which are now
+inflicted upon us, and seem to be increasing, by the said
+religious sect, we deem it expedient and of the highest
+importance to form ourselves into a company for the better and
+easier accomplishment of our purpose--a purpose, which we deem it
+almost superfluous to say, is justified as well by the law of
+nature, as by the law of self preservation.
+
+"It is more than two years since the first of these fanatics, or
+knaves, (for one or the other they undoubtedly are,) made their
+first appearance amongst us, and, pretending as they did, and now
+do, to hold personal communication and converse face to face with
+the Most High God; to receive communications and revelations
+direct from heaven; to heal the sick by laying on hands; and, in
+short, to perform all the wonder-working miracles wrought by the
+inspired Apostles and Prophets of old.
+
+"We believed them deluded fanatics, or weak and designing knaves,
+and that they and their pretensions would soon pass away; but in
+this we were deceived. The arts of a few designing leaders
+amongst them have thus far succeeded in holding them together as
+a society; and, since the arrival of the first of them, they have
+been daily increasing in numbers; and if they had been
+respectable citizens in society, and thus deluded, they would
+have been entitled to our pity rather than our contempt and
+hatred; but from their appearance, from their manners, and from
+their conduct since their coming among us, we have every reason
+to fear that, with but few exceptions, they were of the very
+dregs of that society from which they came, lazy, idle, and
+vicious. This we conceive is not idle assertion, but a fact
+susceptible of proof, for with these few exceptions above named,
+they brought into our county little or no property with them, and
+left less behind them, and we infer that those only yoked
+themselves to the Mormon car who had nothing earthly or heavenly
+to lose by the change; and we fear that if some of the leaders
+amongst them had paid the forfeit due to crime, instead of being
+chosen ambassadors of the Most High, they would have been inmates
+of solitary cells.
+
+"But their conduct here stamps their characters in their true
+colors. More than a year since, it was ascertained that they had
+been tampering with our slaves, and endeavoring to rouse
+dissension and raise seditions amongst them. Of this their Mormon
+leaders were informed, and they said they would deal with any of
+their members who should again in like case offend. But how
+specious are appearances. In a late number of the Star, published
+in Independence by the leaders of the sect, there is an article
+inviting free negroes and mulattoes from other states to become
+Mormons, and remove and settle among us. This exhibits them in
+still more odious colors. It manifests a desire on the part of
+their society to inflict on our society an injury, that they knew
+would be to us entirely insupportable, and one of the surest
+means of driving us from the county; for it would require none of
+the supernatural gifts that they pretend to, to see that the
+introduction of such a caste amongst us would corrupt our blacks,
+and instigate them to bloodshed.
+
+"They openly blaspheme the Most High God, and cast contempt on
+His holy religion, by pretending to receive revelations direct
+from heaven, by pretending to speak unknown tongues by direct
+inspirations, and by divers pretences derogatory of God and
+religion, and to the utter subversion of human reason.
+
+"They declare openly that their God hath given them this county
+of land, and that sooner or later they must and will have the
+possession of our lands for an inheritance; and, in fine, they
+have conducted themselves on many other occasions in such a
+manner that we believe it a duty we owe to ourselves, our wives,
+and children, to the cause of public morals, to remove them from
+among us, as we are not prepared to give up our pleasant places
+and goodly possessions to them, or to receive into the bosom of
+our families, as fit companions for our wives and daughters, the
+degraded and corrupted free negroes and mulattoes that are now
+invited to settle among us.
+
+"Under such a state of things, even our beautiful county would
+cease to be a desirable residence, and our situation intolerable!
+We, therefore, agree that, if after timely warning, and receiving
+an adequate compensation for what little property they cannot
+take with them, they refuse to leave us in peace, as they found
+us--we agree to use such means as may be sufficient to remove
+them, and to that end we each pledge to each other our bodily
+powers, our lives, fortunes, and sacred honors.
+
+"We will meet at the court-house, at the Town of Independence, on
+Saturday next, the 20th inst., to consult ulterior movements."*
+
+* Evening and Morning Star, p. 227; Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p.
+516.
+
+
+Some hundreds of names were signed to this call, and the meeting
+of July 20 was attended by nearly five hundred persons. There is
+no doubt that it was a representative county gathering. P. P.
+Pratt says that the anti-Mormon organization, which he calls
+"outlaws," was "composed of lawyers, magistrates, county
+officers, civil and military, religious ministers, and a great
+number of the ignorant and uninformed portion of the
+population."* The language of the address adopted shows that
+skilled pens were not wanting in its preparation.
+
+* "Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 103.
+
+
+The first business of the meeting was the appointment of a
+committee to prepare an address stating the grievances of the
+people with somewhat greater fulness than the manifesto above
+quoted. Like the latter, it conceded at the start that there was
+no law under which the object in view could be obtained. It
+characterized the Mormons as but little above the negroes as
+regards property or education; charged them with having exerted a
+"corrupting influence" on the slaves;* asserted that even the
+more intelligent boasted daily to the Gentiles that the Mormons
+would appropriate their lands for an inheritance, and that their
+newspaper organ taught them that the lands were to be taken by
+the sword. Noting the rapid increase in the immigration of
+members of the new church, the address, looking to a near day
+when they would be in a majority in the county, asked: "What
+would be the state of our lives and property in the hands of
+jurors and witnesses who do not blush to declare, and would not
+upon occasion hesitate to swear, that they have wrought miracles,
+and have been the subjects of miraculous and supernatural cures,
+have conversed with God and his angels, and possess and exercise
+the gifts of divination and of unknown tongues, and are fired
+with the prospect of obtaining inheritances without money and
+without price, may be better imagined than described." That this
+apprehension was not without grounds will be seen when we come to
+the administration of justice in Nauvoo and in Salt Lake City.
+
+* The Mormons never hesitated to change their position on the
+slavery question. An elder's address, published in the Evening
+and Morning Star of July, 1833, said: "As to slaves, we have
+nothing to say. In connection with the wonderful events of this
+age, much is doing toward abolishing slavery and colonizing the
+blacks in Africa." Three years later, in April, 1836 the
+Messenger and Advocate published a strong proslavery article,
+denying the right of the people of the North to interfere with
+the institution, and picturing the happy condition of the slaves.
+Orson Hyde, in the Frontier Guardian in 1850 (quoted in the
+Millennial Star, Vol. XIII, p. 63), said: "When a man in the
+Southern states embraces our faith and is the owner of slaves,
+the church says to him, 'If your slaves wish to remain with you,
+and to go with you, put them not away; but if they choose to
+leave you, and are not satisfied to remain with you, it is for
+you to sell them or to let them go free, as your own conscience
+may direct you. The church on this point assumes not the
+responsibility to direct.'" Horace Greeley quoted Brigham Young
+as saying to him in Salt Lake City, "We consider slavery of
+divine institution and not to be abolished until the curse
+pronounced on Ham shall have been removed from his descendants"
+("Overland journey," p. 211).
+
+The address closed with these demands:--
+
+"That no Mormon shall in future move and settle in this county.
+
+"That those now here, who shall give a definite pledge of their
+intention within a reasonable time to remove out of the county,
+shall be allowed to remain unmolested until they have sufficient
+time to sell their property and close their business without any
+material sacrifice.
+
+"That the editor of the Star (W. W. Phelps) be required forthwith
+to close his office and discontinue the business of printing in
+this county; and, as to all other stores and shops belonging to
+the sect, their owners must in every case strictly comply with
+the terms of the second article of this declaration; and, upon
+failure, prompt and efficient measures will be taken to close the
+same.
+
+"That the Mormon leaders here are required to use their influence
+in preventing any further emigration of their distant brethren to
+this county, and to counsel and advise their brethren here to
+comply with the above regulations.
+
+"That those who fail to comply with the requisitions be referred
+to those of their brethren who have the gifts of divination and
+of unknown tongues, to inform them of the lot that awaits them"*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, pp. 487-489.
+
+
+A recess of two hours was taken in which to permit a committee of
+twelve to call on Bishop Partridge, Phelps, and Gilbert, and
+present these terms. This committee reported that these men
+"declined giving any direct answer to the requisitions made of
+them, and wished an unreasonable time for consultation, not only
+with their brethren here, but in Ohio." The meeting thereupon
+voted unanimously that the Star printing-office should be razed
+to the ground, and the type and press be "secured."
+
+A report of the action of this meeting and its result was
+prepared by the chairman and two secretaries, and printed over
+their signatures in the Western Monitor of Fayette, Missouri, on
+August 2, 1833, and it is transferred to Smith's autobiography.
+It agrees with the Mormon account set forth in their later
+petition to Governor Dunklin. It particularized, however, that
+the Mormon leaders asked the committee first for three months,
+and then for ten days, in which to consider the demands, and were
+told that they could have only fifteen minutes.
+
+What happened next is thus set forth in the, chairman's report:--
+
+"Which resolution (for the razing of the Star office) was with
+the utmost order and the least noise and disturbance possible,
+forthwith carried into execution, AS ALSO SOME OTHER STEPS OF A
+SIMILAR TENDENCY; but no blood was spilled nor any blows
+inflicted."
+
+Mobs do not generally act with the "utmost order," and this one
+was not an exception to the rule, as an explanation of the "other
+steps" will make clear. The first object of attack was the
+printing office, a two-story brick building. This was demolished,
+causing a loss of $6000, according to the Mormon claims. The mob
+next visited the store kept by Gilbert, but refrained from
+attacking it on receiving a pledge that the goods would be packed
+for removal by the following Tuesday. They then called at the
+houses of some of the leading Mormons, and conducted Bishop
+Partridge and a man named Allen to the public square. Partridge
+told his captors that the saints had been subjected to
+persecution in all ages; that he was willing to suffer for
+Christ's sake, but that he would not consent to leave the
+country. Allen refused either to agree to depart or to deny the
+inspiration of the Mormon Bible. Both men were then relieved of
+their hats, coats, and vests, daubed with tar, and decorated with
+feathers. This ended the proceedings of that day, and an
+adjournment as announced until the following Tuesday.
+
+On Tuesday, July 23 (the date of the laying of the corner-stone
+of the Kirtland Temple), the Missourians gathered again in the
+town, carrying a red flag and bearing arms. The Mormon statement
+to Governor Dunklin says, "They proceeded to take some of the
+leading elders by force, declaring it to be their intention to
+whip them from fifty to five hundred lashes apiece, to demolish
+their dwelling houses, and let their negroes loose to go through
+our plantations and lay open our fields for the destruction of
+our crops."* The official report of the officers of the meeting**
+says that, when the chairman had taken his seat, a committee was
+appointed to wait on the Mormons at the request of the latter.
+
+* Greene, in his "Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons
+from the State of Missouri (1839), says that the mob seized a
+number of Mormons and, at the muzzle of their guns, compelled
+them to confess that the Mormon Bible was a fraud.
+
+** Millennial Star Vol. XIV, p. 500.
+
+
+As a result of a conference with this committee, a written
+agreement was entered into, signed by the committee and the
+Mormons named in it, to this effect: That Oliver Cowdery, W. W.
+Phelps, W. E. McLellin, Edward Partridge, John Wright, Simeon
+Carter, Peter and John Whitmer, and Harvey Whitlock, with their
+families, should move from the county by January 1 next, and use
+their influence to induce their fellow-Mormons in the county to
+do likewise--one half by January 1 and all by April 1--and to
+prevent further immigration of the brethren; John Corrill and A.
+S. Gilbert to remain as agents to wind up the business of the
+society, Gilbert to be allowed to sell out his goods on hand; no
+Mormon paper to be published in the county; Partridge and Phelps
+to be allowed to go and come after January 1, in winding up their
+business, if their families were removed by that time; the
+committee pledging themselves to use their influence to prevent
+further violence, and assuring Phelps that "whenever he was ready
+to move, the amount of all his losses in the printing house
+should be paid to him by the citizens." In view of this
+arrangement there was no further trouble for more than two
+months.
+
+The Mormon leaders had, however, no intention of carrying out
+their part of this undertaking. Corrill, in a letter to Oliver
+Cowdery written in December, 1833, said that the agreement was
+made, "supposing that before the time arrived the mob would see
+their error and stop the violence, or that some means might be
+employed so that we could stay in peace."* Oliver Cowdery was
+sent at once to Kirtland to advise with the church officers
+there. On his arrival, early in August, a council was convened,
+and it was decided that legal measures should be taken to
+establish the rights of the Saints in Missouri. Smith directed
+that they should neither sell their lands nor move out of Jackson
+County, save those who had signed the agreement.** It was also
+decided to send Orson Hyde and John Gould to Missouri "with
+advice to the Saints in their unfortunate situation through the
+late outrage of the mob."***
+
+* Evening and Morning Star, January, 1834
+
+** Elder Williams's Letter, Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 519.
+
+*** Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 504.
+
+
+To strengthen the courage of the flock in Missouri, Smith gave
+forth at Kirtland, under date of August 2, 1833, a "revelation"
+(Sec. 97), "in answer to our correspondence with the prophet,"
+says P. P. Pratt,* in which the Lord was represented as saying,
+"Surely, Zion is the city of our God, and surely Zion cannot
+fail, NEITHER BE MOVED OUT OF HER PLACE; for God is there, and
+the hand of God is there, and he has sworn by the power of his
+might to be her salvation and her high tower." The same
+"revelation" directed that the Temple should be built speedily by
+means of tithing, and threatened Zion with pestilence, plague,
+sword, vengeance, and devouring fire unless she obeyed the Lord's
+commands.
+
+*Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 100,
+
+
+The outcome of all the deliberations at Kirtland was the sending
+of W. W. Phelps and Orson Hyde to Jefferson City with a long
+petition to Governor Dunklin, setting forth the charges of the
+Missourians against the Mormons, and the action of the two
+meetings at Independence, and making a direct appeal to him for
+assistance, asking him to employ troops in their defence, in
+order that they might sue for damages, "and, if advisable, try
+for treason against the government."
+
+The governor sent them a written reply under date of October 19,
+in which, after expressing sympathy with them in their troubles,
+he said: "I should think myself unworthy the confidence with
+which I have been honored by my fellow citizens did I not
+promptly employ all the means which the constitution and laws
+have placed at my disposal to avert the calamities with which you
+are threatened.... No citizen, or number of citizens, have a
+right to take the redress of their grievances, whether real or
+imaginary, into their own hands. Such conduct strikes at the very
+existence of society." He advised the Mormons to invoke the laws
+in their behalf; to secure a warrant from a justice of the peace,
+and so test the question "whether the law can be peaceably
+executed or not"; if not, it would be his duty to take steps to
+execute it.
+
+The Mormons and their neighbors were thus brought face to face in
+a manner which admitted of no compromise. The situation naturally
+seemed rather a simple one to the governor, who was probably
+ignorant of the intentions and ambition of the Mormons. If he had
+understood the nature and weight of the objections to them, he
+would have understood also that he could protect them in their
+possessions only by maintaining a military force.
+
+His letter gave the Mormons of Jackson County new courage. They
+had been maintaining a waiting attitude since the meeting of July
+23, but now they resumed their occupations, and began to erect
+more houses, and to improve their places as if for a permanent
+stay, and meanwhile there was no cessation of the immigration of
+new members from the East. Their leaders consulted four lawyers
+in Clay County, and arranged with them to look after their legal
+interests.
+
+This evident repudiation by the Mormons of their part of their
+agreement with the committee incensed the Jackson County people,
+and hostilities were resumed. On the night of October 31, a mob
+attacked a Mormon settlement called Big Blue, some ten miles west
+of Independence, damaged a number of houses, whipped some of the
+men, and frightened women and children so badly that they fled to
+the outlying country for hiding-places. On the night of November
+1, Mormon houses were stoned in Independence, and the church
+store was broken into and its goods scattered in the street. The
+Mormons thereupon showed the governor's letter to a justice of
+the peace, and asked him for a warrant, but their accounts say
+that he refused one. When they took before the same officer a man
+whom they caught in the act of destroying their property, the
+justice not only refused to hold him, but granted a warrant in
+his behalf against Gilbert, Corrill, and two other Mormons for
+false imprisonment, and they were locked up.* Thrown on their own
+resources for defence, the Mormons now armed themselves as well
+as they could, and established a night picket service throughout
+their part of the county. On Saturday night, November 2, a second
+attack was made by the mob on Big Blue and, the Mormons
+resisting, the first "battle" of this campaign took place. A sick
+woman received a pistolshot wound in the head, and one of the
+Mormons a wound in the thigh. Parley P. Pratt and others were
+then sent to Lexington to procure a warrant from Circuit Judge
+Ryland, but, according to Pratt, he refused to grant one, and
+"advised us to fight and kill the outlaws whenever they came upon
+us."**
+
+* Corrill's letter, Evening and Morning Star, January, 1834.
+
+** Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 105.
+
+
+On Monday evening, November 4, a body of Missourians who had been
+visiting some of the Mormon settlements came in contact with a
+company of Mormons who had assembled for defence, and an exchange
+of shots ensued, by which a number on both sides were wounded,
+one of the Mormons dying the next day.
+
+These conflicts increased the excitement, and the Mormons,
+knowing how they were outnumbered, now realized that they could
+not stay in Jackson County any longer, and they arranged to move.
+At first they decided to make their new settlement only fifty
+miles south of Independence, in Van Buren County, but to this the
+Jackson County people would not consent. They therefore agreed to
+move north into Clay County, between which and Jackson County the
+Missouri River, which there runs east, formed the boundary. Most
+of them went to Clay County, but others scattered throughout the
+other nearby counties, whose inhabitants soon let them know that
+their presence was not agreeable.
+
+The hasty removal of these people so late in the season was
+accompanied by great personal hardships and considerable
+pecuniary loss. The Mormons have stated the number of persons
+driven out at fifteen hundred, and the number of houses burned;
+before and after their departure, at from two hundred to three
+hundred. Cattle and household effects that could not be moved
+were sold for what they would bring, and those who took with them
+sufficient provisions for their immediate wants considered
+themselves fortunate. One party of six men and about one hundred
+and fifty women and children, panic-stricken by the action of the
+mob, wandered for several days over the prairie without even
+sufficient food. The banks of the Missouri River where the
+fugitives were ferried across presented a strange spectacle. In a
+pouring rain the big company were encamped there on November 7,
+some with tents and some without any cover, their household goods
+piled up around them. Children were born in this camp, and the
+sick had to put up with such protection as could be provided. So
+determined were the Jackson County people that not a Mormon
+should remain among them, that on November 23 they drove out a
+little settlement of some twenty families living about fifteen
+miles from Independence, compelling women and children to depart
+on immediate notice.
+
+The Mormons made further efforts through legal proceedings to
+assert their rights in Jackson County, but unsuccessfully. The
+governor declared that the situation did not warrant him in
+calling out the militia, and referred them to the courts for
+redress for civil injuries. In later years they appealed more
+than once to the federal authorities at Washington for assistance
+in reestablishing themselves in Jackson County,* but were
+informed that the matter rested with the state of Missouri. Their
+future bitterness toward the federal government was explained on
+the ground of this refusal to come to their aid.
+
+* James Hutchins, a resident of Wisconsin, addressed a long
+appeal "for justice" to President Grant in 1876, asking him to
+reinstate the Mormons in the homes from which they had been
+driven.
+
+
+Meanwhile Smith had been preparing to use the authority at his
+command to make good his predictions about the permanency of the
+church in the Missouri Zion. On December 6, 1833, he gave out a
+long "revelation" at Kirtland (Sec. 101), which created a great
+sensation among his followers. Beginning with the declaration
+that "I, the Lord," have suffered affliction to come on the
+brethren in Missouri "in consequence of their transgressions,
+envyings and stripes, and lustful and covetous desires," it went
+on to promise them as follows:--
+
+"Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her
+children are scattered.... And, behold, there is none other place
+appointed than that which I have appointed; neither shall there
+be any other place appointed than that which I have appointed,
+for the work of the gathering of my saints, until the day cometh
+when there is found no more room for them."
+
+The "revelation" then stated the Lord's will "concerning the
+redemption of Zion" in the form of a long parable which contained
+these instructions:--
+
+"And go ye straightway into the land of my vineyard, and redeem
+my vineyard, for it is mine, I have bought it with money.
+
+"Therefore get ye straightway unto my land; break down the walls
+of mine enemies; throw down their tower and scatter their
+watchmen;
+
+"And inasmuch as they gather together against you, avenge me of
+mine enemies, that by and by I may come with the residue of mine
+house and possess the land."
+
+This "revelation" was industriously circulated in printed form
+among the churches of Ohio and the East, and so great was the
+demand for copies that they sold for one dollar each. The only
+construction to be placed upon it was that Smith proposed to make
+good his predictions by means of an armed force led against the
+people of Missouri. This view soon had confirmation.
+
+The arrival of P. P. Pratt and Lyman Wight in Kirtland in
+February, 1834, was followed by a "revelation" (Sec. 103)
+promising an outpouring of God's wrath on those who had expelled
+the brethren from their Missouri possessions, and declaring that
+"the redemption of Zion must needs come by power," and that Smith
+was to lead them, as Moses led the children of Israel.
+
+In obedience to this direction there was assembled a military
+organization, known in church history as "The Army of Zion."
+Recruiters, led by Smith and Rigdon, visited the Eastern states,
+and by May 1 some two hundred men had assembled at Kirtland ready
+to march to Missouri to aid their brethren.*
+
+* There are three detailed accounts of this expedition, one in
+Smith's autobiography, another in H. C. Kimball's journal in
+Times and Seasons, Vol. 6, and another in Howe's "Mormonism
+Unveiled," procured from one of the accompanying sharpshooters.
+
+
+The Army of Zion, as it called itself, was not an impressive one
+in appearance. Military experience was not required of the
+recruits; but no one seems to have been accepted who was not in
+possession of a weapon and at least $5 in cash. The weapons
+ranged from butcher knives and rusty swords to pistols, muskets,
+and rifles. Smith himself carried a fine sword, a brace of
+pistols (purchased on six months' credit), and a rifle, and had
+four horses allotted to him. He had himself elected treasurer of
+the expedition, and to him was intrusted all the money of the
+men, to be disbursed as his judgment dictated.
+
+According to his own account, they were constantly threatened by
+enemies during their march; but they paid no attention to them,
+knowing that angels accompanied them as protectors, "for we saw
+them."
+
+As they approached Clay County a committee from Ray County called
+on them to inquire about their intention, and, when a few miles
+from Liberty, in Clay County, General Atchison and other
+Missourians met them and warned them not to defy popular feeling
+by entering that town. Accepting this advice, they took a
+circuitous route and camped on Rush Creek, whence Smith on June
+25 sent a letter to General Atchison's committee saying that, in
+the interest of peace, "we have concluded that our company shall
+be immediately dispersed."
+
+The night before this letter was sent, cholera broke out in the
+camp. Smith at once attempted to perform miraculous cures of the
+victims, but he found actual cholera patients very different to
+deal with from old women with imaginary ailments, or, as he puts
+it, "I quickly learned by painful experience that, when the great
+Jehovah decrees destruction upon any people, and makes known his
+determination, man must not attempt to stay his hand."* There
+were thirteen deaths in camp, among the victims being Sidney
+Gilbert.
+
+* "Millennial Star, Vol. XV, p. 86.
+
+
+Of course, some explanation was necessary to reconcile the
+prophet's surrender without a battle with the "revelation" which
+directed the army to march and promised a victory. This came in
+the shape of another "revelation" (Sec. 105) which declared that
+the immediate redemption of the people must be delayed because of
+their disobedience and lack of union (especially excepting
+himself from this censure); that the Lord did not "require at
+their hands to fight the battles of Zion"; that a large enough
+force had not assembled at the Lord's command, and that those who
+had made the journey were "brought thus far for a trial of their
+faith." The brethren were directed not to make boasts of the
+judgment to come on the Missourians, but to keep quiet, and
+"gather together, as much in one region as can be, consistently
+with the feelings of the people"; to purchase all the lands in
+Jackson County they could, and then "I will hold the armies of
+Israel guiltless in taking possession of their own lands, which
+they have previously purchased with their monies, and of throwing
+down the powers of mine enemies." But first the Lord's army was
+to become very great.
+
+It seems incredible that any set of followers could retain faith
+in "revelations" at once so conflicting and so nonsensical.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. Fruitless Negotiations With The Jackson County People
+
+Meanwhile, the Mormons in Clay County, with the assent of the
+natives there, had opened a factory for the manufacture of arms
+"to pay the Jackson mob in their own way,"* and it was rumored
+that both sides were supplying themselves with cannon, to make
+the coming contest the more determined. Governor Dunklin, fearing
+a further injury to the good name of the state, wrote to Colonel
+J. Thornton urging a compromise, and on June 10 Judge Ryland sent
+a communication to A. S. Gilbert, asking him to call a meeting of
+Mormons in Liberty for a discussion of the situation.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XV, p. 68.
+
+
+This meeting was held on June 16, and a committee from Jackson
+County presented the following proposition: "That the value of
+the lands, and the improvements thereon, of the Mormons in
+Jackson County, be ascertained by three disinterested appraisers,
+representatives of the Mormons to be allowed freely to point out
+the lands claimed and the improvements; that the people of
+Jackson County would agree to pay the Mormons the valuation fixed
+by the appraisers, WITH ONE HUNDRED PER CENT ADDED, within thirty
+days of the award; or, the Jackson County citizens would agree to
+sell out their lands in that county to the Mormons on the same
+terms." The Mormon leaders agreed to call a meeting of their
+people to consider this proposition.
+
+The fifteen Jackson County committeemen, it may be mentioned, in
+crossing the river on their way home, were upset, and seven of
+them were drowned, including their chairman, J. Campbell, who was
+reported to have made threats against Smith. The latter thus
+reports the accident in his autobiography, "The angel of God saw
+fit to sink the boat about the middle of the river, and seven,
+out of the twelve that attempted to cross were drowned, thus
+suddenly and justly went they to their own place by water."
+
+On June 21 the Mormons gave written notice to the Jackson County
+people that the terms proposed were rejected, and that they were
+framing "honorable propositions" on their own part, which they
+would soon submit, adding a denial of a rumor that they intended
+a hostile invasion. Their objection to the terms proposed was
+thus stated in an editorial in the Evening and Morning Star of
+July, 1834, "When it is understood that the mob hold possession
+of a large quantity of land more than our friends, and that they
+only offer thirty days for the payment of the same, it will be
+seen that they are only making a sham to cover their past
+unlawful conduct." This explanation ignores entirely the offer of
+the Missourians to buy out the Mormons at a valuation double that
+fixed by the appraisers, and simply shows that they intended to
+hold to the idea that their promised Zion was in Jackson County,
+and that they would not give it up.*
+
+* The idea of returning to a Zion in Jackson County has never
+been abandoned by the Mormon church. Bishop Partridge took title
+to the Temple lot in Independence in his own name. In 1839, when
+the Mormons were expelled from the state, still believing that
+this was to be the site of the New Jerusalem, he deeded
+sixty-three acres of land in Jackson County, including this lot,
+to three small children of Oliver Cowdery. In 1848, seven years
+after Partridge's death, and when all the Cowdery grantees were
+dead, a man named Poole got a deed for this land from the heirs
+of the grantees, and subsequent conveyances were made under
+Poole's deed. In 1851 a branch of the church, under a title
+Church of Christ, known as Hendrickites, from Grandville
+Hendrick, its originator, was organized in Illinois, with a basis
+of belief which rejects most of the innovations introduced since
+1835. Hendrick in 1864 was favored with a "revelation" which
+ordered the removal of his church to Jackson County. On arriving
+there different members quietly bought parts of the old Temple
+lot. In 1887 the sole surviving sister and heir of the Cowdery
+children executed a quit claim deed of the lot to Bishop
+Blakeslee of the Reorganized Church in Iowa, and that church at
+once began legal proceedings to establish their title. Judge
+Philips, of the United States Circuit Court for the Western
+Division of Missouri, decided the case in March, 1894, in favor
+of the Reorganized Church, but the United States Court of Appeals
+reversed this decision on the ground that the respondents had
+title through undisputed possession ("United States Court of
+Appeals Reports," Vol. XVII, p. 387). The Hendrickites in this
+suit were actively aided by the Utah Mormons, President Woodruff
+being among their witnesses. This Church of Christ has now a
+membership of less than two hundred.
+
+Two Mormon elders, describing their visit to Independence in
+1888, said that they went to the Temple lot and prayed as
+follows: "O Lord, remember thy words, and let not Zion suffer
+forever. Hasten her redemption, and let thy name be glorified in
+the victory of truth and righteousness over sin and iniquity.
+Confound the enemies of the people and let Zion be free:'
+--"Infancy of the Church," Salt Lake City, 1889.
+
+
+On June 23 (the date of Smith's last quoted "revelation"), the
+Mormons presented their counter proposition in writing. It was
+that a board of six Mormons and six Jackson County non-Mormons
+should decide on the value of lands in that county belonging to
+"those men who cannot consent to live with us," and that they
+should receive this sum within a year, less the amount of damage
+suffered by the Mormons, the latter to be determined by the same
+persons. The Jackson County people replied that they would "do
+nothing like according to their last proposition," and expressed
+a hope that the Mormons "would cast an eye back of Clinton, to
+see if that is not a county calculated for them." Clinton was the
+county next north of Clay.
+
+Governor Dunklin, in his annual message to the legislature that
+year, expressed the opinion that "conviction for any violence
+committed against a Mormon cannot be had in Jackson County," and
+told the lawmakers it was for them to determine what amendments
+were necessary "to guard against such acts of violence for the
+future." The Mormons sent a petition in their own behalf to the
+legislature, which was presented by Corrill, but no action was
+taken.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. In Clay, Caldwell, And Daviess Counties
+
+The counties in which the Mormons settled after leaving Jackson
+County were thinly populated at that time, Clay County having
+only 5338 inhabitants, according to the census of 1830, and
+Caldwell, Carroll, and Daviess counties together having only 6617
+inhabitants by the census of 1840. County rivalry is always a
+characteristic of our newly settled states and territories, and
+the Clay County people welcomed the Mormons as an addition to
+their number, notwithstanding the ill favor in which they stood
+with their southern neighbors. The new-comers at first occupied
+what vacant cabins they could find in the southern part of the
+county, until they could erect houses of their own, while the men
+obtained such employment as was offered, and many of the women
+sought places as domestic servants and school-teachers. The
+Jackson County people were not pleased with this friendly spirit,
+and they not only tried to excite trouble between the new
+neighbors, but styled the Clay County residents "Jack Mormons," a
+name applied in later years in other places to non-Mormons who
+were supposed to have Mormon sympathies.
+
+Peace was maintained, however, for about three years. But the
+Mormons grew in numbers, and, as the natives realized their
+growth, they showed no more disposition to be in the minority
+than did their southern neighbors. The Mormons, too, were without
+tact, and they did not conceal the intention of the church to
+possess the land. Proof of their responsibility for what followed
+is found in a remark of W. W. Phelps, in a letter from Clay
+County to Ohio in December, 1833, that "our people fare very
+well, and, when they are discreet, little or no persecution is
+felt."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 646.
+
+
+The irritation kept on increasing, and by the spring of 1836 Clay
+County had become as hostile to the Mormons as Jackson County had
+ever been. In June, the course adopted in Jackson County to get
+rid of the new-comers was imitated, and a public meeting in the
+court house at Liberty adopted resolutions* setting forth that
+civil war was threatened by the rapid immigration of Mormons;
+that when the latter were received, in pity and kindness, after
+their expulsion across the river, it was understood that they
+would leave "whenever a respectable portion of the citizens of
+this county should require it," and that that time had now come.
+The reasons for this demand included Mormon declarations that the
+county was destined by Heaven to be theirs, opposition to
+slavery, teaching the Indians that they were to possess the land
+with the Saints, and their religious tenets, which, it was said,
+"always will excite deep prejudices against them in any populous
+country where they may locate." In explanations of the
+anti-Mormon feeling in Missouri frequent allusion is made to
+polygamous practices. This was not charged in any of the formal
+statements against them, and Corrill declares that they had done
+nothing there that would incriminate them under the law. The
+Mormons were urged to seek a new abiding-place, the territory of
+Wisconsin being recommended for their investigation. The
+resolutions confessed that "we do not contend that we have the
+least right, under the constitution and laws of the country, to
+expel them by force"; but gave as an excuse for the action taken
+the certainty of an armed conflict if the Mormons remained. Newly
+arrived immigrants were advised to leave immediately,
+non-landowners to follow as soon as they could gather their crops
+and settle up their business, and owners of forty acres to remain
+indefinitely, until they could dispose of their real estate
+without loss.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XV, p. 763.
+
+
+The Mormons, on July 1, adopted resolutions denying the charges
+against them, but agreeing to leave the county. The Missourians
+then appointed a committee to raise money to assist the needy
+Saints to move. Smith and his associates in Ohio had not at that
+time the same interest in a Zion in Missouri that they had three
+years earlier, and they only expressed sorrow over the new
+troubles, and advised the fugitives to stop short of Wisconsin if
+they could. An appeal was again made by the Missouri Mormons to
+the governor of that state, but he now replied that if they could
+not convince their neighbors of their innocence, "all I can say
+to you is that in this republic the vox populi is the vox dei."
+
+The Mormons selected that part of Ray County from which Caldwell
+County was formed (just northeast of Clay County) for their new
+abode, and on their petition the legislature framed the new
+county for their occupancy. This was then almost unsettled
+territory, and the few inhabitants made no objection to the
+coming of their new neighbors. They secured a good deal of land,
+some by purchase, and some by entry on government sections, and
+began its improvement. Many of them were so poor that they had to
+seek work in the neighboring counties for the support of their
+families. Some of their most intelligent members afterward
+attributed their future troubles in that state to their failure
+to keep within their own county boundaries.
+
+As the county seat they founded a town which they named Far West,
+and which soon presented quite a collection of houses, both log
+and frame, schools, and shops. Phelps wrote in the summer of
+1837, "Land cannot be had around town now much less than $10 per
+acre."* There were practically no inhabitants but Mormons within
+fifteen or twenty miles of the town,** and the Saints were
+allowed entire political freedom. Of the county officers, two
+judges, thirteen magistrates, the county clerk, and all the
+militia officers were of their sect. They had credit enough to
+make necessary loans, and, says Corrill, "friendship began to be
+restored between them and their neighbors, the old prejudices
+were fast dying away, and they were doing well, until the summer
+of 1838."
+
+* Messenger and Advocate, July, 1837.
+
+** Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 53.
+
+
+It was in January, 1838, that Smith fled from Kirtland. He
+arrived in Far West in the following March; Rigdon was detained
+in Illinois a short time by the illness of a daughter. Smith's
+family went with him, and they were followed by many devoted
+adherents of the church, who, in order to pay church debts in
+Ohio and the East, had given up their property in exchange for
+orders on the Bishop at Far West. In other words, they were
+penniless.
+
+The business scandals in Ohio had not affected the reputation of
+the church leaders with their followers in Missouri (where the
+bank bills had not circulated and Smith and Rigdon received a
+hearty welcome, their coming being accepted as a big step forward
+in the realization of their prophesied Zion. It proved, however,
+to be the cause of the expulsion of their followers from the
+state.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. Radical Dissensions In The Church--Origin Of The
+Danites--Tithing
+
+While the church, in a material sense, might have been as
+prosperous as Corrill pictured, Smith, on his arrival, found it
+in the throes of serious internal discord. The month before he
+reached Far West, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer, of the
+Presidency there, had been tried before a general assembly of the
+church,* and almost unanimously deposed on several charges, the
+principal one being a claim on their part to $2000 of the church
+funds which they had bound the Bishop to pay to them. Whitmer was
+also accused of persisting in the use of tea, coffee, and
+tobacco. T. B. Marsh, one of the Presidents pro tem. selected in
+their places, in a letter to the prophet on this subject, said:--
+
+* For the minutes of this General Assembly, and text of Marsh's
+letter, see Elders' Journal, July, 1838.
+
+"Had we not taken the above measures, we think that nothing could
+have prevented a rebellion against the whole High Council and
+Bishop; so great was the disaffection against the Presidents that
+the people began to be jealous that the whole authorities were
+inclined to uphold these men in wickedness, and in a little time
+the church undoubtedly would have gone every man his own way,
+like sheep without a shepherd."
+
+On April 11, Elder Bronson presented nine charges against Oliver
+Cowdery to the High Council, which promptly found him guilty of
+six of them, viz. urging vexatious lawsuits against the brethren,
+accusing the prophet of adultery, not attending meeting,
+returning to the practice of law "for the sake of filthy lucre,"
+"disgracing the church by being connected with the bogus
+[counterfeiting] business, retaining notes after they had been
+paid," and generally "forsaking the cause of God." On this
+finding he was expelled from the church. Two days later David
+Whitmer was found guilty of unchristianlike conduct and defaming
+the prophet, and was expelled, and Lyman E. Johnson met the same
+fate.* Smith soon announced a "revelation" (Sec. 114), directing
+the places of the expelled to be filled by others.
+
+* For minutes of these councils, see Millennial Star, Vol. XVI,
+pp. 130-134.
+
+
+It was in the June following that the paper drawn up by Rigdon
+and signed by eighty-three prominent members of the church was
+presented to the recalcitrants, ordering them to leave the
+county, and painting their characters in the blackest hues.* This
+radical action did not meet the approval of the more conservative
+element, which included men like Corrill, and he soon announced
+that he was no longer a Mormon. Not long afterward Thomas B.
+Marsh, one of the original members of the High Council of Twelve
+in Missouri, and now President of the Twelve, and Orson Hyde, one
+of the original Apostles, also seceded, and both gave testimony
+about the Mormon schemes in Caldwell and Daviess Counties.
+Cowdery and Whitmer considered their lives in such danger that
+they fled on horseback at night, leaving their families, and
+after riding till daylight in a storm, reached the house of a
+friend, where they found refuge until their families could join
+them.
+
+* See p. 81 ante. For the full text of Rigdon's paper, see the
+"Correspondence, Orders, etc., in Relation to the Mormon
+Disturbances in Missouri," published by order of the Missouri
+legislature (1841).
+
+
+The most important event that followed the expulsion of leading
+members from the church by the High Council was the formation of
+that organization which has been almost ever since known as the
+Danites, whose dark deeds in Nauvoo were scarcely more than
+hinted at,* but which, under Brigham Young's authority in Utah,
+became a band of murderers, ready to carry out the most radical
+suggestion which might be made by any higher authority of the
+church.
+
+* Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 158.
+
+
+Corrill, an active member of the church in Missouri, writing in
+1839 with the events fresh in his memory, said* that the members
+of the Danite society entered into solemn covenants to stand by
+one another when in difficulty, whether right or wrong, and to
+correct each other's wrongs among themselves, accepting strictly
+the mandates of the Presidency as standing next to God. He
+explains that "many were opposed to this society, but such was
+their determination and also their threatenings, that those
+opposed dare not speak their minds on the subject . . . . It
+began to be taught that the church, instead of God, or, rather,
+the church in the hands of God, was to bring about these things
+(judgments on the wicked), and I was told, but I cannot vouch for
+the truth of it, that some of them went so far as to contrive
+plans how they might scatter poison, pestilence, and disease
+among the inhabitants, and make them think it was judgments sent
+from God. I accused Smith and Rigdon of it, but they both denied
+it promptly."
+
+* "Brief History of the Church," pp. 31, 32.
+
+
+Robinson, in his reminiscences in the Return in later years, gave
+the same date of the organization of the Danites, and said that
+their first manifesto was the one directed against Cowdery,
+Whitmer, and others.
+
+We must look for the actual origin of this organization, however,
+to some of the prophet's instructions while still at Kirtland. In
+his "revelation" of August 6, 1833 (Sec. 98), he thus defined the
+treatment that the Saints might bestow upon their enemies: "I
+have delivered thine enemy into thine hands, and then if thou
+wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; . .
+. nevertheless thine enemy is in thine hands, and if thou reward
+him according to his works thou art justified, if he has sought
+thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in
+thine hands and thou art justified."
+
+What such a license would mean to a following like Smith's can
+easily be understood.
+
+The next step in the same direction was taken during the
+exercises which,accompanied the opening of the Kirtland Temple.
+Three days after the dedicatory services, all the high officers
+of the church, and the official members of the stake, to the
+number of about three hundred, met in the Temple by appointment
+to perform the washing of feet. While this was going on
+(following Smith's own account),* "the brethren began to prophesy
+blessings upon each other's heads, and cursings upon the enemies
+of Christ who inhabit Jackson County, Missouri, and continued
+prophesying and blessing and sealing them, with hosannah and
+amen, until nearly seven o'clock P. M. The bread and wine were
+then brought in. While waiting, I made the following remarks, 'I
+want to enter into the following covenant, that if any more of
+our brethren are slain or driven from their lands in Missouri by
+the mob, we will give ourselves no rest until we are avenged of
+our enemies to the uttermost.' This covenant was sealed
+unanimously, with a hosannah and an amen." **
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XV, pp. 727-728.
+
+
+* "The spirit of that covenant evidently bore fruit in the Fourth
+of July oration of 1838 and the Mountain Meadow Massacre."--The
+Return, Vol. II, p. 271.
+
+
+The original name chosen for the Danites was "Daughters of Zion,"
+suggested by the text Micah iv. 13: "Arise and thresh, O daughter
+of Zion; for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thine
+hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I
+will consecrate thy gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto
+the Lord of the whole earth." "Daughters" of anybody was soon
+decided to be an inappropriate designation for such a band, and
+they were next called "Destroying (or Flying) Angels," a title
+still in use in Utah days; then the "Big Fan," suggested by
+Jeremiah xv. 7, or Luke iii. 17; then "Brothers of Gideon," and
+finally "Sons of Dan" (whence the name Danites,) from Genesis
+xlix. 17: "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the
+path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall
+backward."*
+
+* Hyde's "Mormonism Exposed," pp. 104-105.
+
+
+Avard presented the text of the constitution to the court at
+Richmond, Missouri, during the inquiry before Judge King in
+November, 1838* It begins with a preamble setting forth the
+agreement of the members "to regulate ourselves under such laws
+as in righteousness shall be deemed necessary for the
+preservation of our holy religion, and of our most sacred rights,
+and the rights of our wives and children," and declaring that,
+"not having the privileges of others allowed to us, we have
+determined, like unto our fathers, to resist tyranny, whether it
+be in kings or in the people. It is all alike to us. Our rights
+we must have, and our rights we shall have, in the name of
+Israel's God." The President of the church and his counsellors
+were to hold the "executive power," and also, along with the
+generals and colonels of the society, to hold the "legislative
+powers"; this legislature to "have power to make all laws
+regulating the society, and regulating punishments to be
+administered to the guilty in accordance with the offence." Thus
+was furnished machinery for carrying out any decree of the
+officers of the church against either life or property.
+
+* Missouri "Correspondence, Orders, etc.," pp. 101-102.
+
+
+The Danite oath as it was administered in Nauvoo was as
+follows:-- "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I do
+solemnly obligate myself ever to regard the Prophet and the First
+Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as
+the supreme head of the church on earth, and to obey them in all
+things, the same as the supreme God; that I will stand by my
+brethren in danger or difficulty, and will uphold the Presidency,
+right or wrong; and that I will ever conceal, and never reveal,
+the secret purposes of this society, called Daughters of Zion.
+Should I ever do the same, I hold my life as the forfeiture, in a
+caldron of boiling oil."*
+
+* Bennett's "History of the Saints," p. 267.
+
+
+John D. Lee, who was a member of the organization, explaining
+their secret signs, says,* "The sign or token of distress is made
+by placing the right hand on the right side of the face, with the
+points of the fingers upward, shoving the hand upward until the
+ear is snug up between the thumb and forefinger."
+
+*Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 57.
+
+
+It has always been the policy of the Mormon church to deny to the
+outside world that any such organization as the Danites existed,
+or at least that it received the countenance of the authorities.
+Smith's City Council in Nauvoo made an affidavit that there was
+no such society there, and Utah Mormons have professed similar
+ignorance. Brigham Young, himself, however, gave testimony to the
+contrary in the days when he was supreme in Salt Lake City. In
+one of his discourses which will be found reported in the Deseret
+News (Vol. VII, p. 143) he said: "If men come here and do not
+behave themselves, they will not only find the Danites, whom they
+talk so much about, biting the horses' heels, but the scoundrels
+will find something biting THEIR heels. In my plain remarks I
+merely call things by their own names." It need only be added
+that the church authority has been powerful enough at any time in
+the history of the church to crush out such an organization if it
+so desired.
+
+A second organization formed about the same time, at a fully
+attended meeting of the Mormons of Daviess County, was called
+"The Host of Israel." It was presided over by captains of tens,
+of fifties, and of hundreds, and, according to Lee, "God
+commanded Joseph Smith to place the Host of Israel in a situation
+for defence against the enemies of God and the Church of Jesus
+Christ of Latter-Day Saints."
+
+Another important feature of the church rule that was established
+at this time was the tithing system, announced in a "revelation"
+(Sec. 119), which is dated July 8, 1838. This required the flock
+to put all their "surplus property" into the hands of the Bishop
+for the building of the Temple and the payment of the debts of
+the Presidency, and that, after that, "those who have thus been
+tithed, shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and
+this shall be a standing law unto them forever."
+
+Ebenezer Robinson gives an interesting explanation of the origin
+of tithing. *In May, 1838, the High Council at Far West, after
+hearing a statement by Rigdon that it was absolutely necessary
+for the church to make some provision for the support of the
+families of all those who gave their entire time to church
+affairs, instructed the Bishop to deed to Smith and Rigdon an
+eighty-acre lot belonging to the church, and appointed a
+committee of three to confer with the Presidency concerning their
+salary for that year. Smith and Rigdon thought that $1100 would
+be a proper sum, and the committee reported in favor of a salary,
+but left the amount blank. The council voted the salaries, but
+this action caused such a protest from the church members that at
+the next meeting the resolution was rescinded. Only a few days
+later came this "revelation" requiring the payment of tithes, in
+which there was no mention of using any of the money for the
+poor, as was directed in the Ohio "revelation" about the
+consecration of property to the Bishop.
+
+* The Return, Vol. 1, p. 136.
+
+
+This tithing system has provided ever since the principal revenue
+of the church. By means of it the Temple was built at Nauvoo, and
+under it vast sums have been contributed in Utah. By 1878 the
+income of the church by this source was placed at $1,000,000 a
+year,* and during Brigham Young's administration the total
+receipts were estimated at $13,000,000. We shall see that Young
+made practically no report of the expenditure of this vast sum
+that passed into his control. To Horace Greeley's question, "What
+is done with the proceeds of this tithing?" Young replied, "Part
+of it is devoted to building temples and other places of worship,
+part to helping the poor and needy converts on their way to this
+country, and the largest portion to the support of the poor among
+the Saints."
+
+* Salt Lake Tribune, June 25, 1879.
+
+
+As the authority of the church over its members increased, the
+regulation about the payment of tithes was made plainer and more
+severe. Parley P. Pratt, in addressing the General Conference in
+Salt Lake City in October, 1849, said, "To fulfil the law of
+tithing, a man should make out and lay before the Bishop a
+schedule of all his property, and pay him one-tenth of it. When
+he hath tithed his principal once, he has no occasion to tithe
+again; but the next year he must pay one-tenth of his increase,
+and one-tenth of his time, of his cattle, money, goods, and
+trade; and, whatever use we put it to, it is still our own, for
+the Lord does not carry it away with him to heaven."* *
+Millennial Star, Vol. XII, p. 134.
+
+
+The Seventh General Epistle to the church (September, 1851) made
+this statement, "It is time that the Saints understood that the
+paying of their tithing is a prominent portion of the labor which
+is allotted to them, by which they are to secure a
+futureresidence in the heaven they are seeking after."* This view
+was constantly presented to the converts abroad.
+
+* Ibid., Vol. XIV, p. 18.
+
+
+At the General Conference in Salt Lake City on September 8, 1850,
+Brigham Young made clear his radical view of tithing--a duty, he
+declared, that few had lived up to. Taking the case of a supposed
+Mr. A, engaged in various pursuits (to represent the community),
+starting with a capital of $100,000 he must surrender $10,000 of
+this as tithing. With his remaining $90,000 he gains $410,000;
+$41,000 of this gain must be given into the storehouse of the
+Lord. Next he works nine days with his team; the tenth day's work
+is for the church, as is one-tenth of the wheat he raises,
+one-tenth of his sheep, and one-tenth of his eggs.*
+
+* Ibid., Vol. XIII, p. 21.
+
+
+Under date of July 18, came another "revelation" (Sec. 120),
+declaring that the tithings "shall be disposed of by a Council,
+composed of the First Presidency of my church, and of the Bishop
+and his council, and by my High Council." The first meeting of
+this body decided "that the First Presidency should keep all
+their property that they could dispose of to advantage for their
+support, and the remainder be put into the hands of the Bishop,
+according to the commandments."* The coolness of this proceeding
+in excepting Smith and Rigdon from the obligation to pay a tithe
+is worthy of admiration.
+
+* Ibid., Vol. XVI, p. 204.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. Beginning Of Active Hostilities
+
+Smith had shown his dominating spirit as soon as he arrived at
+Far West. In April, 1838, he announced a "revelation" (Sec. 115),
+commanding the building of a house of worship there, the work to
+begin on July 4, the speedy building up of that city, and the
+establishment of Stakes in the regions round about. This last
+requirement showed once more Smith's lack of judgment, and it
+became a source of irritation to the non-Mormons, as it was
+thought to foreshadow a design to control the neighboring
+counties. Hyde says that Smith and Rigdon deliberately planned
+the scattering of the Saints beyond the borders of Clay County
+with a view to political power.*
+
+* Hyde's "Mormonism," p. 203.
+
+
+In accordance with this scheme, a "revelation" of May 19 (Sec.
+116), directed the founding of a town on Grand River in Daviess
+County, twenty-five miles northwest of Far West. This settlement
+was to be called "Adam-ondi-Ahman," "because it is the place
+where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days
+shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet." The "revelation"
+further explains that, three years before his death, Adamcalled a
+number of high priests and all of his posterity who were
+righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there blessed
+them. Lee (who, following the common pronunciation, writes the
+name "Adam-on-Diamond") expresses the belief, which Smith
+instilled into his followers, that it "was at the point where
+Adam came and settled and blessed his posterity, after being
+driven from the Garden of Eden. There Adam and Eve tarried for
+several years, and engaged in tilling the soil." By order of the
+Presidency, another town was started in Carroll County, where the
+Saints had been living in peace. Immediately the new settlement
+was looked upon as a possible rival of Gallatin, the county seat,
+and the non-Mormons made known their objections.
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 91.
+
+
+With Smith and Rigdon on the ground, if these men had had any
+tact, or any purpose except to enforce Mormon supremacy in
+whatever part of Missouri they chose to call Zion, the troubles
+now foreshadowed might easily have been prevented. Every step
+they took, however, was in the nature of a defiance. The sermons
+preached to the Mormons that summer taught them that they would
+be able to withstand, not only the opposition of the Missourians,
+but of the United States, if this should be put to the test.*
+
+* Corrill's "Brief History of the Church," p. 29.
+
+
+The flock in and around Far West were under the influence of such
+advice when they met on July 4 to lay the corner-stone of the
+third Temple, whose building Smith had revealed, and to celebrate
+the day. There was a procession, with a flagpole raising, and
+Smith embraced the occasion to make public announcement of the
+tithing "revelation" (although it bears a later date).
+
+The chief feature of the day, and the one that had most influence
+on the fortunes of the church, was a sermon by Sidney Rigdon,
+known ever since as the "salt sermon," from the text Matt. v. 13:
+"If the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
+It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be
+trodden under foot of men." He first applied these words to the
+men who had made trouble in the church, declaring that they ought
+to be trodden under foot until their bowels gushed out, citing as
+a precedent that "the apostles threw Judas Iscariot down and
+trampled out his bowels, and that Peter stabbed Ananias and
+Sapphira." It was what followed, however, which made the serious
+trouble, a defiance to their Missouri opponents in these words:
+"It is not because we cannot, if we were so disposed, enjoy both
+the honors and flatteries of the world, but we have voluntarily
+offered them in sacrifice, and the riches of the world also, for
+a more durable substance. Our God has promised a reward of
+eternal inheritance, and we have believed his promise, and,
+though we wade through great tribulations, we are in nothing
+discouraged, for we know he that has promised is faithful. The
+promise is sure, and the reward is certain. It is because of this
+that we have taken the spoiling of our goods. Our cheeks have
+been given to the smiters, and our heads to those who have
+plucked off the hair. We have not only, when smitten on one
+cheek, turned the other, but we have done it again and again,
+until we are weary of being smitten, and tired of being trampled
+upon. We have proved the world with kindness; we have suffered
+their abuse, without cause, with patience, and have endured
+without resentment, until this day, and still their persecution
+and violence does not cease. But from this day and this hour, we
+will suffer it no more.
+
+"We take God and all the holy angels to witness this day, that we
+warn all men, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come on us no more
+for ever, for, from this hour, we will bear it no more. Our
+rights shall no more be trampled on with impunity. The man, or
+set of men, who attempt it, DOES IT AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR
+LIVES. And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, it shall be
+between us and them A WAR OF EXTERMINATION, FOR WE WILL FOLLOW
+THEM TO THE LAST DROP OF THEIR BLOOD IS SPILLED, OR ELSE THEY
+WILL HAVE TO EXTERMINATE US; for we will carry the seat of war to
+their own houses, and their own families, and one party or the
+other SHALL BE UTTERLY DESTROYED. Remember it then, all men.
+
+"We will never be aggressors; we will infringe on rights of no
+people; but shall stand for our own until death. We claim our own
+rights, and are willing that all shall enjoy theirs.
+
+"No man shall be at liberty to come in our streets, to threaten
+us with mobs, for if he does, he shall atone for it before he
+leaves the place; neither shall he be at liberty to vilify or
+slander any of us, for suffer it we will not in this place.
+
+"We therefore take all men to record this day, as did our
+fathers. And we pledge this day to one another, our fortunes, our
+lives, and our sacred honors, to be delivered from the
+persecutions which we have had to endure for the last nine years,
+or nearly that. Neither will we indulge any man, or set of men,
+in instituting vexatious lawsuits against us to cheat us out of
+our just rights. If they attempt it we say, woe be unto them. We
+this day then proclaim ourselves free, with a purpose and a
+determination that never can be broken, no never, NO NEVER, NO
+NEVER."
+
+Ebenezer Robinson in The Return (Vol I, p. 170) says:--
+
+"Let it be distinctly understood that President Rigdon was not
+alone responsible for the sentiment expressed in his oration, as
+that was a carefully prepared document previously written, and
+well understood by the First Presidency; but Elder Rigdon was the
+mouthpiece to deliver it, as he was a natural orator, and his
+delivery was powerful and effective.
+
+"Several Missouri gentlemen of note, from other counties, were
+present on the speaker's stand at its delivery, with Joseph
+Smith, Jr., President, and Hyrum Smith, Vice President of the
+day; and at the conclusion of the oration, when the president of
+the day led off with a shout of 'Hosannah, Hosannah, Hosannah,'
+and joined in the shout by the vast multitude, these Missouri
+gentlemen began to shout 'hurrah,' but they soon saw that did not
+time with the other, and they ceased shouting. A copy of the
+oration was furnished the editor, and printed in the Far West, a
+weekly newspaper printed in Liberty, the county seat of Clay
+county. It was also printed in pamphlet form, by the writer of
+this, in the printing office of the Elders' Journal, in the city
+of Far West, a copy of which we have preserved.
+
+"This oration, and the stand taken by the church in endorsing it,
+and its publication, undoubtedly exerted a powerful influence in
+arousing the people of the whole upper Missouri country."
+
+At the trial of Rigdon, when he was cast out at Nauvoo, Young and
+others held him alone responsible for this sermon, and declared
+that it was principally instrumental in stirring up the
+hostilities that ensued.
+
+A state election was to be held in Missouri early in August, and
+there was a good deal of political feeling. Daviess County was
+pretty equally divided between Whigs and Democrats, and the vote
+of the Mormons was sought by the leaders of both parties. In
+Caldwell County the Saints were classed as almost solidly
+Democratic. When election day came, the Danites in the latter
+county distributed tickets on which the Presidency had agreed,
+but this resulted in nothing more serious than some criticism of
+this interference of the church in politics. But in Daviess
+County trouble occurred.
+
+The Mormons there were warned by the Democrats that the Whigs
+would attempt to prevent their voting at Gallatin. Of the ten
+houses in that town at the time, three were saloons, and the
+material for an election-day row was at hand. It began with an
+attack on a Mormon preacher, and ended in a general fight, in
+which there were many broken heads, but no loss of life; after
+which, says Lee, who took part in it, "the Mormons all voted."*
+
+* Smith's autobiography says, "Very few of the brethren voted."
+
+
+Exaggerated reports of this melee reached Far West, and Dr.
+Avard, collecting a force of 150 volunteers, and accompanied by
+Smith and Rigdon, started for Daviess County for the support of
+their brethren. They came across no mob, but they made a tactical
+mistake. Instead of disbanding and returning to their homes,
+they, the next morning (following Smith's own account)* "rode out
+to view the situation." Their ride took them to the house of a
+justice of the peace, named Adam Black, who had joined a band
+whose object was the expulsion of the Mormons. Smith could not
+neglect the opportunity to remind the justice of his violation of
+his oath, and to require of him some satisfaction, "so that we
+might know whether he was our friend or enemy." With this view
+they compelled him to sign what they called "an agreement of
+peace," which the justice drew up in this shape:--
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, p. 229.
+
+"I, Adam Black, A Justice of the Peace of Davies County, do
+hereby Sertify to the people called Mormin that he is bound to
+suport the constitution of this state and of the United States,
+and he is not attached to any mob, nor will not attach himself to
+any such people, and so long as they will not molest me I will
+not molest them. This the 8th day of August, 1838.
+
+"ADAM BLACK, J.P"
+
+When the Mormon force returned to Far West, the Daviess people
+secured warrants for the arrest of Smith, L. Wight, and others,
+charging them with violating the law by entering another county
+armed, and compelling a justice of the peace to obey their
+mandate, Black having made an affidavit that he was compelled to
+sign the paper in order to save his life. Wight threatened to
+resist arrest, and this caused such a gathering of Missourians
+that Smith became alarmed and sent for two lawyers, General D. R.
+Atchison and General Doniphan, to come to Far West as his legal
+advisers.* Acting on their advice, the accused surrendered
+themselves, and were bound over to court in $500 bail for a
+hearing on September 7.
+
+* General Atchison was the major general in command of that
+division of the state militia. His early reports to the governor
+must be read in the light of his association with Smith as
+counsel. General Douiphan afterward won fame at Chihuahua in the
+Mexican War.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. A State Of Civil War
+
+All peaceable occupations were now at an end in Daviess County.
+General Atchison reported to the governor that, on arriving there
+on September 17, he found the county practically deserted, the
+Gentiles being gathered in one camp and the Mormons in another. A
+justice of the peace, in a statement to the governor, declared,
+"The Mormons are so numerous and so well armed [in Daviess and
+Caldwell counties] that the judicial power of the counties is
+wholly unable to execute any civil or criminal process within the
+limits of either of the said counties against a Mormon or
+Mormons, as they each and every one of them act in concert and
+outnumber the other citizens." Lee says that an order had been
+issued by the church authorities, commanding all the Mormons to
+gather in two fortified camps, at Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman.
+The men were poorly armed, but demanded to be led against their
+foes, being "confident that God was going to deliver the enemy
+into our hands."*
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 78.
+
+
+Both parties now stood on the defensive, posting sentinels, and
+making other preparations for a fight. Actual hostilities soon
+ensued. The Mormons captured some arms which their opponents had
+obtained, and took them, with three prisoners, to Far West. "This
+was a glorious day, indeed," says Smith.* Citizens of Daviess and
+Livingston counties sent a petition to Governor Boggs (who had
+succeeded Dunklin), dated September 12, declaring that they
+believed their lives, liberty, and property to be "in the most
+imminent danger of being sacrificed by the hands of those
+impostorous rebels," and asking for protection. The governor had
+already directed General Atchison to raise immediately four
+hundred mounted men in view of indications of Indian disturbances
+on our immediate frontier, and the recent civil disturbances in
+the counties of Caldwell, Daviess, and Carroll." The calling out
+of the militia followed, and General Doniphan found himself in
+command of about one thousand militiamen. He seems to have used
+tact, and to have employed his force only as peace preservers. On
+September 20 he reported to Governor Boggs that he had discharged
+all his troops but two companies, and that he did not think the
+services of these would be required more than twenty days. He
+estimated the Mormon forces in the disturbed counties at from
+thirteen hundred to fifteen hundred men, most of them carrying a
+rifle, a brace of pistols, and a broadsword; "so that," he added,
+"from their position, and their fanaticism, and their unalterable
+determination not to be driven, much blood will be spilt and much
+suffering endured if a blow is at once struck, without the
+interposition of your excellency."
+
+* Smith's autobiography, at this point, says: "President Rigdon
+and I commenced this day the study of law under the instruction
+of Generals Atchison and Doniphan. They think by diligent
+application we can be admitted to the bar in twelve months."
+Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, p. 246.
+
+
+The people of Carroll County began now to hold meetings whose
+object was the expulsion of the Mormons from their boundaries,
+and some hundreds of them assembled in hostile attitude around
+the little settlement of Dewitt. The Mormons there prepared for
+defence, and sent an appeal to Far West for aid. Accordingly, one
+hundred Mormons, including Smith and Rigdon, started to assist
+them, and two companies of militia, under General Parks, were
+hurried to the spot. General Parks reported to General Atchison
+on October 7 that, on arriving there the day before, he found the
+place besieged by two hundred or three hundred Missourians, under
+a Dr. Austin, with a field-piece, and defended by two hundred or
+three hundred Mormons under G. M. Hinckle, "who says he will die
+before he is driven from thence." Austin expected speedy
+reenforcements that would enable him to take the place by
+assault. A petition addressed by the Mormons of Dewitt to the
+governor, as early as September 22, having been ignored, and
+finding themselves outnumbered, they agreed to abandon their
+settlement on receiving pay for their improvements, and some
+fifty wagons conveyed them and their effects to Far West.
+
+A period of absolute lawlessness in all that section of the state
+followed. Smith declared that civil war existed, and that, as the
+state would not protect them, they must look out for themselves.
+He and his associates made no concealment of their purpose to
+"make clean work of it" in driving the non-Mormons from both
+Daviess and Caldwell counties. When warned that this course would
+array the whole state against them, Smith replied that the "mob"
+(as the opponents of the Mormons were always styled) were a small
+minority of the state, and would yield to armed opposition; the
+Mormons would defeat one band after another, and so proceed
+across the state, until they reached St. Louis, where the Mormon
+army would spend the winter. This calculation is a fair
+illustration of Smith's judgment.
+
+Armed bands of both parties now rode over the country, paying
+absolutely no respect to property rights, and ready for a "brush"
+with any opponents. At Smith's suggestion, a band of men, under
+the name of the "Fur Company," was formed to "commandeer" food,
+teams, and men for the Mormon campaign. This practical license to
+steal let loose the worst element in the church organization,
+glad of any method of revenge on those whom they considered their
+persecutors. "Men of former quiet," says Lee, who was among the
+active raiders, "became perfect demons in their efforts to spoil
+and waste away the enemies of the church."* Cattle and hogs that
+could not be driven off were killed.** Houses were burned, not
+only in the outlying country, but in the towns. A night attack by
+a band of eighty men was made on Gallatin, where some of the
+houses were set on fire, and two stores as well as private houses
+were robbed. The house of one McBride, who, Lee says, had been a
+good friend to him and to other Mormons, did not escape: "Every
+article of moveable property was taken by the troops; he was
+utterly ruined." "It appeared to me," says Corrill, "that the
+love of pillage grew upon them very fast, for they plundered
+every kind of property they could get hold of, and burnt many
+cabins in Daviess, some say 80, and some say 150." ***
+
+* Lee naively remarks, "In justice to Joseph Smith I cannot say
+that I ever heard him teach, or even encourage, men to pilfer or
+steal little things."--"Mormonism Unveiled," p. 90.
+
+** W. Harris's "Mormonism Portrayed," p. 30.
+
+*** "Brief History of the Church," p. 38.
+
+The Missourians retaliated in kind. Mormons were seized and
+whipped, and their houses were burned. A lawless company (Pratt
+calls them banditti), led by one Gilliam, embraced the
+opportunity to make raids in the Mormon territory. It was soon
+found necessary to collect the outlying Mormons at Far West and
+Adam-ondi-Ahman, where they were used for purposes both of
+offence and defence. The movements of the Missourians were
+closely watched, and preparations were made to burn any place
+from which a force set out to attack the Saints.
+
+One of the Missouri officers, Captain Bogart, on October 23,
+warned some Mormons to leave the county, and, with his company of
+thirty or forty men, announced his intention to "give Far West
+thunder and lightning." When this news reached Far West, Judge
+Higbee, of the county court, ordered Lieutenant Colonel Hinckle
+to go out with a company, disperse the "mob," and retake some
+prisoners. The Mormons assembled at midnight, and about
+seventy-five volunteers started at once, under command of Captain
+Patton, the Danite leader, whose nickname was "Fear Not," all on
+horseback. When they approached Crooked River, on which Bogart's
+force was encamped, fifteen men were sent in advance on foot to
+locate the enemy. Just at dawn a rifle shot sounded, and a young
+Mormon, named O'Barrion, fell mortally wounded. Captain Patton
+ordered a charge, and led his men at a gallop down a hill to the
+river, under the bank of which the Missourians were drawn up. The
+latter had an advantage, as they were in the shade, and the
+Mormons were between them and the east, which the dawn was just
+lighting. Exchanges of volleys occurred, and then Captain Patton
+ordered his men to rush on with drawn swords--they had no
+bayonets. This put the Missourians to flight, but just as they
+fled Captain Patton received a mortal wound. Three Mormons in all
+were killed as a result of this battle, and seven wounded, while
+Captain Bogart reported the death of one man.*
+
+* Ebenezer Robinson's account in The Return, p. 191.
+
+
+The death of "Fear Not" was considered by the Mormons a great
+loss. He was buried with the honors of war, says Robinson, "and
+at his grave a solemn convention was made to avenge his death."
+Smith, in the funeral sermon, reverted to his old tactics,
+attributing the Mormon losses to the Lord's anger against his
+people, because of their unbelief and their unwillingness to
+devote their worldly treasures to the church.
+
+The rout of Captain Bogart's force, which was a part of the state
+militia, increased the animosity against the Mormons, and the
+wiser of the latter believed that they would suffer a dire
+vengeance.*
+
+* Corrill's "Brief History of the Church," p. 38.
+
+
+This vengeance first made itself felt at a settlement called
+Hawn's Mill (of which there are various spellings), some miles
+from Far West, where there were a flour mill, blacksmith shop,
+and other buildings. The Mormons there were advised, the day
+after the fight on Crooked River, to move into Far West for
+protection, but the owners of the buildings, knowing that these
+would be burned as soon as deserted, decided to remain and defend
+their property.
+
+On October 30 a mounted force of Missourians appeared before the
+place. The Mormons ran into the log blacksmith shop, which they
+thought would serve them as a blockhouse, but it proved to be a
+slaughter-pen. The Missourians surrounded it, and, sticking their
+rifles into every hole and crack, poured in a deadly fire,
+killing, some reports say eighteen, and some thirty-one, of the
+Mormons. The only persons in the town who escaped found shelter
+in the woods. The Missourians did not lose a man. When the firing
+ceased, they still showed no mercy, shooting a small boy in the
+leg after dragging him out from under the bellows, and hacking to
+death with a corn cutter an old man while he begged for his life.
+Dead and wounded were thrown into a well, and some of the
+wounded, taken out by rescuers from Far West, recovered. "I heard
+one of the militia tell General Clark," says Corrill, "that a
+well twenty or thirty feet deep was filled with their dead bodies
+to within three feet of the top."*
+
+* Details of this massacre will be found in Lee's "Mormonism
+Unveiled," pp. 78-80; in the Missouri "Correspondence, Orders,
+etc.," p. 82; the Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, p. 507, and in
+Greene's "Facts Relative to the Expulsion of the Mormons from
+Missouri," pp. 21-24.
+
+
+The Mormons have always considered this "massacre," as they
+called it, the crowning outrage of their treatment in Missouri,
+and for many years were especially bitter toward all participants
+in it. A letter from two Mormons in the Frontier Guardian, dated
+October, 1849, describing the disinterred human bones seen on
+their journey across the plains, said that they recognized on the
+rude tombstone the names of some of their Missouri persecutors:
+"Among others, we noted at the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains
+the grave of one E. Dodd of Gallatin, Missouri. The wolves had
+completely disinterred him. It is believed that he was the same
+Dodd that took an active part as a prominent mobocrat in the
+murder of the Saints at Hawn's Mill, Missouri; if so, it is a
+righteous retribution." Two Mormon elders, describing a visit in
+1889 to the scenes of the Mormon troubles in Missouri, said, "The
+notorious Colonel W. O. Jennings, who commanded the mob at the
+[Hawn's Mill] massacre, was assaulted in Chillicothe, Missouri,
+on the evening of January 20, 1862, by an unknown person, who
+shot him on the street with a revolver or musket, as the Colonel
+was going home after dark." * They are silent as to the avenger.
+
+* "Infancy of the Church" (pamphlet).
+
+
+Governor Boggs now began to realize the seriousness of the
+situation that he was called to meet, and on October 26 he
+directed General John B. Clark (who was not the ranking general)
+to raise, for the protection of the citizens of Daviess County,
+four hundred mounted men. This order he followed the next day
+with the following, which has become the most famous of the
+orders issued during this campaign, under the designation "the
+order of extermination":--
+
+"HEADQUARTERS OF THE MILITIA, "CITY OF JEFFERSON, Oct. 27, 1838.
+"GEN. JOHN B. CLARK,
+
+"Sir:--Since the order of this morning to you, directing you to
+cause four hundred mounted men to be raised within your Division,
+I have received by Amos Rees, Esq., of Ray County and Wiley C.
+Williams, Esq., one of my aids, information of the most appalling
+character, which entirely changes the face of things, and places
+the Mormons in the attitude of an open and avowed defiance of the
+laws, and of having made war upon the people of this state. Your
+orders are, therefore, to hasten your operations with all
+possible speed.
+
+"The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated
+or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace--their
+outrages are beyond all description. If you can increase your
+force, you are authorized to do so to any extent you may consider
+necessary. I have just issued orders to Maj. Gen. Willock, of
+Marion County, to raise five hundred men, and to march them to
+the northern part of Daviess, and there unite with Gen. Doniphan,
+of Clay, who has been ordered with five hundred men to proceed to
+the same point for the purpose of intercepting the retreat of the
+Mormons to the north. They have been directed to communicate with
+you by express; you can also communicate with them if you find it
+necessary.
+
+"Instead therefore of proceeding, as at first directed, to
+reinstate the citizens of Daviess in their homes, you will
+proceed immediately to Richmond and then operate against the
+Mormons. Brig. Gen. Parks, of Ray, has been ordered to have four
+hundred of his brigade in readiness to join you at Richmond. The
+whole force will be placed under your command.
+
+"I am very respectfully, "Your ob't serv't, "L. W. Boggs,
+Commander-in-chief."
+
+The "appalling information" received by the governor from his
+aids was contained in a letter dated October 25, which stated
+that the Mormons were "destroying all before them"; that they had
+burned Gallatin and Mill Pond, and almost every house between
+these places, plundered the whole country, and defeated Captain
+Bogart's company, and had determined to burn Richmond that night.
+"These creatures," said the letter, "will never stop until they
+are stopped by the strong hand of force, and something must be
+done, and that speedily."*
+
+* For text of letter, see "Correspondence, Orders, etc.," p. 59.
+
+
+The language of Governor Boggs's letter to General Clark cannot
+be defended. The Mormons have always made great capital of his
+declaration that the Mormons "must be exterminated," and a man of
+judicial temperament would have selected other words, no matter
+how necessary he deemed it, for political reasons, to show his
+sympathy with the popular cause. But, on the other hand, the
+governor was only accepting the challenge given by Rigdon in his
+recent Fourth of July address, when the latter declared that if a
+mob disturbed the Mormons, "it shall be between us and them a war
+of extermination, for we will follow them till the last drop of
+their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate
+us." What compromise there could have been between a band of
+fanatics obeying men like Smith and Rigdon, and the class of
+settlers who made up the early Missouri population, it is
+impossible to conceive. The Mormons were simply impossible as
+neighbors, and it had become evident that they could no more
+remain peaceably in the state than they could a few years
+previously in Jackson County.
+
+General Atchison, of Smith's counsel, was not called on by the
+governor in these latest movements, because, as the governor
+explained in a letter to General Clark, "there was much
+dissatisfaction manifested toward him by the people opposed to
+the Mormons." But he had seen his mistake, and he united with
+General Lucas in a letter to the governor under date of October
+28, in which they said, "from late outrages committed by the
+Mormons, civil war is inevitable," and urged the governor's
+presence in the disturbed district. Governor Boggs excused
+himself from complying with this request because of the near
+approach of the meeting of the legislature.
+
+General Lucas, acting under his interpretation of the governor's
+order, had set out on October 28 for Far West from near Richmond,
+with a force large enough to alarm the Mormon leaders. Robinson,
+speaking of the outlook from their standpoint at this time, says,
+"We looked for warm work, as there were large numbers of armed
+men gathering in Daviess County, with avowed determination of
+driving the Mormons from the county, and we began to feel as
+determined that the Missourians should be expelled from the
+county."* The Mormons did not hear of the approach of General
+Lucas's force until it was near the town. Then the southern
+boundary was hastily protected with a barricade of wagons and
+logs, and the night of October 30-31 was employed by all the
+inhabitants in securing their possessions for flight, in
+anticipation of a battle the next day.
+
+* The Return, Vol. I, p. 189.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. The Final Expulsion From The State
+
+At eight o'clock the next morning the commander of the militia
+sent a flag of truce to the Mormons which Colonel Hinckle, for
+the Mormons, met. General Lucas submitted the following terms, as
+necessary to carry out the governor's orders:
+
+1. To give up their leaders to be tried and punished.
+
+2. To make an appropriation of their property, all who have taken
+up arms, to the payment of their debts and indemnity for damage
+done by them.
+
+3. That the balance should leave the State, and be protected out
+by the militia, but be permitted to remain under protection until
+further orders were received by the commander-in-chief.
+
+4. To give up the arms of every description, to be receipted for.
+
+While these propositions were under consideration, General Lucas
+asked that Smith, Rigdon, Lyman Wight, P. P. Pratt, and G. W.
+Robinson be given up as hostages, and this was done. Contemporary
+Mormon accounts imputed treachery to Colonel Hinckle in this
+matter, and said that Smith and his associates were lured into
+the militia camp by a ruse. General Lucas's report to the
+governor says that the proposition for a conference came from
+Hinckle. Hyrum Smith, in an account of the trial of the
+prisoners, printed some years later in the Times and Seasons,
+said that all the men who surrendered were that night condemned
+by a court-martial to be shot, but were saved by General
+Doniphan's interference. Lee's account agrees with this, but says
+that Smith surrendered voluntarily, to save the lives of his
+followers.
+
+General Lucas received the surrender of Far West, on the terms
+named, in advance of the arrival of General Clark, who was making
+forced marches. After the surrender, General Lucas disbanded the
+main body of his force, and set out with his prisoners for
+Independence, the original site of Zion. General Clark, learning
+of this, ordered him to transfer the prisoners to Richmond, which
+was done.
+
+Hearing that the guard left by General Lucas at Far West were
+committing outrages, General Clark rode to that place accompanied
+by his field officers. He found no disorder,* but instituted a
+military court of inquiry, which resulted in the arrest of
+forty-six additional Mormons, who were sent to Richmond for
+trial. The facts on which these arrests were made were obtained
+principally from Dr. Avard, the Danite, who was captured by a
+militia officer. "No one," General Clark says, "disclosed any
+useful matter until he was captured."
+
+* "Much property was destroyed by the troops in town during their
+stay there, such as burning house logs, rails, corn cribs,
+boards, etc., the using of corn and hay, the plundering of
+houses, the killing of cattle, sheep, and hogs, and also the
+taking of horses not their own."--"Mormon Memorial to Missouri
+Legislature," December 10, 1838.
+
+After these arrests had been made, General Clark called the other
+Mormons at Far West together, and addressed them, telling them
+that they could now go to their fields for corn, wood, etc., but
+that the terms of the surrender must be strictly lived up to.
+Their leading men had been given up, their arms surrendered, and
+their property assigned as stipulated, but it now remained for
+them to leave the state forthwith. On that subject the general
+said:--
+
+"The character of this state has suffered almost beyond
+redemption, from the character, conduct, and influence that you
+have exerted; and we deem it an act of justice to restore her
+character to its former standing among the states by every proper
+means. The orders of the governor to me were that you should be
+exterminated and not allowed to remain in the state. And had not
+your leaders been given up, and the terms of the treaty complied
+with, before this time you and your families would have been
+destroyed, and your houses in ashes. There is a discretionary
+power vested in my hands, which, considering your circumstances,
+I shall exercise for a season. You are indebted to me for this
+clemency.
+
+"I do not say that you shall go now, but you must not think of
+staying here another season, or of putting in crops, for the
+moment you do this the citizens will be upon you; and if I am
+called here again, in a case of a non-compliance of a treaty
+made, do not think that I shall do as I have done now. You need
+not expect any mercy, but extermination, for I am determined the
+governor's orders shall be executed. As for your leaders, do not
+think, do not imagine for a moment, do not let it enter into your
+mind, that they will be delivered and restored to you again, for
+their fate is fixed, their die is cast, their doom is sealed.
+
+"I am sorry, gentlemen, to see so many apparently intelligent men
+found in the situation you are; and O ! if I could invoke the
+great spirit, the unknown God, to rest upon and deliver you from
+that awful chain of superstition, and liberate you from those
+fetters of fanaticism with which you are bound, that you no
+longer do homage to a man. I would advise you to scatter abroad,
+and never organize yourselves with bishops, presidents, etc.,
+lest you excite the jealousies of the people, and subject
+yourselves to the same calamities that have now come upon you.
+You have always been the aggressors: you have brought upon
+yourselves these difficulties by being disaffected, and not being
+subject to rule. And my advice is that you become as other
+citizens, lest by a recurrence of these events you bring upon
+yourselves irretrievable ruin."
+
+General Clark then marched with his prisoners to Richmond, where
+the trial of all the accused began on November 12, before Judge
+A. A, King. By November 29 the called-out militia had been
+disbanded, and on that date General Clark made his final report
+to the governor. In this he asserted that the militia under him
+had conducted themselves as honorable citizen soldiers, and
+enclosed a certificate signed by five Mormons, including W. W.
+Phelps, Colonel Hinckle, and John Corrill, confirming this
+statement, and saying, "We have no hesitation in saying that the
+course taken by General Clark with the Mormons was necessary for
+the public peace, and that the Mormons are generally satisfied
+with his course."
+
+In his summing up of the results of the campaign, General Clark
+said:
+
+"It [the Mormon insurrection] had for its object Dominion, the
+ultimate subjugation of this State and the Union to the laws of a
+few men called the Presidency. Their church was to be built up at
+any rate, peaceably if they could, forcibly if necessary. These
+people had banded themselves together in societies, the object of
+which was to first drive from their society such as refused to
+join them in their unholy purposes, and then to plunder the
+surrounding country, and ultimately to subject the state to their
+rule."
+
+"The whole number of the Mormons killed through the whole
+difficulty, so far as I can ascertain, are about forty, and
+several wounded. There has been one citizen killed, and about
+fifteen badly wounded."*
+
+* "Correspondence, Orders, etc.," p. 92.
+
+Brigadier General R. Wilson was sent with his command to settle
+the Mormon question in Daviess County. Finding the town of
+Adamondi-Ahman unguarded, he placed guards around it, and
+gathered in the Mormons of the neighborhood, to the number of
+about two hundred. Most of these, he explained in his report,
+were late comers from Canada and the northern border of the
+United States, and were living mostly in tents, without any
+adequate provision for the winter. Those against whom criminal
+charges had been made were placed under arrest, and the others
+were informed that General Wilson would protect them for ten
+days, and would guarantee their safety to Caldwell County or out
+of the state. "This appeared to me," said General Wilson, in his
+report to General Clark, "to be the only course to prevent a
+general massacre." In this report General Wilson presented the
+following picture of the situation there as he found it: "It is
+perfectly impossible for me to convey to you anything like the
+awful state of things which exists here--language is inadequate
+to the task. The citizens of a whole county first plundered, and
+then their houses and other buildings burnt to ashes; without
+houses, beds, furniture, or even clothing in many instances, to
+meet the inclemency of the weather. I confess that my feelings
+have been shocked with the gross brutality of these Mormons, who
+have acted more like demons from the infernal regions than human
+beings. Under these circumstances, you will readily perceive that
+it would be perfectly impossible for me to protect the Mormons
+against the just indignation of the citizens . . . . The Mormons
+themselves appeared pleased with the idea of getting away from
+their enemies and a justly insulted people, and I believe all
+have applied and received permits to leave the county; and I
+suppose about fifty families have left, and others are hourly
+leaving, and at the end of ten days Mormonism will not be known
+in Daviess county. This appeared to me to be the only course left
+to prevent a general massacre."*
+
+* "Correspondence, Orders, etc.," p. 78.
+
+The Mormons began to depart at once, and in ten days nearly all
+had left. Lee, who acted as guide to General Wilson, and whose
+wife and babe were at Adamondi-Ahman, says:
+
+"Every house in Adamondi-Ahman was searched by the troops for
+stolen property. They succeeded in finding very much of the
+Gentile property that had been captured by the Saints in the
+various raids they made through the country. Bedding of every
+kind and in large quantities was found and reclaimed by the
+owners. Even spinning wheels, soap barrels, and other articles
+were recovered. Each house where stolen property was found was
+certain to receive a Missouri blessing from the troops. The men
+who had been most active in gathering plunder had fled to
+Illinois to escape the vengeance of the people, leaving their
+families to suffer for the sins of the believing Saints."*
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 89.
+
+We may now follow the fortunes of the Mormon prisoners. On
+arriving at Richmond, they were confined in the unfinished brick
+court-house. The only inside work on this building that was
+completed was a partly laid floor, and to this the prisoners were
+restricted by a railing, with a guard inside and out. "Two
+three-pail iron kettles for boiling our meat, and two or more
+iron bake kettles, or Dutch ovens, were furnished us," says
+Robinson, "together with sacks of corn meal and meat in bulk. We
+did our own cooking. This arrangement suited us very well, and we
+enjoyed ourselves as well as men could under such
+circumstances."*
+
+* The Return, Vol. I, p. 234.
+
+Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and
+A. McRea were soon transferred to the jail at Liberty. The others
+were then put into the debtor's room of Richmond jail, a
+two-story log structure which was not well warmed, but they were
+released on light bail in a few days.
+
+A report of the testimony given at the hearing of the Mormon
+prisoners before judge King will be found in the "Correspondence,
+Orders, etc.," published by order of the Missouri legislature,
+pp. 97-149. Among the Mormons who gave evidence against the
+prisoners were Avard, the Danite, John Whitmer, W. W. Phelps,
+John Corrill, and Colonel Hinckle. There were thirty-seven
+witnesses for the state and seven for the defence. As showing the
+character of the testimony, the following selections will
+suffice.
+
+Avard told the story of the origin of the Danites, and said that
+he considered Joseph Smith their organizer; that the constitution
+was approved by Smith and his counsellors at Rigdon's house, and
+that the members felt themselves as much bound to obey the heads
+of the church as to obey God. Just previous to the arrival of
+General Lucas at Far West, Smith had assembled his force, and
+told them that, for every one they lacked in numbers as compared
+with their opponents, the Lord would send angels to fight for
+them. He presented the text of the indictment against Cowdery,
+Whitmer, and others, drawn up by Rigdon.
+
+John Corrill testified about the effect of Rigdon's "salt
+sermon," and also that he had attended meetings of the Danites,
+and had expressed disapproval of the doctrine that, if one
+brother got into difficulty, it was the duty of the others to
+help him out, right or wrong; that Smith and Rigdon attended one
+of these meetings, and that he had heard Smith declare at a
+meeting, "if the people would let us alone, we would preach the
+Gospel to them in peace, but if they came on us to molest us, we
+would establish our religion by the sword, and that he would
+become to this generation a second Mohammed"; just after the
+expulsion of the Mormons from Dewitt, Smith declared hostilities
+against their opponents in Caldwell and Daviess counties, and had
+a resolution passed, looking to the confiscation of the property
+of the brethren who would not join him in the march; and on a
+Sunday he advised the people that they might at times take
+property which at other times it would be wrong to take, citing
+David's eating of the shew bread, and the Saviour's plucking ears
+of corn.* Reed Peck testified to the same effect.
+
+* Corrill, Avard, Hinckle, Marsh, and others were formally
+excommunicated at a council held at Quincy, Illinois, on March
+17, 1839, over which Brigham Young presided.
+
+John Clemison testified to the presence of Smith at the early
+meetings of the Danites; that Rigdon and Smith had advised that
+those who were backward in joining his fighting force should be
+placed in the front ranks at the point of pitchforks; that a
+great deal of Gentile property was brought into Mormon camps, and
+that "it was frequently observed among the troops that the time
+had come when the riches of the Gentiles should be consecrated to
+the state."
+
+W. W. Phelps testified that in the previous April he had heard
+Rigdon say, at a meeting in Far West, that they had borne
+persecution and lawsuits long enough, and that, if a sheriff came
+with writs against them, they would kill him, and that Smith
+approved his words. Phelps said that the character of Rigdon's
+"salt sermon" was known and discussed in advance of its delivery.
+
+John Whitmer testified that, soon after the preaching of the
+"salt sermon," a leading Mormon told him that they did not intend
+to regard any longer "the niceties of the law of the land," as
+"the kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Daniel had been set up."
+
+The testimony concerning the Danite organization and Smith's
+threats against the Missourians received confirmation in an
+affidavit by no less a person than Thomas B. Marsh, the First
+President of the twelve Apostles, before a justice of the peace
+in Ray County, in October, 1838. In this Marsh said:--
+
+"The plan of said Smith, the Prophet, is to take this state; and
+he professes to his people to intend taking the United States and
+ultimately the whole world. The Prophet inculcates the notion,
+and it is believed by every true Mormon, that Smith's prophecies
+are superior to the law of the land. I have heard the Prophet say
+that he would yet tread down his enemies, and walk over their
+dead bodies; that, if he was not let alone, he would be a second
+Mohammed to this generation, and that he would make it one gore
+of blood from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean."
+
+This affidavit was accompanied by an affidavit by Orson Hyde, who
+was afterward so prominent in the councils of the church, stating
+that he knew most of Marsh's statements to be true, and believed
+the others to be true also.
+
+Of the witnesses for the defence, two women and one man gave
+testimony to establish an alibi for Lyman Wight at the time of
+the last Mormon expedition to Daviess County; Rigdon's daughter
+Nancy testified that she had heard Avard say that he would swear
+to a lie to accomplish an object; and J. W. Barlow gave testimony
+to show that Smith and Rigdon were not with the men who took part
+in the battle on Crooked Creek.
+
+Rigdon, in an "Appeal to the American People," which he wrote
+soon after, declared that this trial was a compound between an
+inquisition and a criminal court, and that the testimony of Avard
+was given to save his own life. "A part of an armed body of men,"
+he says, "stood in the presence of the court to see that the
+witnesses swore right, and another part was scouring the country
+to drive out of it every witness they could hear of whose
+testimony would be favorable to the defendants. If a witness did
+not swear to please the court, he or she would be threatened to
+be cast into prison . . . . A man by the name of Allen began to
+tell the story of Bogart's burning houses in the south part of
+Caldwell; he was kicked out of the house, and three men put after
+him with loaded guns, and he hardly escaped with his life.
+Finally, our lawyers, General Doniphan and Amos Rees, told us not
+to bring our witnesses there at all, for if we did, there would
+not be one of them left for the final trial . . . . As to making
+any impression on King, if a cohort of angels were to come down
+and declare we were clear, Doniphan said it would be all the
+same, for he had determined from the beginning to cast us into
+prison. Smith alleged that judge King was biased against them
+because his brother-in-law had been killed during the early
+conflicts in Jackson County.
+
+Several of the defendants were discharged during or after the
+close of the hearing. Smith, Rigdon, Lyman Wight, and three
+others were ordered committed to the Clay County jail at Liberty
+on a charge of treason; Parley P. Pratt and four others to the
+Ray County jail on a charge of murder; and twenty-three others
+were ordered to give bail on a charge of arson, burglary,
+robbery, and larceny, and all but eight of these were locked up
+in default of bail. The prisoners confined at Liberty secured a
+writ of habeas corpus soon after, but only Rigdon was ordered
+released, and he thought it best for his safety to go back to the
+jail. He afterward, with the connivance of the sheriff and
+jailer, made his escape at night, and reached Quincy, Illinois,
+in February, 1839.
+
+P. P. Pratt, in his "Late Persecution," says that the prisoners
+were kept in chains most of the time, and that Riodon, although
+ill, "was compelled to sleep on the floor, with a chain and
+padlock round his ankle, and fastened to six others." Hyrum
+Smith, in a "Communication to the Saints" printed a year later,
+says; "We suffered much from want of proper food, and from the
+nauseous cell in which I was confined."
+
+Joseph Smith remained in the Liberty jail until April, 1839. At
+one time all the prisoners nearly made their escape, "but
+unfortunately for us, the timber of the wall being very hard, our
+augur handles gave out, which hindered us longer than we
+expected," and the plan was discovered.
+
+The prophet employed a good deal of his time in jail in writing
+long epistles to the church. He gave out from there also three
+"revelations," the chief direction of which was that the brethren
+should gather up all possible information about their
+persecutions, and make out a careful statement of their property
+losses. His letters reveal the character of the man as it had
+already been exhibited --headlong in his purposes, vindictive
+toward any enemy. He says in his biography that he paid his
+lawyers about $50,000 "in cash, lands, etc." (a pretty good sum
+for the refugee from Ohio to amass so soon), but got little
+practical assistance from them, "for sometimes they were afraid
+to act on account of the mob, and sometimes they were so drunk as
+to incapacitate them for business." In one of his letters to the
+church he thus speaks of some of his recent allies," This poor
+man [W. W. Phelps] who professes to be much of a prophet, has no
+other dumb ass to ride but David Whitmer, or to forbid his
+madness when he goes up to curse Israel; but this not being of
+the same kind as Balaam's, therefore, notwithstanding the angel
+appeared unto him, yet he could not sufficiently penetrate his
+understanding but that he brays out cursings instead of
+blessings." *
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. I, p. 82.
+
+
+On April 6, Smith and his fellow-prisoners were taken to Daviess
+County for trial. The judge and jury before whom their cases came
+were, according to his account, all drunk. Smith and four others
+were promptly indicted for "murder, treason, burglary, arson,
+larceny, theft, and stealing." They at once secured a change of
+venue to Boone County, 120 miles east, and set out for that place
+on April 15, but they never reached there. Smith says they were
+enabled to escape because their guard got drunk. In a newspaper
+interview printed many years later, General Doniphan is quoted as
+saying that he had it on good authority that Smith paid the
+sheriff and his guards $1100 to allow the prisoners to escape.
+Ebenezer Robinson says that Joseph and Hyrum were allowed to ride
+away on two fine horses, and that, a few Weeks later, he saw the
+sheriff at Quincy making Joseph a friendly visit, at which time
+he received pay for the animals.* The party arrived at Quincy,
+Illinois, on April 22, and were warmly welcomed by the brethren
+who had preceded them. Among these was Brigham Young, who was
+among those who had found it necessary to flee the state before
+the final surrender was arranged. The Missouri authorities, as we
+shall see, for a long time continued their efforts to secure the
+extradition of Smith, but he never returned to Missouri.
+
+As the Mormons had tried to set aside their original agreement
+with the Jackson County people, so, while their leaders were in
+jail, they endeavored to find means to break their treaty with
+General Lucas. Their counsel, General Atchison, was a member of
+the legislature, and he warmly espoused their cause. They sent in
+a petition,* which John Corrill presented, giving a statement in
+detail of the opposition they had encountered in the state, and
+asking for the enactment of a law "rescinding the order of the
+governor to drive us from the state, and also giving us the
+sanction of the legislature to inherit our lands in peace"; as
+well as disapproving of the "deed of trust," as they called the
+second section of the Lucas treaty. The petition was laid on the
+table. An effort for an investigation of the whole trouble by a
+legislative committee was made, and an act to that effect was
+passed in 1839, but nothing practical came of it. When the Mormon
+memorial was called up, its further consideration was postponed
+until July, and then the Mormons knew that they had no
+alternative except to leave the state.
+
+* For full text, see Millennial Star, Vol. XVI, pp. 586-589.
+
+
+While the prisoners were in jail, things had not quieted down in
+the Mormon counties. The decisive action of the state authorities
+had given the local Missourians to understand that the law of the
+land was on their side, and when the militia withdrew they took
+advantage of their opportunity. Mormon property was not
+respected, and what was left to those people in the way of
+horses, cattle, hogs, and even household belongings was taken by
+the bands of men who rode at pleasure,* and who claimed that they
+were only regaining what the Mormons had stolen from them. The
+legislature appropriated $2000 for the relief of such sufferers.
+
+* See M. Arthur's letter, "Correspondence, Orders, etc.," p. 94.
+
+
+Facing the necessity of moving entirely out of the state, the
+Mormons, as they had reached the western border line of
+civilization, now turned their face eastward to Quincy, Illinois,
+where some of their members were already established. Not until
+April 20 did the last of them leave Far West. The migration was
+attended with much suffering, as could not in such circumstances
+be avoided. The people of the counties through which they passed
+were, however, not hostile, and Mormon writers have testified
+that they received invitations to stop and settle. These were
+declined, and they pressed on to the banks of the Mississippi,
+where, in February and March, there were at one time more than
+130 families, waiting for the moving ice to enable them to cross,
+many of them without food, and the best sheltered depending on
+tents made of their bedclothing.*
+
+* Green's "Facts Relative to the Expulsion."
+
+
+What the total of the pecuniary losses of the Mormons in Missouri
+was cannot be accurately estimated. They asserted that in Jackson
+County alone, $120,000 worth of their property was destroyed, and
+that fifteen thousand of their number fled from the state. Smith,
+in a statement of his losses made after his arrival in Illinois,
+placed them at $1,000,000. In a memorial presented to Congress at
+this time the losses in Jackson County were placed at $175,000,
+and in the state of Missouri at $2,000,000. The efforts of the
+Mormons to secure redress were long continued. Not only was
+Congress appealed to, but legislatures of other states were urged
+to petition in their behalf. The Senate committee at Washington
+reported that the matter was entirely within the jurisdiction of
+the state of Missouri. One of the latest appeals was addressed by
+Smith at Nauvoo in December, 1843, to his native state, Vermont,
+calling on the Green Mountain boys, not only to assist him in
+attaining justice in Missouri, "but also to humble and chastise
+or abase her for the disgraces she has brought upon
+constitutional liberty, until she atones for her sin."
+
+The final act of the Mormon authorities in Missouri was somewhat
+dramatic. Smith in his "revelation" of April 8, 1838, directing
+the building of a Temple at Far West, had (the Lord speaking)
+ordered the beginning to be made on the following Fourth of July,
+adding, "in one year from this day let them recommence laying the
+foundation of my house." The anniversary found the latest
+Missouri Zion deserted, and its occupants fugitives; but the
+command of the Lord must be obeyed. Accordingly, the twelve
+Apostles journeyed secretly to Far West, arriving there about
+midnight of April 26, 1839. A conference was at once held, and,
+after transacting some miscellaneous business, including the
+expulsion of certain seceding members, all adjourned to the
+selected site of the Temple, where, after the singing of a hymn,
+the foundation was relaid by rolling a large stone to one
+corner.* The Apostles then returned to Illinois as quietly as
+possible. The leader of this expedition was Brigham Young, who
+had succeeded T. B. Marsh as President of the Twelve.
+
+* The modern post-office name of Far West is Kerr. All the Mormon
+houses there have disappeared. Traces of the foundation of the
+Temple, which in places was built to a height of three or four
+feet, are still discernible.
+
+
+Thus ended the early history of the Mormon church in Missouri.
+
+
+
+BOOK IV. In Illinois
+
+
+CHAPTER I. The Reception Of The Mormons
+
+The state of Illinois, when the Mormons crossed the Missouri
+River to settle in it, might still be considered a pioneer
+country. Iowa, to the west of it, was a territory, and only
+recently organized as such. The population of the whole state was
+only 467,183 in 1840, as compared with 4,821,550 in 1900. Young
+as it was, however, the state had had some severe financial
+experiences, which might have served as warnings to the
+new-comers. A debt of more than $14,000,000 had been contracted
+for state improvements, and not a railroad or a canal had been
+completed. "The people," says Ford, "looked one way and another
+with surprise, and were astonished at their own folly." The
+payment of interest on the state debt ceased after July, 1841,
+and "in a short time Illinois became a stench in the nostrils of
+the civilized world . . . . The impossibility of selling kept us
+from losing population; the fear of disgrace or high taxes
+prevented us from gaining materially."* The State Bank and the
+Shawneetown Bank failed in 1842, and when Ford became governor in
+that year he estimated that the good money in the state in the
+hands of the people did not exceed one year's interest on the
+public debt.
+
+* Ford's "History of Illinois," Chap. VII.
+
+
+The lawless conditions in many parts of the state in those days
+can scarcely be realized now. It was in 1847 that the Rev. Owen
+Lovejoy {handwritten comment in the book says "Elijah P.
+Lovejoy." PG Editor} was killed at Alton in maintaining his right
+to print there an abolition newspaper. All over the state,
+settlers who had occupied lands as "squatters" defended their
+claims by force, and serious mobs often resulted. Large areas of
+military lands were owned by non-residents, who were in very bad
+favor with the actual settlers. These settlers made free use of
+the timber on such lands, and the non-residents, failing to
+secure justice at law, finally hired preachers, who were paid by
+the sermon to preach against the sin of "hooking" timber.*
+
+* Ford's "History of Illinois," Chap. VI.
+
+
+Bands of desperadoes in the northern counties openly defied the
+officers of the law, and, in one instance, burned down the
+courthouse (in Ogle County in 1841) in order to release some of
+their fellows who were awaiting trial. One of these gangs ten
+years earlier had actually built, in Pope County, a fort in which
+they defied the authorities, and against which a piece of
+artillery had to be brought before it could be taken. Even while
+the conflict between the Mormons was going on, in 1846, there was
+vitality enough in this old organization, in Pope and Massac
+counties, to call for the interposition of a band of
+"regulators," who made many arrests, not hesitating to employ
+torture to secure from one prisoner information about his
+associates. Governor Ford sent General J. T. Davies there, to try
+to effect a peaceable arrangement of the difficulties, but he
+failed to do so, and the "regulators," who found the county
+officers opposed to them, drove out of the county the sheriff,
+the county clerk, and the representative elect to the
+legislature. When the judge of the Massac Circuit Court charged
+the grand jury strongly against the "regulators," they, with
+sympathizers from Kentucky, threatened to lynch him, and actually
+marched in such force to the county seat that the sheriff's posse
+surrendered, and the mob let their friends out of jail, and
+drowned some members of the posse in the Ohio River.
+
+The reception and treatment of the Mormons in Illinois, and the
+success of the new-comers in carrying out their business and
+political schemes, must be viewed in connection with these
+incidents in the early history of the state.
+
+The greeting of the Mormons in Illinois, in its practical shape,
+had both a political and a business reason.* Party feeling ran
+very high throughout the country in those days. The House of
+Representatives at Washington, after very great excitement,
+organized early in December, 1839, by choosing a Whig Speaker,
+and at the same time the Whig National Convention, at Harrisburg,
+Pennsylvania, nominated General W. H. Harrison for President.
+Thus the expulsion from Missouri occurred on the eve of one of
+our most exciting presidential campaigns, and the Illinois
+politicians were quick to appraise the value of the voting
+strength of the immigrants. As a residence of six months in the
+state gave a man the right to vote, the Mormon vote would count
+in the presidential election.
+
+* "The first great error committed by the people of Hancock
+County was in accepting too readily the Mormon story of
+persecution. It was continually rung in their ears, and believed
+as often as asserted."--Gregg, "History of Hancock County," p.
+270.
+
+
+Accordingly, we find that in February, 1839, the Democratic
+Association of Quincy, at a public meeting in the court-house,
+received a report from a committee previously appointed, strongly
+in favor of the refugees, and adopted resolutions condemning the
+treatment of the Mormons by the people and officers of Missouri.
+The Quincy Argus declared that, because of this treatment,
+Missouri was "now so fallen that we could wish her star stricken
+out from the bright constellation of the Union." In April, 1839,
+Rigdon wrote to the "Saints in prison" that Governor Carlin of
+Illinois and his wife "enter with all the enthusiasm of their
+nature" into his plan to have the governor of each state present
+to Congress the unconstitutional course of Missouri toward the
+Mormons, with a view to federal relief. Governor Lucas of Iowa
+Territory, in the same year (Iowa had only been organized as a
+territory the year before, and was not admitted as a state until
+1845), replying to a query about the reception the Mormons would
+receive in his domain, said: "Their religious opinions I consider
+have nothing to do with our political transactions. They are
+citizens of the United States, and are entitled to the same
+political rights and legal protection that other citizens are
+entitled to." He gave Rigdon at the same time cordial letters of
+introduction to President Van Buren and Governor Shannon of Ohio,
+and Rigdon received a similar letter to the President,
+recommending him "as a man of piety and a valuable citizen,"
+signed by Governor Carlin, United States Senator Young, County
+Clerk Wren, and leading business men of Quincy. Thus began that
+recognition of the Mormons as a political power in Illinois which
+led to concessions to them that had so much to do with finally
+driving them into the wilderness.
+
+The business reason for the welcome of the Mormons in Illinois
+and Iowa was the natural ambition to secure an increase of
+population. In all of Hancock County there were in 1830 only 483
+inhabitants as compared with 32,215 in 1900. Along with this
+public view of the matter was a private one. A Dr. Isaac Galland
+owned (or claimed title to) a large tract of land on both sides
+of the border line between Illinois and Iowa, that in Iowa being
+included in what was known as "the half-breed tract," an area of
+some 119,000 acres which, by a treaty between the United States
+government and the Sacs and Foxes, was reserved to descendants of
+Indian women of those tribes by white fathers, and the title to
+much of which was in dispute. As soon as the Mormons began to
+cross into Illinois, Galland approached them with an offer of
+about 20,000 acres between the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers
+at $2 per acre, to be paid in twenty annual instalments, without
+interest. A meeting of the refugees was held in Quincy in
+February, 1839, to consider this offer, but the vote was against
+it. The failure of the efforts in Ohio and Missouri to establish
+the Mormons as a distinct community had made many of Smith's
+followers sceptical about the success of any new scheme with this
+end in view, and at this conference several members, including so
+influential a man as Bishop Partridge, openly expressed their
+doubt about the wisdom of another gathering of the Saints.
+Galland, however, pursued the subject in a letter to D. W.
+Rodgers, inviting Rigdon and others to inspect the tract with
+him, and assuring the Mormons of his sympathy in their
+sufferings, and "deep solicitude for your future triumphant
+conquest over every enemy." Rigdon, Partridge, and others
+accepted Galland's invitation, but reported against purchasing
+his land, and the refugees began scattering over the country
+around Quincy.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. The Settlement Of Nauvoo
+
+Smith's leadership was now to have another illustration. Others
+might be discouraged by past persecutions and business failures,
+and be ready to abandon the great scheme which the prophet had so
+often laid before them in the language of "revelation"; but it
+was no part of Smith's character to abandon that scheme, and
+remain simply an object of lessened respect, with a scattered
+congregation. He had been kept advised of Galland's proposal,
+and, two days after his arrival in Quincy, we find him, on April
+24, presiding at a church council which voted to instruct him
+with two associates to visit Iowa and select there a location for
+a church settlement, and which advised all the brethren who could
+do so to move to the town of Commerce, Illinois. Thus were the
+doubters defeated, and the proposal to scatter the flock brought
+to a sudden end. Smith and his two associates set out at once to
+make their inspection.
+
+The town of Commerce had been laid out (on paper) in 1834 by two
+Eastern owners of the property, A. White and J. B. Teas, and
+adjoining its northern border H. R. Hotchkiss of New Haven,
+Connecticut, had mapped out Commerce City. Neither enterprise had
+proved a success, and when the Mormon agents arrived there the
+place had scarcely attained the dignity of a settlement, the only
+buildings being one storehouse, two frame dwellings and two
+blockhouses. The Mormon agents, on May 1, bought two farms there,
+one for $5000 and one for $9000 (known afterward as the White
+purchase), and on August 9 they bought of Hotchkiss five hundred
+acres for the sum of $53,500. Bishop Knight, for the church, soon
+afterward purchased part of the town of Keokuk, Iowa, a town
+called Nashville six miles above, a part of the town of Montrose,
+four miles above Nashville, and thirty thousand acres in the
+"half-breed tract," which included Galland's original offer, and
+ten thousand acres additional.
+
+Thus was Smith prepared to make another attempt to establish his
+followers in a permanent abiding-place. But how, it may be asked,
+could the prophet reconcile this abandonment of the Missouri Zion
+and this new site for a church settlement with previous
+revelations? By further "revelation," of course. Such a
+mouthpiece of God can always enlighten his followers provided he
+can find speech, and Smith was not slow of utterance. While in
+jail in Liberty he had advised a committee which was sent to him
+from Illinois to sell all the lands in Missouri, and in a letter
+to the Saints, written while a prisoner, he spoke favorably of
+Galland's offer, saying, "The Saints ought to lay hold of every
+door that shall seem to be opened unto them to obtain foothold on
+the earth." In order to make perfectly clear the new purpose of
+the Lord in regard to Zion he gave out a long" revelation" (Sec.
+124), which is dated Nauvoo, January 19, 1841, and which contains
+the following declarations:--
+
+"Verily, verily I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to
+any of the sons of men to do a work under my name, and those sons
+of men go with all their might and with all they have, to perform
+that work and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come
+upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold, it
+behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those
+sons of men, but to accept their offerings.
+
+"And the iniquity and transgression of my holy laws and
+commandments I will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my
+work, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they
+repent not and hate me, saith the Lord God.
+
+"Therefore for this cause have I accepted the offerings of those
+whom I commanded to build up a city and house unto my name in
+Jackson County, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies,
+saith the Lord your God."
+
+This announcement seems to have been accepted without question by
+the faithful, as reconciling the failure in Missouri with the new
+establishment farther east.
+
+The financiering of the new land purchases did credit to Smith's
+genius in that line. For some of the smaller tracts a part
+payment in cash was made. Hotchkiss accepted for his land two
+notes signed by Smith and his brother Hyrum and Rigdon, one
+payable in ten, and the other in twenty years. Galland took
+notes, and, some time later, as explained in a letter to the
+Saints abroad, the Mormon lands in Missouri, "in payment for the
+whole amount, and in addition to the first purchase we have
+exchanged lands with him in Missouri to the amount of $80,000."*
+Galland's title to the Iowa tract was vigorously assailed by Iowa
+newspapers some years later. What cash he eventually realized
+from the transaction does not appear.** Smith had influence
+enough over him to secure his conversion to the Mormon belief,
+and he will be found associated with the leaders in Nauvoo
+enterprises.
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. II, p. 275.
+
+** "Galland died a pauper in Iowa."--"Mormon Portraits," p. 253.
+
+
+The Hotchkiss notes gave Smith a great deal of trouble.
+Notwithstanding the influx of immigrants to Nauvoo and the growth
+of the place, which ought to have brought in large profits from
+the sale of lots, the accrued interest due to Hotchkiss in two
+years amounted to about $6000. Hotchkiss earnestly urged its
+payment, and Smith was in dire straits to meet his demands. In a
+correspondence between them, in 1841, Smith told Hotchkiss that
+he had agreed to forego interest for five years, and not to
+"force payment" even then. Smith assured Hotchkiss that the part
+of the city bought from him was "a deathly sickly hole" on which
+they had been able to realize nothing, "although," he added, with
+unblushing affrontery for the head of a church, "we have been
+keeping up appearances and holding out inducements to encourage
+immigration that we scarcely think justifiable in consequence of
+the mortality that almost invariably awaits those who come from
+far distant parts."* In pursuance of this same policy (in a
+letter dated October 12, I84I), the Eastern brethren were urged
+to transfer their lands there to Hotchkiss in payment of the
+notes, and to accept lots in Nauvoo from the church in exchange.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 631.
+
+
+The name of the town was changed to Nauvoo in April, 1840, with
+the announcement that this name was of Hebrew origin, signifying
+"a beautiful place."*
+
+* In answer to a query about this alleged derivation of the name
+of the city, a competent Hebrew scholar writes to me: "The
+nearest approach to Nauvoo in Hebrew is an adjective which would
+be transliterated Naveh, meaning pleasant, a rather rare word.
+The letter correctly represented by v could not possibly do the
+double duty of uv, nor could a of the Hebrew ever be au in
+English, nor eh of the Hebrew be oo in English. Students of
+theology at Middletown, Connecticut, used to have a saying that
+that name was derived from Moses by dropping 'iddletown' and
+adding 'mass.' "
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. The Building Up Of The City--Foreign Proselyting
+
+The geographical situation of Nauvoo had something in its favor.
+Lying on the east bank of the Mississippi, which is there two
+miles wide, it had a water frontage on three sides, because of a
+bend in the stream, and the land was somewhat rising back from
+the river. But its water front was the only thing in its favor.
+"The place was literally a wilderness," says Smith. "The land was
+mostly covered with trees and bushes, and much of it so wet that
+it was with the utmost difficulty a foot man could get through,
+and totally impossible for teams. Commerce was so unhealthy very
+few could live there, but, believing it might become a healthy
+place by the blessing of heaven to the Saints, and no more
+eligible place presenting itself, I considered it wisdom to make
+an attempt to build up a city."
+
+Contemporary accounts say that most of the refugees from Missouri
+suffered from chills and fevers during their first year in the
+new settlement. Smith, in his autobiography, laments the
+mortality among the settlers. The Rev. Henry Caswall, in his
+description of three days at Nauvoo in 1842, says:--
+
+"I was informed again and again in Montrose, Iowa, that nearly
+half of the English who emigrated to Nauvoo in 1841 died soon
+after their arrival. . . In his sermon at Montrose in May 9,
+1841, the following words of most Christian consolation were
+delivered by the Prophet to the poor deluded English: 'Many of
+the English who have lately come here have expressed great
+disappointment on their arrival. Such persons have every reason
+to be satisfied in this beautiful and fertile country. If they
+choose to complain, they may; but I don't want to be troubled
+with their complaints. If they are not satisfied here, I have
+only this to say to them, "Don't stay whining about me, but go
+back to England, and go to h--l and be d--d."'"*
+
+*"City of the Mormons," p. 55.
+
+
+Brigham Young, in after years, thus spoke of Smith's exhibition
+of miraculous healing during the year after their arrival in
+Illinois: "Joseph commenced in his own house and dooryard,
+commanding the sick, in the name of Jesus Christ, to arise and be
+made whole, and they were healed according to his word. He then
+continued to travel from house to house, healing the sick as he
+went."* Any attempt to reconcile this statement by Young with the
+previously cited testimony about the mortality of the place would
+be futile.
+
+* "Life of Brigham Young" (Cannon & Son, publishers), p. 32.
+
+
+The growth of the town, however, was more rapid than that of any
+of the former Mormon settlements. The United States census shows
+that the population of Hancock County, Illinois, increased from
+483 in 1830 to 9946 in 1840. Statements regarding the population
+of Nauvoo during the Mormon occupancy are conflicting and often
+exaggerated. In a letter to the elders in England, printed in the
+Times and Seasons of January, 1841, Smith said, "There are at
+present about 3000 inhabitants in Nauvoo." The same periodical,
+in an article on the city, on December 15, 1841, said that it was
+"a densely populated city of near 10,000 inhabitants." A visitor,
+describing the place in a letter in the Columbus (Ohio) Advocate
+of March, 1842, said that it contained about 7000 persons, and
+that the buildings were small and much scattered, log cabins
+predominating. The Times and Seasons of October, 1842, said, "It
+will be no more than probably correct if we allow the city to
+contain between 7000 and 8000 houses, with a population of 14,000
+or 15,000," with two steam mills and other manufacturing concerns
+in operation. W. W. Phelps estimated the population in 1844 at
+14,000, almost all professed Mormons. The Times and Seasons in
+1845 said that a census just taken showed a population of 11,057
+in the city and one third more outside the city limits.
+
+As soon as the Mormons arrived, Nauvoo was laid out in blocks
+measuring about 180 by 200 feet, with a river frontage of more
+than three miles. An English visitor to the place in 1843 wrote
+"The city is of great dimensions, laid out in beautiful order;
+the streets are wide and cross each other at right angles, which
+will add greatly to its order and magnificence when finished. The
+city rises on a quick incline from the rolling Mississippi, and
+as you stand near the Temple you may gaze on the picturesque
+scenery round. At your side is the Temple, the wonder of the
+world; round about and beneath you may behold handsome stores,
+large mansions, and fine cottages, interspersed with varied
+scenery."*
+
+* Mackay's "The Mormons," p. 128.
+
+
+Whatever the exact population of the place may have been, its
+rapid growth is indisputable. The cause of this must be sought,
+not in natural business reasons, such as have given a permanent
+increase of population to so many of our Western cities, but
+chiefly in active and aggressive proselyting work both in this
+country and in Europe. This work was assisted by the sympathy
+which the treatment of the Mormons had very generally secured for
+them. Copies of Mormon Bibles were rare outside of the hands of
+the brethren, and the text of Smith's "revelations" bearing on
+his property designs in Missouri was known to comparatively few
+even in the church. While the Nauvoo edition of the "Doctrine and
+Covenants" was in course of publication, the Times and Seasons,
+on January 1, 1842, said that it would be published in the
+spring, "but, many of our readers being deprived of the privilege
+of perusing its valuable pages, we insert the first section."
+Mormon emissaries took advantage of this situation to tell their
+story in their own way at all points of the compass. Meetings
+were held in the large cities of the Eastern states to express
+sympathy with these victims of the opponents of "freedom of
+religious opinion," and to raise money for their relief, and the
+voice of the press, from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, was,
+without a discovered exception, on the side of the refugees.
+
+This paved the way for a vast extension of that mission work
+which began with the trip of Cowdery and his associates in 1830,
+was expanded throughout this country while the Saints were at
+Kirtland, and was extended to foreign lands in 1837. The
+missionaries sent out in the early days of the church represented
+various degrees of experience and qualification. There were among
+them men like Orson Hyde and Willard Richards, who, although they
+gave up secular callings on entering the church, were close
+students of the Scriptures and debaters who could hold their own,
+when it came to an interpretation of the Scriptures, before any
+average audience. Many were sent out without any especial
+equipment for their task. John D. Lee, describing his first trip,
+says:--
+
+"I started forth an illiterate, inexperienced person, without
+purse or scrip. I could hardly quote a passage of Scripture. Yet
+I went forth to say to the world that I was a minister of the
+Gospel." He was among the successful proselyters, and rose to
+influence in the church.* Of the requirement that the
+missionaries should be beggars, Lorenzo Snow, who was sent out on
+a mission from Kirtland in 1837, says, "It was a severe trial to
+my natural feelings of independence to go without purse or scrip
+especially the purse; for, from the time I was old enough to
+work, the feeling that 'I paid my way' always seemed a necessary
+adjunct to self respect."
+
+* For an account of his travels and successes, see "Mormonism
+Unveiled."
+
+
+Parley P. Pratt, in a letter to Smith from New York in November,
+1839, describing the success of the work in the United States,
+says, "You would now find churches of the Saints in Philadelphia,
+in Albany, in Brooklyn, in New York, in Sing Sing, in Jersey, in
+Pennsylvania, on Long Island, and in various other places all
+around us," and he speaks of the "spread of the work" in Michigan
+and Maine.
+
+The importance of England as a field from which to draw emigrants
+to the new settlement was early recognized at Nauvoo, and in 1840
+such lights of the church as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, P.
+P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and George
+A. Smith, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, were sent to
+cultivate that field. There they ordained Willard Richards an
+Apostle, preached and labored for over a year, established a
+printing-office which turned out a vast amount of Mormon
+literature, including their Bible and "Doctrine and Covenants,"
+and began the publication of the Millennial Star.
+
+In 1840 Orson Hyde was sent on a mission to the Jews in London,
+Amsterdam, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, and the same year
+missionaries were sent to Australia, Wales, Ireland, the Isle of
+Man, and the East Indies. In 1844 a missionary was sent to the
+Sandwich Islands; in 1849 others were sent to France, Denmark,
+Sweden, Norway and Iceland, Italy, and Switzerland; in 1850 ten
+more elders were sent to the Sandwich Islands; in 1851 four
+converts were baptized in Hindostan; in 1852 a branch of the
+church was organized at Malta; in 1853 three elders reached the
+Cape of Good Hope; and in 1861 two began work in Holland, but
+with poor success. We shall see that this proselyting labor has
+continued with undiminished industry to the present day, in all
+parts of the United States as well as in foreign lands.
+
+England provided an especially promising field for Mormon
+missionary work. The great manufacturing towns contained hundreds
+of people, densely ignorant,* superstitious, and so poor that the
+ownership of a piece of land in their own country was practically
+beyond the limit of their ambition. These people were naturally
+susceptible to the Mormon teachings, easily imposed upon by
+stories of alleged miracles, and ready to migrate to any part of
+the earth where a building lot or a farm was promised them. The
+letters from the first missionaries in England gave glowing
+reports of the results of their labors. Thus Wilford Woodruff,
+writing from Manchester in 1840, said, "The work has been so
+rapid it was impossible to ascertain the exact number belonging
+to each branch, but the whole number is 33 churches, 534 members,
+75 officers, all of which had embraced the work in less than four
+months." Lorenzo Snow, in a letter from London in April, 1841,
+said: "Throughout all England, in almost every town and city of
+any considerable importance, we have chapels or public halls in
+which we meet for public worship. All over this vast kingdom the
+laws of Zion are rolling onward with the most astonishing
+rapidity."
+
+* "It has been calculated that there are in England and Wales six
+million persons who can neither read nor write, that is to say,
+about one-third of the population, including, of course, infants;
+but of all the children more than one-half attend no place of
+public instruction."--Dickens, "Household Words."
+
+
+The visiting missionaries began their work in England at Preston,
+Lancashire, in 1836 or 1837, and soon secured there some five
+hundred converts. Then they worked on each side of the Ribble,
+making converts in all the villages, and gaining over a few farm
+owners and mechanics of some means. Their method was first to
+drop hints to the villagers that the Holy Bible is defective in
+translation and incomplete, and that the Mormon Bible corrects
+all these defects. Not able to hold his own in any theological
+discussion, the rustic was invited to a meeting. At that meeting
+the missionary would announce that he would speak simply as the
+Lord directed him, and he would then present the Mormon view of
+their Bible and prophet. As soon as converts were won over, they
+were immersed, at night, and given the sacrament. Then they were
+initiated into the secret "church meeting," to which only the
+faithful were admitted, and where the flock were told of visions
+and "gifts," and exhorted to stand firm (along with their earthly
+goods) for the church, and warned against apostasy.
+
+One way in which the prophetic gift of the missionaries was
+proved in the early days in England was as follows: "Whenever a
+candidate was immersed, some of the brethren was given a letter
+signed by Hyde and Kimball, setting forth that 'brother will not
+abide in the spirit of the Lord, but will reject the truth, and
+become the enemy of the people of God, etc., etc.' If the brother
+did not apostatize, this letter remained unopened; if he did, it
+was read as a striking verification of prophecy."*
+
+* Caswall's "City of the Mormons," appendix.
+
+
+Miracles exerted a most potent influence among the people in
+England with whom the early missionaries labored, and the
+Millennial Star contains a long list of reported successes in
+this line. There are accounts of very clumsy tricks that were
+attempted to carry out the deception. Thus, at Newport, Wales,
+three Mormon elders announced that they would raise a dead man to
+life. The "corpse" was laid out and surrounded by weeping
+friends, and the elders were about to begin their incantations,
+when a doubting Thomas in the audience attacked the "corpse" with
+a whip, and soon had him fleeing for dear life.*
+
+* Tract by Rev. F. B. Ashley, p. 22.
+
+
+Thomas Webster, who was baptized in England in 1837 by Orson Hyde
+and became an elder, saw the falsity of the Mormon professions
+through the failure of their miracles and other pretensions, and,
+after renouncing their faith, published a pamphlet exposing their
+methods. He relates many of the declarations made by the first
+missionaries in Preston to their ignorant hearers. Hyde declared
+that the apostles Peter, James, and John were still alive. He and
+Kimball asserted that neither of them would "taste death" before
+Christ's second coming. At one meeting Kimball predicted that in
+ten or fifteen years the sea would be dried up between Liverpool
+and America. "One of the most glaring things they ever brought
+before the public," says Webster, "was stated in a letter written
+by Orson Hyde to the brethren in Preston, saying they were on the
+way to the promised land in Missouri by hundreds, and the wagons
+reached a mile in length. They fell in with some of their
+brethren in Canada, who told him the Lord had been raining down
+manna in rich profusion, which covered from seven to ten acres of
+land. It was like wafers dipped in honey, and both Saints and
+sinners partook of it. I was present in the pulpit when this
+letter was read."
+
+However ridiculous such methods may appear, their success in
+Great Britain was great.* In three years after the arrival of the
+first missionaries, the General Conference reported a membership
+of 4019 in England alone; in 1850 the General Conference reported
+that the Mormons in England and Scotland numbered 27,863, and in
+Wales 4342. The report for June, 1851, showed a total of 30,747
+in the United Kingdom, and said, "During the last fourteen years
+more than 50,000 have been baptized in England, of which nearly
+17,000 have migrated from her shores to Zion." In the years
+between 1840 and 1843 it was estimated that 3758 foreign converts
+settled in and around Nauvoo.**
+
+* "There is no page of religious history which more proudly tells
+its story than that which relates this peculiar phase of Mormon
+experience. The excitement was contagious, even affecting persons
+in the higher ranks of social life, and the result was a grand
+outpouring of spiritual and miraculous healing power of the most
+astonishing description. Miracles were heard of everywhere, and
+numerous competent and most reliable witnesses bore testimony to
+their genuineness." --"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 10.
+
+** Two of the most intelligent English converts, who did
+proselyting work for the church and in later years saw their
+error, have given testimony concerning this work in Great
+Britain. John Hyde, Jr., summing up in 1857 the proselyting
+system, said: "Enthusiasm is the secret of the great success of
+Mormon proselyting; it is the universal characteristic of the
+people when proselyted; it is the hidden and strong cord that
+leads them to Utah, and the iron clamp that keeps them
+there."--"Mormonism," p. 171.
+
+
+Stenhouse says: "Mormonism in England, Scotland and Wales was a
+grand triumph, and was fast ripening for a vigorous campaign in
+Continental Europe" (when polygamy was pronounced).
+The emigration of Mormon converts from Great Britain to the
+United States, in its earlier stages, was thoroughly systemized
+by the church authorities in this country. The first record of
+the movement of any considerable body tells of a company of about
+two hundred who sailed for New York from Liverpool in August,
+1840, on the ship North American, in charge of two elders. A
+second vessel with emigrants, the Shefeld, sailed from Bristol to
+New York in February, 1841. The expense of the trip from New York
+to Nauvoo proved in excess of the means of many of these
+immigrants, some of whom were obliged to stop at Kirtland and
+other places in Ohio. This led to a change of route, by which
+vessels sailed from British ports direct to New Orleans, the
+immigrants ascending the Mississippi to Nauvoo.
+
+The extent of this movement to the time of the departure of the
+Saints from Nauvoo is thus given by James Linforth, who says the
+figures are "as complete and correct as it is possible now to
+make them*":--
+
+* "Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake Valley," 1855.
+
+
+Year ***  No. of Vessels *** No. of Emigrants
+1840         1               200
+1841         6              1177
+1842         8              1614
+1843         5               769
+1844         5               644
+1845-46      3               346
+Total                       3750
+
+The Mormon agents in England would charter a vessel at an English
+port* when a sufficient company had assembled and announce their
+intention to embark. The emigrants would be notified of the date
+of sailing, and an agent would accompany them all the way to
+Nauvoo. Men with money were especially desired, as were mechanics
+of all kinds, since the one sound business view that seems to
+have been taken by the leaders at Nauvoo was that it would be
+necessary to establish manufactures there if the people were to
+be able to earn a living. In some instances the passage money was
+advanced to the converts.
+
+* For Dickens's description of one of these vessels ready to
+sail, see "The Uncommercial Traveller," Chap. XXII
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. The Nauvoo City Government--Temple And Other
+Buildings
+
+A tide of immigration having been turned toward the new
+settlement, the next thing in order was to procure for the city a
+legal organization. Several circumstances combined to place in
+the hands of the Mormon leaders a scheme of municipal government,
+along with an extensive plan for buildings, which gave them vast
+power without incurring the kind of financial rocks on which they
+were wrecked in Ohio.
+
+Dr. Galland* should probably be considered the inventor of the
+general scheme adopted at Nauvoo. He was at that time a resident
+of Cincinnati, but his intercourse with the Mormons had
+interested him in their beliefs, and some time in 1840 he
+addressed a letter to Elder R. B. Thompson, which gave the church
+leaders some important advice.** First warning them that to
+promulgate new doctrinal tenets will require not only tact and
+energy, but moral conduct and industry among their people, he
+confessed that he had not been able to discover why their
+religious views were not based on truth. "The project of
+establishing extraordinary religious doctrines being magnificent
+in its character," he went on to say, would require "preparations
+commensurate with the plan." Nauvoo being a suitable
+rallying-place, they would "want a temple that for size,
+proportions and style shall attract, surprise and dazzle all
+beholders"; something "unique externally, and in the interior
+peculiar, imposing and grand." The "clergymen" must be of the
+best as regards mental and vocal equipment, and there should be a
+choir such as "was never before organized." A college, too, would
+be of great value if funds for it could be collected.
+
+* "In the year 1834 one Dr. Galland was a candidate for the
+legislature in a district composed of Hancock, Adams, and Pike
+Counties. He resided in the county of Hancock, and, as he had in
+the early part of his life been a notorious horse thief and
+counterfeiter, belonging to the Massac gang, and was then no
+pretender to integrity, it was useless to deny the charge. In all
+his speeches he freely admitted the fact."--FORD's" "History of
+Illinois," p. 406.
+
+** Times and Seasons, Vol. II, pp. 277-278. The letter is signed
+with eight asterisks Galland's usual signature to such
+communications.
+
+
+These suggestions were accepted by Smith, with some important
+additional details, and they found place in the longest of the
+"revelations" given out by him in Illinois (Sec. I 24), the one,
+previously quoted from, in which the Lord excused the failure to
+set up a Zion in Missouri. There seemed to be some hesitation
+about giving out this "revelation." It is dated after the meeting
+of the General Conference at Nauvoo which ordered the building of
+a church there, and it was not published in the Times and Seasons
+until the following June, and then not entire. The "revelation"
+shows how little effect adversity had had in modifying the
+prophet's egotism, his arrogance, or his aggressiveness.
+
+Starting out with, "Verily, thus with the Lord unto you, my
+servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offerings and
+acknowledgments," it calls on him to make proclamation to the
+kings of the world, the President of the United States, and the
+governors of the states concerning the Lord's will, "fearing them
+not, for they are as grass," and warning them of "a day of
+visitation if they reject my servants and my testimony." Various
+direct commands to leading members of the church follow. Galland
+here found himself in Smith's clutches, being directed to "put
+stock" into the boardinghouse to be built.
+
+The principal commands in this "revelation" directed the building
+of another "holy house," or Temple, and a boardinghouse. With
+regard to the Temple it was explained that the Lord would show
+Smith everything about it, including its site. All the Saints
+from afar were ordered to come to Nauvoo, "with all your gold,
+and your silver, and your precious stones, and with all your
+antiquities, . . . and bring the box tree, and the fir tree, and
+the pine tree, together with all the precious trees of the earth,
+and with iron, with copper, and with brass, and with zinc, and
+with all your most precious things of the earth."
+
+The boarding-house ordered built was to be called Nauvoo House,
+and was to be "a house that strangers may come from afar to lodge
+therein. . . a resting place for the weary traveler, that he may
+contemplate the glory of Zion." It was explained that a company
+must be formed, the members of which should pay not less than $50
+a share for the stock, no subscriber to be allotted more than
+$1500 worth.
+
+This "revelation" further announced once more that Joseph was to
+be "a presiding elder over all my church, to be a translator, a
+revelator, a seer and a prophet," with Sidney Rigdon and William
+Law his counsellors, to constitute with him the First Presidency,
+and Brigham Young to be president over the twelve travelling
+council.
+
+Legislation was, of course, necessary to carry out the large
+schemes that the Mormon leaders had in mind; but this was secured
+at the state capital with a liberality that now seems amazing.
+This was due to the desire of the politicians of all parties to
+conciliate the Mormon vote, and to the good fortune of the
+Mormons in finding at the capital a very practical lobbyist to
+engineer their cause. This was a Dr. John C. Bennett, a man who
+seems to have been without any moral character, but who had
+filled positions of importance. Born in Massachusetts in 1804, he
+practised as a physician in Ohio, and later in Illinois, holding
+a professorship in Willoughby University, Ohio, and taking with
+him to Illinois testimonials as to his professional skill. In the
+latter state he showed a taste for military affairs, and after
+being elected brigadier general of the Invincible Dragoons, he
+was appointed quartermaster general of the state in 1840, and
+held that position at the state capital when the Mormons applied
+to the legislature for a charter for Nauvoo.
+
+With his assistance there was secured from the legislature an act
+incorporating the city of Nauvoo, the Nauvoo Legion, and the
+University of the City of Nauvoo. The powers granted to the city
+government thus established were extraordinary. A City Council
+was authorized, consisting of the mayor, four aldermen, and nine
+councillors, which was empowered to pass any ordinances, not in
+conflict with the federal and state constitutions, which it
+deemed necessary for the peace and order of the city. The mayor
+and aldermen were given all the power of justices of the peace,
+and they were to constitute the Municipal Court. The charter gave
+the mayor sole jurisdiction in all cases arising under the city
+ordinances, with a right of appeal to the Municipal Court.
+Further than this, the charter granted to the Municipal Court the
+right to issue writs of habeas corpus in all cases arising under
+the city ordinances. Thirty-six sections were required to define
+the legislative powers of the City Council.
+
+A more remarkable scheme of independent local government could
+not have been devised even by the leaders of this Mormon church,
+and the shortsightedness of the law makers in consenting to it
+seems nothing short of marvellous. Under it the mayor, who helped
+to make the local laws (as a member of the City Council), was
+intrusted with their enforcement, and he could, as the head of
+the Municipal Court, give them legal interpretation. Governor
+Ford afterward defined the system as "a government within a
+government; a legislature to pass ordinances at war with the laws
+of the state; courts to execute them with but little dependence
+upon the constitutional judiciary, and a military force at their
+own command." *
+
+* A bill repealing this charter was passed by the Illinois House
+on February 3, 1843, by a vote of fifty-eight to thirty-three,
+but failed in the Senate by a vote of sixteen ayes to seventeen
+nays.
+
+
+This military force, called the Nauvoo Legion, the City Council
+was authorized to organize from the inhabitants of the city who
+were subject to military duty. It was to be at the disposal of
+the mayor in executing city laws and ordinances, and of the
+governor of the state for the public defence. When organized, it
+embraced three classes of troops--flying artillery, lancers, and
+riflemen. Its independence of state control was provided for by a
+provision of law which allowed it to be governed by a court
+martial of its own officers. The view of its independence taken
+by,the Mormons may be seen in the following general order signed
+by Smith and Bennett in May, 1841, founded on an opinion by judge
+Stephen A. Douglas:-- "The officers and privates belonging to the
+Legion are exempt from all military duty not required by the
+legally constituted authorities thereof; they are therefore
+expressly inhibited from performing any military service not
+ordered by the general officers, or directed by the court
+martial."*
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. II, p. 417. Governor Ford commissioned
+Brigham Young to succeed Smith as lieutenant general of the
+Legion from August 31, 1844. To show the Mormon idea of
+authority, the following is quoted from Tullidge's "Life of
+Brigham Young," p. 30: "It is a singular fact that, after
+Washington, Joseph Smith was the first man in America who held
+the rank of lieutenant general, and that Brigham Young was the
+next. In reply to a comment by the author upon this fact Brigham
+Young said: 'I was never much of a military man. The commission
+has since been abrogated by the state of Illinois; but if Joseph
+had lived when the (Mexican] war broke out he would have become
+commander-in chief of the United States Armies.'"
+
+In other words, this city military company was entirely
+independent of even the governor of the state. Little wonder that
+the Presidency, writing about the new law to the Saints abroad,
+said, "'Tis all we ever claimed." In view of the experience of
+the Missourians with the Mormons as directed by Smith and Rigdon,
+it would be rash to say that they would have been tolerated as
+neighbors in Illinois under any circumstances, after their actual
+acquaintance had been made; but if the state of Illinois had
+deliberately intended to incite the Mormons to a reckless
+assertion of independence, nothing could have been planned that
+would have accomplished this more effectively than the passage of
+the charter of Nauvoo.
+
+What next followed remains an unexplained incident in Joseph
+Smith's career. Instead of taking the mayoralty himself, he
+allowed that office to be bestowed upon Bennett, Smith and Rigdon
+accepting places among the councillors, Bennett having taken up
+his residence in Nauvoo in September, 1840. His election as mayor
+took place in February, 1841. Bennet was also chosen major
+general of the Legion when that force was organized, was selected
+as the first chancellor of the new university, and was elected to
+the First Presidency of the church in the following April, to
+take the place of Sidney Rigdon during the incapacity of the
+latter from illness. Judge Stephen A. Douglas also appointed him
+a master in chancery.
+
+Bennett was introduced to the Mormon church at large in a letter
+signed by Smith, Rigdon, and brother Hyrum, dated January 15,
+1841, as the first of the new acquisitions of influence. They
+stated that his sympathies with the Saints were aroused while
+they were still in Missouri, and that he then addressed them a
+letter offering them his assistance, and the church was assured
+that "he is a man of enterprise, extensive acquirements, and of
+independent mind, and is calculated to be a great blessing to our
+community." When his appointment as a master in chancery was
+criticised by some Illinois newspapers, the Mormons defended him
+earnestly, Sidney Rigdon (then attorney-at-law and postmaster at
+Nauvoo), in a letter dated April 23, 1842, said, "He is a
+physician of great celebrity, of great versatility of talent, of
+refined education and accomplished manners; discharges the duties
+of his respective offices with honor to himself and credit to the
+people." All this becomes of interest in the light of the abuse
+which the Mormons soon after poured out upon this man when he
+"betrayed" them.
+
+Bennett's inaugural address as mayor was radical in tone. He
+advised the Council to prohibit all dram shops, allowing no
+liquor to be sold in a quantity less than a quart. This
+suggestion was carried out in a city ordinance. He condemned the
+existing system of education, which gave children merely a
+smattering of everything, and made "every boarding school miss a
+Plato in petticoats, without an ounce of genuine knowledge,"
+pleading for education "of a purely practical character." The
+Legion he considered a matter of immediate necessity, and he
+added, "The winged warrior of the air perches upon the pole of
+American liberty, and the beast that has the temerity to ruffle
+her feathers should be made to feel the power of her talons."
+
+Smith was commissioned lieutenant general of this Legion by
+Governor Carlin on February 3, 1841, and he and Bennett blossomed
+out at once as gorgeous commanders. An order was issued requiring
+all persons in the city, of military obligation, between the ages
+of eighteen and forty-five, to join the Legion, and on the
+occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of the Temple, on
+April 6, 1841, it comprised fourteen companies. An army officer
+passing through Nauvoo in September, 1842, expressed the opinion
+that the evolutions of the Legion would do honor to any militia
+in the United States, but he queried: "Why this exact discipline
+of the Mormon corps? Do they intend to conquer Missouri,
+Illinois, Mexico? Before many years this Legion will be twenty,
+perhaps fifty, thousand strong and still augmenting. A fearful
+host, filled with religious enthusiasm, and led on by ambitious
+and talented officers, what may not be effected by them? Perhaps
+the subversion of the constitution of the United States." *
+
+* Mackay's "The Mormons," p. 121.
+
+
+Contemporary accounts of the appearance of the Legion on the
+occasion of the laying of the Temple corner-stone indicate that
+the display was a big one for a frontier settlement. Smith says
+in his autobiography, "The appearance, order, and movements of
+the Legion were chaste, grand, imposing." The Times and Seasons,
+in its report of the day's doings, says that General Smith had a
+staff of four aides-de-camp and twelve guards, "nearly all in
+splendid uniforms. The several companies presented a beautiful
+and interesting spectacle, several of them being uniformed and
+equipped, while the rich and costly dresses of the officers would
+have become a Bonaparte or a Washington." Ladies on horseback
+were an added feature of the procession. The ceremonies attending
+the cornerstone laying attracted the people from all the outlying
+districts, and marked an epoch in the church's history in
+Illinois.
+
+The Temple at Nauvoo measured 83 by 128 feet on the ground, and
+was nearly 60 feet high, surmounted by a steeple which was
+planned to be more than 100 feet in height. The material was
+white limestone, which was found underlying the site of the city.
+The work of construction continued throughout the occupation of
+Nauvoo by the Mormons, the laying of the capstone not being
+accomplished until May 24, 1845, and the dedication taking place
+on May 1, 1846. The cost of the completed structure was estimated
+by the Mormons at $1,000,000.* Among the costly features were
+thirty stone pilasters, which cost $3000 each.
+
+* "The Temple is said to have cost, in labor and money, a million
+dollars. It may be possible, and it is very probable, that
+contributions to that amount were made to it, but that it cost
+that much to build it few will believe. Half that sum would be
+ample to build a much more costly edifice to-day, and in the
+three or four years in which it was being erected, labor was
+cheap and all the necessaries of life remarkably low."--GREGG'S
+"History of Hancock County," p. 367.
+
+
+The portico of the Temple was surrounded by these pilasters of
+polished stone, on the base of which was carved a new moon, the
+capital of each being a representation of the rising sun coming
+from under a cloud, supported by two hands holding a trumpet.
+Under the tower were the words, in golden letters: "The House of
+the Lord, built by the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Commenced
+April 6, 1841. Holiness to the Lord." The baptismal font measured
+twelve by sixteen feet, with a basin four feet deep. It was
+supported by twelve oxen "carved out of fine plank glued
+together," says Smith, "and copied after the most beautiful
+five-year-old steer that could be found." From the basement two
+stairways led to the main floor, around the sides of which were
+small rooms designed for various uses. In the large room on this
+floor were three pulpits and a place for the choir. The upper
+floor contained a large hall, and around this were twelve smaller
+rooms.
+
+The erection of this Temple was carried on without incurring such
+debts or entering upon such money-making schemes as caused
+disaster at Kirtland. Labor and material were secured by
+successful appeals to the Saints on the ground and throughout the
+world. Here the tithing system inaugurated in Missouri played an
+efficient part. A man from the neighboring country who took
+produce to Nauvoo for sale or barter said, "In the committee
+rooms they had almost every conceivable thing, from all kinds of
+implements and men and women's clothing, down to baby clothes and
+trinkets, which had been deposited by the owners as tithing or
+for the benefit of the Temple." *
+
+* Gregg's "History of Hancock County," p. 374
+
+
+Nauvoo House, as planned, was to have a frontage of two hundred
+feet and a depth of forty feet, and to be three stories in
+height, with a basement. Its estimated cost was $100,000.* A
+detailed explanation of the uses of this house was thus given in
+a letter from the Twelve to the Saints abroad, dated November 15,
+1841:--
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. II, p. 369.
+
+
+"The time set to favor the Stakes of Zion is at hand, and soon
+the kings and the queens, the princes and the nobles, the rich
+and the honorable of the earth, will come up hither to visit the
+Temple of our God, and to inquire concerning this strange work;
+and as kings are to become nursing fathers, and queens nursing
+mothers in the habitation of the righteous, it is right to render
+honor to whom honor is due; and therefore expedient that such, as
+well as the Saints, should have a comfortable house for boarding
+and lodging when they come hither, and it is according to the
+revelations that such a house should be built. . . All are under
+equal obligations to do all in their power to complete the
+buildings by their faith and their prayers; with their thousands
+and their mites, their gold and their silver, their copper and
+their zinc, their goods and their labors."
+
+Nauvoo House was not finished during the Prophet's life, the
+appeals in its behalf failing to secure liberal contributions. It
+was completed in later years, and used as a hotel.
+
+Smith's residence in Nauvoo was a frame building called the
+Mansion House, not far from the river side. It was opened as a
+hotel on October 3, 1843, with considerable ceremony, one of the
+toasts responded to being as follows, "Resolved, that General
+Joseph Smith, whether we view him as a prophet at the head of the
+church, a general at the head of the Legion, a mayor at the head
+of the City Council, or a landlord at the head of the table, has
+few equals and no superiors."
+
+Another church building was the Hall of the Seventies, the upper
+story of which was used for the priesthood and the Council of
+Fifty. Galland's suggestion about a college received practical
+shape in the incorporation of a university, in whose board of
+regents the leading men of the church, including Galland himself,
+found places. The faculty consisted of James Keeley, a graduate
+of Trinity College, Dublin, as president; Orson Pratt as
+professor of mathematics and English literature; Orson Spencer, a
+graduate of Union College and the Baptist Theological Seminary in
+New York, as professor of languages; and Sidney Rigdon as
+professor of church history. The tuition fee was $5 per quarter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. The Mormons In Politics--Missouri Requisitions For
+Smith
+
+The Mormons were now equipped in their new home with large landed
+possessions, a capital city that exhibited a phenomenal growth,
+and a form of local government which made Nauvoo a little
+independency of itself; their prophet wielding as much authority
+and receiving as much submission as ever; a Temple under way
+which would excel anything that had been designed in Ohio or
+Missouri, and a stream of immigration pouring in which gave
+assurance of continued numerical increase. What were the causes
+of the complete overthrow of this apparent prosperity which so
+speedily followed? These causes were of a twofold character,
+political and social. The two were interwoven in many ways, but
+we can best trace them separately.
+
+We have seen that a Democratic organization gave the first
+welcome to the Mormon refugees at Quincy. In the presidential
+campaign of 1836 the vote of Illinois had been: Democratic,
+17,275, Whig, 14,292; that of Hancock County, Democratic, 260,
+Whig, 340. The closeness of this vote explained the welcome that
+was extended to the new-comers.
+
+It does not appear that Smith had any original party
+predilections. But he was not pleased with questions which
+President Van Buren asked him when he was in Washington (from
+November, 1839, to February, 1840) seeking federal aid to secure
+redress from Missouri, and he wrote to the High Council from that
+city, "We do not say the Saints shall not vote for him, but we do
+say boldly (though it need not be published in the streets of
+Nauvoo, neither among the daughters of the Gentiles), that we do
+not intend he shall have our votes."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVII, p.452.
+
+
+On his return to Illinois Smith was toadied to by the workers of
+both parties. He candidly told them that he had no faith in
+either; but the Whigs secured his influence, and, by an
+intimation that there was divine authority for their course, the
+Mormon vote was cast for Harrison, giving him a majority of 752
+in Hancock County. In order to keep the Democrats in good humor,
+the Mormons scratched the last name on the Whig electoral ticket
+(Abraham Lincoln)* and substituted that of a Democrat. This
+demonstration of their political weight made the Mormons an
+object of consideration at the state capital, and was the direct
+cause of the success of the petition which they sent there,
+signed by some thousands of names, asking for a charter for
+Nauvoo. The representatives of both parties were eager to show
+them favor. Bennett, in a letter to the Times and Seasons from
+Springfield, spoke of the readiness of all the members to vote
+for what the Mormons wanted, adding that "Lincoln had the
+magnanimity to vote for our act, and came forward after the final
+vote and congratulated me on its passage."
+
+*This is mentioned in "Joab's" (Bermett's) letter, Times and
+Seasons, Vol, II, p. 267.
+
+
+In the gubernatorial campaign of 1841-1842 Smith swung the Mormon
+vote back to the Democrats, giving them a majority of more than
+one thousand in the county. This was done publicly, in a letter
+addressed "To my friends in Illinois,"* dated December 20, 1841,
+in which the prophet, after pointing out that no persons at the
+state capital were more efficient in securing the passage of the
+Nauvoo charter than the heads of the present Democratic ticket,
+made this declaration:--
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. III, p. 651.
+
+
+"The partisans in this county who expect to divide the friends of
+humanity and equal rights will find themselves mistaken. We care
+not a fig for Whig or Democrat; they are both alike to us; but we
+shall go for our friends, OUR TRIED FRIENDS, and the cause of
+human liberty which is the cause of God . . . . Snyder and Moore
+are known to be our friends . . . . We will never be justly
+charged with the sin of ingratitude,--they have served us, and we
+will serve them."
+
+If Smith had been a man possessing any judgment, he would have
+realized that the political course which he was pursuing, instead
+of making friends in either party, would certainly soon arraign
+both parties against him and his followers. The Mormons announced
+themselves distinctly to be a church, and they were now
+exhibiting themselves as a religious body already numerically
+strong and increasing in numbers, which stood ready to obey the
+political mandate of one man, or at least of one controlling
+authority. The natural consequence of this soon manifested
+itself.
+
+A congressional and a county election were approaching, and a
+mass meeting, made up of both Whigs and Democrats of Hancock
+County, was held to place in the field a non-Mormon county
+ticket. The fusion was not accomplished without heart-burnings on
+the part of some unsuccessful aspirants for nominations. A few of
+these went over to Smith, and the election resulted in the
+success of the state Democratic and the Mormon local ticket,
+legislative and county, Smith's brother William being elected to
+the House. It is easy to realize that this victory did not lessen
+Smith's aggressive egotism.
+
+Some important matters were involved in the next political
+contest, the congressional election of August, 1843. The Whigs
+nominated Cyrus Walker, a lawyer of reputation living in
+McDonough County, and the Democrats J. P. Hoge, also a lawyer,
+but a weaker candidate at the polls. Every one conceded that
+Smith's dictum would decide the contest.
+
+On May 6, 1842, Governor Boggs of Missouri, while sitting near a
+window in his house in Independence, was fired at, and wounded so
+severely that his recovery was for some days in doubt. The crime
+was naturally charged to his Mormon enemies,* and was finally
+narrowed down to O. P. Rockwell,** a Mormon living in Nauvoo, as
+the agent, and Joseph Smith, Jr., as the instigator. Indictments
+were found against both of them in Missouri, and a requisition
+for Smith's surrender was made by the governor of that state on
+the governor of Illinois. Smith was arrested under the governor's
+warrant. Now came an illustration of the value to him of the form
+of government provided by the Nauvoo charter. Taken before his
+own municipal court, he was released at once on a writ of habeas
+corpus. This assumption of power by a local court aroused the
+indignation of non-Mormons throughout the state. Governor Carlin
+characterized it somewhat later, in a letter to Smith's wife, as
+"most absurd and ridiculous; to attempt to exercise it is a gross
+usurpation of power that cannot be tolerated."***
+
+
+* The hatred felt toward Governor Boggs by the Mormon leaders was
+not concealed. Thus, an editorial in the Times and Seasons of
+January 1, 1841, headed "Lilburn W. Boggs," began, "The THING
+whose name stands at the head of this article," etc. Referring to
+the ending of his term of office, the article said, "Lilburn has
+gone down to the dark and dreary abode of his brother and
+prototype, Nero, there to associate with kindred spirits and
+partake of the dainties of his father's, the devil's, table."
+
+Bennett afterward stated that he heard Joseph Smith say, on July
+10, 1842, that Governor Boggs, "the exterminator, should be
+exterminated," and that the Destroying Angels (Danites) should do
+it; also that in the spring of that year he heard Smith, at a
+meeting of Danites, offer to pay any man $500 who would secretly
+assassinate the governor. Bennett's statement is only cited for
+what it may be worth; that some Mormon fired the shot is within
+the limit of strict probability.
+
+
+** Rockwell, who, in his latter days, was employed by General
+Connor to guard stock in California, told the general that he
+fired the shot at Governor Boggs, and was sorry it did not kill
+him.--"Mormon Portraits," p. 255.
+
+*** Millennial Star, Vol. XX, p. 23.
+
+
+Notwithstanding his release, Smith thought it best to remain in
+hiding for some time to escape another arrest, for which the
+governor ordered a reward of $200. About the middle of August his
+associates in Nauvoo concluded that the outlook for him was so
+bad, notwithstanding the protection which his city court was
+ready to afford, that it might be best for him to flee to the
+pine woods of the North country. Smith incorporates in his
+autobiography a long letter which he wrote to his wife at this
+time,* giving her directions about this flight if it should
+become necessary. Their goods were to be loaded on a boat manned
+by twenty of the best men who could be selected, and who would
+meet them at Prairie du Chien: "And from thence we will wend our
+way like larks up the Mississippi, until the towering mountains
+and rocks shall remind us of the places of our nativity, and
+shall look like safety and home; and there we will bid defiance
+to Carlin, Boggs, Bennett, and all their whorish whores and
+motley clan, that follow in their wake, Missouri not excepted,
+and until the damnation of Hell rolls upon them by the voice and
+dread thunders and trump of the eternal God."
+
+* Ibid., pp. 693-695.
+
+
+In October Rigdon obtained from Justin Butterfield, United States
+attorney for Illinois, an opinion that Smith could not be held on
+a Missouri requisition for a crime committed in that state when
+he was in Illinois. In December, 1842, Smith was placed under
+arrest and taken before the United States District Court at
+Springfield, Illinois, under a writ of habeas corpus issued by
+Judge Roger B. Taney of the State Supreme Court. Butterfield, as
+his counsel, secured his discharge by Judge Pope (a Whig) who
+held that Smith was not a fugitive from Missouri.
+
+While these proceedings were pending, the Nauvoo City Council
+(Smith was then mayor), passed two ordinances in regard to the
+habeas corpus powers of the Municipal Court, one giving that
+court jurisdiction in any case where a person "shall be or stand
+committed or detained for any criminal, or supposed criminal,
+matter."* This was intended to make Smith secure from the
+clutches of any Missouri officer so long as he was in his own
+city.
+
+* For text of these ordinances, see millennial Star, Vol. XX, p.
+165.
+
+
+But Smith's enemy, General Bennett (who before this date had been
+cast out of the fold), was now very active, and through his
+efforts another indictment against Smith on the old charges of
+treason, murder, etc., was found in Missouri, in June, 1843, and
+under it another demand was made on the governor of Illinois for
+Smith's extradition. Governor Ford, a Democrat, who had succeeded
+Carlin, issued a warrant on June 17, 1843, and it was served on
+Smith while he was visiting his wife's sister in Lee County,
+Illinois. An attempt to start with him at once for Missouri was
+prevented by his Mormon friends, who rallied in considerable
+numbers to his aid. Smith secured counsel, who began proceedings
+against the Missouri agent and obtained a writ in Smith's behalf
+returnable, the account in the Times and Seasons says, before the
+nearest competent tribunal, which "it was ascertained was at
+Nauvoo"--Smith's own Municipal Court. The prophet had a sort of
+triumphal entry into Nauvoo, and the question of the jurisdiction
+of the Municipal Court in his case came up at once. Both of the
+candidates for Congress, Walker (who was employed as his counsel)
+and Hoge, gave opinions in favor of such jurisdiction, and, after
+a three hours' plea by Walker, the court ordered Smith's release.
+Smith addressed the people of Nauvoo in the grove after his
+return. From the report of his remarks in the journal of
+Discourses (Vol. II, p. 163) the following is taken:
+
+"Before I will bear this unhallowed persecution any longer,
+before I will be dragged away again among my enemies for trial, I
+will spill the last drop of blood in my veins, and will see all
+my enemies in hell . . . . Deny me the writ of habeas corpus, and
+I will fight with gun, sword, cannon, whirlwind, thunder, until
+they are used up like the Kilkenny cats . . . . If these
+[charter] powers are dangerous, then the constitutions of the
+United States and of this state are dangerous. If the Legislature
+has granted Nauvoo the right of determining cases of habeas
+corpus, it is no more than they ought to have done, or more than
+our fathers fought for."
+
+Smith expressed his gratitude to Walker for what the latter had
+accomplished in his behalf, and the Whig candidate now had no
+doubt that the Mormon vote was his.
+
+But the Missouri agent, indignant that a governor's writ should
+be set aside by a city court, hurried to Springfield and demanded
+that Governor Ford should call out enough state militia to secure
+Smith's arrest and delivery at the Missouri boundary. The
+governor, who was not a man of the firmest purpose, had no
+intention of being mixed up in the pending congressional fight
+and struggle for the Mormon vote; so he asked for delay and
+finally decided not to call out any troops.
+
+The Hancock County Democrats were quick to see an opportunity in
+this situation, and they sent to Springfield a man named
+Backenstos (who took an active part in the violent scenes
+connected with the subsequent history of the Mormons in the
+state) to ascertain for the Mormons just what the governor's
+intentions were. Backenstos reported that the prophet need have
+no fear of the Democratic governor so long as the Mormons voted
+the Democratic ticket.*
+
+* Governor Ford, in his "History of Illinois," says that such a
+pledge was given by a prominent Democrat, but without his own
+knowledge.
+
+When this news was brought back to Nauvoo, a few days before the
+election, a mass meeting of the Mormons was called, and Hyrum
+Smith (then Patriarch, succeeding the prophet's father, who was
+dead) announced the receipt of a "revelation" directing the
+Mormons to vote for Hoge. William Law, an influential business
+man in the Mormon circle, immediately denied the existence of any
+such "revelation." The prophet alone could decide the matter. He
+was brought in and made a statement to the effect that he himself
+proposed to vote for Walker; that he considered it a "mean
+business" to influence any man's vote by dictation, and that he
+had no great faith in revelations about elections; "but brother
+Hyrum was a man of truth; he had known brother Hyrum intimately
+ever since he was a boy, and he had never known him to tell a
+lie. If brother Hyrum said he had received such a revelation, he
+had no doubt it was a fact. When the Lord speaks, let all the
+earth be silent." *
+
+* Ford's"History of Illinois," p. 318.
+
+
+The election resulted in the choice of Hoge by a majority of 455!
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. Smith A Candidate For President Of The United States
+
+Smith's latest triumph over his Missouri enemies, with the
+feeling that he had the governor of his state back of him,
+increased his own and his followers' audacity. The Nauvoo Council
+continued to pass ordinances to protect its inhabitants from
+outside legal processes, civil and criminal. One of these
+provided that no writ issued outside of Nauvoo for the arrest of
+a person in that city should be executed until it had received
+the mayor's approval, anyone violating this ordinance to be
+liable to imprisonment for life, with no power of pardon in the
+governor without the mayor's consent! The acquittal of O. P.
+Rockwell on the charge of the attempted assassination of Governor
+Boggs caused great delight among the Mormons, and their organ
+declared on January 1, 1844, that "throughout the whole region of
+country around us those bitter and acrimonious feelings, which
+have so long been engendered by many, are dying away."
+
+Smith's political ideas now began to broaden. "Who shall be our
+next President?" was the title of an editorial in the Times and
+Seasons of October 1, 1843, which urged the selection of a man
+who would be most likely to give the Mormons help in securing
+redress for their grievances.
+
+The next month Smith addressed a letter to Henry Clay and John C.
+Calhoun, who were the leading candidates for the presidential
+nomination, citing the Mormons' losses and sufferings in
+Missouri, and their failure to obtain redress in the courts or
+from Congress, and asking, "What will be your rule of action
+relative to us as a people should fortune favor your ascendancy
+to the chief magistracy? "Clay replied that, if nominated, he
+could "enter into no egagements, make no promises, give no
+pledges to any particular portion of the people of the United
+States," adding, "If I ever enter into that high office, I must
+go into it free and unfettered, with no guarantees but such as
+are to be drawn from my whole life, character and conduct." He
+closed with an expression of sympathy with the Mormons "in their
+sufferings under injustice." Calhoun replied that, if elected
+President, he would try to administer the government according to
+the constitution and the laws, and that, as these made no
+distinction between citizens of different religious creeds, he
+should make none. He repeated an opinion which he had given Smith
+in Washington that the Mormon case against the state of Missouri
+did not come within the jurisdiction of the federal government.
+
+These replies excited Smith to wrath and he answered them at
+length, and in language characteristic of himself. A single
+quotation from his letter to Clay (dated May 13, 1844) will
+suffice:--
+
+"In your answer to my question, last fall, that peculiar trait of
+the modern politician, declaring 'if you ever enter into that
+high office, you must go into it unfettered, with no guarantees
+but such as are to be drawn from your whole life, character and
+conduct,' so much resembles a lottery vender's sign, with the
+goddess of good luck sitting on the car of fortune, astraddle of
+the horn of plenty, and driving the merry steeds of beatitude,
+without reins or bridle, that I cannot help exclaiming, 'O, frail
+man, what have you done that will exalt you? Can anything be
+drawn from your LIFE, CHARACTER OR CONDUCT that is worthy of
+being held up to the gaze of this nation as a model of VIRTUE,
+CHARACTER AND WISDOM?'. . . 'Your whole life, character and
+conduct' have been spotted with deeds that causes a blush upon
+the face of a virtuous patriot; so you must be contented with
+your lot, while crime, cowardice, cupidity or low cunning have
+handed you down from the high tower of a statesman to the black
+hole of a gambler . . . . Crape the heavens with weeds of woe;
+gird the earth with sackcloth, and let hell mutter one melody in
+commemoration of fallen splendor! For the glory of America has
+departed, and God will set a flaming sword to guard the tree of
+liberty, while such mint-tithing Herods as Van Buren, Boggs,
+Benton, Calhoun, and Clay are thrust out of the realms of virtue
+as fit subjects for the kingdom of fallen greatness--vox reprobi,
+vox Diaboli."
+
+Calhoun was admonished to read the eighth section of article one
+of the federal constitution, after which "God, who cooled the
+heat of a Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, or shut the mouths of lions
+for the honor of a Daniel, will raise your mind above the narrow
+notion that the general government has no power, to the sublime
+idea that Congress, with the President as executor, is as
+almighty in its sphere as Jehovah is in his." 1
+
+*For this correspondence in full, see Times and Seasons, January
+1, and June 1, 1844, or Mackay's "The Mormons," p. 143.
+
+
+Smith's next step was to have judge Phelps read to a public
+meeting in Nauvoo on February 7, 1844, a very long address by the
+prophet, setting forth his views on national politics.* He
+declared that "no honest man can doubt for a moment but the glory
+of American liberty is on the wane, and that calamity and
+confusion will sooner or later destroy the peace of the people,"
+while "the motto hangs on the nation's escutcheon, `every man has
+his price.'"
+
+* For its text, see Times and Seasons, May 15,1844, or Mackay's
+"The Mormons," p.133.
+
+
+Smith proposed an abundance of remedies for these evils: Reduce
+the members of Congress at least one-half; pay them $2 a day and
+board; petition the legislature to pardon every convict, and make
+the punishment for any felony working on the roads or some other
+place where the culprit can be taught wisdom and virtue, murder
+alone to be cause for confinement or death; petition for the
+abolition of slavery by the year 1850, the slaves to be paid for
+out of the surplus from the sale of public lands, and the money
+saved by reducing the pay of Congress; establish a national bank,
+with branches in every state and territory, "whose officers shall
+be elected yearly by the people, with wages of $2 a day for
+services," the currency to be limited to "the amount of capital
+stock in her vaults, and interest"; "and the bills shall be par
+throughout the nation, which will mercifully cure that fatal
+disorder known in cities as brokery, and leave the people's money
+in their own pockets"; give the President full power to send an
+army to suppress mobs; "send every lawyer, as soon as he repents
+and obeys the ordinances of heaven, to preach the Gospel to the
+destitute, without purse or scrip"; "spread the federal
+jurisdiction to the west sea, when the red men give their
+consent"; and give the right hand of fellowship to Texas, Canada,
+and Mexico. He closed with this declaration: "I would, as the
+universal friend of man, open the prisons, open the eyes, open
+the ears, and open the hearts of all people to behold and enjoy
+freedom, unadulterated freedom; and God, who once cleansed the
+violence of the earth with a flood, whose Son laid down his life
+for the salvation of all his father gave him out of the world,
+and who has promised that he will come and purify the world again
+with fire in the last days, should be supplicated by me for the
+good of all people. With the highest esteem, I am a friend of
+virtue and of the people."
+
+It seems almost incomprehensible that the promulgator of such
+political views should have taken himself seriously. But Smith
+was in deadly earnest, and not only was he satisfied of his
+political power, but, in the church conference of 1844, he
+declared, "I feel that I am in more immediate communication with
+God, and on a better footing with Him, than I have ever been in
+my life."
+
+The announcement of Smith's political "principles" was followed
+immediately by an article in the Times and Seasons, which
+answered the question, "Whom shall the Mormons support for
+President?" with the reply, "General Joseph Smith. A man of
+sterling worth and integrity, and of enlarged views; a man who
+has raised himself from the humblest walks in life to stand at
+the head of a large, intelligent, respectable, and increasing
+society; . . . and whose experience has rendered him every way
+adequate to the onerous duty." The formal announcement that Smith
+was the Mormon candidate was made in the Times and Seasons of
+February 15, 1844, and the ticket--
+
+     FOR PRESIDENT,
+
+   GENERAL JOSEPH SMITH,
+
+     Nauvoo, Illinois.
+
+was kept at the head of its editorial page from March 1, until
+his death.
+
+A weekly newspaper called the Wasp, issued at Nauvoo under Mormon
+editorship, had been succeeded by a larger one called the
+Neighbor, edited by John Taylor (afterward President of the
+church), who also had charge of the Times and Seasons. The
+Neighbor likewise placed Smith's name, as the presidential
+candidate, at the head of its columns, and on March 6 completed
+its ticket with "General James A. Bennett of New York, for
+Vice-President."* Three weeks later Bennett's name was taken
+down, and on June 19, Sidney Rigdon's was substituted for it.
+There was nothing modest in the Mormon political ambition.
+
+* This General Bennett was not the first mayor of Nauvoo, as some
+writers like Smucker have supposed, but a lawyer who gave his
+address as "Arlington House," on Long Island, New York, and who
+in 1843 had offered himself to Smith as "a most undeviating
+friend," etc.
+
+
+Proof of Smith's serious view of his candidacy is furnished in
+his next step, which was to send out a large body of missionaries
+(two or three thousand, according to Governor Ford) to work-up
+his campaign in the Eastern and Southern states. These emissaries
+were selected from among the ablest of Smith's allies, including
+Brigham Young, Lorenzo Snow, and John D. Lee. Their absence from
+Nauvoo was a great misfortune to Smith at the time of his
+subsequent arrest and imprisonment at Carthage.
+
+The campaigners began work at once. Lorenzo Snow, to whom the
+state of Ohio was allotted, went to Kirtland, where he had
+several thousand pamphlets printed, setting forth the prophet's
+views and plans, and he then travelled around in a buggy,
+distributing the pamphlets and making addresses in Smith's
+behalf. "To many persons," he confesses, "who knew nothing of
+Joseph but through the ludicrous reports in circulation, the
+movement seemed a species of insanity."* John D. Lee was a most
+devout Mormon, but his judgment revolted against this movement.
+"I would a thousand times rather have been shut up in jail," he
+says. He began his canvassing while on the boat bound for, St.
+Louis. "I told them," he relates, "the prophet would lead both
+candidates. There was a large crowd on the boat, and an election
+was proposed. The prophet received a majority of 75 out of 125
+votes polled. This created a tremendous laugh."**
+
+* "Biography of Lorenzo Snow."
+
+** "Mormonism Unveiled," p.149.
+
+
+We have an account of one state convention called to consider
+Smith's candidacy, and this was held in the Melodeon in Boston,
+Massachusetts, on July 1, 1844, the news of Smith's death not yet
+having reached that city. A party of young rowdies practically
+took possession of the hall as soon as the business of the
+convention began, and so disturbed the proceedings that the
+police were sent for, and they were able to clear the galleries
+only after a determined fight. The convention then adjourned to
+Bunker Hill, but nothing further is heard of its proceedings. The
+press of the city condemned the action of the disturbers as a
+disgrace. Mention is made in the Times and Seasons of July 1,
+1844, of a conference of elders held in Dresden, Tennessee, on
+the 25th of May previous, at which Smith's name was presented as
+a presidential candidate. The meeting was broken up by a mob,
+which the sheriff confessed himself powerless to overcome, but it
+met later and voted to print three thousand copies of Smith's
+views.
+
+The prophet's death, which occurred so soon after the
+announcement of his candidacy, rendered it impossible to learn
+how serious a cause of political disturbance that candidacy might
+have been in neighborhoods where the Mormons had a following.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. Social Conditions In Nauvoo
+
+Having followed Smith's political operations to their close, it
+is now necessary to retrace our steps, and examine the social
+conditions which prevailed in and around Nauvoo during the years
+of his reign--conditions which had quite as much to do in causing
+the expulsion of the Mormons from the state as did his political
+mistakes.
+
+It must be remembered that Nauvoo was a pioneer town, on the
+borders of a thinly settled country. Its population and that of
+its suburbs consisted of the refugees from Missouri, of whose
+character we have had proof ; of the converts brought in from the
+Eastern states and from Europe, not a very intelligent body; and
+of those pioneer settlers, without sympathy with the Mormon
+beliefs, who were attracted to the place from various motives.
+While active work was continued by the missionaries throughout
+the United States, their labors in this country seem to have been
+more efficient in establishing local congregations than in
+securing large additions to the population of Nauvoo, although
+some "branches" moved bodily to the Mormon centre.*
+
+* Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled;" p. 135.
+
+
+Of the class of people reached by the early missionaries in
+England we have this description, in a letter from Orson Hyde to
+his wife, dated September 14,1837:-- "Those who have been
+baptized are mostly manufacturers and some other mechanics. They
+know how to do but little else than to spin and weave cloth, and
+make cambric, mull and lace; and what they would do in Kirtland
+or the city of Far West, I cannot say. They are extremely poor,
+most of them not having a change of clothes decent to be baptized
+in."*
+
+* Elders' Journal, Vol. I, No. 2.
+
+
+In a letter of instructions from Smith to the travelling elders
+in Great Britain, dated October, 1840, he warned them that the
+gathering of the Saints must be "attended to in the order that
+the Lord intends it should"; and he explains that, as "great
+numbers of the Saints in England are extremely poor, . . . to
+prevent confusion and disappointment when they arrive here, let
+those men who are accustomed to making machinery, and those who
+can command a capital, though it be small, come here as soon as
+convenient and put up machinery, and make such other preparations
+as may be necessary, so that when the poor come on they may have
+employment to come to."
+
+The invitation to all converts having means was so urgent that it
+took the form of a command. A letter to the Saints abroad, signed
+by Joseph and Hyrum Smith, dated January 15, 1841, directed those
+"blessed of heaven with the possession of this world's goods" to
+sell out as soon as possible and move to Nauvoo, adding in
+italics: "This is agreeable to the order of heaven, and the only
+principal (sic) on which the gathering can be effected."*
+
+
+* The following is a quotation from a letter written by an
+American living near Nauvoo, dated October 20, 1842, printed in
+the postscript to Caswall's "The City of the Mormons":--
+
+
+"If an English Mormon arrives, the first effort of Joe is to get
+his money. This in most cases is easily accomplished, under a
+pledge that he can have it at any time on giving ten days'
+notice. The man after some time calls for his money; he is
+treated kindly, and told that it is not convenient to pay. He
+calls a second time; the Prophet cannot pay, but offers a town
+lot in Nauvoo for $1000 (which cost perhaps as many cents), or
+land on the 'half-breed tract' at $10 or $15 per acre . . . .
+Finally some of the irresponsible Bishops or Elders execute a
+deed for land to which they have no valid title, and the poor
+fellow dares not complain. This is the history of hundreds of
+cases . . . . The history of every dupe reaches Nauvoo in
+advance. When an Elder abroad wins one over to the faith, he
+makes himself perfectly acquainted with all his family
+arrangements, his standing in society, his ability, and (what is
+of most importance) the amount of ready money and other property
+which he will take to Nauvoo . . . . They make no converts in
+Nauvoo, and it appears to me that they would never make another
+if all could witness their conduct at Nauvoo for one month . . .
+. In regard to this communication, I prefer, on account of my own
+safety, that you should not make known the author publicly. You
+cannot appreciate these fears [in England]. You have no idea what
+it is to be surrounded by a community of Mormons, guided by a
+leader the most unprincipled."
+We have seen how hard-pressed Smith was for money with which to
+meet his obligations for the payment of land purchased. It was
+not necessary that a newcomer should be a Mormon in order to buy
+a lot, special emphasis being laid on the freedom of religious
+opinion in the city; but it was early made known that purchasers
+were expected to buy their lots of the church, and not of private
+speculators. The determination with which this rule was enforced,
+as well as its unpopularity in some quarters, may be seen in the
+following extract from Smith's autobiography, under date of
+February 13, 1843: "I spent the evening at Elder O. Hyde's. In
+the course of conversation I remarked that those brethren who
+came here having money, and purchased without the church and
+without counsel, must be cut off. This, with other observations,
+aroused the feelings of Brother Dixon, from Salem, Mass., and he
+appeared in great wrath."
+
+The Nauvoo Neighbor of December 27, 1843, contained an
+advertisement signed by the clerk of the church, calling the
+attention of immigrants to the church lands, and saying, "Let all
+the brethren, therefore, when they move into Nauvoo, consult
+President Joseph Smith, the trustee in trust, and purchase their
+land from him, and I am bold to say that God will bless them, and
+they will hereafter be glad they did so."
+
+A good many immigrants of more or less means took warning as soon
+as they discovered the conditions prevailing there, and returned
+home. A letter on this subject from the officers of the church
+said:--
+
+"We have seen so many who have been disappointed and discouraged
+when they visited this place, that we would have imagined they
+had never been instructed in the things pertaining to the Kingdom
+of God, and thought that, instead of coming into a society of men
+and women, subject to all the frailties of mortality, they were
+about to enjoy the society of the spirits of just men made
+perfect, the holy angels, and that this place should be as pure
+as the third heaven. But when they found that this people were
+but flesh and blood . . . they have been desirous to choose them
+a captain to lead them back."
+
+The additions to the Mormon population from the settlers whom
+they found in the outlying country in Illinois and Iowa were not
+likely to be of a desirable class. The banks of the Mississippi
+River had long been hiding-places for pirate bands, whose
+exploits were notorious, and the "half-breed tract" was a known
+place of refuge for the horse thief, the counterfeiter, and the
+desperado of any calling. The settlement of the Mormons in such a
+region, with an invitation to the world at large to join them and
+be saved, was a piece of good luck for this lawless class, who
+found a covering cloak in the new baptism, and a shield in the
+fidelity with which the Mormon authorities, under their charter,
+defended their flock. In this way Nauvoo became a great
+receptacle for stolen goods, and the river banks up and down the
+stream concealed many more, the takers of which walked boldly
+through the streets of the Mormon city. The retaliatory measures
+which Smith encouraged his followers to practise on their
+neighbors in Missouri had inculcated a disregard for the property
+rights of non-Mormons, which became an inciting cause of
+hostilities with their neighbors in Illinois.
+
+The complaints of thefts by Mormons became so frequent that the
+church authorities deemed it necessary to recognize and rebuke
+the practice. Lee quotes from an address by Smith at the
+conference of April, 1840, in Nauvoo, in which the prophet said:
+"We are no longer at war, and you must stop stealing. When the
+right time comes, we will go in force and take the whole state of
+Missouri. It belongs to us as our inheritance; but I want no more
+petty stealing. A man that will steal petty articles from his
+enemies will, when occasion offers, steal from his brethren too.
+Now I command you that have stolen must steal no more."*
+
+* Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled;" p. 111.
+
+
+The case of Elder O. Walker bears on this subject. On October 11,
+1840, he was brought before a High Council and accused of
+discourtesy to the prophet, and "suggesting (at different places)
+that in the church at Nauvoo there did exist a set of pilferers
+who were actually thieving, robbing and plundering, taking and
+unlawfully carrying away from Missouri certain goods and
+chattels, wares and property; and that the act and acts of such
+supposed thieving, etc., was fostered and conducted by the
+knowledge and approval of the heads and leaders of the church,
+viz., by the Presidency and High Council."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 185.
+
+
+The action of the church authorities themselves shows how serious
+they considered the reports about thieving. As early as December
+1, 1841, Hyrum Smith, then one of the First Presidency, published
+in the Times and Seasons an affidavit denying that the heads of
+the church "sanction and approbate the members of said church in
+stealing property from those persons who do not belong to said
+church," etc. This was followed by a long denial of a similar
+character, signed by the Twelve, and later by an affidavit by the
+prophet himself, denying that he ever "directly or indirectly
+encouraged the purloining of property, or taught the doctrine of
+stealing." On March 25, 1843, Smith, as mayor, issued a
+proclamation beginning with the declaration, "I have not altered
+my views on the subject of stealing," reciting rumors of a secret
+band of desperadoes bound by oath to self-protection, and
+pledging pardon to any one who would give him any information
+about "such abominable characters." This exhibition of the heads
+of a church solemnly protesting that they were opposed to
+thieving is unique in religious history.
+
+The Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, made an announcement to the
+conference of 1843, which further confirms the charges of
+organized thieving made by the non-mormons. While denouncing the
+thieves as hypocrites, he said he had learned of the existence of
+a band held together by secret oaths and penalties, "who hold it
+right to steal from anyone who does not belong to the church,
+provided they consecrate one-third of it to the building of the
+Temple. They are also making bogus money . . . . The man who told
+me this said, 'This secret band referred to the Bible, Book of
+Doctrine and Covenants, and Book of Mormon to substantiate their
+doctrines; and if any of them did not remain steadfast, they
+ripped open their bowels and gave them to the catfish.'" He named
+two men, inmates of his own house, who, he had discovered, were
+such thieves. The prophet followed this statement with some
+remarks, declaring, "Thieving must be stopped."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, pp. 757-758.
+
+
+The Rev. Henry Caswall, in a description of a Sunday service in
+Nauvoo in April, 1842 "City of the Mormons," p. 15) says:--
+
+"The elder who had delivered the first discourse now rose and
+said a certain brother whom he named had taken a keg of white
+lead. 'Now,' said he, 'if any of the brethren present has taken
+it by mistake, thinking it was his own, he ought to restore it;
+but if any of the brethren present have stolen a keg, much more
+ought he to restore it, or else maybe he will get catched.' . . .
+Another person rose and stated that he had lost a ten dollar
+bill. If any of the brethren had found it or taken it, he hoped
+it would be restored." This introduction of calls for the
+restoration of stolen property as a feature of a Sunday church
+service is probably unique with the Mormons.
+
+That the Mormons did not do all the thieving in the counties
+around Nauvoo while they were there would be sufficiently proved
+by the character of many of the persons whom they found there on
+their arrival, and also by the fact that their expulsion did not
+make those counties a paradise.* The trouble with them was that,
+as soon as a man joined them, no matter what his previous
+character might have been, they gave him that protection which
+came with their system of "standing together." An early and
+significant proof of this protection is found in the action of
+the conference held in Nauvoo on October 3, 1840, two months
+before the charter had given the city government its extended
+powers, which voted that "no person be considered guilty of crime
+unless proved by the testimony of two or three witnesses."**
+
+* "Long afterward, while the writer was travelling through
+Hancock, Pike and Adams Counties, no family thought of retiring
+at night without barring and doublelocking every
+ingress."--Beadle, "Life in Utah," p. 65.
+
+** Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 153.
+
+
+It became notorious in all the country round that it was
+practically useless for a non-Mormon to attempt the recovery of
+stolen property in Nauvoo, no matter how strong the proof in his
+possession might be. S. J. Clarke* says that a great deal of
+stolen stock was traced into Nauvoo, but that, "when found, it
+was extremely difficult to gain possession of it." He cites as an
+illustration the case of a resident of that county who traced a
+stolen horse into Nauvoo, and took with him sixty witnesses to
+identify the animal before a Mormon justice of the peace. He
+found himself, however, confronted with seventy witnesses who
+swore that the horse belonged to some Mormon, and the justice
+decided that the "weight of evidence," numerically calculated,
+was against the non-Mormon.
+
+* "History of McDonough County," p. 83.
+
+
+A form of protection against outside inquirers for property,
+which is well authenticated, was given by what were known as
+"whittlers." When a non-Mormon came into the city, and by his
+questions let it be known that he was looking for something
+stolen, he would soon find himself approached by a Mormon who
+carried a long knife and a stick, and who would follow him,
+silently whittling. Soon a companion would join this whittler,
+and then another, until the stranger would find himself fairly
+surrounded by these armed but silent observers. Unless he was a
+man of more than ordinary grit, an hour or more of this
+companionship would convince him that it would be well for him to
+start for home.*
+
+* Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 168.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. Smith's Picture Of Himself As Autocrat
+
+Smith's autobiography gives incidentally many interesting
+glimpses of the prophet as he exercised his authority of dictator
+during the height of his power at Nauvoo. It is fortunate for the
+impartial student that these records are at his disposal, because
+many of the statements, if made on any other authority, would be
+met by the customary Mormon denials, and be considered generally
+incredible.
+
+That Smith's life, aside from the constant danger of extradition
+which the Missouri authorities held over him, was not an easy one
+at this time may readily be imagined. He had his position to
+maintain as sole oracle of the church. He was also mayor, judge,
+councillor, and lieutenant-general. There were individual
+jealousies to be disposed of among his associates, rivalries of
+different parts of the city over wished-for improvements to be
+considered, demands of the sellers of church lands for payment to
+be met, and the claims of politicians to be attended to. But
+Smith rarely showed any indication of compromise, apparently
+convinced that his position at all points was now more secure
+than it had ever been.
+
+The big building enterprises in which the church was engaged were
+a heavy tax on the people, and constant urging was necessary to
+keep them up to the requirements. Thus we find an advertisement
+in the Wasp dated June 25, 1842, and signed by the "Temple
+Recorder," saying, "Brethren, remember that your contracts with
+your God are sacred; the labor is wanted immediately." Smith
+referred to the discontent of the laborers, and to some other
+matters, in a sermon on February 21, 1843. The following
+quotations are from his own report of it. "If any man working on
+the Nauvoo House is hungry, let him come to me and I will feed
+him at my table . . . and then if the man is not satisfied I will
+kick his backside . . . . This meeting was got up by the Nauvoo
+House committee. The Pagans, Roman Catholics, Methodists and
+Baptists shall have place in Nauvoo --only they must be ground in
+Joe Smith's mill. I have been in their mill . . . and those who
+come here must go through my smut machine, and that is my
+tongue."* The difficulty of carrying on these building
+enterprises at this time was increased by the financial
+disturbance that was convulsing the whole country. It was in
+these years that Congress was wrestling with the questions of the
+deposits of the public funds, the United States Bank, the
+subtreasury scheme, and the falling off of customs and land-sale
+revenues, with a threatened deficit in the federal treasury. The
+break-down of the Bank of the United States caused a general
+failure of the banks of the Western and Southern states, and
+money was so scarce at Nauvoo that one Mormon writer records the
+fact that "when corn was brought to my door at ten cents a
+bushel, and sadly needed, the money could not be raised."
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, p. 583.
+
+
+The relations between Smith and Rigdon had been strained ever
+since the departure of the Mormons from Missouri. The trouble
+between them was finally brought before a special conference at
+Nauvoo, on October 7, 1843, at which Smith stated that he had
+received no material benefits from Rigdon's labors or counsel
+since they had left Missouri. He presented complaints against
+Rigdon's management of the post-office, brought up a charge that
+Rigdon had been in correspondence with General Bennett and
+Governor Carlin, and offered "indirect testimony" that Rigdon had
+given the Missourians information of Smith's whereabouts at the
+time of his last arrest. Rigdon met these accusations, some with
+denials and some with explanations, closing with a pitiful appeal
+to the all-powerful head of the church, whose nod would decide
+the verdict, reciting their long associations and sufferings, and
+signifying his willingness to resign his position as councillor
+to the First Presidency, but not concealing the pain and
+humiliation that such a step would cause him. Smith became
+magnanimous. "He expressed entire willingness to have Elder
+Rigdon retain his station, provided he would magnify his office,
+and walk and conduct himself in all honesty, righteousness and
+integrity; but signified his lack of confidence in his integrity
+and steadfastness."* This incident once more furnishes proof of
+some great power which Smith held over Rigdon that induced the
+latter to associate with the prophet on these terms.
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. IV, p. 330. H. C. Kimball stated
+afterward at Rigdon's church trial that Smith did not accept him
+as an adviser after this, but took Amasa Lyman in his place, and
+that it was Hyrum Smith who induced his brother to show some
+apparent magnanimity.
+
+
+Smith's creditors finally pressed him so hard that he attempted
+to secure aid from the bankruptcy act. In this he did not
+succeed,* and he was very bitter in his denunciation of the law
+because it was interpreted against him. It was about this time
+that Smith, replying to reports of his wealth, declared that his
+assets consisted of one old horse, two pet deer, ten turkeys, an
+old cow, one old dog, a wife and child, and a little household
+furniture. On March 1, 1843, the Council of the Twelve wrote to
+the outlying branches of the church, calling on them "to bring to
+our President as many loads of wheat, corn, beef, pork, lard,
+tallow, eggs, poultry, venison, and everything eatable, at your
+command," in order that he might be relieved of business cares
+and have time to attend to their spiritual interests. It was
+characteristic of Smith to find him, at a conference held the
+following month, lecturing the Twelve on their own idleness,
+telling them it was not necessary for them to be abroad all the
+time preaching and gathering funds, but that they should spend a
+part of their time at home earning a living.
+
+* See chapter on this subject in Bennett's "History of the
+Saints."
+
+
+At this same conference Smith was compelled to go into the
+details of a transaction which showed of how little practical use
+to him were his divining and prophetic powers. A man named Remick
+had come to him the previous summer and succeeded in getting from
+him a loan of $200 by misrepresentation. Afterward Remick offered
+to give him a quit-claim deed for all the land bought of Galland,
+as well as the notes which Smith had given to Galland, and
+one-half of all the land that Remick owned in Illinois and Iowa,
+if Smith would use his influence to build up the city of Keokuk,
+Iowa. Smith actually agreed to this in writing. At the conference
+he had to explain this whole affair. After alleging that Remick
+was a swindler, he said: "I am not so much of a 'Christian' as
+many suppose I am. When a man undertakes to ride me for a horse I
+feel disposed to kick up, and throw him off and ride him. David
+did so, and so did Joshua." *
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, pp. 758-759.
+
+
+The old Kirtland business troubles came up to annoy Smith from
+time to time, but he always found a way to meet them. While his
+writ of habeas corpus was under argument out of the city in 1841,
+a man presented to him a five-dollar bill of the Kirtland Bank,
+and threatened to sue him on it. As the easiest way to dispose of
+this matter, Smith handed the man $5.
+
+Smith's Ohio experience did not lessen his estimation of himself
+as an authority on finance. We find him, at the meeting of the
+Nauvoo City Council on February 25, 1843, denouncing the state
+law of Illinois making property a legal tender for the payment of
+debts; asserting that their city charter gave them authority to
+enact such local currency laws as did not conflict with the
+federal and state constitutions, and continuing:--
+
+"Shall we be such fools as to be governed by their [Illinois]
+laws which are unconstitutional? No. We will make a law for gold
+and silver; then their law ceases, and we can collect our debts.
+Powers not delegated to the states, or reserved from the states,
+are constitutional. The constitution acknowledges that the people
+have all power not reserved to itself. I am a lawyer. I am a big
+lawyer, and comprehend heaven, earth and hell, to bring forth
+knowledge that shall cover up all lawyers, doctors and other big
+bodies."*
+
+*Ibid., p. 616.
+
+
+Smith had his way, as usual, and on March 4, the Council passed
+unanimously an ordinance making gold and silver the only legal
+tender in payment of debts and fines in Nauvoo, and fixing a
+punishment for the circulation of counterfeit money. Perhaps this
+Council never took a broader view of its legislative authority
+than in this instance.
+
+Smith never laid aside his natural inclination for good
+fellowship, nor took himself too seriously while posing as a
+mouthpiece of the Lord. Along with the entries recording his
+predictions he notes such matters as these: "Played ball with the
+brethren." "Cut wood all day." A visitor at Nauvoo, in 1843,
+describes him as "a jolly fellow, and one of the last persons
+whom he would have supposed God would have raised up as a
+Prophet."* Josiah Quincy said that Smith seemed to him to have a
+keen sense of the humorous aspects of his position. "It seems to
+me, General," Quincy said to him, "that you have too much power
+to be safely trusted in one man." "In your hands or that of any
+other person," was his reply, "so much power would no doubt be
+dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would be safe
+to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet." "The last five
+words," says Quincy, "were spoken in a rich comical aside, as if
+in hearty recognition of the ridiculous sound they might have in
+the ears of a Gentile."**
+
+* This same idea is presented by a writer in the Millennial Star,
+Vol. XVII, p. 820: "When the fact of Smith's divine character
+shall burst upon the nations, they will be struck dumb with
+wonder and astonishment at the Lord's choice,--the last
+individual in the whole world whom they would have chosen."
+
+** "Figures of the Past;" p. 397.
+
+
+Smith makes this entry on February 20, 1843: "While the
+[Municipal] Court was in session, I saw two boys fighting in the
+street. I left the business of the court, ran over immediately,
+caught one of the boys and then the other, and after giving them
+proper instruction, I gave the bystanders a lecture for not
+interfering in such cases. I returned to the court, and told them
+nobody was allowed to fight in Nauvoo but myself."
+
+In January, 1842, Smith once more became a "storekeeper." Writing
+to an absent brother on January 5, 1842, he described his
+building, with a salesroom fitted up with shelves and drawers, a
+private office, etc. He added that he had a fair stock, "although
+some individuals have succeeded in detaining goods to a
+considerable amount. I have stood behind the counter all day," he
+continued, "dealing out goods as steadily as any clerk you ever
+saw."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, p. 21.
+
+
+The following entry is found under date of June 1, 1842: "Sent
+Dr. Richards to Carthage on business. On his return, old Charley,
+while on a gallop, struck his knees and breast instead of his
+feet, fell in the street and rolled over in an instant, and the
+doctor narrowly escaped with his life. It was a trick of the
+devil to kill my clerk. Similar attacks have been made upon
+myself of late, and Satan is seeking our destruction on every
+hand."
+
+Smith practically gave up "revealing" during his life in Nauvoo.
+At Rigdon's church trial, after Smith's death, President Marks
+said, "Brother Joseph told us that he, for the future, whenever
+there was a revelation to be presented to the church, would first
+present it to the Quorum, and then, if it passed the Quorum, it
+should be presented to the church." Strong pressure must have
+been exerted upon the prophet to persuade him to consent to such
+a restriction, and it is the only instance of the kind that is
+recorded during his career. But if he did not "reveal," he could
+not be prevented from uttering oral prophecies and giving his
+interpretation of the Scriptures. That he had become possessed
+with the idea of a speedy ending of this world seems altogether
+probable. All through his autobiography he notes reports of
+earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, etc., and he gives special
+emphasis to accounts that reached him of "showers of flesh and
+blood." Under date of February 18, 1843, he notes, "While at
+dinner I remarked to my family and friends present that, when the
+earth was sanctified and became like a sea of glass, it would be
+one great Urim and Thummim, and the Saints could look in it and
+see as they are seen." Another of his wise sayings is thus
+recorded, "The battle of Gog and Magog will be after the
+Millennial."
+
+In some remarks, on April 2, 1843, Smith made the one prediction
+that came true, and one which has always given the greatest
+satisfaction to the Saints. This was: "I prophesy in the name of
+the Lord God that the commencement of the difficulties which will
+cause much bloodshed previous to the coming of the Son of man
+will be in South Carolina. It may probably arise through the
+slave trade." This prediction was afterward amplified so as to
+declare that the war between the Northern and Southern states
+would involve other nations in Europe, and that the slaves would
+rise up against their masters. It would have been better for his
+fame had he left the announcement in its original shape.
+
+Such is the picture of Smith the prophet as drawn by himself. Of
+the rumors about the Mormons, current in all the counties near
+Nauvoo, which cannot be proved by Mormon testimony there were
+hundreds.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. Smith's Falling Out With Bennett And Higbee
+
+Surprise has been expressed that Smith would permit the newcomer,
+General John C. Bennett, to be elected the first mayor of Nauvoo
+under the new charter. Much less surprising is the fact that a
+falling-out soon occurred between them which led to the
+withdrawal of Bennett from the church on May 17, 1842, and made
+for the prophet an enemy who pursued him with a method and
+vindictiveness that he had not before encountered from any of
+those who had withdrawn, or been driven, from the church
+fellowship.
+
+The exact nature of the dispute between the two men has never
+been explained. That personal jealousy entered into it there is
+little doubt. Smith never had submitted to any real division of
+his supreme authority, and when Bennett entered the fold as
+political lobbyist, mayor, major general, etc., a clash seemed
+unavoidable. It was stated, during Rigdon's church trial after
+Smith's death, that Bennett declared, at the first conference he
+attended at Nauvoo, that he sustained the same position in the
+First Presidency that the Holy Ghost does to the Father and the
+Son; and that, after Smith's death, Bennett visited Nauvoo, and
+proposed to Rigdon that the latter assume Smith's place in the
+church, and let Bennett assume that which had been occupied by
+Rigdon.*
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. V, p. 655.
+
+
+The Mormon explanation given at the time of Bennett's expulsion
+was that some of their travelling elders in the Eastern states
+discovered that the general had a wife and family there while he
+was paying attention to young ladies in Nauvoo; but a very slight
+acquaintance with Smith's ideas on the question of morality at
+that time is needed to indicate that this was an afterthought.
+The course of the church authorities showed that they were ready
+to every way qualified to be a useful citizen. Smith directed the
+clerk of the church to permit Bennett to withdraw "if he desires
+to do so, and this with the best of feelings toward you and
+General Bennett." But as soon as Bennett began his attacks on
+Smith the church made haste to withdraw the hand of fellowship
+from him, and framed a formal writ of excommunication, and Smith
+could not find enough phials of wrath to pour upon him. Thus, in
+a statement published in the Times and Seasons of July 1, 1842,
+he called Bennett "an impostor and a base adulterer," brought up
+the story of his having a wife in Ohio, and charged that he
+taught women that it was proper to have promiscuous intercourse
+with men.
+
+As soon as Bennett left Nauvoo he began the publication of a
+series of letters in the Sangamon (Illinois) Journal, which
+purported to give an inside view of the Mormon designs, and the
+personal character and practices of the church leaders. These
+were widely copied, and seem to have given people in the East
+their first information that Smith was anything worse than a
+religious pretender. Bennett also started East lecturing on the
+same subject, and he published in Boston in the same year a
+little book called "History of the Saints; or an Expose of Joe
+Smith and Mormonism," containing, besides material which he had
+collected, copious extracts from the books of Howe and W. Harris.
+
+Bennett declared that he had never believed in any of the Mormon
+doctrines, but that, forming the opinion that their leaders were
+planning to set up "a despotic and religious empire" over the
+territory included in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and
+Missouri, he decided to join them, learn their secrets, and
+expose them. Bennett's personal rascality admits of no doubt, and
+not the least faith need be placed in this explanation of his
+course, which, indeed, is disproved by his later efforts to
+regain power in the church. It does seem remarkable, however,
+that neither the Lord nor his prophet knew anything about
+Bennett's rascality, and that they should select him, among
+others, for special mention in the long revelation of January 19,
+1841, wherein the Lord calls him "my servant," and directs him to
+help Smith "in sending my word to the kings of the people of the
+earth." There is no doubt that Bennett obtained an inside view of
+Smith's moral, political, and religious schemes, and that, while
+his testimony un-corroborated might be questioned, much that he
+wrote was amply confirmed.
+
+According to Bennett's statements, Mormon society at Nauvoo was
+organized licentiousness. There were "Cyprian Saints," "Chartered
+Sisters of Charity," and "Cloistered Saints," or spiritual wives,
+all designed to pander to the passions of church members. Of the
+system of "spiritual wives" (which was set forth in the
+revelation concerning polygamy), Bennett says in his book:
+
+"When an Apostle, High Priest, Elder or Scribe conceives an
+affection for a female, and he has satisfactorily ascertained
+that she experiences a mutual claim, he communicates
+confidentially to the Prophet his affaire du coeur, and requests
+him to inquire of the Lord whether or not it would be right and
+proper for him to take unto himself the said woman for his
+spiritual wife. It is no obstacle whatever to this spiritual
+marriage if one or both of the parties should happen to have a
+husband or wife already united to them according to the laws of
+the land."
+
+Bennett alleged that Smith forced him, at the point of a pistol,
+to sign an affidavit stating that Smith had no part in the
+practice of the spiritual wife doctrine; but Bennett's later
+disclosures went into minute particulars of alleged attempts of
+Smith to secure "spiritual wives," a charge which the
+commandments to the prophet's wife in the "revelation" on
+polygamy amply sustain. A leading illustration cited concerned
+the wife of Orson Pratt.* According to the story as told (largely
+in Mrs. Pratt's words), Pratt was sent to England on a mission to
+get him out of the way, and then Smith used every means in his
+power to secure Mrs. Pratt's consent to his plan, but in vain.
+Nancy Rigdon, the eldest unmarried daughter of Sidney Rigdon, was
+another alleged intended victim of the prophet, and Bennett said
+that Smith offered him $500 in cash, or a choice lot, if he would
+assist in the plot. One day, when Smith was alone with her, he
+pressed his request so hard that she threatened to cry for help.
+The continuation of the story is not by General Bennett, but is
+taken from a letter to James A. Bennett, he of "Arlington House,"
+dated Nauvoo, July 27, 1842, by George W. Robinson, one of
+Smith's fellow prisoners in Independence jail, and one of the
+generals of the Nauvoo Legion:--
+
+* Ebenezer Robinson says that when Orson Pratt returned from his
+mission to England, and learned of the teaching of the spiritual
+wife doctrine, his mind gave way. One day he disappeared, and a
+search party found him five miles below Nauvoo, hatless, seated
+on the bank of the river.--The Return, Vol. II, p. 363.
+
+
+"She left him with disgust, and came home and told her father of
+the transaction; upon which Smith was sent for. He came. She told
+the tale in the presence of all the family, and to Smith's face.
+I was present. Smith attempted to deny at first, and face her
+down with a lie; but she told the facts with so much earnestness,
+and the fact of a letter being proved which he had caused to be
+written to her on the same subject, the day after the attempt
+made on her virtue, breathing the same spirit, and which he had
+fondly hoped was destroyed, all came with such force that he
+could not withstand the testimony; and he then and there
+acknowledged that every word of Miss Rigdon's testimony was true.
+Now for his excuse. He wished to ascertain if she was virtuous or
+not!"
+
+To offset this damaging attack on Smith, a man named Markham was
+induced to make an affidavit assailing Miss Rigdon's character,
+which was published in the Wasp. But Markham's own character was
+so bad, and the charge caused so much indignation, that the
+editor was induced to say that the affidavit was not published by
+the prophet's direction.
+
+Bennett's charges aroused great interest among the non-Mormons in
+all the counties around Nauvoo, and increased the growing enmity
+against Smith's flock which was already aroused by their
+political course and their alleged propensity to steal.
+
+A minor incident among those leading up to Smith's final
+catastrophe was a quarrel, some time later, between the prophet
+and Francis M. Higbee. This resulted in a suit for libel against
+Smith, tried in May, 1844, in which much testimony disclosing the
+rotten condition of affairs in Nauvoo was given, and in the
+arrest of Smith in a suit for $5000 damages. The hearing, on a
+writ of habeas corpus, in Smith's behalf, is reported in Times
+and Seasons, Vol. V, No. 10. The court (Smith's Municipal Court)
+ordered Smith discharged, and pronounced Higbee's character
+proved "infamous."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. The Institution Of Polygamy
+
+The student of the history of the Mormon church to this date, who
+seeks an answer to the question, Who originated the idea of
+plural marriages among the Mormons? will naturally credit that
+idea to Joseph Smith, Jr. The Reorganized Church
+(non-polygamist), whose membership includes Smith's direct
+descendants, defend the prophet's memory by alleging that "in the
+brain of J. C. Bennett was conceived the idea, and in his
+practice was the principle first introduced into the church." In
+maintaining this ground, however, they contend that "the official
+character of President Joseph Smith should be judged by his
+official ministrations as set forth in the well authenticated
+accepted official documents of the church up to June 27, 1844.
+His personal, private conduct should not enter into this
+discussion."* The secular investigator finds it necessary to
+disregard this warning, and in studying the question he discovers
+an incontrovertible mass of testimony to prove that the
+"revelation" concerning polygamy was a production of Smith,** was
+familiar to the church leaders in Nauvoo, and was lived up to by
+them before their expulsion from Illinois.
+
+* Pamphlets Nos. 16 and 46 published by the Reorganized Church.
+
+** "Elder W. W. Phelps said in Salt Lake Tabernacle in 1862 that
+while Joseph was translating the Book of Abraham in Kirtland,
+Ohio, in 1835, from the papyrus found with the Egyptian mummies,
+the Prophet became impressed with the idea that polygamy would
+yet become an institution of the Mormon Church. Brigham Young was
+present, and was much annoyed at the statement made by Phelps;
+but it is highly probable that it was the real secret that the
+latter then divulged."--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 182.
+
+
+The Book of Mormon furnishes ample proof that the idea of plural
+marriages was as far from any thought of the real "author" of the
+doctrinal part of that book as it was from the mind of Rigdon's
+fellow-Disciples in Ohio at the time. The declarations on the
+subject in the Mormon Bible are so worded that they distinctly
+forbid any following of the example of Old Testament leaders like
+David and Solomon. In the Book of Jacob ii. 24-28, we find these
+commands: "Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and
+concubines, which thing was abominable before me saith the Lord;
+wherefore, thus with the Lord, I have led this people forth out
+of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might
+raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins
+of Joseph.
+
+"Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not suffer that this people
+shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore my brethren, hear me,
+and hearken to the word of the Lord; for there shall not any man
+among you hath save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have
+none; for I, the Lord God, delighteth in the chastity of women.
+And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord
+of Hosts."
+
+The same view is expressed in the Book of Mosiah, where, among
+the sins of King Noah, it is mentioned that "he spent his time in
+riotous living with his wives and concubines," and in the Book of
+Ether x. 5, where it is said that "Riplakish did not do that
+which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have many
+wives and concubines."
+
+Smith, at the beginning of his career as a prophet, inculcated
+the same views on this subject in his "revelations." Thus, in the
+one dated at Kirtland, February 9, 1831, it was commanded (Sec.
+42), "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shall
+cleave unto her and none else; and he that looketh upon a woman
+to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the
+spirit, and if he repents not he shall be cast out." In another
+"revelation," dated the following month (Sec. 49), it was
+declared, "Wherefore it is lawful that he should have one wife,
+and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth
+might answer the end of its creation."* These teachings may be
+with justness attributed to Rigdon, and we shall see on how
+little ground rests a carelessly made charge that he was the
+originator of the "spiritual wife" notion.
+
+"It is the strongest proof of the firm hold of a party, whether
+religious or political, upon the public mind, when it may offend
+with impunity against its own primary principles." MILMAN,
+"History of Christianity."
+
+That there was a loosening of the views regarding the marriage
+tie almost as soon as Smith began his reign at Kirtland can be
+shown on abundant proof. Booth in one of his letters said, " t
+has been made known to one who has left his wife in New York
+State, that he is entirely free from his wife, and he is at
+pleasure to take him a wife from among the Lamanites" (Indians).*
+That reports of polygamous practices among the Mormons while they
+were in Ohio were current was conceded in the section on
+marriage, inserted in the Kirtland edition of the "Book of
+Doctrine and Covenants"--"Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has
+been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy,"
+etc.; and is further proved by Smith's denial in the Elders'
+Journal,** and by the declaration of the Presidents of the
+Seventies, withholding fellowship with any elder "who is guilty
+of polygamy."
+
+* Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled."
+
+** p. 157, ante.
+
+
+Of the enmity of the higher powers toward transgressors of the
+law of morality of this time, we find an amusing (some will say
+shocking) mention in Smith's "revelation" of October 25, 1831
+(Sec. 66). This "revelation" (announced as the words of "the Lord
+your Redeemer, the Saviour of the world") was addressed to W. E.
+McLellin (who was soon after "rebuked" by the prophet for
+attempting to have a "revelation" on his own account). It
+declared that McLellin was "blessed for receiving mine
+everlasting covenant," directed him to go forth and preach, gave
+him power to heal the sick, and then added, "Commit no adultery,
+a temptation with which thou hast been troubled." Could religious
+bouffe go to greater lengths?
+
+Testimony as to the liberal Mormon view of the marriage relation
+while the church was in Missouri is found in the case of one
+Lyon, reported by Smith on page 148 of Vol. XVI of the Millennial
+Star. Lyon was the presiding high priest of one of the outlying
+branches of the church. Desiring to marry a Mrs. Jackson, whose
+husband was absent in the East, Lyon announced a "revelation,"
+ordering the marriage to take place, telling her that he knew by
+revelation that her husband was dead. He gained her consent in
+this way, but, before the ceremony was performed, Jackson
+returned home, and, learning of Lyon's conduct, he had him
+brought before the authorities for trial. The high priest was
+found guilty enough to be deposed from his office, but not from
+his church membership.
+
+There is abundant testimony from Mormon sources to show that the
+doctrine of polygamy, with the "spiritual wife" adjunct, was
+practised in Nauvoo for some time before Joseph Smith's death. A
+very orthodox Mormon witness on this point is Eliza R. Snow. In
+her biography of her brother, Lorenzo Snow,* the recent head of
+the church, she gives this account of her connection with
+polygamy:
+
+* "This biography and autobiography of my brother Lorenzo Snow
+has been written as a tribute of sisterly affection for him, and
+as a token of sincere respect to his family. It is designed to be
+handed down in lineal descent, from generation to generation,--to
+be preserved as a family memorial."--Extract from the preface.
+
+
+"While my brother was absent on this [his first] mission to
+Europe [1840-1843], changes had taken place with me, one of
+eternal import, of which I supposed him to be entirely ignorant.
+The Prophet Joseph had taught me the principle of plural or
+celestial marriage, and I was married to him for time and
+eternity. In consequence of the ignorance of most of the Saints,
+as well as people of the world, on this subject, it was not
+mentioned, only privately between the few whose minds were
+enlightened on the subject. Not knowing how my brother [he
+returned on April 12, 1843] would receive it, I did not feel at
+liberty, and did not wish to assume the responsibility, of
+instructing him in the principle of plural marriage .... I
+informed my husband [the prophet] of the situation, and requested
+him to open the subject to my brother. A favorable opportunity
+soon presented, and, seated together on the bank of the
+Mississippi River, they had a most interesting conversation. The
+prophet afterward told me he found that my brother's mind had
+been previously enlightened on the subject in question. That
+Comforter which Jesus says shall I lead unto all truth had
+penetrated his understanding, and, while in England, had given
+him an intimation of what at that time was to many a secret. This
+was the result of living near the Lord.
+
+"It was at the private interview referred to above that the
+Prophet Joseph unbosomed his heart, and described the trying
+ordeal he experienced in overcoming the repugnance of his
+feelings, the natural result of the force of education and social
+custom, relative to the introduction of plural marriage. He knew
+the voice of God--he knew the command of the Almighty to him was
+to go forward--to set the example and establish celestial plural
+marriage .... Yet the prophet hesitated and deferred from time to
+time, until an angel of God stood by him with a drawn sword, and
+told him that, unless he moved forward and established plural
+marriage, his priesthood would be taken from him and he should be
+destroyed. This testimony he not only bore to my brother, but
+also to others."*
+
+* "Biography of Lorenzo Snow" (1884), pp. 68-70. Young married
+some of Smith's spiritual widows after the prophet's death, and
+four of them, including Eliza Snow, appear in Crockwell's
+illustrated "Biographies of Young's Wives," published in Utah.
+
+
+Catherine Lewis, who, after passing two years with the Mormons,
+escaped from Nauvoo, after taking the preliminary degrees of the
+endowment, says: "The Twelve took Joseph's wives after his death.
+Kimball and Young took most of them; the daughter of Kimball was
+one of Joseph's wives. I heard her say to her mother: 'I will
+never be sealed to my father [meaning as a wife], and I would
+never have been sealed [married] to Joseph had I known it was
+anything more than ceremony. I was young, and they deceived me by
+saying the salvation of our whole family depended on it.' The
+Apostles said they only took Joseph's wives to raise up children,
+carry them through to the next world, and there deliver them up
+to him; by so doing they would gain his approbation."--"Narrative
+of Some of the Proceedings of the Mormons."
+Smith's versatility as a fabricator seems to give him a leading
+place in that respect in the record of mankind. Snow says that he
+asked the prophet to set him right if he should see him indulging
+in any practice that might lead him astray, and the prophet
+assured him that he would never be guilty of any serious error.
+"It was one of Snow's peculiarities," observes his sister, "to do
+nothing by halves"; and he exemplified this in this instance by
+having two wives "sealed" to him at the same time in 1845, adding
+two more very soon afterward, and another in 1848. "It was
+distinctly understood," says his sister, "and agreed between
+them, that their marriage relations should not, for the time
+being, be divulged to the world."
+
+The testimony of John D. Lee in regard to the practice of
+polygamy in Illinois is very circumstantial, and Lee was a
+conscientious polygamist to the day of his death. He says* that
+he was directed in this matter by principle and not by passion,
+and goes on to explain:--
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 200
+
+
+"In those days I did not always make due allowance for the
+failings of the weaker vessels. I then expected perfection in all
+women. I know now that I was foolish in looking for that in
+anything human. I have, for slight offences, turned away
+good-meaning young women that had been sealed to me, and refused
+to hear their excuses, but sent them away brokenhearted. In this
+I did wrong. I have regretted the same in sorrow for many years
+.... Should my history ever fall into the hands of Emeline
+Woolsey or Polly Ann Workman, I wish them to know that, with my
+last breath, I asked God to pardon me the wrong I did them, when
+I drove them from me, poor young girls as they were"
+
+Lee says that in the winter of 1843-1844 Smith set one Sidney Hay
+Jacobs to writing a pamphlet giving selections from the
+Scriptures bearing on the practice of polygamy and advocating
+that doctrine. The appearance of this pamphlet created so much
+unfavorable comment (even Hyrum Smith denouncing it "as from
+beneath") that Joseph deemed it best to condemn it in the Wasp,
+although men in his confidence were busy advocating its
+teachings.
+
+The "revelation" sanctioning plural marriages is dated July 12,
+1843, and Lee says that Smith "dared not proclaim it publicly,"
+but taught it "confidentially," urging his followers "to
+surrender themselves to God" for their salvation; and "in the
+winter of 1845, meetings were held all over the city of Nauvoo,
+and the spirit of Elijah was taught in the different families, as
+a foundation to the order of celestial marriage, as well as the
+law of adoption."* The Saints were also taught that Gentiles had
+no right to perform the marriage ceremony, and that their former
+marriage relations were invalid, and that they could be "sealed"
+to new wives under the authority of the church.
+
+*"Mormonism Unveiled," p. 165.
+
+
+Lee gives a complete record of his plural marriages, which is
+interesting, showing how the business was conducted at the start.
+His second wife, the daughter of a wealthy farmer near Quincy,
+Illinois, was "sealed" to him in Nauvoo in 1845, after she had
+been an inmate of his house for three months. His third and
+fourth wives were "sealed" to him soon after, but Young took a
+fancy to wife No. 3 (who had borne Lee a son), and, after much
+persuasion, she was "sealed" to Young. At this same "sealing" Lee
+took wife No. 4, a girl whom he had baptized in Tennessee. In the
+spring of 1845 two sisters of his first wife AND THEIR MOTHER
+were "sealed" to him; he married the mother, he says, "for the
+salvation of her eternal state." At the completion of the Nauvoo
+Temple he took three more wives. At Council Bluffs, in 1847,
+Brigham Young "sealed" him to three more, two of them sisters, in
+one night, and he secured the fourteenth soon after, the
+fifteenth in 1851, the sixteenth in 1856, the seventeenth in 1858
+("a dashing young bride"), the eighteenth in 1859, and the
+nineteenth and last in Salt Lake City. He says he claimed "only
+eighteen true wives," as he married Mrs. Woolsey "for her soul's
+sake, and she was nearly sixty years old." By these wives he had
+sixty-four children, of whom fifty-four were living when his book
+was written.
+
+Ebenezer Robinson, explaining in the Return a statement signed by
+him and his wife in October, 1842, to offset Bennett's charges,
+in which they declared that they "knew of no other form of
+marriage ceremony" except the one in the "Book of Doctrine and
+Covenants," said that this statement was then true, as the heads
+of the church had not yet taught the new system to others. But
+they had heard it talked of, and the prophet's brother, Don
+Carlos, in June, 1841, had said to Robinson, "Any man who will
+teach and practise spiritual wifery will go to hell, no matter if
+it is my brother Joseph." Hyrum Smith, who first opposed the
+doctrine, went to Robinson's house in December, 1843, and taught
+the system to him and his wife. Robinson was told of the
+"revelation" to Joseph a few days after its date, and just as he
+was leaving Nauvoo on a mission to New York. He, Law, and William
+Marks opposed the innovation. He continues: "We returned home
+from that mission the latter part of November, 1843. Soon after
+our return, I was told that when we were gone the 'revelation'
+was presented to and read in the High Council in Nauvoo, three of
+the members of which refused to accept it as from the Lord,
+President Marks, Cowles, and Counsellor Leonard Soby." Cowles at
+once resigned from the High Council and the Presidency of the
+church at Nauvoo, and was looked on as a seceder.
+
+Robinson gives convincing testimony that, as early as 1843, the
+ceremonies of the Endowment House were performed in Nauvoo by a
+secret organization called "The Holy Order," and says that in
+June, 1844, he saw John Taylor clad in an endowment robe. He
+quotes a letter to himself from Orson Hyde, dated September 19,
+1844, in which Hyde refers guardedly to the new revelation and
+the "Holy Order" as "the charge which the prophet gave us,"
+adding, "and we know that Elder Rigdon does not know what it
+was." *
+
+* The Return, Vol. II, p. 252.
+
+
+We may find the following references to this subject in Smith's
+diary: "April 29, 1842. The Lord makes manifest to me many things
+which it is not wisdom for me to make public until others can
+witness the proof of them."
+
+"May 1. I preached in the grove on the Keys of the Kingdom, etc.
+The Keys are certain signs and words by which the false spirits
+and personages can be detected from true, and which cannot be
+revealed to the Elders till the Temple is completed."
+
+"May 4. I spent the day in the upper part of my store . . . in
+council with (Hyrum, Brigham Young and others) instructing them
+in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to
+washings, anointings, endowments . . . . The communications I
+made to this Council were of things spiritual, and to be received
+only by the spiritually minded; and there was nothing made known
+to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the
+last days as soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper
+place is prepared to communicate them." *
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, pp. 390-393.
+
+
+In one of Smith's dissertations, which are inserted here and
+there in his diary, is the following under date of August,
+1842:--
+
+"If we seek first the kingdom of God, all good things will be
+added. So with Solomon. First he asked wisdom and God gave it to
+him, and with it every desire of his heart, even things which
+might be considered abominable to all who understand the order of
+heaven only in part, but which in reality were right, because God
+gave and sanctioned them by special revelation." *
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, p. 774.
+
+While the Mormon leaders, Lorenzo Snow and others, were in the
+Utah penitentiary after conviction under the Edmunds antipolygamy
+law, refusing pardons on condition that they would give up the
+practice of polygamy, the Deseret News of May 20, 1886, printed
+an affidavit made on February 16, 1874, at the request of Joseph
+F. Smith, by William Clayton, who was a clerk in the prophet's
+office in Nauvoo and temple recorder, to show the world that "the
+martyred prophet is responsible to God and the world for this
+doctrine." The affidavit recites that while Clayton and the
+prophet were taking a walk, in February, 1843, Smith first
+broached to him the subject of plural marriages, and told him
+that the doctrine was right in the sight of God, adding, "It is
+your privilege to have all the wives you want." He gives the
+names of a number of the wives whom Smith married at this time,
+adding that his wife Emma "was cognizant of the fact of some, if
+not all, of these being his wives, and she generally treated them
+very kindly." He says that on July 12, 1843, Hyrum offered to
+read the "revelation" to Emma if the prophet would write it out,
+saying, "I believe I can convince her of its truth, and you will
+hereafter have peace." Joseph smiled, and remarked, "You do not
+know Emma as well as I do," but he thereupon dictated the
+"revelation" and Clayton wrote it down. An examination of its
+text will show how largely it was devoted to Emma's subjugation.
+When Hyrum returned from reading it to the prophet's lawful wife,
+he said that "he had never received a more severe talking to in
+his life; that Emma was very bitter and full of resentment and
+anger." Joseph repeated his remark that his brother did not know
+Emma as well as he did, and, putting the "revelation" into his
+pocket, they went out. *
+
+* Jepson's "Historical Record," Vol. VI, pp. 233-234, gives the
+names of twenty-seven women who, "besides a few others about whom
+we have been unable to get all the necessary information, were
+sealed to the Prophet Joseph during the last three years of his
+life."
+
+
+"At the present time," says Stenhouse ("Rocky Mountain Saints"),
+p. 185, "there are probably about a dozen sisters in Utah who
+proudly acknowledge themselves to be the `wives of Joseph, 'and
+how many others there may be who held that relationship no man
+knoweth.'"
+At the conference in Salt Lake City on August 28, 1852, at which
+the first public announcement of the revelation was made, Brigham
+Young said in the course of his remarks: "Though that doctrine
+has not been preached by the Elders, this people have believed in
+it for many years.* The original copy of this revelation was
+burned up. William Clayton was the man who wrote it from the
+mouth of the Prophet. In the meantime it was in Bishop Whitney's
+possession. He wished the privilege to copy it, which brother
+Joseph granted. Sister Emma burnt the original." The
+"revelation," he added, had been locked up for years in his desk,
+on which he had a patent lock.**
+
+* As evidence that polygamy was not countenanced by Smith and his
+associates in Nauvoo, there has been cited a notice in the Times
+and Seasons of February, 1844, signed by Joseph and Hyrum Smith,
+cutting off an elder named Brown for preaching "polygamy and
+other false and corrupt doctrines," and a letter of Hyrum, dated
+March 15, 1844, threatening to deprive of his license and
+membership any elder who preached "that a man having a certain
+priesthood may have as many wives as he pleases." The Deseret
+News of May 20, 1886, noticing these and other early denials,
+justifies the falsehoods, saying that "Jesus enjoined his
+Disciples on several occasions to keep to themselves principles
+that he made known to them," that the "Book of Doctrine and
+Covenants" gave the same instruction, and that the elders, as the
+"revelation" was not yet promulgated, "were justified in denying
+those imputations, and at the same time avoiding the avowal of
+such doctrines as were not yet intended for this world." P. P.
+Pratt flatly denied, in England, in 1846, that any such doctrine
+was known or practised by the Saints, and John Taylor (afterward
+the head of the church), in a discussion in France in July, 1850,
+declared that "these things are too outrageous to admit of
+belief." The latter false statements would be covered by the
+excuse of the Deseret News.
+
+** Deseret News, extra, September 14, 1852. Young declared in a
+sermon in Salt Lake City in July, 1855, that he was among the
+doubters when the prophet revealed the new doctrine, saying: "It
+was the first time in my life that I desired the grave, and I
+could hardly get over it for a long time . . . . And I have had
+to examine myself from that day to this, and watch my faith and
+carefully meditate, lest I should be found desiring the grave
+more than I ought to." His examinations proved eminently
+successful.
+
+
+Further proof is not needed to show that this doctrine was the
+offspring of Joseph Smith, and that its original object was to
+grant him unrestricted indulgence of his passions.
+
+Justice to Sidney Rigdon requires that his memory should be
+cleared of the charge, which has been made by more than one
+writer, that the spiritual wife doctrine was of his invention.
+There is the strongest evidence to show that it was Smith's
+knowledge that he could not win Rigdon over to polygamy which
+made the prophet so bitter against his old counsellor, and that
+it was Rigdon's opposition to the new doctrine that made Young so
+determined to drive him out of church after the prophet's death.
+
+When Rigdon returned to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to establish his
+own Mormon church there, he began in October, 1844, the
+publication of a revived Latter-Day Saints' Messenger and
+Advocate. Stating "the greater cause" of the opposition of the
+leaders of Nauvoo to him, in an editorial, he said:--
+
+"Know then that the so-called Twelve Apostles at Nauvoo are now
+teaching the doctrine of what is called Spiritual Wives; that a
+man may have more wives than one; and they are not only teaching
+it, but practising it, and this doctrine is spreading alarmingly
+through that apostate branch of the church of Latter-Day Saints.
+Their greatest objection to us was our opposition to this
+doctrine, knowing, as they did, that we had got the fact in
+possession. It created alarm, great alarm; every effort was made
+while we were there to effect something that might screen them
+from the consequence of exposure . . . .
+
+"This doctrine of a man having more wives than one is the cause
+which has induced these men to put at defiance the ecclesiastical
+arrangements of the church, and, what is equally criminal, to do
+despite unto the moral excellence of the doctrine and covenants
+of the church, setting up an order of things of their own, in
+violation of all the rules and regulations known to the Saints."
+
+In the same editorial Rigdon prints a statement by a gentleman
+who was at Nauvoo at the time, and for whose veracity he vouches,
+which said, "It was said to me by many that they had no objection
+to Elder Rigdon but his opposition to the spiritual wife system."
+
+Benjamin Winchester, who was one of the earliest missionaries
+sent out from Kirtland, adds this testimony in a letter to Elder
+John Hardy of Boston, Massachusetts, whose trial in 1844 for
+opposing the spiritual wife doctrine occasioned wide comment:
+
+"As regards the trial of Elder Rigdon at Nauvoo, it was a forced
+affair, got up by the Twelve to get him out of their way, that
+they might the better arrogate to themselves higher authority
+than they ever had, or anybody ever dreamed they would have; and
+also (as they perhaps hope) to prevent a complete expose of the
+spiritual wife system, which they knew would deeply implicate
+themselves."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. Public Announcement Of The Doctrine Of Polygamy
+
+Athough there was practically no concealment of the practice of
+polygamy by the Mormons resident in Utah after their arrival
+there, it was not until five years from that date that open
+announcement was made by the church of the important
+"revelation." This "revelation" constitutes Sec. 132 of the
+modern edition of the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," and bears
+this heading: "Revelation on the Eternity of the Marriage
+Covenant, including Plurality of Wives. Given through Joseph, the
+Seer, in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, July 12, 1843." All
+its essential parts are as follows:
+
+"Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph, that
+inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand, to know and understand
+wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac and
+Jacob; as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching
+the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and
+concubines:
+
+"Behold! and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as
+touching this matter:
+
+"Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the
+instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who
+have this law revealed unto them must obey the same;
+
+"For behold! I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant;
+and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one
+can reject this covenant, and be permitted to enter into my
+glory;
+
+"For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law
+which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions
+thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the
+world:
+
+"And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was
+instituted for the fullness of my glory; and he that receiveth a
+fullness thereof, must and shall abide the law, or he shall be
+damned, saith the Lord God.
+
+"And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are
+these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows,
+performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that
+are not made, and entered into, and sealed, by the Holy Spirit of
+promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for
+all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and
+commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have
+appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed
+unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and
+there is never but one on the earth at a time, on whom this power
+and the keys of this Priesthood are conferred), are of no
+efficacy, virtue, or force, in and after the resurrection from
+the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end, have
+an end when men are dead . . . .
+
+"I am the Lord thy God, and I give unto you this commandment,
+that no man shall come unto the Father but by me, or by my word,
+which is my law, saith the Lord; . . .
+
+"Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry
+her not by me, nor by my word; and he covenant with her so long
+as he is in the world, and she with him, their covenant and
+marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are
+out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when
+they are out of the world;
+
+"Therefore, when they are out of the world, they neither marry,
+nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven,
+which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who
+are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight
+of glory;
+
+"For these angels did not abide my law, therefore they cannot be
+enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation,
+in their saved condition, to all eternity, and from henceforth
+are not Gods, but are angels of God, for ever and ever.
+
+"And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and
+make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that
+covenant is not by me, or by my word, which is my law, and is not
+sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have
+anointed, and appointed unto this power--then it is not valid,
+neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are
+not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they
+are out of the world, it cannot be received there, because the
+angels and the Gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot
+pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory, for my house is a
+house of order, saith the Lord God.
+
+"And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my
+word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant,
+and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him
+who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power, and the
+keys of this Priesthood; and it shall be said unto them, ye shall
+come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the
+first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit
+thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all
+heights and depths--then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book
+of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent
+blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder
+whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all
+things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and
+through all eternity, and shall be of full force when they are
+out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the
+Gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all
+things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall
+be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds for ever and ever.
+
+"Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end; therefore
+shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they
+continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are
+subject unto them. Then shall they be Gods, because they have all
+power, and the angels are subject unto them.
+
+"Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye abide my law, ye cannot
+attain to this glory; . . .
+
+"And verily, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on
+earth, shall be sealed in Heaven; and whatsoever you bind on
+earth, in my name, and by my word, with the Lord, it shall be
+eternally bound in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you remit on
+earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever
+sins you retain on earth, shall be retained in heaven.
+
+"And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless, I will bless, and
+whomsoever you curse, I will curse, with the Lord; for I, the
+Lord, am thy God . . . .
+
+"Verily I say unto you, a commandment I give unto mine handmaid,
+Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay
+herself, and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer
+unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I
+did Abraham; and that I might require an offering at your hand,
+by covenant and sacrifice.
+
+"And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have
+been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure
+before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were
+pure, shall be destroyed, with the Lord God;
+
+"For I am the Lord, thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I
+give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many
+things, for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from
+henceforth I will strengthen him.
+
+"And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave
+unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not
+abide this commandment, she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord;
+for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her, if she abide not
+in my law;
+
+"But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my
+servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I
+will bless him and multiply him, and give unto him an hundred
+fold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters,
+houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives
+in the eternal worlds.
+
+"And again, verily I say, let mine handmaid forgive my servant
+Joseph his trespasses; and then shall she be forgiven her
+trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me; and I, the
+Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply her, and make her
+heart to rejoice . . . .
+
+"And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood, if any
+man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the
+first give her consent; and if he espouse the second, and they
+are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he
+justified; he cannot commit adultery, for they are given unto
+him; for he cannot commit adultery. with that that belongeth unto
+him and to no one else.
+
+"And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot
+commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto
+him, therefore is he justified.
+
+"But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused,
+shall be with another man; she has committed adultery, and shall
+be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and
+replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill
+the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of
+the world; and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that
+they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my
+Father continued, that he may be glorified.
+
+"And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any man have a wife
+who holds the keys of this power, and he teacheth unto her the
+law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall
+she believe, and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed,
+saith the Lord your God, for I will destroy her; for I will
+magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.
+
+"Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this
+law, for him to receive all things, whatsoever I, the Lord his
+God, will give unto him, because she did not administer unto him
+according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and
+he is exempt from the law of Sarah; who administered unto Abraham
+according to the law, when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to
+wife.
+
+"And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily I say unto
+you, I will reveal more unto you, hereafter; therefore, let this
+suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen."
+
+This jumble of doctrinal and family commands bears internal
+evidence of the truth of Clayton's account of its offhand
+dictation with a view to its immediate submission to the
+prophet's wife, who was already in a state of rebellion because
+of his infidelities.
+
+The publication of the "revelation" was made at a Church
+Conference which opened in Salt Lake City on August 28, 1852, and
+was called especially to select elders for missionary work.* At
+the beginning of the second day's session Orson Pratt announced
+that, unexpectedly, he had been called on to address the
+conference on the subject of a plurality of wives. "We shall
+endeavor," he said, "to set forth before this enlightened
+assembly some of the causes why the Almighty has revealed such a
+doctrine, and why it is considered a part and portion of our
+religious faith."
+
+*For text of the addresses at this conference, see Deseret News,
+extra, September 14, 1852.
+
+
+He then took up the attitude of the church, as a practiser of
+this doctrine, toward the United States government, saying:--
+
+"I believe that they will not, under our present form of
+government (I mean the government of the United States), try us
+for treason for believing and practising our religious notions
+and ideas. I think, if I am not mistaken, that the constitution
+gives the privilege to all of the inhabitants of this country, of
+the free exercise of their religious notions, and the freedom of
+their faith and the practice of it. Then, if it can be proved to
+a demonstration that the Latter-Day Saints have actually
+embraced, as a part and portion of their religion, the doctrine
+of a plurality of wives, it is constitutional. And should there
+ever be laws enacted by this government to restrict them from the
+free exercise of their religion, such laws must be
+unconstitutional"
+
+Thus, at this early date in the history of Utah, was stated the
+Mormon doctrine of the constitutional foundation of this belief,
+and, in the views then stated, may be discovered the reason for
+the bitter opposition which the Mormon church is still making to
+a constitutional amendment specifically declaring that polygamy
+is a violation of the fundamental law of the United States.
+
+Pratt then spoke at great length on the necessity and
+rightfulness of polygamy. Taking up the doctrine of a previous
+existence of all souls and a kind of nobility among the spirits,
+he said that the most likely place for the noblest spirits to
+take their tabernacles was among the Saints, and he continued:--
+"Now let us inquire what will become of those individuals who
+have this law taught unto them in plainness, if they reject it."
+(A voice in the stand "They will be damned.") "I will tell you.
+They will be damned, saith the Lord, in the revelation he hath
+given. Why? Because, where much is given, much is required. Where
+there is great knowledge unfolded for the exaltation, glory and
+happiness of the sons and daughters of God, if they close up
+their hearts, if they reject the testimony of his word and will,
+and do not give heed to the principles he has ordained for their
+good, they are worthy of damnation, and the Lord has said they
+shall be damned."
+
+After Brigham Young had made a statement concerning the history
+of the "revelation," already referred to, the "revelation" itself
+was read.
+
+The Millennial Star (Liverpool) published the proceedings of this
+conference in a supplement to its Volume XV, and the text of the
+"revelation" in its issue of January 1, 1853, saying editorially
+in the next number:--
+
+"None [of the revelations] seem to penetrate so deep, or be so
+well calculated to shake to its very center the social structure
+which has been reared and vainly nurtured by this professedly
+wise and Christian generation; none more conclusively exhibit how
+surely an end must come to all the works, institutions,
+ordinances and covenants of men; none more portray the eternity
+of God's purpose--and, we may say, none have carried so mighty an
+influence, or had the power to stamp their divinity upon the mind
+by absorbing every feeling of the soul, to the extent of the one
+which has appeared in our last."
+
+With the Mormon church in England, however, the publication of
+the new doctrine proved a bombshell, as is shown by the fact that
+2164 excommunications in the British Isles were reported to the
+semi-annual conference of December 31, 1852, and 1776 to the
+conference of the following June.
+
+The doctrine of "sealing" has been variously stated. According to
+one early definition, the man and the woman who are to be
+properly mated are selected in heaven in a pre-existent state;
+if, through a mistake in an earthly marriage, A has got the
+spouse intended for B, the latter may consider himself a husband
+to Mrs. A. Another early explanation which may be cited was thus
+stated by Henry Rowe in the Boston Investigator of, February 3,
+1845:--
+
+"The spiritual wife doctrine I will explain, as taught me by
+Elder W--e, as taught by Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Elder
+Adams, William Smith, and the rest of the Quorum, etc., etc.
+Joseph had a revelation from God that there were a number of
+spirits to be born into the world before their exaltation in the
+next; that Christ would not come until all these spirits received
+or entered their 'tabernacles of clay'; that these spirits were
+hovering around the world, and at the door of bad houses,
+watching a chance of getting into their tabernacles; that God had
+provided an honorable way for them to come forth--that was, by
+the Elders in Israel sealing up virtuous women; and as there was
+no provision made for woman in the Scriptures, their only chance
+of heaven was to be sealed up to some Elder for time and
+eternity, and be a star in his crown forever; that those who were
+the cause of bringing forth these spirits would receive a reward,
+the ratio of which reward should be the greater or less according
+to the number they were the means of bringing forth."
+
+Brigham Young's definition of "spiritual wifeism" was thus
+expressed: "And I would say, as no man can be perfect without the
+woman, so no woman can be perfect without a man to lead her. I
+tell you the truth as it is in the bosom of eternity; and I say
+to every man upon the face of the earth, if he wishes to be
+saved, he cannot be saved without a woman by his side. This is
+spiritual wifeism, that is, the doctrine of spiritual wives."*
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. VI, p. 955.
+
+
+The Mormon, under polygamy, was taught that he "married" for
+time, but was "sealed" for eternity. The "sealing" was therefore
+the more important ceremony, and was performed in the Endowment
+House, with the accompaniment of secret oaths and mystic
+ceremonies. If a wife disliked her husband, and wished to be
+"sealed" to a man of her choice, the Mormon church would marry
+her to the latter*--a marriage made actual in every sense--if he
+was acceptable as a Mormon; and, if the first husband also wanted
+to be "sealed" to her, the church would perform a mock ceremony
+to satisfy this husband. "It is impossible," says Hyde, "to state
+all the licentiousness, under the name of religion, that these
+sealing ordinances have occasioned." **
+
+* One of Stenhouse's informants about the "reformation" of 1856
+in Utah writes: "It was hinted, and secretly taught by authority,
+that women should form relations with more than one man." On this
+Stenhouse says: "The author has no personal knowledge, from the
+present leaders of the church, of this teaching; but he has often
+heard that something would then be taught which 'would test the
+brethren as much as polygamy had tried the sisters."'--"Rocky
+Mountain Saints," p. 301.
+
+** "Mormonism," p. 84.
+
+
+A Mormon preacher never hesitated to go to any lengths in
+justifying the doctrine of plural marriages. One illustration of
+this may suffice. Orson Hyde, in a discourse in the Salt Lake
+Tabernacle in March, 1857, made the following argument to support
+a claim that Jesus Christ was a polygamist:--
+
+"It will be borne in mind that, once on a time, there was a
+marriage in Cana of Galilee; and on a careful reading of that
+transaction it will be discovered that no less a person than
+Jesus Christ was married on that occasion. If he was never
+married, his intimacy with Mary and Martha, and the other Mary
+also, whom Jesus loved, must have been highly unbecoming and
+improper, to say the best of it. I will venture to say that, if
+Jesus Christ was now to pass through the most pious countries in
+Christendom, with a train of women such as used to follow him,
+fondling about him, combing his hair, anointing him with precious
+ointments, washing his feet with tears and wiping them with the
+hair of their heads, and unmarried, or even married, he would be
+mobbed, tarred and feathered, and rode, not on an ass, but on a
+rail . . . . Did he multiply, and did he see his seed? Did he
+honor his Father's law by complying with it, or did he not?
+Others may do as they like, but I will not charge our Saviour
+with neglect or transgression in this or any other duty."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, p. 259.
+
+
+The doctrine of "adoption," referred to, taught that the direct
+line of the true priesthood was broken with the death of Christ's
+apostles, and that the rights of the lineage of Abraham could be
+secured only by being "adopted" by a modern apostle, all of whom
+were recognized as lineal descendants of Abraham. Recourse was
+here had to the Scriptures, and Romans iv. 16 was quoted to
+sustain this doctrine. The first "adoptions" took place in the
+Nauvoo Temple. Lee was "adopted to" Brigham Young, and Young's
+and Lee's children were then "adopted" to their own fathers.
+
+With this necessary explanation of the introduction of polygamy,
+we may take up the narrative of events at Nauvoo.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. The Suppression Of The Expositor
+
+Smith was now to encounter a kind of resistance within the church
+that he had never met. In all previous apostasies, where members
+had dared to attack his character or question his authority, they
+had been summarily silenced, and in most cases driven at once out
+of the Mormon community. But there were men at Nauvoo above the
+average of the Mormon convert as regards intelligence and wealth,
+who refused to follow the prophet in his new doctrine regarding
+marriage, and whose opposition took the very practical shape of
+the establishment of a newspaper in the Mormon city to expose him
+and to defend themselves.
+
+In his testimony in the Higbee trial Smith had accused a
+prominent Mormon, Dr. R. D. Foster, of stealing and of gross
+insults to women. Dr. Foster, according to current report, had
+found Smith at his house, and had received from his wife a
+confession that Smith had been persuading her to become one of
+his spiritual wives.*
+
+* "At the May, 1844, term of the Hancock Circuit Court two
+indictments were found against Smith by the grand jury--one for
+adultery and one for perjury. To the surprise of all, on the
+Monday following, the Prophet appeared in court and demanded that
+he be tried on the last-named indictment. The prosecutor not
+being ready, a continuance was entered to the next term."--GREGG,
+"History of Hancock County," p. 301.
+
+
+Among the leading members of the church at Nauvoo at this time
+were two brothers, William and Wilson Law. They were Canadians,
+and had brought considerable property with them, and in the
+"revelation" of January 19, 1841, William Law was among those who
+were directed to take stock in Nauvoo House, and was named as one
+of the First Presidency, and was made registrar of the
+University. Wilson Law was a regent of the University and a major
+general of the Legion. General Law had been an especial favorite
+of Smith. In writing to him while in hiding from the Missouri
+authorities in 1842, Smith says, "I love that soul that is so
+nobly established in that clay of yours." * At the conference of
+April, 1844, Hyrum Smith said: "I wish to speak about Messrs.
+Law's steam mill. There has been a great deal of bickering about
+it. The mill has been a great benefit to the city. It has brought
+in thousands who would not have come here. The Messrs. Law have
+sunk their capital and done a great deal of good. It is out of
+character to cast any aspersions on the Messrs. Law."
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, p. 695.
+
+
+Dr. Foster, the Laws, and Counsellor Sylvester Emmons became
+greatly stirred up about the spiritual wife doctrine, and the
+effort of Smith and those in his confidence to teach and enforce
+the doctrine of plural wives; and they finally decided to
+establish in Nauvoo a newspaper that would openly attack the new
+order of things. The name chosen for this newspaper was the
+Expositor, and Emmons was its editor.* Its motto was: "The Truth,
+the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth," and its prospectus
+announced as its purpose, "Unconditional repeal of the city
+charter--to correct the abuses of the unit power--to advocate
+disobedience to political revelations." Only one number of this
+newspaper was ever issued, but that number was almost directly
+the cause of the prophet's death.
+
+* Emmons went direct to Beardstown, Illinois, after the
+destruction of the paper, and lived there till the day of his
+death, a leading citizen. He established the first newspaper
+published in Beardstown, and was for sixteen years the mayor of
+the city.
+
+
+The most important feature of the Expositor (which bore date of
+June 7, 1844) was a "preamble" and resolutions of "seceders from
+the church at Nauvoo," and affidavits by Mr. and Mrs. William Law
+and Austin Cowles setting forth that Hyrum Smith had read the
+"revelation" concerning polygamy to William Law and to the High
+Council, and that Mrs. Law had read it.*
+
+* These were the only affidavits printed in the Expositor. More
+than one description of the paper has stated that it contained
+many more. Thus, Appleton's "American Encyclopedia," under
+"Mormons," says, "In the first number (there was only one) they
+printed the affidavits of sixteen women to the effect that Joseph
+Smith and Sidney Rigdon and others had endeavored to convert them
+to the spiritual wife doctrine."
+
+
+The "preamble" affirmed the belief of the seceders in the Mormon
+Bible and the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants," but declared
+their intention to "explode the vicious principles of Joseph
+Smith," adding, "We are aware, however, that we are hazarding
+every earthly blessing, particularly property, and probably life
+itself, in striking this blow at tyranny and oppression." Many of
+them, it was explained, had sought a reformation of the church
+without any public exposure, but they had been spurned,
+"particularly by Joseph, who would state that, if he had been or
+was guilty of the charges we would charge him with, he would not
+make acknowledgment, but would rather be damned, for it would
+detract from his dignity and would consequently prove the
+overthrow of the church. We would ask him, on the other hand, if
+the overthrow of the church were not inevitable; to which he
+often replied that we would all go to hell together and convert
+it into a heaven by casting the devil out; and, says he, hell is
+by no means the place this world of fools supposes it to be, but,
+on the contrary, it is quite an agreeable place."
+
+The "preamble" further set forth the methods employed by Smith to
+induce women from other countries, who had joined the Mormons in
+Nauvoo, to become his spiritual wives, reciting the arguments
+advanced, and thus summing up the general result: "She is
+thunderstruck, faints, recovers and refuses. The prophet damns
+her if she rejects. She thinks of the great sacrifice, and of the
+many thousand miles she has travelled over sea and land that she
+might save her soul from pending ruin, and replies, 'God's will
+be done and not mine.' The prophet and his devotees in this way
+are gratified." Smith's political aspirations were condemned as
+preposterous, and the false "doctrine of many gods" was called
+blasphemy.
+
+Fifteen resolutions followed. They declared against the evils
+named, and also condemned the order to the Saints to gather in
+haste at Nauvoo, explaining that the purpose of this command was
+to enable the men in control of the church to sell property at
+exorbitant prices, "and thus the wealth that is brought into the
+place is swallowed up by the one great throat, from whence there
+is no return." The seceders asserted that, although they had an
+intimate acquaintance with the affairs of the church, they did
+not know of any property belonging to it except the Temple.
+Finally, as speaking for the true church, they ordered all
+preachers to cease to teach the doctrine of plural gods, a
+plurality of wives, sealing, etc., and directed offenders in this
+respect to report and have their licenses renewed. Another
+feature of the issue was a column address signed by Francis M.
+Higbee, advising the citizens of Hancock County not to send Hyrum
+Smith to the legislature, since to support him was to support
+Joseph, "a man who contends all governments are to be put down,
+and one established upon its ruins."
+
+The appearance of this sheet created the greatest excitement
+among the Mormon leaders that they had experienced since leaving
+Missouri. They recognized in it immediately a mouthpiece of men
+who were better informed than Bennett, and who were ready to
+address an audience composed both of their own flock and of their
+outlying non-Mormon neighbors, whose antipathy to them was
+already manifesting itself aggressively. To permit the continued
+publication of this sheet meant one of those surrenders which
+Smith had never made.
+
+The prophet therefore took just such action as would have been
+expected of him in the circumstances. Calling a meeting of the
+City Council, he proceeded to put the Expositor and its editors
+on trial, as if that body was of a judicial instead of a
+legislative character. The minutes of this trial, which lasted
+all of Saturday, June 8, and a part of Monday, June l0, 1844, can
+be found in the Neighbor of June 19, of that year, filling six
+columns. The prophet-mayor occupied the chair, and the defendants
+were absent.
+
+The testimony introduced aimed at the start to break down the
+characters of Dr. Foster, Higbee, and the Laws. A mechanic
+testified that the Laws had bought "bogus"--(counterfeit) dies of
+him. The prophet told how William Law had "pursued" him to
+recover $40,000 that Smith owed him. Hyrum Smith alleged that
+William Law had offered to give a man $500 if he would kill
+Hyrum, and had confessed adultery to him, making a still more
+heinous charge against Higbee. Hyrum referred "to the revelation
+of the High Council of the church, which has caused so much talk
+about a multiplicity of wives," and declared that it "concerned
+things which transpired in former days, and had no reference to
+the present time." Testimony was also given to show that the Laws
+were not liberal to the poor, and that William's motto with his
+fellowchurchmen who owed him was, "Punctuality, punctuality."*
+This was naturally a serious offence in the eyes of the Smiths.
+
+* The Expositor contained this advertisement: "The subscribers
+wish to inform all those who, through sickness or other
+misfortunes, are much limited is their means of procuring bread
+for their families, that we have allotted Thursday of every week
+to grind toll free for them, till grain becomes plentiful after
+harvest.--W. & W. Law."
+
+
+The prophet declared that the conduct of such men, and of such
+papers as the Expositor, was calculated to destroy the peace of
+the city. He unblushingly asserted that what he had preached
+about marriage only showed the order in ancient days, having
+nothing to do with the present time. In regard to the alleged
+revelation about polygamy he explained that, on inquiring of the
+Lord concerning the Scriptural teaching that "they neither marry
+nor are given in marriage in heaven," he received a reply to the
+effect that men in this life must marry in one of eternity,
+otherwise they must remain as angels, or be single in heaven.
+
+Smith then proposed that the Council make some provision for
+putting down the Expositor, declaring its allegations to be
+"treasonable against all chartered rights and privileges." He
+read from the federal and state constitutions to define his idea
+of the rights of the press, and quoted Blackstone on private
+wrongs. Hyrum openly advocated smashing the press and pieing the
+type. One councillor alone raised his voice for moderation,
+proposing to give the offenders a few days' notice, and to assess
+a fine of $300 for every libel. W. W. Phelps (who was back in the
+fold again) held that the city charter gave them power to declare
+the newspaper a nuisance, and cited the spilling of the tea in
+Boston harbor as a precedent for an attack on the Expositor
+office. Finally, on June 10, this resolution was passed
+unanimously:--
+
+"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 Expositors which may
+be or exist in said establishment; and the mayor is instructed to
+cause said printing establishment and papers to be removed
+without delay, in such manner as he shall direct."
+
+Smith, of course, made very prompt use of this authority, issuing
+the following order to the city marshal:--
+
+"You are hereby commanded to destroy the printing press from
+whence issues the Nauvoo Expositor, and pi the type of said
+printing establishment in the street, and burn all the Expositors
+and libellous hand bills found in said establishment; and if
+resistance be offered to the execution of this order, by the
+owners or others, destroy the house; and if any one threatens you
+or the Mayor or the officers of the city, arrest those who
+threaten you; and fail not to execute this order without delay,
+and make due return thereon.
+
+"JOSEPH SMITH, Mayor."
+
+To meet any armed opposition which might arise, the acting major
+general of the Legion was thus directed:--
+
+"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 ; and
+this you are required to do at sight, under the penalty of the
+laws, provided the marshal shall require it and need your
+services."
+
+JOSEPH SMITH,
+
+"Lieutenant General Nauvoo Legion."
+
+The story of the compliance with the mayor's order is thus
+concisely told in the "marshal's return," "The within-named press
+and type is destroyed and pied according to order on this loth
+day of June, 1844, at about eight o'clock P.m." The work was
+accomplished without any serious opposition. The marshal appeared
+at the newspaper office, accompanied by an escort from the
+Legion, and forced his way into the building. The press and type
+were carried into the street, where the press was broken up with
+hammers, and all that was combustible was burned.
+
+Dr. Foster and the Laws fled at once to Carthage, Illinois, under
+the belief that their lives were in danger. The story of their
+flight and of the destruction of their newspaper plant by order
+of the Nauvoo authorities spread quickly all over the state, and
+in the neighboring counties the anti-Mormon feeling, that had for
+some time been growing more intense, was now fanned to fury. This
+feeling the Mormon leaders seemed determined to increase still
+further.
+
+The owners of the Expositor sued out at Carthage a writ for the
+removal to that place of Joseph Smith and the Nauvoo counsellors
+on a charge of a riot in connection with the destruction of their
+plant. This writ, when presented, was at once set aside by a writ
+of habeas corpus issued by the Nauvoo Municipal Court, but the
+case was heard before a Mormon justice of the peace on June 17,
+and he discharged the accused. As if this was not a sufficient
+defiance of public opinion, Smith, as mayor, published a
+"proclamation" in the Neighbor of June 19, reciting the events in
+connection with the attack on the Expositor, and closing thus:
+
+"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 villanous 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 property, 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 God
+in Israel we shall ride triumphant over all oppression."
+
+JOSEPH SMITH, Mayor.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. Uprising Of The Non-Mormons--Smith's Arrest
+
+The gauntlet thus thrown down by Smith was promptly taken up by
+his non-Mormon neighbors, and public meetings were held in
+various places to give expression to the popular indignation. At
+such a meeting in Warsaw, Hancock County, eighteen miles down the
+river, the following was among the resolutions adopted:
+
+"Resolved, that the time, in our opinion, has arrived when the
+adherents of Smith, as a body, should be driven from the
+surrounding settlements into Nauvoo; that the Prophet and his
+miscreant adherents should then be demanded at their hands, and,
+if not surrendered, a war of extermination should be waged, to
+the entire destruction, if necessary for our protection, of his
+adherents."
+
+Warsaw was considered the most violent anti-Mormon neighborhood,
+the Signal newspaper there being especially bitter in its
+attacks; but the people in all the surrounding country began to
+prepare for "war" in earnest. At Warsaw 150 men were mustered in
+under General Knox, and $1000 was voted for supplies. In
+Carthage, Rushville, Green Plains, and many other towns in
+Illinois men began organizing themselves into military companies,
+cannon were ordered from St. Louis, and the near-by places in
+Iowa, as well as some in Missouri, sent word that their aid could
+be counted on. Rumors of all sorts of Mormon outrages were
+circulated, and calls were made for militia, here to protect the
+people against armed Mormon bands, there against Mormon thieves.
+Many farmhouses were deserted by their owners through fear, and
+the steamboats on the river were crowded with women and children,
+who were sent to some safe settlement while the men were doing
+duty in the militia ranks. Many of the alarming reports were
+doubtless started by non-Mormons to inflame the public feeling
+against their opponents, others were the natural outgrowth of the
+existing excitement.
+
+On June 17 a committee from Carthage made to Governor Ford so
+urgent a request for the calling out of the militia, that he
+decided to visit the disturbed district and make an investigation
+on his own account.* On arriving at Carthage he found a
+considerable militia force already assembled as a posse
+comitatus, at the call of the constables. This force, and similar
+ones in McDonough and Schuyler counties, he placed under command
+of their own officers. Next, the governor directed the mayor and
+council of Nauvoo to send a committee to state to him their story
+of the recent doings. This they did, convincing him, by their own
+account, of the outrageous character of the proceedings against
+the Expositor. He therefore arrived at two conclusions: first,
+that no authority at his command should be spared in bringing the
+Mormon leaders to justice; and, second, that this must be done
+without putting the Mormons in danger of an attack by any kind of
+a mob. He therefore addressed the militia force from each county
+separately, urging on them the necessity of acting only within
+the law; and securing from them all a vote pledging their aid to
+the governor in following a strictly legal course, and protecting
+from violence the Mormon leaders when they should be arrested.
+
+* The story of the events just preceding Joseph Smith's death are
+taken from Governor Ford's report to the Illinois legislature,
+and from his "History of Illinois."
+
+
+The governor then sent word to Smith that he and his associates
+would be protected if they would surrender, but that arrested
+they should be, even if it took the whole militia force of the
+state to accomplish this. The constable and guards who carried
+the governor's mandate to Nauvoo found the city a military camp.
+Smith had placed it under martial law, assembled the Legion,
+called in all the outlying Mormons, and ordered that no one
+should enter or leave the place without submitting to the
+strictest inquiry. The governor's messengers had no difficulty,
+however, in gaining admission to Smith, who promised that he and
+the members of the Council would accompany the officers to
+Carthage the next morning (June 23) at eight o'clock. But at that
+time the accused did not appear, and, without any delay or any
+effort to arrest the men who were wanted, the officers returned
+to Carthage and reported that all the accused had fled.
+
+Whatever had been the intention of Smith when the constable first
+appeared, he and his associates did surrender, as the governor
+had expressed a belief that they would do.. Statements of the
+circumstances of the surrender were written at the time by H. P.
+Reid and James W. Woods of Iowa, who were employed by the Mormons
+as counsel, and were printed in the Times and Seasons, Vol. V,
+No. 12. Mr. Woods, according to these accounts, arrived in Nauvoo
+on Friday, June 21, and, after an interview with Smith. and his
+friends, went to Carthage the next evening to assure Governor
+Ford that the Nauvoo officers were ready to obey the law. There
+he learned that the constable and his assistants had gone to
+Nauvoo to demand his clients' surrender; but he does not mention
+their return without the prisoners. He must have known, however,
+that the first intention of Smith and the Council was to flee
+from the wrath of their neighbors. The "Life of Brigham Young,"
+published by Cannon & Sons, Salt Lake City, 1893, contains this
+statement:--
+
+"The Prophet hesitated about giving himself up, and started, on
+the night of June 22, with his brother Hyrum, W. Richards, John
+Taylor, and a few others for the Rocky Mountains. He was,
+however, intercepted by his friends, and induced to abandon his
+project, being chided with cowardice and with deserting his
+people. This was more than he could bear, and so he returned,
+saying: 'If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of no
+value to myself. We are going back to be slaughtered.'"
+
+It will be remembered that Young, Rigdon, Orson Pratt, and many
+others of the leading men of the church were absent at this time,
+most of them working up Smith's presidential "boom." Orson Pratt,
+who was then in New Hampshire, said afterward, "If the Twelve had
+been here, we would not have seen him given up."
+
+Woods received from the governor a pledge of protection for all
+who might be arrested, and an assurance that if the Mormons would
+give themselves up at Carthage, on Monday, the 24th, this would
+be accepted as a compliance with the governor's orders. He
+therefore returned to Nauvoo with this message on Sunday evening,
+and the next morning the accused left that place with him for
+Carthage. They soon met Captain Dunn, who, with a company of
+sixty men, was going to Nauvoo with an order from the governor
+for the state arms in the possession of the Legion.* Woods made
+an agreement with Captain Dunn that the arms should be given up
+by Smith's order, and that his clients should place themselves
+under the captain's protection, and return with him to Carthage.
+The return trip to Nauvoo, and thence to Carthage, was not
+completed until about midnight. The Mormons were not put under
+restraint that night, but the next morning they surrendered
+themselves to the constable on a charge of riot in connection
+with the destruction of the Expositor plant.
+
+* It was stated that on two hours' notice two thousand men
+appeared, all armed, and that they surrendered their arms in
+compliance with the governor's plans.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. The Murder Of The Prophet--His Character
+
+On Tuesday morning, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were arrested again in
+Carthage, this time on a charge of treason in levying war against
+the state, by declaring martial law in Nauvoo and calling out the
+Legion. In the afternoon of that day all the accused, numbering
+fifteen, appeared before a justice of the peace, and, to prevent
+any increase in the public excitement, gave bonds in the sum of
+$500 each for their appearance at the next term of the Circuit
+Court to answer the charge of riot.* It was late in the evening
+when this business was finished, and nothing was said at the time
+about the charge of treason.
+
+* The trial of the survivors resulted in a verdict of acquittal.
+"The Mormons," says Governor Ford, "could have a Mormon jury to
+be tried by, selected by themselves, and the anti-Mormons, by
+objecting to the sheriff and regular panel, could have one from
+the anti-Mormons. No one could [then] be convicted of any crime
+in Hancock County."--"History of Illinois," p. 369.
+
+
+Very soon after their return to the hotel, however, the constable
+who had arrested the Smiths on the new charge appeared with a
+mittimus from the justice of the peace, and, under its authority,
+conveyed them to the county jail. Their counsel immediately
+argued before the governor that this action was illegal, as the
+Smiths had had no hearing on the charge of treason, and the
+governor went with the lawyers to consult the justice concerning
+his action. The justice explained that he had directed the
+removal of the prisoners to jail because he did not consider them
+safe in the hotel. The governor held that, from the time of their
+delivery to the jailer, they were beyond his jurisdiction and
+responsibility, but he granted a request of their counsel for a
+military guard about the jail. He says, however, that he
+apprehended neither an attack on the building nor an escape of
+the prisoners, adding that if they had escaped, "it would have
+been the best way of getting rid of the Mormons," since these
+leaders would never have dared to return to the state, and all
+their followers would have joined them in their place of refuge.
+
+The militia force in Carthage at that time numbered some twelve
+hundred men, with four hundred or five hundred more persons under
+arms in the town. There was great pressure on the governor to
+march this entire force to Nauvoo, ostensibly to search for a
+counterfeiting establishment, in order to overawe the Mormons by
+a show of force. The governor consented to this plan, and it was
+arranged that the officers at Carthage and Warsaw should meet on
+June 27 at a point on the Mississippi midway between the latter
+place and Nauvoo.
+
+Governor Ford was not entirely certain about the safety of the
+prisoners, and he proposed to take them with him in the march to
+Nauvoo, for their protection. But while preparations for this
+march were still under way, trustworthy information reached him
+that, if the militia once entered the Mormon city, its
+destruction would certainly follow, the plan being to accept a
+shot fired at the militia by someone as a signal for a general
+slaughter and conflagration. He determined to prevent this, not
+only on humane grounds,--"the number of women, inoffensive and
+young persons, and innocent children which must be contained in
+such a city of twelve hundred to fifteen thousand
+inhabitants"--but because he was not certain of the outcome of a
+conflict in which the Mormons would outnumber his militia almost
+two to one. After a council of the militia officers, in which a
+small majority adhered to the original plan, the governor solved
+the question by summarily disbanding all the state forces under
+arms, except three companies, two of which would continue to
+guard the jail, and the other would accompany the governor on a
+visit to Nauvoo, where he proposed to search for counterfeiters,
+and to tell the inhabitants that any retaliatory measures against
+the non-Mormons would mean "the destruction of their city, and
+the extermination of their people."
+
+The jail at Carthage was a stone building, situated at the
+northwestern boundary of the village, and near a piece of woods
+that were convenient for concealment. It contained the jailer's
+apartments, cells for prisoners, and on the second story a sort
+of assembly room. At the governor's suggestion, Joseph and Hyrum
+were allowed the freedom of this larger room, where their friends
+were permitted to visit them, without any precautions against the
+introduction of weapons or tools for their escape.
+
+Their guards were selected from the company known as the Carthage
+Grays, Captain Smith, commander. In this choice the governor made
+a mistake which always left him under a charge of collusion in
+the murder of the prisoners. It was not, in the first place,
+necessary to select any Hancock company for this service, as he
+had militia from McDonough County on the ground. All the people
+of Hancock County were in a fever of excitement against the
+Mormons, while the McDonough County militia had voted against the
+march into Nauvoo. Moreover, when the prisoners, after their
+arrival at Carthage, had been exhibited to the McDonough company
+at the request of the latter, who had never seen them, the Grays
+were so indignant at what they called a triumphal display, that
+they refused to obey the officer in command, and were for a time
+in revolt. "Although I knew that this company were the enemies of
+the Smiths," says the governor, "yet I had confidence in their
+loyalty and their integrity, because their captain was
+universally spoken of as a most respectable citizen and honorable
+man." The governor further excused himself for the selection
+because the McDonough company were very anxious to return home to
+attend to their crops, and because, as the prisoners were likely
+to remain in jail all summer, he could not have detained the men
+from the other county so long. He presents also the curious plea
+that the frequent appeals made to him direct for the
+extermination or expulsion of the Mormons gave him assurance that
+no act of violence would be committed contrary to his known
+opposition, and he observes, "This was a circumstance well
+calculated to conceal from me the secret machinations on foot!"
+
+In this state of happy confidence the governor set out for Nauvoo
+on the morning of June 27. On the way, one of the officers who
+accompanied him told him that he was apprehensive of an attack on
+the jail because of talk he had heard in Carthage. The governor
+was reluctant to believe that such a thing could occur while he
+was in the Mormon city, exposed to Mormon vengeance, but he sent
+back a squad, with instructions to Captain Smith to see that the
+jail was safely guarded. He had apprehensions of his own,
+however, and on arriving at Nauvoo simply made an address as
+above outlined, and hurried back to Carthage without even looking
+for counterfeit money. He had not gone more than two miles when
+messengers met him with the news that the Smith brothers had been
+killed in the jail.
+
+The Warsaw regiment (it is so called in the local histories),
+under command of Colonel Levi Williams, set out on the morning of
+June 27 for the rendezvous on the Mississippi, preparatory to the
+march to Nauvoo. The resolutions adopted in Warsaw and the tone
+of the local press had left no doubt about the feeling of the
+people of that neighborhood toward the Mormons, and fully
+justified the decision of the governor in countermanding the
+march proposed. His unexpected order disbanding the militia
+reached the Warsaw troops when they had advanced about eight
+miles. A decided difference of opinion was expressed regarding
+it. Some of the most violent, including Editor Sharp of the
+Signal, wanted to continue the march to Carthage in order to
+discuss the situation with the other forces there; the more
+conservative advised an immediate return to Warsaw. Each party
+followed its own inclination, those who continued toward Carthage
+numbering, it is said, about two hundred.
+
+While there is no doubt that the Warsaw regiment furnished the
+men who made the attack on the jail, there is evidence that the
+Carthage Grays were in collusion with them. William N. Daniels,
+in his account of the assault, says that the Warsaw men, when
+within four miles of Carthage, received a note from the Grays
+(which he quotes) telling them of the good opportunity presented
+"to murder the Smiths" in the governor's absence. His testimony
+alone would be almost valueless, but Governor Ford confirms it,
+and Gregg (who holds that the only purpose of the mob was to
+seize the prisoners and run them into Missouri) says he is
+"compelled" to accept the report. According to Governor Ford, one
+of the companies designated as a guard for the jail disbanded and
+went home, and the other was stationed by its captain 150 yards
+from the building, leaving only a sergeant and eight men at the
+jail itself. "A communication," he adds, "was soon established
+between the conspirators and the company, and it was arranged
+that the guards should have their guns charged with blank
+cartridges, and fire at the assailants when they attempted to
+enter the jail."
+
+Both Willard Richards and John Taylor were in the larger room
+with the Smith brothers when the attack was made (other visitors
+having recently left), and both gave detailed accounts of the
+shooting, Richards soon afterward, in a statement printed in the
+Neighbor and the Times and Seasons under the title "Two Minutes
+in Gaol," and Taylor in his "Martyrdom of Joseph Smith." * They
+differ only in minor particulars.
+
+* To be found in Burton's "City of the Saints."
+
+
+All in the room were sitting in their shirt sleeves except
+Richards, when they saw a number of men, with blackened faces,
+advancing around the corner of the jail toward the stairway. The
+door leading from the room to the stairs was hurriedly closed,
+and, as it was without a lock, Hyrum Smith and Richards placed
+their shoulders against it. Finding their entrance opposed, the
+assailants fired a shot through the door (Richards says they
+fired a volley up the stairway), which caused Hyrum and Richards
+to leap back. While Hyrum was retreating across the room, with
+his face to the door, a second shot fired through the door struck
+him by the side of the nose, and at the same moment another ball,
+fired through the window at the other side of the room, entered
+his back, and, passing through his body, was stopped by the watch
+in his vest pocket, smashing the works. He fell on his back
+exclaiming, "I am a dead man," and did not speak again.
+
+One of their callers had left a six-shooting pistol with the
+prisoners, and, when Joseph saw his brother shot, he advanced
+with this weapon to the door, and opening it a few inches,
+snapped each barrel toward the men on the other side. Three
+barrels missed fire, but each of the three that exploded seems to
+have wounded a man; accounts differ as to the seriousness of
+their injuries. While Joseph was firing, Taylor stood by him
+armed with a stout hickory stick, and Richards was on his other
+side holding a cane. As soon as Joseph's firing, which had
+checked the assailants for a moment, ceased, the latter stuck
+their weapons through the partly opened doorway, and fired into
+the room. Taylor tried to parry the guns with his cudgel. "That's
+right, Brother Taylor, parry them off as well as you can," said
+the prophet, and these are the last words he is remembered to
+have spoken. The assailants hesitated to enter the room, perhaps
+not knowing what weapons the Mormons had, and Taylor concluded to
+take his chances of a leap through an open window opposite the
+door, and some twenty-five feet from the ground. But as he was
+about to jump out, a ball struck him in the thigh, depriving him
+of all power of motion. He fell inside the window, and as soon as
+he recovered power to move, crawled under a bed which stood in
+one corner of the room. The men in the hallway continued to
+thrust in their guns and fire, and Richards kept trying to knock
+aside the muzzles with his cane. Taylor in this way, before he
+reached the bed, received three more balls, one below the left
+knee, one in the left arm, and another in the left hip.
+
+Almost as soon as Taylor fell, the prophet made a dash for the
+window. As he was part way out, two balls fired through the
+doorway struck him, and one from outside the building entered his
+right breast. Richards says: "He fell outward, exclaiming 'O
+Lord, my God.' As his feet went out of the window, my head went
+in, the balls whistling all around. At this instant the cry was
+raised, 'He's leaped the window,' and the mob on the stairs and
+in the entry ran out. I withdrew from the window, thinking it of
+no use to leap out on a hundred bayonets, then around General
+Smith's body. Not satisfied with this, I again reached my head
+out of the window and watched some seconds, to see if there were
+any signs of life, regardless of my own, determined to see the
+end of him I loved. Being fully satisfied that he was dead, with
+a hundred men near the body and more coming round the corner of
+the gaol, and expecting a return to our room, I rushed toward the
+prison door at the head of the stairs." Finding the inner doors
+of the jail unlocked, Richards dragged Taylor into a cell and
+covered him with an old mattress. Both expected a return of the
+mob, but the lynchers disappeared as soon as they satisfied
+themselves that the prophet was dead. Richards was not injured at
+all, although his large size made him an ample target.
+
+Most Mormon accounts of Smith's death say that, after he fell,
+the body was set up against a well curb in the yard and riddled
+with balls. Taylor mentions this report, but Richards, who
+specifically says that he saw the prophet die, does not. Governor
+Ford's account says that Smith was only stunned by the fall and
+was shot in the yard. Perhaps the original authority for this
+version was a lad named William N. Daniels, who accompanied the
+Warsaw men to Carthage, and, after the shooting, went to Nauvoo
+and had his story published by the Mormons in pamphlet form, with
+two extravagant illustrations, in which one of the assailants is
+represented as approaching Smith with a knife to cut off his
+head.*
+
+*A detailed account of the murder of the Smiths, and events
+connected with it, was contributed to the Atlantic Monthly for
+December, 1869, by John Hay. This is accepted by Kennedy as
+written by "one whose opportunities for information were
+excellent, whose fairness cannot be questioned, and whose ability
+to distinguish the true from the false is of the highest order."
+H. H. Bancroft, whose tone is always pro-Mormon, alludes to this
+article as "simply a tissue of falsehoods." In reply to a note of
+inquiry Secretary Hay wrote to the author, under date of November
+17, 1900: "I relied more upon my memory and contemporary
+newspapers for my facts than on certified documents. I will not
+take my oath to everything the article contains, but I think in
+the main it is correct." This article says that Joseph Smith was
+severely wounded before he ran to the window, "and half leaped,
+half fell into the jail yard below. With his last dying energies
+he gathered himself up, and leaned in a sitting posture against
+the rude stone well curb. His stricken condition, his vague
+wandering glances, excited no pity in the mob thirsting for his
+life. A squad of Missourians, who were standing by the fence,
+leveled their pieces at him, and, before they could see him again
+for the smoke they made, Joe Smith was dead:" This is not an
+account of an eye-witness.
+
+
+The bodies of the two brothers were removed to the hotel in
+Carthage, and were taken the next day to Nauvoo, arriving there
+about three o'clock in the afternoon. They were met by
+practically the entire population, and a procession made up of
+the City Council, the generals of the Legion with their staffs,
+the Legion and the citizens generally, all under command of the
+city marshal, escorted them to the Nauvoo Mansion, where
+addresses were made by Dr. Richards, W. W. Phelps, the lawyers
+Woods and Reid, and Colonel Markham. The utmost grief was shown
+by the Mormons, who seemed stunned by the blow.
+
+The burial followed, but the bodies did not occupy the graves.
+Stenhouse is authority for the statement that, fearing a grave
+robbery (which in fact occurred the next night), the coffins were
+filled with stones, and the bodies were buried secretly beneath
+the unfinished Temple. Mistrustful that even this concealment
+would not be sufficient, they were soon taken up and reburied
+under the brick wall back of the Mansion House.*
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 174.
+
+
+Brigham Young said at the conference in the Temple on October 8,
+1845, "We will petition Sister Emma, in the name of Israel's God,
+to let us deposit the remains of Joseph according as he has
+commanded us, and if she will not consent to it, our garments are
+clear." She did not consent. For the following statement about
+the future disposition of the bodies I am indebted to the
+grandson of the prophet, Mr. Frederick Madison Smith, one of the
+editors of the Saints' Herald (Reorganized Church) at Lamoni,
+Iowa, dated December 15, 1900:--
+
+"The burial place of the brothers Joseph and Hyrum has always
+remained a secret, being known only to a very few of the
+immediate family. In fact, unless it has lately been revealed to
+others, the exact spot is known only to my father and his
+brother. Others who knew the secret are now silent in death. The
+reasons for the secrecy were that it was feared that, if the
+burial place was known at the time, there might have been an
+inclination on the part of the enemies of those men to desecrate
+their bodies and graves. There is not now, and probably has not
+been for years, any danger of such desecration, and the only
+reason I can see for still keeping it a secret is the natural
+disinclination on the part of the family to talk about such
+matters.
+
+"However, I have been on the ground with my father when I knew I
+was standing within a few feet of where the remains were lying,
+and it is known to many about where that spot is. It is a short
+distance from the Nauvoo House, on the bank of the Mississippi.
+The lot is still owned by the family, the title being in my
+father's name. There is not, that I know, any intention of ever
+taking the bodies to Far West or Independence, Missouri. The
+chances are that their resting places will never be disturbed
+other than to erect on the spot a monument. In fact, a movement
+is now underway to raise the means to do that. A monument fund is
+being subscribed to by the members of the church. The monument
+would have been erected by the family, but it is not financially
+able to do it."
+
+In the October following, indictments were found against Colonel
+Williams of the Warsaw regiment, State Senator J. C. Davis,
+Editor Sharp, and six others, including three who were said to
+have been wounded by Smith's pistol shots, but the sheriff did
+not succeed in making any arrests. In the May following some of
+the accused appeared for trial. A struck jury was obtained, but,
+in the existing state of public feeling, an acquittal was a
+foregone conclusion. The guards at the jail would identify no
+one, and Daniels, the pamphlet writer, and another leading
+witness for the prosecution gave contradictory accounts.
+
+But the prophet, according to Mormon recitals, did not go
+unavenged. Lieutenant Worrell, who commanded the detachment of
+the guards at the jail, was shot not long after, as we shall see.
+Murray McConnell, who represented the governor in the prosecution
+of the alleged lynchers, was assassinated twenty-four years
+later. P. P. Pratt gives an account of the fate of other
+"persecutors." The arm of one Townsend, who was wounded by Joe's
+pistol, continued to rot until it was taken off, and then would
+not heal. A colonel of the Missouri forces, who died in
+Sacramento in 1849, "was eaten with worms, a large, black-headed
+kind of maggot, seeming a half-pint at a time." Another
+Missourian's "face and jaw on one side literally rotted, and half
+his face actually fell off." *
+
+*Pratt's "Autobiography," pp. 475-476.
+
+
+It is difficult for the most fair-minded critic to find in the
+character of Joseph Smith anything to commend, except an
+abundance of good-nature which made him personally popular with
+the body of his followers. He has been credited with power as a
+leader, and it was certainly little less than marvellous that he
+could maintain his leadership after his business failure in Ohio,
+and the utter break-down of his revealed promises concerning a
+Zion in Missouri. The explanation of this success is to be found
+in the logically impregnable position of his character as a
+prophet, so long as the church itself retained its organization,
+and in the kind of people who were gathered into his fold. If it
+was not true that HE received the golden plates from an angel; if
+it was not true that HE translated them with divine assistance;
+if it was not true that HE received from on high the
+"revelations" vouchsafed for the guidance of the church,--then
+there was no new Bible, no new revelation, no Mormon church. If
+Smith was pulled down, the whole church structure must crumble
+with him. Lee, referring to the days in Missouri, says, "Every
+Mormon, if true to his faith, believed as freely in Joseph Smith
+and his holy character as they did that God existed."* Some of
+the Mormons who knew Smith and his career in Missouri and
+Illinois were so convinced of the ridiculousness of his claims
+that they proposed, after the gathering in Utah, to drop him
+entirely. Proof of this, and of Brigham Young's realization of
+the impossibility of doing so, is found in Young's remarks at the
+conference which received the public announcement of the
+"revelation" concerning polygamy. Referring to the suggestion
+that had been made, "Don't mention Joseph Smith, never mention
+the Book of Mormon and Zion, and all the people will follow you,"
+Young boldly declared: "What I have received from the Lord, I
+have received by Joseph Smith; he was the instrument made use of.
+If I drop him, I must drop these principles. They have not been
+revealed, declared, or explained by any other man since the days
+of the apostles." This view is accepted by the Mormons in Utah
+to-day.
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 76.
+
+
+If it seems still more surprising that Smith's associates placed
+so little restraint on his business schemes, it must be
+remembered that none of his early colaborers--Rigdon, Harris,
+Cowdery, and the rest--was a better business man than he, and
+that he absolutely brooked no interference. It was Smith who
+decided every important step, as, for instance, the land
+purchases in and around Nauvoo; and men who would let him
+originate were compelled to let him carry out. We have seen how
+useless better business men like the Laws found it to argue with
+him on any practical question. The length to which he dared go in
+discountenancing any restriction, even regarding his moral ideas,
+is illustrated in an incident related in his autobiography.* At a
+service on Sunday, November 7, 1841, in Nauvoo, an elder named
+Clark ventured to reprove the brethren for their lack of
+sanctity, enjoining them to solemnity and temperance. "I reproved
+him," says the prophet, "as pharisaical and hypocritical, and not
+edifying the people, and showed the Saints what temperance,
+faith, virtue, charity, and truth were. I charged the Saints not
+to follow the example of the adversary non-ormons in accusing the
+brethren, and said, 'If you do not accuse each other, God will
+not accuse you. If you have no accuser, you will enter heaven; if
+you will follow the revelations and instructions which God gives
+you through me, I will take you into heaven as my back load. If
+you will not accuse me, I will not accuse you. If you will throw
+a cloak of charity over my sins, I will over yours--for charity
+covereth a multitude of sins. What many people call sin is not
+sin. I do many things to break down superstition."' A
+congregation that would accept such teaching without a protest,
+would follow their leader in any direction which he chose to
+indicate.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 743.
+
+
+Smith was the farthest possible from being what Spinoza has been
+called, "a God-intoxicated man." Real reverence for sacred things
+did not enter into his mental equipment. A story illustrating his
+lack of reverence for what he called "long-faced" brethren was
+told by J. M. Grant in Salt Lake City. A Baptist minister, who
+talked much of "my dee-e-ar brethren," called on Smith in Nauvoo,
+and, after conversing with him for a short time, stood up before
+Smith and asked in solemn tones if it were possible that he saw a
+man who was a prophet and who had conversed with the Saviour.
+"'Yes,' says the prophet, 'I don't know but you do; would you not
+like to wrestle with me?' After he had whirled around a few
+times, like a duck shot in the head, he concluded that his piety
+had been awfully shocked."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 67.
+
+
+In manhood Smith was about six feet tall, weighing something over
+two hundred pounds. From among a number of descriptions of him by
+visitors at Nauvoo, the following may be cited. Josiah Quincy,
+describing his arrival at what he calls "the tavern" in Nauvoo,
+in May, 1844, gives this impression of the prophet: "Pre-eminent
+among the stragglers at the door stood a man of commanding
+appearance, clad in the costume of a journeyman carpenter when
+about his work. He was a hearty, athletic fellow, with blue eyes
+standing prominently out on his light complexion, a long nose,
+and a retreating forehead. He wore striped pantaloons, a linen
+jacket which had not lately seen the wash-tub, and a beard of
+three days' growth. A fine-looking man, is what the passer-by
+would instinctively have murmured upon meeting the remarkable
+individual who had fashioned the mould which was to shape the
+feelings of so many thousands of his fellow-mortals." *
+
+*" Figures of the Past," p. 380.
+
+
+The Rev. Henry Caswall, M.A., who had an interview with the
+prophet at Nauvoo, in 1842, thus describes him: "He is a coarse,
+plebeian, sensual person in aspect, and his countenance exhibits
+a curious mixture of the knave and the clown. His hands are large
+and fat, and on one of his fingers he wears a massive gold ring,
+upon which I saw an inscription. His eyes appear deficient in
+that open and straightforward expression which often
+characterizes an honest man."
+
+* Millennial Star, November 1, 1850.
+
+
+John Taylor had death-casts taken of the faces of Joseph and
+Hyrum after their murder. By the aid of these and of sketches of
+the brothers which he had secured while they were living, he had
+busts of them made by a modeller in Europe named Gahagan, and
+these were offered to the Saints throughout the world, for a
+price, of course.*
+
+The proofs already cited of Smith's immorality are convincing.
+Caswall names a number of occasions on which, he charges, the
+prophet was intoxicated after his settlement in Nauvoo. He
+relates that on one of these, when Smith was asked how it
+happened that a prophet of the Lord could get drunk, Smith
+answered that it was necessary that he should do so to prevent
+the Saints from worshipping him as a god!*
+
+* "Mormonism and its Author," 1852.
+
+
+No Mormon ever concedes that proof of Smith's personal failings
+affects his character as a prophet. A Mormon doctor, with whom
+Caswall argued at Nauvoo, said that Smith might be a murderer and
+an adulterer, and yet be a true prophet. He cited St. Peter as
+saying that, in his time, David had not yet ascended into heaven
+(Acts ii. 34); David was in hell as a murderer; so if Smith was
+"as infamous as David, and even denied his own revelations, that
+would not affect the revelations which God had given him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. After Smith's Death--Rigdon's Last Days
+
+The murder of the Smiths caused a panic, not among the Mormons,
+but among the other inhabitants of Hancock County, who looked for
+summary vengeance at the hands of the prophet's followers, with
+their famous Legion to support them. The state militia having
+been disbanded, the people considered themselves without
+protection, and Governor Ford shared their apprehension. Carthage
+was at once almost depopulated, the people fleeing in wagons, on
+horseback, and on foot, and most of the citizens of Warsaw placed
+the river between them and their enemies. "I was sensible," says
+Governor Ford, "that my command was at an end; that my
+destruction was meditated as well as the Mormons', and that I
+could not reasonably confide longer in one party or the other."
+The panic-stricken executive therefore set out at once for
+Quincy, forty miles from the scene of the murder.
+
+From that city the governor issued a statement to the people of
+the state, reciting the events leading up to the recent tragedy,
+and, under date of June 29, ordered the enlistment of as many men
+as possible in the militia of Adams, Marquette, Pike, Brown,
+Schuyler, Morgan, Scott, Cass, Fulton, and McDonough counties,
+and the regiments of General Stapp's brigade, for a twelve days'
+campaign. The independent companies of all sorts, in the same
+counties, were also told to hold themselves in readiness, and the
+federal government was asked to station a force of five hundred
+men from the regular army in Hancock County. This last request
+was not complied with. The governor then sent Colonel Fellows and
+Captain Jonas to Nauvoo by the first boat, to find out the
+intentions of the Mormons as well as those of the people of
+Warsaw.
+
+Meanwhile the voice of the Mormon leaders was for peace. Willard
+Richards, John Taylor, and Samuel H. Smith united in a letter
+(written in the first person singular by Richards), on the night
+of the murders, addressed to the prophet's widow, General Deming
+(commanding at Carthage), and others, which said:--
+
+"The people of the county are greatly excited, and fear the
+Mormons will come out and take vengeance. I have pledged my word
+the Mormons will stay at home as soon as they can be informed,
+and no violence will be on their part. And say to my brethren in
+Nauvoo, in the name of the Lord, be still, be patient; only let
+such friends as choose come here to see the bodies. Mr. Taylor's
+wounds are dressed and not serious. I am sound."
+
+This quieting advice was heeded without even a protest, and after
+the funeral of the victims the Mormons voted unanimously to
+depend on the law for retribution.
+
+While things temporal in Nauvoo remained quiet, there were deep
+feeling and great uncertainty concerning the future of the
+church. The First Presidency had consisted, since the action of
+the conference at Far West in 1837, of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and
+Sidney Rigdon. Two of these were now dead. Did this leave Rigdon
+as the natural head, did Smith's son inherit the successorship,
+or did the supreme power rest with the Twelve Apostles?
+Discussion of this matter brought out many plans, including a
+general reorganization of the church, and the appointment of a
+trustee or a president. Rigdon had been sent to Pittsburg to
+build up a church,* and Brigham Young was electioneering in New
+Hampshire for Smith. Accordingly, Phelps, Richards; and Taylor,
+on July 1 issued a brief statement to the church at large, asking
+all to await the assembling of the Twelve.
+
+"John Taylor so stated at Rigdon's coming trial. This, perhaps,
+contradicts the statement in the Cannons' "Life of Brigham Young"
+that Rigdon had gone there "to escape the turmoils of Nauvoo."
+
+Rigdon arrived in Nauvoo on August 3, and preached the next day
+in the grove. He said the Lord had shown him a vision, and that
+there must be a "guardian" appointed to "build the church up to
+Joseph" as he had begun it. Cannon's account, in the "Juvenile
+Instructor," says that at a meeting at John Taylor's the next day
+Rigdon declared that the church was in confusion and must have a
+head, and he wanted a special meeting called to choose a
+"guardian." On the evening of August 6, Young, H. C. Kimball,
+Lyman Wight, Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, and Wilford Woodruff
+arrived from the East. A meeting of the Twelve Apostles, the High
+Council, and high priests was called for August 7, at 4 P.m.,
+which Rigdon attended. He declared that in a vision at Pittsburg
+it had been shown to him that he had been ordained a spokesman to
+Joseph, and that he must see that the church was governed in a
+proper manner. "I propose," said he, "to be a guardian of the
+people. In this I have discharged my duty and done what God has
+commanded me, and the people can please themselves, whether they
+accept me or not."
+
+A special meeting of the church was held on the morning of August
+8. Rigdon had previously addressed a gathering in the grove, but
+he had not been winning adherents. As we have seen, he had
+alienated himself from the men who had accepted Smith's new
+social doctrines, and a plan which he proposed, that the church
+should move to Pennsylvania, appealed neither to the good
+judgment nor the pecuniary interests of those to whom it was
+presented. Young made an address at this meeting which so wrought
+up his hearers that they declared that they saw the mantle of
+Joseph fall upon him. When he asked, "Do you want a guardian, a
+prophet, a spokesman, or what do you want?" not a hand went up.
+Young then went on to give his own view of the situation; his
+argument pointed to a single result--the demolition of Rigdon's
+claim and the establishment of the supreme authority of the
+Twelve, of whom Young himself was the head. W. W. Phelps, P. P.
+Pratt, and others sustained Young's view. Before a vote was
+taken, according to the minutes quoted, Rigdon refused to have
+his name voted on as "spokesman" or guardian. The meeting then
+voted unanimously in favor of "supporting the Twelve in their
+calling," and also that the Twelve should appoint two Bishops to
+act as trustees for the church, and that the completion of the
+Temple should be pushed.*
+
+* For minutes of this church meeting, see Times and Seasons, Vol.
+V, p. 637. For a full account of the happenings at Nauvoo, from
+August 3 to 8, see "Historical Record" (Mormon), Vol VIII,
+pp.785-800.
+
+
+On August 15 Young, as president of the Twelve, issued an epistle
+to the church in all the world in which he said:--
+
+"Let no man presume for a moment that his [the Prophet's] place
+will be filled by another; for, remember he stands in his own
+place , and always will, and the Twelve Apostles of this
+dispensation stand in their own place, and always will, both in
+time and eternity, to minister, preside, and regulate the affairs
+of the whole church." The epistle told the Saints also that "it
+is not wisdom for the Saints to have anything to do with
+politics, voting, or president-making at present."
+
+Rigdon remained in Nauvoo after the decision of the church in
+favor of the Twelve, preaching as of old, declaring that he was
+with the brethren heart and soul, and urging the completion of
+the Temple. But Young regarded him as a rival, and determined to
+put their strength to a test. Accordingly, on Tuesday, September
+3, he had a notice printed in the Neighbor directing Rigdon to
+appear on the following Sunday for trial before a High Council
+presided over by Bishop Whitney. Rigdon did not attend this
+trial, not only because he was not well, but because, after a
+conference with his friends, he decided that the case against him
+was made up and that his presence would do no good.*
+
+* For the minutes of this High Council, see Times and Seasons,
+Vol. V, pp. 647-655, 660-667.
+
+
+When the High Council met, Young expressed a disbelief in
+Rigdon's reported illness. He said that, having heard that Rigdon
+had ordained men to be prophets, priests, and kings, he and Orson
+Hyde had obtained from Rigdon a confession that he had performed
+the act of ordination, and that he believed he held authority
+above any man in the church. That evening eight of the Twelve had
+visited him at his house, and, getting confirmation of his
+position, had sent a committee to him to demand his license. This
+he had refused to surrender, saying, "I did not receive it from
+you, neither shall I give it up to you." Then came the order for
+his trial.
+
+Orson Hyde presented the case against Rigdon in detail. He
+declared that, when they demanded the surrender of his license,
+Rigdon threatened to turn traitor, "His own language was,
+'Inasmuch as you have demanded my license, I shall feel it my
+duty to publish all your secret meetings, and all the history of
+the secret works of this church, in the public journals.'* He
+intimated that it would bring a mob upon us." Parley P. Pratt,
+the member of Rigdon's old church in Ohio, who, according to his
+own account, first called Rigdon's attention to the Mormon Bible,
+next spoke against his old friend.
+
+* Lee thus explains one of these "secret works": "The same winter
+[1843] he [Smith] organized what was called 'The Council of
+Fifty.' This was a confidential organization. This Council was
+designated as a lawmaking department, but no record was ever kept
+of its doings, or, if kept, they were burned at the close of each
+meeting. Whenever anything of importance was on foot, this
+Council was called to deliberate upon it. The Council was called
+the 'Living Constitution.' Joseph said that no legislature could
+enact laws that would meet every case, or attain the ends of
+justice in all respells." --"Mormonism Unveiled," p.173.
+
+
+After Amasa Lyman, John Taylor, and H. C. Kimball had spoken
+against Rigdon, Brigham Young took the floor again, and in reply
+to the threat that Rigdon would expose the secrets of the church,
+he denounced him in the following terms:--
+
+"Brother Sidney says, if we go to opposing him, he will tell our
+secrets. But I would say, 'O, don't, brother Sidney! don't tell
+our secrets--O, don't!' But if he tells our secrets, we will tell
+his. Tit for tat. He has had long visions in Pittsburg, revealing
+to him wonderful iniquity among the Saints. Now, if he knows of
+so much iniquity, and has got such wonderful power, why don't he
+purge it out? He professes to have the keys of David. Wonderful
+power and revelations! And he will publish our iniquity. O, dear
+brother Sidney, don't publish our iniquity! Now don't! If Sidney
+Rigdon undertakes to publish all our secrets, as he says, he will
+lie the first jump he takes. If he knew of all our iniquity why
+did he not publish it sooner? If there is so much iniquity in the
+church as you talk of, Elder Rigdon, and you have known of it so
+long, you are a black-hearted wretch because you have not
+published it sooner. If there is not this iniquity, you are a
+blackhearted wretch for endeavoring to bring a mob upon us, to
+murder innocent men, women and children. Any man that says the
+Twelve are bogus-makers, or adulterers, or wicked men is a liar;
+and all who say such things shall have the fate of liars, where
+there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Who is there who has seen
+us do such things? No man. The spirit that I am of tramples such
+slanderous wickedness under my feet." *
+
+* William Small, in a letter to the Pittsburg Messenger and
+Advocate, p. 70, relates that when be met Rigdon on his arrival
+at St. Louis by boat after this trial, Orson Hyde, who was also a
+passenger and thought Small was with the Twelve, addressed Small,
+asking him to intercede with Rigdon not to publish the secret
+acts of the church, and telling him that if Rigdon would come
+back and stand equal with the Twelve and counsel with them, he
+would pledge himself, in behalf of the Twelve, that all they had
+said against Rigdon would be revoked.
+
+
+At this point the proceedings had a rather startling
+interruption. William Marks, president of the Stake at Nauvoo,
+and a member of the High Council (who, as we have seen, had
+rebelled against the doctrine of polygamy when it was presented
+to him) took the floor in Rigdon's defence. But it was in vain.
+
+W. W. Phelps moved that Rigdon "be cut off from the church, and
+delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until he repents." The
+vote by the Council in favor of this motion was unanimous, but
+when it was offered to the church, some ten members voted against
+it. Phelps at once moved that all who had voted to follow Rigdon
+should be suspended until they could be tried by the High
+Council, and this was agreed to unanimously, with an amendment
+including the words, "or shall hereafter be found advocating his
+principles." After compelling President Marks, by formal motion,
+to acknowledge his satisfaction with the action of the church,
+the meeting adjourned.
+
+Rigdon's next steps certainly gave substance to his brother's
+theory that his mind was unbalanced, the family having noticed
+his peculiarities from the time he was thrown from a horse, when
+a boy.* He soon returned to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where his
+first step was to "resuscitate" the Messenger and Advocate, which
+had died at Kirtland. In a signed article in the first number he
+showed that he then intended "to contend for the same doctrines,
+order of government, and discipline maintained by that paper when
+first published at Kirtland," in other words, to uphold the
+Mormon church as he had known it, with himself at its head. But
+his old desire for original leadership got the better of him, and
+after a conference of the membership he had gathered around him,
+held in Pittsburg in April, 1845, at which he was voted "First
+President, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator," he issued
+an address to the public in which he declared that his Church of
+Christ was neither a branch nor connection of the church at
+Nauvoo, and that it received members of the Church of Latter-Day
+Saints only after baptism and repentance.** In an article in his
+organ, on July 15, 1845, he made assertions like these: "The
+Church of Christ and the Mormons are so widely different in their
+respective beliefs that they are of necessity opposed to one
+another, as far as religion is concerned . . . . There is
+scarcely one point of similarity . . . . The Church of Christ has
+obtained a distinctive character."
+
+* Baptist Witness, March I, 1875.
+
+**Pittsburg Messenger and Advocate, p, 220.
+
+
+Rigdon told the April conference that he had one unceasing
+desire, namely, to know whether God would accept their work. At
+the suggestion of the spirit, he had taken some of the brethren
+into a room in his house that morning, and had consecrated them.
+What there occurred he thus described:--
+
+"After the washing and anointing, and the patriarchal seal, as
+the Lord had directed me, we kneeled and in solemn prayer asked
+God to accept the work we had done. During the time of prayer
+there appeared over our heads in the room a ray of light forming
+a hollow square, inside of which stood a company of heavenly
+messengers, each with a banner in his hand, with their eyes
+looking downward upon us, their countenance expressive of the
+deep interest they felt in what was passing on the earth. There
+also appeared heavenly messengers on horseback, with crowns upon
+their heads, and plumes floating in the air, dressed in glorious
+attire, until, like Elisha, we cried in our hearts, 'The chariots
+of Israel and the horsemen thereof.' Even my little son of
+fourteen years of age saw the vision, and gazed with great
+astonishment, saying that he thought his imagination was running
+away with him. After which we arose and lifted our hands to
+heaven in holy convocation to God; at which time was shown an
+angel in heaven registering the acceptance of our work, and the
+decree of the Great God that the kingdom is ours and we shall
+prevail."
+
+While the conference was in session, Pittsburg was visited by a
+disastrous conflagration. Rigdon prayed for the sufferers by the
+fire and asked God to check it. "During the prayer" (this
+quotation is from the official report of the conference in the
+Messenger and Advocate, p. i86), "an escort of the heavenly
+messengers that had hovered around us during the time of this
+conference were seen leaving the room; the course of the wind was
+instantly changed, and the violence of the flames was stayed."
+
+Rigdon's attempt to build up a new church in the East was a
+failure. Urgent appeals in its behalf in his periodical were made
+in vain. The people addressed could not be cajoled with his
+stories of revelations and miraculous visions, which both the
+secular and religious press held up to ridicule, and he had no
+system of foreign immigration to supply ignorant recruits. He
+soon after took up his residence in Friendship, Allegheny County,
+New York, where he died at the residence of his son-in-law, Earl
+Wingate, on July 14, 1876. In an obituary sketch of him the
+Standard of that place said:--
+
+"He was approached by the messengers of young Joseph Smith of
+Plano, Ill., but he refused to converse or answer any
+communication which in any way would bring him into notice in
+connection with the Mormon church of to-day. It was his daily
+custom to visit the post-office, get the daily paper, read and
+converse upon the chief topics of the day. He often engaged in a
+friendly dispute with the local ministers, and always came out
+first best on New Testament doctrinal matters. Patriarchal in
+appearance, and kindly in address, he was often approached by
+citizens and strangers with a view to obtaining something of the
+unrecorded mysteries of his life; but citizen, stranger and
+persistent reporter all alike failed in eliciting any information
+as to his knowledge of the Mormon imposture, the motives of his
+early life, or the religious faith, fears and hopes of his
+declining years. Once or twice he spoke excitedly, in terms of
+scorn, of those who attributed to him the manufacture of the
+Mormon Bible; but beyond this, nothing. His library was small: he
+left no manuscripts, and refused persistently to have a picture
+of himself taken. It can only be said that he was a compound of
+ability, versatility, honesty, duplicity, and mystery."
+
+One person succeeded in drawing out from Rigdon in his later
+years a few words on his relations with the Mormon church. This
+was Charles L. Woodward, a New York bookseller, who some years
+ago made an important collection of Mormon literature. While
+making this collection he sent an inquiry to Rigdon, and received
+a reply, dated May 25, 1873. After apologizing for his
+handwriting on account of his age and paralysis, the letter
+says:--
+
+"We know nothing about the people called Mormons now.* The Lord
+notified us that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
+were going to be destroyed, and for us to leave. We did so, and
+the Smiths were killed a few days after we started. Since that, I
+have had no connection with any of the people who staid and built
+up to themselves churches; and chose to themselves leaders such
+as they chose, and then framed their own religion.
+
+* The statement has been published that, after Young had
+established himself in Utah, be received from Rigdon an
+intimation that the latter would be willing to join him. I could
+obtain no confirmation of this in Salt Lake City. On the
+contrary, a leading member of the church informed me that Young
+invited Rigdon to join the Mormons is Utah, but that Rigdon did
+not accept the invitation.
+
+
+"The Church of Latter-Day Saints had three books that they
+acknowledged as Canonical, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the
+Commandments. For the existence of that church there had to be a
+revelater, one who received the word of the Lord; a spokesman,
+one inspired of God to expound all revelation, so that the church
+might all be of one faith. Without these two men the Church of
+Latter-Day Saints could not exist. This order ceased to exist,
+being overcome by the violence of armed men, by whom houses were
+beaten down by cannon which the assalents had furnished
+themselves with.
+
+'Thus ended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and
+it never can move again till the Lord inspires men and women to
+believe it. All the societies and assemblies of men collected
+together since then is not the Church of Jesus Christ of
+Latter-Day Saints, nor never can there be such a church till the
+Lord moves it by his own power, as he did the first.
+
+"Should you fall in with one who was of the Church [of] Christ,
+though now of advanced age, you will find one deep red in the
+revelations of heaven. But many of them are dead, and many of
+them have turned away, so there are few left.
+
+"I have a manuscript paper in my possession, written with my own
+hands while in my [Both. year}, but I am to poor to do anything
+with it; and therefore it must remain where it [is]. During the
+great fight of affliction I have had, I have lost all my
+property, but I struggle along in poverty to which I am
+consigned. I have finished all I feel necessary to write.
+
+Respectfully,"SIDNEY RIGDON."*
+
+
+* The original of this letter is in the collection of Mormon
+literature in the New York Public Library. An effort to learn
+from Rigdon's descendants something about the manuscript paper
+referred to by him has failed.
+
+
+Rigdon's affirmation of his belief in Smith as a prophet and the
+Mormon Bible when he returned to Pennsylvania was proclaimed by
+the Mormons as proof that there was no truth in the Spaulding
+manuscript story, but it carries no weight as such evidence.
+Rigdon burned all his old theological bridges behind him when he
+entered into partnership with Smith, and his entire course after
+his return to Pittsburg only adds to the proof that he was the
+originator of the Mormon Bible, and that his object in writing it
+was to enable him to be the head of a new church. Surely no one
+would accept as proof of the divinity of the Mormon Bible any
+declaration by the man who told the story of angel visits in
+Pittsburg.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. Rivalries Over The Succession
+
+Rigdon was not alone in contending for the successorship to
+Joseph Smith as the head of the Mormon church. The prophet's
+family defended vigorously the claim of his eldest son to be his
+successor.* Lee says that the prophet had bestowed the right of
+succession on his eldest son by divination, and that "it was then
+[after his father's death understood among the Saints that young
+Joseph was to succeed his father, and that right justly belonged
+to him," when he should be old enough. Lee says further that he
+heard the prophet's mother plead with Brigham Young, in Nauvoo,
+in 1845, with tears, not to rob young Joseph of his birthright,
+and that Young conceded the son's claim, but warned her to keep
+quiet on the subject, because "you are only laying the knife to
+the throat of the child. If it is known that he is the rightful
+successor of his father, the enemy of the Priesthood will seek
+his life."** Strang says, "Anyone who was in Nauvoo in 1846 or
+1847 knows that the majority of those who started to the Western
+exodus, started in this hope," that the younger Joseph would take
+his father's place .***
+
+* The prophet's sons were Joseph, born November 6, 1832; Fred G.
+W., June 20, 1836; Alexander, June 2, 1838; Don Carlos, June 13,
+1840; and David H., November 18, 1844.
+
+** "Mormonism Unveiled," pp. 155, 161.
+
+*** Strang's "Prophetic Controversy," p. 4.
+
+
+At the last day of the Conference held in the Temple in Nauvoo,
+in October, 1845, Mother Smith, at her request, was permitted to
+make an address. She went over the history of her family, and
+asked for an expression of opinion whether she was "a mother in
+Israel." One universal "yes" rang out. She said she hoped all her
+children would accompany the Saints to the West, and if they did
+she would go; but she wanted her bones brought back to be buried
+beside her husband and children. Brigham Young then said: "We
+have extended the helping hand to Mother Smith. She has the best
+carriage in the city, and, while she lives, shall ride in it when
+and where she pleases." * Mother Smith died in the summer of 1856
+in Nauvoo, where she spent the last two years of her life with
+Joseph's first wife, Emma, who had married a Major Bideman.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VII, p. 23.
+
+
+Emma caused the Twelve a good deal of anxiety after her husband's
+death. Pratt describes a council held by her, Marks, and others
+to endeavor to appoint a trustee-in-trust for the whole church,
+the necessity of which she vigorously urged. Pratt opposed the
+idea, and nothing was done about it.* Soon after her husband's
+death the Times and Seasons noticed a report that she was
+preparing, with the assistance of one of the prophet's Iowa
+lawyers, an exposure of his "revelations," etc. James Arlington
+Bennett, who visited Nauvoo after the prophet's death, acting as
+correspondent for the New York Sun, gave in one of his letters
+the text of a statement which he said Emma had written, to this
+effect, "I never for a moment believed in what my husband called
+his apparitions or revelations, as I thought him laboring under a
+diseased mind; yet they may all be true, as a prophet is seldom
+without credence or honor, excepting in his own family or
+country." Mrs. Smith, in a letter to the Sun, dated December 30,
+1845, pronounced this letter a forgery, while Bennett maintained
+that he knew that it was genuine.**
+
+*Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 373.
+
+** Emma Smith is described as "a tall, dark, masculine looking
+woman" in "Sketches and Anecdotes of the Old Settlers."
+
+
+The organization--or, as they define it, the reorganization of a
+church by those who claim that the mantle of Joseph Smith, Jr.,
+descended on his sons, had its practical inception at a
+conference at Beloit, Wisconsin, in June, 1852, at which
+resolutions were adopted disclaiming all fellowship with Young
+and other claimants to the leadership of the church, declaring
+that the successor of the prophet "must of necessity be the seed
+of Joseph Smith, Jr." At a conference held in Amboy, Illinois, in
+April, 1860, Joseph Smith's son and namesake was placed at the
+head of this church, a position which he still holds. The
+Reorganized Church has been twice pronounced by United States
+courts to be the one founded under the administration of the
+prophet. Its teachings may be called pure Mormonism, free from
+the doctrines engrafted in after years. It holds that "the
+doctrines of a plurality and community of wives are heresies, and
+are opposed to the law of God." Its declaration of faith declares
+its belief in baptism by immersion, the same kind of organization
+(apostles, prophets, pastors, etc.) that existed in the primitive
+church, revelations by God to man from time to time "until the
+end of time," and in "the powers and gifts of the everlasting
+gospel, viz., the gift of faith, discerning of spirits, prophesy,
+revelation, healing, visions, tongues, and the interpretation of
+tongues." No one ever heard of this church having any trouble
+with its Gentile neighbors.
+
+The Reorganized Church moved its headquarters to Lamoni, Iowa, in
+1881. It has a present membership of 45,381, according to the
+report of the General Church Recorder to the conference of April,
+1901. Of these members, 6964 were foreign,--286 in Canada, 1080
+in England, and 1955 in the Society Islands. The largest
+membership in this country is 7952 in Iowa, 6280 in Missouri, and
+3564 in Michigan. Utah reported 685 members.
+
+The most determined claimant to the successorship of Smith was
+James J. Strang. Born at Scipio, New York, in 1813, Strang was
+admitted to the bar when a young man, and moved to Wisconsin.
+Some of the Mormons who went into the north woods to get lumber
+for the Nauvoo Temple planted a Stake near La Crosse, under Lyman
+Wight, in 1842. Trouble ensued very soon with their non-Mormon
+neighbors, and after a rather brief career the supporters of this
+Stake moved away quietly one night. Strang heard of the Mormon
+doctrines from these settlers, accepted their truth, and visiting
+Nauvoo, was baptized in February, 1844, made an elder, and
+authorized to plant another Stake in Wisconsin. He first
+attempted to found a city called Voree, where a temple covering
+more than two acres of ground, with twelve towers, was begun.
+
+When Smith was killed, Strang at once came forward with a
+declaration that the prophet's revelations indicated that, at the
+close of his own prophetic office, another would be called to the
+place by revelation, and ordained at the hands of angels; that
+not only had he (Strang) been so ordained, but that Smith had
+written to him in June, 1844, predicting the end of his own work,
+and telling Strang that he was to gather the people in a Zion in
+Wisconsin. Strang began at once giving out revelations,
+describing visions, and announcing that an angel had shown him
+"plates of the sealed record," and given him the Urim and Thummim
+to translate them.
+
+Although Strang's whole scheme was a very clumsy imitation of
+Smith's, he drew a considerable number of followers to his
+Wisconsin branch, where he published a newspaper called the Voree
+Herald, and issued pamphlets in defence of his position, and a
+"Book of the Law," explaining his doctrinal teachings, which
+included polygamy. He had five wives. His Herald printed a
+statement, signed by the prophet's mother and his brother
+William, his three married sisters, and the husband of one of
+them, certifying that "the Smith family do believe in the
+appointment of J. J. Strang." Among other Mormons of note who
+gave in their allegiance to Strang were John E. Page, one of the
+Twelve (whom Phelps had called "the sun-dial"), General John C.
+Bennett, and Martin Harris.
+
+Strang gave the Mormon leaders considerable anxiety, especially
+when he sent missionaries to England to work up his cause. The
+Millennial Star of November 15, 1846, devoted a good deal of
+space to the subject. The article began:--
+
+"SKETCHES OF NOTORIOUS CHARACTERS: James J. Strang, successor of
+Sidney Rigdon, Judius Iscariot, Cain & Co., Envoy Extraordinary
+and a Minister Plenipotentiary to His Most Gracious Majesty
+Lucifer L, assisted by his allied contemporary advisers, John C.
+Bennett, William Smith, G. T. Adams, and John E. Page, Secretary
+of Legation."
+
+Strang announced a revelation which declared that he was to be
+"King in Zion," and his coronation took place on July 8, 1850,
+when he was crowned with a metal crown having a cluster of stars
+on its front. Burnt offerings were included in the programme.
+
+This ceremony took place on Beaver Island, in Lake Superior,
+where in 1847 Strang had gathered his people and assumed both
+temporal and spiritual authority. Both of these claims got him
+into trouble. His non-Mormon neighbors, fishermen and lumbermen,
+accused the Mormons of wholesale thefts; his assumption of regal
+authority brought him before the United States court, (where he
+was not held); and his advocacy of the practice of polygamy by
+his followers aroused insubordination, and on June 15, 1856, he
+was shot by two members of his flock whom he had offended, and
+who were at once regarded as heroes by the people of the
+mainland. A mob secured a vessel, visited Beaver Island, where
+Strang had maintained a sort of fort, and compelled the Mormon
+inhabitants to embark immediately, with what little property they
+could gather up. They were landed at different places, most of
+them in Milwaukee. Thus ended Strang's Kingdom.*
+
+* "A Moses of the Mormons," by Henry E. Legler, Parkman Club
+Publications, Nos. 15-16, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 11, 1897; "An
+American Kingdom of Mormons," Magazine of Western History,
+Cleveland, Ohio, April, 1886.
+
+
+Another leader who "set up for himself " after Smith's death was
+Lyman Wight, who had been one of the Twelve in Missouri, and was
+arrested with Smith there. Wight did not lay claim to the
+position of President of the church, but he resented what he
+called Brigham Young's usurpation. In 1845 he led a small company
+of his followers to Texas, where they first settled on the
+Colorado River, near Austin. They made successive moves from that
+place into Gillespie, Burnett, and Bandera counties. He died near
+San Antonio in March, 1858. The fact that Wight entered into the
+practice of polygamy almost as soon as he reached Texas, and
+still escaped any conflict with his non-Mormon neighbors, affords
+proof of his good character in other respects. The Galveston
+News, in its notice of his death, said, "Mr. Wight first came to
+Texas in November, 1845, and has been with his colony on our
+extreme frontier ever since, moving still farther west as
+settlements formed around him, thus always being the pioneer of
+advancing civilization, affording protection against the
+Indians."
+
+After Wight's death his people scattered. A majority of them
+became identified with the Reorganized Church, a few gave in
+their allegiance to the organization in Utah, and others
+abandoned Mormonism entirely.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. Brigham Young
+
+Brigham Young, the man who had succeeded in expelling Rigdon and
+establishing his own position as head of the church, was born in
+Whitingham, Windham County, Vermont, on June 1, 1801. The precise
+locality of his birth in that town is in dispute. His father, a
+native of Massachusetts, is said to have served under Washington
+during the Revolutionary War. The family consisted of eleven
+children, five sons and six daughters, of whom Brigham was the
+ninth. The Youngs moved to Whitingham in January, 1801. In his
+address at the centennial celebration of that town in 1880, Clark
+Jillson said, "Henry Goodnow, Esq., of this town says that
+Brigham Young's father came here the poorest man that ever had
+been in town; that he never owned a cow, horse, or any land, but
+was a basket maker." Mormon accounts represent the elder Young as
+having been a farmer.
+
+His circumstances permitted him to give his children very little
+education, and, when sixteen years old, Brigham seems to have
+started out to make his own living, working as a carpenter,
+painter, and glazier, as jobs were offered. He was living in
+Aurelius, Cayuga County, New York, in 1824, working at his trade,
+and there, in October of that year, he married his first wife,
+Miriam Works. In 1829 they moved to Mendon, Monroe County, New
+York.
+
+Joseph Smith's brother, in the following year, left a copy of the
+Mormon Bible at the house of Brigham's brother Phineas in Mendon,
+and there Brigham first saw it. Occasional preaching by Mormon
+elders made the new faith a subject of conversation in the
+neighborhood, and Phineas was an early convert. Brigham stated in
+a sermon in Salt Lake City, on August 8, 1852, that he examined
+the new Bible for two years before deciding to receive it. He was
+baptized into the Mormon church on April 14, 1832. His wife, who
+also embraced the faith, died in September of that year, leaving
+him two daughters.
+
+Young married his second wife, Mary A. Angel, in Kirtland on
+March 31, 1834. His application for a marriage license is still
+on file among the records of the Probate Court at Chardon, now
+the shire town of Geauga County, Ohio, and his signature is a
+proof of his illiterateness, showing that he did not know how to
+spell his own baptismal name, spelling it "Bricham."
+
+Young began preaching and baptizing in the neighborhood, having
+at once been made an elder, and in the autumn of 1832, after
+Smith's second return from Missouri, he visited Kirtland and
+first saw the prophet. Mormon accounts of this visit say that
+Young "spoke in tongues," and that Smith pronounced his language
+"the pure Adamic," and then predicted that he would in time
+preside over the church. It is not at all improbable that Joseph
+did not hesitate to interpret Brigham's "tongues," but at that
+time he was thinking of everything else but a successor to
+himself.
+
+Young, with his brother Joseph, went from Kirtland on foot to
+Canada, where he preached and baptized, and whence he brought
+back a company of converts. He worked at his trade in Kirtland
+(preaching as called upon) from that time until 1834, when he
+accompanied the "Army of Zion" to Missouri, being one of the
+captains of tens. Returning with the prophet, he was employed on
+the Temple and other church buildings for the next three years
+(superintending the painting of the Temple), when he was not
+engaged in other church work. Having been made one of the
+original Quorum of Twelve in 1835, he devoted a good deal of time
+in the warmer months holding conferences in New York State and
+New England.
+
+When open opposition to Smith manifested itself in Kirtland,
+Young was one of his firmest defenders. He attended a meeting in
+an upper room of the Temple, the object of which was to depose
+Smith and place David Whitmer in the Presidency, leading in the
+debate, and declaring that he "knew that Joseph was a prophet."
+According to his own statement, he learned of a plot to kill
+Smith as he was returning from Michigan in a stage-coach, and met
+the coach with a horse and buggy, and drove the prophet to
+Kirtland unharmed. When Smith found it necessary to flee from
+Ohio, Young followed him to Missouri with his family, arriving at
+Far West on March 14, 1838. He sailed to Liverpool on a mission
+in 1840, remaining there a little more than a year.
+
+In all the discords of the church that occurred during Smith's
+life, Young never incurred the prophet's displeasure, and there
+is no evidence that he ever attempted to obtain any more power or
+honor for himself than was voluntarily accorded to him. He gave
+practical assistance to the refugees from Missouri as they
+arrived at Quincy, but there is no record of his prominence in
+the discussions there over the future plans for the church. The
+prophet's liking for him is shown in a revelation dated at
+Nauvoo, July 9; 1841 (Sec. 126), which said:--
+
+"Dear and beloved brother Brigham Young, verily thus saith the
+Lord unto you, my servant Brigham, it is no more required at your
+hand to leave your family as in times past, for your offering is
+acceptable to me; I have seen your labor and toil in journeyings
+for my name. I therefore command you to send my word abroad, and
+take special care of your family from this time, henceforth, and
+forever. Amen."
+
+The apostasy of Marsh and the death of Patton had left Young the
+President of the Twelve, and that was the position in which he
+found himself at the time of Smith's death.
+
+One of the first subjects which Young had to decide concerned
+"revelations." Did they cease with Smith's death, or, if not, who
+would receive and publish them? Young made a statement on this
+subject at the church conference held at Nauvoo on October 6 of
+that year, which indicated his own uncertainty on the subject,
+and which concluded as follows, "Every member has the right of
+receiving revelations for themselves, both male and female." As
+if conscious that all this was not very clear, he closed by
+making a declaration which was very characteristic of his future
+policy: "If you don't know whose right it is to give revelations,
+I will tell you. It is I."* We shall see that the discontinuance
+of written "revelations" was a cause of complaint during all of
+Young's subsequent career in Utah, but he never yielded to the
+demand for them.
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. V, pp. 682-683.
+
+
+At the conference in Nauvoo Young selected eighty-five men from
+the Quorum of high priests to preside over branches of the church
+in all the congressional districts of the United States; and he
+took pains to explain to them that they were not to stay six
+months and then return, but "to go and settle down where they can
+take their families and tarry until the Temple is built, and then
+come and get their endowments, and return to their families and
+build up a Stake as large as this." Young's policy evidently was,
+while not imitating Rigdon's plan to move the church bodily to
+the East, to build up big branches all over the country, with a
+view to such control of affairs, temporal and spiritual, as could
+be attained. "If the people will let us alone," he said to this
+same conference, "we will convert the world."
+
+Many members did not look on the Twelve as that head of the
+church which Smith's revelations had decreed. It was argued by
+those who upheld Rigdon and Strang, and by some who remained with
+the Twelve, that the "revelations" still required a First
+Presidency. The Twelve allowed this question to remain unsettled
+until the brethren were gathered at Winter Quarters, Iowa, after
+their expulsion from Nauvoo, and Young had returned from his
+first trip to Salt Lake valley. The matter was taken up at a
+council at Orson Hyde's house on December 5, 1847, and it was
+decided, but not without some opposing views, to reorganize the
+church according to the original plan, with a First Presidency
+and Patriarch. In accordance with this plan, a conference was
+held in the log tabernacle at Winter Quarters on December 24, and
+Young was elected President and John Smith Patriarch. Young
+selected Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards to be his
+counsellors, and the action of this conference was confirmed in
+Salt Lake City the following October. Young wrote immediately
+after his election, "This is one of the happiest days of my
+life."
+
+The vacancies in the Twelve caused by these promotions, and by
+Wight's apostasy, were not filled until February 12, 1849, in
+Salt Lake City, when Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, C. C. Rich, and
+F. D. Richards were chosen.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. Renewed Trouble For The Mormons--"The Burnings"
+
+The death of the prophet did not bring peace with their outside
+neighbors to the Mormon church. Indeed, the causes of enmity were
+too varied and radical to be removed by any changes in the
+leadership, so long as the brethren remained where they were.
+
+In the winter of 1844-1845 charges of stealing made against the
+Mormons by their neighbors became more frequent. Governor Ford,
+in his message to the legislature, pronounced such reports
+exaggerated, but it probably does the governor no injustice to
+say that he now had his eye on the Mormon vote. The non-Mormons
+in Hancock and the surrounding counties held meetings and
+appointed committees to obtain accurate information about the
+thefts, and the old complaints of the uselessness of tracing
+stolen goods to Nauvoo were revived. The Mormons vigorously
+denied these charges through formal action taken by the Nauvoo
+City Council and a citizens' meeting, alleging that in many cases
+"outlandish men" had visited the city at night to scatter
+counterfeit money and deposit stolen goods, the responsibility
+for which was laid on Mormon shoulders.
+
+It is not at all improbable that many a theft in western Illinois
+in those days that was charged to Mormons had other authors; but
+testimony regarding the dishonesty of many members of the church,
+such as we have seen presented in Smith's day, was still
+available. Thus, Young, in one of his addresses to the conference
+assembled at Nauvoo about two months after Smith's death, made
+this statement: "Elders who go to borrowing horses or money, and
+running away with it, will be cut off from the church without any
+ceremony. THEY WILL NOT HAVE SO MUCH LENITY AS HERETOFORE."*
+
+* Times and Seasons, Vol. V, p. 696.
+
+
+A lady who published a sketch of her travels in 1845 through
+Illinois and Iowa wrote:--
+
+"We now entered a part of the country laid waste by the
+desperadoes among the Mormons. Whole farms were deserted, fields
+were still covered with wheat unreaped, and cornfields stood
+ungathered, the inhabitants having fled to a distant part of the
+country . . . . Friends gave us a good deal of information about
+the doings of these Saints at Nauvoo--said that often, when their
+orchards were full of fruit, some sixteen of these monsters would
+come with bowie knives and drive the owners into their houses
+while they stripped their trees of the fruit. If these rogues
+wanted cattle they would drive off the cattle of the Gentiles."*
+
+* "Book for the Married and Single," by Ann Archbold.
+
+
+A trial concerning the title to some land in Adams County in that
+year brought out the fact that there existed in the Mormon church
+what was called a "Oneness." Five persons would associate and
+select one of their members as a guardian; then, if any of the
+property they jointly owned was levied on, they would show that
+one or more of the other five was the real owner.
+
+While the Mormons continued to send abroad glowing pictures of
+the prosperity of Nauvoo, less prejudiced accounts gave a very
+different view. The latter pointed out that the immigrants, who
+supplied the only source of prosperity, had expended most of
+their capital on houses and lots, that building operations had
+declined, because houses could be bought cheaper than they could
+be built, and that mechanics had been forced to seek employment
+in St. Louis. Published reports that large numbers of the poor in
+the city were dependent on charity received confirmation in a
+letter published in the Millennial Star of October 1, 1845, which
+said that on a fast-day proclaimed by Young, when the poor were
+to be remembered, "people were seen trotting in all directions to
+the Bishops of the different wards" with their contributions.
+
+We have seen that the gathering of the Saints at Nauvoo was an
+idea of Joseph Smith, and was undertaken against the judgment of
+some of the wiser members of the church. The plan, so far as its
+business features were concerned, was on a par with the other
+business enterprises that the prophet had fathered. There was
+nothing to sustain a population of 15,000 persons, artificially
+collected, in this frontier settlement, and that disaster must
+have resulted from the experiment, even without the hostile
+opposition of their neighbors, is evident from the fact that
+Nauvoo to day, when fifty years have settled up the surrounding
+district and brought it in better communication with the world,
+is a village of only 1321 inhabitants (census of 1900).
+
+Politics were not eliminated from the causes of trouble by
+Smith's death. Not only was 1844 a presidential year, but the
+citizens of Hancock County were to vote for a member of Congress,
+two members of the legislature, and a sheriff. Governor Ford
+urgently advised the Mormons not to vote at all, as a measure of
+peace; but political feeling ran very high, and the Democrats got
+the Mormon vote for President, and with the same assistance
+elected as sheriff General Deming, the officer left by Governor
+Ford in command of the militia at Carthage when the Smiths were
+killed, as well as two members of the legislature who had voted
+against the repeal of the Nauvoo city charter.
+
+The tone of the Mormons toward their non-Mormon neighbors seemed
+to become more defiant at this time than ever. The repeal of the
+Nauvoo charter, in January, 1845, unloosened their tongues. Their
+newspaper, the Neighbor, declared that the legislature "had no
+more right to repeal the charter than the United States would
+have to abrogate and make void the constitution of the state, or
+than Great Britain would have to abolish the constitution of the
+United States--and the man that says differently is a coward, a
+traitor to his own rights, and a tyrant; no odds what Blackstone,
+Kent or Story may have written to make themselves and their names
+popular, to the contrary."
+
+The Neighbor, in the same article, thus defined its view of the
+situation, after the repeal:--
+
+"Nor is it less legal for an insulted individual or community to
+resist oppression. For this reason, until the blood of Joseph and
+Hyrum Smith has been atoned for by hanging, shooting or slaying
+in some manner every person engaged in that cowardly, mean
+assassination, no Latter-Day Saint should give himself up to the
+law; for the presumption is that they wilt murder him in the same
+manner . . . . Neither should civil process come into Nauvoo till
+the United States by a vigorous course, causes the State of
+Missouri and the State of Illinois to redress every man that has
+suffered the loss of lands, goods or anything else by expulsion .
+. . . If any man is bound to maintain the law, it is for the
+benefit he may derive from it . . . . Well, our charter is
+repealed; the murderers of the Smiths are running at large, and
+if the Mormons should wish to imitate their forefathers and
+fulfil the Scriptures by making it 'hard to kick against the
+pricks' by wearing cast steel pikes about four or five inches
+long in their boots and shoes to kick with, WHAT'S THE HARM?"
+Such utterances, which found imitation in the addresses of the
+leaders, and were echoed in the columns of Pratt's Prophet in New
+York, made it easy for their hostile neighbors to believe that
+the Mormons considered themselves beyond the reach of any law but
+their own. Some daring murders committed across the river in Iowa
+in the spring of 1845 afforded confirmation to the non-Mormons of
+their belief in church-instigated crimes of this character, and
+in the existence and activity of the Danite organization. The
+Mormon authorities had denied that there were organized Danites
+at Nauvoo, but the weight of testimony is against the denial.
+Gregg, a resident of the locality when the Mormons dwelt there,
+gives a fair idea of the accepted. view of the Danites at that
+time:--
+
+"They were bound together with oaths of the most solemn
+character, and the punishment of traitors to the order was death.
+John A. Murrell's Band of Pirates, who flourished at one time
+near Jackson, Tennessee, and up and down the Mississippi River
+above New Orleans, was never so terrible as the Danite Band, for
+the latter was a powerful organization, and was above the law.
+The band made threats, and they were not idle threats. They went
+about on horseback, under cover of darkness, disguised in long
+white robes with red girdles. Their faces were covered with masks
+to conceal their identity."*
+
+* "History of Hancock County." See also "Sketches and Anecdotes
+of the Old Settlers," p. 34.
+
+
+Phineas Wilcox, a young man of good reputation, went to Nauvoo on
+September 16, 1845, to get some wheat ground, and while there
+disappeared completely. The inquiry made concerning him led his
+friends to believe that he was suspected of being a Gentile spy,
+and was quietly put out of the way.*
+
+* See Lee's "Mormonism Unveiled," pp. 158-159, for accounts of
+methods of disposing of objectionable persons at Nauvoo.
+
+
+William Smith, the prophet's brother, contributed to the
+testimony against the Mormon leaders. Returning from the East,
+where he had been living for three years when Joseph was killed,
+he was warmly welcomed by the Mormon press, and elevated to the
+position of Patriarch, and, as such, issued a sort of
+advertisement of his patriarchal wares in the Times and Seasons*
+and Neighbor, inviting those in want of blessings to call at his
+residence. William was not a man of tact, and it required but a
+little time for him to arouse the jealousy of the leaders, the
+result of which was a notice in the Times and Seasons of November
+1, 1845, that he had been "cut off and left in the hands of God."
+But William was not a man to remain quiet even in such a retreat,
+and he soon afterward issued to the Saints throughout the world
+"a proclamation and faithful warning," which filled eight and a
+half columns of the Warsaw Signal of October 29, 1845, in which,
+"in all meekness of spirit, and without anger or malice" (William
+possessed most of the family traits), he accused Young of
+instigating murders, and spoke of him in this way:--
+
+ * Vol. VI, p. 904.
+
+
+"It is my firm and sincere conviction that, since the murder of
+my two brothers, usurpation, and anarchy, and spiritual
+wickedness in high places have crept into the church, with the
+cognizance and acquiescence of those whose solemn duty It was to
+guardedly watch against such a state of things. Under the reign
+of one whom I may call a Pontius Pilate, under the reign, I say,
+of this Brigham Young, no greater tyrant ever existed since the
+days of Nero. He has no other justification than ignorance to
+cover the most cruel acts--acts disgraceful to any one bearing
+the stamp of humanity; and this being has associated around him
+men, bound by oaths and covenants, who are reckless enough to
+commit almost any crime, or fulfil any command that their
+self-crowned head might give them"
+
+William was, of course, welcomed as a witness by the non-Mormons.
+He soon after went to St. Louis, and while there received a
+letter from Orson Hyde, which called his proclamation "a cruel
+thrust," but urged him to return, pledging that they would not
+harm him. William did not accept the invitation, but settled in
+Illinois, became a respected citizen, and in later years was
+elected to the legislature. When invited to join the Reorganized
+Church by his nephew Joseph, he declined, saying, "I am not in
+sympathy, very strongly, with any of the present organized bands
+of Mormons, your own not excepted."
+
+By the spring of 1845 the Mormons were deserted even by their
+Democratic allies, some three hundred of whom in Hancock County
+issued an address denying that the opposition to them was
+principally Whig, and declaring that it had arisen from
+compulsion and in self-defence. Governor Ford, anxious to be rid
+of his troublesome constituents, sent a confidential letter to
+Brigham Young, dated April 8, 1845, saying, "If you can get off
+by yourselves you may enjoy peace," and suggesting California as
+opening "a field for the prettiest enterprise that has been
+undertaken in modern times."
+
+An era of the most disgraceful outrages that marked any of the
+conflicts between the Mormons and their opponents east of the
+Rocky Mountains began in Hancock County on the night of September
+9, when a schoolhouse in Green Plain, south of Warsaw, in which
+the anti-Mormons were holding a meeting, was fired upon. The
+Mormons always claimed that this was a sham attack, made by the
+anti-Mormons to give an excuse for open hostilities, and
+probabilities favor this view. Straightway ensued what were known
+as the "burnings." A band of men, numbering from one hundred to
+two hundred, and coming mostly from Warsaw, began burning the
+houses, outbuildings, and grain stacks of Mormons all over the
+southwest part of the county. The owners were given time to
+remove their effects, and were ordered to make haste to Nauvoo,
+and in this way the country region was rapidly rid of Mormon
+settlers.*
+
+* Gregg's "History of Hancock County," p. 374.
+
+
+The sheriff of the county at that time was J. B. Backenstos, who,
+Ford says, went to Hancock County from Sangamon, a fraudulent
+debtor, and whose brother married a niece of the Prophet Joseph.*
+He had been elected to the legislature the year before, and had
+there so openly espoused the Mormon cause opposing the repeal of
+the Nauvoo charter that his constituents proposed to drive him
+from the county when he returned home. Backenstos at once took up
+the cause of the Mormons, issued proclamation after
+proclamation,** breathing the utmost hostility to the Mormon
+assailants, and calling on the citizens to aid him as a posse in
+maintaining order.
+
+* Ford's "History of Illinois," pp. 407-408.
+
+** For the text of five of these proclamations, see Millennial
+Star, Vol. VI.
+
+
+A sheriff of different character might have secured the help that
+was certainly his due on such an occasion, but no non-Mormon
+would respond to a call by Backenstos. An occurrence incidental
+to these disturbances now added to the public feeling. On
+September 16, Lieutenant Worrell, who had been in command of the
+guard at the jail when the Smith brothers were killed, was shot
+dead while riding with two companions from Carthage to Warsaw.
+His death was charged to Backenstos and to O. P. Rockwell,* the
+man accused of the attempted assassination of Governor Boggs, and
+both were afterward put on trial for it, but were acquitted. The
+sheriff now turned to the Nauvoo Legion for recruits, and in his
+third proclamation he announced that he then had a posse of
+upward of two thousand "well-armed men" and two thousand more
+ready to respond to his call. He marched in different directions
+with this force, visiting Carthage, where he placed a number of
+citizens under arrest and issued his Proclamation No. 4., in
+which he characterized the Carthage Grays as "a band of the most
+infamous and villanous scoundrels that ever infested any
+community."
+
+* "Who was the actual guilty party may 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."--Gregg,
+"History of Hancock County," p. 341.
+
+
+"During the ascendency of the sheriff and the absence of the
+anti-Mormons from their homes," said Governor Ford,* "the people
+who had been burnt out of their houses assembled at Nauvoo, from
+whence, with many others, they sallied forth and ravaged the
+country, stealing and plundering whatever was convenient to carry
+or drive away." Thus it seems that the governor had changed his
+opinion about the honesty of the Mormons. To remedy the chaotic
+condition of affairs in the county, Governor Ford went to
+Jacksonville, Morgan County, where, in a conference, it was
+decided that judge Stephen A. Douglas, General J. J. Hardin,
+Attorney General T. A. McDougal, and Major W. B. Warren should go
+to Hancock County with such forces as could be raised, to put an
+end to the lawlessness. When the sheriff heard of this, he
+pronounced the governor's proclamation directing the movement a
+forgery, and said, in his own Proclamation No. 5, "I hope no
+armed men will come into Hancock County under such circumstances.
+I shall regard them in the character of a mob, and shall treat
+them accordingly."
+
+*Ford's "History of Illinois," p. 410.
+
+
+The sheriff labored under a mistake. The steps now taken
+resulted, not in a demonstration of his authority, but in the
+final expulsion of all the Mormons from Illinois and Iowa.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. The Expulsion Of The Mormons
+
+General Hardin announced the coming of his force, which numbered
+about four hundred men, in a proclamation addressed "To the
+Citizens of Hancock County," dated September 27. He called
+attention to the lawless acts of the last two years by both
+parties, characterizing the recent burning of houses as "acts
+which disgrace your county, and are a stigma to the state, the
+nation, and the age." His force would simply see that the laws
+were obeyed, without taking part with either side. He forbade the
+assembling of any armed force of more than four men while his
+troops remained in the county, urged the citizens to attend to
+their ordinary business, and directed officers having warrants
+for arrests in connection with the recent disturbances to let the
+attorney-general decide whether they needed the assistance of
+troops.
+
+But the citizens were in no mood for anything like a restoration
+of the recent order of things, or for any compromise. The Warsaw
+Signal of September 17 had appealed to the non-Mormons of the
+neighboring counties to come to the rescue of Hancock, and the
+citizens of these counties now began to hold meetings which
+adopted resolutions declaring that the Mormons "must go," and
+that they would not permit them to settle in any of the counties
+interested. The most important of these meetings, held at Quincy,
+resulted in the appointment of a committee of seven to visit
+Nauvoo, and see what arrangements could be made with the Mormons
+regarding their removal from the state. Notwithstanding their
+defiant utterances, the Mormon leaders had for some time realized
+that their position in Illinois was untenable. That Smith himself
+understood this before his death is shown by the following entry
+in his diary:--
+
+"Feb. 20, 1844. I instructed the Twelve Apostles to send out a
+delegation, and investigate the locations of California and
+Oregon, and hunt out a good location where we can remove to after
+the Temple is completed, and where we can build a city in a day,
+and have a government of our own, get up into the mountains,
+where the devil cannot dig us out, and live in a healthy climate
+where we can live as old as we have a mind to."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XX, p. 819.
+
+
+The Mormon reply to the Quincy committee was given under date of
+September 24 in the form of a proclamation signed by President
+Brigham Young.* In a long preamble it asserted the desire of the
+Mormons "to live in peace with all men, so far as we can, without
+sacrificing the right to worship God according to the dictates of
+our own consciences"; recited their previous expulsion from their
+homes, and the unfriendly view taken of their "views and
+principles" by many of the people of Illinois, finally announcing
+that they proposed to leave that country in the spring "for some
+point so remote that there will not need to be a difficulty with
+the people and ourselves." The agreement to depart was, however,
+conditioned on the following stipulations: that the citizens
+would help them to sell or rent their properties, to get means to
+assist the widows, the fatherless, and the destitute to move with
+the rest; that "all men will let us alone with their vexatious
+lawsuits"; that cash, dry goods, oxen, cattle, horses, wagons,
+etc., be given in exchange for Mormon property, the exchanges to
+be conducted by a committee of both parties; and that they be
+subjected to no more house burnings nor other depredations while
+they remained.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VI, p. 187.
+
+
+The adjourned meeting at Quincy received the report of its
+committee on September 26, and voted to accept the proposal of
+the Mormons to move in the spring, but stated explicitly, "We do
+not intend to bring ourselves under any obligation to purchase
+their property, nor to furnish purchasers for the same;. but we
+will in no way hinder or obstruct them in their efforts to sell,
+and will expect them to dispose of their property and remove at
+the time appointed." To manifest their sympathy with the
+unoffending poor of Nauvoo, a committee of twenty was appointed
+to receive subscriptions for their aid. The resignation of
+Sheriff Backenstos was called for, and the judge of that circuit
+was advised to hold no court in Hancock County that year.
+
+The outcome of the meetings in the different counties was a
+convention which met in Carthage on October 1 and 2, and at which
+nine counties (Hancock not included) were represented. This
+convention adopted resolutions setting forth the inability of
+non-Mormons to secure justice at the hands of juries under Mormon
+influence, declaring that the only settlement of the troubles
+could be through the removal of the Mormons from the state, and
+repudiating "the impudent assertion, so often and so constantly
+put forth by the Mormons, that they are persecuted for
+righteousness' sake." The counties were advised to form a
+military organization, and the Mormons were warned that their
+opponents "solemnly pledge ourselves to be ready to act as the
+occasion may require."
+
+Meanwhile, the commissioners appointed by Governor Ford had been
+in negotiation with the Mormon authorities, and on October 1
+they, too, asked the latter to submit their intentions in
+writing. This they did the same day. Their reply, signed by
+Brigham Young, President, and Willard Richards, Clerk,* referred
+the commission to their response to the Quincy committee, and
+added that they had begun arrangements to remove from the county
+before the recent disturbances, one thousand families, including
+the heads of the church, being determined to start in the spring,
+without regard to any sacrifice of their property; that the whole
+church desired to go with them, and would do so if the necessary
+means could be secured by sales of their possessions, but that
+they wished it "distinctly understood that, although we may not
+find purchasers for our property, we will not sacrifice it or
+give it away, or suffer it illegally to be wrested from us." To
+this the commissioners on October 3 sent a reply, informing the
+Mormons that their proposition seemed to be acquiesced in by the
+citizens of all the counties interested, who would permit them to
+depart in peace the next spring without further violence. They
+closed as follows:--
+
+* Text in Millennial Star, Vol. VI, p. 190.
+
+
+"After what has been said and written by yourselves, it will be
+confidently expected by us and the whole community, that you will
+remove from the state with your whole church, in the manner you
+have agreed in your statement to us. Should you not do so, we are
+satisfied, however much we may deprecate violence and bloodshed,
+that violent measures will be resorted to, to compel your
+removal, which will result in most disastrous consequences to
+yourselves and your opponents, and that the end will be your
+expulsion from the state. We think that steps should be taken by
+you to make it apparent that you are actually preparing to remove
+in the spring.
+
+"By carrying out, in good faith, your proposition to remove, as
+submitted to us, we think you should be, and will be, permitted
+to depart peaceably next spring for your destination, west of the
+Rocky Mountains. For the purpose of maintaining law and order in
+this county, the commanding general purposes to leave an armed
+force in this county which will be sufficient for that purpose,
+and which will remain so long as the governor deems it necessary.
+And for the purpose of preventing the use of such force for
+vexatious or improper objects, we will recommend the governor of
+the state to send some competent legal officer to remain here,
+and have the power of deciding what process shall be executed by
+said military force.
+
+"We recommend to you to place every possible restraint in your
+power over the members of your church, to prevent them from
+committing acts of aggression or retaliation on any citizens of
+the state, as a contrary course may, and most probably will,
+bring about a collision which will subvert all efforts to
+maintain the peace in this county; and we propose making a
+similar request of your opponents in this and the surrounding
+counties.
+
+"With many wishes that you may find that peace and prosperity in
+the land of your destination which you desire, we have the honor
+to subscribe ourselves,
+
+JOHN J. HARDIN, W. B. WARREN.
+
+S. A. DOUGLAS, J. A. MCDOUGAL."
+
+On the following day these commissioners made official
+announcement of the result of their negotiations, "to the
+anti-Mormon citizens of Hancock and the surrounding counties."
+They expressed their belief in the sincerity of the Mormon
+promises; advised that the non-Mormons be satisfied with
+obtaining what was practicable, even if some of their demands
+could not be granted, beseeching them to be orderly, and at the
+same time warning them not to violate the law, which the troops
+left in the county by General Hardin would enforce at all
+hazards. The report closed as follows:--
+
+"Remember, whatever may be the aggression against you, the
+sympathy of the public may be forfeited. It cannot be denied that
+the burning of the houses of the Mormons in Hancock County, by
+which a large number of women and children have been rendered
+homeless and houseless, in the beginning of the winter, was an
+act criminal in itself, and disgraceful to its perpetrators. And
+it should also be known that it has led many persons to believe
+that, even if the Mormons are so bad as they are represented,
+they are no worse than those who have burnt their houses. Whether
+your cause is just or unjust, the acts of these incendiaries have
+thus lost for you something of the sympathy and good-will of your
+fellow-citizens; and a resort to, or persistence in, such a
+course under existing circumstances will make you forfeit all the
+respect and sympathy of the community. We trust and believe, for
+this lovely portion of our state, a brighter day is dawning; and
+we beseech all parties not to seek to hasten its approach by the
+torch of the incendiary, nor to disturb its dawn by the clash of
+arms."
+
+The Millennial Star of December 1, 1845, thus introduced this
+correspondence:--
+
+THE END OF AMERICAN LIBERTY
+
+"The following official correspondence shows that this government
+has given thirty thousand American citizens THE CHOICE OF DEATH
+or BANISHMENT beyond the Rocky Mountains. Of these two evils they
+have chosen the least. WHAT BOASTED LIBERTY! WHAT an honor to
+American character!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. The Evacuation Of Nauvoo--"The Last Mormon War"
+
+The winter of 1845-1846 in Hancock County passed without any
+renewed outbreak, but the credit for this seems to have been due
+to the firmness and good judgment of Major W. B. Warren, whom
+General Hardin placed in command of the force which he left in
+that county to preserve order, rather than to any improvement in
+the relations between the two parties, even after the Mormons had
+agreed to depart.
+
+Major Warren's command, which at first consisted of one hundred
+men, and was reduced during the winter to fifty and later to ten,
+came from Quincy, and had as subordinate officers James D. Morgan
+and B. M. Prentiss, whose names became famous as Union generals
+in the war of the rebellion. Warren showed no favoritism in
+enforcing his authority, and he was called on to exercise it
+against both sides. The local newspapers of the day contain
+accounts of occasional burnings during the winter, and of murders
+committed here and there. On November 17, a meeting of citizens
+of Warsaw, who styled. themselves "a portion of the anti-Mormon
+party," was held to protest against such acts as burnings and the
+murder of a Mormon, ten miles south of Warsaw, and to demand
+adherence to the agreement entered into. On February 5, Major
+Warren had to issue a warning to an organization of anti-Mormons
+who had ordered a number of Mormon families to leave the county
+by May 1, if they did not want to be burned out.
+
+Governor Ford sent Mr. Brayman to Hancock County as legal counsel
+for the military commander. In a report dated December 14, 1845,
+Mr. Brayman said of the condition of affairs as he found them:--
+
+"Judicial proceedings are but mockeries of the forms of law;
+juries, magistrates and officers of every grade concerned in the
+civil affairs of the county partake so deeply of the prevailing
+excitement that no reliance, as a general thing, can be placed on
+their action. Crime enjoys a disgraceful impunity, and each one
+feels at liberty to commit any aggression, or to avenge his own
+wrongs to any extent, without legal accountability . . . .
+Whether the parties will become reconciled or quieted, so as to
+live together in peace, is doubted . . . . Such a series of
+outrages and bold violations of law as have marked the history of
+Hancock County for several years past is a blot upon our
+institutions; ought not to be endured by a civilized people." *
+
+* Warsaw Signal, December 24, 1845.
+
+
+Meanwhile, the Mormons went on with their preparations for their
+westward march, selling their property as best they could, and
+making every effort to trade real estate in and out of the city,
+and such personal property as they could not take with them, for
+cattle, oxen, mules, horses, sheep, and wagons. Early in February
+the non-Mormons were surprised to learn that the Mormons at
+Nauvoo had begun crossing the river as a beginning of their
+departure for the far West. "We scarcely know what to make of
+this movement," said the Warsaw Signal, the general belief being
+that the Mormons would be slow in carrying out their agreement to
+leave "so soon as grass would grow and water run." The date of
+the first departure, it has since been learned, was hastened by
+the fact that the grand jury in Springfield, Illinois, in
+December, 1845, had found certain indictments for counterfeiting,
+in regard to which the journal of that city, on December 25, gave
+the following particulars:--
+
+"During the last week twelve bills of indictment for
+counterfeiting Mexican dollars and our half dollars and dimes
+were found by the Grand Jury, and presented to the United States
+Circuit Court in this city against different persons in and about
+Nauvoo, embracing some of the 'Holy Twelve' and other prominent
+Mormons, and persons in league with them. The manner in which the
+money was put into circulation was stated. At one mill $1500 was
+paid out for wheat in one week. Whenever a land sale was about to
+take place, wagons were sent off with the coin into the land
+district where such sale was to take place, and no difficulty
+occurred in exchanging off the counterfeit coin for paper . . . .
+So soon as the indictments were found, a request was made by the
+marshal of the Governor of this state for a posse, or the
+assistance of the military force stationed in Hancock County, to
+enable him to arrest the alleged counterfeiters. Gov. Ford
+refused to grant the request. An officer has since been sent to
+Nauvoo to make the arrests, but we apprehend. there is no
+probability of his success"
+
+The report that a whole city was practically for sale had been
+widely spread, and many persons--some from the Eastern
+states--began visiting it to see what inducements were offered to
+new settlers, and what bargains were to be had. Among these was
+W. E. Matlack, who on April 10 issued, in Nauvoo, the first
+number of a weekly newspaper called the Hancock Eagle. Matlack
+seems to have been a fair-minded man, possessed of the courage of
+his convictions, and his paper was a better one in, a literary
+sense than the average weekly of the day. In his inaugural
+editorial he said that he favored the removal of the Mormons as a
+peace measure, but denounced mob rule and threats against the
+Mormons who had not departed. The ultra-Antis took offence at
+this at once, and, so far as the Eagle was supposed to represent
+the views of the new-comers,--who were henceforth called New
+Citizens,--counted them little better than the Mormons
+themselves. Among these, however, was a class whom the county
+should have welcomed, the boats, in one week in May, landing four
+or five merchants, six physicians, three or four lawyers, two
+dentists, and two or three hundred others, including laborers.
+
+The people of Hancock and the surrounding counties still refused
+to believe that the Mormons were sincere in their intention to
+depart, and the county meetings of the year before were
+reassembled to warn the Mormons that the citizens stood ready to
+enforce their order. The vacillating course of Governor Ford did
+not help the situation. He issued an order disbanding Major
+Warren's force on May 1, and on the following day instructed him
+to muster it into service again. Warren was very outspoken in his
+determination to protect the departing Mormons, and in a
+proclamation which he issued he told them to "leave the fighting
+to be done by my detachment. If we are overpowered, then recross
+the river and defend yourselves and your property."
+
+The peace was preserved during May, and the Mormon exodus
+continued, Young with the first company being already well
+advanced in his march across Iowa. Major Warren sent a weekly
+report on the movement to the Warsaw Signal. That dated May 14
+said that the ferries at Nauvoo and at Fort Madison were each
+taking across an average of 35 teams in twenty-four hours. For
+the week ending May 22 he reported the departure of 539 teams and
+1617 persons; and for the week ending May 29, the departure of
+269 teams and 800 persons, and he said he had counted the day
+before 617 wagons in Nauvoo ready to start.
+
+But even this activity did not satisfy the ultra element among
+the anti-Mormons, and at a meeting in Carthage, on Saturday, June
+6, resolutions drawn by Editor Sharp of the Signal expressed the
+belief that many of the Mormons intended to remain in the state,
+charged that they continued to commit depredations, and declared
+that the time had come for the citizens of the counties affected
+to arm and equip themselves for action. The Signal headed its
+editorial remarks on this meeting, "War declared in Hancock."
+
+When the news of the gathering at Carthage reached Nauvoo it
+created a panic. The Mormons, lessened in number by the many
+departures, and with their goods mostly packed for moving, were
+in no situation to repel an attack; and they began hurrying to
+the ferry until the streets were blocked with teams. The New
+Citizens, although the Carthage meeting had appointed a committee
+to confer with them, were almost as much alarmed, and those who
+could do so sent away their families, while several merchants
+packed up their goods for safety. On Friday, June 12, the
+committee of New Citizens met some 600 anti-Mormons who had
+assembled near Carthage, and strenuously objected to their
+marching into Nauvoo. As a sort of compromise, the force
+consented to rendezvous at Golden Point, five miles south of
+Nauvoo, and there they arrived the next day. This force,
+according to the Signal's own account, was a mere mob,
+three-fourths of whom went there against their own judgment, and
+only to try to prevent extreme measures. A committee was at once
+sent to Nauvoo to confer with the New Citizens, but it met with a
+decided snubbing. The Nauvoo people then sent a committee to the
+camp, with a proposition that thirty men of the Antis march into
+the city, and leave three of their number there to report on the
+progress of the Mormon exodus.
+
+On Sunday morning, before any such agreement was reached, word
+came from Nauvoo that Sheriff Backenstos had arrived there and
+enrolled a posse of some 500 men, the New Citizens uniting with
+the Mormons for the protection of the place. This led to an
+examination of the war supplies of the Antis, and the discovery
+that they had only five rounds of ammunition to a man, and one
+day's provision. Thereupon they ingloriously broke camp and made
+off to Carthage.
+
+After this nothing more serious than a war of words occurred
+until July 11, when an event happened which aroused the feeling
+of both parties to the fighting pitch. Three Mormons from Nauvoo
+had been harvesting a field of grain about eight miles from the
+city.* In some way they angered a man living near by (according
+to his wife's affidavit, by shooting around his fields, using his
+stable for their horses, and feeding his oats), and he collected
+some neighbors, who gave the offenders a whipping, more or less
+severe, according to the account accepted. The men went at once
+to Nauvoo, and exhibited their backs, and that night a Mormon
+posse arrested seventeen Antis and conveyed them to Nauvoo. The
+Antis in turn seized five Mormons whom they held as "hostages,"
+and the northern part of Hancock County and a part of McDonough
+were in a state of alarm.
+
+* The Eagle stated that the farm where the Mormons were at work
+had been bought by a New Citizen, who had sent out both Mormons
+and New Citizens to cut the grain.
+
+
+Civil chaos ensued. General Hardin and Major Warren had joined
+the federal army that was to march against Mexico, and their cool
+judgment was greatly missed. One Carlin, appointed as a special
+constable, called on the citizens of Hancock County to assemble
+as his posse to assist in executing warrants in Nauvoo, and the
+Mormons of that city at once took steps to resist arrests by him.
+Governor Ford sent Major Parker of Fulton County, who was a Whig,
+to make an inquiry at Nauvoo and defend that city against
+rioting, and Mr. Brayman remained there to report to him on the
+course of affairs.
+
+What was called at that time, in Illinois, "the last Mormon war"
+opened with a fusillade of correspondence between Carlin and
+Major Parker. Parker issued a proclamation, calling on all good
+citizens to return to their homes, and Carlin declared that he
+would obey no authority which tried to prevent him from doing his
+duty, telling the major that it would "take something more than
+words" to disperse his posse. While Parker was issuing a series
+of proclamations, the so-called posse was, on August 25, placed
+under the command of Colonel J. B. Chittenden of Adams County,
+who was superseded three days later by Colonel Singleton. Colonel
+Singleton was successful in arranging with Major Parker terms of
+peace, which provided among other things that all the Mormons
+should be out of the state in sixty days, except heads of
+families who remained to close their business; but the colonel's
+officers rejected this agreement, and the colonel thereupon left
+the camp. Carlin at once appointed Colonel Brockman to the chief
+command. He was a Campbellite preacher who, according to Ford,
+had been a public defaulter and had been "silenced" by his
+church. After rejecting another offer of compromise made by the
+Mormons, Brockman, on September 11, with about seven hundred men
+who called themselves a posse, advanced against Nauvoo, with some
+small field pieces. Governor Ford had authorized Major Flood,
+commanding the militia of Adams County, to raise a force to
+preserve order in Hancock; but the major, knowing that such
+action would only incense the force of the Antis, disregarded the
+governor's request. At this juncture Major Parker was relieved of
+the command at Nauvoo and succeeded by Major B. Clifford, Jr., of
+the 33rd regiment of Illinois Volunteers.
+
+On the morning of September 12, Brockman sent into Nauvoo a
+demand for its surrender, with the pledge that there would be no
+destruction of property or life "unless absolutely necessary in
+self-defence." Major Clifford rejected this proposition, advised
+Brockman to disperse his force, and named Mayor Wood of Quincy
+and J. P. Eddy, a St. Louis merchant then in Nauvoo, as
+recipients of any further propositions from the Antis.
+
+The forces at this time were drawn up against one another, the
+Mormons behind a breastwork which they had erected during the
+night, and the Antis on a piece of high ground nearer the city
+than their camp. Brayman says that an estimate which placed the
+Mormon force at five hundred or six hundred was a great
+exaggeration, and that the only artillery they had was six pieces
+which they fashioned for themselves, by breaking some steamboat
+shafts to the proper length and boring them out so that they
+would receive a six-pound shot.
+
+When Clifford's reply was received, the commander of the Antis
+sent out the Warsaw riflemen as flankers on the right and left;
+directed the Lima Guards, with one cannon, to take a position a
+mile to the front of the camp and occupy the attention of the men
+behind the Mormon breastwork, who had opened fire; and then
+marched the main body through a cornfield and orchard to the city
+itself. Both sides kept up an artillery fire while the advance
+was taking place.
+
+When the Antis reached the settled part of the city, the firing
+became general, but was of an independent character. The Mormons
+in most cases fired from their houses, while the Antis found such
+shelter as they could in a cornfield and along a worm fence.
+After about an hour of such fighting, Brockman, discovering that
+all of the sixty-one cannon balls with which he had provided
+himself had been shot away, decided that it was perilous "to risk
+a further advance without these necessary instruments."
+Accordingly, he ordered a retreat and his whole force returned to
+its camp. In this engagement no Antis were killed, and the
+surgeon's list named only eight wounded, one of whom died. Three
+citizens of Nauvoo were killed. The Mormons had the better
+protection in their houses, but the other side made rather
+effective use of their artillery.
+
+The Antis began at once intrenching their camp, and sent to
+Quincy for ammunition. There were some exchanges of shots on
+Sunday and Monday, and three Antis were wounded on the latter
+day.
+
+Quincy responded promptly to the request for ammunition, but the
+people of that town were by no means unanimously in favor of the
+"war." On Sunday evening a meeting of the peaceably inclined
+appointed a committee of one hundred to visit the scene of
+hostilities and secure peace "on the basis of a removal of the
+Mormons." The negotiations of this committee began on the
+following Tuesday, and were continued, at times with apparent
+hopelessness of success, until Wednesday evening, when terms of
+peace were finally signed. It required the utmost effort of the
+Quincy committee to induce the anti-Mormon force to delay an
+assault on the city, which would have meant conflagration and
+massacre. The terms of peace were as follows:
+
+"1. The city of Nauvoo will surrender. The force of Col. Brockman
+to enter and take possession of the city tomorrow, the 17th of
+September, at 3 o'clock P.m.
+
+"2. The arms to be delivered to the Quincy Committee, to be
+returned on the crossing of the river.
+
+"3. The Quincy Committee pledge themselves to use their influence
+for the protection of persons and property from all violence; and
+the officers of the camp and the men pledge themselves to protect
+all persons and property from violence.
+
+"4. The sick and helpless to be protected and treated with
+humanity.
+
+"5. The Mormon population of the city to leave the State, or
+disperse, as soon as they can cross the river.
+
+"6. Five men, including the trustees of the church, and five
+clerks, with their families (William Pickett not one of the
+number), to be permitted to remain in the city for the
+disposition of property, free from all molestation and personal
+violence.
+
+"7. Hostilities to cease immediately, and ten men of the Quincy
+Committee to enter the city in the execution of their duty as
+soon as they think proper."
+
+The noticeable features of these terms are the omission of any
+reference to the execution of Carlin's writs, and the engagement
+that the Mormons should depart immediately. The latter was the
+real object of the "posse's" campaign.
+
+The Mormons had realized that they could not continue their
+defence, as no reenforcements could reach them, while any
+temporary check to their adversaries would only increase the
+animosity of the latter. They acted, therefore, in good faith as
+regards their agreement to depart. How they went is thus
+described in Brayman's second report to Governor Ford: *
+
+* For Brayman's reports, see Warsaw Signal, October 20, 1846.
+
+
+"These terms were not definitely signed until the morning of
+Thursday, the 17th, but, confident of their ratification, the
+Mormon population had been busy through the night in removing. So
+firmly had they been taught to believe that their lives, their
+city, and Temple, would fall a sacrifice to the vengeance of
+their enemies, if surrendered to them, that they fled in
+consternation, determined to be beyond their reach at all
+hazards. This scene of confusion, fright and distress was
+continued throughout the forenoon. In every part of the city
+scenes of destitution, misery and woe met the eye. Families were
+hurrying away from their homes, without a shelter,--without means
+of conveyance,--without tents, money, or a day's provision, with
+as much of their household stuff as they could carry in their
+hands. Sick men and women were carried upon their beds--weary
+mothers, with helpless babes dying in the arms, hurried away--all
+fleeing, they scarcely knew or cared whither, so it was from
+their enemies, whom they feared more than the waves of the
+Mississippi, or the heat, and hunger and lingering life and
+dreaded death of the prairies on which they were about to be
+cast. The ferry boats were crowded, and the river bank was lined
+with anxious fugitives, sadly awaiting their turn to pass over
+and take up their solitary march to the wilderness."
+
+On the afternoon of the 17th, Brockman's force, with which the
+members of the Quincy committee had been assigned a place,
+marched into Nauvoo and through it, encamping near the river on
+the southern boundary. Curiosity to see the Mormon city had
+swelled the number who entered at the same time with the posse to
+nearly two thousand men, but there was no disorder. The streets
+were practically deserted, and the few Mormons who remained were
+busy with their preparations to cross the river. Brockman, to
+make his victory certain, ordered that all citizens of Nauvoo who
+had sided with the Mormons should leave the state, thus including
+many of the New Citizens. The order was enforced on September 18,
+"with many circumstances of the utmost cruelty and injustice,"
+according to Brayman's report. "Bands of armed men," he said,
+"traversed the city, entering the houses of citizens, robbing
+them of arms, throwing their household goods out of doors,
+insulting them, and threatening their lives."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. Nauvoo After The Exodus
+
+Brockman's force was disbanded after its object had been
+accomplished, and all returned to their homes but about one
+hundred, who remained in Nauvoo to see that no Mormons came back.
+These men, whose number gradually decreased, provided what
+protection and government the place then enjoyed. Governor Ford
+received much censure from the state at large for the lawless
+doings of the recent months. A citizens' meeting at Springfield
+demanded that he call out a force sufficient "to restore the
+supremacy of the law, and bring the offenders to justice." He did
+call on Hancock County for volunteers to restore order, but a
+public meeting in Carthage practically defied him. He, however,
+secured a force of about two hundred men, with which he marched
+into Nauvoo, greatly to the indignation of the Hancock County
+people. His stay there was marked by incidents which showed how
+his erratic course in recent years had deprived him of public
+respect, and which explain some of the bitterness toward the
+county which characterizes his "History." One of these was the
+presentation to him of a petticoat as typical of his rule. When
+Ford was succeeded as governor by French, the latter withdrew the
+militia from the county, and, in an address to the citizens,
+said, "I confidently rely upon your assistance and influence to
+aid in preventing any act of a violent character in future."
+Matters in the county then quieted down. The Warsaw newspapers,
+in place of anti-Mormon literature, began to print appeals to new
+settlers, setting forth the advantages of the neighborhood. But a
+newspaper war soon followed between two factions in Nauvoo, one
+of which contended that the place was an assemblage of gamblers
+and saloon-keepers, while the other defended its reputation. This
+latter view, however, was not established, and most of the houses
+remained tenantless.
+
+Amid all their troubles in Nauvoo the Mormon authorities never
+lost sight of one object, the completion of the Temple. To the
+non-Mormons, and even to many in the church, it seemed
+inexplicable why so much zeal and money should be expended in
+finishing a structure that was to be at once abandoned. Before
+the agreement to leave the state was made, a Warsaw newspaper
+predicted that the completion of the Temple would end the reign
+of the Mormon leaders, since their followers were held together
+by the expectation of some supernatural manifestation of power in
+their behalf at that time* Another outside newspaper suggested
+that they intended to use it as a fort.
+
+* A man from the neighborhood who visited Nauvoo in 1843 to buy
+calves called on a blind man, of whom he says: "He told me he had
+a nice home in Massachusetts, which gave them a good support. But
+one of the Mormon elders preaching in that country called on him
+and told him if he would sell out and go to Nauvoo the Prophet
+would restore his sight. He sold out and had come to the city and
+spent all his means, and was now in great need. I asked why the
+Prophet did not open his eyes. He replied that Joseph had
+informed him that he could not open his eyes till the Temple was
+finished."--Gregg, "History of Hancock County," p. 375.
+
+
+Orson Pratt, in a letter to the Saints in the Eastern states,
+written at the time of the agreement to depart, answering the
+query why the Lord commanded them to build a house out of which
+he would then suffer them to be driven at once, quoted a
+paragraph from the "revelation" of January 19, 1841, which
+commanded the building of the Temple "that you may prove
+yourselves unto me, that ye are faithful in all things whatsoever
+I command you, that I may bless you and cover you with honor,
+immortality, and eternal life."
+
+The cap-stone of the Temple was laid in place early on the
+morning of May 24, 1845, amid shouts of "Hosannah to God and the
+Lamb," music by the band, and the singing of a hymn.
+
+The first meeting was held in the Temple on October 5, 1845, and
+from that time the edifice was used almost constantly in
+administering the ordinances (baptism, endowment,etc.). Brigham
+Young says that on one occasion he continued this work from 5
+P.M. to 3.30 A.M., and others of the Quorum assisted.
+
+The ceremony of the "endowment," although considered very secret,
+has been described by many persons who have gone through it. The
+descriptions by Elder Hyde and I. McGee Van Dusen and his wife go
+into details. A man and wife received notice to appear at the
+Temple at Nauvoo at 5 A.m., he to wear white drawers, and she to
+bring her nightclothes with her. Passing to the upper floor, they
+were told to remove their hats and outer wraps, and were then led
+into a narrow hall, at the end of which stood a man who directed
+the husband to pass through a door on the right, and the wife to
+one on the left. The candidates were then questioned as to their
+preparation for the initiation, and if this resulted
+satisfactorily, they were directed to remove all their outer
+clothing. This ended the "first degree." In the next room their
+remaining clothing was removed and they received a bath, with
+some mummeries which may best be omitted. Next they were anointed
+all over with oil poured from a horn, and pronounced "the Lord's
+anointed," and a priest ordained them to be "king (or queen) in
+time and eternity." The man was now furnished with a white cotton
+undergarment of an original design, over which he put his shirt,
+and the woman was given a somewhat similar article, together with
+a chemise, nightgown,, and white stockings. Each was then
+conducted into another apartment and left there alone in silence
+for some time. Then a rumbling noise was heard, and Brigham Young
+appeared, reciting some words, beginning "Let there be light,"
+and ending "Now let us make man in our image, after our
+likeness." Approaching the man first, he went through a form of
+making him out of the dust; then, passing into the other room, he
+formed the woman out of a rib he had taken from the man. Giving
+this Eve to the man Adam, he led them into a large room decorated
+to represent Eden, and, after giving them divers instructions,
+left them to themselves.
+
+Much was said in later years about the requirement of the
+endowment oath. When General Maxwell tried to prevent the seating
+of Cannon as Delegate to Congress in 1873, one of his charges was
+that Cannon had, in the Endowment House, taken an oath against
+the United States government. This called out affidavits by some
+of the leading anti-Young Mormons of the day, including E. L. T.
+Harrison, that they had gone through the Endowment House without
+taking any oath of the kind. But Hyde, in his description of the
+ceremony, says:--
+
+"We were sworn to cherish constant enmity toward the United
+States Government for not avenging the death of Smith, or
+righting the persecutions of the Saints; to do all that we could
+toward destroying, tearing down or overturning that government;
+to endeavor to baffle its designs and frustrate its intentions;
+to renounce all allegiance and refuse all submission. If unable
+to do anything ourselves toward the accomplishment of these
+objects, to teach it to our children from the nursery, impress it
+upon them from the death bed, entail it upon them as a legacy." *
+
+* Hyde's "Mormonism," p. 97.
+
+
+In the suit of Charlotte Arthur against Brigham Young's estate,
+to recover a lot in Salt Lake City which she alleged that Young
+had unlawfully taken possession of, her verified complaint (filed
+July 11, 1874) alleged that the endowment oath contained the
+following declaration:-- "To obey him, the Lord's anointed, in
+all his orders, spiritual and temporal, and the priesthood or
+either of them, and all church authorities in like manner; that
+this obligation is superior to all the laws of the United States,
+and all earthly laws; that enmity should be cherished against the
+government of the United States; that the blood of Joseph Smith,
+the Prophet, and Apostles slain in this generation shall be
+avenged."
+
+As soon as the agreement to leave the state was made, the Mormons
+tried hard to sell or lease the Temple, but in vain; and when the
+last Mormon departed, the structure was left to the mercy of the
+Hancock County "posse." Colonel Kane, in his description of his
+visit to Nauvoo soon after the evacuation, says that the militia
+had defiled and defaced such features as the shrines and the
+baptismal font, the apartment containing the latter being
+rendered "too noisome to abide in."
+
+Had the building been permitted to stand, it would have been to
+Nauvoo something on which the town could have looked as its most
+remarkable feature. But early on the morning of November 19,
+1848, the structure was found to be on fire, evidently the work
+of an incendiary, and what the flames could eat up was soon
+destroyed. The Nauvoo Patriot deplored the destruction of "a work
+of art at once the most elegant in its construction, and the most
+renowned in its celebrity, of any in the whole West."
+
+When the Icarians, a band of French Socialists, settled in
+Nauvoo, they undertook, in 1850, to rebuild the edifice for use
+as their halls of reunion and schools. After they had expended on
+this work a good deal of time and labor, the city was visited by
+a cyclone on May 27 of that year, which left standing only a part
+of the west wall. Out of the stone the Icarians then built a
+school house, but nothing original now remains on the site except
+the old well.
+
+The Nauvoo of to-day is a town of only 1321 inhabitants. The
+people are largely of German origin, and the leading occupation
+is fruit growing. The site of the Temple is occupied by two
+modern buildings. A part of Nauvoo House is still standing, as
+are Brigham Young's former residence, Joseph Smith's "new
+mansion," and other houses which Mormons occupied.
+
+The Mormons in Iowa were no more popular with their non-Mormon
+neighbors there than were those in Illinois, and after the
+murders by the Hodges, and other crimes charged to the brethren,
+a mass meeting of Lee County inhabitants was held, which adopted
+resolutions declaring that the Mormons and the old settlers could
+not live together and that the Mormons must depart, citizens
+being requested to aid in this movement by exchanging property
+with the emigrants. In 1847 the last of these objectionable
+citizens left the county.
+
+
+
+BOOK V. The Migration To Utah
+
+CHAPTER I. Preparations For The Long March
+
+Two things may be accepted as facts with regard to the migration
+of the Mormons westward from Illinois: first, that they would not
+have moved had they not been compelled to; and second, that they
+did not know definitely where they were going when they started.
+Although Joseph Smith showed an uncertainty of his position by
+his instruction that the Twelve should look for a place in
+California or Oregon to which his people might move, he
+considered this removal so remote a possibility that he was at
+the same time beginning his campaign for the presidency of the
+United States. As late as the spring of 1845, removal was
+considered by the leaders as only an alternative. In April,
+Brigham Young, Willard Richards, the two Pratts, and others
+issued an address to President Polk, which was sent to the
+governors of all the states but Illinois and Missouri, setting
+forth their previous trials, and containing this declaration:--
+"In the name of Israel's God, and by virtue of multiplied ties of
+country and kindred, we ask your friendly interposition in our
+favor. Will it be too much for us to ask you to convene a special
+session of Congress and furnish us an asylum where we can enjoy
+our rights of conscience and religion unmolested? Or will you, in
+special message to that body when convened, recommend a
+remonstrance against such unhallowed acts of oppression and
+expatriation as this people have continued to receive from the
+states of Missouri and Illinois? Or will you favor us by your
+personal influence and by your official rank? Or will you express
+your views concerning what is called the Great Western Measure of
+colonizing the Latter-Day Saints in Oregon, the Northwestern
+Territory, or some location remote from the states, where the
+hand of oppression will not crush every noble principle and
+extinguish every patriotic feeling?" After the publication of the
+correspondence between the Hardin commission and the Mormon
+authorities, Orson Pratt issued an appeal "to American citizens,"
+in which, referring to what he called the proposed "banishment"
+of the Mormons, he said: "Ye fathers of the Revolution! Ye
+patriots of '76! Is it for this ye toiled and suffered and bled?
+. . . Must they be driven from this renowned republic to seek an
+asylum among other nations, or wander as hopeless exiles among
+the red men of the western wilds? Americans, will ye suffer this?
+Editors, will ye not speak? Fellow-citizens, will ye not awake?"*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VI, p. 193.
+
+
+Their destination could not have been determined in advance,
+because so little was known of the Far West. The territory now
+embraced in the boundaries of California and Utah was then under
+Mexican government, and "California" was, in common use, a name
+covering the Pacific coast and a stretch of land extending
+indefinitely eastward. Oregon had been heard of a good deal, and
+it, as well as Vancouver Island, had been spoken of as a possible
+goal if a westward migration became necessary. Lorenzo Snow, in
+describing the westward start, said: "On the first of March, the
+ground covered with snow, we broke encampment about noon, and
+soon nearly four hundred wagons were moving to--WE KNEW NOT
+WHERE." *
+
+* "Biography of Lorenzo Snow," p. 86.
+
+
+The first step taken by the Mormon authorities to explain the
+removal to their people was an explanation made at a conference
+in the new Temple, three days after the correspondence with the
+commission closed. P. P. Pratt stated to the conference that the
+removal meant that the Lord designed to lead them to a wider
+field of action, where no one could say that they crowded their
+neighbors. In such a place they could, in five years, become
+richer than they then were, and could build a bigger and a better
+Temple. "It has cost us," said he, "more for sickness, defence
+against mob exactions, persecutions, and to purchase lands in
+this place, than as much improvement will cost in another." It
+was then voted unanimously that the Saints would move en masse to
+the West, and that every man would give all the help he could to
+assist the poorer members of the community in making the
+journey.*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VI, p. 196. Wilford Woodruff, in an
+appeal to the Saints in Great Britain, asked them to buy Mormon
+books in order to assist the Presidency with funds with which to
+take the poor Saints with them westward.
+
+
+Brigham Young next issued an address to the church at large,
+stating that even the Mormon Bible had foretold what might be the
+conduct of the American nation toward "the Israel of the last
+days," and urging all to prepare to make the journey. A
+conference of Mormons in New York City on November 12, 1845,
+attended by brethren from New York State, New Jersey, and
+Connecticut, voted that "the church in this city move, one and
+all, west of the Rocky Mountains between this and next season,
+either by land or by water."
+
+Active preparations for the removal began in and around Nauvoo at
+once. All who had property began trading it for articles that
+would be needed on the journey. Real estate was traded or sold
+for what it would bring, and the Eagle was full of advertisements
+of property to sell, including the Mansion House, Masonic Hall,
+and the Armory. The Mormons would load in wagons what furniture
+they could not take West with them, and trade it in the
+neighborhood for things more useful. The church authorities
+advertised for one thousand yokes of oxen and all the cattle and
+mules that might be offered, oxen bringing from $40 to $50 a
+yoke. The necessary outfit for a family of five was calculated to
+be one wagon, three yokes of cattle, two cows, two beef cattle,
+three sheep, one thousand pounds of flour, twenty pounds of
+sugar, a tent and bedding, seeds, farming tools, and a rifle--all
+estimated to cost about $250. Three or four hundred Mormons were
+sent to more distant points in Illinois and Iowa for draft
+animals, and, when the Western procession started, they boasted
+that they owned the best cattle and horses in the country.
+
+In the city the men were organized into companies, each of which
+included such workmen as wagonmakers, blacksmiths, and
+carpenters, and the task of making wagons, tents, etc., was
+hurried to the utmost. "Nauvoo was constituted into one great
+wagon shop," wrote John Taylor. If any members of the community
+were not skilled in the work now in demand, they were sent to St.
+Louis, Galena, Burlington, or some other of the larger towns, to
+find profitable employment during the winter, and thus add to the
+moving fund.
+
+On January 20, 1846, the High Council issued a circular
+announcing that, early in March, a company of hardy young men,
+with some families, would be sent into the Western country, with
+farming utensils and seed, to put in a crop and erect houses for
+others who would follow as soon as the grass was high enough for
+pasture.
+
+This circular contained also the following declaration:--
+
+"We venture to say that our brethren have made no counterfeit
+money; and if any miller has received $1500 base coin in a week
+from us, let him testify. If any land agent of the general
+government has received wagon loads of base coin from us in
+payment for lands, let him say so. Or if he has received any at
+all, let him tell it. These witnesses against us have spun a long
+yarn."
+
+This referred to the charges of counterfeiting, which had
+resulted in the indictment of some of the Twelve at Springfield,
+and which hastened the first departures across the river. That
+counterfeiting was common in the Western country at that time is
+a matter of history, and the Mormons themselves had accused such
+leading members of their church as Cowdery of being engaged in
+the business. The persons indicted at Springfield were never
+tried, so that the question of their guilt cannot be decided.
+Tullidge's pro-Mormon "Life of Brigham Young" mentions an
+incident which occurred when the refugees had gone only as far as
+the Chariton River in Iowa, which both admits that they had
+counterfeit money among them, and shows the mild view which a
+Bishop of the church took of the offence of passing it:-- "About
+this time also an attempt was made to pass counterfeit money. It
+was the case of a young man who bought from a Mr. Cochran a yoke
+of oxen, a cow and a chain for $50. Bishop Miller wrote to
+Brigham to excuse the young man, but to help Cochran to
+restitution. The President was roused to great anger, the Bishop
+was severely rebuked, and the anathemas of the leader from that
+time were thundered against thieves and 'bogus men,' and passers
+of bogus money .... The following is a minute of his diary of a
+council on the next Sunday, with the twelve bishops and captains:
+"I told them I was satisfied the course we were taking would
+prove to be the salvation, not only of the camp but of the Saints
+left behind. But there had been things done which were wrong.
+Some pleaded our sufferings from persecution, and the loss of our
+homes and property, as a justification for retaliating on our
+enemies; but such a course tends to destroy the Kingdom of God."
+
+As soon as the leaders decided to make a start, they sent a
+petition to the governor of Iowa Territory, explaining their
+intention to pass through that domain, and asking for his
+protection during the temporary stay they might make there. No
+opposition to them seems to have been shown by the Iowans, who on
+the contrary employed them as laborers, sold them such goods as
+they could pay for, and invited their musicians to give concerts
+at the resting points. Lee's experience in Iowa confirmed him, he
+says, in his previous opinion that much of the Mormons' trouble
+was due to "wild, ignorant fanatics"; "for," he adds, "only a few
+years before, these same people were our most bitter enemies,
+and, when we came again and behaved ourselves, they treated us
+with the utmost kindness and hospitality."*
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 179.
+
+
+How much property the Mormons sacrificed in Illinois cannot be
+ascertained with accuracy. An investigation of all the testimony
+obtainable on the subject leads to the conclusion that a good
+deal of their real estate was disposed of at a fair price, and
+that there were many cases of severe individual loss. Major
+Warren, in a communication to the Signal from Nauvoo, in May,
+1846, said that few of the Mormons' farms remained unsold, and
+that three-fourths of the improved property on the flat in Nauvoo
+had been disposed of.
+
+A correspondent of the Signal, answering on April 11 an assertion
+that the Mormons had a good deal of real estate to dispose of
+before they could leave, replied that most of their farms were
+sold, and that there were more inquiries after the others than
+there were farms. As to the real estate in the city, he
+explained:--
+
+"It is scattered over an area of eight or ten square miles, and
+contains from 1500 to 2000 houses, four-fifths of which, at
+least, are wretched cabins of no permanent value whatever. There
+are, however, 200 or 300 houses, large and small, built of brick
+and other desirable material. Such will mostly sell, though many
+of them, owing to the distance from the river and other
+unfavorable circumstances, only at a very great sacrifice." *
+
+* "A score or more of chimneys on the northern boundary of the
+city marked the site of houses deliberately burned for fuel
+during the winter of 1845-1846." --Hancock Eagle, May 29,1846.
+
+A general epistle to the church from the Twelve, dated Winter
+Quarters, December 23, 1847, stated that the property of the
+Saints in Hancock County was "little or no better than
+confiscated." *
+
+* See John Taylor's address, p. 411 post.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. From The Mississippi To The Missouri
+
+The first party to leave Nauvoo began crossing the Mississippi
+early in February, 1846, using flatboats propelled by oars for
+the wagons and animals, and small boats for persons and the
+lighter baggage. It soon became colder and snow fell, and after
+the 16th those who remained were able to cross on the ice.
+
+Brigham Young, with a few attendants, had crossed on February 10,
+and selected a point on Sugar Creek as a gathering place.* He
+seems to have returned secretly to the city for a few days to
+arrange for the departure of his family, and Lee says that he did
+not have teams enough at that time for their conveyance, adding,
+"such as were in danger of being arrested were helped away
+first." John Taylor says that those who crossed the river in
+February included the Twelve, the High Council, and about four
+hundred families.**
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 171.
+
+** "February 14 I crossed the river with my family and teams, and
+encamped not far from the Sugar Creek encampment, taking
+possession of a vacant log house on account of the extreme
+cold."--P. P. Pratt, "Autobiography," p. 378.
+
+
+"Camp of Israel" was the name adopted for the camp in which
+President Young and the Twelve might be, and this name moved
+westward with them. The camp on Sugar Creek was the first of
+these, and there, on February 17, Young addressed the company
+from a wagon. He outlined the journey before them, declaring that
+order would be preserved, and that all who wished to live in
+peace when the actual march began "must toe the mark," ending
+with a call for a show of hands by those who wanted to make the
+move. The vote in favor of going West was unanimous.*
+
+* "At a Council in Nauvoo of the men who were to act as the
+captains of the people in that famous exodus, one after the other
+brought up difficulties in their path, until the prospect was
+without one poor speck of daylight. The good nature of George A.
+Smith was provoked at last, when he sprang up and observed, with
+his quaint humor, that had now a touch of the grand in it, 'If
+there is no God in Israel we are a sucked-in set of fellows. But
+I am going to take my family and the Lord will open the
+way.'"--Tullidge, "History of Salt Lake City," p.17.
+
+
+The turning out of doors in midwinter of so many persons of all
+ages and both sexes, accustomed to the shelter of comfortable
+homes, entailed much suffering. A covered wagon or a tent is a
+poor protection from wintry blasts, and a camp fire in the open
+air, even with a bright sky overhead, is a poor substitute for a
+stove. Their first move, therefore, gave the emigrants a taste of
+the trials they were to endure. While they were at Sugar Creek
+the thermometer dropped to 20 degrees below zero, and heavy falls
+of snow occurred. Several children were born at this point,
+before the actual Western journey began, and the sick and the
+feeble entered upon their sufferings at once. Before that camp
+broke up it was found necessary, too, to buy grain for the
+animals.
+
+The camp was directly in charge of the Twelve until the Chariton
+River was reached. There, on March 27, it was divided into
+companies containing from 50 to 60 wagons, the companies being
+put in charge of captains of fifties and captains of
+tens--suggesting Smith's "Army of Zion." The captains of fifties
+were responsible directly to the High Council. There were also a
+commissary general, and, for each fifty, a contracting commissary
+"to make righteous distribution of grains and provisions." Strict
+order was maintained by day while the column was in motion, and,
+whenever there was a halt, special care was taken to secure the
+cattle and the horses, while at night watches were constantly
+maintained. The story of the march to the Missouri does not
+contain a mention of any hostile meeting with Indians.
+
+The company remained on Sugar Creek for about a month, receiving
+constant accessions from across the river, and on the first of
+March the real westward movement began. The first objective point
+was Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River, about 400 miles
+distant; but on the way several camps were established, at which
+some of the emigrants stopped to plant seeds and make other
+arrangements for the comfort of those who were to follow. The
+first of these camps was located at Richardson's Point in Lee
+County, Iowa, 55 miles from Nauvoo; the next on Chariton River;
+the next on Locust Creek; the next, named by them Garden Grove,
+on a branch of Grand River, some 150 miles from Nauvoo; and
+another, which P. P. Pratt named Mt. Pisgah, on Grand River, 138
+miles east of Council Bluffs. The camp on the Missouri first made
+was called Winter Quarters, and was situated just north of the
+present site of Omaha, where the town now called Florence is
+located. It was not until July that the main body arrived at
+Council Bluffs.
+
+The story of this march is a remarkable one in many ways. Begun
+in winter, with the ground soon covered with snow, the travellers
+encountered arctic weather, with the inconveniences of ice, rain,
+and mud, until May. After a snowfall they would have to scrape
+the ground when they had selected a place for pitching the tents.
+After a rain, or one of the occasional thaws, the country (there
+were no regular roads) would be practically impassable for teams,
+and they would have to remain in camp until the water
+disappeared, and the soil would bear the weight of the wagons
+after it was corduroyed with branches of trees. At one time bad
+roads caused a halt of two or three weeks. Fuel was not always
+abundant, and after a cold night it was no unusual thing to find
+wet garments and bedding frozen stiff in the morning. Here is an
+extract from Orson Pratt's diary:-- "April 9. The rain poured
+down in torrents. With great exertion a part of the camp were
+enabled to get about six miles, while others were stuck fast in
+the deep mud. We encamped at a point of timber about sunset,
+after being drenched several hours in rain. We were obliged to
+cut brush and limbs of trees, and throw them upon the ground in
+our tents, to keep our beds from sinking in the mud. Our animals
+were turned loose to look out for themselves; the bark and limbs
+of trees were their principal food." **
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XI, p. 370.
+
+
+Game was plenty,--deer, wild turkeys, and prairie hens,--but
+while the members of this party were better supplied with
+provisions than their followers, there was no surplus among them,
+and by April many families were really destitute of food. Eliza
+Snow mentions that her brother Lorenzo--one of the captains of
+tens--had two wagons, a small tent, a cow, and a scanty supply
+of provisions and clothing, and that "he was much better off than
+some of our neighbors." Heber C. Kimball, one of the Twelve, says
+of the situation of his family, that he had the ague, and his
+wife was in bed with it, with two children, one a few days old,
+lying by her, and the oldest child well enough to do any
+household work was a boy who could scarcely carry a two-quart
+pail of water. Mrs. F. D. Richards, whose husband was ordered on
+a mission to England while the camp was at Sugar Creek, was
+prematurely confined in a wagon on the way to the Missouri. The
+babe died, as did an older daughter. "Our situation," she says,
+"was pitiable; I had not suitable food for myself or my child;
+the severe rain prevented our having any fire."
+
+The adaptability of the American pioneer to his circumstances was
+shown during this march in many ways. When a halt occurred, a
+shoemaker might be seen looking for a stone to serve as a lap
+stone in his repair work, or a gunsmith mending a rifle, or a
+weaver at a wheel or loom. The women learned that the jolting
+wagons would churn their milk, and, when a halt occurred, it took
+them but a short time to heat an oven hollowed out of a hillside,
+in which to bake the bread already "raised." Colonel Kane says
+that he saw a piece of cloth, the wool for which was sheared,
+dyed, spun, and woven during this march.
+
+The leaders of the company understood the people they had in
+charge, and they looked out for their good spirits. Captain
+Pitt's brass band was included in the equipment, and the camp was
+not thoroughly organized before, on a clear evening, a dance--the
+Mormons have always been great dancers--was announced, and the
+visiting Iowans looked on in amazement, to see these exiles from
+comfortable homes thus enjoying themselves on the open prairie,
+the highest dignitaries leading in Virginia reels and Copenhagen
+jigs.
+
+John Taylor, whose pictures of this march, painted with a view to
+attract English emigrants, were always highly colored, estimated
+that, when he left Council Bluffs for England, in July, 1846,
+there were in camp and on the way 15,000 Mormons, with 3000
+wagons, 30,000 head of cattle, a great many horses and mules, and
+a vast number of sheep. Colonel Kane says that, besides the
+wagons, there was "a large number of nondescript turnouts, the
+motley makeshifts of poverty; from the unsuitable heavy cart that
+lumbered on mysteriously, with its sick driver hidden under its
+counterpane cover, to the crazy two-wheeled trundle, such as our
+own poor employ in the conveyance of their slop barrels, this
+pulled along, it may be, by a little dry-dugged heifer, and
+rigged up only to drag some such light weight as a baby, a sack
+of meal or a pack of clothes and bedding." *
+
+* "The Mormons," a lecture by Colonel T. L. Kane.
+
+
+There was no large supply of cash to keep this army and its
+animals in provisions. Every member who could contribute to the
+commissary department by his labor was expected to do so. The
+settlers in the territory seem to have been in need of such
+assistance, and were very glad to pay for it in grain, hay, or
+provisions. A letter from one of the emigrants to a friend in
+England* said that, in every settlement they passed through, they
+found plenty of work, digging wells and cellars, splitting rails,
+threshing, ploughing, and clearing land. Some of the men in the
+spring were sent south into Missouri, not more than forty miles
+from Far West, in search of employment. This they readily
+secured, no one raising the least objection to a Mormon who was
+not to be a permanent settler. Others were sent into that state
+to exchange horses, feather beds, and other personal property for
+cows and provisions.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VIII, p. 59.
+
+
+A part of the plan of operations provided for sending out
+pioneers to select the route and camping sites, to make bridges
+where they were necessary, and to open roads. The party carried
+light boats, but a good many bridges seem to have been required
+because of the spring freshets. It was while resting after a
+march through prolonged rain and mud, late in April, that it was
+decided to establish the permanent camp called Garden Grove.
+Hundreds of men were at once set to work, making log houses and
+fences, digging wells, and ploughing, and soon hundreds of acres
+were enclosed and planted.
+
+The progress made during April was exasperatingly slow. There was
+soft mud during the day, and rough ruts in the early morning.
+Sometimes camp would be pitched after making only a mile;
+sometimes they would think they had done well if they had made
+six. The animals, in fact, were so thin from lack of food that
+they could not do a day's work even under favorable
+circumstances. The route, after the middle of April, was turned
+to the north, and they then travelled over a broken prairie
+country, where the game had been mostly killed off by the
+Pottawottomi Indians, whose trails and abandoned camps were
+encountered constantly.
+
+On May 16, as the two Pratts and others were in advance, locating
+the route, P. P. Pratt discovered the site of what was called Mt.
+Pisgah (the post-office of Mt. Pisgah of to-day) which he thus
+describes: "Riding about three or four miles over beautiful
+prairies, I came suddenly to some round sloping hills, grassy,
+and crowned with beautiful groves of timber, while alternate open
+groves and forests seemed blended into all the beauty and harmony
+of an English park. Beneath and beyond, on the west, rolled a
+main branch of Grand River, with its rich bottoms of alternate
+forest and prairie."* As soon as Young and the other high
+dignitaries arrived, it was decided to form a settlement there,
+and several thousand acres were enclosed for cultivation, and
+many houses were built.
+
+* Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 381.
+
+
+Young and most of the first party continued their westward march
+through an uninhabited country, where they had to make their own
+roads. But they met with no opposition from Indians, and the head
+of the procession reached the banks of the Missouri near Council
+Bluffs in June, other companies following in quite rapid
+succession.
+
+The company which was the last to leave Nauvoo (on September 17),
+driven out by the Hancock County forces, endured sufferings much
+greater than did the early companies who were conducted by
+Brigham Young. The latter comprised the well-to-do of the city
+and all the high officers of the church, while the remnant left
+behind was made up of the sick and those who had not succeeded in
+securing the necessary equipment for the journey. Brayman, in his
+second report to Governor Ford, said:--
+
+"Those of the Mormons who were wealthy or possessed desirable
+real estate in the city had sold and departed last spring. I am
+inclined to the opinion that the leaders of the church took with
+them all the movable wealth of their people that they could
+control, without making proper provision for those who remained.
+Consequently there was much destitution among them; much sickness
+and distress. I traversed the city, and visited in company with a
+practising physician the sick, and almost invariably found them
+destitute, to a painful extent, of the comforts of life."*
+
+* Warsaw Signal, October 20, 1846.
+
+
+It was on the 18th of September that the last of these
+unfortunates crossed the river, making 640 who were then
+collected on the west bank. Illness had not been accepted by the
+"posse" as an excuse for delay. Thomas Bullock says that his
+family, consisting of a husband, wife, blind mother-in-law, four
+children, and an aunt, "all shaking with the ague," were given
+twenty minutes in which to get their goods into two wagons and
+start.* The west bank in Iowa, where the people landed, was
+marshy and unhealthy, and the suffering at what was called "Poor
+Camp," a short distance above Montrose, was intense. Severe
+storms were frequent, and the best cover that some of the people
+could obtain was a tent made of a blanket or a quilt, or even of
+brush, or the shelter to be had under the wagons of those who
+were fortunate enough to be thus equipped. Bullock thus describes
+one night's experience: "On Monday, September 23, while in my
+wagon on the slough opposite Nauvoo, a most tremendous
+thunderstorm passed over, which drenched everything we had. Not a
+dry thing left us--the bed a pool of water, my wife and
+mother-in-law lading it out by basinfuls, and I in a burning
+fever and insensible, with all my hair shorn off to cure me of my
+disease. A poor woman stood among the bushes, wrapping her cloak
+around her three little orphan children, to shield them from the
+storm as well as she could." The, supply of food, too, was
+limited, their flour being wheat ground in hand mills, and even
+this at times failing; then roasted corn was substituted, the
+grain being mixed by some with slippery elm bark to eke it out.**
+The people of Hancock County contributed something in the way of
+clothing and provisions and a little money in aid of these
+sufferers, and the trustees of the church who were left in Nauvoo
+to sell property gave what help they could.
+
+*Millennial Star, Vol. X, p. 28.
+
+** Bancrofts "History of Utah," p. 233,
+
+
+On October 9 wagons sent back by the earlier emigrants for their
+unfortunate brethren had arrived, and the start for the Missouri
+began. Bullock relates that, just as they were ready to set out,
+a great flight of quails settled in the camp, running around the
+wagons so near that they could be knocked over with sticks, and
+the children caught some alive. One bird lighted upon their tea
+board, in the midst of the cups, while they were at breakfast. It
+was estimated that five hundred of the birds were flying about
+the camp that day, but when one hundred had been killed or
+caught, the captain forbade the killing of any more, "as it was a
+direct manifestation and visitation by the Lord." Young closes
+his account of this incident with the words, "Tell this to the
+nations of the earth! Tell it to the kings and nobles and great
+ones."
+
+Wells, in his manuscript, "Utah Notes" (quoted by H. H.
+Bancroft), says: "This phenomenon extended some thirty or forty
+miles along the river, and was generally observed. The quail in
+immense quantities had attempted to cross the river, but this
+being beyond their strength, had dropped into the river boats or
+on the banks."*
+
+* Bancroft's "History of Utah," p. 234, note.
+
+
+The westward march of these refugees was marked by more hardships
+than that of the earlier bodies, because they were in bad
+physical condition and were in no sense properly equipped.
+Council Bluffs was not reached till November 27.
+
+The division of the emigrants and their progress was thus noted
+in an interview, printed in the Nauvoo Eagle of July 10, with a
+person who had left Council Bluffs on June 26, coming East. The
+advance company, including the Twelve, with a train of 1000
+wagons, was then encamped on the east bank of the Missouri, the
+men being busy building boats. The second company, 3000 strong,
+were at Mt. Pisgah, recruiting their cattle for a new start. The
+third company had halted at Garden Grove. Between Garden Grove
+and the Mississippi River the Eagle's informant counted more than
+1000 wagons on their way west. He estimated the total number of
+teams engaged in this movement at about 3700, and the number of
+persons on the road at 12,000. The Eagle added:--
+
+"From 2000 to 3000 have disappeared from Nauvoo in various
+directions, and about 800 or less still remain in Illinois. This
+comprises the entire Mormon population that once flourished in
+Hancock County. In their palmy days they probably numbered 15,000
+or 16,000."
+
+The camp that had been formed at Mt. Pisgah suffered severely
+from the start. Provisions were scarce, and a number of families
+were dependent for food on neighbors who had little enough for
+themselves. Fodder for the cattle gave out, too, and in the early
+spring the only substitute was buds and twigs of trees. Snow
+notes as a calamity the death of his milch cow, which had been
+driven all the way from Ohio. Along with their destitution came
+sickness, and at times during the following winter it seemed as
+if there were not enough of the well to supply the needed nurses.
+So many deaths occurred during that autumn and winter that a
+funeral came to be conducted with little ceremony, and even the
+customary burial clothes could not be provided.* Elder W.
+Huntington, the presiding officer of the settlement, was among
+the early victims, and Lorenzo Snow, the recent head of the
+Mormon church, succeeded him. During Snow's stay there three of
+his four wives gave birth to children.
+
+* "Biography of Lorenzo Snow," p. 90.
+
+
+Notwithstanding these depressing circumstances, the camp was by
+no means inactive during the winter. Those who were well were
+kept busy repairing wagons, and making, in a rude way, such
+household articles as were most needed--chairs, tubs, and
+baskets. Parties were sent out to the settlements within reach to
+work, accepting food and clothing as pay, and two elders were
+selected to visit the states in search of contributions. These
+efforts were so successful that about $600 was raised, and the
+camp sent to Brigham Young at Council Bluffs a load of provisions
+as a New Year's gift.
+
+The usual religious meetings were kept up during the winter, and
+the utility of amusements in such a settlement was not forgotten.
+Ingenuity was taxed to give variety to the social entertainments.
+Snow describes a "party" that he gave in his family mansion--"a
+one-story edifice about fifteen by thirty feet, constructed of
+logs, with a dirt roof, a ground floor, and a chimney made of
+sod." Many a man compelled to house four wives (one of them with
+three sons by a former husband) in such a mansion would have felt
+excused from entertaining company. But the Snows did not. For a
+carpet the floor was strewn with straw. The logs of the sides of
+the room were concealed with sheets. Hollowed turnips provided
+candelabras, which were stuck around the walls and suspended from
+the roof. The company were entertained with songs, recitations,
+conundrums, etc., and all voted that they had a very jolly time.
+
+In the larger camps the travellers were accustomed to make what
+they called "boweries"--large arbors covered with a framework of
+poles, and thatched with brush or branches. The making of such
+"boweries" was continued by the Saints in Utah.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. The Mormon Battalion
+
+During the halt of a part of the main body of the Mormons at Mt.
+Pisgah, an incident occurred which has been made the subject of a
+good deal of literature, and has been held up by the Mormons as a
+proof both of the severity of the American government toward them
+and of their own patriotism. There is so little ground for either
+of these claims that the story of the Battalion should be
+correctly told.
+
+When hostilities against Mexico began, early in 1846, the plan of
+campaign designed by the United States authorities comprised an
+invasion of Mexico at two points, by Generals Taylor and Wool,
+and a descent on Santa Fe, and thence a march into California.
+This march was to be made by General Stephen F. Kearney, who was
+to command the volunteers raised in Missouri, and the few hundred
+regular troops then at Fort Leavenworth. In gathering his force
+General (then Colonel) Kearney sent Captain J. Allen of the First
+Dragoons to the Mormons at Mt. Pisgah, not with an order of any
+kind, but with a written proposition, dated June 26, 1846, that
+he "would accept the service, for twelve months, of four or five
+companies of Mormon men" (each numbering from 73 to 109), to
+unite with the Army of the West at Santa Fe, and march thence to
+California, where they would be discharged. These volunteers were
+to have the regular volunteers' pay and allowances, and
+permission to retain at their discharge the arms and equipments
+with which they would be provided, the age limit to be between
+eighteen and forty-five years. The most practical inducement held
+out to the Mormons to enlist was thus explained: "Thus is offered
+to the Mormon people now--this year --an opportunity of sending a
+portion of their young and intelligent men to the ultimate
+destination of their whole people, and entirely at the expense of
+the United States; and this advance party can thus pave the way
+and look out the land for their brethren to come after them."
+
+There was nothing like a "demand" on the Mormons in this
+invitation, and the advantage of accepting it was largely on the
+Mormon side. If it had not been, it would have been rejected.
+That the government was in no stress for volunteers is shown by
+the fact that General Kearney reported to the War Department in
+the following August that he had more troops than he needed, and
+that he proposed to use some of them to reenforce General Wool.*
+
+* Chase's "History of the Polk Administration," p. 16.
+
+
+The initial suggestion about the raising of these Mormon
+volunteers came from a Mormon source.* In the spring of 1846
+Jesse C. Little, a Mormon elder of the Eastern states, visited
+Washington with letters of introduction from Governor Steele of
+New Hampshire and Colonel Thomas L. Kane of Philadelphia, hoping
+to secure from the government a contract to carry provisions or
+naval stores to the Pacific coast, and thus pay part of the
+expense of conveying Mormons to California by water. According to
+Little, this matter was laid before the cabinet, who proposed
+that he should visit the Mormon camp and raise 1000 picked men to
+make a dash for California overland, while as many more would be
+sent around Cape Horn from the Eastern states. This big scheme,
+according to Mormon accounts, was upset by one of the hated
+Missourians, Senator Thomas H. Benton, whose Macchiavellian mind
+had designed the plan of taking from the Mormons 500 of their
+best men for the Battalion, thus crippling them while in the
+Indian country. All this part of their account is utterly
+unworthy of belief. If 500 volunteers for the army "crippled" the
+immigrants where they were, what would have been their condition
+if 1000 of their number had been hurried on to California ? **
+
+* Tullidge's "Life of Brigham Young," p. 47
+
+** Delegate Berahisel, in a letter to President Fillmore
+(December 1, 1851), replying to a charge by Judge Brocchus that
+the 24th of July orators had complained of the conduct of the
+government in taking the Battalion from them for service against
+Mexico, said, "The government did not take from us a battalion of
+men," the Mormons furnishing them in response to a call for
+volunteers.
+
+
+Aside from the opportunity afforded by General Kearney's
+invitation to send a pioneer band, without expense to themselves,
+to the Pacific coast, the offer gave the Mormons great, and
+greatly needed, pecuniary assistance. P. P. Pratt, on his way
+East to visit England with Taylor and Hyde, found the Battalion
+at Fort Leavenworth, and was sent back to the camp* with between
+$5000 and $6000, a part of the Battalion's government allowance.
+This was a godsend where cash was so scarce, as it enabled the
+commissary officers to make purchases in St. Louis, where prices
+were much lower than in western Iowa.** John Taylor, in a letter
+to the Saints in Great Britain on arriving there, quoted the
+acceptance of this Battalion as evidence that "the President of
+the United States is favorably disposed to us," and said that
+their employment in the army, as there was no prospect of any
+fighting, "amounts to the same as paying them for going where
+they were destined to go without."***
+
+* "Unexpected as this visit was, a member of my family had been
+warned in a dream, and had predicted my arrival and the
+day."--Pratt, "Autobiography," p. 384.
+
+** "History of Brigham Young," Ms., 1846, p. 150.
+
+*** Millennial Star, Vol. VIII, p. 117.
+
+
+The march of the federal force that went from Santa Fe (where the
+Mormon Battalion arrived in October) to California was a notable
+one, over unexplored deserts, where food was scarce and water for
+long distances unobtainable. Arriving at the junction of the Gila
+and Colorado rivers on December 26, they received there an order
+to march to San Diego, California, and arrived there on January
+29, after a march of over two thousand miles.
+
+The war in California was over at that date, but the Battalion
+did garrison duty at San Luis Rey, and then at Los Angeles.
+Various propositions for their reenlistment were made to them,
+but their church officers opposed this, and were obeyed except in
+some individual instances. About 150 of those who set out from
+Santa Fe were sent back invalided before California was reached,
+and the number mustered out was only about 240. These at once
+started eastward, but, owing to news received concerning the
+hardships of the first Mormons who arrived in Salt Lake Valley,
+many of them decided to remain in California, and a number were
+hired by Sutter, on whose mill-race the first discovery of gold
+in that state was made. Those who kept on reached Salt Lake
+Valley on October 16, 1847. Thirty-two of their number continued
+their march to Winter Quarters on the Missouri, where they
+arrived on December 18.
+
+Mormon historians not only present the raising of the Battalion
+as a proof of patriotism, but ascribe to the members of that
+force the credit of securing California to the United States, and
+the discovery of gold.*
+
+* "The Mormons have always been disposed to overestimate the
+value of their services during this period, attaching undue
+importance to the current rumors of intending revolt on the part
+of the Californians, and of the approach of Mexican troops to
+reconquer the province. They also claim the credit of having
+enabled Kearney to sustain his authority against the
+revolutionary pretensions of Fremont. The merit of this claim
+will be apparent to the readers of preceding
+chapters."--Bancroft, "History of California," Vol. V, p. 487.
+
+
+When Elder Little left Washington for the West with despatches
+for General Kearney concerning the Mormon enlistments, he was
+accompanied by Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a brother of the famous
+Arctic explorer. On his way West Colonel Kane visited Nauvoo
+while the Hancock County posse were in possession of it, saw the
+expelled Mormons in their camp across the river, followed the
+trail of those who had reached the Missouri, and lay ill among
+them in the unhealthy Missouri bottom in 1847. From that time
+Colonel Kane became one of the most useful agents of the Mormon
+church in the Eastern states, and, as we shall see, performed for
+them services which only a man devoted to the church, but not
+openly a member of it, could have accomplished.
+
+It was stated at the time that Colonel Kane was baptized by Young
+at Council Bluffs in 1847. His future course gives every reason
+to accept the correctness of this view. He served the Mormons in
+the East as a Jesuit would have served his order in earlier days
+in France or Spain. He bore false witness in regard to polygamy
+and to the character of men high in the church as unblushingly as
+a Brigham Young or a Kimball could have done. His lecture before
+the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1850 was highly colored
+where it stated facts, and so inaccurate in other parts that it
+is of little use to the historian. A Mormon writer who denied
+that Kane was a member of the church offered as proof of this the
+statement that, had Kane been a Mormon, Young would have
+commanded him instead of treating him with so much respect. But
+Young was not a fool, and was quite capable of appreciating the
+value of a secret agent at the federal capital.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. The Camps On The Missouri
+
+Mormon accounts of the westward movement from Nauvoo represent
+that the delay which occurred when they reached the Missouri
+River was an interruption of their leaders' plans, attributing it
+to the weakening of their force by the enlistment of the
+Battalion, and the necessity of waiting for the last Mormons who
+were driven out of Nauvoo. But after their experiences in a
+winter march from the Mississippi, with something like a base of
+supplies in reach, it is inconceivable that the Council would
+have led their followers farther into the unknown West that same
+year, when their stores were so nearly exhausted, and there was
+no region before them in which they could make purchases, even if
+they had the means to do so.
+
+When the Mormons arrived on the Missouri they met with a very
+friendly welcome. They found the land east of the river occupied
+by the Pottawottomi Indians, who had recently been removed from
+their old home in what is now Michigan and northern Illinois and
+Indiana; and the west side occupied by the Omahas, who had once
+"considered all created things as made for their peculiar use and
+benefit," but whom the smallpox and the Sioux had many years
+before reduced to a miserable remnant.
+
+The Mormons won the heart of the Pottawottomies by giving them a
+concert at their agent's residence. A council followed, at which
+their chief, Pied Riche, surnamed Le Clerc, made an address,
+giving the Mormons permission to cut wood, make improvements, and
+live where they pleased on their lands.
+
+The principal camp on the Missouri, known as Winter Quarters, was
+on the west bank, on what is now the site of Florence, Nebraska.
+A council was held with the Omaha chiefs in the latter apart of
+August, and Big Elk, in reply to an address by Brigham Young,
+recited their sufferings at the hands of the Sioux, and told the
+whites that they could stay there for two years and have the use
+of firewood and timber, and that the young men of the Indians
+would watch their cattle and warn them of any danger. In return,
+the Indians asked for the use of teams to draw in their harvest,
+for assistance in housebuilding, ploughing, and blacksmithing,
+and that a traffic in goods be established. An agreement to this
+effect was put in writing.
+
+The arrival of party after party of Mormons made an unusually
+busy scene on the river banks. On the east side every hill that
+helped to make up the Council Bluffs was occupied with tents and
+wagons, while the bottom was crowded with cattle and vehicles on
+the way to the west side. Kane counted four thousand head of
+cattle from a single elevation, and says that the Mormon herd
+numbered thirty thousand. Along the banks of the river and creeks
+the women were doing their family washing, while men were making
+boats and superintending in every way the passage of the river by
+some, and the preparations for a stay on the east side by
+others--building huts, breaking the sod for grain, etc. The
+Pottawottomies had cut an approach to the river opposite a
+trading post of the American Fur Company, and established a ferry
+there, and they now did a big business carrying over, in their
+flat-bottom boats, families and their wagons, and the cows and
+sheep. As for the oxen, they were forced to swim, and great times
+the boys had, driving them to the bank, compelling them to take
+the initial plunge, and then guiding them across by taking the
+lead astride some animal's back.
+
+Sickness in the camps began almost as soon as they were formed.
+"Misery Bottom," as it was then called, received the rich deposit
+brought down by the river in the spring, and, when the river
+retired into its banks, became a series of mud flats, described
+as "mere quagmires of black dirt, stretching along for miles,
+unvaried except by the limbs of half-buried carrion, tree trunks,
+or by occasional yellow pools of what the children called frog's
+spawn; all together steaming up vapors redolent of the savor of
+death." In the previous year--not an unusually bad one--one-ninth
+of the Indian population on these flats had died in two months.
+The Mormons suffered not only from the malaria of the river
+bottom, but from the breaking up of many acres of the soil in
+their farming operations.
+
+The illness was diagnosed as, the usual malarial fever,
+accompanied in many cases with scorbutic symptoms, which they
+called "black canker," due to a lack of vegetable food. In and
+around Winter Quarters there were more than 600 burials before
+cold weather set in, and 334 out of a population of 3483 were
+reported on the sick list as late as December. The Papillon Camp,
+on the Little Butterfly River, was a deadly site. Kane, who had
+the fever there, in passing by the place earlier in the season
+had opened an Indian mound, leaving a deep trench through it. "My
+first airing," he says, "upon my convalescence, took me to the
+mound, which, probably to save digging, had been readapted to its
+original purpose. In this brief interval they had filled the
+trench with bodies, and furrowed the ground with graves around
+it, like the ploughing of a field."
+
+But amid such affliction, in which cows went unmilked and corpses
+became loathsome before men could be found to bury them,
+preparations continued at all the camps for the winter's stay and
+next year's supplies. Brigham Young, writing from Winter Quarters
+on January 6, 1847, to the elders in England, said: "We have
+upward of seven hundred houses in our miniature city, composed
+mostly of logs in the body, covered with puncheon, straw, and
+dirt, which are warm and wholesome; a few are composed of turf,
+willows, straw, etc., which are comfortable this winter, but will
+not endure the thaws, rain, and sunshine of spring." * This city
+was divided into twenty-two wards, each presided over by a
+Bishop. The principal buildings were the Council House,
+thirty-two by twenty-four feet, and Dr. Richard's house, called
+the Octagon, and described as resembling the heap of earth piled
+up over potatoes to shield them from frost. In this Octagon the
+High Council held most of their meetings. A great necessity was a
+flouring mill, and accordingly they sent to St. Louis for the
+stones and gearing, and, under Brigham Young's personal direction
+as a carpenter, the mill was built and made ready for use in
+January. The money sent back by the Battalion was expended in St.
+Louis for sugar and other needed articles.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. IX, p. 97.
+
+
+As usual with the pictures sent to Europe, Young's description of
+the comfort of the winter camp was exaggerated. P. P. Pratt, who
+arrived at Winter Quarters from his mission to Europe on April 8,
+1847, says:--
+
+"I found my family all alive, and dwelling in a log cabin. They
+had, however, suffered much from cold, hunger, and sickness. They
+had oftentimes lived for several days on a little corn meal,
+ground in a hand mill, with no other food. One of the family was
+then lying very sick with the scurvy--a disease which had been
+very prevalent in camp during the winter, and of which many had
+died. I found, on inquiry, that the winter had been very severe,
+the snow deep, and consequently that all my four horses were
+lost, and I afterward ascertained that out of twelve cows, I had
+but seven left, and, out of some twelve or fourteen oxen, only
+four or five were saved."
+
+If this was the plight in which the spring found the family of
+one of the Twelve, imagination can picture the suffering of the
+hundreds who had arrived with less provision against the rigors
+of such a winter climate.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. The Pioneer Trip Across The Plains
+
+During the winter of 1846-1847 preparations were under way to
+send an organization of pioneers across the plains and beyond the
+Rocky Mountains, to select a new dwelling-place for the Saints.
+The only "revelation" to Brigham Young found in the "Book of
+Doctrine and Covenants" is a direction about the organization and
+mission of this expedition. It was dated January 14, 1847, and it
+directed the organization of the pioneers into companies, with
+captains of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and a president
+and two counsellors at their head, under charge of the Twelve.
+Each company was to provide its own equipment, and to take seeds
+and farming implements. "Let every man," it commanded, "use all
+his influence and property to remove this people to the place
+where the Lord shall locate a Stake of Zion." The power of the
+head of the church was guarded by a threat that "if any man shall
+seek to build up himself he shall have no power," and the
+"revelation" ended, like a rustic's letter, with the words, "So
+no more at present," "amen and amen" being added.
+
+In accordance with this command, on April 14* a pioneer band of
+volunteers set out to blaze a path, so to speak, across the
+plains and mountains for the main body which was to follow.
+
+* Date given in the General Epistle of December 23, 1847. Others
+say April 7.
+
+
+It is difficult to-day, when this "Far West" is in possession of
+the agriculturist, the merchant, and the miner, dotted with
+cities and flourishing towns, and cut in all directions by
+railroads, which have made pleasure routes for tourists of the
+trail over which the pioneers of half a century ago toiled with
+difficulty and danger, to realize how vague were the ideas of
+even the best informed in the thirties and forties about the
+physical characteristics of that country and its future
+possibilities. The conception of the latter may be best
+illustrated by quoting Washington Irving's idea, as expressed in
+his "Astoria," written in 1836:--
+
+"Such is the nature of this immense wilderness of the far West;
+which apparently defies cultivation and the habitation of
+civilized life. Some portion of it, along the rivers, may
+partially be subdued by agriculture, others may form vast
+pastoral tracts like those of the East; but it is to be feared
+that a great part of it will form a lawless interval between the
+abodes of civilized man, like the wastes of the ocean or the
+deserts of Arabia, and, like them, be subject to the depredations
+of the marauders. There may spring up new and mongrel races, like
+new formations in zoology, the amalgamation of the 'debris' and
+'abrasions' of former races, civilized and savage; the remains of
+broken and extinguished tribes; the descendants of wandering
+hunters and trappers; of fugitives from the Spanish-American
+frontiers; of adventurers and desperadoes of every class and
+country, yearly ejected from the bosom of society into the
+wilderness . . . . Some may gradually become pastoral hordes,
+like those rude and migratory people, half shepherd, half
+warrior, who, with their flocks and herds, roam the plains of
+upper Asia; but others, it is to be apprehended, will become
+predatory bands, mounted on the fleet steeds of the prairies,
+with the open plains for their marauding grounds, and the
+mountains for their retreats and lurking places. There they may
+resemble those great hordes of the North, 'Gog and Magog with
+their bands,' that haunted the gloomy imaginations of the
+prophets--'A great company and a mighty host, all riding upon
+horses, and warring upon those nations which were at rest, and
+dwelt peaceably, and had gotten cattle and goods."'
+
+"What about the country between the Missouri River and the
+Pacific," asked a father living near the Missouri, of his son on
+his return from California across the plains in 1851--"Oh, it's
+of no account," was the reply; "the soil is poor, sandy, and too
+dry to produce anything but this little short grass afterward
+learned to be so rich in nutriment, and, when it does rain, in
+three hours afterward you could not tell that it had rained at
+all."*
+
+* Nebraska Historical Society papers.
+
+
+But while this distant West was still so unknown to the settled
+parts of the country, these Mormon pioneers were by no means the
+first to traverse it, as the records of the journeyings of Lewis
+and Clark, Ezekiel Williams, General W. H. Ashley, Wilson Price
+Hunt, Major S. H. Long, Captain W. Sublette, Bonneville, Fremont,
+and others show.
+
+The pioneer band of the Mormons consisted of 143 men, three women
+(wives of Brigham and Lorenzo Young and H. C. Kimball), and two
+children. They took with them seventy-three wagons. Their chief
+officers were Brigham Young, Lieutenant General; Stephen Markham,
+Colonel; John Pack, First Major; Shadrack Roundy, Second Major,
+two captains of hundreds, and fourteen captains of companies. The
+order of march was intelligently arranged, with a view to the
+probability of meeting Indians who, if not dangerous to life, had
+little regard for personal property. The Indians of the Platte
+region were notorious thieves, but had not the reputation as
+warriors of their more northern neighbors. The regulations
+required that each private should walk constantly beside his
+wagon, leaving it only by his officer's command. In order to make
+as compact a force as possible, two wagons were to move abreast
+whenever this could be done. Every man was to keep his weapons
+loaded, and special care was insisted upon that the caps, flints,
+and locks should be in good condition. They had with them one
+small cannon mounted on wheels.
+
+The bugle for rising sounded at 5 A.M., and two hours were
+allowed for breakfast and prayers. At night each man was to
+retire into his wagon for prayer at 8.30 o'clock, and for the
+night's rest at 9. The night camp was formed by drawing up the
+wagons in a semicircle, with the river in the rear, if they
+camped near its bank, or otherwise with the wagons in a circle, a
+forewheel of one touching the hind wheel of the next. In this way
+an effective corral for the animals was provided within.
+
+At the head of Grand Island, on April 30, they had their first
+sight of buffaloes. A hunting party was organized at once, and a
+herd of sixty-five of the animals was pursued for several miles
+in full view of the camp (when game and hunters were not hidden
+by the dust), and so successfully that eleven buffaloes were
+killed.
+
+The first alarm of Indians occurred on May 4, when scouts
+reported a band of about four hundred a few miles ahead. The
+wagons were at once formed five abreast, the cannon was fired as
+a means of alarm, and the company advanced in close formation.
+The Indians did not attack them, but they set fire to the
+prairie, and this caused a halt. A change of wind the next
+morning and an early shower checked the flames, and the column
+moved on again at daybreak. During the next few days the
+buffaloes were seen in herds of hundreds of thousands on both
+sides of the Platte. So numerous were they that the company had
+to stop at times and let gangs of the animals pass on either
+side, and several calves were captured alive.* With or near the
+buffaloes were seen antelopes and wolves.
+
+* "The vast herds of buffalo were often in our way, and we were
+under the necessity of sending out advance guards to clear the
+track so that our teams might pass." Erastus SNOW, " Address to
+the Pioneers," in Mo.
+
+
+At Grand Island the question of their further route was carefully
+debated. There was a well-known trail to Fort Laramie on the
+south side of the river, used by those who set out from
+Independence, Missouri, for Oregon. Good pasture was assured on
+that side, but it was argued that, if this party made a new trail
+along the north side of the river, the Mormons would have what
+might be considered a route of their own, separated from other
+westward emigrants. This view prevailed, and the course then
+selected became known in after years as the Mormon Trail
+(sometimes called the "Old Mormon Road"); the line of the Union
+Pacific Railroad follows it for many miles.
+
+Their decision caused them a good deal of anxiety about forage
+for their animals before they reached Fort Laramie. It had not
+rained at the latter point for two years, and the drought,
+together with the vast herds of buffaloes and the Indian fires,
+made it for days impossible to find any pasture except in small
+patches. When the fort was reached, they had fed their animals
+not only a large part of their grain, but some of their crackers
+and other breadstuff, and the beasts were so weak that they could
+scarcely drag the wagons.
+
+During the previous winter the church officers had procured for
+their use from England two sextants and other instruments needed
+for taking solar observations, two barometers, thermometers,
+etc., and these were used by Orson Pratt daily to note their
+progress.* Two of the party also constructed a sort of pedometer,
+and, after leaving Fort Laramie, a mile-post was set up every ten
+miles, for the guidance of those who were to follow.
+
+* His diary of the trip will be found in the Millennial Star for
+1849-1850, full of interesting details, but evidently edited for
+English readers.
+
+
+In the camp made on May 10 the first of the Mormon post-offices
+on the plains was established. Into a board six inches wide and
+eighteen long, a cut was made with a saw, and in this cut a
+letter was placed. After nailing on cleats to retain the letter,
+and addressing the board to the officers of the next company, the
+board was nailed to a fifteen-foot pole, which was set firmly in
+the ground near the trail, and left to its fate. How successful
+this attempt at communication proved is not stated, but similar
+means of communication were in use during the whole period of
+Mormon migration. Sometimes a copy of the camp journal was left
+conspicuously in the crotch of a tree, for the edification of the
+next camp, and scores of the buffaloes' skulls that dotted the
+plains were marked with messages and set up along the trail.
+
+The weakness of the draught animals made progress slow at this
+time, and marches of from 4 to 7 miles a day were recorded. The
+men fared better, game being abundant. Signs of Indians were seen
+from time to time, and precautions were constantly taken to
+prevent a stampede of the animals; but no open attack was made. A
+few Indians visited the camp on May 21, and gave assurances of
+their friendliness; and on the 24th they had a visit from a party
+of thirty-five Dakotas (or Sioux who tendered a written letter of
+recommendation in French from one of the agents of the American
+Fur Company. The Mormons had to grant their request for
+permission to camp with them over night, which meant also giving
+them supper and breakfast--no small demand on their hospitality
+when the capacity of the Indian stomach is understood).
+
+Little occurred during May to vary the monotony of the journey.
+On the afternoon of June 1 they arrived nearly opposite Fort
+Laramie and the ruins of old Fort Platte, a point 522 miles from
+Winter Quarters, and 509 from Great Salt Lake. The so-called
+forts were in fact trading posts, established by the fur
+companies, both as points of supply for their trappers and
+trading places with the Indians for peltries. On the evening of
+their arrival at this point they had a visit from members of a
+party of Mormons gathered principally from Mississippi and
+southern Illinois, who had passed the winter in Pueblo, and were
+waiting to join the emigrants from Winter Quarters.
+
+The Platte, usually a shallow stream, was at that place 108 yards
+wide, and too deep for wading. Brigham Young and some others
+crossed over the next morning in a sole-leather skiff which
+formed a part of their equipment, and were kindly welcomed by the
+commandant. There they learned that it would be impracticable--or
+at least very difficult--to continue along the north bank of the
+Platte, and they accordingly hired a flatboat to ferry the
+company and their wagons across. The crossing began on June 3,
+and on an average four wagons were ferried over in an hour.
+
+Advantage was taken of this delay to set up, a bellows and forge,
+and make needed repairs to the wagons. At the Fort the Mormons
+learned that their old object of hatred in Missouri, ex-Governor
+Boggs, had recently passed by with a company of emigrants bound
+for the Pacific coast. Young's company came across other
+Missourians on the plains; but no hostilities ensued, the
+Missourians having no object now to interfere with the Saints,
+and the latter contenting themselves by noting in their diaries
+the profanity and quarrelsomeness of their old neighbors.
+
+The journey was resumed at noon on June 4, along the Oregon
+trail. A small party of the Mormons was sent on in advance to the
+spot where the Oregon trail crossed the Platte, 124 miles west of
+Fort Laramie. This crossing was generally made by fording, but
+the river was too high for this, and the soleleather boat, which
+would carry from 1500 to 1800 pounds, was accordingly employed.
+The men with this boat reached the crossing in advance of the
+first party of Oregon emigrants whom they had encountered, and
+were employed by the latter to ferry their goods across while the
+empty wagons were floated. This proved a happy enterprise for the
+Mormons. The drain on their stock of grain and provisions had by
+this time so reduced their supply that they looked forward with
+no little anxiety to the long march. The Oregon party offered
+liberal pay in flour, sugar, bacon, and coffee for the use of the
+boat, and the terms were gladly accepted, although most of the
+persons served were Missourians. When the main body of pioneers
+started on from that point, they left ten men with the boat to
+maintain the ferry until the next company from Winter Quarters
+should come up.*
+
+* "The Missourians paid them $1.50 for each wagon and load, and
+paid it in flour at $2.50; yet flour was worth $10 per
+hundredweight, at least at that point. They divided their
+earnings among the camp equally."--Tullidge, "Life of Brigham
+Young," p. 165.
+
+
+The Mormons themselves were delayed at this crossing until June
+19, making a boat on which a wagon could cross without unloading.
+During the first few days after leaving the North Platte grass
+and water were scarce. On June 21 they reached the Sweet Water,
+and, fording it, encamped within sight of Independence Rock, near
+the upper end of Devil's Gate.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. From The Rockies To Salt Lake Valley
+
+More than one day's march was now made without finding water or
+grass. Banks of snow were observed on the near-by elevations, and
+overcoats were very comfortable at night. On June 26 they reached
+the South Pass, where the waters running to the Atlantic and to
+the Pacific separate. They found, however, no well-marked
+dividing ridge-only, as Pratt described it, "a quietly undulating
+plain or prairie, some fifteen or twenty miles in length and
+breadth, thickly covered with wild sage." There were good pasture
+and plenty of water, and they met there a small party who were
+making the journey from Oregon to the states on horseback.
+
+All this time the leaders of the expedition had no definite view
+of their final stopping-place. Whenever Young was asked by any of
+his party, as they trudged along, what locality they were aiming
+for, his only reply was that he would recognize the site of their
+new home when he saw it, and that they would surely go on as the
+Lord would direct them.*
+
+* Erastus Snow's "Address to the Pioneers," 1880.
+
+
+While they were camping near South Pass, an incident occurred
+which narrowly escaped changing the plans of the Lord, if he had
+already selected Salt Lake Valley. One of the men whom the
+company met there was a voyager whose judgment about a desirable
+site for a settlement naturally seemed worthy of consideration.
+This was T. L. Smith, better known as "Pegleg" Smith. He had been
+a companion of Jedediah S. Smith, one of Ashley's company of
+trappers, who had started from Great Salt Lake in August, 1826,
+and made his way to San Gabriel Mission in California, and thence
+eastward, reaching the Lake again in the spring of 1827. "Pegleg"
+had a trading post on Bear River above Soda Springs (in the
+present Idaho). He gave the Mormons a great deal of information
+about all the valley which lay before them, and to the north and
+south. "He earnestly advised us," says Erastus Snow, "to direct
+our course northwestward from Bridger, and make our way into
+Cache Valley; and he so far made an impression upon the camp that
+we were induced to enter into an engagement with him to meet us
+at a certain time and place two weeks afterward, to pilot our
+company into that country. But for some reason, which to this day
+never to my knowledge has been explained, he failed to meet us;
+and I have ever recognized his failure to do so as a providence
+of an all-wise God."*
+
+* "Address to the Pioneers," 1880.
+
+
+"Pegleg's" reputation was as bad as that of any of those reckless
+trappers of his day, and perhaps, if the Mormons had known more
+about him, they would have given less heed to his advice, and
+counted less on his keeping his engagement.
+
+With the returning Oregonians they also made the acquaintance of
+Major Harris, an old trapper and hunter in California and Oregon,
+who gave them little encouragement about Salt Lake Valley, as a
+place of settlement, principally because of the lack of timber.
+Two days later they met Colonel James Bridger, an authority on
+that part of the country, whose "fort" was widely known. Young
+told him that he proposed to take a look at Great Salt Lake
+Valley with a view to its settlement. Bridger affirmed that his
+experiments had more than convinced him that corn would not grow
+in those mountains, and, when Young expressed doubts about this,
+he offered to give the Mormon President $1000 for the first ear
+raised in that valley. Next they met a mountaineer named
+Goodyear, who had passed the last winter on the site of what is
+now Ogden, Utah, where he had tried without success to raise a
+little grain and a few vegetables. He told of severe cold in
+winter and drought in summer. Irrigation had not suggested itself
+to a man who had a large part of a continent in which to look for
+a more congenial farm site.
+
+Mormons in all later years have said that they were guided to the
+Salt Lake Valley in fulfilment of the prediction of Joseph Smith
+that they would have to flee to the Rocky Mountains. But in their
+progress across the plains the leaders of the pioneers were not
+indifferent to any advice that came in their way, and in a
+manuscript "History of Brigham Young" (1847), quoted by H. H.
+Bancroft, is the following entry, which may indicate the first
+suggestion that turned their attention from "California" to Utah:
+"On the 15th of June met James H. Grieve, William Tucker, James
+Woodrie, James Bouvoir, and six other Frenchmen, from whom we
+learned that Mr. Bridger was located about three hundred miles
+west, that the mountaineers could ride to Salt Lake from Fort
+Bridger in two days, and that the Utah country was beautiful." *
+
+* Bancroft's "History of Utah," p. 257.
+
+
+The pioneers resumed their march on June 29, over a desolate
+country, travelling seventeen miles without finding grass or
+water, until they made their night camp on the Big Sandy. There
+they encountered clouds of mosquitoes, which made more than one
+subsequent camping-place very uncomfortable. A march of eight
+miles the next morning brought them to Green River. Finding this
+stream 180 yards wide, and deep and swift, they stopped long
+enough to make two rafts, on which they successfully ferried over
+all their wagons without unloading them.
+
+At this point the pioneers met a brother Mormon who had made the
+journey to California round the Horn, and had started east from
+there to meet the overland travellers. He had an interesting
+story to tell, the points of which, in brief, were as follows:--
+A conference of Mormons, held in New York City on November 12,
+1845, resolved to move in a body to the new home of the Saints.
+This emigration scheme was placed in charge of Samuel Brannan, a
+native of Maine, and an elder in the church, who was then editing
+the New York Prophet, and preaching there. Why so important a
+project was confided to Brannan seems a mystery, in view of P. P.
+Pratt's statement that, as early as the previous January, he had
+discovered that Brannan was among certain elders who "had been
+corrupting the Saints by introducing among them all manner of
+false doctrines and immoral practices"; he was afterward
+disfellowshipped at Nauvoo. By Pratt's advice he immediately went
+to that city, and was restored to full standing in the church, as
+any bad man always was when he acknowledged submission to the
+church authorities.* Plenty of emigrants offered themselves under
+Orson Pratt's call, but of the 300 first applicants for passage
+only about 60 had money enough to pay their expenses,
+
+* Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 374.
+
+
+Although it was estimated that $75 would cover the outlay for the
+trip. Brannan chartered the Brooklyn, a ship of 450 tons, and on
+February 4, 1846, she sailed with 70 men, 68 women, and 100
+children.*
+
+* Bancrofts figures, "History of California," Vol. V, Chap. 20.
+
+
+The voyage to San Francisco ended on July 31. Ten deaths and two
+births occurred during the trip, and four of the company,
+including two elders and one woman, had to be excommunicated "for
+their wicked and licentious conduct." Three others were dealt
+with in the same way as soon as the company landed.* On landing
+they found the United States in possession of the country, which
+led to Brannan's reported remark, "There is that d--d flag
+again." The men of the party, some of whom had not paid all their
+passage money, at once sought work, but the company did not hold
+together. Before the end of the year some 20 more "went astray,"
+in church parlance; some decided to remain on the coast when they
+learned that the church was to make Salt Lake Valley its
+headquarters, and some time later about 140 reached Utah and took
+up their abode there.
+
+* Brannan's letter, Millennial Star, Vol. IX, pp. 306-307.
+
+
+Brannan fell from grace and was pronounced by P. P. Pratt "a
+corrupt and wicked man." While he was getting his expedition in
+shape, he sent to the church authorities in the West a copy of an
+agreement which he said he had made with A. G. Benson, an alleged
+agent of Postmaster General Kendall. Benson was represented as
+saying that, unless the Mormon leaders signed an agreement, to
+which President Polk was a "silent partner," by which they would
+"transfer to A. G. Benson and Co., and to their heirs and
+assigns, the odd number of all the lands and town lots they may
+acquire in the country where they settle," the President would
+order them to be dispersed. This seems to have been too
+transparent a scheme to deceive Young, and the agreement was not
+signed.
+
+The march of the pioneers was resumed on July 3. That evening
+they were told that those who wished to return eastward to meet
+their families, who were perhaps five hundred miles back with the
+second company, could do so; but only five of them took advantage
+of this permission. The event of Sunday, July 4, was the arrival
+of thirteen members of the Battalion, who had pushed on in
+advance of the main body of those who were on the way from
+Pueblo, in order that they might recover some horses stolen from
+them, which they were told were at Bridger's Fort. They said that
+the main body of 140 were near at hand. This company had been
+directed in their course by instructions sent to them by Brigham
+Young from a point near Fort Laramie.
+
+The hardships of the trip had told on the pioneers, and a number
+of them were now afflicted with what they called "mountain
+fever." They attributed this to the clouds of dust that enveloped
+the column of wagons when in motion, and to the decided change of
+temperature from day to night. For six weeks, too, most of them
+had been without bread, living on the meat provided by the
+hunters, and saving the little flour that was left for the sick.
+
+The route on July 5 kept along the right bank of the Green River
+for about three miles, and then led over the bluffs and across a
+sandy, waterless plain for sixteen miles, to the left bank of
+Black's Fork, where they camped for the night. The two following
+days took them across this Fork several times, but, although
+fording was not always comfortable, the stream added salmon trout
+to their menu. On the 7th the party had a look at Bridger's Fort,
+of which they had heard often. Orson Pratt described it at the
+time as consisting "of two adjoining log houses, dirt roofs, and
+a small picket yard of logs set in the ground, and about eight
+feet high. The number of men, squaws, and halfbreed children in
+these houses and lodges may be about fifty or sixty."
+
+At the camp, half a mile from the fort, that night ice formed.
+The next day the blacksmiths were kept busy repairing wagons and
+shoeing horses in preparation for a trail through the mountains.
+On the 9th and 10th they passed over a hilly country, camping on
+Beaver River on the night of the 10th.
+
+The fever had compelled several halts on account of the condition
+of the patients, and on the 12th it was found that Brigham Young
+was too ill to travel. In order not to lose time, Orson Pratt,
+with forty-three men and twentythree wagons, was directed to push
+on into Salt Lake Valley, leaving a trail that the others could
+follow. From the information obtainable at Fort Bridger it was
+decided that the canon leading into the valley would be found
+impassable on account of high water, and that they should direct
+their course over the mountains.
+
+These explorers set out on July 14, travelling down Red Fork, a
+small stream which ran through a narrow valley, whose sides in
+places were from eight hundred to twelve hundred feet high,--red
+sandstone walls, perpendicular or overhanging. This route was a
+rough one, requiring frequent fordings of the stream, and they
+did well to advance thirteen miles that day. On the 15th they
+discovered a mountain trail that had been recommended to them,
+but it was a mere trace left by wagons that had passed over it a
+year before. They came now to the roughest country they had
+found, and it became necessary to send sappers in advance to open
+a road before the wagons could pass over it. Almost discouraged,
+Pratt turned back on foot the next day, to see if he could not
+find a better route; but he was soon convinced that only the one
+before them led in the direction they were to take. The wagons
+were advanced only four and three-quarters miles that day, even
+the creek bottom being so covered with a growth of willows that
+to cut through these was a tiresome labor. Pratt and a companion,
+during the day, climbed a mountain, which they estimated to be
+about two thousand feet high, but they only saw, before and
+around them, hills piled on hills and mountains on
+mountains,--the outlines of the Wahsatch and Uinta ranges.
+
+On Monday, the 18th, Pratt again acted as advance explorer, and
+went ahead with one companion. Following a ravine on horseback
+for four miles, they then dismounted and climbed to an elevation
+from which, in the distance, they saw a level prairie which they
+thought could not be far from Great Salt Lake. The whole party
+advanced only six and a quarter miles that day and six the next.
+
+One day later Erastus Snow came up with them, and Pratt took him
+along as a companion in his advance explorations. They discovered
+a point where the travellers of the year before had ascended a
+hill to avoid a canon through which a creek dashed rapidly.
+Following in their predecessors' footsteps, when they arrived at
+the top of this hill there lay stretched out before them "a
+broad, open valley about twenty miles wide and thirty long, at
+the north end of which the waters of the Great Salt Lake
+glistened in the sunbeams." Snow's account of their first view of
+the valley and lake is as follows:-- "The thicket down the
+narrows, at the mouth of the canon, was so dense that we could
+not penetrate through it. I crawled for some distance on my hands
+and knees through this thicket, until I was compelled to return,
+admonished to by the rattle of a snake which lay coiled up under
+my nose, having almost put my hand on him; but as he gave me the
+friendly warning, I thanked him and retreated. We raised on to a
+high point south of the narrows, where we got a view of the Great
+Salt Lake and this valley, and each of us, without saying a word
+to the other, instinctively, as if by inspiration, raised our
+hats from our heads, and then, swinging our hats, shouted,
+'Hosannah to God and the Lamb!' We could see the canes down in
+the valley, on what is now called Mill Creek, which looked like
+inviting grain, and thitherward we directed our course."*
+
+* "Address to the Pioneers," 1880.
+
+
+Having made an inspection of the valley, the two explorers
+rejoined their party about ten o'clock that evening. The next
+day, with great labor, a road was cut through the canon down to
+the valley, and on July 22 Pratt's entire company camped on City
+Creek, below the present Emigration Street in Salt Lake City. The
+next morning, after sending word of their discovery to Brigham
+Young, the whole party moved some two miles farther north, and
+there, after prayer, the work of putting in a crop was begun. The
+necessity of irrigation was recognized at once. "We found the
+land so dry," says Snow, "that to plough it was impossible, and
+in attempting to do so some of the ploughs were broken. We
+therefore had to distribute the water over the land before it
+could be worked." When the rest of the pioneers who had remained
+with Young reached the valley the next day, they found about six
+acres of potatoes and other vegetables already planted.
+
+While Apostles like Snow might have been as transported with
+delight over the aspect of the valley as he professed to be,
+others of the party could see only a desolate, treeless plain,
+with sage brush supplying the vegetation. To the women especially
+the outlook was most depressing.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. The Following Companies--Last Days On The Missouri
+
+When the pioneers set out from the Missouri, instructions were
+left for the organization of similar companies who were to follow
+their trail, without waiting to learn their ultimate destination
+or how they fared on the way. These companies were in charge of
+prominent men like Parley P. Pratt, John Taylor, Bishop Hunter,
+Daniel Spencer, who succeeded Smith as mayor of Nauvoo, and J. M.
+Grant, the first mayor of Salt Lake City after its incorporation.
+
+P. P. Pratt set out early in June, as soon as he could get his
+wagons and equipment in order, for Elk Horn River, where a sort
+of rendezvous was established, and a rough ferry boat put in
+operation. Hence started about the Fourth of July the big company
+which has been called "the first emigration." It consisted,
+according to the most trustworthy statistics, of 1553 persons,
+equipped with 566 wagons, 2213 oxen, 124 horses, 887 cows, 358
+sheep, 35 hogs, and 716 chickens. Pratt had brought back from
+England 469 sovereigns, collected as tithing, which were used in
+equipping the first parties for Utah. This company had at its
+head, as president, Brigham Young's brother John, with P. P.
+Pratt as chief adviser.
+
+Nothing more serious interrupted the movement of these hundreds
+of emigrants than dissatisfaction with Pratt, upsets, broken
+wagons, and the occasional straying of cattle, and all arrived in
+the valley in the latter part of September, Pratt's division on
+the 25th.
+
+The company which started on the return trip with Young on August
+26 embraced those Apostles who had gone West with him, some
+others of the pioneers, and most of the members of the Battalion
+who had joined them, and whose families were still on the banks
+of the Missouri. The eastward trip was made interesting by the
+meetings with the successive companies who were on their way to
+the Salt Lake Valley. Early in September some Indians stole 48 of
+their hoses, and ten weeks later 200 Sioux charged their camp,
+but there was no loss of life.
+
+On the 19th of October the party were met by a mounted company
+who had left Winter Quarters to offer any aid that might be
+needed, and were escorted to that camp. They arrived there on
+October 31, where they were welcomed by their families, and
+feasted as well as the supplies would permit.
+
+The winter of 1847-1848 was employed by Young and his associates
+in completing the church organization, mapping out a scheme of
+European immigration, and preparing for the removal of the
+remaining Mormons to Salt Lake Valley.
+
+That winter was much milder than its predecessor, and the health
+of the camps was improved, due, in part, to the better physical
+condition of their occupants. On the west side of the river,
+however, troubles had arisen with the Omahas, who complained to
+the government that the Mormons were killing off the game and
+depleting their lands of timber. The new-comers were accordingly
+directed to recross the river, and it was in this way that the
+camp near Council Bluffs in 1848 secured its principal
+population. In Mormon letters of that date the name Winter
+Quarters is sometimes applied to the settlement east of the river
+generally known as Kanesville.
+
+The programme then arranged provided for the removal in the
+spring of 1848 to Salt Lake Valley of practically all Mormons who
+remained on the Missouri, leaving only enough to look after the
+crops there and to maintain a forwarding point for emigrants from
+Europe and the Eastern states. The legislature of Iowa by request
+organized a county embracing the camps on the east side of the
+river. There seems to have been an idea in the minds of some of
+the Mormons that they might effect a permanent settlement in
+western Iowa. Orson Pratt, in a general epistle to the Saints in
+Europe, encouraging emigration, dated August 15, 1848, said, "A
+great, extensive, and rich tract of country has also been, by the
+providence of God, put in the possession of the Saints in the
+western borders of Iowa," which the Saints would have the first
+chance to purchase, at five shillings per acre. A letter from G.
+A. Smith and E. T. Benson to O. Pratt, dated December 20 in that
+year, told of the formation of a company of 860 members to
+enclose an additional tract of 11,000 acres, in shares of from 5
+to 80 acres, and of the laying out of two new cities, ten miles
+north and south. Orson Hyde set up a printing-press there, and
+for some time published the Frontier Guardian. But wiser counsel
+prevailed, and by 1853 most of the emigrants from Nauvoo had
+passed on to Utah,* and Linforth found Kanesville in 1853 "very
+dirty and unhealthy," and full of gamblers, lawyers, and dealers
+in "bargains," the latter made up principally of the outfits of
+discouraged immigrants who had given up the trip at that point.
+
+* On September 21, 1851, the First Presidency sent a letter to
+the Saints who were still in Iowa, directing them all to come to
+Salt Lake Valley, and saying: "What are you waiting for? Have you
+any good excuse for not coming? No. You have all of you unitedly
+a far better chance than we had when we started as pioneers to
+find this place."--Millennial Star, Vol. XIV, p. 29.
+
+
+Young himself took charge of the largest body that was to cross
+the plains in 1848. The preparations were well advanced by the
+first of May, and on the 24th he set out for Elk Horn (commonly
+called "The Horn") where the organization of the column was to be
+made. The travellers were divided into two large companies, the
+first four "hundreds" comprising 1229 persons and 397 wagons; the
+second section, led by H. C. Kimball, 662 persons and 226 wagons;
+and the third, under Elders W. Richards and A. Lyman, about 300
+wagons. A census of the first two companies, made by the clerk of
+the camp, showed that their equipment embraced the following
+items: horses, 131; mules, 44; oxen, 2012; cows and other cattle,
+1317; sheep, 654; pigs, 237; chickens, 904; cats, 54; dogs, 134;
+goats, 3; geese, 10; ducks, 5; hives of bees, 5; doves, 11; and
+one squirrel.*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. X, p. 319.
+
+
+The expense of fitting out these companies was necessarily large,
+and the heads of the church left at Kanesville a debt amounting
+to $3600, "without any means being provided for its payment."*
+
+* Ibid, Vol. XI, p. 14.
+
+
+President Young's company began its actual westward march on June
+5, and the last detachment got away about the 25th. They reached
+the site of Salt Lake City in September. The incidents of the
+trip were not more interesting than those of the previous year,
+and only four deaths occurred on the way.
+
+
+
+BOOK VI. In Utah
+
+CHAPTER I. The Founding Of Salt Lake City
+
+The first white men to enter what is now Utah were a part of the
+force of Coronado, under Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardinas, if the
+reader of the evidence decides that their journey from Zuni took
+them, in 1540, across the present Utah border line.* A more
+definite account has been preserved of a second exploration,
+which left Santa Fe in 1776, led by two priests, Dominguez and
+Escalate, in search of a route to the California coast. A two
+months' march brought them to a lake, called Timpanogos by the
+natives--now Utah Lake on the map--where they were told of
+another lake, many leagues in extent, whose waters were so salt
+that they made the body itch when wet with them; but they turned
+to the southwest without visiting it. Lahontan's report of the
+discovery of a body of bad-tasting water on the western side of
+the continent in 1689 is not accepted as more than a part of an
+imaginary narrative. S. A. Ruddock asserted that, in 1821, he
+with a trading party made a journey from Council Bluffs to Oregon
+by way of Santa Fe and Great Salt Lake.**
+
+* See Bancroft's "History of Utah," Chap. I.
+
+** House Report, No. 213, 1st Session, 19th Congress.
+
+
+Bancroft mentions this claim "for what it is worth," but awards
+the honor of the discovery of the lake, as the earliest
+authenticated, to James Bridger, the noted frontiersman who, some
+twelve years later, built his well-known trading fort on Green
+River. Bridger, with a party of trappers who had journeyed west
+from the Missouri with Henry and Ashley in 1824, got into a
+discussion that winter with his fellows, while they were camped
+on Bear River, about the course of that stream, and, to decide a
+bet, Bridger followed it southward until he came to Great Salt
+Lake. In the following spring four of the party explored the lake
+in boats made of skins, hoping to find beavers, and they, it is
+believed, were the first white men to float upon its waters.
+Fremont saw the lake from the summit of a butte on September 6,
+1843. "It was," he says, "one of the great objects of the
+exploration, and, as we looked eagerly over the lake in the first
+emotions of excited pleasure, I am doubtful if the followers of
+Balboa felt more enthusiasm when, from the heights of the Andes,
+they saw for the first time the great Western Ocean." This
+practical claim of discovery was not well founded, nor was his
+sail on the lake in an India-rubber boat "the first ever
+attempted on this interior sea."
+
+Dating from 1825, the lake region of Utah became more and more
+familiar to American trappers and explorers. In 1833 Captain
+Bonneville, of the United States army, obtained leave of absence,
+and with a company of 110 trappers set out for the Far West by
+the Platte route. Crossing the Rockies through the South Pass, he
+made a fortified camp on Green River, whence he for three years
+explored the country. One of his parties, under Joseph Walker,
+was sent to trap beavers on Great Salt Lake and to explore it
+thoroughly, making notes and maps. Bonneville, in his description
+of the lake to Irving, declared that lofty mountains rose from
+its bosom, and greatly magnified its extent to the south.*
+Walker's party got within sight of the lake, but found themselves
+in a desert, and accordingly changed their course and crossed the
+Sierras into California. In Bonneville's map the lake is called
+"Lake Bonneville or Great Salt Lake," and Irving calls it Lake
+Bonneville in his "Astoria."
+
+* Bonneville's "Adventures," p. 184.
+
+
+The day after the first arrival of Brigham Young in Salt Lake
+Valley (Sunday, July 25), church services were held and the
+sacrament was administered. Young addressed his followers,
+indicating at the start his idea of his leadership and of the
+ownership of the land, which was then Mexican territory. "He said
+that no man should buy any land who came here," says Woodruff;
+"that he had none to sell; but every man should have his land
+measured out to him for city and farming purposes. He might till
+it as he pleased, but he must be industrious and take care of
+it." *
+
+* "After the assignments were made, persona commenced the usual
+speculations of selling according to eligibility of situation.
+This called out anathemas from the spiritual powers, and no one
+was permitted to traffic for fancy profit; if any sales were
+made, the first cost and actual value of improvements were all
+that was to be allowed. All speculative sales were made sub rosa.
+Exchanges are made and the records kept by the
+register."--Gunnison, "The Mormons" (1852), p. 145.
+
+
+The next day a party, including all the Twelve who were in the
+valley, set out to explore the neighborhood. They visited and
+bathed in Great Salt Lake, climbed and named Ensign Peak, and met
+a party of Utah Indians, who made signs that they wanted to
+trade. On their return Young explained to the people his ideas of
+an exploration of the country to the west and north.
+
+Meanwhile, those left in the valley had been busy staking off
+fields, irrigating them, and planting vegetables and grain. Some
+buildings, among them a blacksmith shop, were begun. The members
+of the Battalion, about four hundred of whom had now arrived,
+constructed a "bowery." Camps of Utah Indians were visited, and
+the white men witnessed their method of securing for food the
+abundant black crickets, by driving them into an enclosure fenced
+with brush which they set on fire.
+
+On July 28, after a council of the Quorum had been held, the site
+of the Temple was selected by Brigham Young, who waved his hand
+and said: "Here is the 40 acres for the Temple. The city can be
+laid out perfectly square, east and west."* The 40 acres were a
+few days later reduced to 10, but the site then chosen is that on
+which the big Temple now stands. It was also decided that the
+city should be laid out in lots measuring to by 20 rods each, 8
+lots to a block, with streets 8 rods wide, and sidewalks 20 feet
+wide; each house to be erected in the centre of a lot, and 20
+feet from the front line. Land was also reserved for four parks
+of to acres each.
+
+* Tullidge's "Life of Brigham Young," p. 178.
+
+
+Men were at once sent into the mountains to secure logs for
+cabins, and work on adobe huts was also begun. On August y those
+of the Twelve present selected their "inheritances," each taking
+a block near the Temple. A week later the Twelve in council
+selected the blocks on which the companies under each should
+settle. The city as then laid out covered a space nearly four
+miles long and three broad.*
+
+* Tullidge says: "The land portion of each family, as a rule, was
+the acre-and-a-quarter lot designated in the plan of the city;
+but the chief men of the pioneers, who had a plurality of wives
+and numerous children, received larger portions of the city lots.
+The giving of farms, as shown is the General Epistle, was upon
+the same principle as the apportioning of city lots. The farm of
+five, ten, or twenty acres was not for the mechanic, nor the
+manufacturer, nor even for the farmer, as a mere personal
+property, but for the good of the community at large, to give the
+substance of the earth to feed the population . . . . While the
+farmer was planting and cultivating his farm, the mechanic and
+tradesman produced his supplies and wrought his daily work for
+the community." He adds,"It can be easily understood how some
+departures were made from this original plan." This understanding
+can be gained in no better way than by inspecting the list of
+real estate left by Brigham Young in his will as his individual
+possession.
+
+
+On August 22 a General Conference decided that the city should be
+called City of the Great Salt Lake. When the city was
+incorporated, in 1851, the name was changed to Salt Lake City. In
+view of the approaching return of Young and his fellow officers
+to the Missouri River, the company in the valley were placed in
+charge of the prophet's uncle, John Smith, as Patriarch, with a
+high council and other officers of a Stake.
+
+When P. P. Pratt and the following companies reached the valley
+in September, they found a fort partly built, and every one busy,
+preparing for the winter. The crops of that year had been a
+disappointment, having been planted too late. The potatoes raised
+varied in size from that of a pea to half an inch in diameter,
+but they were saved and used successfully for seed the next year.
+A great deal of grain was sown during the autumn and winter,
+considerable wheat having been brought from California by members
+of the Battalion. Pratt says that the snow was several inches
+deep when they did some of their ploughing, but that the ground
+was clear early in March. A census taken in March, 1848, gave the
+city a population of 1671, with 423 houses erected.
+
+The Saints in the valley spent a good deal of that winter working
+on their cabins, making furniture, and carting fuel. They
+discovered that the warning about the lack of timber was well
+founded, all the logs and firewood being hauled from a point
+eight miles distant, over bad roads, and with teams that had not
+recovered from the effect of the overland trip. Many settlers
+therefore built huts of adobe bricks, some with cloth roofs. Lack
+of experience in handling adobe clay for building purposes led to
+some sad results, the rains and frosts causing the bricks to
+crumble or burst, and more than one of these houses tumbled down
+around their owners. Even the best of the houses had very flat
+roofs, the newcomers believing that the climate was always dry;
+and when the rains and melted snow came, those who had umbrellas
+frequently raised them indoors to protect their beds or their
+fires.
+
+Two years later, when Captain Stansbury of the United States
+Topographical Engineers, with his surveying party, spent the
+winter in Salt Lake City, in "a small, unfurnished house of
+unburnt brick or adobe, unplastered, and roofed with boards
+loosely nailed on," which let in the rains in streams, he says
+they were better lodged than many of their neighbors. "Very many
+families," he explains, "were obliged still to lodge wholly or in
+part in their wagons, which, being covered, served, when taken
+off from the wheels and set upon the ground, to make bedrooms, of
+limited dimensions, it is true, but exceedingly comfortable. In
+the very next enclosure to that of our party, a whole family of
+children had no other shelter than one of these wagons, where
+they slept all winter."
+
+The furniture of the early houses was of the rudest kind, since
+only the most necessary articles could be brought in the wagons.
+A chest or a barrel would do for a table, a bunk built against
+the side logs would be called a bed, and such rude stools as
+could be most easily put together served for chairs.
+
+The letters sent for publication in England to attract emigrants
+spoke of a mild and pleasant winter, not telling of the
+privations of these pioneers. The greatest actual suffering was
+caused by a lack of food as spring advanced. A party had been
+sent to California, in November, for cattle, seeds, etc., but
+they lost forty of a herd of two hundred on the way back. The
+cattle that had been brought across the plains were in poor
+condition on their arrival, and could find very little winter
+pasturage. Many of the milk cows driven all the way from the
+Missouri had died by midsummer. By spring parched grain was
+substituted for coffee, a kind of molasses was made from beets,
+and what little flour could be obtained was home-ground and
+unbolted. Even so high an officer of the church as P. P. Pratt,
+thus describes the privations of his family: "In this labor
+[ploughing, cultivating, and sowing] every woman and child in my
+family, so far as they were of sufficient age and strength, had
+joined to help me, and had toiled incessantly in the field,
+suffering every hardship which human nature could well endure.
+Myself and most of them were compelled to go with bare feet for
+several months, reserving our Indian moccasins for extra
+occasions. We toiled hard, and lived on a few greens, and on
+thistle and other roots."
+
+This was the year of the great visitation of crickets, the
+destruction of which has given the Mormons material for the story
+of one of their miracles. The crickets appeared in May, and they
+ate the country clear before them. In a wheat-field they would
+average two or three to a head of grain. Even ditches filled with
+water would not stop them. Kane described them as "wingless,
+dumpy, black, swollen-headed, with bulging eyes in cases like
+goggles, mounted upon legs of steel wire and clock spring, and
+with a general personal appearance that justified the Mormons in
+comparing them to a cross of a spider and the buffalo." When this
+plague was at its worst, the Mormons saw flocks of gulls descend
+and devour the crickets so greedily that they would often
+disgorge the food undigested. Day after day did the gulls appear
+until the plague was removed. Utah guide-books of to-day refer to
+this as a divine interposition of Heaven in behalf of the Saints.
+But writers of that date, like P. P. Pratt, ignore the miraculous
+feature, and the white gulls dot the fields between Salt Lake
+City and Ogden in 1901 just as they did in the summer of 1848,
+and as Fremont found them there in September, 1843. Gulls are
+abundant all over the plains, and are found with the snipe and
+geese as far north as North Dakota. Heaven's interposition, if
+exercised, was not thorough, for, after the crickets, came
+grasshoppers in such numbers that one writer says, "On one
+occasion a quarter of one cloudy dropped into the lake and were
+blown on shore by the wind, in rows sometimes two feet deep, for
+a distance of two miles."
+
+But the crops, with all the drawbacks, did better than had been
+deemed possible, and on August 10 the people held a kind of
+harvest festival in the "bowery" in the centre of their fort,
+when "large sheaves of wheat, rye, barley, oats, and other
+productions were hoisted on poles for public exhibition."* Still,
+the outlook was so alarming that word was sent to Winter Quarters
+advising against increasing their population at that time, and
+Brigham Young's son urged that a message be sent to his father
+giving similar advice.** Nevertheless P. P. Pratt did not
+hesitate in a letter addressed to the Saints in England, on
+September 5, to say that they had had ears of corn to boil for a
+month, that he had secured "a good harvest of wheat and rye
+without irrigation," and that there would be from ten thousand to
+twenty thousand bushels of grain in the valley more than was
+needed for home consumption.
+
+* Pratt's "Autobiography," p. 406.
+
+** Bancroft's "History of Utah;' p. 281.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. Progress Of The Settlement
+
+With the arrival of the later companies from Winter Quarters the
+population of the city was increased by the winter of 1848 to
+about five thousand, or more than one-quarter of those who went
+out from Nauvoo. The settlers then had three sawmills, one
+flouring mill, and a threshing machine run by water, another
+sawmill and flour mill nearly completed, and several mills under
+way for the manufacture of sugar from corn stalks.
+
+Brigham Young, again on the ground, took the lead at once in
+pushing on the work. To save fencing, material for which was hard
+to obtain, a tract of eight thousand acres was set apart and
+fenced for the common use, within which farmhouses could be
+built. The plan adopted for fencing in the city itself was to
+enclose each ward separately, every lot owner building his share.
+A stone council house, forty-five feet square, was begun, the
+labor counting as a part of the tithe; unappropriated city lots
+were distributed among the new-comers by a system of drawing, and
+the building of houses went briskly on, the officers of the
+church sharing in the labor. A number of bridges were also
+provided, a tax of one per cent being levied to pay for them.
+
+Among the incidents of the winter mentioned in an epistle of the
+First Presidency was the establishment of schools in the
+different wards, in which, it was stated, "the Hebrew, Greek,
+Latin, French, German, Tahitian and English languages have been
+taught successfully"; and the organization of a temporary local
+government, and of a Stake of Zion, with Daniel Spencer as
+president. It was early the policy of the church to carry on an
+extended system of public works, including manufacturing
+enterprises. The assisted immigrants were expected to repay by
+work on these buildings the advance made to them to cover their
+travelling expenses. Young saw at once the advantage of starting
+branches of manufacture, both to make his people independent of a
+distant supply and to give employment to the population. Writing
+to Orson Pratt on October 14, 1849, when Pratt was in England, he
+said that they would have the material for cotton and woollen
+factories ready by the time men and machinery were prepared to
+handle it, and urged him to send on cotton operatives and "all
+the necessary fixtures." The third General Epistle spoke of the
+need of furnaces and forges, and Orson Pratt, in an address to
+the Saints in Great Britain, dated July 2, I850, urged the
+officers of companies "to seek diligently in every branch for
+wise, skilful and ingenious mechanics, manufacturers, potters,
+etc."*
+
+* The General Epistle of April, 1852, announced two potteries in
+operation, a small woollen factory begun, a nail factory, wooden
+bowl factory, and many grist and saw mills. The General Epistle
+of October, 1855, enumerated, as among the established
+industries, a foundery, a cutlery shop, and manufactories of
+locks, cloth, leather, hats, cordage, brushes, soap, paper,
+combs, and cutlery.
+
+
+The General Conference of October, 1849, ordered one man to build
+a glass factory in the valley, and voted to organize a company to
+transport passengers and freight between the Missouri River and
+California, directing that settlements be established along the
+route. This company was called the Great Salt Lake Valley
+Carrying Company. Its prospectus in the Frontier Guardian in
+December, 1849, stated that the fare from Kanesville to Sutter's
+Fort, California, would be $300, and the freight rate to Great
+Salt Lake City $12.50 per hundredweight, the passenger wagons to
+be drawn by four horses or mules, and the freight wagons by oxen.
+
+But the work of making the new Mormon home a business and
+manufacturing success did not meet with rapid encouragement.
+Where settlements were made outside of Salt Lake City, the people
+were not scattered in farmhouses over the country, but lived in
+what they called "forts," squalid looking settlements, laid out
+in a square and defended by a dirt or adobe wall. The inhabitants
+of these settlements had to depend on the soil for their
+subsistence, and such necessary workmen as carpenters and
+shoemakers plied their trade as they could find leisure after
+working in the fields. When Johnston's army entered the valley in
+1858, the largest attempt at manufacturing that had been
+undertaken there--a beet sugar factory, toward which English
+capitalists had contributed more than $100,000--had already
+proved a failure. There were tanneries, distilleries, and
+breweries in operation, a few rifles and revolvers were made from
+iron supplied by wagon tires, and in the larger settlements a few
+good mechanics were kept busy. But if no outside influences had
+contributed to the prosperity of the valley, and hastened the day
+when it secured railroad communication, the future of the people
+whom Young gathered in Utah would have been very different.
+
+A correspondent of the New York Tribune, on his way to
+California, writing on July 8, 1849, thus described Salt Lake
+City as it presented itself to him at that time:-- "There are no
+hotels, because there had been no travel; no barber shops,
+because every one chose to shave himself and no one had time to
+shave his neighbor; no stores, because they had no goods to sell
+nor time to traffic; no center of business, because all were too
+busy to make a center. There was abundance of mechanics' shops,
+of dressmakers, milliners and tailors, etc., but they needed no
+sign, nor had they any time to paint or erect one, for they were
+crowded with business. Besides their several trades, all must
+cultivate the land or die; for the country was new, and no
+cultivation but their own within 1000 miles. Everyone had his lot
+and built on it; every one cultivated it, and perhaps a small
+farm in the distance. And the strangest of all was that this
+great city, extending over several square miles, had been
+erected, and every house and fence made, within nine or ten
+months of our arrival; while at the same time good bridges were
+erected over the principal streams, and the country settlements
+extended nearly 100 miles up and down the valley."*
+
+* New York Tribune, October 9, 1849.
+
+
+The winter of 1848 set in early and severe, with frequent
+snowstorms from December 1 until late in February, and the
+temperature dropping one degree below zero as late as February 5.
+The deep snow in the canons, the only outlets through the
+mountains, rendered it difficult to bring in fuel, and the
+suffering from the cold was terrible, as many families had
+arrived too late to provide themselves with any shelter but their
+prairie wagons. The apprehended scarcity of food, too, was
+realized. Early in February an inventory of the breadstuffs in
+the valley, taken by the Bishops, showed only three-quarters of a
+pound a day per head until July 5, although it was believed that
+many had concealed stores on hand. When the first General Epistle
+of the First Presidency was sent out from Salt Lake City in the
+spring of 1849,* corn, which had sold for $2 and $3 a bushel, was
+not to be had, wheat had ranged from $4 to $5 a bushel, and
+potatoes from $6 to $20, with none then in market.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XI, p. 227.
+
+The people generally exerted themselves to obtain food for those
+whose supplies had been exhausted, but the situation became
+desperate before the snow melted. Three attempts to reach Fort
+Bridger failed because of the depth of snow in the canons. There
+is a record of a winter hunt of two rival parties of 100 men
+each, but they killed "varmints" rather than game, the list
+including 700 wolves and foxes, 20 minks and skunks, 500 hawks,
+owls and magpies, and 1000 ravens.* Some of the Mormons, with the
+aid of Indian guides, dug roots that the savages had learned to
+eat, and some removed the hide roofs from their cabins and stewed
+them for food. The lack of breadstuffs continued until well into
+the summer, and the celebration of the anniversary of the arrival
+of the pioneers in the valley, which had been planned for July 4,
+was postponed until the 24th, as Young explained in his address,
+"that we might have a little bread to set on our tables."
+
+* General Epistle, Millennial Star, Vol. XI, p. 227.
+
+
+Word was now sent to the states and to Europe that no more of the
+brethren should make the trip to the valley at that time unless
+they had means to get through without assistance, and could bring
+breadstuffs to last them several months after their arrival.
+
+But something now occurred which turned the eyes of a large part
+of the world to that new acquisition of the United States on the
+Pacific coast which was called California, which made the Mormon
+settlement in Utah a way station for thousands of travellers
+where a dozen would not have passed it without the new incentive,
+and which brought to the Mormon settlers, almost at their own
+prices, supplies of which they were desperately in need, and
+which they could not otherwise have obtained. This something was
+the discovery of gold in California.
+
+When the news of this discovery reached the Atlantic states and
+those farther west, men simply calculated by what route they
+could most quickly reach the new El Dorado, and the first
+companies of miners who travelled across the plains sacrificed
+everything for speed. The first rush passed through Salt Lake
+Valley in August, 1849. Some of the Mormons who had reached
+California with Brannan's company had by that time arrived in the
+valley, bringing with them a few bags of gold dust. When the
+would-be miners from the East saw this proof of the existence of
+gold in the country ahead of them, their enthusiasm knew no
+limits, and their one wish was to lighten themselves so that they
+could reach the gold-fields in the shortest time possible. Then
+the harvest of the Mormons began. Pack mules and horses that had
+been worth only $25 or $30 would now bring $200 in exchange for
+other articles at a low price, and the travellers were auctioning
+off their surplus supplies every day. For a light wagon they did
+not hesitate to offer three or four heavy ones, with a yoke of
+oxen sometimes thrown in. Such needed supplies as domestic
+sheetings could be had at from five to ten cents a yard, spades
+and shovels, with which the miners were overstocked, at fifty
+cents each, and nearly everything in their outfit, except sugar
+and coffee, at half the price that would have been charged at
+wholesale in the Eastern states.*
+
+* Salt Lake City letter to the Frontier Guardian.
+
+
+The commercial profit to the Mormons from this emigration was
+greater still in 1850, when the rush had increased. Before the
+grain of that summer was cut, the gold seekers paid $1 a pound
+for flour in Salt Lake City. After the new grain was harvested
+they eagerly bought the flour as fast as five mills could grind
+it, at $25 per hundredweight. Unground wheat sold for $8 a
+bushel, wood for $10 a cord, adobe bricks for more than seven
+shillings a hundred, and skilled mechanics were getting twelve
+shillings and sixpence a day.* At the same time that the
+emigrants were paying so well for what they absolutely required,
+they were sacrificing large supplies of what they did not need on
+almost any terms. Some of them had started across the plains with
+heavy loads of machinery and miscellaneous goods, on which they
+expected to reap a big profit in California. Learning, however,
+when they reached Salt Lake City, that ship-loads of such
+merchandise were on their way around the Horn, the owners
+sacrificed their stock where it was, and hurried on to get their
+share of the gold.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XII, p. 350.
+
+
+This is not the place in which to tell the story of that rush of
+the gold seekers. The clerk at Fort Laramie reported, "The total
+number of emigrants who passed this post up to June 10, 1850,
+included 16,915 men, 235 women, 242 children, 4672 wagons, 14,974
+horses, 4641 mules, 7475 oxen, and 1653 cows." A letter from
+Sacramento dated September 10, 1850, gave this picture of the
+trail left by these travellers: "Many believed there are dead
+animals enough on the desert (of 45 miles) between Humboldt Lake
+and Carson River to pave a road the whole distance. We will make
+a moderate estimate and say there is a dead animal to every five
+feet, left on the desert this season. I counted 153 wagons within
+a mile and a half. Not half of those left were to be seen, many
+having been burned to make lights in the night. The desert is
+strewn with all kinds of property--tools, clothes, crockery,
+harnesses, etc."
+
+Naturally, in this rush for sudden riches, many a Mormon had a
+desire to join. A dozen families left Utah for California early
+in 1849, and in March, 1851, a company of more than five hundred
+assembled in Payson, preparatory to making the trip. Here was an
+unexpected danger to the growth of the Mormon population, and one
+which the head of the church did not delay in checking. The
+second General Epistle, dated October 12, 1849,* stated that the
+valley of the Sacramento was unhealthy, and that the Saints could
+do better raising grain in Utah, adding, "The true use of gold is
+for paving streets, covering houses, and making culinary dishes,
+and when the Saints shall have preached the Gospel, raised grain,
+and built up cities enough, the Lord will open up the way for a
+supply of gold, to the perfect satisfaction of his people."
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XII, p. 119.
+
+
+Notwithstanding this advice, a good many Mormons acted on the
+idea that the Lord would help those who helped themselves, and
+that if they were to have golden culinary dishes they must go and
+dig the gold. Accordingly, we find the third General Epistle,
+dated April 12, 1850, acknowledging that many brethren had gone
+to the gold mines, but declaring that they were counselled only
+"by their own wills and covetous feelings," and that they would
+have done more good by staying in the valley. Young did not,
+however, stop with a mere rebuke. He proposed to check the
+exodus. "Let such men," the Epistle added, "remember that they
+are not wanted in our midst. Let such leave their carcasses where
+they do their work; we want not our burial grounds polluted with
+such hypocrites." Young was quite as plain spoken in his remarks
+to the General Conference that spring, naming as those who "will
+go down to hell, poverty-stricken and naked," the Mormons who
+felt that they were so poor that they would have to go to the
+gold mines.* Such talk had its effect, and Salt Lake Valley
+retained most of its population.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XII, p. 274,
+
+
+The progress of the settlement received a serious check some
+years later in the failure of the crops in 1855, followed by a
+near approach to a famine in the ensuing winter. Very little
+reference to this was made in the official church correspondence,
+but a picture of the situation in Salt Lake City that winter was
+drawn in two letters from Heber C. Kimball to his sons in
+England.* In the first, written in February, he said that his
+family and Brigham Young's were then on a ration of half a pound
+of bread each per day, and that thousands had scarcely any
+breadstuff at all. Kimball's family of one hundred persons then
+had on hand about seventy bushels of potatoes and a few beets and
+carrots, "so you can judge," he says, "whether we can get through
+until harvest without digging roots." There were then not more
+than five hundred bushels of grain in the tithing office, and all
+public work was stopped until the next harvest, and all mechanics
+were advised to drop their tools and to set about raising grain.
+"There is not a settlement in the territory," said the writer,
+"but is also in the same fix as we are. Dollars and cents do not
+count in these times, for they are the tightest I have ever seen
+in the territory of Utah." In April he wrote: "I suppose one-half
+the church stock is dead. There are not more than one-half the
+people that have bread, and they have not more than one-half or
+one quarter of a pound a day to a person. A great portion of the
+people are digging roots, and hundreds and thousands, their teams
+being dead, are under the necessity of spading their ground to
+put in their grain." The harvest of 1856 also suffered from
+drought and insects, and the Deseret News that summer declared
+that "the most rigid economy and untiring, well-directed industry
+may enable us to escape starvation until a harvest in 1857, and
+until the lapse of another year emigrants and others will run
+great risks of starving unless they bring their supplies with
+them." The first load of barley brought into Salt Lake City that
+summer sold for $2 a bushel.
+
+* Ibid., Vol. XVIII, pp. 395-476.
+
+
+The first building erected in Salt Lake City in which to hold
+church services was called a tabernacle. It was begun in 1851,
+and was consecrated on April 6, 1852. It stood in Temple block,
+where the Assembly Hall now stands, measuring about 60 by 120
+feet, and providing accommodation for 2500 people. The present
+Tabernacle, in which the public church services are held, was
+completed in 1870. It stands just west of the Temple, is
+elliptical in shape, and, with its broad gallery running around
+the entire interior, except the end occupied by the organ loft
+and pulpit, it can seat about 9000 persons. Its acoustic
+properties are remarkable, and one of the duties of any guide who
+exhibits the auditorium to visitors is to station them at the end
+of the gallery opposite the pulpit, and to drop a pin on the
+floor to show them how distinctly that sound can be heard.
+
+The Temple in Salt Lake City was begun in April, 1853, and was
+not dedicated until April, 1893. This building is devoted to the
+secret ceremonies of the church, and no Gentile is ever admitted
+to it. The building, of granite taken from the near-by mountains,
+is architecturally imposing, measuring 200 by 100 feet. Its cost
+is admitted to have been about $4,000,000. The building could
+probably be duplicated to-day for one-half that sum. The excuse
+given by church authorities for the excessive cost is that,
+during the early years of the work upon it, the granite had to be
+hauled from the mountains by ox teams, and that everything in the
+way of building material was expensive in Utah when the church
+there was young. The interior is divided into different rooms, in
+which such ceremonies as the baptism for the dead are performed;
+the baptismal font is copied after the one that was in the Temple
+at Nauvoo.
+
+There are three other temples in Utah, all of which were
+completed before the one in Salt Lake City, namely, at St.
+George, at Logan, and at Manti.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. The Foreign Immigration To Utah
+
+When the Mormons began their departure westward from Nauvoo, the
+immigration of converts from Europe was suspended because of the
+uncertainty about the location of the next settlement, and the
+difficulty of transporting the existing population. But the
+necessity of constant additions to the community of new-comers,
+and especially those bringing some capital, was never lost sight
+of by the heads of the church. An evidence of this was given even
+before the first company reached the Missouri River.
+
+While the Saints were marching through Iowa they received
+intelligence of a big scandal in connection with the emigration
+business in England, and P. P. Pratt, Orson Hyde, and John Taylor
+were hurriedly sent to that country to straighten the matter out.
+The Millennial Star in the early part of 1846 had frequent
+articles about the British and American Commercial Joint Stock
+Company, an organization incorporated to assist poor Saints in
+emigrating. The principal emigration agent in Great Britain at
+that time was R. Hedlock. He was the originator of the Joint
+Stock Company, and Thomas Ward was its president. The Mormon
+investigators found that more than 1644 pounds of the
+contributions of the stockholders had been squandered, and that
+Ward had been lending Hedlock money with which to pay his
+personal debts. Ward and Hedlock were at once disfellowshipped,
+and contributions to the treasury of the company were stopped.
+Pratt says that Hedlock fled when the investigators arrived,
+leaving many debts, "and finally lived incog. in London with a
+vile woman." Thus it seems that Mormon business enterprises in
+England were no freer from scandals than those in America.
+
+The efforts of the leaders of the church were now exerted to make
+the prospects of the Saints in Utah attractive to the converts in
+England whom they wished to add to the population of their
+valley. Young and his associates seem to have entertained the
+idea, without reckoning on the rapid settlement of California,
+the migration of the "Forty-niners," and the connection of the
+two coasts by rail, that they could constitute a little empire
+all by itself in Utah, which would be self-supporting as well as
+independent, the farmer raising food for the mechanic, and the
+mechanic doing the needed work for the farmer. Accordingly, the
+church did not stop short of every kind of misrepresentation and
+deception in belittling to the foreigners the misfortunes of the
+past, and picturing to them the fruitfulness of their new
+country, and the ease with which they could become landowners
+there.
+
+Naturally, after the expulsion from Illinois, in which so many
+foreign converts shared, an explanation and palliation of the
+emigration thence were necessary. In the United States, then and
+ever since, the Mormons pictured themselves as the victims of an
+almost unprecedented persecution. But as soon as John Taylor
+reached England, in 1846, he issued an address to the Saints in
+Great Britain* in which he presented a very different picture.
+Granting that, on an average, they had not obtained more than
+one-third the value of their real and personal property when they
+left Illinois, he explained that, when they settled there, land
+in Nauvoo was worth only from $3 to $20 per acre, while, when
+they left, it was worth from $50 to $1500 per acre; in the same
+period the adjoining farm lands had risen in value from $1.25 and
+$5 to from $5 to $50 per acre. He assured his hearers, therefore,
+that the one-third value which they had obtained had paid them
+well for their labor. Nor was this all. When they left, they had
+exchanged their property for horses, cattle, provisions,
+clothing, etc., which was exactly what was needed by settlers in
+a new country. As a further bait he went on to explain: "When we
+arrive in California, according to the provisions of the Mexican
+government, each family will be entitled to a large tract of
+land, amounting to several hundred acres," and, if that country
+passed into American control, he looked for the passage of a law
+giving 640 acres to each male settler. "Thus," he summed up, "it
+will be easy to see that we are in a better condition than when
+we were in Nauvoo!"
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VIII, p. 115.
+
+
+The misrepresentation did not cease here, however. After
+announcing the departure of Brigham Young's pioneer company,
+Taylor* wound up with this tissue of false statements: "The way
+is now prepared; the roads, bridges, and ferry-boats made; there
+are stopping places also on the way where they can rest, obtain
+vegetables and corn, and, when they arrive at the far end,
+instead of finding a wild waste, they will meet with friends,
+provisions and a home, so that all that will be requisite for
+them to do will be to find sufficient teams to draw their
+families, and to take along with them a few woollen or cotton
+goods, or other articles of merchandise which will be light, and
+which the brethren will require until they can manufacture for
+themselves." How many a poor Englishman, toiling over the plains
+in the next succeeding years, and, arriving in arid Utah to find
+himself in the clutches of an organization from which he could
+not escape, had reason to curse the man who drew this picture!
+
+* John Taylor was born in England in 1808, and emigrated to
+Canada in 1829, where, after joining the Methodists, he, like
+Joseph Smith, found existing churches unsatisfactory, and was
+easily secured as a convert by P. P. Pratt. He was elected to the
+Quorum, and was sent to Great Britain as a missionary in 1840,
+writing several pamphlets while there. He arrived in Nauvoo with
+Brigham Young in 1841, and there edited the Times and Seasons,
+was a member of the City Council, a regent of the university, and
+judge advocate of the Legion, and was in the room with the
+prophet when the latter was shot. He was the Mormon
+representative in France in 1849, publishing a monthly paper
+there, translating the Mormon Bible into the French language, and
+preaching later at Hamburg, Germany. He was superintendent of the
+Mormon church in the Eastern states in 1857, when Young declared
+war against the United States, and he succeeded Young as head of
+the church.
+
+In 1847, at the suggestion of Taylor, Hyde, and Pratt, who were
+still in England, a petition bearing nearly 13,000 names was
+addressed to Queen Victoria, setting forth the misery existing
+among the working classes in Great Britain, suggesting, as the
+best means of relief, royal aid to those who wished to emigrate
+to "the island of Vancouver or to the great territory of Oregon,"
+and asking her "to give them employment in improving the harbors
+of those countries, or in erecting forts of defence; or, if this
+be inexpedient, to furnish them provisions and means of
+subsistence until they can produce them from the soil." These
+American citizens did not hesitate to point out that the United
+States government was favoring the settlement of its territory on
+the Pacific coast, and to add: "While the United States do
+manifest such a strong inclination, not only to extend and
+enlarge their possessions in the West, but also to people them,
+will not your Majesty look well to British interests in those
+regions, and adopt timely precautionary measures to maintain a
+balance of power in that quarter which, in the opinion of your
+memorialists, is destined at no very distant period to
+participate largely in the China trade?" *
+
+* See Linforth's "Route," pp. 2-5.
+
+
+The Oregon boundary treaty was less than a year old when this
+petition was presented. It was characteristic of Mormon duplicity
+to find their representatives in Great Britain appealing to Queen
+Victoria on the ground of self-interest, while their chiefs in
+the United States were pointing to the organization of the
+Battalion as a proof of their fidelity to the home government.
+Practically no notice was taken of this petition. Vancouver
+Island, was, however, held out to the converts in Great Britain
+as the one "gathering point of the Saints from the islands and
+distant portions of the earth," until the selection of Salt Lake
+Valley as the Saints' abiding place.
+
+On December 23, 1847, Young, in behalf of the Twelve, issued from
+Winter Quarters a General Epistle to the church a which gave an
+account of his trip to the Salt Lake Valley, directed all to
+gather themselves speedily near Winter Quarters in readiness for
+the march to Salt Lake Valley, and said to the Saints in
+Europe:--
+
+"Emigrate as speedily as possible to this vicinity. Those who
+have but little means, and little or no labor, will soon exhaust
+that means if they remain where they are. Therefore, it is wisdom
+that they remove without delay; for here is land on which, by
+their labor, they can speedily better their condition for their
+further journey." The list of things which Young advised the
+emigrants to bring with them embraced a wide assortment: grains,
+trees, and vines; live stock and fowls; agricultural implements
+and mills; firearms and ammunition; gold and silver and zinc and
+tin and brass and ivory and precious stones; curiosities, "sweet
+instruments of music, sweet odors, and beautiful colors." The
+care of the head of the church, that the immigrants should not
+neglect to provide themselves with cologne and rouge for use in
+crossing the prairies, was most thoughtful.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. X, p. 81.
+
+
+The Millennial Star of February 1, 1848, made this announcement
+to the faithful in the British Isles:--
+
+"The channel of Saints' emigration to the land of Zion is now
+opened. The resting place of Israel for the last days has been
+discovered. In the elevated valley of the Salt and Utah Lakes,
+with the beautiful river Jordan running through it, is the newly
+established Stake of Zion. There vegetation flourishes with magic
+rapidity. And the food of man, or staff of life, leaps into
+maturity from the bowels of Mother Earth with astonishing
+celerity. Within one month from planting, potatoes grew from six
+to eight inches, and corn from two to four feet. There the
+frequent clouds introduce their fertilizing contents at a modest
+distance from the fat valley, and send their humid influences
+from the mountain tops. There the saline atmosphere of Salt Lake
+mingles in wedlock with the fresh humidity of the same vegetable
+element which comes over the mountain top, as if the nuptial
+bonds of rare elements were introduced to exhibit a novel
+specimen of a perfect vegetable progeny in the shortest possible
+time," etc.
+
+Contrast this with Brigham Young's letter to Colonel Alexander in
+October, 1857,--"We had hoped that in this barren, desolate
+country we could have remained unmolested."
+
+On the 20th of February, 1848, the shipment of Mormon emigrants
+began again with the sailing of the Cornatic, with 120
+passengers, for New Orleans.
+
+In the following April, Orson Pratt was sent to England to take
+charge of the affairs of the church there. On his arrival, in
+August, he issued an "Epistle" which was influential in
+augmenting the movement. He said that "in the solitary valleys of
+the great interior" they hoped to hide "while the indignation of
+the Almighty is poured upon the nations"; and urged the rich to
+dispose of their property in order to help the poor, commanding
+all who could do so to pay their tithing. "O ye saints of the
+Most High," he said, "linger not! Make good your retreat before
+the avenues are closed up!"
+
+Many other letters were published in the Millennial Star in
+1848-1849, giving glowing accounts of the fertility of Salt Lake
+Valley. One from the clerk of the camp observed: "Many cases of
+twins. In a row of seven houses joining each other eight births
+in one week."
+
+In order to assist the poor converts in Europe, the General
+Conference held in Salt Lake City in October, 1849, voted to
+raise a fund, to be called "The Perpetual Emigrating Fund," and
+soon $5000 had been secured for this purpose. In September, 1850,
+the General Assembly of the Provisional State of Deseret
+incorporated the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company, and Brigham
+Young was elected its first president. Collections for this fund
+in Great Britain amounted to 1410 pounds by January, 1852, and
+the emigrants sent out in that year were assisted from this fund.
+These expenditures required an additional $5000, which was
+supplied from Salt Lake City. A letter issued by the First
+Presidency in October, 1849, urged the utmost economy in the
+expenditure of this money, and explained that, when the assisted
+emigrants arrived in Salt Lake City, they would give their
+obligations to the church to refund as soon as possible what had
+been expended on them.* In this way, any who were dissatisfied on
+their arrival in Utah found themselves in the church clutches,
+from which they could not escape.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XII, p. 124.
+
+
+There were outbreaks of cholera among the emigrant parties
+crossing the plains in 1849, and many deaths.
+
+In October, 1849, an important company left Salt Lake City to
+augment the list of missionaries in Europe. It included John
+Taylor and two others, assigned to France; Lorenzo Snow and one
+other, to Italy; Erastus Snow and one other, to Denmark;* F. D.
+Richards and eight others, to England; and J. Fosgreene, to
+Sweden.
+
+* Elder Dykes reported in October, 1851, that, on his arrival in
+Aalborg, Denmark, he found that a mob had broken in the windows
+of the Saints' meeting-house and destroyed the furniture, and had
+also broken the windows of the Saints' houses, and, by the
+mayor's advice, he left the city by the first steamer. Millennial
+Star, Vol. XIII, p. 346.
+
+
+The system of Mormon emigration from Great Britain at that time
+seems to have been in the main a good one. The rule of the agent
+in Liverpool was not to charter a vessel until enough passengers
+had made their deposits to warrant him in doing so. The rate of
+fare depended on the price paid for the charter.* As soon as the
+passengers arrived in Liverpool they could go on board ship, and,
+when enough came from one district, all sailed on one vessel.
+Once on board, they were organized with a president and two
+counsellors,--men who had crossed the ocean, if possible,--who
+allotted the staterooms, appointed watchmen to serve in turn, and
+looked after the sanitary arrangements. When the first through
+passengers for Salt Lake City left Liverpool, in 1852, an
+experienced elder was sent in advance to have teams and supplies
+in readiness at the point where the land journey would begin, and
+other men of experience accompanied them to engage river
+portation when they reached New Orleans. The statistics of the
+emigration thus called out were as follows:--
+
+* See Linforth's "Route," pp. to, 17-22; Mackay's "History of the
+Mormons," pp. 298-302; Pratt's letter to the Millennial Star,
+Vol. XI, p. 277.
+
+
+YEAR  VESSELS  EMIGRANTS
+1848    5        754
+1849    9       2078
+1850    6       1612
+1851    4       1869
+
+The Frontier Guardian at Kanesville estimated the Mormon movement
+across the plains in 1850 at about 700 wagons, taking 5000 horses
+and cattle and 4000 sheep.
+
+Of the class of emigrants then going out, the manager of the
+leading shipping agents at Liverpool who furnished the ships
+said, "They are principally farmers and mechanics, with some few
+clerks, surgeons, and so forth." He found on the company's books,
+for the period between October, 1849, and March, 1850, the names
+of 16 miners, 20 engineers, 19 farmers, 108 laborers, 10 joiners,
+25 weavers, 15 shoemakers, 12 smiths, 19 tailors, 8 watchmakers,
+25 stone masons, 5 butchers, 4 bakers, 4 potters, 10 painters, 7
+shipwrights, and 5 dyers.
+
+The statistics of the Mormon emigration given by the British
+agency for the years named were as follows:--
+
+ YEAR                  VESSELS   EMIGRANTS
+1852                      3         732
+1853                      7        2312
+1854                      9        2456
+1852 1854, Scandinavian
+  and German via Liverpool         1053
+1855                     13        4425
+
+In 1853 the experiment was made of engaging to send adults from
+Liverpool to Utah for 10 pounds each and children for half price;
+but this did not succeed, and those who embraced the offer had to
+borrow money or teams to complete the journey.
+
+In 1853, owing to extortions practised on the emigrants by the
+merchants and traders at Kanesville, as well as the
+unhealthfulness of the Missouri bottoms, the principal point of
+departure from the river was changed to Keokuk, Iowa. The
+authorities and people there showed the new-comers every
+kindness, and set apart a plot of ground for their camp. In this
+camp each company on its arrival was organized and provided with
+the necessary teams, etc. In 1854 the point of departure was
+again changed to Kansas, in western Missouri, fourteen miles west
+of Independence, the route then running to the Big Blue River,
+and through what are now the states of Kansas and Nebraska.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. The Hand-Cart Tragedy
+
+In 1855 the crops in Utah were almost a failure, and the church
+authorities found themselves very much embarrassed by their
+debts. A report in the seventh General Epistle, of April 18,
+1852, set forth that, from their entry into the valley to March
+27, of that year, there had been received as tithing, mostly in
+property, $244,747.03, and in loans and from other sources
+$145,513.78, of which total there had been expended in assisting
+immigrants and on church buildings, city lots, manufacturing
+industries, etc., $353,765.69. Young found it necessary therefore
+to cut down his expenses, and he looked around for a method of
+doing this without checking the stream of new-comers. The method
+which he evolved was to furnish the immigrants with hand-carts on
+their arrival in Iowa, and to let them walk all the way across
+the plains, taking with them only such effects as these carts
+would hold, each party of ten to drive with them one or two cows.
+
+Although Young tried to throw the result of this experiment on
+others, the evidence is conclusive that he devised it and worked
+out its details. In a letter to Elder F. D. Richards, in
+Liverpool, dated September 30, 1855, Young said: "We cannot
+afford to purchase wagons and teams as in times past. I am
+consequently thrown back upon MY OLD PLAN--to make hand-carts,
+and let the emigration foot it." To show what a pleasant trip
+this would make, this head of the church, who had three times
+crossed the plains, added, "Fifteen miles a day will bring them
+through in 70 days, and, after they get accustomed to it, they
+will travel 20, 25, or even 30 with all ease, and no danger of
+giving out, but will continue to get stronger and stronger; the
+little ones and sick, if there are any, can be carried on the
+carts, but there will be none sick in a little time after they
+get started."*
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. VII, p. 813.
+
+
+Directions in accordance with this plan were issued in the form
+of a circular in Liverpool in February, 1856, naming Iowa City,
+Iowa, as the point of outfit. The charge for booking through to
+Utah by the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company was fixed at 9
+pounds for all over one year old, and 4 pounds 10 shillings. for
+younger infants. The use of trunks or boxes was discouraged, and
+the emigrants were urged to provide themselves with oil-cloth or
+mackintosh bags.
+
+About thirteen hundred persons left Liverpool to undertake this
+foot journey across the plains, placing implicit faith in the
+pictures of Salt Lake Valley drawn by the missionaries, and not
+doubting that the method of travel would be as enjoyable as it
+seemed economical. Five separate companies were started that
+summer from Iowa City. The first and second of these arrived at
+Florence, Nebraska, on July 17, the third, made up mostly of
+Welsh, on July 19, and the fourth on August 11. The first company
+made the trip to Utah without anything more serious to report
+than the necessary discomforts of such a march, and were received
+with great acclaim by the church authorities, and welcomed with
+an elaborate procession. It was the last companies whose story
+became a tragedy.*
+
+* The experiences of those companies were told in detail by a
+member of one, John Chislett, and printed in the "Rocky Mountain
+Saints." Mrs. Stenhouse gives additional experiences in her "Tell
+it All."
+
+
+The immigrants met with their first disappointment on arriving at
+Iowa City. Instead of finding their carts ready for them, they
+were told that no advance agent had prepared the way. The last
+companies were subjected to the most delay from this cause. Even
+the carts were still to be manufactured, and, while they were
+making, many a family had to camp in the open fields, without
+even the shelter of a tent or a wagon top. The carts, when
+pronounced finished, moved on two light wheels, the only iron
+used in their construction being a very thin tire. Two projecting
+shafts of hickory or oak were joined by a cross piece, by means
+of which the owner propelled the vehicle. When Mr. Chislett's
+company, after a three weeks' delay, made a start, they were five
+hundred strong, comprising English, Scotch, and Scandanavians.
+They were divided, as usual, into hundreds, to each hundred being
+allotted five tents, twenty hand-carts, and one wagon drawn by
+three yokes of oxen, the latter carrying the tents and
+provisions. Families containing more young men than were required
+to draw their own carts shared these human draught animals with
+other families who were not so well provided; but many carts were
+pulled along by young girls.
+
+The Iowans bestowed on the travellers both kindness and
+commiseration. Knowing better than did the new-comers from Europe
+the trials that awaited them, they pointed out the lateness of
+the season, and they did persuade a few members to give up the
+trip. But the elders who were in charge of the company were
+watchful, the religious spirit was kept up by daily meetings, and
+the one command that was constantly reiterated was, "Obey your
+leaders in all things."
+
+A march of four weeks over a hot, dusty route was required to
+bring them to the Missouri River near Florence. Even there they
+were insufficiently supplied with food. With flour costing $3 per
+hundred pounds, and bacon seven or eight cents a pound, the daily
+allowance of food was ten ounces of flour to each adult, and four
+ounces to children under eight years old, with bacon, coffee,
+sugar, and rice served occasionally. Some of the men ate all
+their allowance for the day at their breakfast, and depended on
+the generosity of settlers on the way, while there were any, for
+what further food they had until the next morning.
+
+After a week's stay at Florence (the old Winter Quarters), the
+march across the plains was resumed on August 18. The danger of
+making this trip so late in the season, with a company which
+included many women, children, and aged persons, gave even the
+elders pause, and a meeting was held to discuss the matter. But
+Levi Savage, who had made the trip to and from the valley, alone
+advised against continuing the march that season. The others
+urged the company to go on, declaring that they were God's
+people, and prophesying in His name that they would get through
+the mountains in safety. The emigrants, "simple, honest, eager to
+go to Zion at once, and obedient as little children to the
+'servants of God,' voted to proceed." *
+
+* A "bond," which each assisted emigrant was required to sign in
+Liverpool, contained the following stipulations: "We do severally
+and jointly promise and bind ourselves to continue with and obey
+the instructions of the agent appointed to superintend our
+passage thither to [Utah]. And that, on our arrival in Utah, we
+will hold ourselves, our time, and our labor, subject to the
+appropriation of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company until the
+full cost of our emigration is paid, with interest if required."
+
+
+As the teams provided could not haul enough flour to last the
+company to Utah, a sack weighing ninety-eight pounds was added to
+the load of each cart. One pound of flour a day was now allowed
+to each adult, and occasionally fresh beef. Soon after leaving
+Florence trouble began with the carts. The sand of the dry
+prairie got into the wooden hubs and ground the axles so that
+they broke, and constant delays were caused by the necessity of
+making repairs., No axle grease had been provided, and some of
+the company were compelled to use their precious allowance of
+bacon to grease the wheels. At Wood River, where the plains were
+alive with buffaloes, a stampede of the cattle occurred one
+night, and thirty of them were never recovered. The one yoke of
+oxen that was left to each wagon could not pull the load; an
+attempt to use the milch cows and heifers as draught animals
+failed, and the tired cart pullers had to load up again with
+flour.
+
+While pursuing their journey in this manner, their camp was
+visited one evening by Apostle F. D. Richards and some other
+elders, on their way to Utah from mission work abroad. Richards
+severely rebuked Savage for advising that the trip be given up at
+Florence, and prophesied that the Lord would keep open a way
+before them. The missionaries, who were provided with carriages
+drawn by four horses each, drove on, without waiting to see this
+prediction confirmed.
+
+On arriving at Fort Laramie, about the first of September,
+another evidence of the culpable neglect of the church
+authorities manifested itself. The supply of provisions that was
+to have awaited them there was wanting. They calculated the
+amount that they had on hand, and estimated that it would last
+only until they were within 350 miles of Salt Lake City; but,
+perhaps making the best of the situation, they voted to reduce
+the daily ration and to try to make the supply last by travelling
+faster. When they reached the neighborhood of Independence Rock,
+a letter sent back by Richards informed them that supplies would
+meet them at South Pass; but another calculation showed that what
+remained would not last them to the Pass, and again the ration
+was reduced, working men now receiving twelve ounces a day, other
+adults nine, and children from four to eight. Another source of
+discomfort now manifested itself. In order to accommodate matters
+to the capacity of the carts, the elders in charge had made it
+one of the rules that each outfit should be limited to seventeen
+pounds of clothing and bedding. As they advanced up the
+Sweetwater it became cold. The mountains appeared snow-covered,
+and the lack of extra wraps and bedding caused first discomfort,
+and then intense suffering, to the half-fed travellers. The
+necessity of frequently wading the Sweetwater chilled the
+stronger men who were bearing the brunt of the labor, and when
+morning dawned the occupants of the tents found themselves numb
+with the cold, and quite unfitted to endure the hardships of the
+coming day. Chislett draws this picture of the situation at that
+time:--
+
+"Our old and infirm people began to droop, and they no sooner
+lost spirit and courage than death's stamp could be traced upon
+their features. Life went out as smoothly as a lamp ceases to
+burn when the oil is gone. At first the deaths occurred slowly
+and irregularly, but in a few days at more frequent intervals,
+until we soon thought it unusual to leave a camp ground without
+burying one or more persons. Death was not long confined in its
+ravages to the old and infirm, but the young and naturally strong
+were among its victims. Weakness and debility were accompanied by
+dysentery. This we could not stop or even alleviate, no proper
+medicines being in the camp; and in almost every instance it
+carried off the parties attacked. It was surprising to an
+unmarried man to witness the devotion of men to their families
+and to their faith under these trying circumstances. Many a
+father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the
+day preceding his death. These people died with the calm faith
+and fortitude of martyrs."
+
+An Oregonian returning East, who met two of the more fortunate of
+these handcart parties, gave this description to the Huron (Ohio)
+Reflector in 1857:--
+
+"It was certainly the most novel and interesting sight I have
+seen for many a day. We met two trains, one of thirty and the
+other of fifty carts, averaging about six to the cart. The carts
+were generally drawn by one man and three women each, though some
+carts were drawn by women alone. There were about three women to
+one man, and two-thirds of the women single. It was the most
+motley crew I ever beheld. Most of them were Danes, with a
+sprinkling of Welsh, Swedes, and English, and were generally from
+the lower classes of their countries. Most could not understand
+what we said to them. The road was lined for a mile behind the
+train with the lame, halt, sick, and needy. Many were quite aged,
+and would be going slowly along, supported by a son or daughter.
+Some were on crutches; now and then a mother with a child in her
+arms and two or three hanging hold of her, with a forlorn
+appearance, would pass slowly along; others, whose condition
+entitled them to a seat in a carriage, were wending their way
+through the sand. A few seemed in good spirits."
+
+The belated company did not meet anyone to carry word of their
+condition to the valley, but among Richard's party who visited
+the camp at Wood River was Brigham Young's son, Joseph A. He
+realized the plight of the travellers, and when his father heard
+his report he too recognized the fact that aid must be sent at
+once. The son was directed to get together all the supplies he
+could obtain in the city or pick up on the way, and to start
+toward the East immediately. Driving on himself in a light wagon,
+he reached the advanced line, as they were toiling ahead through
+their first snowstorm. The provisions travelled slower, and could
+not reach them in less than one or two days longer. There was
+encouragement, of course, even in the prospect of release, but
+encouragement could not save those whose vitality was already
+exhausted. Camp was pitched that night among a grove of willows,
+where good fires were possible, but in the morning they awoke to
+find the snow a foot deep, and that five of their companions had
+been added to the death list during the night.
+
+To add to the desperate character of the situation came the
+announcement that the provisions were practically exhausted, the
+last of the flour having been given out, and all that remained
+being a few dried apples, a little rice and sugar, and about
+twenty-five pounds of hardtack. Two of the cattle were killed,
+and the camp were informed that they would have to subsist on the
+supplies in sight until aid reached them. The best thing to do in
+these circumstances, indeed, the only thing, was to remain where
+they were and send messengers to advise the succoring party of
+the desperateness of their case. Their captain, Mr. Willie, and
+one companion acted as their messengers. They were gone three
+days, and in their absence Mr. Chislett had the painful duty of
+doling out what little food there was in camp. He speaks of his
+task as one that unmanned him. More cattle were killed, but beef
+without other food did not satisfy the hungry, and the epidemic
+of dysentery grew worse. The commissary officer was surrounded by
+a crowd of men and women imploring him for a little food, and it
+required all his power of reasoning to make them see that what
+little was left must be saved for the sick.
+
+The party with aid from the valley had also encountered the
+snowstorm, and, not appreciating the desperate condition of the
+hand-cart immigrants, had halted to wait for better weather. As
+soon as Captain Willie took them the news, they hastened
+eastward, and were seen by the starving party at sunset, the
+third day after their captain's departure. "Shouts of joy rent
+the air," says Chislett. "Strong men wept till tears ran freely
+down their furrowed and sunburnt cheeks, and little children
+partook of the joy which some of them hardly understood, and
+fairly danced around with gladness. Restraint was set aside in
+the general rejoicing, and, as the brethren entered our camp, the
+sisters fell upon them and deluged them with kisses."
+
+The timely relief saved many lives, but the end of the suffering
+had not been reached. A good many of the foot party were so
+exhausted by what they had gone through, that even their near
+approach to their Zion and their prophet did not stimulate them
+to make the effort to complete the journey. Some trudged along,
+unable even to pull a cart, and those who were still weaker were
+given places in the wagons. It grew colder, too, and frozen hands
+and feet became a common experience. Thus each day lessened by a
+few who were buried the number that remained.
+
+Then came another snowstorm. What this meant to a weakened party
+like this dragging their few possessions in carts can easily be
+imagined. One family after another would find that they could not
+make further progress, and when a hill was reached the human
+teams would have to be doubled up. In this way, by travelling
+backward and forward, some progress was made. That day's march
+was marked by constant additions to the stragglers who kept
+dropping by the way. When the main body had made their camp for
+the night, some of the best teams were sent back for those who
+had dropped behind, and it was early morning before all of these
+were brought in.
+
+The next morning Captain Willie was assigned to take count of the
+dead. An examination of the camp showed thirteen corpses, all
+stiffly frozen. They were buried in a large square hole, three or
+four abreast and three deep. "When they did not fit in," says
+Chislett, "we put one or two crosswise at the head or feet of the
+others. We covered them with willows and then with the earth."
+Two other victims were buried before nightfall. Parties passing
+eastward by this place the following summer found that the wolves
+had speedily uncovered the corpses, and that their bones were
+scattered all over the neighborhood.
+
+Further deaths continued every day until they arrived at South
+Pass. There more assistance from the valley met them, the weather
+became warmer, and the health of the party improved, so that when
+they arrived at Salt Lake City they were in better condition and
+spirits. The date of their arrival there was November 9. The
+company which set out from Iowa City numbered about 500, of whom
+400 set out from Florence across the plains. Of these 400, 67
+died on the way, and there were a few deaths after they reached
+the end of their journey.
+
+Another company of these hand-cart travellers left Florence still
+later than the ones whose sufferings have been described. They
+were in charge of an elder named Martin. Like their predecessors,
+they were warned against setting out so late as the middle of
+August, and many of them tried to give up the trip, but
+permission to do so was refused. Their sufferings began soon
+after they crossed the Platte, near Fort Laramie, and snow was
+encountered sixty miles east of Devil's Gate. When they reached
+that landmark, they decided that they could make no further
+progress with their hand-carts. They accordingly took possession
+of half a dozen dilapidated log houses, the contents of the
+wagons were placed in some of these, the hand-carts were left
+behind, and as many people as the teams could drag were placed in
+the wagons and started forward. One of the survivors of this
+party has written: "The track of the emigrants was marked by
+graves, and many of the living suffered almost worse than death.
+Men may be seen to-day in Salt Lake City, who were boys then,
+hobbling around on their club-feet, all their toes having been
+frozen off in that fearful march." * Twenty men who were left at
+Devil's Gate had a terrible experience, being compelled, before
+assistance reached them, to eat even the pieces of hide wrapped
+round their cart-wheels, and a piece of buffalo skin that had
+been used as a door-mat. Strange to say, all of these men reached
+the valley alive.
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 337.
+
+
+We have seen that Brigham Young was the inventor of this
+hand-cart immigration scheme. Alarmed by the result of the
+experiment, as soon as the wretched remnant of the last two
+parties arrived in Salt Lake City, he took steps to place the
+responsibility for the disaster on other shoulders. The idea
+which he carried out was to shift the blame to F. D. Richards on
+the ground that he allowed the immigrants to start too late. In
+an address in the Tabernacle, while Captain Willie's party was
+approaching the city, he told the returned missionaries from
+England that they needed to be careful about eulogizing Richards
+and Spencer, lest they should have "the big head." When these men
+were in Salt Lake City he cursed them with the curse of the
+church. E. W. Tullidge, who was an editor of the Millennial Star
+in Liverpool under Richards when the hand-cart emigrants were
+collected, proposed, when in later years he was editing the Utah
+Magazine, to tell the facts about that matter; but when Young
+learned this, he ordered Godbe, the controlling owner of the
+magazine, to destroy that issue, after one side of the sheets had
+been printed, and he was obeyed.* Fortunately Young was not able
+to destroy the files of the Millennial Star.
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 342.
+
+
+There is much that is thoroughly typical of Mormonism in the
+history of these expeditions. No converts were ever instilled
+with a more confident belief in the divine character of the
+ridiculous pretender, Joseph Smith. To no persons were more
+flagrant misrepresentations ever made by the heads of the church,
+and over none was the dictatorial authority of the church
+exercised more remorselessly. Not only was Utah held out to them
+as "a land where honest labor and industry meet with a suitable
+reward, and where the higher walks of life are open to the
+humblest and poorest," * but they were informed that, if they had
+not faith enough to undertake the trip to Utah, they had not
+"faith sufficient to endure, with the Saints in Zion, the
+celestial law which leads to exaltation and eternal life." Young
+wrote to Richards privately in October, 1855, "Adhere strictly to
+our former suggestion of walking them through across the plains
+with hand-carts";** and Richards in an editorial in the Star
+thereupon warned the Saints: "The destroying angel is abroad.
+Pestilence and gaunt famine will soon increase the terrors of the
+scene to an extent as yet without a parallel in the records of
+the human race. If the anticipated toils of the journey shake
+your faith in the promises of the Lord, it is high time that you
+were digging about the foundation of it, and seeing if it be
+founded on the root of the Holy Priesthood," etc.
+
+* Thirteenth General Epistle, Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 49.
+
+** Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p, 61.
+
+
+The direct effect of such teaching is shown in two letters
+printed in the Millennial Star of June 14, 1856. In the first of
+these, a sister, writing to her brother in Liverpool from
+Williamsburg, New York, confesses her surprise on learning that
+the journey was to be made with hand-carts, says that their
+mother cannot survive such a trip, and that she does not think
+the girls can, points out that the limitation regarding baggage
+would compel them to sell nearly all their clothes, and proposes
+that they wait in New York or St. Louis until they could procure
+a wagon. In his reply the brother scorns this advice, says that
+he would not stop in New York if he were offered 10,000 pounds
+besides his expenses, and adds "Brothers, sisters, fathers or
+mothers, when they put a stumbling block in the way of my
+salvation, are nothing more to me than Gentiles. As for me and my
+house, we will serve the Lord, and when we start we will go right
+up to Zion, if we go ragged and barefoot."
+
+Young found himself hard put to meet the church obligations in
+1856, notwithstanding the economy of the hand-cart system; and
+the Millennial Star of December 27 announced that no assisted
+emigrants would be sent out during the following year. Saints
+proposing to go through at their own expense were informed,
+however, that the church bureau would supply them with teams.
+Those proposing to use hand-carts were told of the "indispensable
+necessity" of having their whole outfit ready on their arrival at
+Iowa City, and the bureau offered to supply this at an estimated
+cost of 3 pounds per head, any deficit to be made up on their
+arrival there.*
+
+* "The agency of the Mormon emigration at that time was a very
+profitable appointment. By arrangement with ship brokers at
+Liverpool, a commission of half a guinea per head was allowed the
+agent for every adult emigrant that he sent across the Atlantic,
+and the railroad companies in New York allowed a percentage on
+every emigrant ticket. But a still larger revenue was derived
+from the outfitting on the frontiers. The agents purchased all
+the cattle, wagons, tents, wagon-covers, flour, cooking utensils,
+stoves, and the staple articles for a three months' journey
+across the Plains, and from them the Saints supplied
+themselves."--" Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 340.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. Early Political History
+
+We have seen that Joseph Smith's desire was, when he suggested a
+possible removal of the church to the Far West, that they should
+have, not only an undisturbed place of residence, but a
+government of their own. This idea of political independence
+Young never lost sight of. Had Utah remained a distant province
+of the Mexican government, the Mormons might have been allowed to
+dwell there a long time, practically without governmental
+control. But when that region passed under the government of the
+United States by the proclamation of the Treaty of
+Guadalupe-Hidalgo, on July 4, 1848, Brigham Young had to face
+anew situation. He then decided that what he wanted was an
+independent state government, not territorial rule under the
+federal authorities, and he planned accordingly. Every device was
+employed to increase the number of the Saints in Utah, to bring
+the population up to the figure required for admission as a
+state, and he encouraged outlying settlements at every attractive
+point. In this way, by 1851, Ogden and Provo had become large
+enough to form Stakes, and in a few years the country around Salt
+Lake City was dotted with settlements, many of them on lands to
+which the "Lamanites," who held so deep a place in Joseph Smith's
+heart, asserted in vain their ancestral titles.
+
+The first General Epistle sent out from Great Salt Lake City, in
+1849, thus explained the first government set up there, "In
+consequence of Indian depredations on our horses, cattle, and
+other property, and the wicked conduct of a few base fellows who
+came among the Saints, the inhabitants of this valley, as is
+common in new countries generally, have organized a temporary
+government to exist during its necessity, or until we can obtain
+a charter for a territorial government, a petition for which is
+already in progress."
+
+On March 4, 1849, a convention, to which were invited all the
+inhabitants of upper California east of the Sierra Nevadas, was
+held in Great Salt Lake City to frame a system of government. The
+outcome was the adoption of a constitution for a state to be
+called the State of Deseret, and the election of a full set of
+state officers. The boundaries of this state were liberal.
+Starting at a point in what is now New Mexico, the line was to
+run down to the Mexican border, then west along the border of
+lower California to the Pacific, up the coast to 118 degrees 30
+minutes west longitude, north to the dividing ridge of the Sierra
+Nevadas, and along their summit to the divide between the
+Columbia River and the Salt Lake Basin, and thence south to the
+place of beginning, "by the dividing range of mountains that
+separate the waters flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from the
+waters flowing into the Gulf of California." The constitution
+adopted followed the general form of such instruments in the
+United States. In regard to religion it declared, "All men have a
+natural and inalienable right to worship God according to the
+dictates of their own consciences; and the General Assembly shall
+make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
+prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or disturb any person in
+his religious worship or sentiments." *
+
+*For text of this constitution and the memorial to Congress, see
+Millennial Star, January 15, 1850.
+
+
+An epistle of the Twelve to Orson Pratt in England, explaining
+this subject, said, "We have petitioned the Congress of the
+United States for the organization of a territorial government
+here. Until this petition is granted, we are under the necessity
+of organizing a local government for the time being."* The
+territorial government referred to was that of the State of
+Deseret. The local government mentioned was organized on March
+12, by the election of Brigham Young as governor, H. C. Kimball
+as chief justice, John Taylor and N. K. Whitney as associate
+justices, and the Bishops of the wards as city magistrates, with
+minor positions filled. Six hundred and seventy-four votes were
+polled for this ticket.
+
+* Millennial Star, Vol. XI, p. 244.
+
+
+The General Assembly, chosen later, met on July 2, and adopted a
+memorial to Congress setting forth the failure of that body to
+provide any form of government for the territory ceded by
+Mexico,* declaring that "the revolver and the bowie knife have
+been the highest law of the land," and asking for the admission
+of the State of Deseret into the Union. That same year the
+Californians framed a government for themselves, and a plan was
+discussed to consolidate California and Deseret until 1851, when
+a separation should take place. The governor of California
+condemned this scheme, and the legislature gave it no
+countenance.
+
+* "When Congress adjourned on March 4, 1849, all that had been
+done toward establishing some form of government for the immense
+domain acquired by the treaty with Mexico was to extend over it
+the revenue laws and make San Francisco a port of
+entry."--Bancroft's "Utah," p. 446.
+
+
+The Mormons had a confused idea about the government that they
+had set up. In the constitution adopted they called their domain
+the State of Deseret, but they allowed their legislature to elect
+their representative in Congress, sending A. W. Babbitt as their
+delegate to Washington, with their memorial asking for the
+admission of Deseret, or that they be given "such other form of
+civil government as your wisdom and magnanimity may award to the
+people of Deseret." The Mormons' old political friend in
+Illinois, Stephen A. Douglas, presented this memorial in the
+Senate on December 27, 1849, with a statement that it was an
+application for admission as a state, but with the alternative of
+admission as a territory if Congress should so direct. The
+memorial was referred to the Committee on Territories.
+
+On the 31st of December, a counter memorial against the admission
+of the Mormon state was presented by Mr. Underwood of Kentucky, a
+Whig. This was signed by William Smith, the prophet's brother,
+and Isaac Sheen (who called themselves the "legitimate
+presidents" of the Mormon church), and by twelve other members.
+This memorial alleged that fifteen hundred of the emigrants from
+Nauvoo to Salt Lake City, before their departure for Illinois,
+took the following oath:--
+
+"You do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, his holy
+angels, and these witnesses, that you will avenge the blood of
+Joseph Smith upon this nation; and so teach your children; and
+that you will from this day henceforth and forever begin and
+carry out hostility against this nation, and keep the same a
+profound secret now and ever. So help you God."
+
+This memorial also set forth that the Mormons were practising
+polygamy in the Salt Lake Valley; that since their arrival there
+they had tried two Indian agents on a charge of participation in
+the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri, and that they were,
+by their own assumed authority, imposing duties on all goods
+imported into the Salt Lake region from the rest of the United
+States. Senator Douglas, in an explanation concerning the latter
+charge, admitted that Delegate Babbitt acknowledged the levying
+of duties, the excuse being that the Mormons had found it
+necessary to set up a government for themselves, pending the
+action of Congress, and as a means of revenue they had imposed
+duties on all goods brought into and sold within the limits of
+Great Salt Lake City, but asserted that goods simply passing
+through were not molested. This tax seems to have been
+established entirely by the church authorities, the first of the
+"ordinances" of the Deseret legislature being dated January 15,
+1850.
+
+The constitution of Deseret was presented to the House of
+Representatives by Mr. Boyd, a Kentucky Democrat, on January 28,
+1850, and referred to the Committee on Territories. On July 25,
+John Wentworth, an Illinois Democrat, presented a petition from
+citizens of Lee County, in his state, asking Congress to protect
+the rights of American citizens passing through the Salt Lake
+Valley, and charging on the organizers of the State of Deseret
+treason, a desire for a kingly government, murder, robbery, and
+polygamy.
+
+The Mormon memorial was taken up in the House of Representatives
+on July 18, after the committee had unanimously reported that "it
+is inexpedient to admit Almon W. Babbitt, Esq., to a seat in this
+body from the alleged State of Deseret." A long debate on the
+admission of the delegate from New Mexico had deferred action.
+The chairman of the committee, Mr. Strong, a Pennsylvania Whig,
+explained that their report was founded on the terms of the
+Mormon memorial, which did not ask for Babbitt's reception as a
+delegate until some form of government was provided for them. Mr.
+McDonald, an Indiana Whig, offered an amendment admitting
+Babbitt, and a debate of considerable length followed, in which
+the slavery question received some attention. The Committee of
+the Whole voted to report to the House the resolution against
+seating Babbitt, and then the House, by a vote of 104 yeas to 78
+nays, laid the resolution on the table (on motion of its
+friends), and tabled a motion for reconsideration. On the 9th of
+September following, the law for the admission of Utah as a
+territory was signed. The boundaries defined were California on
+the west, Oregon on the north, the summit of the Rocky Mountains
+on the east, and the 37th parallel of north latitude on the
+south.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. Brigham Young's Despotism
+
+There is no reason to believe that, to the date of Joseph Smith's
+death, Brigham Young had inspired his fellow-Mormons with an idea
+of his leadership. This was certified to by one of the most
+radical of them, Mayor Jedediah M. Grant of Salt Lake City, in
+1852, in these words:--
+
+"When Joseph Smith lived, a man about whose real character and
+pretensions we differ, Joseph was often and almost invariably
+imposed upon by those in whom he placed his trust. There was one
+man--only one of his early adherents--he could always rely upon
+to stick to him closer than a brother, steadfast in faith, clear
+in counsel, and foremost in fight. He seemed a plain man in those
+days, of a wonderful talent for business and hundred horse-power
+of industry, but least of everything affecting cleverness or
+quickness. 'Honest Brigham Young,' or 'hard-working Brigham
+Young,' was nearly as much as you would ever hear him called,
+though he was the almost universal executor and trustee of men's
+wills and trusteed estates, and a confidential manager of our
+most intricate church affairs."*
+
+* Grant's pamphlet, "Truth about the Mormons."
+
+
+When the Saints found themselves in Salt Lake Valley they had
+learned something from experience. They could not fail to realize
+that, distant as they now were from outside interference, union
+among themselves was an essential to success. The body of the
+church was soon composed of two elements--those who had
+constituted the church in the East, and the new members who were
+pouring in from Europe. Young established his leadership with
+both of these parties in the early days. There was much to
+discourage in those days--a soil to cultivate that required
+irrigation, houses to build where material was scarce, and
+starvation to fight year after year. Young encouraged everybody
+by his talk at the church meetings, shared in the manual labor of
+building houses and cultivating land, and devised means to
+entertain and encourage those who were disposed to look on their
+future darkly. No one ever heard him, whatever others might say,
+doubt the genuineness of Joseph Smith's inspiration and
+revelations, and he so established his own position as Smith's
+successor that he secured the devout allegiance of the old flock,
+without making such business mistakes as weakened Smith's
+reputation. "I believed," says John D. Lee, one of the most
+trusted and prominent of the church members almost to the day of
+his death, "that Brigham Young spoke by the direction of the God
+of heaven. I would have suffered death rather than have disobeyed
+any command of his." Said Young's associate in the First
+Presidency, Heber C. Kimball, "To me the word comes from Brother
+Brigham as the word of God," and again, "His word is the word of
+God to his people."*
+
+The new-comers from Europe were simply helpless. They were, in
+the first place, religious enthusiasts, who believed, when they
+set out on their journey, that they were going to a real Zion.
+Large numbers of them were indebted to the church for at least a
+part of their passage money from the day of their arrival. Few of
+those who had paid their own way brought much cash capital, all
+depending on the representations about the richness of the valley
+which had been held out to them. Once, there, they soon realized
+that all must sustain the same policy if the church was to be a
+success. They were, too, of that superstitious class which was
+ready, not only to believe in modern miracles, "signs," and
+revelations, but actually hungered for such manifestations, and,
+once accepting membership in the church, they accepted with it
+the dictation of the head of the church in all things. Secretary
+Fuller has told me that, after he ascertained the existence of
+gold near Salt Lake City, he said to an intelligent goldsmith
+there, "Why do you not look for the gold you need in your
+business in the mountains?" "Why," was the reply, "if I went to
+the mountains and found gold, and put it into my pouch, the pouch
+would be empty when I got back to the city. I know this is so,
+because Brigham Young has told me so."
+
+* Journal of Discourses, VOL IV, p. 47.
+
+
+The extent of the dictatorship which Young prescribed and carried
+out in all matters, spiritual and commercial, might be questioned
+if we were not able to follow the various steps taken in
+establishing his authority, and to illustrate its scope, by the
+testimony, not of men who suffered from it, but by his own words
+and those of his closest associates. With a blindness which seems
+incomprehensible, the sermons, or "discourses," delivered in the
+early days in Salt Lake City were printed under church authority,
+and are preserved in the journal of Discourses. The student of
+this chapter of the church's history can obtain what information
+he wants by reading the volumes of this Journal. The language
+used is often coarse, but there is never any difficulty in
+understanding the speakers.
+
+Young referred to his own plain speaking in a discourse on
+October 6, 1855. He said that he had received advice about
+bridling his tongue--a wheelbarrow load of such letters from the
+East, especially on the subject of his attacks on the Gentiles.
+"Do you know," he asked, "how I feel when I get such
+communications? I will tell you. I feel just like rubbing their
+noses with them."* In a discourse on February 17, 1856, he
+vouchsafed this explanation, "If I were preaching abroad in the
+world, I should feel myself somewhat obliged, through custom, to
+adhere to the wishes and feelings of the people in regard to
+pursuing the thread of any given subject; but here I feel as free
+as air." **
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 48.
+
+** Ibid., p. 211.
+
+
+Mention has already been made of Young's refusal to continue
+Smith's series of "revelations." In doing this he never admitted
+for a moment any lack of authority as spokesman for the Almighty.
+A few illustrations will make clear his position in this matter.
+Defining his view of his own authority, before the General
+Conference in Salt Lake City, on April 6, 1850, he said, "It is
+your privilege and it is mine to receive revelation; and my
+privilege to dictate to the church." *
+
+* Millennial Star, VOL XII, p, 273.
+
+
+When the site of the Temple was consecrated, in 1853, there were
+many inquiries whether a revelation had been given about its
+construction. Young said, "If the Lord and all the people want a
+revelation, I can give one concerning this Temple"; but he did
+not do so, declaring that a revelation was no more necessary
+concerning the building of a temple than it was concerning a
+kitchen or a bedroom.* We must certainly concede to this man a
+dictator's daring.
+
+* Ibid., Vol. XV, p. 391.
+
+
+An early illustration of Young's policy toward all Mormon
+offenders was given in the case of the so-called "Gladdenites."
+There were members of the church even in Utah who were ready to
+revolt when the open announcement of the "revelation" regarding
+polygamy was made in 1852, and they found a leader in Gladden
+Bishop, who had had much experience in apostasy, repentance, and
+readmission.* These men held meetings and made considerable
+headway, but when the time came for Brigham to exercise his
+authority he did it.
+
+* "This Gladden gave Joseph much trouble; was cut off from the
+church and taken back and rebaptized nine times."--Ferris, "Utah
+and the Mormons," p. 326.
+
+
+On Sunday, March 20, 1853, a meeting, orderly in every respect,
+which the Gladdenites were holding in front of the Council House,
+was dispersed by the city marshal, and another, called for the
+next Sunday, was prohibited entirely. Then Alfred Smith, a
+leading Gladdenite, who had accused Young of robbing him of his
+property, was arrested and locked up until he gave a promise to
+discontinue his rebellion. On the 27th of March Young made the
+Gladdenites the subject of a large part of his discourse in the
+Tabernacle. What he said is thus stated in the church report of
+the address:--
+
+"I say to those persons: You must not court persecution here,
+lest you get so much of it you will not know what to do with it.
+Do not court persecution. We have known Gladden Bishop for more
+than twenty years, and know him to be a poor, dirty curse . . . .
+I say again, you Gladdenites, do not court persecution, or you
+will get more than you want, and it will come quicker than you
+want it. I say to you Bishops, do not allow them to preach in
+your wards." (After telling of a dream he had had, in which he
+saw two men creep into the bed where one of his wives was lying,
+whereupon he took a large bowie knife and cut one of their
+throats from ear to ear, saying, "Go to hell across lots," he
+continued:) "I say, rather than that apostates should flourish
+here I will unsheath my bowie knife and conquer or die." (Great
+commotion in the congregation, and a simultaneous burst of
+feeling, assenting to the declaration.) "Now, you nasty
+apostates, clear out, or judgment will be put to the line and
+righteousness to the plummet." (Voices generally, "Go it," "go
+it.") "If you say it is all right, raise your hand." (All hands
+up.) "Let us call upon the Lord to assist us in this and every
+good work." *
+
+*Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 82.
+
+
+This was the practical end of Gladdenism.
+
+Young's dictatorship was quite as broad and determined in things
+temporal as in things spiritual. He made no concealment of the
+fact that he was a moneygetter, only insisting on his readiness
+to contribute to the support of church enterprises. The canons
+through the mountains which shut in the valley were the source of
+wood supply for the city, and their control was very valuable.
+Young brought this matter before the Conference of October 9,
+1852, speaking on it at length, and finally putting his own view
+in the form of a resolution that the canons be placed in the
+hands of individuals, who should make good roads through them,
+and obtain their pay by taking toll at the entrance. After
+getting the usual unanimous vote on his proposition, he said:
+"Let the Judges of the County of Great Salt Lake take due notice
+and govern themselves accordingly . . . . This is my order for
+the judges to take due notice of. It does not come from the
+Governor, but from the President of the church. You will not see
+any proclamation in the paper to this effect, but it is a mere
+declaration of the President of the Conference."* The
+"declaration," of course, had all the effect of a law, and Young
+got one of the best canons.
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, pp. 217, 218.
+
+
+Very early in his rule Young defined his views about the property
+rights of the Saints. "A man," he declared in the Tabernacle on
+June 5, 1853, "has no right with property which, according to the
+laws of the land, legally belongs to him, if he does not want to
+use it . . . . When we first came into the valley, the question
+was asked me if men would ever be allowed to come into this
+church, and remain in it, and hoard up their property. I say,
+no." *
+
+* Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 252-253
+
+
+Another view of property rights was thus set forth in his
+discourse of December 5, 1853:--
+
+"If an Elder has borrowed [a hundred or a thousand dollars from
+you], and you find he is going to apostatize, then you may
+tighten the screws on him. But if he is willing to preach the
+Gospel without purse or scrip, it is none of your business what
+he does with the money he has borrowed from you." *
+
+* Ibid, Vol. I, p. 340.
+
+Addressing the people in the trying business year of 1856, when
+his own creditors were pushing him hard, Young said:
+
+"I wish to give you one text to preach upon, 'From this time
+henceforth do not fret thy gizzard.' I will pay you when I can
+and not before. Now I hope you will apostatize if you would
+rather do it."*
+
+* Ibid., Vol. III, p. 4.
+
+
+Kimball, in giving Young's order to some seventy men, who had
+displeased him, to leave the territory, used these words: "When a
+man is appointed to take a mission, unless he has a just and
+honorable reason for not going, if he does not go he will be
+severed from the church. Why? Because you said you were willing
+to be passive, and, if you are not passive, that lump of clay
+must be cut off from the church and laid aside, and a lump put on
+that will be passive." *
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 242.
+
+
+With this testimony of men inside the church may be placed that
+of Captain Howard Stansbury, of the United Stated Topographical
+Engineers, who arrived in the valley in August, 1849, under
+instructions from the government to make a survey of the lakes of
+that region. The Mormons thought that it was the intention of the
+government to divide the land into townships and sections, and to
+ignore their claim to title by occupation. In his official
+report, after mentioning his haste to disabuse Young's mind on
+this point, Captain Stansbury says, "I was induced to pursue this
+conciliatory course, not only in justice to the government, but
+also because I knew, from the peculiar organization of this
+singular community, that, unless the 'President' was fully
+satisfied that no evil was intended to his people, it would be
+useless for me to attempt to carry out my instructions." The
+choice between abject conciliation or open conflict was that
+which Brigham Young extended to nearly every federal officer who
+entered Utah during his reign.
+
+The Mormons of Utah started in to assert their independence of
+the government of the United States in every way. The rejection
+of the constitution of Deseret by Congress did not hinder the
+elected legislature from meeting and passing laws. The ninth
+chapter of the "ordinances," as they were called, passed by this
+legislature (on January 19, 1851) was a charter for Great Salt
+Lake City. This charter provided for the election of a mayor,
+four aldermen, nine councillors, and three judges, the first
+judges to be chosen viva voce, and their successors by the City
+Council. The appointment of eleven subordinate officers was
+placed in the Council's hands. The mayor and aldermen were to be
+the justices of the peace, with a right of appeal to the
+municipal court, consisting of the same persons sitting together,
+and from that to the probate court. The first mayor, aldermen,
+and councillors were appointed by the governor of the State of
+Deseret. Similar charters were provided for Ogden, Provo City,
+and other settlements.
+
+As soon as Salt Lake City was laid off into wards, Young had a
+Bishop placed over each of these, and, always under his
+direction, these Bishops practically controlled local affairs to
+the date of the city charter. Each Bishop came to be a magistrate
+of his ward,* and under them in all the settlements all public
+work was carried on and all revenue collected. The High Council
+of ten is defined by Tullidge as "a quorum of judges, in equity
+for the people, at the head of which is the President of the
+state."
+
+* Brigham Young testified in the Tabernacle as to the kind of
+justice that was meted out in the Bishops' courts. In his sermon
+of March 6, 1856, he said: "There are men here by the score who
+do not know their right hands from their left, so far as the
+principles of justice are concerned. Does our High Council? No,
+for they will let men throw dirt in their eyes until you cannot
+find the one hundred millionth part of an ounce of common sense
+in them. You may go to the Bishops' courts, and what are they? A
+set of old grannies. They cannot judge a case pending between two
+old women, to say nothing of a case between man and man:' Journal
+of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 225.
+
+
+These men did not hesitate to attempt a currency of their own. On
+the arrival of the Mormons in the valley, they first made their
+exchanges through barter. Paper currency was issued in 1849 and
+some years later. When gold dust from California appeared in
+1849, some of it was coined in Salt Lake City by means of
+homemade dies and crucibles. The denominations were $2.50, $5,
+$10, and $20. Some of these coins, made without alloy, were
+stamped with a bee-hive and eagle on one side, and on the reverse
+with the motto, "Holiness to the Lord" in the so-called Deseret
+alphabet. This alphabet was invented after their arrival in Salt
+Lake Valley, to assist in separating the Mormons from the rest of
+the nation, its preparation having been intrusted to a committee
+of the board of regents in 1853. It contained thirty-two
+characters. A primer and two books of the Mormon Bible were
+printed in the new characters, the legislature in 1855 having
+voted $2500 to meet the expense; but the alphabet was never
+practically used, and no attempt is any longer made to remember
+it. Early in 1849 the High Council voted that the Kirtland
+bank-bills (of which a supply must have remained unissued) be put
+out on a par with gold, and in this they saw a fulfilment of the
+prophet's declaration that these notes would some day be as good
+as gold.
+
+Another early ordinance passed by the Deseret legislature
+incorporated "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,"
+authorizing the appointment of a trustee in trust to hold and
+manage all the property of the church, which should be free from
+tax, and giving the church complete authority to make its own
+regulations, "provided, however, that each and every act or
+practice so established, or adopted for law or custom, shall
+relate to solemnities, sacraments, ceremonies, consecrations,
+endowments, tithing, marriages, fellowship, or the religious
+duties of man to his Maker, inasmuch as the doctrines,
+principles, practices, or performances support virtue and
+increase morality, and are not inconsistent with or repugnant to
+the constitution of the United States or of this State, and are
+founded on the revelations of the Lord." Thus early was the
+ground taken that the practice of polygamy was a constitutional
+right. Brigham Young was chosen as the trustee.
+
+The second ordinance passed by this legislature incorporated the
+University of the State of Deseret, at Salt Lake City, to be
+governed by a chancellor and twelve regents.
+
+The earliest non-Mormons to experience the effect of that
+absolute Mormon rule, the consequences of which the Missourians
+had feared, were the emigrants who passed through Salt Lake
+Valley on their way to California after the discovery of gold, or
+on their way to Oregon. The complaints of the Californians were
+set forth in a little book, written by one of them, Nelson
+Slater, and printed in Colona, California, in 1851, under the
+title, "Fruits of Mormonism." The general complaints were set
+forth briefly in a petition to Congress containing nearly two
+hundred and fifty signatures, dated Colona, June 1, 1851, which
+asked that the territorial government be abrogated, and a
+military government be established in its place. This petition
+charged that many emigrants had been murdered by the Mormons when
+there was a suspicion that they had taken part in the earlier
+persecutions; that when any members of the Mormon community,
+becoming dissatisfied, tried to leave, they were pursued and
+killed; that the Mormons levied a tax of two per cent on the
+property of emigrants who were compelled to pass a winter among
+them; that it was nearly impossible for emigrants to obtain
+justice in the Mormon courts; that the Mormons, high and low,
+openly expressed treasonable sentiments against the United States
+government; and that letters of emigrants mailed at Salt Lake
+City were opened, and in many instances destroyed.
+
+Mr. Slater's book furnishes the specifications of these general
+charges.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. The "Reformation"
+
+Young soon had occasion to make practical use of the dictatorial
+power that he had assumed. The character which those members of
+the flock who had migrated from Missouri and Illinois had
+established among their neighbors in those states was not changed
+simply by their removal to a wilderness all by themselves. They
+had no longer the old excuse that their misdeeds were reprisals
+on persecuting enemies, but this did not save them from the
+temptation to exercise their natural propensities. Again we shall
+take only the highest Mormon testimony on this subject.
+
+One of the first sins for which Young openly reproved his
+congregation was profane swearing. He brought this matter
+pointedly to their attention in an address to the Conference of
+October 9, 1852, when he said: "You Elders of Israel will go into
+the canons, and curse and swear--damn and curse your oxen, and
+swear by Him who created you. I am telling the truth. Yes, you
+rip and curse and swear as bad as any pirates ever did."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 211.
+
+
+Possibly the church authorities could have overlooked the
+swearing, but a matter which gave them more distress was the
+insecurity of property. This became so great an annoyance that
+Young spoke out plainly on the subject, and he did not attempt to
+place the responsibility outside of his own people. A few
+citations will illustrate this.
+
+In an address in the Tabernacle on June 5, 1853, noticing
+complaints about the stealing and rebranding of cattle, he said:
+"I will propose a plan to stop the stealing of cattle in coming
+time, and it is this--let those who have cattle on hand join in a
+company, and fence in about fifty thousand acres of land, and so
+keep on fencing until all the vacant land is substantially
+enclosed. Some persons will perhaps say, 'I do not know how good
+or how high a fence it will be necessary to build to keep thieves
+out.' I do not know either, except you build one that will keep
+out the devil."* On another occasion, with a personal grievance
+to air, he said in the Tabernacle: "I have gone to work and made
+roads to get wood, and have not been able to get it. I have cut
+it down and piled it up, and still have not got it. I wonder if
+anybody else can say so. Have any of you piled up your wood, and,
+when you have gone back, could not find it? Some stories could be
+told of this kind that would make professional thieves
+ashamed."**
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 252.
+
+** Ibid., Vol. I, p. 213.
+
+
+Young made no concealment of the fact that men high in the
+councils of the church were among the peculators. In his
+discourse of June 15, 1856, he said: "I have proof ready to show
+that Bishops have taken in thousands of pounds in weight of
+tithing which they have never reported to the General Tithing
+Office. We have documents to show that Bishops have taken in
+hundreds of bushels of wheat, and only a small portion of it has
+come into the General Tithing Office. They stole it to let their
+friends speculate upon."*
+
+* Ibid., Vol. III, p. 342.
+
+
+The new-comers from Europe also received his attention. Referring
+to unkept promises of speedy repayment by assisted immigrants of
+advances made to them, Young said, in 1855: "And what will they
+do when they get here? Steal our wagons, and go off with them to
+Canada, and try to steal the bake-kettles, fryingpans, tents, and
+wagon-covers; and will borrow the oxen and run away with them, if
+you do not watch them closely. Do they all do this? No, but many
+of them will try to do it."* And again, a month later: "What
+previous characters some of you had in Wales, in England, in
+Scotland, and perhaps in Ireland. Do not be scared if it is
+proven against some one in the Bishop's court that you did steal
+the poles from your neighbor's garden fence. If it is proven that
+you have been to some person's wood pile and stolen wood, don't
+be frightened, for if you will steal it must be made manifest."
+** J. M. Grant was quite as plain spoken. In an address in the
+bowery in Salt Lake City in September, 1856, he declared that
+"you can scarcely find a place in this city that is not full of
+filth and abominations."***
+
+* Ibid., Vol. III, p. 3.
+
+** Ibid., Vol. III, p. 49.
+
+*** Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 51.
+
+
+Young's denunciations were not quietly accepted, but protests and
+threats were alike wasted upon him. Referring to complaints of
+some of the flock that his denunciation was more than they could
+bear, he replied, "But you have got to bear it, and, if you will
+not, make up your minds to go to hell at once and have done with
+it." * On another occasion he said, "You need, figuratively, to
+have it rain pitchforks, tines downward, from this pulpit, Sunday
+after Sunday." On another occasion, alluding to letters he had
+received, warning him against attacking men's characters, he
+said, "When such epistles come to me, I feel like saying, I ask
+no advice of you nor of all your clan this side of hell."**
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 49.
+
+** Ibid, p. 50.
+
+
+When mere denunciation did not reform his followers, Young became
+still plainer in his language, and began to explain to them the
+latitude which the church proposed to take in applying
+punishment. In a remarkable sermon on October 6, 1855, on the
+"stealing, lying, deceiving, wickedness, and covetousness" of the
+elders in Israel, he spoke as follows:--
+
+"Live on here, then, you poor miserable curses, until the time of
+retribution, when your heads will have to be severed from your
+bodies. Just let the Lord Almighty say, Lay judgment to the line
+and righteousness to the plummet,* and the time of thieves is
+short in this community. What do you suppose they would say in
+old Massachusetts should they hear that the Latter-day Saints had
+received a revelation or commandment to 'lay judgment to the line
+and righteousness to the plummet'? What would they say in old
+Connecticut? They would raise a universal howl of, 'How wicked
+the Mormons are. They are killing the evil doers who are among
+them. Why, I hear that they kill the wicked away up yonder in
+Utah.' . . . What do I care for the wrath of man? No more than I
+do for the chickens that run in my door yard. I am here to teach
+the ways of the Lord, and lead men to life everlasting; but if
+they have not a mind to go there, I wish them to keep out of my
+path."**
+
+* These words, from Isaiah xxviii. 17, are constantly used by
+Young to denote the extreme punishment which the church might
+inflict on any offender.
+
+** Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 50.
+
+
+From this time Young and his closest associates seemed to make
+no concealment of their intention to take the lives of any
+persons whom they considered offenders. One or two more citations
+from his discourses may be made to sustain this statement. On
+February 24, 1856, he declared, "I am not afraid of all hell, nor
+of all the world, in laying judgment to the line when the Lord
+says so."* In the following month he told his congregation: "The
+time is coming when justice will be laid to the line and
+righteousness to the plummet; when we shall take the old
+broadsword and ask, Are you for God? And if you are not heartily
+on the Lord's side, you will be hewn down."** Heber C. Kimball
+was equally plain spoken. A year earlier he had said in the
+Tabernacle: "If a man rebels, I will tell him of it, and if he
+resents a timely warning, HE IS UNWISE . . . . I have never yet
+shed man's blood, and I pray to God that I never may, unless it
+is actually necessary."*** Sultans and doges have freely used
+assassination as a weapon, but it seems to have remained for the
+Mormon church under Brigham Young to declare openly its intention
+to make whatever it might call church apostasy subject to capital
+punishment.
+
+*Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 241.
+
+** Ibid., p. 266.
+
+*** Ibid., pp, 163-164.
+
+
+Out of the lawless condition of the Mormon flock, as we have thus
+seen it pictured, and out of this radical view of the proper
+punishment of offenders, resulted, in 1856, that remarkable
+movement still known in Mormondon as "The Reformation "--a
+movement that has been characterized by one writer as "a reign of
+lust and fanatical fury unequalled since the Dark Ages," and by
+another as "a fanaticism at once blind, dangerous, and terrible."
+During its continuance the religious zealot, the amorous priest,
+the jealous lover, the man covetous of worldly goods, and the
+framers of the church policy, from acknowledged Apostle to secret
+Danite, all had their own way. " Were I counsel for a Mormon on
+trial for a crime committed at the time under consideration, I
+should plead wholesale insanity," said J. H. Beadle. It was
+during this period that that system was perfected under which the
+life of no man,--or company of men,--against whom the wrath of
+the church was directed, was of any value; no household was safe
+from the lust of any aged elder; no person once in the valley
+could leave it alive against the church's consent.
+
+The active agent in starting "The Reformation" was the inventor
+of "blood atonement," Jedediah M. Grant.* That his censure of a
+Bishop and his counsellors at Kayesville was the actual origin of
+the movement, as has been stated,** cannot be accepted as proven,
+in view of the preparation made for the era of blood, as
+indicated in the church discourses. Lieutenant Gunnison, for whom
+the Mormons in later years always asserted their friendship,
+writing concerning his observations as early as 1852, said:--
+
+* A correspondent of the. New York Times at this date described
+Grant as "a tall, thin, repulsive-looking man, of acute, vigorous
+intellect, a thorough-paced scoundrel, and the most essential
+blackguard in the pulpit. He was sometimes called Brigham's
+sledge hammer."
+
+** "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 293.
+
+
+"Witnesses are seldom put on oath in the lower courts, and there
+is nothing known of the 'law's delay,' and the quibbles whereby
+the ends of truth and justice may be defeated. But they have a
+criminal code called 'The Laws of the Lord,' which has been given
+by revelation and not promulgated, the people not being able
+quite to bear it, or the organization still too imperfect. It is
+to be put in force, however, before long, and when in vogue, all
+grave crimes will be punished and atoned for by cutting off the
+head of the offender. This regulation arises from the fact that
+without shedding of blood there is no remission."*
+
+* "History of the Mormons," Book 1, Chapter X.
+
+
+Gunnison's statement furnishes indisputable proof that this legal
+system was so generally talked of some four years before it was
+put in force that it came to the ears of a non-Mormon temporary
+resident.
+
+After the condemnation of the Kayesville offenders and their
+rebaptism, the next move was the appointment of missionaries to
+hold services in every ward, and the sending out of what were
+really confessors, appointed for every block, to inquire of
+all--young and old--concerning the most intimate details of their
+lives. The printed catechism given to these confessors was so
+indelicate that it was suppressed in later years. These prying
+inquisitors found opportunity to gain information for their
+superiors about any persons suspected of disloyalty, and one use
+they made of their visitations was to urge the younger sisters to
+be married to the older men, as a readier means of salvation than
+union with men of their own age. That there was opposition to
+this espionage is shown by some remarks of H. C. Kimball in the
+Tabernacle, in March, 1856, when he said: "I have heard some
+individuals saying that, if the Bishops came into their houses
+and opened their cupboards, they would split their heads open.
+THAT WOULD NOT BE A WISE OR SAFE OPERATION." *
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 271.
+
+
+Some of the information secured by the church confessional was
+embarrassing to the leaders. At a meeting of male members in
+Social Hall, Young, Grant, and others denounced the sinners in
+scathing terms, Young ending his remarks by saying, "All you who
+have been guilty of committing adultery, stand up." At once more
+than three-quarters of those present arose.* For such confessors
+a way of repentance was provided through rebaptism, but the
+secretly accused had no such avenue opened to them.
+
+* "A leading Bishop in Salt Lake City stated to the author that
+Brigham was as much appalled at this sight as was Macbeth when he
+beheld the woods of Birnam marching on to Dunsinane. A Bishop
+arose and asked if there were not some misunderstanding among the
+brethren concerning the question. He thought that perhaps the
+elders understood Brigham's inquiry to apply to their conduct
+before they had thrown off the works of the devil and embraced
+Mormonism; but upon Brigham reiterating that it was the adultery
+committed since they had entered the church, the brethren to a
+man still stood up:"--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 296.
+
+
+One of the first victims of the reformers was H. J. Jarvis, a
+reputable merchant of Salt Lake City. He was dragged over his
+counter one evening and thrown into the street by men who then
+robbed his store and defiled his household goods, giving him as
+the cause of the visitation the explanation that he had spoken
+evil of the authorities, and had invited Gentiles to supper. His
+two wives could not secure even a hearing from Young in his
+behalf.* This, however, was a minor incident.
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints;" p. 297.
+
+
+That Young's rule should be objected to by some members of the
+church was inevitable. There were men in the valley at that early
+day who would rebel against such a dictatorship under any name;
+others--men of means--who were alarmed by the declarations about
+property rights, and others to whom the announcement concerning
+polygamy was repugnant. When such persons gave expression to
+their discontent, they angered the church officers; when they
+indicated their purpose to leave the valley, they alarmed them.
+Anything like an exodus of the flock would have broken up all of
+Young's plans, and have undone the scheme of immigration that had
+cost so much time and money. Accordingly, when this movement for
+"reform" began, the church let it be known that any desertion of
+the flock would be considered the worst form of apostasy, and
+that the deserter must take the consequences. To quote Brigham
+Young's own words: "The moment a person decides to leave this
+people, he is cut off from every object that is desirable for
+time and eternity. Every possession and object of affection will
+be taken from those who forsake the truth, and their identity and
+existence will eventually cease."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, p. 31.
+
+
+The almost unbreakable hedge that surrounded the inhabitants of
+the valley at this time, under the system of church espionage,
+has formed a subject for the novelist, and has seemed to many
+persons, as described, a probable exaggeration. But, while Young
+did not narrate in his pulpit the tales of blood which his
+instructions gave rise to, there is testimony concerning them
+which leaves no reasonable doubt of their truthfulness.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SOME CHURCH-INSPIRED MURDERS
+
+The murders committed during the "Reformation" which attracted
+most attention, both because of the parties concerned, the effort
+made by a United States judge to convict the guilty, and the
+confessions of the latter subsequently obtained, have been known
+as the Parrish, or Springville, murders. The facts concerning
+them may be stated fairly as follows:--
+
+William R. Parrish was one of the most outspoken champions of the
+Twelve when the controversy with Rigdon occurred at Nauvoo after
+Smith's death, and he accompanied the fugitives to Salt Lake
+Valley. One evening, early in March, 1857, a Bishop named Johnson
+(husband of ten wives), with two companions, called at Parrish's
+house in Springville, and put to him some of the questions which
+the inquisitors of the day were wont to ask--if he prayed,
+something about his future plans, etc. It had been rumored that
+Parrish's devotion to the church had cooled, and that he was
+planning to move with his family--a wife and six children--to
+California; and at a meeting in Bishop Johnson's council house a
+letter had been read from Brigham Young directing them to
+ascertain the intention of certain "suspicious characters in the
+neighborhood,"* and if they should make a break and, being
+pursued, which he required, he 'would be sorry to hear a
+favorable report; but the better way is to lock the stable door
+before the horse is stolen.' This letter was over Brigham's
+signature."** This letter was the real cause of the Bishop's
+visit to Parrish. At a meeting about a week later, A. Durfee and
+G. Potter were deputed to find out when the Parrishes proposed to
+leave the territory. Accordingly, Durfee got employment with
+Parrish, and both of them gave him the idea that they sympathized
+with his desire to depart. One morning, about a week later,
+Parrish discovered that his horses had been stolen, and efforts
+to recover them were fruitless.
+
+* "There had been public preaching in Springville to the effect
+that no Apostles would be allowed to leave; if they did, hog-
+holes in the fences would be stopped up with them. I heard these
+sermons."--Affidavit of Mrs. Parrish; appendix to "Speech of Hon.
+John Cradlebaugh".
+
+** Confession of J. M. Stewart, one of the Bishop's counsellors
+and precinct magistrate.
+
+
+Meanwhile, Parrish, unsuspicious of Potter and Durfee,* was
+telling them of his continued plans to escape, how constantly his
+house was watched, and how difficult it was for him to get out
+the few articles required for the trip. Finally, at Parrish's
+suggestion, it was arranged that he and Durfee should walk out of
+the village in the daytime, as the method best calculated to
+allay suspicion.
+
+* Durfee's confession, appendix to Cradlebaugh's speech.
+
+
+They carried out this plan, and when they got to a stream called
+Dry Creek, Parrish asked Durfee to go back to the house and bring
+his two sons, Beason and Orrin, to join him. When Durfee returned
+to the house, at about sunset, he found Potter there, and Potter
+set off at once for the meeting-place, ostensibly to carry some
+of the articles needed for the journey.
+
+Potter met Parrish where he was waiting for Durfee's return, and
+they walked down a lane to a fence corner, where a Mormon named
+William Bird was lying, armed with a gun. Here occurred what
+might be called an illustration of "poetic justice." In the
+twilight, Bird mistook his victim, and fired, killing Potter. As
+Bird rose and stepped forward, Parrish asked if it was he who had
+fired the unexpected shot. For a reply Bird drew a knife,
+clenched with Parrish, and, as he afterward expressed it, "worked
+the best he could in stabbing him." He "worked" so well that, as
+afterward described by one of the men concerned in the plot,* the
+old man was cut all over, fifteen times in the back, as well as
+in the left side, the arms, and the hands. But Bird knew that his
+task was not completed, and, as soon as the murder of the elder
+Parrish was accomplished, taking his own and Potter's gun, he
+again concealed himself in the fence corner, awaiting the
+appearance of the Parrish boys. They soon came up in company with
+Durfee, and Bird fired at Beason with so good aim that he dropped
+dead at once. Turning the weapon on Orrin, the first cap snapped,
+but he tried again and put a ball through Orrin's cartridge box.
+The lad then ran and found refuge in the house of an uncle.
+
+* Affidavit of J. Bartholemew before Judge Cradlebaugh.
+
+
+The outcome of this crime? The arrest of ORRIN and Durfee as the
+murderers by a Mormon officer; a farcical hearing by a coroner's
+jury, with a verdict of assassins unknown; distrusted
+participants in the crime themselves the object of the Mormon
+spies and would-be assassins; the robbery of a neighbor who dared
+to condemn the crime; a vain appeal by Mrs. Parrish to Brigham
+Young, who told her he "would have stopped it had he known
+anything about it," and who, when she persisted in seeking
+another interview, had her advised to "drop it," and a failure by
+the widow to secure even the stolen horses. "The wife of Mr.
+Parrish told me," said Judge Cradlebaugh, when he charged the
+jury concerning this case, "that since then at times she had
+lived on bread and water, and still there are persons in this
+community riding about on those horses."
+
+The effort to have the men concerned in this and similar crimes
+convicted, forms a part of the history of Judge Cradlebaugh's
+judicial career after the "Mormon War," but it failed. When the
+grand jury would not bring in indictments, he issued bench
+warrants for the arrest of the accused, and sent the United
+States marshal, sustained by a military posse, to serve the
+papers. It was thus that the affidavits and confessions cited
+were obtained. Then followed a stampede among the residents of
+the Springville neighborhood, as the judge explained in his
+subsequent speech, in Congress, the church officials and civil
+officers being prominent in the flight, and, when their houses
+were reached, they were occupied only by many wives and many
+children. "I am justified," he told the House of Representatives,
+"in charging that the Mormons are guilty, and that the Mormon
+church is guilty, of the crimes, of murder and robbery, as taught
+in their books of faith."*
+
+* "I say as a fact that there was no escape for any one that the
+leaders of the church in southern Utah selected as a victim....
+It was a rare thing for a man to escape from the territory with
+all his property until after the Pacific Railroad was built
+through Utah."--LEE, "Mormonism Unveiled," pp. 275, 287.
+
+
+Charles Nordhoff, in a Utah letter to the New York Evening Post
+in May, 1871, said: "A friend said to me this afternoon, 'I saw a
+great change in Salt Lake since I was there three years ago. The
+place is free; the people no longer speak in whispers. Three
+years ago it was unsafe to speak aloud in Salt Lake City about
+Mormonism, and you were warned to be cautious.'"
+
+Another of the murders under this dispensation, which Judge
+Cradlebaugh mentioned as "peculiarly and shockingly prominent,"
+was that of the Aikin party, in the spring of 1857. This party,
+consisting of six men, started east from San Francisco in May,
+1857, and, falling in with a Mormon train, joined them for
+protection against the Indians. "When they got to a safer
+neighborhood, the Californians pushed on ahead. Arriving in
+Kayesville, twenty-five miles north of Salt Lake City, they were
+at once arrested as federal spies, and their animals (they had an
+outfit worth in all, about $25,000) were put into the public
+corral. When their Mormon fellow-travellers arrived, they scouted
+the idea that the men even knew of an impending "war," and the
+party were told that they would be sent out of the territory. But
+before they started, a council, held at the call of a Bishop in
+Salt Lake City, decided on their death.
+
+Four of the party were attacked in camp by their escort while
+asleep; two were killed at once, and two who escaped temporarily
+were shot while, as they supposed, being escorted back to Salt
+Lake City. The two others were attacked by O. P. Rockwell and
+some associates near the city; one was killed outright, and the
+other escaped, wounded, and was shot the next day while under the
+escort of "Bill" Hickman, and, according to the latter, by
+Young's order. *
+
+* Brigham's "Destroying Angel," p. 128.
+
+
+A story of the escape of one man from the valley, notwithstanding
+elaborate plans to prevent his doing so, has been preserved, not
+in the testimony of repentant participants in his persecution,
+but in his own words.*
+
+* Leavenworth, Kansas, letter to New York Times, published May 1,
+1858.
+
+
+Frederick Loba was a prosperous resident of Lausanne,
+Switzerland, where for some years he had been introducing a new
+principle in gas manufacture, when, in 1853, some friends called
+his attention to the Mormons' professions and promises. Loba was
+induced to believe that all mankind who did not gather in Great
+Salt Lake Valley would be given over to destruction, and that,
+not only would his soul be saved by moving there, but that his
+business opportunities would be greatly advanced. Accordingly he
+gave up the direction of the gas works at Lausanne, and reached
+St. Louis in December, 1853, with about $8000 worth of property.
+There he was made temporary president of a Mormon church, and
+there he got his first bad impression of the Mormon brotherhood.
+On the way to Utah his wife died of cholera, leaving six
+children, from six to twelve years old. Welcomed as all men with
+property were, he was made Professor of Chemistry in the
+University, and soon learned many of the church secrets. "These,"
+to quote his own words, "opened my eyes at once, and I saw at a
+glance the terrible position in which I was placed. I now found
+myself in the midst of a wicked and degraded people, shut up in
+the midst of the mountains, with a large family, and deprived of
+all resources with which to extricate myself. The conviction had
+been forced upon my mind that Brigham himself was at the bottom
+of all the clandestine assassinations, plundering of trains, and
+robbing of mails." The manner, too, in which polygamy was
+practised aroused his intense disgust.
+
+He married as his second wife an English woman, and his family
+relations were pleasant; but the church officers were distrustful
+of him. He was again and again urged to marry more wives, being
+assured that with less than three he could not rise to a high
+place in the church. "This neglect on my part," he explained,
+"and certain remarks that I made with respect to Brigham's
+friends, determined the prophet to order my private execution, as
+I am able to prove by honest and competent witnesses." Loba
+adopted every precaution for his own safety, night and day. Then
+came the news of the Parrish murders, and there was so much alarm
+among the people that there was talk of the departure of a great
+many of the dissatisfied. To check this, when the plain threats
+made in the Tabernacle did not avail, Young had a band of four
+hundred organized under the name of "Wolf Hunters" (borrowed from
+their old Hancock County neighbors), whose duty it was to see
+that "the wolves" did not stray abroad.
+
+Loba now communicated his fears to his wife, and found that she
+also realized the danger of their position, and was ready to
+advise the risk of flight. The plan, as finally decided on, was
+that they two should start alone on April l, leaving the children
+in care of the wife's mother and brother, the latter a recent
+comer not yet initiated in the church mysteries.
+
+At ten o'clock on the appointed night Loba and his wife--the
+latter dressed in men's clothes--stole out of their house. Their
+outfit consisted of one blanket, twelve pounds of crackers, a
+little tea and sugar, a double-barrelled gun, a sword, and a
+compass. They were without horses, and their route compelled them
+to travel the main road for twenty-five miles before they reached
+the mountains, amid which they hoped to baffle pursuit. They were
+fortunate enough to gain the mountains without detention. There
+they laid their course, not with a view to taking the easiest or
+most direct route, but one so far up the mountain sides that
+pursuit by horsemen would be impossible. This entailed great
+suffering. The nights were so cold that sometimes they feared to
+sleep. Add to this the necessity of wading through creeks in ice-
+cold water, and it is easy to understand that Loba had difficulty
+to prevent his companion from yielding to despair.
+
+Their objective point was Greene River (170 miles from Salt Lake
+City by road, but probably almost 300 by the route taken), where
+they expected to find Indians on whose mercy they would throw
+themselves. Two days before that river was reached they ate the
+last of their food, and they kept from freezing at night by
+getting some sage wood from underneath the snow, and using Loba's
+pocket journal for kindling. Mrs. Loba had to be carried the
+whole of the last six miles, but this effort brought them to a
+camp of Snake Indians, among whom were some Canadian traders, and
+there they received a kindly welcome. News of their escape
+reached Salt Lake City, and Surveyor General Burr sent them the
+necessary supplies and a guide to conduct them to Fort Laramie,
+where, a month later, all the rest of the family joined them, in
+good health, but entirely destitute.
+
+They then learned that, as soon as their flight was discovered,
+the church authorities sent out horsemen in every direction to
+intercept them, but their route over the mountains proved their
+preservation*
+
+* Referring to the frequent Mormon declarations that there were
+fewer deeds of violence in Utah than in other pioneer settlements
+of equal population, the Salt Lake Tribune of January 25, 1876,
+said: "It is estimated that no less than 600 murders have been
+committed by the Mormons, in nearly every case at the instigation
+of their priestly leaders, during the occupation of the
+territory. Giving a mean average of 50,000 persons professing
+that faith in Utah, we have a murder committed every year to
+every 2500 of population. The same ratio of crime extended to the
+population of the United States would give 16,000 murders every
+year."
+
+
+The Messenger, the organ of the Reorganized Church in Salt Lake
+City, said in November, 1875: "While laying the waste pipes in
+front of the residence of Brigham Young recently the skeleton of
+a man--a white man--was dug up. A similar discovery was made last
+winter in digging a cellar in this city. What can have been the
+necessity of these secret burials, without coffins, in such
+places?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. BLOOD ATONEMENT
+
+As early as 1853 intimations of the doctrine that an offending
+member might be put out of the way were given from the Tabernacle
+pulpit. Orson Hyde, on April 9 of that year, spoke, in the form
+of a parable, of the fate of a wolf that a shepherd discovered in
+his flock of sheep, saying that, if let alone, he would go off
+and tell the other wolves, and they would come in; "whereas, if
+the first should meet with his just deserts, he could not go back
+and tell the rest of his hungry tribe to come and feast
+themselves on the flock. If you say the priesthood, or
+authorities of the church here, are the shepherd, and the church
+is the flock, you can make your own application of this figure."
+
+In September, 1856, there was a notable service in the bowery in
+Salt Lake City at which several addresses were made. Heber C.
+Kimball urged repentance, and told the people that Brigham
+Young's word was "the word of God to this people." Then Jedediah
+M. Grant first gave open utterance to a doctrine that has given
+the Saints, in late years, much trouble to explain, and the
+carrying out of which in Brigham Young's days has required many a
+Mormon denial. This is, what has been called in Utah the doctrine
+of "blood atonement," and what in reality was the doctrine of
+human sacrifice.
+
+Grant declared that some persons who had received the priesthood
+committed adultery and other abominations, "get drunk, and wallow
+in the mire and filth." "I say," he continued, "there are men and
+women that I would advise to go to the President immediately, and
+ask him to appoint a committee to attend to their case; and then
+let a place be selected, and let that committee shed their blood.
+We have those amongst us that are full of all manner of
+abominations; those who need to have their blood shed, for water
+will not do; their sins are too deep for that."* He explained
+that he was only preaching the doctrine of St. Paul, and
+continued: "I would ask how many covenant breakers there are in
+this city and in this kingdom. I believe that there are a great
+many; and if they are covenant breakers, we need a place
+designated where we can shed their blood.... If any of you ask,
+Do I mean you, I answer yes. If any woman asks, Do I mean her, I
+answer yes.... We have been trying long enough with these people,
+and I go in for letting the sword of the Almighty be unsheathed,
+not only in word, but in deed."**
+
+* Elder C. W. Penrose made an explanation of the view taken by
+the church at that time, in an address in Salt Lake City on
+October 12, 1884, that was published in a pamphlet entitled
+"Blood Atonement as taught by Leading Elders." This was deemed
+necessary to meet the criticisms of this doctrine. He pleaded
+misrepresentation of the Saints' position, and defined it as
+resting on Christ's atonement, and on the belief that that
+atonement would suffice only for those who have fellowship with
+Him. He quoted St. Paul as authority for the necessity of blood
+shedding (Hebrews ix. 22), and Matthew xii. 31, 32, and Hebrews
+x. 26, to show that there are sins, like blasphemy against the
+Holy Ghost, which will not be forgiven through the shedding of
+Christ's blood. He also quoted 1 John v. 16 as showing that the
+apostle and Brigham Young were in agreement concerning "sins unto
+death," just as Young and the apostle agreed about delivering men
+unto Satan that their spirits might be saved through the
+destruction of their flesh (1 Corinthians v. 5). Having justified
+the teaching to his satisfaction, he proceeded to challenge proof
+that any one had ever paid the penalty, coupling with this a
+denial of the existence of Danites.
+
+Elder Hyde, in his "Mormonism," says (p. 179): "There are several
+men now living in Utah whose lives are forfeited by Mormon law,
+but spared for a little time by Mormon policy. They are certain
+to be killed, and they know it. They are only allowed to live
+while they add weight and influence to Mormonism, and, although
+abundant opportunities are given them for escape, they prefer to
+remain. So strongly are they infatuated with their religion that
+they think their salvation depends on their continued obedience,
+and their 'blood being shed by the servants of God.' Adultery is
+punished by death, and it is taught, unless the adulterer's blood
+be shed, he can have no remission for this sin. Believing this
+firmly, there are men who have confessed this crime to Brigham,
+and asked him to have them killed. Their superstitious fears make
+life a burden to them, and they would commit suicide were not
+that also a crime."
+
+** Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, pp. 49, 50.
+
+
+Brigham Young, who followed Grant, said that he would explain how
+judgment would be "laid to the line." "There are sins," he
+explained, "that men commit, for which they cannot receive
+forgiveness in this world nor in that which is to come; and, if
+they had their eyes open to see their true condition, they would
+be perfectly willing to have their blood spilt upon the ground,
+that the smoke thereof might ascend to heaven for their sins...I
+know, when you hear my brethren telling about cutting people off
+from the earth, that you consider it a strong doctrine; but it is
+to save them, not to destroy them."
+
+That these were not the mere expressions of a sudden impulse is
+shown by the fact that Young expounded this doctrine at even
+greater length a year later. Explaining what Christ meant by
+loving our neighbors as ourselves, he said: "Will you love your
+brothers and sisters likewise when they have committed a sin that
+cannot be atoned for without the shedding of blood? Will you love
+that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what
+Jesus Christ meant.... I have seen scores and hundreds of people
+for whom there would have been a chance (in the last resurrection
+there will be) if their lives had been taken, and their blood
+spilled on the ground as a smoking incense to the Almighty, but
+who are now angels to the devil."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, pp. 219, 220.
+
+
+Stenhouse relates, as one of the "few notable cases that have
+properly illustrated the blood atonement doctrine," that one of
+the wives of an elder who was sent on a mission broke her
+marriage vows during his absence. On his return, during the
+height of the "Reformation," she was told that "she could not
+reach the circle of the gods and goddesses unless her blood was
+shed," and she consented to accept the punishment. Seating
+herself, therefore, on her husband's knee, she gave him a last
+kiss, and he then drew a knife across her throat. "That kind and
+loving husband still lives near Salt Lake City (1874), and
+preaches occasionally with great zeal."*
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 470.
+
+
+John D. Lee, who says that this doctrine was "justified by all
+the people," gives full particulars of another instance. Among
+the Danish converts in Utah was Rosmos Anderson, whose wife had
+been a widow with a grown daughter. Anderson desired to marry his
+step-daughter also, and she was quite willing; but a member of
+the Bishop's council wanted the girl for his wife, and he was
+influential enough to prevent Anderson from getting the necessary
+consent from the head of the church. Knowing the professed horror
+of the church toward the crime of adultery, Anderson and the
+young woman, at one of the meetings during the "Reformation,"
+confessed their guilt of that crime, thinking that in this way
+they would secure permission to marry. But, while they were
+admitted to rebaptism on their confession, the coveted permit was
+not issued and they were notified that to offend would be to
+incur death. Such a charge was very soon laid against Anderson
+(not against the girl), and the same council, without hearing
+him, decided that he must die. Anderson was so firm in the Mormon
+faith that he made no remonstrance, simply asking half a day for
+preparation. His wife provided clean clothes for the sacrifice,
+and his executioners dug his grave. At midnight they called for
+him, and, taking him to the place, allowed him to kneel by the
+grave and pray. Then they cut his throat, "and held him so that
+his blood ran into the grave." His wife, obeying instructions,
+announced that he had gone to California.*
+
+* "Mormonism Unveiled," p. 282.
+
+
+As an illustration of the opportunity which these times gave a
+polygamous priesthood to indulge their tastes, may be told the
+story of "the affair at San Pete." Bishop Warren Snow of Manti,
+San Pete County, although the husband of several wives, desired
+to add to his list a good-looking young woman in that town When
+he proposed to her, she declined the honor, informing him that
+she was engaged to a younger man. The Bishop argued with her on
+the ground of her duty, offering to have her lover sent on a
+mission, but in vain. When even the girl's parents failed to gain
+her consent, Snow directed the local church authorities to
+command the young man to give her up. Finding him equally
+obstinate, he was one evening summoned to attend a meeting where
+only trusted members were present. Suddenly the lights were put
+out, he was beaten and tied to a bench, and Bishop Snow himself
+castrated him with a bowie knife. In this condition he was left
+to crawl to some haystacks, where he lay until discovered "The
+young man regained his health," says Lee, "but has been an idiot
+or quiet lunatic ever since, and is well known by hundreds of
+Mormons or Gentiles in Utah."* And the Bishop married the girl.
+Lee gives Young credit for being very "mad" when he learned of
+this incident, but the Bishop was not even deposed.**
+
+* Ibid., p. 285.
+
+** Stenhouse quotes the following as showing that the San Pete
+outrage was scarcely concealed by the Mormon authorities: "I was
+at a Sunday meeting, in the spring of 1857, in Provo, when the
+news of the San Pete incident was referred to by the presiding
+Bishop, Blackburn. Some men in Provo had rebelled against
+authority in some trivial matter, and Blackburn shouted in his
+Sunday meeting--a mixed congregation of all ages and both sexes:
+'I want the people of Provo to understand that the boys in Provo
+can use the knife as well as the boys in San Pete. Boys, get your
+knives ready.'" "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 302.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. The Territorial Government--Judge Brocchus's
+Experience
+
+In March, 1851, the two houses of the legislature of Deseret,
+sitting together, adopted resolutions "cheerfully and cordially"
+accepting the law providing a territorial government for Utah,
+and tendering Union Square in Salt Lake City as a site for the
+government buildings. The first territorial election was held on
+August 4, and the legislative assembly then elected held its
+first meeting on September 22. An act was at once passed
+continuing in force the laws passed by the legislature of Deseret
+(an unauthorized body) not in conflict with the territorial law,
+and locating the capital in the Pauvan Valley, where the town was
+afterward named Fillmore* and the county Millard, in honor of the
+President.
+
+* Only one session of the legislature was held at Fillmore
+(December, 1855). The lawmakers afterward met there, but only to
+adjourn to Salt Lake City.
+
+
+The federal law, establishing the territory, provided that the
+governor, secretary, chief justice and two associate justices of
+the Supreme Court, the attorney general, or state's attorney, and
+marshal should be appointed by the President of the United
+States. President Fillmore on September 22, 1850, filled these
+places as follows: governor, Brigham Young; secretary, B. D.
+Harris of Vermont; chief justice, Joseph Buffington of
+Pennsylvania; associate justices, Perry E. Brocchus and
+Zerubbabel Snow; attorney general, Seth M. Blair of Utah;
+marshal, J. L. Heywood of Utah, Young, Snow, Blair, and Heywood
+being Mormons. L. G. Brandebury was later appointed chief
+justice, Mr. Buffington declining that office.
+
+The selection of Brigham Young as governor made him, in addition
+to his church offices, ex-officio commander-in-chief of the
+militia and superintendent of Indian affairs, the latter giving
+him a salary of $1000 a year in addition to his salary of $1500
+as governor. Had the character of the Mormon church government
+been understood by President Fillmore, it does not seem possible
+that he would, by Young's appointment, have so completely united
+the civil and religious authority of the territory in one man;
+or, if he had had any comprehension of Young's personal
+characteristics, it is fair to conclude that the appointment
+would not have been made.
+
+The voice which the President listened to in the matter was that
+of that adroit Mormon agent, Colonel Thomas L. Kane. Kane's part
+in the business came out after these appointments were announced,
+and after the Buffalo (New York) Courier had printed a
+communication attacking Young's character on the ground of his
+record both in Illinois and Utah. President Fillmore sent these
+charges to Kane (on July 4, 1851) with a letter in which he said,
+"You will recollect that I relied much upon you for the moral
+character of Mr. Young," and asking him to "truly state whether
+these charges against the moral character of Governor Young are
+true." Kane sent two letters in reply, dated July 11. In a short
+open one he said: "I reiterate without reserve the statement of
+his excellent capacity, energy, and integrity, which I made you
+prior to the appointment. I am willing to say that I VOLUNTEERED
+to communicate to you the facts by which I was convinced of his
+patriotism and devotion to the Union. I made no qualification
+when I assured you of his irreproachable moral character, because
+I was able to speak of this from my own intimate personal
+knowledge."
+
+The second letter, marked "personal," went into these matters
+much more in detail. It declared that the tax levied by Young on
+non-Mormons who sold goods in Salt Lake City was a liquor tax,
+creditable to Mormon temperance principles. Had the President
+consulted the report of the debate on Babbitt's admission as a
+Delegate, he would have discovered that this was falsehood number
+one. The charges against Young while in Illinois, including
+counterfeiting, Kane swept aside as "a mere rehash of old
+libels," and he cited the Battalion as an illustration of Mormon
+patriotism. The extent to which he could go in falsifying in
+Young's behalf is illustrated, however, most pointedly in what he
+had to say regarding the charge of polygamy: "The remaining
+charge connects itself with that unmixed outrage, the spiritual
+wife story; which was fastened on the Mormons by a poor ribald
+scamp whom, though the sole surviving brother and representative
+of their Jo. Smith, they were literally forced to excommunicate
+for licentiousness, and who therefore revenged himself by editing
+confessions and disclosures of savor to please the public that
+peruses novels in yellow paper covers."* In regard to William
+Smith, the fact was that he opposed polygamy both before and
+after his expulsion from the church. Kane's stay among the
+Mormons on the Missouri must have acquainted him with the
+practically open practice of polygamy at that time. His entire
+correspondence with Fillmore stamps him as a man whose word could
+be accepted on no subject. It would have been well if President
+Buchanan had availed himself of the existence of these letters.
+Fillmore stated in later years that at that time neither he nor
+the Senate knew that polygamy was an accepted Mormon doctrine.
+
+* For correspondence in full, see Millennial Star, Vol. XIII, pp.
+341-344.
+
+
+Young took the oath of office as governor in February, 1851. The
+non-Mormon federal officers arrived in June and July following,
+and with them came Babbitt, bringing $20,000 which had been
+appropriated by Congress for a state-house, and J. M. Bernhisel,
+the first territorial Delegate to Congress, with a library
+purchased by him in the East for which Congress had provided. The
+arrival of the Gentile officers gave a speedy opportunity to test
+the temper of the church in regard to any interference with, or
+even discussion of, their "peculiar" institutions or Young's
+authority.
+
+Their first welcome was cordial, with balls and dinners at the
+Bath House at the Hot Springs at which, for their special
+benefit, says a local historian, was served "champagne wine from
+the grocery," with home-brewed porter and ale for the rest. When
+Judge Brocchus reached Salt Lake City, his two non-Mormon
+associates had been there long enough to form an opinion of the
+Mormon population and of the aims of the leading church officers.
+They soon concluded that "no man else could govern them against
+Brigham Young's influence, without a military force,"* and they
+heard many expressions, public and private, indicating the
+contempt in which the federal government was held. The
+anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers, July 24, was always
+celebrated with much ceremony, and that year the principal
+addresses were made by "General" D. H. Wells and Brigham Young.
+Some of the new officers occupied seats on the platform. Wells
+attacked the government for "requiring" the Battalion to enlist.
+Young paid especial attention to President Taylor, who had
+recently died, and whose course toward the Mormons did not please
+them, closing this part of his remarks with the declaration, "but
+Zachary Taylor is dead and in hell, and I am glad of it," adding,
+"and I prophesy in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the
+priesthood that's upon me, that any President of the United
+States who lifts his finger against this people, shall die an
+untimely death, and go to hell."
+
+* Report of the three officers to President Fillmore, Ex. Doc.
+No. 25, 1st Session, 32d Congress.
+
+
+Judge Brocchus had been commissioned by the Washington Monument
+Association to ask the people of the territory for a block of
+stone for that structure, and, on signifying a desire to make
+known his commission, he was invited to do so at the General
+Conference to be held on September 7 and 8. The judge thought
+that, with the life of Washington as a text, he could read these
+people a lesson on their duty toward the government, and could
+correct some of the impressions under which they rested. The idea
+itself only showed how little he understood anything pertaining
+to Mormonism.
+
+There was no newspaper in Salt Lake City in that time, and for a
+report of the judge's address and of Brigham Young's reply, we
+must rely on the report of the three federal officers to
+President Fillmore, on a letter from Judge Brocchus printed in
+the East, and on three letters on the subject addressed to the
+New York Herald (one of which that journal printed, and all of
+which the author published in a pamphlet entitled "The Truth for
+the Mormons",) by J. M. Grant, first mayor of Salt Lake City,
+major general of the Legion, and Speaker of the house in the
+Deseret legislature.
+
+Judge Brocchus spoke for two hours. He began with expressions of
+sympathy for the sufferings of the Mormons in Missouri and
+Illinois, and then referred to the unfriendliness of the people
+toward the federal government, pointing out what he considered
+its injustice, and alluding pointedly to Brigham Young's remarks
+about President Taylor. He defended the President's memory, and
+told his audience that, "if they could not offer a block of
+marble for the Washington Monument in a feeling of full
+fellowship with the people of the United States, as brethren and
+fellow citizens, they had better not offer it at all, but leave
+it unquarried in the bosom of its native mountain." The officers'
+report to President Fillmore says that the address "was entirely
+free from any allusions, even the most remote, to the peculiar
+religion of the community, or to any of their domestic or social
+customs." Even if the Mormons had so construed it, the rebuke of
+their lack of patriotism would have aroused their resentment, and
+Bernhisel, in a letter to President Fillmore, characterized it as
+"a wanton insult."
+
+But the judge did make, according to other reports, what was
+construed as an uncomplimentary reference to polygamy, and this
+stirred the church into a tumult of anger and indignation.
+According to Mormon accounts,* the judge, addressing the ladies,
+said: "I have a commission from the Washington Monument
+Association, to ask of you a block of marble, as a test of your
+citizenship and loyalty to the government of the United States.
+But in order to do it acceptably you must become virtuous, and
+teach your daughters to become virtuous, or your offering had
+better remain in the bosom of your native mountains."
+
+* The report of what follows, including Young's address, is taken
+from Grant's pamphlet...
+
+
+Mild as this language may seem, no Mormon audience, since the
+marrying of more wives than one had been sanctioned by the
+church, had ever listened to anything like it. To permit even
+this interference with their "religious belief" was entirely
+foreign to Young's purpose, and he took the floor in a towering
+rage to reply. "Are you a judge," he asked, "and can't even talk
+like a lawyer or a politician?" George Washington was first in
+war, but he was first in peace, too, and Young could handle a
+sword as well as Washington. "But you [addressing the judge]
+standing there, white and shaking now at the howls which you have
+stirred up yourself--you are a coward.... Old General Taylor,
+what was he?* A mere soldier with regular army buttons on; no
+better to go at the head of brave troops than a dozen I could
+pick out between here and Laramie." He concluded thus:--
+
+* In a discourse on June 19, 1853, Young said that he never heard
+of his alleged expression about General Taylor until Judge
+Brocchus made use of it, but he added: "When he made the
+statement there, I surely bore testimony to the truth of it. But
+until then I do not know that it ever came into my mind whether
+Taylor was in hell or not, any more than it did that any other
+wicked man was there," etc.--Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p.
+185.
+
+
+"What you have been afraid to intimate about our morals I will
+not stoop to notice, except to make my particular personal
+request to every brother and husband present not to give you back
+what such impudence deserves. You talk of things you have on
+hearsay since your coming among us. I'll talk of hearsay then--
+the hearsay that you are discontented, and will go home, because
+we cannot make it worth your while to stay. What it would satisfy
+you to get out of us I think it would be hard to tell; but I am
+sure that it is more than you'll get. If you or any one else is
+such a baby-calf, we must sugar your soap to coax you to wash
+yourself of Saturday nights. Go home to your mammy straight away,
+and the sooner the better."
+
+This was the language addressed by the governor of the territory
+and the head of the church, to one of the Supreme Court judges
+appointed by the President of the United States!
+
+Young alluded to his reference to the judge's personal safety in
+a discourse on June 19, 1853, in which, speaking of the judge's
+remarks, he said: "They [the Mormons] bore the insult like saints
+of God. It is true, as it was said in the report of these
+affairs, if I had crooked my little finger, he would have been
+used up, but I did not bend it. If I had, the sisters alone felt
+indignant enough to have chopped him in pieces." A little later,
+in the same discourse, he added: "Every man that comes to impose
+on this people, no matter by whom they are sent, or who they are
+that are sent, lay the axe at the root of the tree to kill
+themselves. I will do as I said I would last conference.
+Apostates, or men who never made any profession of religion, had
+better be careful how they come here, lest I should bend my
+little finger."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 187.
+
+
+If the records of the Mormon church had included acts as well as
+words, how many times would we find that Young's little finger
+was bent to a purpose?
+
+Bold as he was, Young seems to have felt that he had gone too far
+in his abuse of Judge Brocchus, and on September 19 he addressed
+a note to him, inviting him to attend a public meeting in the
+bowery the next Sunday morning, "to explain, satisfy, or
+apologize to the satisfaction of the ladies who heard your
+address on the 8th," a postscript assuring the judge that "no
+gentleman will be permitted to make any reply." The judge in
+polite terms declined this offer, saying that he had been, at the
+proper time, denied a chance to explain, "at the peril of having
+my hair pulled or my throat cut." He added that his speech was
+deliberately prepared, that his sole design was "to vindicate the
+government of the United States from those feelings of prejudice
+and that spirit of defection which seemed to pervade the public
+sentiment," and that he had had no intention to offer insult or
+disrespect to his audience. This called out, the next day, a very
+long reply from Young, of which the following is a paragraph:
+"With a war of words on party politics, factions, religious
+schisms, current controversy of creeds, policy of clans or state
+clipper cliques, I have nothing to do; but when the eternal
+principles of truth are falsified, and light is turned into
+darkness by mystification of language or a false delineation of
+facts, so that the just indignation of the true, virtuous,
+upright citizens of the commonwealth is aroused into vigilance
+for the dear-bought liberties of themselves and fathers, and that
+spirit of intolerance and persecution which has driven this
+people time and time again from their peaceful homes, manifests
+itself in the flippancy of rhetoric for female insult and
+desecration, it is time that I forbear to hold my peace, lest the
+thundering anathemas of nations, born and unborn, should rest
+upon my head, when the marrow of my bones shall be ill prepared
+to sustain the threatened blow."*
+
+* For correspondence in full, see Tullidge's "History of Salt
+Lake City," pp. 86--91.
+
+
+Judge Brocchus wrote to a friend in the East, on September 20:
+"How it will end, I do not know. I have just learned that I have
+been denounced, together with the government and officers, in the
+bowery again to-day by Governor Young. I hope I shall get off
+safely. God only knows. I am in the power of a desperate and
+murderous sect."
+
+The non-Mormon federal officers now announced their determination
+to abandon their places and return to the East. Young foresaw
+that so radical a course would give his conduct a wide
+advertisement, and attract to him an unpleasant notoriety. He,
+therefore, called on the offended judges personally, and urged
+them to remain.* Being assured that they would not reconsider
+their determination, and that Secretary Harris would take with
+him the $24,000 appropriated for the pay and mileage of the
+territorial legislature, Young, on September 18, issued a
+proclamation declaring the result of the election of August 4,
+which he had neglected to do, and convening the legislature in
+session on September 22. "So solicitous was the governor that the
+secretary and other non-Mormon officers should be kept in
+ignorance of this step," says the report of the latter to
+President Fillmore, "that on the 19th, two days after the date of
+a personal notice sent to members, he most positively and
+emphatically denied, as communicated to the secretary, that any
+such notice had been issued."
+
+* Young to the President, House Doc. No. 25, 1st Session, 32d
+Congress.
+
+
+As soon as the legislature met, it passed resolutions directing
+the United States marshal to take possession of all papers and
+property (including money) in the hands of Secretary Harris, and
+to arrest him and lock him up if he offered any resistance. On
+receipt of a copy of this resolution, Secretary Harris sent a
+reply, giving several reasons for refusing to hand over the money
+appropriated for the legislature, among them the failure of the
+governor to have a census taken before the election, as provided
+by the territorial act, the defective character of the governor's
+proclamation ordering the election, allowing aliens to vote, and
+the governor's failure to declare the result of the election, his
+delayed proclamation being pronounced "worthless for all legal
+purposes."
+
+On September 28 the three non-Mormon officers took their
+departure, carrying with them to Washington the disputed money,
+which was turned over to the proper officer.*
+
+* Tullidge, in his "History of Salt Lake City," says: "Under the
+censure of the great statesman, Daniel Webster, and with ex- Vice
+President Dallas and Colonel Kane using their potent influence
+against them, and also Stephen A. Douglas, Brandebury, Brocchus,
+and Harris were forced to retire." As these officers left the
+territory of their own accord, and contrary to Brigham Young's
+urgent protest, this statement only furnishes another instance of
+the Mormon plan to attack the reputation of any one whom they
+could not control. The three officers were criticized by some
+Eastern newspapers for leaving their post through fear of bodily
+injury, but Congress voted to pay their salaries.
+
+
+All the correspondence concerning the failure of this first
+attempt to establish non-Mormon federal officers in Utah was
+given to Congress in a message from President Fillmore, dated
+January 9, 1852. The returned officers made a report which set
+forth the autocratic attitude of the Mormon church, the open
+practice of polygamy,* and the non-enforcement of the laws, not
+even murderers being punished. Of one of the allegations of
+murder set forth,--that a man from Ithaca, New York, named James
+Munroe, was murdered on his way to Salt Lake City by a member of
+the church, his body brought to the city and buried without an
+inquest, the murderer walking the streets undisturbed, H. H.
+Bancroft says, "There is no proof of this statement."** On the
+contrary, Mayor Grant in his "Truth for the Mormons" acknowledges
+it, and gives the details of the murder, justifying it on the
+ground of provocation, alleging that while Egan, the murderer,
+was absent in California, Munroe, "from his youth up a member of
+the church, Egan's friend too, therefore a traitor," seduced
+Egan's wife.
+
+* J. D. Grant, following the example of Colonel Kane, had the
+affrontery to say of the charge of polygamy, in one of his
+letters to the New York Herald: "I pronounce it false.... Suppose
+I should admit it at once? Whose business is it? Does the
+constitution forbid it?"
+
+** "History of Utah," p. 460, note.
+
+
+Young, in a statement to the President, defended his acts and the
+acts of the territorial legislature, and attacked the character
+and motives of the federal officers. The legislature soon after
+petitioned President Fillmore to fill the vacancies by appointing
+men "who are, indeed, residents amongst us."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. MORMON TREATMENT OF FEDERAL OFFICERS
+
+The next federal officers for Utah appointed by the President (in
+August, 1852) were Lazarus H. Reid of New York to be chief
+justice, Leonidas Shaver, associate justice, and B. G. Ferris,
+secretary. Neither of these officers incurred the Mormon wrath.
+Both of the judges died while in office, and the next chief
+justice was John F. Kinney, who had occupied a seat on the Iowa
+Supreme Bench, with W. W. Drummond of Illinois, and George P.
+Stiles, one of Joseph Smith's counsel at the time of the
+prophet's death, as associates. A. W. Babbitt received the
+appointment of secretary of the territory.*
+
+* Some years later Babbitt was killed. Mrs. Waite, in "The Mormon
+Prophet" (p. 34) says: "In the summer of 1862 Brigham was
+referring to this affair in a tea-table conversation at which
+judge Waite and the writer of this were present. After making
+some remarks to impress upon the minds of those present the
+necessity of maintaining friendly relations between the federal
+officers and the authorities of the church, he used language
+substantially as follows: 'There is no need of any difficulty,
+and there need be none if the officers do their duty and mind
+their affairs. If they do not, if they undertake to interfere
+with affairs that do not concern them, I will not be far off.
+There was Almon W. Babbitt. He undertook to quarrel with me, but
+soon afterward was killed by Indians."
+
+
+The territorial legislature had continued to meet from time to
+time, Young having a seat of honor in front of the Speaker at
+each opening joint session, and presenting his message. The most
+important measure passed was an election law which practically
+gave the church authorities control of the ballot. It provided
+that each voter must hand his ballot, folded, to the judge of
+election, who must deposit it after numbering it, and after the
+clerk had recorded the name and number. This, of course, gave the
+church officers knowledge concerning the candidate for whom each
+man voted. Its purpose needs no explanation.
+
+In August, 1854, a force of some three hundred soldiers, under
+command of Lieutenant Colonel E. J. Steptoe of the United States
+army, on their way to the Pacific coast, arrived in Salt Lake
+City and passed the succeeding winter there. Young's term as
+governor was about to expire, and the appointment of his
+successor rested with President Pierce. Public opinion in the
+East had become more outspoken against the Mormons since the
+resignation of the first federal officers sent to the territory,
+the "revelation" concerning polygamy having been publicly avowed
+meanwhile, and there was an expressed feeling that a non- Mormon
+should be governor. Accordingly, President Pierce, in December,
+1854, offered the governorship to Lieutenant Colonel Steptoe.
+
+Brigham Young, just before and after this period, openly declared
+that he would not surrender the actual government of the
+territory to any man. In a discourse in the Tabernacle, on June
+19, 1853, in which he reviewed the events of 1851, he said, "We
+have got a territorial government, and I am and will be governor,
+and no power can hinder it, until the Lord Almighty says,
+'Brigham, you need not be governor any longer.'"* In a defiant
+discourse in the Tabernacle, on February 18, 1855, Young again
+stated his position on this subject: "For a man to come here [as
+governor] and infringe upon my individual rights and privileges,
+and upon those of my brethren, will never meet my sanction, and I
+will scourge such a one until he leaves. I am after him."
+Defining his position further, and the independence of his
+people, he said: "Come on with your knives, your swords, and your
+faggots of fire, and destroy the whole of us rather than we will
+forsake our religion. Whether the doctrine of plurality of wives
+is true or false is none of your business. We have as good a
+right to adopt tenets in our religion as the Church of England,
+or the Methodists, or the Baptists, or any other denomination
+have to theirs."**
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 187.
+
+** Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 187-188.
+
+
+Having thus defied the federal appointing power, the nomination
+of Colonel Steptoe as Young's successor might have been expected
+to cause an outbreak; but the Mormon leaders were always
+diplomatic--at least, when Young did not lose his temper. The
+outcome of this appointment was its declination by Steptoe, a
+petition to President Pierce for Young's reappointment signed by
+Steptoe himself and all the federal officers in the territory,
+and the granting of the request of these petitioners.
+
+Mrs. C. B. Waite, wife of Associate Justice C. B. Waite, one of
+Lincoln's appointees, gives a circumstantial account of the
+manner in which Colonel Steptoe was influenced to decline the
+nomination and sign the petition in favor of Young.* Two women,
+whose beauty then attracted the attention of Salt Lake City
+society, were a relative by marriage of Brigham Young and an
+actress in the church theatre. The federal army officers were
+favored with a good deal of their society. When Steptoe's
+appointment as governor was announced, Young called these women
+to his assistance. In conformity with the plan then suggested,
+Young one evening suddenly demanded admission to Colonel
+Steptoe's office, which was granted after considerable delay.
+Passing into the back room, he found the two women there, dressed
+in men's clothes and with their faces concealed by their hats. He
+sent the women home with a rebuke, and then described to Steptoe
+the danger he was in if the women's friends learned of the
+incident, and the disgrace which would follow its exposure.
+Steptoe's declination of the nomination and his recommendation of
+Young soon followed.
+
+President Pierce's selection of judicial officers for Utah was
+not made with proper care, nor with due regard to the dignity of
+the places to be filled. Chief Justice Kinney took with him to
+Utah a large stock of goods which he sold at retail after his
+arrival there, and he also kept a boarding-house in Salt Lake
+City. With his "trade" dependent on Mormon customers, he had
+every object in cultivating their popularity. Known as a "Jack-
+Mormon" in Iowa, Mrs. Waite declared that his uniform course, to
+the time about which she wrote, had been "to aid and abet Brigham
+Young in his ambitious schemes," and that he was then "an open
+apologist and advocate of polygamy." Judge Drummond's course in
+Utah was in many respects scandalous. A former member of the
+bench in Illinois writes to me: "I remember that when Drummond's
+appointment was announced there was considerable comment as to
+his lack of fitness for the place, and, after the troubles
+between him and the Mormon leaders got aired through the press,
+members of the bar from his part of the state said they did not
+blame the Mormons--that it was an imposition upon them to have
+sent him out there as a judge. I never heard his moral character
+discussed." If the Mormon leaders had shown any respect for the
+government at Washington, or for the reputable men appointed to
+territorial offices, more attention might be paid to their
+hostility manifested to certain individuals.
+
+* "The Mormon Prophet," p. 36, confirmed by Beadle's "Life in
+Utah," p. 171.
+
+
+A few of the leading questions at issue under the new territorial
+officers will illustrate the nature of the government with which
+they had to deal. The territorial legislature had passed acts
+defining the powers and duties of the territorial courts. These
+acts provided that the district courts should have original
+jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, wherever not otherwise
+provided by law. Chapter 64 (approved January 14, 1864) provided
+as follows: "All questions of law, the meaning of writings other
+than law, and the admissibility of testimony shall be decided by
+the court; and no laws or parts of laws shall be read, argued,
+cited, or adopted in any courts, during any trial, except those
+enacted by the governor and legislative assembly of this
+territory, and those passed by the Congress of the United States,
+WHEN APPLICABLE; and no report, decision, or doings of any court
+shall be read, argued, cited, or adopted as precedent in any
+other trial." This obliterated at a stroke the whole body of the
+English common law. Another act provided that, by consent of the
+court and the parties, any person could be selected to act as
+judge in a particular case. As the district court judges were
+federal appointees, a judge of probate was provided for each
+county, to be elected by joint ballot of the legislature. These
+probate courts, besides the authority legitimately belonging to
+such tribunals, were given "power to exercise original
+jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, as well in chancery as at
+common law." Thus there were in the territory two kinds of
+courts, to one of which alone a non-Mormon could look for
+justice, and to the other of which every Mormon would appeal when
+he was not prevented.
+
+The act of Congress organizing the territory provided for the
+appointment of a marshal, approved by the President; the
+territorial legislature on March 3, 1852, provided for another
+marshal to be elected by joint ballot, and for an attorney
+general. A nonMormon had succeeded the original Mormon who was
+appointed as federal marshal, and he took the ground that he
+should have charge of all business pertaining to the marshal's
+office in the United States courts. Judge Stiles having issued
+writs to the federal marshal, the latter was not able to serve
+them, and the demand was openly made that only territorial law
+should be enforced in Utah. When the question of jurisdiction
+came before the judge, three Mormon lawyers appeared in behalf of
+the Mormon claim, and one of them, James Ferguson, openly told
+the judge that, if he decided against him, they "would take him
+from the bench d--d quick." Judge Stiles adjourned his court, and
+applied to Governor Young for assistance; but got only the reply
+that "the boys had got their spunk up, and he would not
+interfere," and that, if Judge Stiles could not enforce the
+United States laws, the sooner he adjourned court the better.*
+All the records and papers of the United States court were kept
+in Judge Stiles's office. In his absence, Ferguson led a crowd to
+the office, seized and deposited in a safe belonging to Young the
+court papers, and, piling up the personal books and papers of the
+judge in an outhouse, set fire to them. The judge, supposing that
+the court papers were included in the bonfire, innocently made
+that statement in an affidavit submitted on his return to
+Washington in 1857.
+
+* This account is given in Mrs. Waite's "The Mormon Prophet."
+Tullidge omits the incident in his "History of Salt Lake City."
+
+
+Judge Drummond, reversing the policy of Chief Justice Kinney and
+Judge Shaver, announced, before the opening of the first session
+of his court, that he should ignore all proceedings of the
+territorial probate courts except such as pertained to legitimate
+probate business. This position was at once recognized as a
+challenge of the entire Mormon judicial system,* and steps were
+promptly taken to overthrow it. There are somewhat conflicting
+accounts of the method adopted. Mrs. Waite, in her "Mormon
+Prophet," Hickman, in his confessions, and Remy, in his
+"Journey," have all described it with variations. All agree that
+a quarrel was brought about between the judge and a Jew, which
+led to the arrest of both of them. "During the prosecution of the
+case," says Mrs. Waite, "the judge gave some sort of a
+stipulation that he would not interfere any further with the
+probate courts."
+
+* A member of the legislature wrote to his brother in England, of
+Drummond: He has brass to declare in open court that the Utah
+laws are founded in ignorance, and has attempted to set some of
+the most important ones aside,... and he will be able to
+appreciate the merits of a returned compliment some day."
+
+* Tullidge, "History of Salt Lake City," p. 412.
+
+
+Judge Stiles left the territory in the spring of 1857, and gave
+the government an account of his treatment in the form of an
+affidavit when he reached Washington. Judge Drummond held court a
+short time for Judge Stiles in Carson County (now Nevada)* in the
+spring of 1857, and then returned to the East by way of
+California, not concealing his opinion of Mormon rule on the way,
+and giving the government a statement of the case in a letter
+resigning his judgeship.
+
+* The settlement of what is now Nevada was begun by both Mormons
+and non-Mormons in 1854, and, the latter being in the majority,
+the Utah legislature organized the entire western part of the
+territory as one county, called Carson, and Governor Young
+appointed Orson Hyde its probate judge. Many persons coming in
+after the settlement of California, as miners, farmers, or
+stock-raisers, the Mormons saw their majority in danger, and
+ordered the non-Mormons to leave. Both sides took up arms, and
+they camped in sight of each other for two weeks. The Mormons,
+learning that their opponents were to receive reenforcements from
+California, agreed on equal rights for all in that part of the
+territory; but when the legislature learned of this, it repealed
+the county act, recalled the judge, and left the district without
+any legal protection whatever. Thus matters remained until late
+in 1858, when a probate judge was quietly appointed for Carson
+Valley. After this an election was held, but although the
+non-Mormons won at the polls, the officers elected refused to
+qualify and enforce Mormon statutes.--Letter of Delegate-elect J.
+M. Crane of Nevada, "The Mormon Prophet," pp. 4l-45.
+
+After the departure of the non-Mormon federal judges from Utah,
+the only non-Mormon officers left there were those belonging to
+the office of the surveyor general, and two Indian agents. Toward
+these officers the Mormons were as hostile as they had been
+toward the judges, and the latest information that the government
+received about the disposition and intentions of the Mormons came
+from them.
+
+The Mormon view of their title to the land in Salt Lake Valley
+appeared in Young's declaration on his first Sunday there, that
+it was theirs and would be divided by the officers of the
+church.* Tullidge, explaining this view in his history published
+in 1886, says that this was simply following out the social plan
+of a Zion which Smith attempted in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois,
+under "revelation." He explains: "According to the primal law of
+colonization, recognized in all ages, it was THEIR LAND if they
+could hold and possess it. They could have done this so far as
+the Mexican government was concerned, which government probably
+never would even have made the first step to overthrow the
+superstructure of these Mormon society builders. At that date,
+before this territory was ceded to the United States, Brigham
+Young, as the master builder of the colonies which were soon to
+spread throughout these valleys, could with absolute propriety
+give the above utterances on the land question."**
+
+* "They will not, however, without protest, buy the land, and
+hope that grants will be made to actual settlers or the state,
+sufficient to cover their improvements. If not, the state will be
+obliged to buy, and then confirm the titles already given."--
+Gunnison. "The Mormons," 1852, p. 414.
+
+** Captain Gunnison, who as lieutenant accompanied Stansbury's
+surveying party and printed a book giving his personal
+observations, was murdered in 1853 while surveying a railroad
+route at a camp on Sevier River. His party were surprised by a
+band of Pah Utes while at breakfast, and nine of them were
+killed. The charge was often made that this massacre was inspired
+by Mormons, but it has not been supported by direct evidence.
+
+
+When the act organizing the territory was passed, very little of
+the Indian title to the land had been extinguished, and the
+Indians made bitter complaints of the seizure of their homes and
+hunting-grounds, and the establishment of private rights to
+canons and ferries, by the people who professed so great a regard
+for the "Lamanites." Congress, in February, 1855, created the
+office of surveyor general of Utah and defined his duties. The
+presence of this officer was resented at once, and as soon as
+Surveyor General David H. Burr arrived in Salt Lake City the
+church directed all its members to convey their lands to Young as
+trustee in trust for the church, "in consideration of the good
+will which---- have to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
+Saints." Explaining this order in a discourse in the Tabernacle
+on March 1, 1857, H. C. Kimball said: "I do not compel you to do
+it; the trustee in trust does not; God does not. But He says that
+if you will do this and the other things which He has counselled
+for our good, do so and prove Him.... If you trifle with me when
+I tell you the truth, you will trifle with Brother Brigham, and
+if you trifle with him you will also trifle with angels and with
+God, and thus you will trifle yourselves down to hell."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, pp. 249, 252.
+
+
+The Mormon policy toward the surveyors soon took practical shape.
+On August 30, 1856, Burr reported a nearly fatal assault on one
+of his deputies by three Danites. Deputy Surveyor Craig reported
+efforts of the Mormons to stir up the Indians against the
+surveyors, and quoted a suggestion of the Deseret News that the
+surveyors be prosecuted in the territorial court for trespass. In
+February, 1857, Burr reported a visit he had had from the clerk
+of the Supreme Court, the acting district attorney, and the
+territorial marshal, who told him plainly that the country was
+theirs.
+
+They showed him a copy of a report that he had made to
+Washington, charging Young with extensive depredations, warned
+him that he could not write to Washington without their
+knowledge, and ordered that such letter writing should stop. "The
+fact is," Burr added, "these people repudiate the authority of
+the United States in this country, and are in open rebellion
+against the general government.... So strong have been my
+apprehensions of danger to the surveyors that I scarcely deemed
+it prudent to send any out.... We are by no means sure that we
+will be permitted to leave, for it is boldly asserted we would
+not get away alive."* He did escape early in the spring.
+
+* For text of reports, see House Ex. Doc. No. 71, 1st Session,
+35th Congress.
+
+
+The reports of the Indian agents to the commissioner at
+Washington at this time were of the same character. Mormon
+trespasses on Indian land had caused more than one conflict with
+the savages, but, when there was a prospect of hostilities with
+the government, the Mormons took steps to secure Indian aid. In
+May, 1855, Indian Agent Hurt called the attention of the
+commissioner at Washington to the fact that the Mormons at their
+recent Conference had appointed a large number of missionaries to
+preach among the "Lamanites"; that these missionaries were "a
+class of lawless young men," and, as their influence was likely
+to be in favor of hostilities with the whites, he suggested that
+all Indian officers receive warning on the subject. Hurt was
+added to the list of fugitive federal officers from Utah, deeming
+it necessary to flee when news came of the approach of the troops
+in the fall of 1857. His escape was quite dramatic, some of his
+Indian friends assisting him. They reached General Johnston's
+camp about the middle of October, after suffering greatly from
+hunger and cold.
+
+The Mormon leaders could scarcely fail to realize that a point
+must be reached when the federal government would assert its
+authority in Utah territory, but they deemed a conflict with the
+government of less serious moment than a surrender which would
+curtail their own civil and criminal jurisdiction, and bring
+their doctrine of polygamy within reach of the law. A specimen of
+the unbridled utterances of these leaders in those days will be
+found in a discourse by Mayor Grant in the Tabernacle, on March
+2, 1856:--
+
+"Who is afraid to die? None but the wicked. If they want to send
+troops here, let them come to those who have imported filth and
+whores, though we can attend to that class without so much
+expense to the Government. They will threaten us with United
+States troops! Why, your impudence and ignorance would bring a
+blush to the cheek of the veriest camp-follower among them. We
+ask no odds of you, you rotten carcasses, and I am not going to
+bow one hair's breadth to your influence. I would rather be cut
+into inch pieces than succumb one particle to such filthiness
+.... If we were to establish a whorehouse on every corner of our
+streets, as in nearly all other cities outside of Utah, either by
+law or otherwise, we should doubtless then be considered good
+fellows."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, pp. 234-235
+
+
+Two weeks later Brigham Young, in a sermon in the same place,
+said, "I said then, and I shall always say, that I shall be
+governor as long as the Lord Almighty wishes me to govern this
+people.*
+
+* Ibid., p. 258.
+
+
+In January, 1853, Orson Pratt, as Mormon representative, began
+the publication in Washington, D.C., of a monthly periodical
+called The Seer, in which he defended polygamy, explained the
+Mormon creed, and set forth the attitude of the Mormons toward
+the United States government. The latter subject occupied a large
+part of the issue of January, 1854, in the shape of questions and
+answers. The following will give an illustration of their tone:--
+
+"Q.--In what manner have the people of the United States treated
+the divine message contained in the Book of Mormon?
+
+"A.--They have closed their eyes, their ears, their hearts and
+their doors against it. They have scorned, rejected and hated the
+servants of God who were sent to bear testimony of it.
+
+"Q.--In what manner has the United States treated the Saints who
+have believed in this divine message?
+
+"A.--They have proceeded to the most savage and outrageous
+persecutions;... dragged little children from their
+hiding-places, and, placing the muzzles of their guns to their
+heads, have blown out their brains, with the most horrid oaths
+and imprecations. They have taken the fair daughters of American
+citizens, bound them on benches used for public worship, and
+there, in great numbers, ravished them until death came to their
+relief."
+
+Further answers were in the shape of an argument that the federal
+government was responsible for the losses of the Saints in
+Missouri and Illinois.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. THE MORMON "WAR"
+
+The government at Washington and the people of the Eastern states
+knew a good deal more about Mormonism in 1856 than they did when
+Fillmore gave the appointment of governor to Young in 1850. The
+return of one federal officer after another from Utah with a
+report that his office was untenable, even if his life was not in
+danger, the practical nullification of federal law, and the light
+that was beginning to be shed on Mormon social life by
+correspondents of Eastern newspapers had aroused enough public
+interest in the matter to lead the politicians to deem it worthy
+of their attention. Accordingly, the Republican National
+Convention, in June, 1856, inserted in its platform a plank
+declaring that the constitution gave Congress sovereign power
+over the territories, and that "it is both the right and the duty
+of Congress to prohibit in the territories those twin relics of
+barbarism--polygamy and slavery."
+
+A still more striking proof of the growing political importance
+of the Mormon question was afforded by the attention paid to it
+by Stephen A. Douglas in a speech in Springfield, Illinois, on
+June 12, 1856, when he was hoping to secure the Democratic
+nomination for President. This former friend of the Mormons,
+their spokesman in the Senate, now declared that reports from the
+territory seemed to justify the belief that nine-tenths of its
+inhabitants were aliens; that all were bound by horrid oaths and
+penalties to recognize and maintain the authority of Brigham
+Young; and that the Mormon government was forming alliances with
+the Indians, and organizing Danite bands to rob and murder
+American citizens. "Under this view of the subject," said he, "I
+think it is the duty of the President, as I have no doubt it is
+his fixed purpose, to remove Brigham Young and all his followers
+from office, and to fill their places with bold, able, and true
+men; and to cause a thorough and searching investigation into all
+the crimes and enormities which are alleged to be perpetrated
+daily in that territory under the direction of Brigham Young and
+his confederates; and to use all the military force necessary to
+protect the officers in discharge of their duties and to enforce
+the laws of the land. When the authentic evidence shall arrive,
+if it shall establish the facts which are believed to exist, it
+will become the duty of Congress to apply the knife, and cut out
+this loathsome, disgusting ulcer."*
+
+* Text of the speech in New York Times of June 23, 1856.
+
+
+This, of course, caused the Mormons to pour out on Judge Douglas
+the vials of their wrath, and, when he failed to secure the
+presidential nomination, they found in his defeat the
+verification of one of Smith's prophecies.
+
+The Mormons, on their part, had never ceased their demands for
+statehood, and another of their efforts had been made in the
+preceding spring, when a new constitution of the State of Deseret
+was adopted by a convention over which the notorious Jedediah M.
+Grant presided, and sent to Washington with a memorial pleading
+for admission to the Union, "that another star, shedding mild
+radiance from the tops of the mountains, midway between the
+borders of the Eastern and Western civilization, may add its
+effulgence to that bright light now so broadly illumining the
+governmental pathway of nations"; and declaring that "the loyalty
+of Utah has been variously and most thoroughly tested." Congress
+treated this application with practical contempt, the Senate
+laying the memorial on the table, and the chairman of the House
+Committee on Territories, Galusha A. Grow, refusing to present
+the constitution to the House.
+
+Alarmed at the manifestations of public feeling in the East, and
+the demand that President Buchanan should do something to
+vindicate at least the dignity of the government, the Mormon
+leaders and press renewed their attacks on the character of all
+the federal officers who had criticized them, and the Deseret
+News urged the President to send to Utah "one or more civilians
+on a short visit to look about them and see what they can see,
+and return and report." The value of observations by such "short
+visitors" on such occasions need not be discussed.
+
+President Buchanan, instead of following any Mormon advice, soon
+after his inauguration directed the organization of a body of
+troops to march to Utah to uphold the federal authorities, and in
+July, after several persons had declined the office, appointed as
+governor of Utah Alfred Cumming of Georgia. The appointee was a
+brother of Colonel William Cumming, who won renown as a soldier
+in the War of 1812, who was a Union party leader in the
+nullification contest in Jackson's time, and who was a
+participant in a duel with G. McDuffie that occupied a good deal
+of attention. Alfred Cumming had filled no more important
+positions than those of mayor of Augusta, Georgia, sutler in the
+Mexican War, and superintendent of Indian affairs on the upper
+Missouri. A much more commendable appointment made at the same
+time was that of D. R. Eckles, a Kentuckian by birth, but then a
+resident of Indiana, to be chief justice of the territory. John
+Cradlebaugh and C. E. Sinclair were appointed associate justices,
+with John Hartnett as secretary, and Peter K. Dotson as marshal.
+The new governor gave the first illustration of his conception of
+his duties by remaining in the East, while the troops were
+moving, asking for an increase of his salary, a secret service
+fund, and for transportation to Utah. Only the last of these
+requests was complied with.
+
+President Buchanan's position as regards Utah at this time was
+thus stated in his first annual message to Congress (December 8,
+1857):--
+
+"The people of Utah almost exclusively belong to this [Mormon]
+church, and, believing with a fanatical spirit that he [Young] is
+Governor of the Territory by divine appointment, they obey his
+commands as if these were direct revelations from heaven. If,
+therefore, he chooses that his government shall come into
+collision with the government of the United States, the members
+of the Mormon church will yield implicit obedience to his will.
+Unfortunately, existing facts leave but little doubt that such is
+his determination. Without entering upon a minute history of
+occurrences, it is sufficient to say that all the officers of the
+United States, judicial and executive, with the single exception
+of two Indian agents, have found it necessary for their own
+safety to withdraw from the Territory, and there no longer
+remained any government in Utah but the despotism of Brigham
+Young. This being the condition of affairs in the Territory, I
+could not mistake the path of duty. As chief executive
+magistrate, I was bound to restore the supremacy of the
+constitution and laws within its limits. In order to effect this
+purpose, I appointed a new governor and other federal officers
+for Utah, and sent with them a military force for their
+protection, and to aid as a posse comitatus in case of need in
+the execution of the laws.
+
+"With the religious opinions of the Mormons, as long as they
+remained mere opinions, however deplorable in themselves and
+revolting to the moral and religious sentiments of all
+Christendom, I have no right to interfere. Actions alone, when in
+violation of the constitution and laws of the United States,
+become the legitimate subjects for the jurisdiction of the civil
+magistrate. My instructions to Governor Cumming have, therefore,
+been framed in strict accordance with these principles."
+
+This statement of the situation of affairs in Utah, and of the
+duty of the President in the circumstances, did not admit of
+criticism. But the country at that time was in a state of intense
+excitement over the slavery question, with the situation in
+Kansas the centre of attention; and it was charged that Buchanan
+put forward the Mormon issue as a part of his scheme to "gag the
+North" and force some question besides slavery to the front; and
+that Secretary of War Floyd eagerly seized the opportunity to
+remove "the flower of the American army" and a vast amount of
+munition and supplies to a distant place, remote from Eastern
+connections. The principal newspapers in this country were
+intensely partisan in those days, and party organs like the New
+York Tribune could be counted on to criticise any important step
+taken by the Democratic President. Such Mormon agents as Colonel
+Kane and Dr. Bernhisel, the Utah Delegate to Congress, were doing
+active work in New York and Washington, and some of it with
+effect. Horace Greeley, in his "Overland journey," describing his
+call on Brigham Young a few years later, says that he was
+introduced by "my friend Dr. Bernhisel." The "Tribune Almanac"
+for 1859, in an article on the Utah troubles, quoted as "too
+true" Young's declaration that "for the last twenty-five years we
+have trusted officials of the government, from constables and
+justices to judges, governors, and presidents, only to be
+scorned, held in derision, insulted and betrayed."* Ulterior
+motives aside, no President ever had a clearer duty than had
+Buchanan to maintain the federal authority in Utah, and to secure
+to all residents in and travellers through that territory the
+rights of life and property. The just ground for criticising him
+is, not that he attempted to do this, but that he faltered by the
+way.**
+
+* Greeley's leaning to the Mormon side was quite persistent,
+leading him to support Governor Cumming a little later against
+the federal judges. The Mormons never forgot this. A Washington
+letter of April 24, 1874, to the New York Times said: "When Mr.
+Greeley was nominated for President the Mormons heartily hoped
+for his election. The church organs and the papers taken in the
+territory were all hostile to the administration, and their
+clamor deceived for a time people far more enlightened than the
+followers of the modern Mohammed. It is said that, while the
+canvass was pending, certain representatives of the
+Liberal-Democratic alliance bargained with Brigham Young, and
+that he contributed a very large sum of money to the treasury of
+the Greeley fund, and that, in consideration of this
+contribution, he received assurances that, if he should send a
+polygamist to Congress, no opposition would be made by the
+supporters of the administration that was to be, to his admission
+to the House. Brigham therefore sent Cannon instead of returning
+Hooper."
+
+** It is curious to notice that the Utah troubles are entirely
+ignored in the "Life of James Buchanan " (1883) by George Ticknor
+Curtis, who was the counsel for the Mormons in the argument
+concerning polygamy before the United States Supreme Court in
+1886.
+
+
+Early in 1856 arrangements were entered into with H. C. Kimball
+for a contract to carry the mail between Independence, Missouri,
+and Salt Lake City. Young saw in this the nucleus of a big
+company that would maintain a daily express and mail service to
+and from the Mormon centre, and he at once organized the Brigham
+Young Express Carrying Company, and had it commended to the
+people from the pulpit. But recent disclosures of Mormon methods
+and purposes had naturally caused the government to question the
+propriety of confiding the Utah and transcontinental mails to
+Mormon hands, and on June 10, 1857, Kimball was notified that the
+government would not execute the contract with him, "the
+unsettled state of things at Salt Lake City rendering the mails
+unsafe under present circumstances." Mormon writers make much of
+the failure to execute this mail contract as an exciting cause of
+the "war." Tullidge attributes the action of the administration
+to three documents--a letter from Mail Contractor W. M. F. Magraw
+to the President, describing the situation in Utah, Judge
+Drummond's letter of resignation, and a letter from Indian Agent
+T. S. Twiss, dated July 13, 1856, informing the government that a
+large Mormon colony had taken possession of Deer Creek Valley,
+only one hundred miles west of Fort Laramie, driving out a
+settlement of Sioux whom the agent had induced to plant corn
+there, and charging that the Mormon occupation was made with a
+view to the occupancy of the country, and "under cover of a
+contract of the Mormon church to carry the mails."* Tullidge's
+statement could be made with hope of its acceptance only to
+persons who either lacked the opportunity or inclination to
+ascertain the actual situation in Utah and the President's
+sources of information.
+
+* All these may be found in House Ex. Doc. No. 71, 1st Session,
+35th Congress.
+
+
+As to the mails, no autocratic government like that of Brigham
+Young would neglect to make what use it pleased of them in its
+struggle with the authorities at Washington. As early as
+November, 1851, Indian Agent Holman wrote to the Indian
+commissioner at Washington from Salt Lake City: "The Gentiles, as
+we are called who do not belong to the Mormon church, have no
+confidence in the management of the post-office here. It is
+believed by many that there is an examination of all letters
+coming and going, in order that they may ascertain what is said
+of them and by whom it is said. This opinion is so strong that
+all communications touching their character or conduct are either
+sent to Bridger or Laramie, there to be mailed. I send this
+communication through a friend to Laramie, to be there mailed for
+the States."
+
+Testimony on this point four years later, from an independent
+source, is found in a Salt Lake City letter, of November 3, 1855,
+to the New York Herald. The writer said: "From September 5, to
+the 27th instant the people of this territory had not received
+any news from the States except such as was contained in a few
+broken files of California papers.... Letters and papers come up
+missing, and in the same mail come papers of very ancient dates;
+but letters once missing may be considered as irrevocably lost.
+Of all the numerous numbers of Harper's, Gleason's, and other
+illustrated periodicals subscribed for by the inhabitants of this
+territory, not one, I have been informed, has ever reached here."
+The forces selected for the expedition to Utah consisted of the
+Second Dragoons, then stationed at Fort Leavenworth in view of
+possible trouble in Kansas; the Fifth Infantry, stationed at that
+time in Florida; the Tenth Infantry, then in the forts in
+Minnesota; and Phelps's Battery of the Fourth Artillery, that had
+distinguished itself at Buena Vista--a total of about fifteen
+hundred men. Reno's Battery was added later.
+
+General Scott's order provided for two thousand head of cattle to
+be driven with the troops, six months' supply of bacon,
+desiccated vegetables, 250 Sibley tents, and stoves enough to
+supply at least the sick. General Scott himself had advised a
+postponement of the expedition until the next year, on account of
+the late date at which it would start, but he was overruled. The
+commander originally selected for this force was General W. S.
+Harney; but the continued troubles in Kansas caused his retention
+there (as well as that of the Second Dragoons), and, when the
+government found that the Mormons proposed serious resistance,
+the chief command was given to Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, a
+West Point graduate, who had made a record in the Black Hawk War;
+in the service of the state of Texas, first in 1836 under General
+Rusk, and eventually as commander-in-chief in the field, and
+later as Secretary of War; and in the Mexican War as colonel of
+the First Texas Rifles. He was killed at the battle of Shiloh
+during the War of the Rebellion.
+
+General Harney's letter of instruction, dated June 29, giving the
+views of General Scott and the War Department, stated that the
+civil government in Utah was in a state of rebellion; he was to
+attack no body of citizens, however, except at the call of the
+governor, the judges, or the marshals, the troops to be
+considered as a posse comitatus; he was made responsible for "a
+jealous, harmonious, and thorough cooperation" with the governor,
+accepting his views when not in conflict with military judgment
+and prudence. While the general impression, both at Washington
+and among the troops, was that no actual resistance to this force
+would be made by Young's followers, the general was told that
+"prudence requires that you should anticipate resistance,
+general, organized, and formidable, at the threshold."
+
+Great activity was shown in forwarding the necessary supplies to
+Fort Leavenworth, and in the last two weeks of July most of the
+assigned troops were under way. Colonel Johnston arrived at Fort
+Leavenworth on September 11, assigned six companies of the Second
+Dragoons, under Lieutenant Colonel P. St. George Cooke, as an
+escort to Governor Cumming, and followed immediately after them.
+Major (afterward General) Fitz John Porter, who accompanied
+Colonel Johnston as assistant adjutant general, describing the
+situation in later years, said:--
+
+"So late in the season had the troops started on this march that
+fears were entertained that, if they succeeded in reaching their
+destination, it would be only by abandoning the greater part of
+their supplies, and endangering the lives of many men amid the
+snows of the Rocky Mountains. So much was a terrible disaster
+feared by those acquainted with the rigors of a winter life in
+the Rocky Mountains, that General Harney was said to have
+predicted it, and to have induced Walker [of Kansas] to ask his
+retention."
+
+Meanwhile, the Mormons had received word of what was coming. When
+A. O. Smoot reached a point one hundred miles west of
+Independence, with the mail for Salt Lake City, he met heavy
+freight teams which excited his suspicion, and at Kansas City
+obtained sufficient particulars of the federal expedition.
+Returning to Fort Laramie, he and O. P. Rockwell started on July
+18, in a light wagon drawn by two fast horses, to carry the news
+to Brigham Young. They made the 513 miles in five days and three
+hours, arriving on the evening of July 23. Undoubtedly they gave
+Young this important information immediately. But Young kept it
+to himself that night. On the following day occurred the annual
+celebration of the arrival of the pioneers in the valley. To the
+big gathering of Saints at Big Cottonwood Lake, twenty- four
+miles from the city, Young dramatically announced the news of the
+coming "invasion." His position was characteristically defiant.
+He declared that "he would ask no odds of Uncle Sam or the
+devil," and predicted that he would be President of the United
+States in twelve years, or would dictate the successful
+candidate. Recalling his declaration ten years earlier that,
+after ten years of peace, they would ask no odds of the United
+States, he declared that that time had passed, and that
+thenceforth they would be a free and independent state--the State
+of Deseret.
+
+The followers of Young eagerly joined in his defiance of the
+government, and in the succeeding weeks the discourses and the
+editorials of the Deseret News breathed forth dire threats
+against the advancing foe. Thus, the News of August 12 told the
+Washington authorities, "If you intend to continue the
+appointment of certain officers,"--that is, if you do not intend
+to surrender to the church federal jurisdiction in Utah--"we
+respectfully suggest that you appoint actually intelligent and
+honorable men, who will wisely attend to their own duties, and
+send them unaccompanied by troops"--that is, judges who would
+acknowledge the supremacy of the Mormon courts, or who, if not,
+would have no force to sustain them. This was followed by a
+threat that if any other kind of men were sent "they will really
+need a far larger bodyguard than twenty-five hundred soldiers."*
+The government was, in another editorial, called on to "entirely
+clear the track, and accord us the privilege of carrying our own
+mails at our own expense," and was accused of "high handedly
+taking away our rights and privileges, one by one, under pretext
+that the most devilish should blush at."
+
+* An Englishman, in a letter to the New York Observer, dated
+London, May 26, 1857, said, "The English Mormons make no secret
+of their expectation that a collision will take place with the
+American authorities," and he quoted from a Mormon preacher's
+words as follows: "As to a collision with the American
+Government, there cannot be two opinions on the matter. We shall
+have judges, governors, senators and dragoons invading us,
+imprisoning and murdering us; but we are prepared, and are
+preparing judges, governors, senators and dragoons who will know
+how to dispose of their friends. The little stone will come into
+collision with the iron and clay and grind them to powder. It
+will be in Utah as it was in Nauvoo, with this difference, we are
+prepared now for offensive or defensive war; we were not then."
+Young in the pulpit was in his element. One example of his
+declarations must suffice:--
+
+"I am not going to permit troops here for the protection of the
+priests and the rabble in their efforts to drive us from the land
+we possess.... You might as well tell me that you can make hell
+into a powder house as to tell me that they intend to keep an
+army here and have peace.... I have told you that if there is any
+man or woman who is not willing to destroy everything of their
+property that would be of use to an enemy if left, I would advise
+them to leave the territory, and I again say so to-day; for when
+the time comes to burn and lay waste our improvements, if any man
+undertakes to shield his, he will be treated as a traitor; for
+judgment will be laid to the line and righteousness to the
+plummet."*
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 160.
+
+
+The official papers of Governor Young are perhaps the best
+illustrations of the spirit with which the federal authorities
+had to deal.
+
+Words, however, were not the only weapons which the Mormons
+employed against the government at the start. Daniel H. Wells,
+"Lieutenant General" and commander of the Nauvoo Legion, which
+organization had been kept up in Utah, issued, on August 1, a
+despatch to each of twelve commanding officers of the Legion in
+the different settlements in the territory, declaring that "when
+anarchy takes the place of orderly government, and mobocratic
+tyranny usurps the powers of the rulers, they [the people of the
+territory] have left the inalienable right to defend themselves
+against all aggression upon their constitutional privileges"; and
+directing them to hold their commands ready to march to any part
+of the territory, with ammunition, wagons, and clothing for a
+winter campaign. In the Legion were enrolled all the able-bodied
+males between eighteen and forty-five years, under command of a
+lieutenant general, four generals, eleven colonels, and six
+majors.
+
+The first mobilization of this force took place on August 15,
+when a company was sent eastward over the usual route to aid
+incoming immigrants and learn the strength of the federal force.
+By the employment of similar scouts the Mormons were thus kept
+informed of every step of the army's advance. A scouting party
+camped within half a mile of the foremost company near Devil's
+Gate on September 22, and did not lose sight of it again until it
+went into camp at Harris's Fort, where supplies had been
+forwarded in advance.
+
+Captain Stewart Van Vliet, of General Harney's staff, was sent
+ahead of the troops, leaving Fort Leavenworth on July 28, to
+visit Salt Lake City, ascertain the disposition of the church
+authorities and the people toward the government, and obtain any
+other information that would be of use. Arriving in Salt Lake
+City in thirty three and a half days, he was received with
+affability by Young, and there was a frank interchange of views
+between them. Young recited the past trials of the Mormons
+farther east, and said that "therefore he and the people of Utah
+had determined to resist all persecution at the commencement, and
+that the TROOPS NOW ON THE MARCH FOR UTAH SHOULD NOT ENTER THE
+GREAT SALT LAKE VALLEY. As he uttered these words, all those
+present concurred most heartily."* Young said they had an
+abundance of everything required by the federal troops, but that
+nothing would be sold to the government. When told that, even if
+they did succeed in preventing the present military force from
+entering the valley the coming winter, they would have to yield
+to a larger force the following year, the reply was that that
+larger force would find Utah a desert; they would burn every
+house, cut down every tree, lay waste every field. "We have three
+years' provisions on hand," Young added, "which we will cache,
+and then take to the mountains and bid defiance to all the powers
+of the government."
+
+* The quotations are from Captain Van Vliet's official report in
+House Ex. Doc. No. 71, previously referred to. Tullidge's
+"History of Salt Lake City" (p. 16l) gives extracts from Apostle
+Woodruff's private journal of notes on the interview between
+Young and Captain Van Vliet, on September 12 and 13, in which
+Young is reported as saying: "We do not want to fight the United
+States, but if they drive us to it we shall do the best we can.
+God will overthrow them. We are the supporters of the
+constitution of the United States. If they dare to force the
+issue, I shall not hold the Indians by the wrist any longer for
+white men to shoot at them; they shall go ahead and do as they
+please."
+
+
+When Young called for a vote on that proposition by an audience
+of four thousand persons in the Tabernacle, every hand was raised
+to vote yes. Captain Van Vliet summed up his view of the
+situation thus: that it would not be difficult for the Mormons to
+prevent the entrance of the approaching force that season; that
+they would not resort to actual hostilities until the last
+moment, but would burn the grass, stampede the animals, and cause
+delay in every manner.
+
+The day after Captain Van Vliet left Salt Lake City, Governor
+Young gave official expression to his defiance of the federal
+government by issuing the following proclamation:--
+
+"Citizens of Utah: We are invaded by a hostile force, who are
+evidently assailing us to accomplish our overthrow and
+destruction.
+
+"For the last twenty-five years we have trusted officials of the
+government, from constables and justices to judges, governors,
+and Presidents, only to be scorned, held in derision, insulted,
+and betrayed. Our houses have been plundered and then burned, our
+fields laid waste, our principal men butchered, while under the
+pledged faith of the government for their safety, and our
+families driven from their homes to find that shelter in the
+barren wilderness and that protection among hostile savages,
+which were denied them in the boasted abodes of Christianity and
+civilization.
+
+"The constitution of our common country guarantees unto us all
+that we do now or have ever claimed. If the constitutional rights
+which pertain unto us as American citizens were extended to Utah,
+according to the spirit and meaning thereof, and fairly and
+impartially administered, it is all that we can ask, all that we
+have ever asked.
+
+"Our opponents have availed themselves of prejudice existing
+against us, because of our religious faith, to send out a
+formidable host to accomplish our destruction. We have had no
+privilege or opportunity of defending ourselves from the false,
+foul, and unjust aspersions against us before the nation. The
+government has not condescended to cause an investigating
+committee, or other persons, to be sent to inquire into and
+ascertain the truth, as is customary in such cases. We know those
+aspersions to be false; but that avails us nothing. We are
+condemned unheard, and forced to an issue with an armed mercenary
+mob, which has been sent against us at the instigation of
+anonymous letter writers, ashamed to father the base, slanderous
+falsehoods which they have given to the public; of corrupt
+officials, who have brought false accusations against us to
+screen themselves in their own infamy; and of hireling priests
+and howling editors, who prostitute the truth for filthy lucre's
+sake.
+
+"The issue which has thus been forced upon us compels us to
+resort to the great first law of self-preservation, and stand in
+our own defence, a right guaranteed to us by the genius of the
+institutions of our country, and upon which the government is
+based. Our duty to ourselves, to our families, requires us not to
+tamely submit to be driven and slain, without an attempt to
+preserve ourselves; our duty to our country, our holy religion,
+our God, to freedom and liberty, requires that we should not
+quietly stand still and see those fetters forging around us which
+were calculated to enslave and bring us in subjection to an
+unlawful, military despotism, such as can only emanate, in a
+country of constitutional law, from usurpation, tyranny, and
+oppression.
+
+"Therefore, I, Brigham Young, Governor and Superintendent of
+Indian Affairs for the Territory of Utah, in the name of the
+people of the United States in the Territory of Utah, forbid:
+
+"First. All armed forces of every description from coming into
+this Territory, under any pretence whatever.
+
+"Second. That all forces in said Territory hold themselves in
+readiness to march at a moment's notice to repel any and all such
+invasion.
+
+"Third. Martial law is hereby declared to exist in this Territory
+from and after the publication of this proclamation, and no
+person shall be allowed to pass or repass into or through or from
+this Territory without a permit from the proper officer.
+
+"Given under my hand and seal, at Great Salt Lake City, Territory
+of Utah, this 15th day of September, A.D. 1857, and of the
+independence of the United States of America the eighty-second.
+
+"BRIGHAM YOUNG."
+
+The advancing troops received from Captain Van Vliet as he passed
+eastward their first information concerning the attitude of the
+Mormons toward them, and Colonel Alexander, in command of the
+foremost companies, accepted his opinion that the Mormons would
+not attack them if the army did not advance beyond Fort Bridger
+or Fort Supply, this idea being strengthened by the fact that one
+hundred wagon loads of stores, undefended, had remained
+unmolested on Ham's Fork for three weeks. The first division of
+the federal troops marched across Greene River on September 27,
+and hurried on thirty five miles to what was named Camp Winfield,
+on Ham's Fork, a confluent of Black Fork, which emptied into
+Greene River. Phelps's and Reno's batteries and the Fifth
+Infantry reached there about the same time, but there was no
+cavalry, the kind of force most needed, because of the detention
+of the Dragoons in Kansas.
+
+On September 30 General Wells forwarded to Colonel Alexander,
+from Fort Bridger, Brigham Young's proclamation of September 15,
+a copy of the laws of Utah, and the following letter addressed to
+"the officer commanding the forces now invading Utah Territory":
+
+"GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, UTAH TERRITORY,
+
+GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, September 29, 1857.
+
+"Sir: By reference to the act of Congress passed September 9,
+1850, organizing the Territory of Utah, published in a copy of
+the laws of Utah, herewith forwarded, pp. 146-147, you will find
+the following:--
+
+'Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, that the executive power and
+authority in and over said Territory of Utah shall be vested in a
+Governor, who shall hold his office for four years, and until his
+successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed
+by the President of the United States. The Governor shall reside
+within said Territory, shall be Commander-in-chief of the militia
+thereof', etc., etc.
+
+"I am still the Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for
+this Territory, no successor having been appointed and qualified,
+as provided by law; nor have I been removed by the President of
+the United States.
+
+"By virtue of the authority thus vested in me, I have issued, and
+forwarded you a copy of, my proclamation forbidding the entrance
+of armed forces into this Territory. This you have disregarded. I
+now further direct that you retire forthwith from the Territory,
+by the same route you entered. Should you deem this
+impracticable, and prefer to remain until spring in the vicinity
+of your present encampment, Black's Fork or Greene River, you can
+do so in peace and unmolested, on condition that you deposit your
+arms and ammunition with Lewis Robinson, Quartermaster General of
+the Territory, and leave in the spring, as soon as the condition
+of the roads will permit you to march; and, should you fall short
+of provisions, they can be furnished you, upon making the proper
+applications therefor. General D. H. Wells will forward this, and
+receive any communications you may have to make.
+
+Very respectfully,
+
+"BRIGHAM YOUNG,
+
+"Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Utah Territory."
+
+General Wells's communication added to this impudent announcement
+the declaration, "It may be proper to add that I am here to aid
+in carrying out the instructions of Governor Young."
+
+On October 2 Colonel Alexander, in a note to Governor Young,
+acknowledged the receipt of his enclosures, said that he would
+submit Young's letter to the general commanding as soon as he
+arrived, and added, "In the meantime I have only to say that
+these troops are here by the orders of the President of the
+United States, and their future movements and operations will
+depend entirely upon orders issued by competent military
+authority."
+
+Two Mormon officers, General Robinson and Major Lot Smith, had
+been sent to deliver Young's letter and proclamation to the
+federal officer in command, but they did not deem it prudent to
+perform this office in person, sending a Mexican with them into
+Colonel Alexander's camp.* In the same way they received Colonel
+Alexander's reply.
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 171.
+
+
+The Mormon plan of campaign was already mapped out, and it was
+thus stated in an order of their commanding general, D. H. Wells,
+a copy of which was found on a Mormon major, Joseph Taylor, to
+whom it was addressed:--
+
+"You will proceed, with all possible despatch, without injuring
+your animals, to the Oregon road, near the bend of Bear River,
+north by east of this place. Take close and correct observations
+of the country on your route. When you approach the road, send
+scouts ahead to ascertain if the invading troops have passed that
+way. Should they have passed, take a concealed route and get
+ahead of them, express to Colonel Benton, who is now on that road
+and in the vicinity of the troops, and effect a junction with
+him, so as to operate in concert. On ascertaining the locality or
+route of the troops, proceed at once to annoy them in every
+possible way. Use every exertion to stampede their animals and
+set fire to their trains. Burn the whole country before them and
+on their flanks. Keep them from sleeping by night surprises;
+blockade the road by felling trees or destroying river fords,
+where you can. Watch for opportunities to set fire to the grass
+on their windward, so as if possible to envelop their trains.
+Leave no grass before them that can be burned. Keep your men
+concealed as much as possible, and guard against surprise. Keep
+scouts out at all times, and communications open with Colonel
+Benton, Major McAllster and O. P. Rockwell, who are operating in
+the same way. Keep me advised daily of your movements, and every
+step the troops take, and in which direction.
+
+"God bless you and give you success. Your brother in Christ."
+
+The first man selected to carry out this order was Major Lot
+Smith. Setting out at 4 P.M., on October 3, with forty-four men,
+after an all night's ride, he came up with a federal supply train
+drawn by oxen. The captain of this train was ordered to "go the
+other way till he reached the States." As he persistently
+retraced his steps as often as the Mormons moved away, the latter
+relieved his wagons of their load and left him. Sending one of
+his captains with twenty men to capture or stampede the mules of
+the Tenth Regiment, Smith, with the remainder of his force,
+started for Sandy Fork to intercept army trains.
+
+Scouts sent ahead to investigate a distant cloud of dust reported
+that it was made by a freight train of twenty-six wagons. Smith
+allowed this train to proceed until dark, and then approached it
+undiscovered. Finding the drivers drunk, as he afterward
+explained, and fearing that they would be belligerent and thus
+compel him to disobey his instruction "not to hurt any one except
+in self-defence," he lay concealed until after midnight. His
+scouts meanwhile had reported to him that the train was drawn up
+for the night in two lines.
+
+Allowing the usual number of men to each wagon, Smith decided
+that his force of twenty-four was sufficient to capture the
+outfit, and, mounting his command, he ordered an advance on the
+camp. But a surprise was in store for him. His scouts had failed
+to discover that a second train had joined the first, and that
+twice the force anticipated confronted them. When this discovery
+was made, the Mormons were too close to escape observation.
+Members of Smith's party expected that their leader would now
+make some casual inquiry and then ride on, as if his destination
+were elsewhere. Smith, however, decided differently. As his force
+approached the camp-fire that was burning close to the wagons, he
+noticed that the rear of his column was not distinguishable in
+the darkness, and that thus the smallness of their number could
+not be immediately discovered. He, therefore, asked at once for
+the captain of the train, and one Dawson stepped forward. Smith
+directed him to have his men collect their private property at
+once, as he intended to "put a little fire" into the wagons. "For
+God's sake, don't burn the trains," was the reply. Dawson was
+curtly told where his men were to stack their arms, and where
+they were themselves to stand under guard. Then, making a torch,
+Smith ordered one of the government drivers to apply it, in order
+that "the Gentiles might spoil the Gentiles," as he afterward
+expressed it. The destruction of the supplies was complete. Smith
+allowed an Indian to take two wagon covers for a lodge, and some
+flour and soap, and compelled Dawson to get out some provisions
+for his own men. Nothing else was spared.
+
+The official list of rations thus destroyed included 2720 pounds
+of ham, 92,700 of bacon, 167,900 of flour, 8910 of coffee, 1400
+of sugar, 1333 of soap, 800 of sperm candles, 765 of tea, 7781 of
+hard bread, and 68,832 rations of desiccated vegetables. Another
+train was destroyed by the same party the next day on the Big
+Sandy, besides a few sutlers' wagons that were straggling behind.
+
+On October 5 Colonel Alexander assumed command of all the troops
+in the camp. He found his position a trying one. In a report
+dated October 8, he said that his forage would last only fourteen
+days, that no information of the position or intentions of the
+commanding officer had reached him, and that, strange as it may
+appear, he was "in utter ignorance of the objects of the
+government in sending troops here, or the instructions given for
+their conduct after reaching here." In these circumstances, he
+called a council of his officers and decided to advance without
+waiting for Colonel Johnston and the other companies, as he
+believed that delay would endanger the entire force. He selected
+as his route to a wintering place, not the most direct one to
+Salt Lake City, inasmuch as the canons could be easily defended,
+but one twice as long (three hundred miles), by way of Soda
+Springs, and thence either down Bear River Valley or northeast
+toward the Wind River Mountains, according to the resistance he
+might encounter.
+
+The march, in accordance with this decision, began on October 11,
+and a weary and profitless one it proved to be. Snow was falling
+as the column moved, and the ground was covered with it during
+their advance. There was no trail, and a road had to be cut
+through the greasewood and sage brush. The progress was so slow--
+often only three miles a day--and the supply train so long, that
+camp would sometimes be pitched for the night before the rear
+wagons would be under way. Wells's men continued to carry out his
+orders, and, in the absence of federal cavalry, with little
+opposition. One day eight hundred oxen were "cut out" and driven
+toward Salt Lake City.
+
+Conditions like these destroyed the morale of both officers and
+men, and there were divided counsels among the former, and
+complaints among the latter. Finally, after having made only
+thirty-five miles in nine days, Colonel Alexander himself became
+discouraged, called another council, and, in obedience to its
+decision, on October 19 directed his force to retrace their
+steps. They moved back in three columns, and on November 2 all of
+them had reached a camp on Black's Fork, two miles above Fort
+Bridger.
+
+Colonel Johnston had arrived at Fort Laramie on October 5, and,
+after a talk with Captain Van Vliet, had retained two additional
+companies of infantry that were on the way to Fort Leavenworth.
+As he proceeded, rumors of the burning of trains, exaggerated as
+is usual in such times, reached him. Having only about three
+hundred men to guard a wagon train six miles in length, some of
+the drivers showed signs of panic, and the colonel deemed the
+situation so serious that he accepted an offer of fifty or sixty
+volunteers from the force of the superintendent of the South Pass
+wagon road. He was fortunate in having as his guide the well
+known James Bridger, to whose knowledge of Rocky Mountain weather
+signs they owed escapes from much discomfort, by making camps in
+time to avoid coming storms.
+
+But even in camp a winter snowstorm is serious to a moving
+column, especially when it deprives the animals of their forage,
+as it did now. The forage supply was almost exhausted when South
+Pass was reached, and the draught and beef cattle were in a sad
+plight. Then came another big snowstorm and a temperature of l6 deg.,
+during which eleven mules and a number of oxen were frozen to
+death. In this condition of affairs, Colonel Johnston decided
+that a winter advance into Salt Lake Valley was impracticable.
+Learning of Colonel Alexander's move, which he did not approve,
+he sent word for him to join forces with his own command on
+Black's Fork, and there the commanding officer arrived on
+November 3.
+
+Lieutenant Colonel Cooke, of the Second Dragoons, with whom
+Governor Cumming was making the trip, had a harrowing experience.
+There was much confusion in organizing his regiment of six
+companies at Fort Leavenworth, and he did not begin his march
+until September 17, with a miserable lot of mules and
+insufficient supplies. He found little grass for the animals, and
+after crossing the South Platte on October 15, they began to die
+or to drop out. From that point snow and sleet storms were
+encountered, and, when Fort Laramie was reached, so many of the
+animals had been left behind or were unable to travel, that some
+of his men were dismounted, the baggage supply was reduced, and
+even the ambulances were used to carry grain. After passing
+Devil's Gate, they encountered a snowstorm on November 5. The
+best shelter their guide could find was a lofty natural wall at a
+point known as Three Crossings. Describing their night there he
+says: "Only a part of the regiment could huddle behind the rock
+in the deep snow; whilst, the long night through, the storm
+continued, and in fearful eddies from above, before, behind,
+drove the falling and drifting snow. Thus exposed, for the hope
+of grass the poor animals were driven, with great devotion, by
+the men once more across the stream and three-quarters of a mile
+beyond, to the base of a granite ridge, which almost faced the
+storm. There the famished mules, crying piteously, did not seek
+to eat, but desperately gathered in a mass, and some horses,
+escaping guard, went back to the ford, where the lofty precipice
+first gave us so pleasant relief and shelter."
+
+The march westward was continued through deep snow and against a
+cold wind. On November 8 twenty-three mules had given out, and
+five wagons had to be abandoned. On the night of the 9th, when
+the mules were tied to the wagons, "they gnawed and destroyed
+four wagon tongues, a number of wagon covers, ate their ropes,
+and getting loose, ate the sage fuel collected at the tents." On
+November 10 nine horses were left dying on the road, and the
+thermometer was estimated to have marked twenty-five degrees
+below zero. Their thermometers were all broken, but the freezing
+of a bottle of sherry in a trunk gave them a basis of
+calculation.
+
+The command reached a camp three miles below Fort Bridger on
+November 19. Of one hundred and forty-four horses with which they
+started, only ten reached that camp.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. THE MORMON PURPOSE
+
+When Colonel Johnston arrived at the Black's Fork camp the
+information he received from Colonel Alexander, and certain
+correspondence with the Mormon authorities, gave him a
+comprehensive view of the situation; and on November 5 he
+forwarded a report to army headquarters in the East, declaring
+that it was the matured design of the Mormons "to hold and occupy
+this territory independent of and irrespective of the authority
+of the United States," entertaining "the insane design of
+establishing a form of government thoroughly despotic, and
+utterly repugnant to our institutions."
+
+The correspondence referred to began with a letter from Brigham
+Young to Colonel Alexander, dated October 14. Opening with a
+declaration of Young's patriotism, and the brazen assertion that
+the people of Utah "had never resisted even the wish of the
+President of the United States, nor treated with indignity a
+single individual coming to the territory under his authority,"
+he went on to say:--
+
+"But when the President of the United States so far degrades his
+high position, and prostitutes the highest gift of the people, as
+to make use of the military power (only intended for the
+protection of the people's rights) to crush the people's
+liberties, and compel them to receive officials so lost to
+self-respect as to accept appointments against the known and
+expressed wish of the people, and so craven and degraded as to
+need an army to protect them in their position, we feel that we
+should be recreant to every principle of self-respect, honor,
+integrity, and patriotism to bow tamely to such high-handed
+tyranny, a parallel for which is only found in the attempts of
+the British government, in its most corrupt stages, against the
+rights, liberties, and lives of our forefathers."
+
+He then appealed to Colonel Alexander, as probably "the unwilling
+agent" of the administration, to return East with his force,
+saying, "I have yet to learn that United States officers are
+implicitly bound to obey the dictum of a despotic President, in
+violating the most sacred constitutional rights of American
+citizens."
+
+On October 18 Colonel Alexander, acknowledging the receipt of
+Young's letter, said in his reply that no one connected with his
+force had any wish to interfere in any way with the religion of
+the people of Utah, adding: "I repeat my earnest desire to avoid
+violence and bloodshed, and it will require positive resistance
+to force me to it. But my troops have the same right of self-
+defence that you claim, and it rests entirely with you whether
+they are driven to the exercise of it."
+
+Finding that he could not cajole the federal officer, Young threw
+off all disguise, and in reply to an earlier letter of Colonel
+Alexander, he gave free play to his vituperative powers. After
+going over the old Mormon complaints, and declaring that "both we
+and the Kingdom of God will be free from all hellish oppressors,
+the Lord being our helper," he wrote at great length in the
+following tone:--
+
+"If you persist in your attempt to permanently locate an army in
+this Territory, contrary to the wishes and constitutional rights
+of the people therein, and with a view to aid the administration
+in their unhallowed efforts to palm their corrupt officials upon
+us, and to protect them and blacklegs, black-hearted scoundrels,
+whoremasters, and murderers, as was the sole intention in sending
+you and your troops here, you will have to meet a mode of warfare
+against which your tactics furnish you no information....
+
+"If George Washington was now living, and at the helm of our
+government, he would hang the administration as high as he did
+Andre, and that, too, with a far better grace and to a much
+greater subserving the best interests of our country....
+
+"By virtue of my office as Governor of the Territory of Utah, I
+command you to marshal your troops and leave this territory, for
+it can be of no possible benefit to you to wickedly waste
+treasures and blood in prosecuting your course upon the side of a
+rebellion against the general government by its
+administrators.... Were you and your fellow officers as well
+acquainted with your soldiers as I am with mine, and did they
+understand the work they were now engaged in as well as you may
+understand it, you must know that many of them would immediately
+revolt from all connection with so ungodly, illegal,
+unconstitutional and hellish a crusade against an innocent
+people, and if their blood is shed it shall rest upon the heads
+of their commanders. With us it is the Kingdom of God or
+nothing."
+
+To this Colonel Alexander replied, on the 19th, that no citizen
+of Utah would be harmed through the instrumentality of the army
+in the performance of its duties without molestation, and that,
+as Young's order to leave the territory was illegal and beyond
+his authority, it would not be obeyed.
+
+John Taylor, on October 21, added to this correspondence a letter
+to Captain Marcy, in which he ascribed to party necessity the
+necessity of something with which to meet the declaration of the
+Republicans against polygamy--the order of the President that
+troops should accompany the new governor to Utah; declared that
+the religion of the Mormons was "a right guaranteed to us by the
+constitution"; and reiterated their purpose, if driven to it, "to
+burn every house, tree, shrub, rail, every patch of grass and
+stack of straw and hay, and flee to the mountains." "How a large
+army would fare without resources," he added, "you can picture to
+yourself."*
+
+* Text of this letter in House Ex. Doc. No. 71, 1st Session, 35th
+Congress, and Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City."
+
+
+The Mormon authorities meant just what they said from the start.
+Young was as determined to be the head of the civil government of
+the territory as he was to be the head of the church. He had
+founded a practical dictatorship, with power over life and
+property, and had discovered that such a dictatorship was
+necessary to the regulation of the flock that he had gathered
+around him and to the schemes that he had in mind. To permit a
+federal governor to take charge of the territory, backed up by
+troops who would sustain him in his authority, meant an end to
+Young's absolute rule. Rather than submit to this, he stood ready
+to make the experiment of fighting the government force,
+separated as that force was from its Eastern base of supplies; to
+lay waste the Mormon settlements, if it became necessary to use
+this method of causing a federal retreat by starvation; and, if
+this failed, to withdraw his flock to some new Zion farther
+south.
+
+In accordance with this view, as soon as news of the approach of
+the troops reached Salt Lake Valley, all the church industries
+stopped; war supplies weapons and clothing were manufactured and
+accumulated; all the elders in Europe were ordered home, and the
+outlying colonies in Carson Valley and in southern California
+were directed to hasten to Salt Lake City. A correspondent of the
+San Francisco Bulletin at San Bernardino, California, reported
+that in the last six months the Mormons there had sent four or
+five tons of gunpowder and many weapons to Utah, and that, when
+the order to "gather" at the Mormon metropolis came, they
+sacrificed everything to obey it, selling real estate at a
+reduction of from 20 to 50 per cent, and furniture for any price
+that it would bring. The same sacrifices were made in Carson
+Valley, where 150 wagons were required to accommodate the movers.
+In Salt Lake City the people were kept wrought up to the highest
+pitch by the teachings of their leaders. Thus, Amasa W. Lyman
+told them, on October 8, that they would not be driven away,
+because "the time has come when the Kingdom of God should be
+built up."* Young told them the same day, "If we will stand up as
+men and women of God, the yoke shall never be placed upon our
+necks again, and all hell cannot overthrow us, even with the
+United States troops to help them."** Kimball told the people in
+the Tabernacle, on October 18: "They [the United States] will
+have to make peace with us, and we never again shall make peace
+with them. If they come here, they have got to give up their
+arms." Describing his plan of campaign, at the same service,
+after the reading of the correspondence between Young and Colonel
+Alexander, Young said: "Do you want to know what is going to be
+done with the enemies now on our border? As soon as they start to
+come into our settlements, let sleep depart from their eyes and
+slumber from their eyelids until they sleep in death. Men shall
+be secreted here and there, and shall waste away our enemies in
+the name of Israel's God."***
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. V, p. 319.
+
+** Ibid., Vol. V, p. 332
+
+*** Ibid., Vol. V, p. 338.
+
+
+Young was equally explicit in telling members of his own flock
+what they might expect if they tried to depart at that time. In a
+discourse in the Tabernacle, on October 25, he said:--
+
+"If any man or woman in Utah wants to leave this community, come
+to me and I will treat you kindly, as I always have, and will
+assist you to leave; but after you have left our settlements you
+must not then depend upon me any longer, nor upon the God I
+serve. You must meet the doom you have labored for.... After this
+season, when this ignorant army has passed off, I shall never
+again say to a man, 'Stay your rifle ball,' when our enemies
+assail us, but shall say, 'Slay them where you find them."'*
+
+* Ibid, Vol. V, p. 352.
+
+
+Kimball, on November 8, spoke with equal plainness on this
+subject:--
+
+"When it is necessary that blood should be shed, we should be as
+ready to do that as to eat an apple. That is my religion, and I
+feel that our platter is pretty near clean of some things, and we
+calculate to keep it clean from this time henceforth and forever
+.... And if men and women will not live their religion, but take
+a course to pervert the hearts of the righteous, we will 'lay
+judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet,' and we
+will let you know that the earth can swallow you up as did Koran
+with his hosts; and, as Brother Taylor says, you may dig your
+graves, and we will slay you and you may crawl into them."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. VI, p. 34.
+
+
+The Mormon songs of the day breathed the same spirit of defiance
+to the United States authorities. A popular one at the Tabernacle
+services began:--
+
+"Old Uncle Sam has sent, I understand,
+Du dah,
+A Missouri ass to rule our land,
+Du dah! Du dah day.
+But if he comes we'll have some fun,
+Du dah,
+To see him and his juries run,
+Du dah! Du dah day.
+
+Chorus: Then let us be on hand,
+By Brigham Young to stand,
+And if our enemies do appear,
+We'll sweep them from the land."
+
+Another still more popular song, called "Zion," contained these
+words:--
+
+"Here our voices we'll raise, and will sing to thy praise,
+Sacred home of the Prophets of God;
+Thy deliverance is nigh, thy oppressors shall die,
+And the Gentiles shall bow 'neath thy rod."
+
+When the Mormons found that the federal forces had gone into
+winter quarters, the Nauvoo Legion was massed in a camp called
+Camp Weber, at the mouth of Echo Canon. This canon they fortified
+with ditches and breastworks, and some dams intended to flood the
+roadway; but they succeeded in erecting no defences which could
+not have been easily overcome by a disciplined force. A watch was
+set day and night, so that no movement of "the invaders" could
+escape them, and the officer in charge was particularly forbidden
+to allow any civil officer appointed by the President to pass.
+
+This careful arrangement was kept up all winter, but Tullidge
+says that no spies were necessary, as deserting soldiers and
+teamsters from the federal camp kept coming into the valley with
+information.
+
+The territorial legislature met in December, and approved
+Governor Young's course, every member signing a pledge to
+maintain "the rights and liberties" of the territory. The
+legislators sent a memorial to Congress, dated January 6, 1858,
+demanding to be informed why "a hostile course is pursued toward
+an unoffending people," calling the officers who had fled from
+the territory liars, declaring that "we shall not again hold
+still while fetters are being forged to bind us," etc. This
+offensive document reached Washington in March, and was referred
+in each House to the Committee on Territories, where it remained.
+When the federal forces reached Fort Bridger, they found that the
+Mormons had burned the buildings, and it was decided to locate
+the winter camp--named Camp Scott--on Black's Fork, two miles
+above the fort. The governor and other civil officers spent the
+winter in another camp near by, named "Ecklesville," occupying
+dugouts, which they covered with an upper story of plastered
+logs. There was a careful apportionment of rations, but no
+suffering for lack of food.
+
+An incident of the winter was the expedition of Captain Randolph
+B. Marcy across the Uinta Mountains to New Mexico, with two
+guides and thirty-five volunteer companions, to secure needed
+animals. The story of his march is one of the most remarkable on
+record, the company pressing on, even after Indian guides refused
+to accompany them to what they said was certain death, living for
+days only on the meat supplied by half-starved mules, and beating
+a path through deep snow. This march continued from November 27
+to January 10, when, with the loss of only one man, they reached
+the valley of the Rio del Norte, where supplies were obtained
+from Fort Massachusetts. Captain Marcy started back on March 17,
+selecting a course which took him past Long's and Pike's Peaks.
+He reached Camp Scott on June 8, with about fifteen hundred
+horses and mules, escorted by five companies of infantry and
+mounted riflemen.
+
+During the winter Governor Cumming sent to Brigham Young a
+proclamation notifying him of the arrival of the new territorial
+officers, and assuring the people that he would resort to the
+military posse only in case of necessity. Judge Eckles held a
+session of the United States District Court at Camp Scott on
+December 30, and the grand jury of that court found indictments
+for treason, resting on Young's proclamation and Wells's
+instructions, against Young, Kimball, Wells, Taylor, Grant,
+Locksmith, Rockwell, Hickman, and many others, but of course no
+arrests were made.
+
+Meanwhile, at Washington, preparations were making to sustain the
+federal authority in Utah as soon as spring opened.* Congress
+made an appropriation, and authorized the enlistment of two
+regiments of volunteers; three thousand regular troops and two
+batteries were ordered to the territory, and General Scott was
+directed to sail for the Pacific coast with large powers. But
+General Scott did not sail, the army contracts created a
+scandal,** and out of all this preparation for active hostilities
+came peace without the firing of a shot; out of all this open
+defiance and vilification of the federal administration by the
+Mormon church came abject surrender by the administration itself.
+
+* For the correspondence concerning the camp during the winter of
+1858, see Sen. Doc., 2d Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II.
+
+** Colonel Albert G. Brown, Jr., in his account of the Utah
+Expedition in the Atlantic Monthly for April, 1859, said: "To the
+shame of the administration these gigantic contracts, involving
+an amount of more than $6,000,000, were distributed with a view
+to influence votes in the House of Representatives upon the
+Lecompton Bill. Some of the lesser ones, such as those for
+furnishing mules, dragoon horses, and forage, were granted
+arbitrarily to relatives or friends of members who were wavering
+upon that question.
+
+
+The principal contract, that for the transportation of all the
+supplies, involving for the year 1858 the amount of $4,500,000,
+was granted, without advertisement or subdivision, to a firm in
+Western Missouri, whose members had distinguished themselves in
+the effort to make Kansas a slave state, and now contributed
+liberally to defray the election expenses of the Democratic
+party."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. COLONEL KANE'S MISSION
+
+When Major Van Vliet returned from Utah to Washington with
+Young's defiant ultimatum, he was accompanied by J. M. Bernhisel,
+the territorial Delegate to Congress, who was allowed to retain
+his seat during the entire "war," a motion for his expulsion,
+introduced soon after Congress met, being referred to a committee
+which never reported on it, the debate that arose only giving
+further proof of the ignorance of the lawmakers about Mormon
+history, Mormon government, and Mormon ambition.
+
+In Washington Bernhisel was soon in conference with Colonel T. L.
+Kane, that efficient ally of the Mormons, who had succeeded so
+well in deceiving President Fillmore. In his characteristically
+wily manner, Kane proposed himself to the President as a mediator
+between the federal authorities and the Mormon leaders.* At that
+early date Buchanan was not so ready for a compromise as he soon
+became, and the Cabinet did not entertain Kane's proposition with
+any enthusiasm. But Kane secured from the President two letters,
+dated December 3.** The first stated, in regard to Kane, "You
+furnish the strongest evidence of your desire to serve the
+Mormons by undertaking so laborious a trip," and that "nothing
+but pure philanthropy, and a strong desire to serve the Mormon
+people, could have dictated a course so much at war with your
+private interests." If Kane presented this credential to Young on
+his arrival in Salt Lake City, what a glorious laugh the two
+conspirators must have had over it! The President went on to
+reiterate the views set forth in his last annual message, and to
+say: "I would not at the present moment, in view of the hostile
+attitude they have assumed against the United States, send any
+agent to visit them on behalf of the government." The second
+letter stated that Kane visited Utah from his own sense of duty,
+and commended him to all officers of the United States whom he
+might meet.
+
+* H. H. Bancroft ("History of Utah," p. 529) accepts the
+ridiculous Mormon assertion that Buchanan was compelled to change
+his policy toward the Mormons by unfavorable comments "throughout
+the United States and throughout Europe." Stenhouse says ("Rocky
+Mountain Saints," p. 386): "That the initiatory steps for the
+settlement of the Utah difficulties were made by the government,
+as is so constantly repeated by the Saints, is not true. The
+author, at the time of Colonel Kane's departure from New York for
+Utah, was on the staff of the New York Herald, and was conversant
+with the facts, and confidentially communicated them to Frederick
+Hudson, Esq., the distinguished manager of that great journal."
+
+** Sen. Doc., 2d Session. 35th Congress, Vol. II, pp. 162-163.
+
+
+Kane's method of procedure was, throughout, characteristic of the
+secret agent of such an organization as the Mormon church. He
+sailed from New York for San Francisco the first week in January,
+1858, under the name of Dr. Osborn. As soon as he landed, he
+hurried to Southern California, and, joining the Mormons who had
+been called in from San Bernardino, he made the trip to Utah with
+them, arriving in Salt Lake City in February. On the evening of
+the day of his arrival he met the Presidency and the Twelve, and
+began an address to them as follows: "I come as ambassador from
+the Chief Executive of our nation, and am prepared and duly
+authorized to lay before you, most fully and definitely, the
+feelings and views of the citizens of our common country and of
+the Executive toward you, relative to the present position of
+this territory, and relative to the army of the United States now
+upon your borders." This is the report of Kane's words made by
+Tullidge in his "Life of Brigham Young." How the statement agrees
+with Kane's letters from the President is apparent on its face.
+The only explanation in Kane's favor is that he had secret
+instructions which contradicted those that were written and
+published. Kane told the church officers that he wished to
+"enlist their sympathies for the poor soldiers who are now
+suffering in the cold and snow of the mountains!" An interview of
+half an hour with Young followed--too private in its character to
+be participated in even by the other heads of the church. An
+informal discussion ensued, the following extracts from which, on
+Mormon authority, illustrate Kane's sympathies and purpose:--
+
+"Did Dr. Bernhisel take his seat?"
+
+Kane--"Yes. He was opposed by the Arkansas member and a few
+others, but they were treated as fools by more sagacious members;
+for, if the Delegate had been refused his seat, it would have
+been TANTAMOUNT TO A DECLARATION OF WAR."
+
+"I suppose they [the Cabinet] are united in putting down Utah?"
+
+Kane--"I think not."*
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 203.
+
+
+Kane was placed as a guest, still incognito, in the house of an
+elder, and, after a few days' rest, he set out for Camp Scott.
+His course on arriving there, on March 10, was again
+characteristic of the crafty emissary. Not even recognizing the
+presence of the military so far as to reply to a sentry's
+challenge, the latter fired on him, and he in turn broke his own
+weapon over the sentry's head. When seized, he asked to be taken
+to Governor Cumming, not to General Johnston.* "The compromise,"
+explains Tullidge, "which Buchanan had to effect with the utmost
+delicacy, could only be through the new governor, and that, too,
+by his heading off the army sent to occupy Utah." A fancied
+insult from General Johnston due to an orderly's mistake led Kane
+to challenge the general to a duel; but a meeting was prevented
+by an order from Judge Eckles to the marshal to arrest all
+concerned if his command to the contrary was not obeyed.
+
+"Governor Cumming," continued Tullidge, "could do nothing less
+than espouse the cause of the `ambassador' who was there in the
+execution of a mission intrusted to him by the President of the
+United States."**
+
+* Colonel Johnston was made a brigadier general that winter.
+
+** Kane brought an impudent letter from Young, saying that he had
+learned that the United States troops were very destitute of
+provisions, and offering to send them beef cattle and flour.
+General Johnston replied to Kane that he had an abundance of
+provisions, and that, no matter what might be the needs of his
+army, he "would neither ask nor receive from President Young and
+his confederates any supplies while they continued to be enemies
+of the government" Kane replied to this the next day, expressing
+a fear that "it must greatly prejudice the public interest to
+refuse Mr. Young's proposal in such a manner," and begging the
+general to reconsider the matter. No farther notice seems to have
+been taken of the offer.
+
+
+Kane did not make any mistake in his selection of the person to
+approach in camp. Judged by the results, and by his admissions in
+after years, the most charitable explanation of Cumming's course
+is that he was hoodwinked from the beginning by such masters in
+the art of deception as Kane and Young. A woman in Salt Lake
+City, writing to her sons in the East at the time, described the
+governor as in "appearance a very social, good-natured looking
+gentleman, a good specimen of an old country aristocrat, at ease
+in himself and at peace with all the world."* Such a man, whom
+the acts and proclamations and letters of Young did not incite to
+indignation, was in a very suitable frame of mind to be cajoled
+into adopting a policy which would give him the credit of
+bringing about peace, and at the same time place him at the head
+of the territorial affairs.
+
+* New York Herald, July 2, 1858. For personal recollections of
+Cumming, see Perry's "Reminiscences of Public Men," p. 290. What
+is said by Governor Perry of Cumming's Utah career is valueless.
+
+
+In looking into the causes of what was, from this time, a backing
+down by both parties to this controversy, we find at Washington
+that lack of an aggressive defence of the national interests
+confided to him by his office which became so much more evident
+in President Buchanan a few years later. Defied and reviled
+personally by Young in the latter's official communications,
+there was added reason to those expressed in the President's
+first message why this first rebellion, as he called it, "should
+be put down in such a manner that it shall be the last." But a
+wider question was looming up in Kansas, one in which the whole
+nation recognized a vital interest; a bigger struggle attracted
+the attention of the leading members of the Cabinet. The
+Lecompton Constitution was a matter of vastly more interest to
+every politician than the government of the sandy valley which
+the Mormons occupied in distant Utah.
+
+On the Mormon side, defiant as Young was, and sincere as was his
+declaration that he would leave the valley a desert before the
+advance of a hostile force, his way was not wholly clear. His
+Legion could not successfully oppose disciplined troops, and he
+knew it. The conviction of himself and his associates on the
+indictments for treason could be prevented before an unbiased
+non-Mormon jury only by flight. Abjectly as his people obeyed
+him,--so abjectly that they gave up all their gold and silver to
+him that winter in exchange for bank notes issued by a company of
+which he was president,--the necessity of a reiteration of the
+determination to rule by the plummet showed that rebellion was at
+least a possibility? That Young realized his personal peril was
+shown by some "instructions and remarks" made by him in the
+Tabernacle just after Kane set out for Fort Bridger, and
+privately printed for the use of his fellow-leaders. He expressed
+the opinion that if Joseph Smith had "followed the revelations in
+him" (meaning the warnings of danger), he would have been among
+them still. "I do not know precisely," said Young, "in what
+manner the Lord will lead me, but were I thrown into the
+situation Joseph was, I would leave the people and go into the
+wilderness, and let them do the best they could.... We are in
+duty bound to preserve life--to preserve ourselves on earth--
+consequently we must use policy, and follow in the counsel given
+us." He pointed out the sure destruction that awaited them if
+they opened fire on the soldiers, and declared that he was going
+to a desert region in the territory which he had tried to have
+explored "a desert region that no man knows anything about," with
+"places here and there in it where a few families could live,"
+and the entire extent of which would provide homes for five
+hundred thousand people, if scattered about. In these
+circumstances "a way out" that would free the federal
+administration from an unpleasant complication, and leave Young
+still in practical control in Utah, was not an unpleasant
+prospect for either side.
+
+A long Utah letter to the Near York Herald (which had been
+generally pro-Mormon in tone) dated Camp Scott, May 22, 1858,
+contained the following: "Some of the deceived followers of the
+latest false Prophet arrived at this post in a most deplorable
+condition. One mater familiar had crossed the mountains during
+very severe weather in almost a state of nudity. Her dress
+consisted of a part of a single skirt, part of a man's shirt, and
+a portion of a jacket. Thus habited, without a shoe or a thread
+more, she had walked 157 miles in snow, the greater part of the
+way up to her knees, and carried in her arms a sucking babe less
+than six weeks old. The soldiers pulled off their clothes and
+gave them to the unfortunate woman. The absconding Saints who
+arrive here tell a great many stories about the condition and
+feeling of their brethren who still remain in the land of
+promise.... Thousands and thousands of persons, both men and
+women, are represented to be exceedingly desirous of not going
+South with the church, but are compelled to by fear of death or
+otherwise."
+
+Governor Cumming, in his report to Secretary Cass on the
+situation as he found it when he entered Salt Lake City, said
+that, learning that a number of persons desirous of leaving the
+territory "considered themselves to be unlawfully restrained of
+their liberty," he decided, even at the risk of offending the
+Mormons, to give public notice of his readiness to assist such
+persons. In consequence, 56 men, 38 women, and 71 children sought
+his protection in order to proceed to the States. "The large
+majority of these people;" he explained, "are of English birth,
+and state that they leave the congregation from a desire to
+improve their circumstances and realize elsewhere more money for
+their labor."
+
+Kane having won Governor Cumming to his view of the situation,
+and having created ill feeling between the governor and the chief
+military commander, the way was open for the next step. The plan
+was to have Governor Cumming enter Salt Lake Valley without any
+federal troops, and proceed to Salt Lake City under a Mormon
+escort of honor, which was to meet him when he came within a
+certain distance of that city. This he consented to do. Kane
+stayed in "Camp Eckles" until April, making one visit to the
+outskirts to hold a secret conference with the Mormons, and,
+doubtless, to arrange the details of the trip.
+
+On April 3 Governor Cumming informed General Johnston of his
+decision, and he set out two days later. General Johnston's view
+of the policy to be pursued toward the Mormons was expressed in a
+report to army headquarters, dated January 20:--
+
+"Knowing how repugnant it would be to the policy or interest of
+the government to do any act that would force these people into
+unpleasant relations with the federal government, I have, in
+conformity with the views also of the commanding general, on all
+proper occasions manifested in my intercourse with them a spirit
+of conciliation. But I do not believe that such consideration of
+them would be properly appreciated now, or rather would be
+wrongly interpreted; and, in view of the treasonable temper and
+feeling now pervading the leaders and a greater portion of the
+Mormons, I think that neither the honor nor the dignity of the
+government will allow of the slightest concession being made to
+them."
+
+Judge Eckles did not conceal his determination not to enter Salt
+Lake City until the flag of his country was waving there, holding
+it a shame that men should be detained there in subjection to
+such a despot as Brigham Young.
+
+Leaving camp accompanied only by Colonel Kane and two servants,
+Governor Cumming found his Mormon guard awaiting him a few miles
+distant. His own account of the trip and of his acts during the
+next three weeks of his stay in Mormondom may be found in a
+letter to General Johnston and a report to Secretary of State
+Cass.* As Echo Canon was supposed to be thoroughly fortified, and
+there was not positive assurance that a conflict might not yet
+take place, the governor was conducted through it by night. He
+says that he was "agreeably surprised" by the illuminations in
+his honor. Very probably he so accepted them, but the fires
+lighted along the sides and top of the canon were really intended
+to appear to him as the camp-fires of a big Mormon army. This
+deception was further kept up by the appearance of challenging
+parties at every turn, who demanded the password of the escort,
+and who, while the governor was detained, would hasten forward to
+a new station and go through the form of challenging again: Once
+he was made the object of an apparent attack, from which he was
+rescued by the timely arrival of officers of authority.**
+
+* For text, see Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City,"
+pp. 108-212.
+
+** "In course of time Cumming discovered how the Mormon leaders
+had imposed upon him and amused themselves with his credulity,
+and to the last hour that he was in the Territory he felt annoyed
+at having been so absurdly deceived, and held Brigham responsible
+for the mortifying joke."--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 390.
+
+
+The trip to Salt Lake City occupied a week, and on the 12th the
+governor entered the Mormon metropolis, escorted by the city
+officers and other persons of distinction in the community, and
+was assigned as a guest to W. C. Staines, an influential Mormon
+elder. There Young immediately called on him, and was received
+with friendly consideration. Asked by his host, when the head of
+the church took his leave, if Young appeared to be a tyrant,
+Governor Cumming replied: "No, sir. No tyrant ever had a head on
+his shoulders like Mr. Young. He is naturally a good man. I doubt
+whether many of your people sufficiently appreciate him as a
+leader."* This was the judgment of a federal officer after a few
+moments' conversation with the reviler of the government and a
+month's coaching by Colonel Kane.
+
+Three days later, Governor Cumming officially notified General
+Johnston of his arrival, and stated that he was everywhere
+recognized as governor, and "universally greeted with such
+respectful attentions" as were due to his office. There was no
+mention of any advance of the troops, nor any censure of Mormon
+offenders, but the general was instructed to use his forces to
+recover stock alleged to have been stolen from the Mormons by
+Indians, and to punish the latter, and he was informed that
+Indian Agent Hurt (who had so recently escaped from Mormon
+clutches) was charged by W. H. Hooper, the Mormon who had acted
+as secretary of state during recent months, with having incited
+Indians to hostility, and should be investigated! Verily, Colonel
+Kane's work was thoroughly performed. General Johnston replied,
+expressing gratification at the governor's reception, requesting
+to be informed when the Mormon force would be withdrawn from the
+route to Salt Lake City, and saying that he had inquired into Dr.
+Hurt's case, and had satisfied himself "that he has faithfully
+discharged his duty as agent, and that he has given none but good
+advice to the Indians."
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 206.
+
+
+On the Sunday after his arrival Young introduced Governor Cumming
+to the people in the Tabernacle, and then a remarkable scene
+ensued. Stenhouse says that the proceedings were all arranged in
+advance. Cumming was acting the part of the vigilant defender of
+the laws, and at the same time as conciliator, doing what his
+authority would permit to keep the Mormon leaders free from the
+presence of troops and from the jurisdiction of federal judges.
+But he was not all-powerful in this respect. General Johnston had
+orders that would allow him to dispose of his forces without
+obedience to the governor, and the governor could not quash the
+indictments found by Judge Eckles's grand jury. Young's knowledge
+of this made him cautious in his reliance on Governor Gumming.
+Then, too, Young had his own people to deal with, and he would
+lose caste with them if he made a surrender which left Mormondom
+practically in federal control.
+
+When Governor Cumming was introduced to the congregation of
+nearly four thousand people he made a very conciliatory address,
+in which, however, according to his report to Secretary Cass,* he
+let them know that he had come to vindicate the national
+sovereignty, "and to exact an unconditional submission on their
+part to the dictates of the law"; but informed them that they
+were entitled to trial by their peers,--intending to mean Mormon
+peers,--that he had no intention of stationing the army near
+their settlements, or of using a military posse until other means
+of arrest had failed. After this practical surrender of
+authority, the governor called for expressions of opinion from
+the audience, and he got them. That audience had been nurtured
+for years on the oratory of Young and Kimball and Grant, and had
+seen Judge Brocchus vilified by the head of the church in the
+same building; and the responses to Governor Cumming's invitation
+were of a kind to make an Eastern Gentile quail, especially one
+like the innocent Cumming, who thought them "a people who
+habitually exercised great self-control." One speaker went into a
+review of Mormon wrongs since the tarring of the prophet in Ohio,
+holding the federal government responsible, and naming as the
+crowning outrage the sending of a Missourian to govern them. This
+was too much for Cumming, and he called out, "I am a Georgian,
+sir, a Georgian." The congregation gave the governor the lie to
+his face, telling him that they would not believe that he was
+their friend until he sent the soldiers back. "It was a perfect
+bedlam," says an eyewitness, "and gross personal remarks were
+made. One man said, 'You're nothing but an office seeker.' The
+governor replied that he obtained his appointment honorably and
+had not solicited it."** If all this was a piece of acting
+arranged by Young to show his flock that he was making no abject
+surrender, it was well done.***
+
+* Ex. Doc. No. 67, 1st Session, 35th Congress.
+
+** Coverdale's statement in Camp Scott letter, June 4, 1858, to
+New York Herald.
+
+*** "Brigham was seated beside the governor on the platform, and
+tried to control the unruly spirits. Governor Cumming may for the
+moment have been deceived by this apparent division among the
+Mormons, but three years later he told the author that it was all
+of a piece with the incidents of his passage through Echo Canon.
+In his characteristic brusque way he said: 'It was all humbug,
+sir, all humbug; but never mind; it is all over now. If it did
+them good, it did not hurt me.'"--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p.
+393.
+
+
+Young's remarks on March 21 had been having their effect while
+Cumming was negotiating, and an exodus from the northern
+settlements was under way which only needed to be augmented by a
+movement from the valley to make good Young's declaration that
+they would leave their part of the territory a desert. No
+official order for this movement had been published, but whatever
+direction was given was sufficient. Peace Commissioners Powell
+and McCullough, in a report to the Secretary of War dated July 3,
+1858, said on this subject: "We were informed by various
+(discontented) Mormons, who lived in the settlements north of
+Provo, that they had been forced to leave their homes and go to
+the southern part of the Territory.... We were also informed that
+at least one-third of the persons who had removed from their
+homes were compelled to do so. We were told that many were
+dissatisfied with the Mormon church, and would leave it whenever
+they could with safety to themselves. We are of opinion that the
+leaders of the Mormon church congregated the people in order to
+exercise more immediate control over them." Not only were houses
+deserted, but growing crops were left and heavier household
+articles abandoned, and the roads leading to the south and
+through Salt Lake City were crowded day by day with loaded
+wagons, their owners--even the women, often shoeless trudging
+along and driving their animals before them. These refugees were,
+a little later, joined by Young and most of his associates, and
+by a large part of the inhabitants of Salt Lake City itself. It
+was estimated by the army officers at the time that 25,000 of a
+total population of 45,000 in the Territory, took part in this
+movement. When they abandoned their houses they left them tinder
+boxes which only needed the word of command, when the troops
+advanced, to begin a general conflagration. By June 1 the
+refugees were collected on the western shore of Utah Lake, fifty
+miles south of Salt Lake City. What a picture of discomfort and
+positive suffering this settlement presented can be partly
+imagined. The town of Provo near by could accommodate but a few
+of the new-comers, and for dwellings the rest had recourse to
+covered wagons, dugouts, cabins of logs, and shanties of boards--
+anything that offered any protection. There was a lack of food,
+and it was the old life of the plains again, without the daily
+variety presented when the trains were moving.
+
+In his report to Secretary Cass, dated May 2, Governor Cumming,
+after describing this exodus as a matter of great concern,
+said:--
+
+"I shall follow these people and try to rally them. Our military
+force could overwhelm most of these poor people, involving men,
+women, and children in a common fate; but there are among the
+Mormons many brave men accustomed to arms and horses, men who
+could fight desperately as guerillas; and, if the settlements are
+destroyed, will subject the country to an expensive and
+protracted war, without any compensating results. They will, I am
+sure, submit to 'trial by their peers,' but they will not brook
+the idea of trial by 'juries' composed of 'teamsters and
+followers of the camp,' nor any army encamped in their cities or
+dense settlements."
+
+What kind of justice their idea of "trial by their peers" meant
+was disclosed in the judicial history of the next few years. This
+report, which also recited the insults the governor had received
+in the Tabernacle, was sent to Congress on June 10 by President
+Buchanan, with a special message, setting forth that he had
+reason to believe that "our difficulties with the territory have
+terminated, and the reign of the constitution and laws been
+restored," and saying that there was no longer any use of calling
+out the authorized regiments of volunteers.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. THE PEACE COMMISSION
+
+Governor Cumming's report of May 2 did not reach Washington until
+June 9, but the President's volte-face had begun before that
+date, and when the situation in Utah was precisely as it was when
+he had assured Colonel Kane that he would send no agent to the
+Mormons while they continued their defiant attitude. Under date
+of April 6 he issued a proclamation, in which he recited the
+outrages on the federal officers in Utah, the warlike attitude
+and acts of the Mormon force, which, he pointed out, constituted
+rebellion and treason; declared that it was a grave mistake to
+suppose that the government would fail to bring them into
+submission; stated that the land occupied by the Mormons belonged
+to the United States; and disavowed any intention to interfere
+with their religion; and then, to save bloodshed and avoid
+indiscriminate punishment where all were not equally guilty, he
+offered "a free and full pardon to all who will submit themselves
+to the just authority of the federal government."
+
+This proclamation was intrusted to two peace commissioners, L. W.
+Powell of Kentucky and Major Ben. McCullough of Texas. Powell had
+been governor of his state, and was then United States senator-
+elect. McCullough had seen service in Texas before the war with
+Mexico, and been a daring scout under Scott in the latter war. He
+was killed at the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in 1862, in
+command of a Confederate corps.
+
+These commissioners were instructed by the Secretary of War to
+give the President's proclamation extensive circulation in Utah.
+Without entering into any treaty or engagements with the Mormons,
+they were to "bring those misguided people to their senses" by
+convincing them of the uselessness of resistance, and how much
+submission was to their interest. They might, in so doing, place
+themselves in communication with the Mormon leaders, and assure
+them that the movement of the army had no reference to their
+religious tenets. The determination was expressed to see that the
+federal officers appointed for the territory were received and
+installed, and that the laws were obeyed, and Colonel Kane was
+commended to them as likely to be of essential service.
+
+The commissioners set out from Fort Leavenworth on April 25,
+travelling in ambulances, their party consisting of themselves,
+five soldiers, five armed teamsters, and a wagon master. They
+arrived at Camp Scott on May 29, the reenforcements for the
+troops following them. The publication of the President's
+proclamation was a great surprise to the military. "There was
+none of the bloodthirsty excitement in the camp which was
+reported in the States to have prevailed there," says Colonel
+Brown, "but there was a feeling of infinite chagrin, a
+consciousness that the expedition was only a pawn on Mr.
+Buchanan's political chessboard; and reproaches against his folly
+were as frequent as they were vehement."*
+
+* Atlantic Monthly, April, 1859.
+
+
+The commissioners were not long in discovering the untrustworthy
+character of any advices they might receive from Governor
+Cumming. In their report of June 1 to the Secretary of War, they
+mentioned his opinion that almost all the military organizations
+of the territory had been disbanded, adding, "We fear that the
+leaders of the Mormon people have not given the governor correct
+information of affairs in the valley." They also declared it to
+be of the first importance that the army should advance into the
+valley before the Mormons could burn the grass or crops, and they
+gave General Johnston the warmest praise.
+
+The commissioners set out for Salt Lake City on June 2, Governor
+Cumming who had returned to Camp Scott with Colonel Kane
+following them. On reaching the city they found that Young and
+the other leaders were with the refugees at Provo. A committee of
+three Mormons expressed to the commissioners the wish of the
+people that they would have a conference with Young, and on the
+l0th Young, Kimball, Wells, and several of the Twelve arrived,
+and a meeting was arranged for the following day.
+
+There are two accounts of the ensuing conferences, the official
+reports of the commissioners,* which are largely statements of
+results, and a Mormon report in the journal kept by Wilford
+Woodruff.** At the first conference, the commissioners made a
+statement in line with the President's proclamation and with
+their instructions, offering pardon on submission, and declaring
+the purpose of the government to enforce submission by the
+employment of the whole military force of the nation, if
+necessary. Woodruff's "reflection" on this proposition was that
+the President found that Congress would not sustain him, and so
+was seeking a way of retreat. While the conference was in
+session, O.P. Rockwell entered and whispered to Young. The
+latter, addressing Governor Cumming, asked, "Are you aware that
+those troops are on the move toward the city?" The compliant
+governor replied, "It cannot be."*** What followed Woodruff thus
+relates:--
+
+* Sen. Doc., 2d Session, 35th Congress, Vol. II, p. 167.
+
+** Quoted in Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 214.
+
+*** Governor Cumming on June 15 despatched a letter to General
+Johnston saying that he had denied the report of the advance of
+the army, and that the general was pledged not to advance until
+he had received communications from the peace commissioners and
+the governor. The general replied on the 19th that he did say he
+would not advance until he heard from the governor, but that this
+was not a pledge; that his orders from the President were to
+occupy the territory; that his supplies had arrived earlier than
+anticipated, and that circumstances required an advance at once.
+
+
+"'Is Brother Dunbar present?' enquired Brigham.
+
+"'Yes, sir,' responded someone. What was coming now?
+
+"'Brother Dunbar, sing Zion.' The Scotch songster came forward
+and sang the soul-stirring lines by C. W. Penrose."*
+
+* See p. 498, ante.
+
+
+Interpreted, this meant, "Stop that army or our peace conference
+is ended." Woodruff adds:--
+
+"After the meeting, McCullough and Gov. Cumming took a stroll
+together. 'What will you do with such a people?' asked the
+governor, with a mixture of admiration and concern. 'D--n them, I
+would fight them if I had my way,' answered McCullough. "'Fight
+them, would you? You might fight them, but you would never whip
+them. They would never know when they were whipped.'"
+
+At the second day's conference Brigham Young uttered his final
+defiance and then surrendered. Declaring that he had done nothing
+for which he desired the President's forgiveness, he satisfied
+the pride of his followers with such declarations as these:--
+
+"I can take a few of the boys here, and, with the help of the
+Lord, can whip the whole of the United States. Boys, how do you
+feel? Are you afraid of the United States? (Great demonstration
+among the brethren.) No. No. We are not afraid of man, nor of
+what he can do."
+
+"The United States are going to destruction as fast as they can
+go. If you do not believe it, gentlemen, you will soon see it to
+your sorrow."
+
+But here was the really important part of his remarks: "Now, let
+me say to you peace commissioners, we are willing those troops
+should come into our country, but not to stay in our city. They
+may pass through it, if needs be, but must not quarter less than
+forty miles from us."
+
+Impudent as was this declaration to the representatives of the
+government, it marked the end of the "war". The commissioners at
+once notified General Johnston that the Mormon leaders had agreed
+not to resist the execution of the laws in the territory, and to
+consent that the military and civil officers should discharge
+their duties. They suggested that the general issue a
+proclamation, assuring the people that the army would not
+trespass on the rights or property of peaceable citizens, and
+this the general did at once.
+
+The Mormon leaders, being relieved of the danger of a trial for
+treason, now stood in dread of two things, the quartering of the
+army among them, and a vigorous assault on the practice of
+polygamy. Judge Eckles's District Court had begun its spring term
+at Fort Bridger on April 5, and the judge had charged the grand
+jury very plainly in regard to plural marriages. On this subject
+he said:--
+
+"It cannot be concealed, gentlemen, that certain domestic
+arrangements exist in this territory destructive of the peace,
+good order, and morals of society--arrangements at variance with
+those of all enlightened and Christian communities in the world;
+and, sapping as they do the very foundation of all virtue,
+honesty, and morality, it is an imperative duty falling upon you
+as grand jurors diligently to inquire into this evil and make
+every effort to check its growth.
+
+There is no law in this territory punishing polygamy, but there
+is one, however, for the punishment of adultery; and all illegal
+intercourse between the sexes, if either party have a husband or
+wife living at the time, is adulterous and punishable by
+indictment. The law was made to punish the lawless and
+disobedient, and society is entitled to the salutary effects of
+its execution."
+
+No indictments were found that spring for this offence, but the
+Mormons stood in great dread of continued efforts by the judge to
+enforce the law as he interpreted it. Of the nature of the real
+terms made with the Mormons, Colonel Brown says:--
+
+"No assurances were given by the commissioners upon either of
+these subjects. They limited their action to tendering the
+President's pardon, and exhorting the Mormons to accept it.
+Outside the conferences, however, without the knowledge of the
+commissioners, assurances were given on both these subjects by
+the Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, which proved
+satisfactory to Brigham Young. The exact nature of their pledges
+will, perhaps, never be disclosed; but from subsequent
+confessions volunteered by the superintendent, who appears to
+have acted as the tool of the governor through the whole affair,
+it seems probable that they promised explicitly to exert their
+influence to quarter the army in Cache Valley, nearly one hundred
+miles north of Salt Lake City, and also to procure the removal of
+Judge Eckles."*
+
+* Atlantic Monthly, April, 1859. Young told the Mormons at Provo
+on June 27, 1858: "We have reason to believe that Colonel Kane,
+on his arrival at the frontier, telegraphed to Washington, and
+that orders were immediately sent to stop the march of the army
+for ten days."--Journal of Discourses, Vol. VII, p. 57.
+
+
+Captain Marcy had reached Camp Scott on June 8, with his herd of
+horses and mules, and Colonel Hoffman with the first division of
+the supply train which left Fort Laramie on March 18; on the 10th
+Captain Hendrickspn arrived with the remainder of the trains; and
+on the 13th the long-expected movement from Camp Scott to the
+Mormon city began. To the soldiers who had spent the winter
+inactive, except as regards their efforts to keep themselves from
+freezing, the order to advance was a welcome one. Late as was the
+date, there had been a snowfall at Fort Bridger only three days
+before, and the streams were full of water. The column was
+prepared therefore for bridge-making when necessary. When the
+little army was well under way the scene in the valley through
+which ran Black's Fork was an interesting one. The white walls of
+Bridger's Fort formed a background, with the remnants of the camp
+in the shape of sod chimneys, tent poles, and so forth next in
+front, and, slowly leaving all this, the moving soldiers, the
+long wagon trains, the artillery carriages and caissons, and on
+either flank mounted Indians riding here and there, satisfying
+their curiosity with this first sight of a white man's army. The
+news that the Mormons had abandoned their idea of resistance
+reached the troops the second day after they had started, and
+they had nothing more exciting to interest them on the way than
+the scenery and the Mormon fortifications. Salt Lake City was
+reached on the 26th, and the march through it took place that
+day. To the soldiers, nothing was visible to indicate any
+abandonment of the hostile attitude of the Mormons, much less any
+welcome.
+
+Their leaders had returned to the camp at Provo, and the only
+civilians in the city were a few hundred who had, for special
+reasons, been granted permission to return. The only woman in the
+whole city was Mrs. Cumming. The Mormons had been ordered indoors
+early that morning by the guard; every flag on a public building
+had been taken down; every window was closed. The regimental
+bands and the creaking wagons alone disturbed the utter silence.
+The peace commissioners rode with General Johnston, and the whole
+force encamped on the river Jordan, just within the city limits.
+Two days later, owing to a lack of wood and pasturage there, they
+were moved about fifteen miles westward, near the foot of the
+mountains. Disregarding Young's expressed wishes, and any
+understanding he might have had with Governor Cumming, General
+Johnston selected Cedar Valley on Lake Utah for one of the three
+posts he was ordered to establish in the territory, and there his
+camp was pitched on July 6.
+
+Governor Cumming prepared a proclamation to the inhabitants of
+the territory, announcing that all persons were pardoned who
+submitted to the law, and that peace was restored, and inviting
+the refugees to return to their homes. The governor and the peace
+commissioners made a trip to the Mormon camps, and addressed
+gatherings at Provo and Lehi. The governor bustled about
+everywhere, assuring every one that all the federal officers
+would "hold sacred the amnesty and pardon by the President of the
+United States, by G-d, sir, yes," and receiving from Young the
+sneering reply, "We know all about it, Governor." On July 4., no
+northward movement of the people having begun, Cumming told Young
+that he intended to publish his proclamation. "Do as YOU please,"
+was the contemptuous reply; "to-morrow I shall get upon the
+tongue of my wagon, and tell the people that I am going home, and
+they can do as THEY please."*
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 226.
+
+
+Young did so, and that day the backward march of the people
+began. The real governor was the head of the church.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE
+
+We may here interrupt the narrative of events subsequent to the
+restoration of peace in the territory, with the story of the most
+horrible massacre of white people by religious fanatics of their
+own race that has been recorded since that famous St.
+Bartholemew's night in Paris--the story of the Mountain Meadows
+Massacre. Committed on Friday, September 11, 1857,--four days
+before the date of Young's proclamation forbidding the United
+States troops to enter the territory--it was a considerable time
+before more than vague rumors of the crime reached the Eastern
+states. No inquest or other investigation was held by Mormon
+authority, no person participating in the slaughter was arrested
+by a Mormon officer; and, when officers of the federal government
+first visited the scene, in the spring of 1859, all that remained
+to tell the tale were human skulls and other bones lying where
+the wolves and coyotes had left them, with scraps of clothing
+caught here and there upon the vines and bushes. Dr. Charles
+Brewer, the assistant army surgeon who was sent with a detail to
+bury the remains in May, 1859, says in his gruesome report:--
+
+"I reached a ravine fifty yards from the road, in which I found
+portions of the skeletons of many bodies,--skulls, bones, and
+matted hair,--most of which, on examination, I concluded to be
+those of men. Three hundred and fifty yards further on another
+assembly of human remains was found, which, by all appearance,
+had been left to decay upon the surface; skulls and bones, most
+of which I believed to be those of women, some also of children,
+probably ranging from six to twelve years of age. Here, too, were
+found masses of women's hair, children's bonnets, such as are
+generally used upon the plains, and pieces of lace, muslin,
+calicoes, and other materials. Many of the skulls bore marks of
+violence, being pierced with bullet holes, or shattered by heavy
+blows, or cleft with some sharp-edged instrument."*
+
+* Sen. Doc. No. 42, 1st Session, 36th Congress.
+
+
+More than seventeen years passed before officers of the United
+States succeeded in securing the needed evidence against any of
+the persons responsible for these wholesale murders, and a jury
+which would bring in a verdict of guilty. Then a single Mormon
+paid the penalty of his crime. He died asserting that he was the
+one victim surrendered by the Mormon church to appease the public
+demand for justice. The closest students of the Mountain Meadows
+Massacre and of Brigham Young's rule will always give the most
+credence to this statement of John D. Lee. Indeed, to acquit
+Young of responsibility for this crime, it would be necessary to
+prove that the sermons and addresses in the journal of Discourses
+are forgeries.
+
+In the summer of 1857 a party was made up in Arkansas to cross
+the plains to Southern California by way of Utah, under direction
+of a Captain Fancher.* This party differed from most emigrant
+parties of the day both in character and equipment. It numbered
+some thirty families,--about 140 individuals,--men, women, and
+children. They were people of means, several of them travelling
+in private carriages, and their equipment included thirty horses
+and mules, and about six hundred head of cattle, when they
+arrived in Utah. Most of them seem to have been Methodists, and
+they had a preacher of that denomination with them. Prayers were
+held in camp every night and morning, and they never travelled on
+Sundays. They did not hurry on, as the gold seekers were wont to
+do in those days, but made their trip one of pleasure, sparing
+themselves and their animals, and enjoying the beauties and
+novelties of the route.**
+
+* Stenhouse says that travelling the same route, and encamping
+near the Arkansans, was a company from Missouri who called
+themselves "Missouri Wildcats," and who were so boisterous that
+the Arkansans were warned not to travel with them to Utah.
+Whitney says that the two parties travelled several days apart
+after leaving Salt Lake City. No mention of a separate company of
+Missourians appears in the official and court reports of the
+massacre.
+
+** Jacob Forney, in his official report, says that he made the
+most careful inquiry regarding the conduct of the emigrants after
+they entered the territory, and could testify that the company
+conducted themselves with propriety." In the years immediately
+following the massacre, when the Mormons were trying to attribute
+the crime to Indians, much was said about the party having
+poisoned a spring and caused the death of Indians and their
+cattle. Forney found that one ox did die near their camp, but
+that its death was caused by a poisonous weed. Whitney, the
+church historian, who of course acquits the church of any
+responsibility for the massacre, draws a very black picture of
+the emigrants, saying, for instance, that at Cedar Creek "their
+customary proceeding of burning fences, whipping the heads off
+chickens, or shooting them in the streets or private dooryards,
+to the extreme danger of the inhabitants, was continued. One of
+them, a blustering fellow riding a gray horse, flourished his
+pistol in the face of the wife of one of the citizens, all the
+time making insulting proposals and uttering profane threats."--
+"History of Utah," Vol. I, p. 696.
+
+
+Every emigrant train for California then expected to restock in
+Utah. The Mormons had profited by this traffic, and such a thing
+as non-intercourse with travellers in the way of trade was as yet
+unheard of. But Young was now defying the government, and his
+proclamation of September 15 had declared that "no person shall
+be allowed to pass or repass into or through or from this
+territory without a permit from the proper officer." To a
+constituency made up so largely of dishonest members, high and
+low, as Young himself conceded the Mormon body politic to be, the
+outfit of these travellers was very attractive. There was a
+motive, too, in inflicting punishment on them, merely because
+they were Arkansans, and the motive was this:--
+
+Parley P. Pratt was sent to explore a southern route from Utah to
+California in 1849. He reached San Francisco from Los Angeles in
+the summer of 1851, remaining there until June, 1855. He was a
+fanatical defender of polygamy after its open proclamation,
+challenging debate on the subject in San Francisco, and issuing
+circulars calling on the people to repent as "the Kingdom of God
+has come nigh unto you." While in San Francisco, Pratt induced
+the wife of Hector H. McLean, a custom-house official, the mother
+of three children, to accept the Mormon faith and to elope with
+him to Utah as his ninth wife. The children were sent to her
+parents in Louisiana by their father, and there she sometime
+later obtained them, after pretending that she had abandoned the
+Mormon belief. When McLean learned of this he went East, and
+traced his wife and Pratt to Houston, Texas, and thence to Fort
+Gibson, near Van Buren, Arkansas. There he had Pratt arrested,
+but there seemed to be no law under which he could be held. As
+soon as Pratt was released, he left the place on horseback.
+McLean, who had found letters from Pratt to his wife at Fort
+Gibson which increased his feeling against the man,* followed him
+on horseback for eight miles, and then, overtaking him, shot him
+so that he died in two hours.** It was in accordance with Mormon
+policy to hold every Arkansan accountable for Pratt's death, just
+as every Missourian was hated because of the expulsion of the
+church from that state.
+
+* Van Buren Intelligencer, May 15, 1857.
+
+** See the story in the New York Times of May 28, 1857, copied
+from the St. Louis Democrat and St. Louis Republican.
+
+
+When the company pitched camp on the river Jordan their food
+supplies were nearly exhausted, and their draught animals needed
+rest and a chance to recuperate. They knew nothing of the
+disturbed relations between the Mormons and the government when
+they set out, and they were astonished now to be told that they
+must break camp and move on southward. But they obeyed. At
+American Fork, the next settlement, they offered some of their
+worn-out animals in exchange for fresh ones, and visited the town
+to buy provisions. There was but one answer--nothing to sell.
+Southward they continued, through Provo, Springville, Payson,
+Salt Creek, and Fillmore, at all settlements making the same
+effort to purchase the food of which they stood in need, and at
+all receiving the same reply.
+
+So much were their supplies now reduced that they hastened on
+until Corn Creek was reached; there they did obtain a little
+relief, some Indians selling them about thirty bushels of corn.
+But at Beaver, a larger place, nonintercourse was again
+proclaimed, and at Parowan, through which led the road built by
+the general government, they were forbidden to pass over this
+directly through the town, and the local mill would not even
+grind their own corn. At Cedar Creek, one of the largest southern
+settlements, they were allowed to buy fifty bushels of wheat, and
+to have it and their corn ground at John D. Lee's mill. After a
+day's delay they started on, but so worn out were their animals
+that it took them three days to reach Iron Creek, twenty miles
+beyond, and two more days to reach Mountain Meadows, fifteen
+miles farther south.
+
+These "meadows" are a valley, 350 miles south of Salt Lake City,
+about five miles long by one wide. They are surrounded by
+mountains, and narrow at the lower end to a width of 400 yards,
+where a gap leads out to the desert. A large spring near this gap
+made that spot a natural resting-place, and there the emigrants
+pitched their camp. Had they been in any way suspicious of Indian
+treachery they would not have stopped there, because, from the
+elevations on either side, they were subject to rifle fire. Their
+anxiety, however, was not about the Indians, whom they had found
+friendly, but about the problem of making the trip of seventy
+days to San Bernardino, across a desert country, with their
+wornout animals and their scant supplies. Had Mormon cruelty
+taken only the form of withholding provisions and forage from
+this company, its effect would have satisfied their most evil
+wishers.
+
+On the morning of Monday, September 7, still unsuspicious of any
+form of danger, their camp was suddenly fired upon by Indians,
+(and probably by some white men disguised as Indians). Seven of
+the emigrants were killed in this attack and sixteen were
+wounded. Unexpected as was this manifestation of hostility, the
+company was too well organized to be thrown into a panic. The
+fire was returned, and one Indian was killed, and two chiefs
+fatally wounded. The wagons were corralled at once as a sort of
+fortification, and the wheels were chained together. In the
+centre of this corral a rifle pit was dug, large enough to hold
+all their people, and in this way they were protected from shots
+fired at them from either side of the valley. In this little fort
+they successfully defended themselves during that and the ensuing
+three days. Not doubting that Indians were their only assailants,
+two of their number succeeded in escaping from the camp on a
+mission to Cedar City to ask for assistance. These messengers
+were met by three Mormons, who shot one of them dead, and wounded
+the other; the latter seems to have made his way back to the
+camp.
+
+The Arkansans soon suffered for water, as the spring was a
+hundred yards distant. Two of them during one day made a dash,
+carrying buckets, and got back with them safely, under a heavy
+fire.
+
+* Lee denies positively a story that the Mormons shot two little
+girls who were dressed in white and sent out for water. He says
+that when the Arkansans saw a white man in the valley (Lee
+himself) they ran up a white flag and sent two little boys to
+talk with him; that he refused to see them, as he was then
+awaiting orders, and that he kept the Indians from shooting them.
+"Mormonism Unveiled," p. 231.
+
+
+With some reenforcements from the south, the Indians now numbered
+about four hundred. They shot down some seventy head of the
+emigrants' cattle, and on Wednesday evening made another attack
+in force on the camp, but were repulsed. Still another attack the
+next morning had the same result. This determined resistance
+upset the plans of the Mormons who had instigated the Indian
+attacks. They had expected that the travellers would be overcome
+in the first surprise, and that their butchery would easily be
+accounted for as the result of an Indian raid on their camp. But
+they were not to be balked of their object. To save themselves
+from the loss of life that would be entailed by a charge on the
+Arkansans' defences, they resorted to a scheme of the most
+deliberate treachery.
+
+On Friday, the 11th, a Mormon named William Bateman was sent
+forward with a flag of truce. The other undisguised Mormons
+remained in concealment, and the Indians had been instructed to
+keep entirely out of sight. The beleaguered company were
+delighted to see a white man, and at once sent one of their
+number to meet him. Their ammunition was almost exhausted, their
+dead were unburied in their midst, and their situation was
+desperate. Bateman, following out his instructions, told the
+representative of the emigrants that the Mormons had come to
+their assistance, and that, if they would place themselves in the
+white men's hands and follow directions, they would be conducted
+in safety to Cedar City, there to await a proper opportunity for
+proceeding on their journey.* This plan was agreed to without any
+delay, and John D. Lee was directed by John M. Higbee, major of
+the Iron Militia, and chief in command of the Mormon party, to go
+to the camp to see that the plot agreed upon was carried out,
+Samuel McMurdy and Samuel Knight following him with two wagons
+which were a part of the necessary equipment.
+
+* This account follows Lee's confession, "Mormonism Unveiled," p.
+236 ff.
+
+
+Never had a man been called upon to perform a more dastardly part
+than that which was assigned to Lee. Entering the camp of the
+beleaguered people as their friend, he was to induce them to
+abandon their defences, give up all their weapons, separate the
+adults from the children and wounded, who were to be placed in
+the wagons, and then, at a given signal, every one of the party
+was to be killed by the white men who walked by their sides as
+their protectors. Lee draws a picture of his feelings on entering
+the camp which ought to be correct, even if circumstances lead
+one to attribute it to the pen of a man who naturally wished to
+find some extenuation for himself: "I doubt the power of man
+being equal to even imagine how wretched I felt. No language can
+describe my feelings. My position was painful, trying, and awful;
+my brain seemed to be on fire; my nerves were for a moment
+unstrung; humanity was overpowering as I thought of the cruel,
+unmanly part that I was acting. Tears of bitter anguish fell in
+streams from my eyes; my tongue refused its office; my faculties
+were dormant, stupefied and deadened by grief. I wished that the
+earth would open and swallow me where I stood."
+
+When Lee entered the camp all the people, men, women, and
+children, gathered around him, some delighted over the hope of
+deliverance, while others showed distrust of his intentions.
+Their position was so strong that they felt some hesitation in
+abandoning it, and Lee says that, if their ammunition had not
+been so nearly exhausted, they would never have surrendered. But
+their hesitation was soon overcome, and the carrying out of the
+plot proceeded.
+
+All their arms, the wounded, and the smallest children were
+placed in the two wagons. As soon as these were loaded, a
+messenger from Higbee, named McFarland, rode up with a message
+that everything should be hastened, as he feared he could not
+hold back the Indians. The wagons were then started at once
+toward Cedar City, Lee and the two drivers accompanying them, and
+the others of the party set out on foot for the place where the
+Mormon troops were awaiting them, some two hundred yards distant.
+First went McFarland on horseback, then the women and larger
+children, and then the men. When, in this order, they came to the
+place where the Mormons were stationed, the men of the party
+cheered the latter as their deliverers.
+
+As the wagons passed out of sight over an elevation, the march of
+the rest of the party was resumed. The women and larger children
+walked ahead, then came the men in single file, an armed Mormon
+walking by the side of each Arkansan. This gave the appearance of
+the best possible protection. When they had advanced far enough
+to bring the women and children into the midst of a company of
+Indians concealed in a growth of cedars, the agreed signal the
+words, "Do your duty"--was given. As these words were spoken,
+each Mormon turned and shot the Arkansan who was walking by his
+side, and Indians and other Mormons attacked the women and
+children who were walking ahead, while Lee and his two companions
+killed the wounded and the older of the children who were in the
+wagons.
+
+The work of killing the men was performed so effectually that
+only two or three of them escaped, and these were overtaken and
+killed soon after.* Indeed, only the nervousness natural to men
+who were assigned to perform so horrible a task could prevent the
+murderers from shooting dead the unarmed men walking by their
+sides. With the women and children it was different. Instead of
+being shot down without warning, they first heard the shots that
+killed their only protectors, and then beheld the Indians rushing
+on them with their usual whoops, brandishing tomahawks, knives,
+and guns. There were cries for mercy, mothers' pleas for
+children's lives, and maidens' appeals to manly honor; but all in
+vain. It was not necessary to use firearms; indeed, they would
+have endangered the assailants themselves. The tomahawk and the
+knife sufficed, and in the space of a few moments every woman and
+older child was a corpse.
+
+* This is Judge Cradlebaugh's and Lee's statement. Lee said he
+could have given the details of their pursuit and capture if he
+had had time. An affidavit by James Lynch, who accompanied
+Superintendent Forney to the Meadows on his first trip there in
+March 1859 (printed in Sen. Doc. No. 42), says that one of the
+three, who was not killed on the spot, "was followed by five
+Mormons who through promises of safety, etc., prevailed upon him
+to return to Mountain Meadows, where they inhumanly butchered
+him, laughing at and disregarding his loud and repeated cries for
+mercy, as witnessed and described by Ira Hatch, one of the five.
+The object of killing this man was to leave no witness competent
+to give testimony in a court of justice but God."
+
+
+When Lee and the men in charge of the two wagons heard the
+firing, they halted at once, as this was the signal agreed on for
+them to perform their part. McMurdy's wagon, containing the sick
+and wounded and the little children, was in advance, Knight's,
+with a few passengers and the weapons, following. We have three
+accounts of what happened when the signal was given, Lee's own,
+and the testimony of the other two at Lee's trial. Lee says that
+McMurdy at once went up to Knight's wagon, and, raising his rifle
+and saying, " O Lord my God, receive their spirits; it is for Thy
+Kingdom I do this," fired, killing two men with the first shot.
+Lee admits that he intended to do his part of the killing, but
+says that in his excitement his pistol went off prematurely and
+narrowly escaped wounding McMurdy; that Knight then shot one man,
+and with the butt of his gun brained a little boy who had run up
+to him, and that the Indians then came up and finished killing
+all the sick and wounded. McMurdy testified that Lee killed the
+first person in his wagon--a woman--and also shot two or three
+others. When asked if he himself killed any one that day, McMurdy
+replied, "I believe I am not upon trial. I don't wish to answer."
+Knight testified that he saw Lee strike down a woman with his gun
+or a club, denying that he himself took any part in the
+slaughter: Nephi Johnson, another witness at Lee's second trial,
+testified that he saw Lee and an Indian pull a man out of one of
+the wagons, and he thought Lee cut the man's throat. The only
+persons spared in this whole company were seventeen children,
+varying in age from two months to seven years. They were given to
+Mormon families in southern Utah--"sold out," says Forney in his
+report, "to different persons in Cedar City, Harmony, and Painter
+Creek. Bills are now in my possession from different individuals
+asking payment from the government. I cannot condescend to become
+the medium of even transmitting such claims to the department."
+The government directed Forney in 1858 to collect these children,
+and he did so. Congress in 1859 appropriated $10,000 to defray
+the expense of returning them to their friends in Arkansas, and
+on June 27 of that year fifteen of them (two boys being retained
+as government witnesses) set out for the East from Salt Lake City
+in charge of a company of United States dragoons and five women
+attendants. Judge Cradlebaugh quotes one of these children, a boy
+less than nine years old, as saying in his presence, when they
+were brought to Salt Lake City, "Oh, I wish I was a man. I know
+what I would do. I would shoot John D. Lee. I saw him shoot my
+mother."
+
+The total number in the Arkansas party is not exactly known. The
+victims numbered more than 120. Jacob Hamblin testified at the
+Lee trial that, the following spring, he and his man buried "120
+odd" skulls, counting them as they gathered them up.
+
+A few young women, in the confusion of the Indian attack,
+concealed themselves, but they were soon found. Hamblin testified
+at Lee's second trial that Lee, in a long conversation with him,
+soon after the massacre, told him that, when he rejoined the
+Mormon troops, an Indian chief brought to him two girls from
+thirteen to fifteen years old, whom he had found hiding in a
+thicket, and asked what should be done with them, as they were
+pretty and he wanted to save them. Lee replied that "according to
+the orders he had, they were too old and too big to let go."
+
+Then by Lee's direction the chief shot one of them, and Lee threw
+the other down and cut her throat. Hamblin said that an Indian
+boy conducted him to the place where the girls' bodies lay, a
+long way from the rest, up a ravine, unburied and with their
+throats cut. One of the little children saved from the massacre
+was taken home by Hamblin, and she said the murdered girls were
+her sisters. Richard F. Burton, who visited Utah in 1860,
+mentions, as one of the current stories in connection with the
+massacre, that, when a girl of sixteen knelt before one of the
+Mormons and prayed for mercy, he led her into the thicket,
+violated her, and then cut her throat.*
+
+* "City of the Saints," p. 412.
+
+
+As soon as the slaughter was completed the plundering began.
+Beside their wagons, horses, and cattle,* they had a great deal
+of other valuable property, the whole being estimated by Judge
+Cradlebaugh at from $60,000 to $70,000. When Lee got back to the
+main party, the searching of the bodies of the men for valuables
+began. "I did hold the hat awhile," he confesses, "but I got so
+sick that I had to give it to some other person." He says there
+were more than five hundred head of cattle, a large number of
+which the Indians killed or drove away, while Klingensmith,
+Haight, and Higbee, leaders in the enterprise, drove others to
+Salt Lake City and sold them. The horses and mules were divided
+in the same way. The Indians (and probably their white comrades)
+had made quick work with the effects of the women. Their bodies,
+young and old, were stripped naked, and left, objects of the
+ribald jests of their murderers. Lee says that in one place he
+counted the bodies of ten children less than sixteen years old.
+
+* Superintendent Forney, in his report of March, 1859, said:
+"Facts in my possession warrant me in estimating that there was
+distributed a few days after the massacre, among the leading
+church dignitaries, $30,000 worth of property. It is presumable
+they also had some money."
+
+
+When the Mormons had finished rifling the dead, all were called
+together and admonished by their chiefs to keep the massacre a
+secret from the whole world, not even letting their wives know of
+it, and all took the most solemn oath to stand by one another and
+declare that the killing was the work of Indians. Most of the
+party camped that night on the Meadows, but Lee and Higbee passed
+the night at Jacob Hamblin's ranch.
+
+In the morning the Mormons went back to bury the dead. All these
+lay naked, "making the scene," says Lee, "one of the most
+loathsome and ghastly that can be imagined." The bodies were
+piled up in heaps in little depressions, and a pretence was made
+of covering them with dirt; but the ground was hard and their
+murderers had few tools, and as a consequence the wild beasts
+soon unearthed them, and the next spring the bones were scattered
+over the surface.
+
+This work finished, the party, who had been joined during the
+night by Colonel Dame, Judge Lewis, Isaac C. Haight, and others
+of influence, held another council, at which God was thanked for
+delivering their enemies into their hands; another oath of
+secrecy was taken, and all voted that any person who divulged the
+story of the massacre should suffer death, but that Brigham Young
+should be informed of it. It was also voted, according to Lee,
+that Bishop Klingensmith should take charge of the plunder for
+the benefit of the church.
+
+The story of this slaughter, to this point, except in minor
+particulars noted, is undisputed. No Mormon now denies that the
+emigrants were killed, or that Mormons participated largely in
+the slaughter. What the church authorities have sought to
+establish has been their own ignorance of it in advance, and
+their condemnation of it later. In examining this question we
+have, to assist us, the knowledge of the kind of government that
+Young had established over his people--his practical power of
+life and death; the fact that the Arkansans were passing south
+from Salt Lake City, and that their movements had been known to
+Young from the start and their treatment been subject to his
+direction; the failure of Young to make any effort to have the
+murderers punished, when a "crook of his finger" would have given
+them up to justice; the coincidence of the massacre with Young's
+threat to Captain Van Vliet, uttered on September 9, "If the
+issue continues, you may tell the government to stop all
+emigration across the continent, for the Indians will kill all
+who attempt it"; Young's failure to mention this "Indian outrage"
+in his report as superintendent of Indian affairs, and the
+silence of the Mormon press on the subject.* If we accept Lee's
+plausible theory that, at his second trial, the church gave him
+up as a sop to justice, and loosened the tongues of witnesses
+against him, this makes that part of the testimony in
+confirmation of Lee's statement, elicited from them, all the
+stronger.
+
+* H. H. Bancroft, in his "Utah," as usual, defends the Mormon
+church against the charge of responsibility for the massacre, and
+calls Judge Cradlebaugh's charge to the grand jury a slur that
+the evidence did not excuse.
+
+
+Let us recall that Lee himself had been an active member of the
+church for nearly forty years, following it from Missouri to
+Utah, travelling penniless as a missionary at the bidding of his
+superiors, becoming a polygamist before he left Nauvoo, accepting
+in Utah the view that "Brigham spoke by direction of the God of
+heaven," and saying, as he stood by his coffin looking into the
+rifles of his executioners, "I believe in the Gospel that was
+taught in its purity by Joseph Smith in former days." How much
+Young trusted him is seen in the fact that, by Young's direction,
+he located the southern towns of Provo, Fillmore, Parowan, etc.,
+was appointed captain of militia at Cedar City, was president of
+civil affairs at Harmony, probate judge of the county (before and
+after the massacre), a delegate to the convention which framed
+the constitution of the State of Deseret, a member of the
+territorial legislature (after the massacre), and "Indian farmer"
+of the district including the Meadows when the massacre occurred.
+
+Lee's account of the steps leading up to the massacre and of what
+followed is, in brief, that, about ten days before it occurred,
+General George A. Smith, one of the Twelve, called on him at
+Washington City, and, in the course of their conversation, asked,
+"Suppose an emigrant train should come along through this
+southern country, making threats against our people and bragging
+of the part they took in helping kill our prophet, what do you
+think the brethren would do with them?" Lee replied: "You know
+the brethren are now under the influence of the 'Reformation,'
+and are still red-hot for the Gospel. The brethren believe the
+government wishes to destroy them. I really believe that any
+train of emigrants that may come through here will be attacked
+and probably all destroyed. Unless emigrants have a pass from
+Brigham Young or some one in authority, they will certainly never
+get safely through this country." Smith said that Major Haight
+had given him the same assurance. It was Lee's belief that Smith
+had been sent south in advance of the emigrants to prepare for
+what followed.
+
+Two days before the first attack on the camp, Lee was summoned to
+Cedar City by Isaac Haight, president of that Stake, second only
+to Colonel Dame in church authority in southern Utah, and a
+lieutenant colonel in the militia under Dame. To make their
+conference perfectly secret, they took some blankets and passed
+the night in an old iron works. There Haight told Lee a long
+story about Captain Fancher's party, charging them with abusing
+the Mormons, burning fences, poisoning water, threatening to kill
+Brigham Young and all the apostles, etc. He said that unless
+preventive measures were taken, the whole Mormon population were
+likely to be butchered by troops which these people would bring
+back from California. Lee says that he believed all this. He was
+also told that, at a council held that day, it had been decided
+to arm the Indians and "have them give the emigrants a brush,
+and, if they killed part or all, so much the better." When asked
+who authorized this, Haight replied, "It is the will of all in
+authority," and Lee was told that he was to carry out the order.
+The intention then was to have the Indians do the killing without
+any white assistance. On his way home Lee met a large body of
+Indians who said they were ordered by Haight, Higbee, and Bishop
+Klingensmith, to kill and rob the emigrants, and wanted Lee to
+lead them. He told them to camp near the emigrants and wait for
+him; but they made the attack, as described, early Monday
+morning, without capturing the camp, and drove the whites into an
+intrenchment from which they could not dislodge them. Hence the
+change of plan.
+
+During the early part of the operations, Lee says, a messenger
+had been sent to Brigham Young for orders. On Thursday evening
+two or three wagon loads of Mormons, all armed, arrived at Lee's
+camp in the Meadows, the party including Major Higbee of the Iron
+Militia, Bishop Klingensmith, and many members of the High
+Council. When all were assembled, Major Higbee reported that
+Haight's orders were that "all the emigrants must be put out of
+the way"; that they had no pass (Young could have given them
+one); that they were really a part of Johnston's army, and, if
+allowed to proceed to California, they would bring destruction on
+all the settlements in Utah. All knelt in prayer, after which
+Higbee gave Lee a paper ordering the destruction of all who could
+talk. After further prayers, Higbee said to Lee, "Brother Lee, I
+am ordered by President Haight to inform you that you shall
+receive a crown of celestial glory for your faithfulness, and
+your eternal joy shall be complete." Lee says that he was "much
+shaken" by this offer, because of his complete faith in the power
+of the priesthood to fulfil such promises. The outcome of the
+conference was the adoption of the plan of treachery that was so
+successfully carried out on Friday morning. The council had
+lasted so long that the party merely had time for breakfast
+before Bateman set out for the camp with his white flag.*
+
+* Bishop Klingensmith, one of the indicted, in whose case the
+district attorney entered a nolle prosequi in order that he might
+be a witness at Lee's first trial, said in his testimony: "Coming
+home the day following their [emigrants'] departure from Cedar
+City, met Ira Allen four miles beyond the place where they had
+spoken to Lee. Allen said, 'The die is cast, the doom of the
+emigrants is sealed.'" (This was in reference to a meeting in
+Parowan, when the destruction of the emigrants had been decided
+on.) He said John D. Lee had received orders from headquarters at
+Parowan to take men and go, and Joel White would be wanted to go
+to Pinto Creek and revoke the order to suffer the emigrants to
+pass. The third day after, Haight came to McFarland's house and
+told witness and others that orders had come in from camp last
+night. Things hadn't gone along as had been expected, and
+reenforcements were wanted. Haight then went to Parowan to get
+instructions, and received orders from Dame to decoy the
+emigrants out and spare nothing but the small children who could
+not tell the tale." In an affidavit made by this Bishop in April,
+1871, he said: "I do not know whether said 'headquarters' meant
+the spiritual headquarters at Parowan, or the headquarters of the
+commander-in-chief at Salt Lake City." (Affidavit in full in
+"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 439.)
+
+
+Several days after the massacre, Haight told Lee that the
+messenger sent to Young for instructions had returned with orders
+to let the emigrants pass in safety, and that he (Haight) had
+countermanded the order for the massacre, but his messenger "did
+not go to the Meadows at all." All parties were evidently
+beginning to realize the seriousness of their crime. Lee was then
+directed by the council to go to Young with a verbal report,
+Haight again promising him a celestial reward if he would
+implicate more of the brethren than necessary in his talk with
+Young.* On reaching Salt Lake City, Lee gave Young the full
+particulars of the massacre, step by step. Young remarked, "Isaac
+[Haight] has sent me word that, if they had killed every man,
+woman, and child in the outfit, there would not have been a drop
+of innocent blood shed by the brethren; for they were a set of
+murderers, robbers, and thieves."
+
+* "At that time I believed everything he said, and I fully
+expected to receive the celestial reward that he promised me. But
+now [after his conviction] I say, 'Damn all such celestial
+rewards as I am to get for what I did on that fatal day."
+"Mormonism Unveiled," p. 251.
+
+
+When the tale was finished, Young said: "This is the most
+unfortunate affair that ever befell the church. I am afraid of
+treachery among the brethren who were there. If any one tells
+this thing so that it will become public, it will work us great
+injury. I want you to understand now that you are NEVER to tell
+this again, not even to Heber C. Kimball. IT MUST be kept a
+secret among ourselves. When you get home, I want you to sit down
+and write a long letter, and give me an account of the affair,
+charging it to the Indians. You sign the letter as farmer to the
+Indians, and direct it to me as Indian agent. I can then make use
+of such a letter to keep off all damaging and troublesome
+inquirers." Lee did so, and his letter was put in evidence at his
+trial.
+
+Lee says that Young then dismissed him for the day, directing him
+to call again the next morning, and that Young then said to him:
+"I have made that matter a subject of prayer. I went right to God
+with it, and asked him to take the horrid vision from my sight if
+it was a righteous thing that my people had done in killing those
+people at the Mountain Meadows. God answered me, and at once the
+vision was removed. I have evidence from God that he has
+overruled it all for good, and the action was a righteous one and
+well intended."*
+
+* For Lee's account of his interview with Young, see " Mormonism
+Unveiled," pp. 252-254.
+
+
+When Lee was in Salt Lake City as a member of the constitutional
+convention, the next winter, Young treated him, at his house and
+elsewhere, with all the friendliness of old. No one conversant
+with the extent of Young's authority will doubt the correctness
+of Lee's statement that "if Brigham Young had wanted one man or
+fifty men or five hundred men arrested, all he would have had to
+do would be to say so, and they would have been arrested
+instantly. There was no escape for them if he ordered their
+arrest. Every man who knows anything of affairs in Utah at that
+time knows this is so."
+
+At the second trial of Lee a deposition by Brigham Young was
+read, Young pleading ill health as an excuse for not taking the
+stand. He admitted that "counsel and advice were given to the
+citizens not to sell grain to the emigrants for their stock," but
+asserted that this did not include food for the parties
+themselves. He also admitted that Lee called on him and began
+telling the story of the massacre, but asserted that he directed
+him to stop, as he did not want his feelings harrowed up with a
+recital of these details. He gave as an excuse for not bringing
+the guilty to justice, or at least making an investigation, the
+fact that a new governor was on his way, and he did not know how
+soon he would arrive. As Young himself was keeping this governor
+out by armed force, and declaring that he alone should fill that
+place, the value of his excuse can be easily estimated. Hamblin,
+at Lee's trial, testified that he told Brigham Young and George
+A. Smith "everything I could" about the massacre, and that Young
+said to him, "As soon as we can get a court of justice we will
+ferret this thing out, but till then don't say anything about
+it."
+
+Both Knight and McMurphy testified that they took their teams to
+Mountain Meadows under compulsion. Nephi Johnson, another
+participant, when asked whether he acted under compulsion,
+replied, "I didn't consider it safe for me to object," and when
+compelled to answer the question whether any person had ever been
+injured for not obeying such orders, he replied, "Yes, sir, they
+had."
+
+Some letters published in the Corinne (Utah) Reporter, in the
+early seventies, signed "Argus," directly accused Young of
+responsibility for this massacre. Stenhouse discovered that the
+author had been for thirty years a Mormon, a high priest in the
+church, a holder of responsible civil positions in the territory,
+and he assured Stenhouse that "before a federal court of justice,
+where he could be protected, he was prepared to give the evidence
+of all that he asserted." "Argus" declared that when the
+Arkansans set out southward from the Jordan, a courier preceded
+them carrying Young's orders for non-intercourse; that they were
+directed to go around Parowan because it was feared that the
+military preparations at that place, Colonel Dame's headquarters,
+might arouse their suspicion; and he points out that the troops
+who killed the emigrants were called out and prepared for field
+operations, just as the territorial law directed, and were
+subject to the orders of Young, their commander-in-chief.
+
+Not until the so-called Poland Bill of 1874 became a law was any
+one connected with the Mountain Meadows Massacre even indicted.
+Then the grand jury, under direction of Judge Boreman, of the
+Second Judicial District of Utah, found indictments against Lee,
+Dame, Haight, Higbee, Klingensmith, and others. Lee, who had
+remained hidden for some years in the canon of the Colorado,* was
+reported to be in south Utah at the time, and Deputy United
+States Marshal Stokes, to whom the warrant for his arrest was
+given, set out to find him. Stokes was told that Lee had gone
+back to his hiding-place, but one of his assistants located the
+accused in the town of Panguitch, and there they found him
+concealed in a log pen near a house. His trial began at Beaver,
+on July 12, 1875. The first jury to try his case disagreed, after
+being out three days, eight Mormons and the Gentile foreman
+voting for acquittal, and three Gentiles for conviction. The
+second trial, which took place at Beaver, in September, 1876,
+resulted in a verdict of "guilty of murder in the first degree."
+Beadle says of the interest which the church then took in his
+conviction: "Daniel H. Wells went to Beaver, furnished some new
+evidence, coached the witnesses, attended to the spiritual wants
+of the jury, and Lee was convicted. He could not raise the money
+($1000) necessary to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United
+States, although he solicited it by subscription from wealthy
+leading Mormons for several days under guard."**
+
+* Inman's "Great Salt Lake Trail," p. 141
+
+** "Polygamy," p. 507.
+
+
+Criminals in Utah convicted of a capital crime were shot, and
+this was Lee's fate. It was decided that the execution should
+take place at the scene of the massacre, and there the sentence
+of the court was carried out on March 23, 1877. The coffin was
+made of rough pine boards after the arrival of the prisoner, and
+while he sat looking at the workmen a short distance away. When
+all the arrangements were completed, the marshal read the order
+of the court and gave Lee an opportunity to speak. A photographer
+being ready to take a picture of the scene, Lee asked that a copy
+of the photograph be given to each of three of his wives, naming
+them. He then stood up, having been seated on his coffin, and
+spoke quietly for some time. He said that he was sacrificed to
+satisfy the feelings of others; that he died "a true believer in
+the Gospel of Jesus Christ," but did not believe everything then
+taught by Brigham Young. He asserted that he "did nothing
+designedly wrong in this unfortunate affair," but did everything
+in his power to save the emigrants. Five executioners then
+stepped forward, and, when their rifles exploded, Lee fell dead
+on his coffin.
+
+Major (afterward General) Carlton, returning from California in
+1859, where he had escorted a paymaster, passed through Mountain
+Meadows, and, finding many bones of the victims still scattered
+around, gathered them, and erected over them a cairn of stones,
+on one of which he had engraved the words: "Here lie the bones of
+120 men, women, and children from Arkansas, murdered on the 10th
+day of September, 1857." In the centre of the cairn was placed a
+beam, some fifteen feet high, with a cross-tree, on which was
+painted: "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay
+it." It was said that this was removed by order of Brigham
+Young.*
+
+* "Humiliating as it is to confess, in the 42d Congress there
+were gentlemen to be found in the committees of the House and in
+the Senate who were bold enough to declare their opposition to
+all investigation. One who had a national reputation during the
+war, from Bunker Hill to New Orleans, was not ashamed to say to
+those who sought the legislation that was necessary to make
+investigation possible, that it was 'too late.'" "Rocky Mountain
+Saints," p. 456.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. AFTER THE "WAR"
+
+With the return of the people to their homes, the peaceful
+avocations of life in Utah were resumed. The federal judges
+received assignments to their districts, and the other federal
+officers took possession of their offices. Chief Justice Eckles
+selected as his place of residence Camp Floyd, as General
+Johnston's camp was named; Judge Sinclair's district included
+Salt Lake City, and Judge Cradlebaugh's the southern part of the
+state.
+
+Judge Cradlebaugh, who conceived it to be a judge's duty to see
+that crime was punished, took steps at once to secure indictments
+in connection with the notorious murders committed during the
+"Reformation," and we have seen in a former chapter with what
+poor results. He also personally visited the Mountain Meadows,
+talked with whites and Indians cognizant with the massacre, and,
+on affidavits sworn to before him, issued warrants for the arrest
+of Haight, Higbee, Lee, and thirty-four others as participants
+therein. In order to hold court with any prospect of a practical
+result, a posse of soldiers was absolutely necessary, even for
+the protection of witnesses; but Governor Cumming, true to the
+reputation he had secured as a Mormon ally, declared that he saw
+no necessity for such use of federal troops, and requested their
+removal from Provo, where the court was in session; and when the
+judge refused to grant his request, he issued a proclamation in
+which he stated that the presence of the military had a tendency
+"to disturb the peace and subvert the ends of justice." Before
+this dispute had proceeded farther, General Johnston received an
+order from Secretary Floyd, approved by Attorney General Black,
+directing that in future he should instruct his troops to act as
+a posse comitatus only on the written application of Governor
+Cumming. Thus did the church win one of its first victories after
+the reestablishment of "peace."
+
+An incident in Salt Lake City at this time might have brought
+about a renewal of the conflict between federal and Mormon
+forces. The engraver of a plate with which to print counterfeit
+government drafts, when arrested, turned state's evidence and
+pointed out that the printing of the counterfeits had been done
+over the "Deseret Store" in Salt Lake City, which was on Young's
+premises. United States Marshal Dotson secured the plate, and
+with it others, belonging to Young, on which Deseret currency had
+been printed. This seemed to bring the matter so close to Young
+that officers from Camp Floyd called on Governor Cumming to
+secure his cooperation in arresting Young should that step be
+decided on. The governor refused with indignation to be a party
+to what he called "creeping through walls," that is, what he
+considered a roundabout way to secure Young's arrest; and, when
+it became rumored in the city that General Johnston would use his
+troops without the governor's cooperation Cumming directed Wells,
+the commander of the Nauvoo Legion, who had so recently been in
+rebellion against the government, to hold his militia in
+readiness for orders. Wells is quoted by Bancroft as saying that
+he told Cumming, "We would not let them [the soldiers] come; that
+if they did come, they would never get out alive if we could help
+it."* The decision of the Washington authorities in favor of
+Governor Cumming as against the federal judges once more restored
+"peace." The only sufferer from this incident was Marshal Dotson,
+against whom Young, in his probate court, obtained a judgment of
+$2600 for injury to the Deseret currency plates, and a house
+belonging to Dotson, renting for $500 year, was sold to satisfy
+this judgment, and bought in by an agent of Young.
+
+* "History of Utah," p. 573, note.
+
+
+To complete the story of this forgery, it may be added that
+Brewer, the engraver who turned state's evidence, was shot down
+in Main Street, Salt Lake City, one evening, in company with J.
+Johnson, a gambler who had threatened to shoot a Mormon editor. A
+man who was a boy at the time gave J. H. Beadle the particulars
+of this double murder as he received it from the person who
+lighted a brazier to give the assassin a sure aim.* The coroner's
+jury the next day found that the men shot one another!
+
+* "Polygamy," p. 192.
+
+
+Soon all public attention throughout the country was centred in
+the coming conflict in the Southern states. In May, 1860, the
+troops at Camp Floyd departed for New Mexico and Arizona, only a
+small guard being left under command of Colonel Cooke. In May,
+1861, Governor Cumming left Salt Lake City for the east so
+quietly that most of the people there did not hear of his
+departure until they read it in the local newspapers. He soon
+after appeared in Washington, and after some delay obtained a
+pass which permitted his passage through the Confederate lines.
+When the Southern rebellion became a certainty, Colonel Cooke and
+his force were ordered to march to the East in the autumn, after
+selling vast quantities of stores in Camp Floyd, and destroying
+the supplies and ammunition which they could not take away. Such
+a slaughter of prices as then occurred was, perhaps, without
+precedent. It was estimated that goods costing $4,000,000 brought
+only $l00,000. Young had preached non-intercourse with the
+Gentile merchants who followed the army, but he could not lose so
+great an opportunity as this, when, for instance, flour costing
+$28.40 per sack sold for 52 cents, and he invested $4,000. "For
+years after," says Stenhouse, "the 'regulation blue pants' were
+more familiar to the eye, in the Mormon settlements, than the
+Valley Tan Quaker gray."
+
+When Governor Cumming left the territory, the secretary, Francis
+H. Wooton, became acting governor. He made himself very offensive
+to the administration at Washington, and President Lincoln
+appointed Frank Fuller, of New Hampshire, secretary of the
+territory in his place, and Mr. Fuller proceeded at once to Salt
+Lake City, where he became acting governor. Later in the year the
+other federal offices in Utah were filled by the appointment of
+John W. Dawson, of Indiana, as governor, John F. Kinney as chief
+justice, and R. P. Flenniken and J. R. Crosby as associate
+justices.
+
+The selection of Dawson as governor was something more than a
+political mistake. He was the editor and publisher of a party
+newspaper at Fort Wayne, Indiana, a man of bad morals, and a
+meddler in politics, who gave the Republican managers in his
+state a great deal of trouble. The undoubted fact seems to be
+that he was sent out to Utah on the recommendation of Indiana
+politicians of high rank, who wanted to get rid of him, and who
+gave no attention whatever to the requirements of his office.
+Arriving at his post early in December, 1861, the new governor
+incurred the ill will of the Mormons almost immediately by
+vetoing a bill for a state convention passed by the territorial
+legislature, and a memorial to Congress in favor of the admission
+of the territory as a state (which Acting Governor Fuller
+approved). They were very glad, therefore, to take advantage of
+any mistake he might make; and he almost at once gave them their
+opportunity, by making improper advances to a woman whom he had
+employed to do some work. She, as Dawson expressed it to one of
+his colleagues, "was fool enough to tell of it," and Dawson,
+learning immediately that the Mormons meditated a severe
+vengeance, at once made preparations for his departure.
+
+The Deseret News of January 1, 1862, in an editorial on the
+departure of the governor, said that for eight or ten days he had
+been confined to his room and reported insane; that, when he
+left, he took with him his physician and four guards, "to each of
+whom, as reported last evening, $100 is promised in the event
+that they guard him faithfully, and prevent his being killed or
+becoming qualified for the office of chamberlain in the King's
+palace, till he shall have arrived at and passed the eastern
+boundary of the territory." After indicating that he had
+committed an offence against a lady which, under the common law,
+if enforced, "would have caused him to have bitten the dust," the
+News added: "Why he selected the individuals named for his
+bodyguard no one with whom we have conversed has been able to
+determine. That they will do him justice, and see him safely out
+of the territory, there can be no doubt."
+
+The hints thus plainly given were carried out. Beadle's account
+says, "He was waylaid in Weber Canon, and received shocking and
+almost emasculating injuries from three Mormon lads."* Stenhouse
+says: "He was dreadfully maltreated by some Mormon rowdies who
+assumed, 'for the fun of the thing,' to be the avengers of an
+alleged insult. Governor Dawson had been betrayed into an
+offence, and his punishment was heavy."** Mrs. Waite says that
+the Mormons laid a trap for the governor, as they had done for
+Steptoe; but the evidence indicates that, in Dawson's case, the
+victim was himself to blame for the opportunity he gave.
+
+* "Polygamy," p. 195.
+
+** "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 592.
+
+
+Stenhouse says that the Mormon authorities were very angry
+because of the aggravated character of the punishment dealt out
+to the governor, as they simply wanted him sent away disgraced,
+and that they had all his assailants shot. This is practically
+confirmed by the Mormon historian Whitney, who says that one of
+the assailants was a relative of the woman insulted, and the
+others "merely drunken desperadoes and robbers who," he explains,
+"were soon afterward arrested for their cowardly and brutal
+assault upon the fleeing official. One of them, Lot Huntington,
+was shot by Deputy Sheriff O. P. Rockwell [so often Young's
+instrument in such cases] on January 26, in Rush Valley, while
+attempting to escape from the officers, and two others, John P.
+Smith and Moroni Clawson, were killed during a similar attempt
+next day by the police of Salt Lake City. Their confederates were
+tried and duly punished."*
+
+* "History of Utah," Vol. II, p. 38.
+
+
+The departure of Governor Dawson left the executive office again
+in charge of Secretary Fuller. Early in 1862 the Indians
+threatened the overland mail route, and Fuller, having received
+instruction from Montgomery Blair to keep the route open at all
+hazards, called for thirty men to serve for thirty days. These
+were supplied by the Mormons. In the following April, the Indian
+troubles continuing, Governor Fuller, Chief Justice Kinney, and
+officers of the Overland Mail and Pacific Telegraph Companies
+united in a letter to Secretary Stanton asking that
+Superintendent of Indian Affairs Doty be authorized to raise a
+regiment of mounted rangers in the territory, with officers
+appointed by him, to keep open communication. These petitioners,
+observes Tullidge, "had overrated the federal power in Utah, as
+embodied in themselves, for such a service, when they overlooked
+ex-Governor Young" and others.* Young had no intention of
+permitting any kind of a federal force to supplant his Legion. He
+at once telegraphed to the Utah Delegate in Washington that the
+Utah militia (alias Nauvoo Legion) were competent to furnish the
+necessary protection. As a result of this presentation of the
+matter, Adjutant General L. L. Thomas, on April 28, addressed a
+reply to the petition for protection, not to any of the federal
+officers in Utah, but to "Mr. Brigham Young," saying, " By
+express direction of the President of the United States you are
+hereby authorized to raise, arm, and equip one company of cavalry
+for ninety days' service."* The order for carrying out these
+instructions was placed by the head of the Nauvoo Legion,
+"General" Wells--who ordered the burning of the government trains
+in 1857--in the hands of Major Lot Smith, who carried out that
+order!
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 252.
+
+** Vol. II, Series 3, p. 27, War of the Rebellion, official
+records.
+
+
+Judges Flenniken and Crosby took their departure from the
+territory a month later than Dawson, and Thomas J. Drake of
+Michigan and Charles B. Waite of Illinois* were named as their
+successors, and on March 31 Stephen S. Harding of Milan, Indiana,
+a lawyer, was appointed governor. The new officers arrived in
+July.
+
+* After leaving Utah Judge Waite was appointed district attorney
+for Idaho, was elected to Congress, and published "A History of
+the Christian Religion," and other books. His wife, author of
+"The Mormon Prophet," was a graduate of Oberlin College and of
+the Union College of Law in Chicago, a member of the Illinois
+bar, founder of the Chicago Law Times, and manager of the
+publishing firm of C. W. Waite & Co.
+
+At this time the Mormons were again seeking admission for the
+State of Deseret. They had had a constitution prepared for
+submission to Congress, had nominated Young for governor and
+Kimball for lieutenant governor, and the legislature, in advance,
+had chosen W. H. Hooper and George Q. Cannon the United States
+senators. But Utah was not then admitted, while, on the other
+hand, an anti-polygamy bill (to be described later) was passed,
+and signed by President Lincoln on July 2.
+
+During the month preceding the arrival of Governor Harding,
+another tragedy had been enacted in the territory. Among the
+church members was a Welshman named Joseph Morris, who became
+possessed of the belief (which, as we have seen, had afflicted
+brethren from time to time) that he was the recipient of
+"revelations." One of these "revelations" having directed him to
+warn Young that he was wandering from the right course, he did
+this in person, and received a rebuke so emphatic that it quite
+overcame him. He betook himself, therefore, to a place called
+Kington Fort, on the Weber River, thirty-five miles north of Salt
+Lake City, and there he found believers in his prophetic gifts in
+the local Bishop, and quite a settlement of men and women, almost
+all foreigners. Young's refusal to satisfy the demand for
+published "revelations" gave some standing to a fanatic like
+Morris, who professed to supply that long-felt want, and he was
+so prolific in his gift that three clerks were required to write
+down what was revealed to him. Among his announcements were the
+date of the coming of Christ and the necessity of "consecrating"
+their property in a common fund. Having made a mistake in the
+date selected for Christ's appearance, the usual apostates sprang
+up, and, when they took their departure, they claimed the right
+to carry with them their share of the common effects. In the
+dispute that ensued, the apostates seized some Morrisite grain on
+the way to mill, and the Morrisites captured some apostates, and
+took them prisoners to Kington Fort.
+
+Out of these troubles came the issue of a writ by Judge Kinney
+for the release of the prisoners, the defiance of this writ by
+the Morrisites, and a successful appeal to the governor for the
+use of the militia to enable the marshal to enforce the writ. On
+the morning of June 13 the Morrisites discovered an armed force,
+in command of General R. T. Burton, the marshal's chief deputy,
+on the mountain that overlooked their settlement, and received
+from Burton an order to surrender in thirty minutes. Morris
+announced a "revelation," declaring that the Lord would not allow
+his people to be destroyed. When the thirty minutes had expired,
+without further warning the Mormon force fired on the Morrisites
+with a cannon, killing two women outright, and sending the others
+to cover. But the devotees were not weak-hearted. For three days
+they kept up a defence, and it was not until their ammunition was
+exhausted that they raised a white flag. When Burton rode into
+their settlement and demanded Morris's surrender, that fanatic
+replied, "Never." Burton at once shot him dead, and then badly
+wounded John Banks, an English convert and a preacher of
+eloquence, who had joined Morris after rebelling against Young's
+despotism. Banks died "suddenly" that evening. Burton finished
+his work by shooting two women, one of whom dared to condemn his
+shooting of Morris and Banks, and the other for coming up to him
+crying.*
+
+* For accounts of this slaughter, see "Rocky Mountain Saints,"
+pp. 593-606, and Beadle's "Life in Utah," pp. 413-420.
+
+
+The bodies of Morris and Banks were carried to Salt Lake City and
+exhibited there. No one--President of the church or federal
+officer--took any steps at that time to bring their murderers to
+justice. Sixteen years later District Attorney Van Zile tried
+Burton for this massacre, but the verdict was acquittal, as it
+has been in all these famous cases except that of John D. Lee.
+Ninety-three Morrisites, few of whom could speak English, were
+arraigned before Judge Kinney and placed under bonds. In the
+following March seven of the Morrisites were convicted of killing
+members of the posse, and sentenced by Judge Kinney to
+imprisonment for from five to fifteen years each, while sixty-six
+others were fined $100 each for resisting the posse. Governor
+Harding immediately pardoned ail the accused, in response to a
+numerously signed petition. Beadle says that Bishop Wooley
+advised the governor to be careful about granting these pardons,
+as "our people feel it would be an outrage, and if it is done,
+they might proceed to violence"; but that Bill Hickman, the
+Danite captain, rode thirty miles to sign the petition, saying
+that he was "one Mormon who was not afraid to sign." The grand
+jury that had indicted the Morrisites made a presentment to Judge
+Kinney, in which they said, "We present his Excellency Stephen S.
+Harding, governor of Utah, as we would an unsafe bridge over a
+dangerous stream, jeopardizing the lives of all those who pass
+over it; or as we would a pestiferous cesspool in our district,
+breathing disease and death." And the chief justice assured this
+jury that they addressed him "in no spirit of malice," and asked
+them to accept his thanks "for your cooperation in the support of
+my efforts to maintain and enforce the law." It is to the credit
+of the powers at Washington that this judge was soon afterward
+removed.*
+
+
+* Even the Mormon historian has only this to say on this subject:
+"Of the relative merit or demerit of the action of the United
+States and territorial authorities concerned in the Morrisite
+affair the historian does not presume to touch, further than to
+present the record itself and its significance."--Tullidge,
+"History of Salt Lake City," p. 320.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. Attitude of the Mormons During the Southern
+Rebellion
+
+The attitude of the Mormons toward the government at the outbreak
+of hostilities with the Southern states was distinctly disloyal.
+The Deseret News of January 2, 1861, said, "The indications are
+that the breach which has been effected between the North and
+South will continue to widen, and that two or more nations will
+be formed out of the fragmentary portions of the once glorious
+republic." The Mormons in England had before that been told in
+the Millennial Star (January 28, 1860) that "the Union is now
+virtually destroyed." The sermons in Salt Lake City were of the
+same character. "General" Wells told the people on April 6, 1861,
+that the general government was responsible for their expulsion
+from Missouri and Illinois, adding: "So far as we are concerned,
+we should have been better without a government than such a one.
+I do not think there is a more corrupt government upon the face
+of the earth."* Brigham Young on the same day said: "Our present
+President, what is his strength? It is like a rope of sand, or
+like a rope made of water. He is as weak as water.... I feel
+disgraced in having been born under a government that has so
+little power, disposition and influence for truth and right.
+Shame, shame on the rulers of this nation. I feel myself
+disgraced to hail such men as my countrymen."**
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. VIII, pp. 373-374.
+
+** Ibid., Vol. IX, p. 4.
+
+
+Elder G. A. Smith, on the same occasion, railing against the non-
+Mormon clergy, said, "Mr. Lincoln now is put into power by that
+priestly influence; and the presumption is, should he not find
+his hands full by the secession of the Southern States, the
+spirit of priestly craft would force him, in spite of his good
+wishes and intentions, to put to death, if it was in his power,
+every man that believes in the divine mission of Joseph Smith."*
+On August 31, 1862, Young quoted Smith's prediction of a
+rebellion beginning in South Carolina, and declared that "the
+nation that has slain the prophet of God will be broken in pieces
+like a potter's vessel," boasting that the Mormon government in
+Utah was "the best earthly government that was ever framed by
+man."
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. IX, p. 18.
+
+
+Tullidge, discussing in 1876 the attitude of the Mormon church
+toward the South, said:--
+
+"With the exception of the slavery question and the policy of
+secession, the South stood upon the same ground that Utah had
+stood upon just previously.... And here we reach the heart of the
+Mormon policy and aims. Secession is not in it. Their issues are
+all inside the Union. The Mormon prophecy is that that people are
+destined to save the Union and preserve the constitution.... The
+North, which had just risen to power through the triumph of the
+Republican party, occupied the exact position toward the South
+that Buchanan's administration had held toward Utah. And the
+salient points of resemblance between the two cases were so
+striking that Utah and the South became radically associated in
+the Chicago platform that brought the Republican party into
+office. Slavery and polygamy--these 'twin relics of barbarism'--
+were made the two chief planks of the party platform. Yet neither
+of these were the real ground of the contest. It continues still,
+and some of the soundest men of the times believe that it will be
+ultimately referred in a revolution so general that nearly every
+man in America will become involved in the action.... The Mormon
+view of the great national controversy, then, is that the
+Southern States should have done precisely what Utah did, and
+placed themselves on the defensive ground of their rights and
+institutions as old as the Union. Had they placed themselves
+under the political leadership of Brigham Young, they would have
+triumphed, for their cause was fundamentally right; their
+secession alone was the national crime."**
+
+** Tullidge's "Life of Brigham Young," Chap. 24.
+
+
+Knowledge of the spirit which animated the Saints induced the
+Secretary of War to place them under military supervision, and in
+May, 1862, the Third California Infantry and a part of the Second
+California Cavalry were ordered to Utah. The commander of this
+force was Colonel P. E. Connor, who had a fine record in the
+Mexican War, and who was among the first, at the outbreak of the
+Rebellion, to tender his services to the government in
+California, where he was then engaged in business. On assuming
+command of the military district of Utah, which included Utah and
+Nevada, Colonel Connor issued an order directing commanders of
+posts, camps, and detachments to arrest and imprison, until they
+took the oath of allegiance, "all persons who from this date
+shall be guilty of uttering treasonable sentiments against the
+government," adding, "Traitors shall not utter treasonable
+sentiments in this district with impunity, but must seek some
+more genial soil, or receive the punishment they so richly
+deserve."
+
+When Connor's force arrived at Fort Crittenden (the Camp Floyd of
+General Johnston), the Mormons supposed that it would make its
+camp there. Persons having a pecuniary interest in the
+reoccupation of the old site, where they wanted to sell to the
+government the buildings they had bought for a song, tried hard
+to induce Colonel Connor to accept their view, even warning him
+of armed Mormon opposition to his passage through Salt Lake City.
+But he was not a man to be thus deterred. Among the rumors that
+reached him was one that Bill Hickman, the Danite chief, was
+offering to bet $500 in Salt Lake City that the colonel could not
+cross the river Jordan. Colonel Connor is said to have sent back
+the reply that he "would cross the river Jordan if hell yawned
+below him."
+
+On Saturday, October 18, Connor marched twenty miles toward the
+Mormon capital, and the next day crossed the Jordan at 2 P.M.,
+without finding a person in sight on the eastern shore. The
+command, knowing that the Nauvoo Legion outnumbered them vastly,
+and ignorant of the real intention of the Mormon leaders,
+advanced with every preparation to meet resistance. They were, as
+an accompanying correspondent expressed it, "six hundred miles of
+sand from reinforcements." The conciliatory policy of so many
+federal officers in Utah would have induced Colonel Connor to
+march quietly around the city, and select some place for his camp
+where it would not offend Mormon eyes. What he did do was to halt
+his command when the city was two miles distant, form his column
+with an advance guard of cavalry and a light battery, the
+infantry and commissary wagons coming next, and in this order, to
+the bewilderment of the Mormon authorities, march into the
+principal street, with his two bands playing, to Emigrants'
+Square, and so to Governor Harding's residence.
+
+The only United States flag displayed on any building that day
+was the governor's. The sidewalks were packed with men, women,
+and children, but not a cheer was heard. In front of the
+governor's residence the battalion was formed in two lines, and
+the governor, standing in the buggy in which he had ridden out to
+meet them, addressed them, saying that their mission was one of
+peace and security, and urging them to maintain the strictest
+discipline. The troops, Colonel Connor leading, gave three cheers
+for the country and the flag, and three for Governor Harding, and
+then took up their march to the slope at the base of Wahsatch
+Mountain, where the Camp Douglas of to-day is situated. This camp
+was in sight of the Mormon city, and Young's residence was in
+range of its guns. Thus did Brigham's will bend before the quiet
+determination of a government officer who respected his
+government's dignity.
+
+But the Mormon spirit was to be still further tested. On December
+8 Governor Harding read his first message to the territorial
+legislature. It began with a tribute to the industry and
+enterprise of the people; spoke of the progress of the war, and
+of the application of the territory for statehood, and in this
+connection said, "I am sorry to say that since my sojourn amongst
+you I have heard no sentiments, either publicly or privately
+expressed, that would lead me to believe that much sympathy is
+felt by any considerable number of your people in favor of the
+government of the United States, now struggling for its very
+existence." He declared that the demand for statehood should not
+be entertained unless it was "clearly shown that there is a
+sufficient population" and "that the people are loyal to the
+federal government and the laws." He recommended the taking of a
+correct census to settle the question of population. All these
+utterances were gall and wormwood to a body of Mormon lawmakers,
+but worse was to come. Congress having passed an act "to prevent
+and punish the practice of polygamy in the territories," the
+governor naturally considered it his duty to call attention to
+the matter. Prevising that he desired to do so "in no offensive
+manner or unkind spirit," he pointed out that the practice was
+founded on no territorial law, resting merely on custom; and
+laid, down the principle that "no community can happily exist
+with an institution so important as that of marriage wanting in
+all those qualities that make it homogeneal with institutions and
+laws of neighboring civilized countries having the same spirit."
+He spoke of the marriage of a mother and her daughter to the same
+man as "no less a marvel in morals than in matters of taste," and
+warned them against following the recommendation of high church
+authorities that the federal law be disregarded. This message,
+according to the Mormon historian, was "an insult offered to
+their representatives."*
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 305.
+
+
+These representatives resented the "insult " by making no
+reference in the journal to the reading of the message, and by
+failing to have it printed. When this was made known in
+Washington, the Senate, on January 16, 1863, called for a report
+by the Committee on Territories concerning the suppression of the
+message, and they got one from its chairman, Benjamin Wade,
+pointing out that Utah Territory was in the control of "a sort of
+Jewish theocracy," affording "the first exhibition, within the
+limits of the United States, of a church ruling the state," and
+declaring that the governor's message contained "nothing that
+should give offence to any legislature willing to be governed by
+the laws of morality," closing with a recommendation that the
+message be printed by Congress. The territorial legislature
+adjourned on January 16 without sending to Governor Harding for
+his approval a single appropriation bill, and the next day the
+so-called legislature of the State of Deseret met and received a
+message from the state governor, Brigham Young.
+
+Next the new federal judges came under Mormon displeasure. We
+have seen the conflict of jurisdiction existing between the
+federal and the so-called probate courts and their officers.
+Judge Waite perceived the difficulties thus caused as soon as he
+entered upon his duties, and he sent to Washington an act giving
+the United States marshal authority to select juries for the
+federal courts, taking from the probate courts jurisdiction in
+civil actions, and leaving them a limited criminal jurisdiction
+subject to appeal to the federal court, and providing for a
+reorganization of the militia under the federal governor.
+Bernhisel and Hooper sent home immediate notice of the arrival of
+this bill in Washington.
+
+Now, indeed, it was time for Brigham to "bend his finger." If a
+governor could openly criticise polygamy, and a judge seek to
+undermine Young's legal and military authority, without a
+protest, his days of power were certainly drawing to a close.
+Accordingly, a big mass-meeting was held in Salt Lake City on
+March 3, 1863, "for the purpose of investigating certain acts of
+several of the United States officials in the territory."
+Speeches were made by John Taylor and Young, in which the
+governor and judges were denounced.* A committee was appointed to
+ask the governor and two judges to resign and leave the
+territory, and a petition was signed requesting President Lincoln
+to remove them, the first reason stated being that "they are
+strenuously endeavoring to create mischief, and stir up strife
+between the people of the territory and the troops in Camp
+Douglas." The meeting then adjourned, the band playing the
+"Marseillaise."
+
+* Reported in Mrs. Waite's "Mormon Prophet," pp. 98-102.
+
+
+The committee, consisting of John Taylor, J. Clinton, and Orson
+Pratt, called on the governor and the judges the next morning,
+and met with a flat refusal to pay any attention to the mandate
+of the meeting. "You may go back and tell your constituents,"
+said Governor Harding, "that I will not resign my office, and
+will not leave this territory, until it shall please the
+President to recall me. I will not be driven away. I may be in
+danger in staying, but my purpose is fixed." Judge Drake told the
+committee that he had a right to ask Congress to pass or amend
+any law, and that it was a special insult for him, a citizen, to
+be asked by Taylor, a foreigner, to leave any part of the
+Republic. "Go back to Brigham Young, your master," said he, "that
+embodiment of sin, shame, and disgust, and tell him that I
+neither fear him, nor love him, nor hate him--that I utterly
+despise him. Tell him, whose tools and tricksters you are, that I
+did not come here by his permission, and that I will not go away
+at his desire nor by his direction.... A horse thief or a
+murderer has, when arrested, a right to speak in court; and,
+unless in such capacity or under such circumstances, don't you
+even dare to speak to me again." Judge Waite simply declined to
+resign because to do so would imply "either that I was sensible
+of having done something wrong, or that I was afraid to remain at
+my post and perform my duty."**
+
+* Text of replies in Mrs. Waite's "Mormon Prophet," pp. 107-109.
+
+
+As soon as the action of the Mormon mass-meeting became known at
+Camp Douglas, all the commissioned officers there signed a
+counter petition to President Lincoln, "as an act of duty we owe
+our government," declaring that the charge of inciting trouble
+between the people and the troops was "a base and unqualified
+falsehood," that the accused officers had been "true and faithful
+to the government," and that there was no good reason for their
+removal.
+
+Excitement in Salt Lake City now ran high. Young, in a violent
+harangue in the Tabernacle on March 8, after declaring his
+loyalty to the government, said, "Is there anything that could be
+asked that we would not do? Yes. Let the present administration
+ask us for a thousand men, or even five hundred, and I'd see them
+d--d first, and then they could not have them. What do you think
+of that?' (Loud cries of 'Good, Good,' and great applause.)"*
+
+* Correspondence of the Chicago Tribune.
+
+
+Young expected arrest, and had a signal arranged by which the
+citizens would rush to his support if this was attempted. A false
+alarm of this kind was given on March 9, and in an hour two
+thousand armed men were assembled around his house.* Steptoe, who
+in an earlier year had declined the governorship of the territory
+and petitioned for Young's reappointment, took credit for what
+followed in an article in the Overland Monthly for December,
+1896. Being at Salt Lake City at the time, he suggested to Wells
+and other leaders that they charge Young with the crime of
+polygamy before one of the magistrates, and have him arraigned
+and admitted to bail, in order to place him beyond the reach of
+the military officers. The affidavit was sworn to before the
+compliant Chief Justice Kinney by Young's private secretary, was
+served by the territorial marshal, and Young was released in
+$5000 bail. Colonel Connor was informed of this arrest before he
+arrived in the city, and retraced his steps; the citizens
+dispersed to their homes; the grand jury found no indictment
+against Young, and in due time he was discharged from his
+recognizance.
+
+* "On the inside of the high walls surrounding Brigham's premises
+scaffolding was hastily erected in order to enable the militia to
+fire down upon the passing volunteers. The houses on the route
+which occupied a commanding position where an attack could be
+made upon the troops were taken possession of, and the small
+cannon brought out."--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 604.
+
+
+"In the meantime," says a Mormon chronicler, "our 'outside'
+friends in this city telegraphed to those interested in the mail*
+and telegraph lines that they must work for the removal of the
+troops, Governor Harding, and Judges Waite and Drake, otherwise
+there would be 'difficulty,' and the mail and telegraph lines
+would be destroyed. Their moneyed interest has given them great
+energy in our behalf."** This "work" told Governor Harding was
+removed, leaving the territory on June 11 and, as proof that this
+was due to "work" and not to his own incapacity, he was made
+Chief Justice of Colorado Territory.*** With him were displaced
+Chief Justice Kinney and Secretary Fuller.**** Judges Waite and
+Drake wrote to the President that it would take the support of
+five thousand men to make the federal courts in Utah effective.
+Waite resigned in the summer of 1863. Drake remained, but his
+court did practically no business.
+
+* The first Pony Express left Sacramento and St. Joseph,
+Missouri, on April 3, 1860. Major General M. B. Hazen in an
+official letter dated February, 1807 (House Misc. Doc. No. 75, 2d
+Session, 39th Congress), said: "Ben Holiday I believe to be the
+only outsider acceptable to those people, and to benefit himself
+I believe he would throw the whole weight of his influence in
+favor of Mormonism. By the terms of his contract to carry the
+mails from the Missouri to Utah, all papers and pamphlets for the
+newsdealers, not directed to subscribers, are thrown out. It
+looks very much like a scheme to keep light out of that country,
+nowhere so much needed."
+
+** D. O. Calder's letter to George Q. Cannon, March 13, 1863, in
+Millennial Star.
+
+*** "Every attempt was made to seduce him from the path of duty,
+not omitting the same appliances which had been brought to bear
+upon Steptoe and Dawson, but all in vain."--"The Mormon Prophet,"
+p. 109.
+
+**** Whitney, the Mormon historian, says that while the President
+was convinced that Harding was not the right man for the place,
+"he doubtless believed that there was more or less truth in the
+charges of 'subserviency' to Young made by local anti-Mormons
+against Chief Justice Kinney and Secretary Fuller. He therefore
+removed them as well."--"History of Utah," Vol. II, p. 103.
+
+
+Lincoln's policy, as he expressed it then, was, "I will let the
+Mormons alone if they will let me alone."* He had war enough on
+his hands without seeking any diversion in Utah. J. D. Doty, the
+superintendent of Indian affairs, succeeded Harding as governor,
+Amos Reed of Wisconsin became secretary, and John Titus of
+Philadelphia chief justice.
+
+* Young's letter to Cannon, "History of Salt Lake City," p. 325.
+
+
+Affairs in Utah now became more quiet. General Connor (he was
+made a brigadier general for his service in the Bear River Indian
+campaign in 1862-1863) yielded nothing to Mormon threats or
+demands. A periodical called the Union Vidette, published by his
+force, appeared in November, 1863, and in it was printed a
+circular over his name, expressing belief in the existence of
+rich veins of gold, silver, copper, and other metals in the
+territory, and promising the fullest protection to miners and
+prospectors; and the beginning of the mining interests there
+dated from the picking up of a piece of ore by a lady member of
+the camp while attending a picnic party. Although the Mormons had
+discouraged mining as calculated to cause a rush of non-Mormon
+residents, they did not show any special resentment to the
+general's policy in this respect. With the increasing evidence
+that the Union cause would triumph, the church turned its face
+toward the federal government. We find, accordingly, a union of
+Mormons and Camp Douglas soldiers in the celebration of Union
+victories on March 4, 1865, with a procession and speeches, and,
+when General Connor left to assume command of the Department of
+the Platte, a ball in his honor was given in Salt Lake City; and
+at the time of Lincoln's assassination church and government
+officers joined in services in the Tabernacle, and the city was
+draped in mourning.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. Eastern Visitors To Salt Lake City--Unpunished
+Murderers
+
+In June, 1865, a distinguished party from the East visited Salt
+Lake City, and their visit was not without public significance.
+It included Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of
+Representatives, Lieutenant Governor Bross of Illinois, Samuel
+Bowles, editor of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, and
+A. D. Richardson of the staff of the New York Tribune. Crossing
+the continent was still effected by stage-coach at that time,
+and the Mormon capital had never been visited by civilians so
+well known and so influential. Mr. Colfax had stated publicly
+that President Lincoln, a short time before his death, had asked
+him to make a thorough investigation of territorial matters, and
+his visit was regarded as semiofficial. The city council
+formally tendered to the visitors the hospitality of the city,
+and Mr. Bowles wrote that the Speaker's reception "was excessive
+if not oppressive."
+
+In an interview between Colfax and Young, during which the
+subject of polygamy was brought up by the latter, he asked what
+the government intended to do with it, now that the slavery
+question was out of the way. Mr. Colfax replied with the
+expression of a hope that the prophets of the church would have a
+new "revelation" which would end the practice, pointing out an
+example in the course of Missouri and Maryland in abolishing
+slavery, without waiting for action by the federal government.
+"Mr. Young," says Bowles, "responded quietly and frankly that he
+should readily welcome such a revelation; that polygamy was not
+in the original book of the Mormons; that it was not an
+essential practice in the church, but only a privilege and a
+duty, under special command of God."*
+
+* "Across the Continent," p. 111.
+
+
+It is worth while to note Mr. Bowles's summing up of his
+observations of Mormondom during this visit. "The result," he
+wrote, "of the whole experience has been to increase my
+appreciation of the value of their material progress and
+development to the nation; to evoke congratulations to them and
+to the country for the wealth they have created, and the order,
+frugality, morality (sic), and industry they have organized in
+this remote spot in our continent; to excite wonder at the
+perfection of their church system, the extent of its
+ramifications, the sweep of its influence, and to enlarge my
+respect for the personal sincerity and character of many of the
+leaders in the organization."* These were the expressions of a
+leading journalist, thought worthy to be printed later in book
+form, on a church system and church officers about which he had
+gathered his information during a few hours' visit, and
+concerning which he was so fundamentally ignorant that he called
+their Bible--whose title is, "Book of Mormon"--"book of the
+Mormons!" It is reasonably certain that he had never read
+Smith's "revelations," doubtful if he was acquainted with even
+the framework of the Mormon Bible, and probable that he was
+wholly ignorant of the history of their recent "Reformation."
+Many a profound opinion of Mormonism has been founded on as
+little opportunity for accurate knowledge.**
+
+* "Across the Continent," p. 106.
+
+** As another illustration of the value of observations by such
+transient students may be cited the following, from Sir Charles
+Wentworth Dilke's "Greater Britain," Vol. I, p. 148: "Brigham's
+deeds have been those of a sincere man. His bitterest opponents
+cannot dispute the fact that, in 1844, when Nauvoo was about to
+be deserted owing to attacks by a ruffianly mob, Brigham Young
+rushed to the front and took command. To be a Mormon leader was
+then to be the leader of an outcast people, with a price set on
+his head, in a Missouri country in which almost every man who
+was not a Mormon was by profession an assassin."
+
+
+The Eastern visitors soon learned, however, how little intention
+the Mormon leaders had to be cajoled out of polygamy. Before Mr.
+Bowles's book was published, he had to add a supplement, in
+which he explained that "since our visit to Utah in June, the
+leaders among the Mormons have repudiated their professions of
+loyalty to the government, and denied any disposition to yield
+the issue of polygamy." Tullidge sneers at Colfax "for
+entertaining for a while the pretty plan" of having the Mormons
+give up polygamy as the Missourians did slavery. The Deseret
+News, soon after the Colfax party left the territory, expressed
+the real Mormon view on this subject, saying: "As a people we
+view every revelation from the Lord as sacred. Polygamy was none
+of our seeking. It came to us from Heaven, and we recognized it,
+and still do, the voice of Him whose right it is not only to
+teach us, but to dictate and teach all men . . . . They
+[Gentiles] talk of revelations given, and of receiving counter
+revelations to forbid what has been commanded, as if man was the
+sole author, originator, and designer of them . . . . Do they
+wish to brand a whole people with the foul stigma of hypocrisy,
+who, from their leaders to the last converts that have made the
+dreary journey to these mountain wilds for their faith, have
+proved their honesty of purpose and deep sincerity of faith by
+the most sublime sacrifices? Either that is the issue of their
+reasoning, or they imagine that we serve and worship the most
+accommodating Deity ever dreamed of in the wildest vagaries of
+the most savage polytheist."
+
+This was a perfectly consistent statement of the Mormon position,
+a simple elaboration of Young's declaration that, to give up
+belief in Smith as a prophet, and in his "revelations," would be
+to give up their faith. Just as truly, any later "revelation,"
+repealing the one concerning polygamy, must be either a pretence
+or a temporary expedient, in orthodox Mormon eyes. The Mormons
+date the active crusade of the government against polygamy from
+the return of the Colfax party to the East, holding that this
+question did not enter into the early differences between them
+and the government.*
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 358.
+
+
+In the year following Colfax's visit, there occurred in Utah two
+murders which attracted wide notice, and which called attention
+once more to the insecurity of the life of any man against whom
+the finger of the church was crooked. The first victim was O. N.
+Brassfield, a non-Mormon, who had the temerity to marry, on
+March 20, 1866, the second polygamous wife of a Mormon while the
+husband was in Europe on a mission. As he was entering his house
+in Salt Lake City, on the third day of the following month, he
+was shot dead. An order that had been given to disband the
+volunteer troops still remaining in the territory was
+countermanded from Washington, and General Sherman, then
+commander of that department, telegraphed to Young that he hoped
+to hear of no more murders of Gentiles in Utah, intimating that,
+if he did, it would be easy to reenlist some of the recently
+discharged volunteers and march them through the territory.
+
+The second victim was Dr. J. King Robinson, a young man who had
+come to Utah as assistant surgeon of the California volunteers,
+married the daughter of a Mormon whose widow and daughters had
+left the church, and taken possession of the land on which were
+some well-known warm springs, with the intention of establishing
+there a sanitarium. The city authorities at once set up a claim
+to the warm springs property, a building Dr. Robinson had
+erected there was burned, and, as he became aggressive in
+asserting his legal rights, he was called out one night,
+ostensibly to set a broken leg, knocked down, and shot dead. The
+audacity of this crime startled even the Mormons, and the
+opinion has been expressed that nothing more serious than a
+beating had been intended. There was an inquest before a city
+alderman, at which some non-Mormon lawyers and judges Titus and
+McCurdy were asked to assist. The chief feature of this hearing
+was the summing up by Ex-Governor J. B. Weller, of California,
+in which he denounced such murders, asked if there was not an
+organized influence which prevented the punishment of their
+perpetrators, and confessed that the prosecution had not been
+permitted "to lift the veil, and show the perpetrators of this
+horrible murder." *
+
+* Text in "Rocky Mountain Saints," Appendix I.
+
+
+General W. B. Hazen, in his report of February, 1867, said of
+these victims: *There is no doubt of their murder from Mormon
+church influences, although I do not believe by direct command.
+Principles are taught in their churches which would lead to such
+murders. I have earnestly to recommend that a list be made of
+the Mormon leaders, according to their importance, excepting
+Brigham Young, and that the President of the United States
+require the commanding officer at Camp Douglas to arrest and
+send to the state's prison at Jefferson City, Mo., beginning at
+the head of the list, man for man hereafter killed as these men
+were, to be held until the real perpetrators of the deed, with
+evidence for their conviction, be given up. I believe Young for
+the present necessary for us there" *
+
+* Mis. House Doc. No. 75, 2d Session, 39th Congress.
+
+
+Had this policy been adopted, Mormon prisoners would soon have
+started East, for very soon afterward three other murders of the
+same character occurred, although the victims were not so
+prominent.* Chief Justice Titus incurred the hatred of the
+Mormons by determined, if futile, efforts to bring offenders in
+such cases to justice, and to show their feeling they sent him a
+nightgown ten feet long, at the hands of a negro.
+
+* See note 70, p. 628, Bancroft's "History of Utah." When, in
+July, 1869, a delegation from Illinois, that included Senator
+Trumbull, Governor Oglesby, Editor Medill of the Chicago
+Tribune, and many members of the Chicago Board of Trade, visited
+Salt Lake City, they were welcomed by and affiliated with the
+Gentile element;* and when, in the following October, Vice
+President Colfax paid a second visit to the city, he declined the
+courtesies tendered to him by the city officers.** He made an
+address from the portico of the Townsend House, of which
+polygamy was the principle feature, and was soon afterward drawn
+into a newspaper discussion of the subject with John Taylor.
+
+* In an interview between Young and Senator Trumbull during this
+visit (reported in the Alta California), the following
+conversation took place:--"Young--We can take care of ourselves.
+Cumming was good enough in his way, for you know he was simply
+Governor of the Territory, while I was and am Governor of the
+people."
+
+
+"Senator Trumbull--Mr. Young, may I say to the President that you
+intend to observe the laws under the constitution?"
+
+"Young-Well-yes--we intend to."
+
+"Senator Trumbull--But may I say to him that you will do so?"
+
+"Young--Yes, yes; so far as the laws are just, certainly."
+
+** "Mr. Colfax politely refused to accept the proffered
+courtesies of the city. Brigham was reported to have uttered
+abusive language in the Tabernacle towards the Government and
+Congress, and to have charged the President and Vice President
+with being drunkards. One of the Aldermen who waited upon Mr.
+Colfax to tender to him the hospitality of the city could only
+say that he did not hear Brigham say so."--"Rocky Mountain
+Saints," p. 638.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. Gentile Irruption And Mormon Schism
+
+The end of the complete seclusion of the Mormon settlement in
+Utah from the rest of the country--complete except so far as it
+was interrupted by the passage through the territory of the
+California emigration--dates from the establishment of Camp
+Floyd, and the breaking up of that camp and the disposal of its
+accumulation of supplies, which gave the first big impetus to
+mercantile traffic in Utah.* Young was ever jealous of the
+mercantile power, so openly jealous that, as Tullidge puts it,
+"to become a merchant was to antagonize the church and her
+policies, so that it was almost illegitimate for Mormon men of
+enterprising character to enter into mercantile pursuits." This
+policy naturally increased the business of non-Mormons who
+established themselves in the city, and their prosperity
+directed the attention of the church authorities to them, and
+the pulpit orators hurled anathemas at those who traded with
+them. Thus Young, in a discourse, on March 28, 1858, urging the
+people to use home-made material, said: "Let the calicoes lie on
+the shelves and rot. I would rather build buildings every day
+and burn them down at night, than have traders here communing
+with our enemies outside, and keeping up a hell all the time, and
+raising devils to keep it going. They brought their hell with
+them. We can have enough of our own without their help."** A
+system of espionage, by means of the city police, was kept on
+the stores of non-Mormons, until it required courage for a
+Mormon to make a purchase in one of these establishments. To
+trade with an apostate Mormon was, of course, a still greater
+offence.
+
+* "The community had become utterly destitute of almost
+everything necessary to their social comfort. The people were
+poorly clad, and rarely ever saw anything on their tables but
+what was prepared from flour, corn, beet-molasses, and the
+vegetables and fruits of their gardens. . . . It was at Camp
+Floyd, indeed, where the principal Utah merchants and business
+men of the second decade of our history may be said to have laid
+the foundation of their fortunes, among whom were the Walker
+Brothers."--Tullidge, "History of Salt Lake City," pp. 246-247.
+
+** Journal of Discourses, Vol. VII, p. 45.
+
+
+Among the mercantile houses that became strong after the
+establishment of Camp Floyd was that of Walker Brothers. There
+were four of them, Englishmen, who had come over with their
+mother, and shared in the privations of the early Utah
+settlement. Possessed of practical business talent and
+independence of thought, they rebelled against Young's
+dictatorial rule and the varied trammels by which their business
+was restricted. Without openly apostatizing, they insisted on a
+measure of independence. One manifestation of this was a refusal
+to contribute one-tenth of their income as a tithe for the
+expenditure of which no account was rendered. One year, when
+asked for their tithe, they gave the Bishop of their ward a
+check for $500 as "a contribution to the poor." When this form of
+contribution was reported to Young, he refused to accept it, and
+sent the brothers word that he would cut them off from the
+church unless they paid their tithe in the regular way. Their
+reply was to tear up the check and defy Young.
+
+The natural result followed. Brigham and his lieutenants waged an
+open war on these merchants, denouncing them in the Tabernacle,
+and keeping policemen before their doors. The Walkers, on their
+part, kept on offering good wares at reasonable prices, and thus
+retained the custom of as many Mormons as dared trade with them
+openly, or could slip in undiscovered. Even the expedient of
+placing a sign bearing an "all-seeing eye" and the words
+"Holiness to the Lord" over every Mormon trader's door did not
+steer away from other doors the Mormon customers who delighted
+in bargains. But the church power was too great for any one firm
+to fight. Not only was a business man's capital in danger in
+those times, when the church was opposed to him, but his life
+was not safe. Stenhouse draws this picture of the condition of
+affairs in 1866:--"After the assassination of Dr. Robinson, fears
+of violence were not unnatural, and many men who had never
+before carried arms buckled on their revolvers. Highly
+respectable men in Salt Lake City forsook the sidewalks after
+dusk, and, as they repaired to their residences, traversed the
+middle of the public street, carrying their revolvers in their
+hands.
+
+With such a feeling of uneasiness, nearly all the non-Mormon
+merchants joined in a letter to Brigham Young, offering, if the
+church would purchase their goods and estates at twentyfive per
+cent less than their valuation, they would leave the Territory.
+Brigham answered them cavalierly that he had not asked them to
+come into the Territory, did not ask them to leave it, and that
+they might stay as long as they pleased.
+
+"It was clear that Brigham felt himself master of the situation,
+and the merchants had to bide their time, and await the coming
+change that was anticipated from the completion of the Pacific
+Railroad. As the great iron way approached the mountains, and
+every day gave greater evidence of its being finished at a much
+earlier period than was at first anticipated, the hope of what
+it would accomplish nerved the discontented to struggle with the
+passing day." *
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 625.
+
+
+The Mormon historian incorporates these two last paragraphs in
+his book, and says: "Here is at once described the Gentile and
+apostate view of the situation in those times, and, confined as
+it is to the salient point, no lengthy special argument in favor
+of President Young's policies could more clearly justify his
+mercantile cooperative movement. IT WAS THE MOMENT OF LIFE OR
+DEATH TO THE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE CHURCH . . . . The
+organization of Z. C. M. I. at that crisis saved the temporal
+supremacy of the Mormon commonwealth."* It was to meet outside
+competition with a force which would be invincible that Young
+conceived the idea of Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution,
+which was incorporated in 1869, with Young as president. In
+carrying out this idea no opposing interest, whether inside the
+church or out of it, received the slightest consideration. "The
+universal dominance of the head of the church is admitted," says
+Tullidge, "and in 1868, before the opening of the Utah mines and
+the existence of a mixed population, there was no commercial
+escape from the necessities of a combination."**
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 385.
+
+** Cooperation is as much a cardinal and essential doctrine of
+the Mormon church as baptism for the remission of
+sin."--Tullidge, "History of Salt Lake City."
+
+
+Young is said to have received the idea of the big Cooperative
+enterprise from a small trader who asked permission to establish
+a mercantile system on the Cooperative plan, of moderate
+dimensions, throughout the territory. He gave it definite shape
+at a meeting of merchants in October, 1868, which was followed by
+
+a circular explaining the scheme to the people. A preamble
+asserted "the impolicy of leaving the trade and commerce of this
+territory to be conducted by strangers." The constitution of the
+concern provided for a capital of $3,000,000 in $100 shares.
+Young's original idea was to have all the merchants pool their
+stocks, those who found no places in the new establishment to go
+into some other business,--farming for instance,-- renting their
+stores as they could. Of course this meant financial ruin to the
+unprovided for, and the opposition was strong. But Young was not
+to be turned from the object he had in view. One man told
+Stenhouse that when he reported to Young that a certain merchant
+would be ruined by the scheme, and would not only be unable to
+pay his debts, but would lose his homestead, Young's reply was
+that the man had no business to get into debt, and that "if he
+loses his property it serves him right." Tullidge, in an article
+in Harpers Magazine for September, 1871 (written when he was at
+odds with Young), said, "The Mormon merchants were publicly told
+that all who refused to join the cooperation should be left out
+in the cold; and against the two most popular of them the Lion
+of the Lord roared, 'If Henry Lawrence don't mind what's he's
+about I'll send him on a mission, and W. S. Godbe I'll cut off
+from the church."'
+
+After the organization of the concern in 1869 some of the leading
+Mormon merchants in Salt Lake City sold their goods to it on
+favorable terms, knowing that the prices of their stock would go
+down when the opening of the railroad lowered freight rates. The
+Z. C. M. I. was started as a wholesale and retail concern, and
+Young recommended that ward stores be opened throughout the city
+which should buy their goods of the Institution. Local
+cooperative stores were also organized throughout the territory,
+each of which was under pressure to make its purchases of the
+central concern. Branches were afterward established at Ogden,
+at Logan, and at Soda Springs, Idaho, and a large business was
+built up and is still continued.* The effect of this new
+competition on the non-Mormon establishments was, of course,
+very serious. Walker Brothers' sales, for instance, dropped
+$5000 or $6000 a month, and only the opportunity to divert their
+capital profitably to mining saved them and others from immediate
+ruin.
+
+Bancroft says that in 1883 the total sales of the Institution
+exceeded $4,000,000, and a half yearly dividend of five per cent
+was paid in October of that year, and there was a reserve fund
+of about $125,000; he placed the sales of the Ogden branch, in
+1883, at about $800,000, and of the Logan branch at about
+$600,000. The thirty-second annual statement of the Institution,
+dated April 5,1901, contains the following figures: Capital
+stock, $1,077,144.89; reserve, $362,898.95; undivided profits,
+$179,042.88; cash receipts, February 1 to December 31, 1900,
+$3,457,624.44, sales for the same period, $3,489.571 .84. The
+branch houses named is this report are at Ogden City and Provo,
+Utah, and at Idaho Falls, Idaho.
+
+But at this time an influence was preparing to make itself felt
+in Utah which was a more powerful opponent of Brigham Young's
+authority than any he had yet encountered. This influence took
+shape in what was known as the "New Movement," and also as "The
+Reformation." Its original leaders were W. S. Godbe and E. L. T.
+Harrison. Godbe was an Englishman, who saw a good deal of the
+world as a sailor, embraced the Mormon faith in his own country
+when seventeen years of age, and walked most of the way from New
+York to Salt Lake City in 1851. He became prominent in the
+Mormon capital as a merchant, making the trip over the plains
+twenty-four times between 1851 and 1859. Harrison was an
+architect by profession, a classical scholar, and a writer of no
+mean ability.
+
+With these men were soon associated Eli B. Kelsey, a leading
+elder in the Mormon church, a president of Seventies, and a
+prominent worker in the English missions; H. W. Lawrence, a
+wealthy merchant who was a Bishop's counsellor; Amasa M. Lyman,
+who had been one of the Twelve Apostles and was acknowledged to
+be one of the most eloquent preachers in the church; W. H.
+Sherman, a prominent elder and a man of literary ability, who
+many years later went back to the church; T. B. H. Stenhouse, a
+Scotchman by birth, who was converted to Mormonism in 1846, and
+took a prominent part in missionary work in Europe, for three
+years holding the position of president of the Swiss and Italian
+missions; he emigrated to this country with his wife and
+children in 1855, practically penniless, and supported himself
+for a time in New York City as a newspaper writer; in Salt Lake
+City he married a second wife by Young's direction, and one of
+his daughters by his first wife married Brigham's eldest son.
+Stenhouse did not win the confidence of either Mormons or
+non-Mormons in the course of his career, but his book, "The
+Rocky Mountain Saints," contains much valuable information.
+Active with these men in the "New Movement" was Edward W.
+Tullidge, an elder and one of the Seventy, and a man of great
+literary ability. In later years Tullidge, while not openly
+associating himself with the Mormon church, wrote the "History
+of Salt Lake City" which the church accepts, a "Life of Brigham
+Young," which could not have been more fulsome if written by the
+most devout Mormon, and a "Life of Joseph the Prophet," which is
+a valueless expurgated edition of Joseph's autobiography which
+ran through the Millennial Star.
+
+The "New Movement" was assisted by the advent of non-Mormons to
+the territory, by Young's arbitrary methods in starting his
+cooperative scheme, by the approaching completion of the Pacific
+Railroad, and, in a measure, by the organization of the
+Reorganized Church under the leadership of the prophet Joseph
+Smith's eldest son. Two elders of that church, who went to Salt
+Lake City in 1863, were refused permission to preach in the
+Tabernacle, but did effective work by house-to-house
+visitations, and there were said to be more than three hundred
+of the "Josephites," as they were called, in Salt Lake City in
+1864.*
+
+* "Persecution followed, as they claimed; and in early summer
+about one-half of the Josephites in Salt Lake City started
+eastward, so great being the excitement that General Connor
+ordered a strong escort to accompany them as far as Greene
+River. To those who remained, protection was also afforded by the
+authorities."--Bancroft, "History of Utah," p. 645.
+
+
+Harrison and Tullidge had begun the publication of a magazine
+called the Peep o' Day at Camp Douglas, but it was a financial
+failure. Then Godbe and Harrison started the Utah Magazine, of
+which Harrison was editor. This, too, was only a drain on their
+purses. Accordingly, some time in the year 1868, giving it over
+to the care of Tullidge, they set out on a trip to New York by
+stage. Both were in doubt on many points regarding their church;
+both were of that mental make-up which is susceptible to
+"revelations" and "callings"; by the time they reached New York
+they realized that they were "on the road to apostasy."
+
+Long discussions of the situation took place between them, and
+the outcome was characteristic of men who had been influenced by
+such teachings as those of the Mormons. Kneeling down in their
+room, they prayed earnestly, and as they did so "a voice spoke
+to them." For three weeks, while Godbe transacted his mercantile
+business, his friend prepared questions on religion and
+philosophy, "and in the evening, by appointment, 'a band of
+spirits' came to them and held converse with them, as friends
+would speak with friends. One by one the questions prepared by
+Mr. Harrison were read, and Mr. Godbe and Mr. Harrison, with
+pencil and paper, took down the answers as they heard them given
+by the spirits."* The instruction which they thus received was
+Delphic in its clearness--that which was true in Mormonism
+should be preserved and the rest should be rejected.
+
+* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 631.
+
+
+When they returned to Utah they took Elder Eli B. Kelsey, Elder
+H. W. Lawrence, a man of wealth, and Stenhouse into their
+confidence, and it was decided to wage open warfare on Young's
+despotism, using the Utah Magazine as their mouthpiece. Without
+attacking Young personally, or the fundamental Mormon beliefs,
+the magazine disputed Young's doctrine that the world . was
+degenerating to ruin, held up the really "great characters" the
+world has known, that Young might be contrasted with them, and
+discussed the probabilities of honest errors in religious
+beliefs. When the Mormon leaders read in the magazine such
+doctrine as that, "There is one false error which possesses the
+minds of some in this, that God Almighty intended the priesthood
+to do our thinking," they realized that they had a contest on
+their hands. Young got into trouble with the laboring men at
+this time. He had contracts for building a part of the Pacific
+Railroad, which were sublet at a profit. An attempt by him to
+bring about a reduction of wages gave the magazine an
+opportunity to plead the laborers' cause which it gladly
+embraced.*
+
+* Harpers Magazine, Vol. XLIII, p. 605.
+
+
+In the summer of 1869 Alexander and David Hyrum Smith, sons of
+the prophet, visited Salt Lake City in the interest of the
+Reorganized Church. Many of Young's followers still looked on
+the sons of the prophet as their father's rightful successor to
+the leadership of the Church, as Young at Nauvoo had promised
+that Joseph III should be. But these sons now found that, even to
+be acknowledged as members of Brigham's fold, they must accept
+baptism at the hands of one of his elders, and acknowledge the
+"revelation" concerning polygamy as coming from God. They had
+not come with that intent. But they called on Young and
+discussed with him the injection of polygamy into the church
+doctrines. Young finally told them that they possessed, not the
+spirit of their father, but of their mother Emma, whom Young
+characterized as "a liar, yes, the damnedest liar that lived,"
+declaring that she tried to poison the prophet * He refused to
+them the use of the Tabernacle, but they spoke in private houses
+and, through the influence of the Walker brothers, secured
+Independence Hall. The Brighamites, using a son of Hyrum Smith
+as their mouthpiece,** took pains that a goodly number of
+polygamists should attend the Independence Hall meetings, and
+interruptions of the speakers turned the gatherings into
+something like personal wrangles.
+
+* For Alexander Smith's report, see True Latter-Day Saints'
+Herald, Vol. XVI, pp. 85-86.
+
+** Hyrum's widow went to Salt lake City, and died there in
+September, 1852, at the house of H. C. Kimball, who had taken
+care of her.
+
+
+The presence of the prophet's sons gave the leaders of "The
+Reformation" an opportunity to aim a thrust at what was then
+generally understood to be one of Brigham Young's ambitions,
+namely, the handing down of the Presidency of the church to his
+oldest son; and an article in their magazine presented the matter
+in this light: "If we know the true feeling of our brethren, it
+is that they never intend Joseph Smith's nor any other man's son
+to preside over them, simply because of their sonship. The
+principle of heirship has cursed the world for ages, and with
+our brethren we expect to fight it till, with every other relic
+of tyranny, it is trodden under foot." Young accepted this
+challenge, and at once ordered Harrison and two other elders in
+affiliation with him to depart on missions. They disobeyed the
+order.
+
+Godbe and Harrison told their friends in Utah that they had
+learned from the spirits who visited them in New York that the
+release of the people of the territory from the despotism of the
+church could come only through the development of the mines. So
+determined was the opposition of Young's priesthood to this
+development that its open advocacy in the magazine was the cause
+of more serious discussion than that given to any of the other
+subjects treated. As "The Reformation" did not then embrace more
+than a dozen members, the courage necessary to defy the church
+on such a question was not to be belittled. Just at that time
+came the visit of the Illinois party and of Vice President
+Colfax, and the latter was made acquainted with their plans and
+gave them encouragement. Ten days later the magazine, in an
+article on "The True Development of the Territory," openly
+advised paying more attention to mining. Young immediately
+called together the "School of the Prophets." This was an
+organization instituted in Utah, with the professed object of
+discussing doctrinal questions, having the "revelations" of the
+prophet elucidated by his colleagues, etc. It was not open to
+all church members, the "scholars" attending by invitation, and
+it soon became an organization under Young's direction which took
+cognizance of the secular doings of the people, exercising an
+espionage over them. The school is no longer maintained. Before
+this school Young denounced the "Reformers" in his most scathing
+terms, going so far as to intimate that his rule was itself in
+danger. Consequently the leaders of the "New Movement" were
+notified to appear before the High Council for a hearing.
+
+When this hearing occurred, Young managed that Godbe and Harrison
+should be the only persons on trial. Both of them defied him to
+his face, denying his "right to dictate to them in all things
+spiritual and temporal,"--this was the question put to
+them,--and protesting against his rule. They also read a set of
+resolutions giving an outline of their intended movements. They
+were at once excommunicated, and the only elder, Eli B. Kelsey,
+who voted against this action was immediately punished in the
+same way. Kelsey was not granted even the perfunctory hearing
+that was customarily allowed in such cases, and he was "turned
+over to the devil," instead of being consigned by the usual
+formula "to the buffetings of Satan."
+
+But this did not silence the "Reformers." Their lives were
+considered in danger by their acquaintances, and the
+assassination of the most prominent of them was anticipated;*
+but they went straight ahead on the lines they had proclaimed.
+Their first public meetings were held on Sunday, December 19,
+1869. The knowledge of the fact that they claimed to act by
+direct and recent revelation gave them no small advantage with a
+people whose belief rested on such manifestations of the divine
+will, and they had crowded audiences. The services were
+continued every Sunday, and on the evening of one week day; the
+magazine went on with its work, and they were the founders of
+the Salt Lake Tribune which later, as a secular journal, has led
+the Gentile press in Utah.
+
+* "In August my husband sent a respectful and kindly letter to
+the Bishop of our ward, stating that he had no faith in
+Brigham's claim to an Infallible Priesthood; and that he
+considered that he ought to be cut off from the church. I added
+a postscript stating that I wished to share my husband's fate. A
+little after ten o'clock, on the Saturday night succeeding our
+withdrawal from the church, we were returning home together . .
+. when we suddenly saw four men come out from under some trees
+at a little distance from us . . . . As soon as they approached,
+they seized hold of my husband's arms, one on each side, and held
+him firmly, thus rendering him almost powerless. They were all
+masked . . . . In an instant I saw them raise their arms, as if
+taking aim, and for one brief second I thought that our end had
+surely come, and that we, like so many obnoxious persons before
+us, were about to be murdered for the great sin of apostasy.
+This I firmly believe would have been my husband's fate if I had
+not chanced to be with him or had I run away . . . . The
+wretches, although otherwise well armed, were not holding
+revolvers in their hands as I at first supposed. They were
+furnished with huge garden syringes, charged with the most
+disgusting filth. My hair, bonnet, face, clothes, person--every
+inch of my body, every shred I wore--were in an instant
+saturated, and my husband and myself stood there reeking from
+head to foot. The villains, when they had perpetrated this
+disgusting and brutal outrage, turned and fled."--Mrs. Stenhouse,
+"Tell it All," pp. 578-581.
+
+
+But the attempt to establish a reformed Mormonism did not
+succeed, and the organization gradually disappeared. One of the
+surviving leaders said to me (in October, 1901): "My parents had
+believed in Mormonism, and I believed in the Mormon prophet and
+the doctrines set forth in his revelations. We hoped to purify
+the Mormon church, eradicating evils that had annexed themselves
+to it in later years. But our study of the question showed us
+that the Mormon faith rested on no substantial basis, and we
+became believers in transcendentalism." Mr. Godbe and Mr.
+Lawrence still reside in Utah. The former has made and lost more
+than one fortune in the mines. The Mormon historian Whitney says
+of the leaders in this attempted reform: "These men were all
+reputable and respected members of the community. Naught against
+their morality or general uprightness of character was known or
+advanced."* Stenhouse, writing three years before Young's death,
+said:--
+
+* Whitney's "History of Utah," Vol. II, p. 332.
+
+
+"But for the boldness of the Reformers, Utah to-day would not
+have been what it is. Inspired by their example, the people who
+have listened to them disregarded the teachings of the
+priesthood against trading with or purchasing of the Gentiles.
+The spell was broken, and, as in all such like experience, the
+other extreme was for a time threatened. Walker Brothers
+regained their lost trade . . . . Reference could be made to
+elders, some of whom had to steal away from Utah, for fear of
+violent hands being laid upon them had their intended departure
+been made known, who are to-day wealthy and respected gentlemen
+in the highest walks of life, both in the United States and in
+Europe."
+
+** For accounts of "The Reformation" by leaders in it,
+see Chap. 53 of Stenhouse's "Rocky Mountain Saints," and
+Tullidge's article, Harper's Magazine, Vol. XLIII, p. 602.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. The Last Years Of Brigham Young
+
+Governor Doty died in June, 1865, without coming in open conflict
+with Young, and was succeeded by Charles Durkee, a native of
+Vermont, but appointed from Wisconsin, which state he had
+represented in the United States Senate. He resigned in 1869,
+and was succeeded by J. Wilson Shaffer of Illinois, appointed by
+President Grant at the request of Secretary of War Rawlins, who,
+in a visit to the territory in 1868, concluded that its welfare
+required a governor who would assert his authority. Secretary S.
+A. Mann, as acting governor, had, just before Shaffer's arrival,
+signed a female suffrage bill passed by the territorial
+legislature. This gave offence to the new governor, and Mann was
+at once succeeded by Professor V. H. Vaughn of the University of
+Alabama, and Chief Justice C. C. Wilson (who had succeeded
+Titus) by James B. McKean. The latter was a native of Rensselaer
+County, New York; had been county judge of Saratoga County from
+1854 to 1858, a member of the 36th and 37th Congresses, and
+colonel of the 72nd New York Volunteers.
+
+Governor Shaffer's first important act was to issue a
+proclamation forbidding all drills and gatherings of the militia
+of the territory (which meant the Nauvoo Legion), except by the
+order of himself or the United States marshal. Wells, signing
+himself "Lieutenant General," sent the governor a written request
+for the suspension of this order. The governor, in reply,
+reminded Wells that the only "Lieutenant General" recognized by
+law was then Philip H. Sheridan, and declined to assist him in a
+course which "would aid you and your turbulent associates to
+further convince your followers that you and your associates are
+more powerful than the federal government." Thus practically
+disappeared this famous Mormon military organization.
+
+Governor Shaffer was ill when he reached Utah, and he died a few
+days after his reply to Wells was written, Secretary Vaughn
+succeeding him until the arrival of G. A. Black, the new
+secretary, who then became acting governor pending the arrival
+of George L. Woods, an ex-governor of Oregon, who was next
+appointed to the executive office.
+
+As soon as the new federal judges, who were men of high personal
+character, took their seats, they decided that the United States
+marshal, and not the territorial marshal, was the proper person
+to impanel the juries in the federal courts, and that the
+attorney general appointed by the President under the
+Territorial Act, and not the one elected under that act, should
+prosecute indictments found in the federal courts. The chief
+justice also filled a vacancy in the office of federal attorney.
+The territorial legislature of 1870, accordingly, made no
+appropriation for the expenses of the courts; and the chief
+justice, in dismissing the grand and petit juries on this
+account, explained to them that he had heard one of the high
+priesthood question the right of Congress even to pass the
+Territorial Act.
+
+In September, 1871, the United States marshal summoned a grand
+jury from nine counties (twenty-three jurors and seventeen
+talesmen) of whom only seven were Mormons. All the latter,
+examined on their voir dire, declared that they believed that
+polygamy was a revelation to the church, and that they would obey
+
+the revelation rather than the law, and all were successfully
+challenged. This grand jury, early in October, found indictments
+against Brigham Young, "General" Wells, G. Q. Cannon, and others
+under a territorial statute directed against lewdness and
+improper cohabitation. This action caused intense excitement in
+the Mormon capital. Prosecutor Baskin was quoted as saying that
+the troops at Camp Douglas would be used to enforce the warrant
+for Young's arrest if necessary, and the possible outcome has
+been thus portrayed by the Mormon historian:--"It was well known
+that he [Young] had often declared that he never would give
+himself up to be murdered as his predecessor, the Prophet Joseph,
+and his brother Hyrum had been, while in the hands of the law,
+and under the sacred pledge of the state for their safety; and,
+ere this could have been repeated, ten thousand Mormon Elders
+would have gone into the jaws of death with Brigham Young. In a
+few hours the suspended Nauvoo Legion would have been in arms."*
+
+* Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City," p. 527.
+
+
+The warrant was served on Young at his house by the United States
+marshal, and, as Young was ill, a deputy was left in charge of
+him. On October 9 Young appeared in court with the leading men
+of the church, and a motion to quash the indictment was made
+before the chief justice and denied.
+
+The same grand jury on October 28 found indictments for murder
+against D. H. Wells, W. H. Kimball, and Hosea Stout for alleged
+responsibility for the killing of Richard Yates during the "war"
+of 1857. The fact that the man was killed was not disputed; his
+brains were knocked out with an axe as he was sleeping by the
+side of two Mormon guards.* The defence was that he died the
+death of a spy. Wells was admitted to bail in $50,000, and the
+other two men were placed under guard at Camp Douglas.
+Indictments were also found against Brigham Young, W. A.
+Hickman, O. P. Rockwell, G. D. Grant, and Simon Dutton for the
+murder of one of the Aikin party at Warm Springs. They were all
+admitted to bail.
+
+* Hickman tells the story in his "Brigham's Destroying Angel," p.
+122.
+
+
+When the case against Young, on the charge of improper
+cohabitation, was called on November 20, his counsel announced
+that he had gone South for his health, as was his custom in
+winter, and the prosecution thereupon claimed that his bail was
+forfeited. Two adjournments were granted at the request of his
+counsel. On January 3 Young appeared in court, and his counsel
+urged that he be admitted to bail, pleading his age and ill
+health. The judge refused this request, but said that the
+marshal could, if he desired, detain the prisoner in one of
+Young's own houses. This course was taken, and he remained under
+detention until released by the decision of the United States
+Supreme Court.
+
+In April, 1872, that court decided that the territorial jury law
+of Utah, in force since 1859, had received the implied approval
+of Congress; that the duties of the attorney and marshal
+appointed by the President under the Territorial Act "have
+exclusive relation to cases arising under the laws and
+constitution of the United States," and "the making up of the
+jury list and all matters connected with the designation of
+jurors are subject to the regulation of territorial law."* This
+was a great victory for the Mormons.
+
+* Chilton vs. Englebrech, 13 Wallace, p. 434.
+
+
+In October, 1873, the United States Supreme Court rendered its
+decision in the case of "Snow vs. The United States" on the
+appeal from Chief Justice McKean's ruling about the authority of
+the prosecuting officers. It overruled the chief justice,
+confining the duties of the attorney appointed by the President
+to cases in which the federal government was concerned,
+concluding that "in any event, no great inconvenience can arise,
+because the entire matter is subject to the control and
+regulation of Congress." *
+
+* Wallace's "Reports," Vol. XVIII, p. 317.
+
+
+The following comments, from three different sources, will show
+the reader how many influences were then shaping the control of
+authority in Utah:--"At about this time [December, 1871] a change
+came in the action of the Department of justice in these Utah
+prosecutions, and fair-minded men of the nation demanded of the
+United States Government that it should stop the disgraceful and
+illegal proceedings of Judge McKean's court. The influence of
+Senator Morton was probably the first and most potent brought to
+bear in this matter, and immediately thereafter Senator Lyman
+Trumbull threw the weight of his name and statesmanship in the
+same direction, which resulted in Baskin and Maxwell being
+superseded, . . . and finally resulted in the setting aside of
+two years of McKean's doings as illegal by the august decision
+of the Supreme Court."--Tullidge, "History of Salt Lake City,"
+p. 547.
+
+"The Attorney for the Mormons labored assiduously at Washington,
+and, contrary to the usual custom in the Supreme Court, the
+forthcoming decision had been whispered to some grateful ears.
+The Mormon anniversary conference beginning on the sixth of
+April was continued over without adjournment awaiting that
+decision."--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 688.
+
+"Thus stood affairs during the winter of 1870-71. The Gentiles
+had the courts, the Mormons had the money. In the spring Nevada
+came over to run Utah. Hon. Thomas Fitch of that state had been
+defeated in his second race for Congress; so he came to Utah as
+Attorney for the Mormons. Senator Stewart and other Nevada
+politicians made heavy investments in Utah mines; litigation
+multiplied as to mining titles, and Judge McKean did not rule to
+suit Utah . . . . The great Emma mine, worth two or three
+millions, became a power in our judicial embroglio. The Chief
+Justice, in various rulings, favored the present occupants.
+Nevada called upon Senator Stewart, who agreed to go straight to
+Long Branch and see that McKean was removed. But Ulysses the
+Silent . . . promptly made reply that if Judge McKean had
+committed no greater fault than to revise a little Nevada law,
+he was not altogether unpardonable."--Beadle, "Polygamy," p.
+429.
+
+The Supreme Court decisions left the federal courts in Utah
+practically powerless, and President Grant understood this. On
+February 14, 1873, he sent a special message to Congress, saying
+that he considered it necessary, in order to maintain the
+supremacy of the laws of the United States, "to provide that the
+selection of grand and petit jurors for the district courts [of
+Utah], if not put under the control of federal officers, shall
+be placed in the hands of persons entirely independent of those
+who are determined not to enforce any act of Congress obnoxious
+to them, and also to pass some act which shall deprive the
+probate courts, or any court created by the territorial
+legislature, of any power to interfere with or impede the action
+of the courts held by the United States judges."
+
+In line with this recommendation Senator Frelinghuysen had
+introduced a bill in the Senate early in February, which the
+Senate speedily passed, the Democrats and Schurz, Carpenter, and
+Trumbull voting against it. Mormon influence fought it with
+desperation in the House, and in the closing hours of the session
+had it laid aside. The diary of Delegate Hooper says on this
+subject, "Maxwell [the United States Marshal for Utah] said he
+would take out British papers and be an American citizen no
+longer. Claggett [Delegate from Montana] asserted that we had
+spent $200,000 on the judiciary committee, and Merritt [Delegate
+from Idaho] swore that there had been treachery and we had
+bribed Congress."*
+
+* The Mormons do not always conceal the influences they employ to
+control legislation in which they are interested. Thus Tullidge,
+referring to the men of whom their Cooperative Institution buys
+goods, says: "But Z. C. M. I. has not only a commercial
+significance in the history of our city, but also a political
+one. It has long been the temporal bulwark around the Mormon
+community. Results which have been seen in Utah affairs,
+preservative of the Mormon power and people, unaccountable to
+'the outsider' except on the now stale supposition that 'the
+Mormon Church has purchased Congress,' may be better traced to
+the silent but potent influence of Z. C. M. I. among the ruling
+business men of America, just as John Sharp's position as one of
+the directors of U. P. R---r,--a compeer among such men as
+Charles Francis Adams, Jay Gould and Sidney Dillon--gives him a
+voice in Utah affairs among the railroad rulers of
+America."--"History of Salt Lake City;" p. 734.
+
+In the election of 1872 the Mormons dropped Hooper, who had long
+served them as Delegate at Washington, and sent in his place
+George Q. Cannon, an Englishman by birth and a polygamist. But
+Mormon influence in Washington was now to receive a severe
+check. On June 23, 1874, the President approved an act introduced
+by Mr. Poland of Vermont, and known as the Poland Bill,* which
+had important results. It took from the probate courts in Utah
+all civil, chancery, and criminal jurisdiction; made the common
+law in force; provided that the United States attorney should
+prosecute all criminal cases arising in the United States courts
+in the territory; that the United States marshal should serve and
+execute all processes and writs of the supreme and district
+courts, and that the clerk of the district court in each
+district and the judge of probate of the county should prepare
+the jury lists, each containing two hundred names, from which the
+
+United States marshal should draw the grand and petit juries for
+the term. It further provided that, when a woman filed a bill to
+declare void a marriage because of a previous marriage, the
+court could grant alimony; and that, in any prosecution for
+adultery, bigamy, or polygamy, a juror could be challenged if he
+practised polygamy or believed in its righteousness.
+
+* Chap. 469, 1st Session, 43d Congress.
+
+
+The suit for divorce brought by Young's wife "No. 19,"--Ann Eliza
+Young--in January, 1873, attracted attention all over the
+country. Her bill charged neglect, cruel treatment, and
+desertion, set forth that Young had property worth $8,000,000
+and an income of not less than $40,000 a year, and asked for an
+allowance of $1000 a month while the suit was pending, $6000
+for preliminary counsel fees, and $14,000 more when the final
+decree was made, and that she be awarded $200,000 for her
+support. Young in his reply surprised even his Mormon friends.
+After setting forth his legal marriage in Ohio, stating that he
+and the plaintiff were members of a church which held the
+doctrine that "members thereto might rightfully enter into
+plural marriages," and admitting such a marriage in this case,
+he continued: "But defendant denies that he and the said
+plaintiff intermarried in any other or different sense or manner
+than that above mentioned or set forth. Defendant further
+alleges that the said complainant was then informed by the
+defendant, and then and there well knew that, by reason of said
+marriage, in the manner aforesaid, she could not have and need
+not expect the society or personal attention of this defendant
+as in the ordinary relation between husband and wife." He
+further declared that his property did not exceed $600,000 in
+value, and his income $6000 a month.
+
+Judge McKean, on February 25, 1875, ordered Young to pay Ann
+Eliza $3000 for counsel fees and $500 a month alimony pendente
+lite, and, when he failed to obey, sentenced him to pay a fine
+of $25 and to one day's imprisonment. Young was driven to his
+own residence by the deputy marshal for dinner, and, after
+taking what clothing he required, was conducted to the
+penitentiary, where he was locked up in a cell for a short time,
+and then placed in a room in the warden's office for the night.
+
+Judge McKean was accused of inconsistency in granting alimony,
+because, in so doing, he had to give legal sanction to Ann
+Eliza's marriage to Brigham while the latter's legal wife was
+living. Judge McKean's successor, Judge D. P. Loew, refused to
+imprison Young, taking the ground that there had been no valid
+marriage. Loew's successor, Judge Boreman, ordered Young
+imprisoned until the amount due was paid, but he was left at his
+house in custody of the marshal. Boreman's successor, Judge
+White, freed Young on the ground that Boreman's order was void.
+White's successor, Judge Schaeffer, in 1876 reduced the alimony
+to $100 per month, and, in default of payment, certain of
+Young's property was sold at auction and rents were ordered
+seized to make up the deficiency. The divorce case came to trial
+in April, 1877, when Judge Schaeffer decreed that the polygamous
+marriage was void, annulled all orders for alimony, and assessed
+the costs against the defendant.
+
+Nothing further of great importance affecting the relations of
+the church with the federal government occurred during the rest
+of Young's life. Governor Woods incurred the animosity of the
+Mormons by asserting his authority from time to time ("he
+intermeddled," Bancroft says). In 1874 he was succeeded by S. B.
+Axtell of California, who showed such open sympathy with the
+Mormon view of his office as to incur the severest censure of
+the non-Mormon press. Axtell was displaced in the following year
+by G. B. Emery of Tennessee, who held office until the early
+part of 1880, when he was succeeded by Eli H. Murray.*
+
+* Governor Murray showed no disposition to yield to Mormon
+authority. In his message in 1882 be referred pointedly, among
+other matters, to the tithing, declaring that "the poor man who
+earns a dollar by the sweat of his brow is entitled to that
+dollar," and that "any exaction or undue influence to dispossess
+him of any part of it, in any other manner than in payment of a
+legal obligation, is oppression," and he granted a certificate
+of election as Delegate to Congress to Allan G. Campbell, who
+received only 1350 votes to 18,568 for George Q. Cannon, holding
+that the latter was not a citizen. Governor Murray's resignation
+was accepted in March, 1886, and he was succeeded in the
+following May by Caleb W. West, who, in turn, was supplanted in
+May, 1889, by A. L. Thomas, who was territorial governor when
+Utah was admitted as a state.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. Brigham Young's Death--His Character
+
+Brigham Young died in Salt Lake City at 4 P.M. on Wednesday,
+August 29, 1877. He was attacked with acute cholera morbus on
+the evening of the 23rd, after delivering an address in the
+Council House, and it was followed by inflammation of the
+bowels. The body lay in state in the Tabernacle from Saturday,
+September 1, until Sunday noon, when the funeral services were
+held. He was buriod in a little plot on one of the main streets
+of Salt Lake City, not far from his place of residence.
+
+The steps by which Young reached the position of head of the
+Mormon church, the character of his rule, and the means by which
+he maintained it have been set forth in the previous chapters of
+this work. In the ruler we have seen a man without education,
+but possessed of an iron will, courage to take advantage of
+unusual opportunities, and a thorough knowledge of his flock
+gained by association with them in all their wanderings. In his
+people we have seen a nucleus of fanatics, including some of
+Joseph Smith's fellow-plotters, constantly added to by new
+recruits, mostly poor and ignorant foreigners, who had been made
+to believe in Smith's Bible and "revelations," and been further
+lured to a change of residence by false pictures of the country
+they were going to, and the business opportunities that awaited
+them there. Having made a prominent tenet of the church the
+practice of polygamy, which Young certainly knew the federal
+government would not approve, he had an additional bond with
+which to unite the interests of his flock with his own, and thus
+to make them believe his approval as necessary to their personal
+safety as they believed it to be necessary to their salvation.
+The command which Young exercised in these circumstances is not
+an illustration of any form of leadership which can be held up
+to admiration. It is rather an exemplification of that tyranny in
+church and state which the world condemns whenever an example of
+it is afforded.
+
+Young was the centre of responsibility for all the rebellion,
+nullification, and crime carried on under the authority of the
+church while he was its head. He never concealed his own power.
+He gloried in it, and declared it openly in and out of the
+Tabernacle. Authority of this kind cannot be divided. Whatever
+credit is due to Young for securing it, is legitimately his. But
+those who point to its acquisition as a sign of greatness, must
+accept for him, with it, responsibility for the crimes that were
+carried on under it.
+
+The laudators of Young have found evidence of great executive
+ability in his management of the migration from Nauvoo to Utah.
+But, in the first place, this migration was compulsory; the
+Mormons were obliged to move. In the second place its
+accomplishment was no more successful than the contemporary
+migrations to Oregon, and the loss of life in the camps on the
+Missouri River was greater than that incurred in the great rush
+across the plains to California; while the horrors of the
+hand-cart movement--a scheme of Young's own device--have never
+been equalled in Western travel. In Utah, circumstances greatly
+favored Young's success. Had not gold been discovered when it
+was in California, the Mormon settlement would long have been
+like a dot in a desert, and its ability to support the stream Of
+immigrants attracted from Europe would have been problematic,
+since, in more than one summer, those already there had narrowly
+escaped starvation while depending on the agricultural resources
+of the valley.
+
+J. Hyde, writing in 1857, said that Young "by the native force
+and vigor of a strong mind" had taken from beneath the Mormon
+church system "the monstrous stilts of a miserable superstition,
+and consolidated it into a compact scheme of the sternest
+fanaticism."* In other words, he might have explained, instead of
+relying on such "revelations" as served Smith, he refused to use
+artificial commands of God, and substituted the commands of
+Young, teaching, and having his associates teach, that obedience
+to the head of the church was obedience to the Supreme Power.
+Both Hyde and Stenhouse, writing before Young's death, and as
+witnesses of the strength of his autocratic government,
+overestimated him. This is seen in the view they took of the
+effect of his death. Hyde declared that under any of the other
+contemporary leadersTaylor, Kimball, Orson Hyde, or Pratt:
+"Mormonism will decline. Brigham is its tun; this is its
+daytime." Stenhouse asserted that, "Theocracy will die out with
+Brigham's flickering flame of life; and, when he is laid in the
+tomb, many who are silent now will curse his memory for the
+cruel suffering that his ambition caused them to endure." But
+all such prophecies remain unfulfilled. Young's death caused no
+more revolution or change in the Mormon church than does the
+death of a Pope in the Church of Rome. "Regret it who may,"
+wrote a Salt Lake City correspondent less than three months
+after his burial, "the fact is visible to every intelligent
+person here that Mormonism has taken a new lease of life, and,
+instead of disintegration, there never was such unity among its
+people; and in the place of a rapidly dying consumptive, whose
+days were numbered, the body of the church is the picture of
+pristine health and vigor, with all the ambition and enthusiasm
+of a first love."** The new leadership has, grudgingly, traded
+polygamy for statehood; but the church power is as strong and
+despotic and unified to-day on the lines on which it is working
+as it was under Young, only exercising that power on the more
+civilized basis rendered necessary by closer connection with an
+outside civilization.
+
+* "Mormonism," p.151.
+
+** New York Times, November 23, 1877.
+
+
+Young was a successful accumulator of property for his own use. A
+poor man when he set out from Nauvoo, his estate at his death
+was valued at between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000. This was a
+great accumulation for a pioneer who had settled in a
+wilderness, been burdened with a polygamous family of over twenty
+wives and fifty children, and the cares of a church
+denomination, without salary as a church officer. "I am the only
+person in the church," Young said to Greeley in 1859, "who has
+not a regular calling apart from the church service"; and he
+added, "We think a man who cannot make his living aside from the
+ministry of the church unsuited to that office. I am called
+rich, and consider myself worth $250,000; but no dollar of it
+ever was paid me by the church, nor for any service as a
+minister of the Everlasting Gospel." * Two years after his death
+a writer in the Salt Lake Tribune** asserted that Young had
+secured in Utah from the tithing $13,000,000, squandered about
+$9,000,o on his family, and left the rest to be fought for by
+his heirs and assigns.*** Notwithstanding the vast sums taken by
+him in tithing for the alleged benefit of the poor, there was not
+in Salt Lake City, at the time of his death, a single hospital
+or "home" creditable to that settlement.
+
+* "Overland Journey," p. 213.
+
+** June 25, 1879.
+
+*** "Having control of the tithing, and possessing unlimited
+credit, he has added 'house to house and field to field,' while
+every one knew that he had no personal enterprises sufficient to
+enable him to meet anything like the current expenses of his
+numerous wives and children. As trustee in trust he renders no
+account of the funds that come into his hands, but tells the
+faithful that they are at perfect liberty to examine the books
+at any moment."--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 665.
+
+
+The mere acquisition of his wealth no more entitled Young to be
+held up as a marvellous man of business than did Tweed's
+accumulations give him this distinction in New York. Beadle
+declares that "Brigham never made a success of any business he
+undertook except managing the Mormons," and cites among his
+business failures the non-success of every distant colony he
+planted, the Cottonwood Canal (whose mouth was ten feet higher
+than its source), his beet-sugar manufactory, and his Colorado
+Transportation Company (to bring goods for southern Utah up the
+Colorado River).*
+
+* "Polygamy," p. 484.
+
+
+The reports of Young's discourses in the Temple show that he was
+as determined in carrying out his own financial schemes as he
+was in enforcing orders pertaining to the church. Here is an
+almost humorous illustration of this. In urging the people one
+day to be more regular in paying their tithing, he said they
+need not fear that he would make a bad use of their money, as he
+had plenty of his own, adding:--"I believe I will tell you how I
+get some of it. A great many of these elders in Israel, soon
+after courting these young ladies, and old ladies, and
+middle-aged ladies, and having them sealed to them, want to have
+a bill of divorce. I have told them from the beginning that
+sealing men and women for time and all eternity is one of the
+ordinances of the House of God, and that I never wanted a
+farthing for sealing them, nor for officiating in any of the
+ordinances of God's house. But when you ask for a bill of
+divorce, I intend that you shall pay for it. That keeps me in
+spending money, besides enabling me to give hundreds of dollars
+to the poor, and buy butter, eggs, and little notions for women
+and children, and otherwise use it where it does good. You may
+think this a singular feature of the Gospel, but I cannot
+exactly say that this is in the Gospel."*
+
+* Deseret News, March 20, 1861. For such an openly jolly old
+hypocrite one can scarcely resist the feeling that he would like
+to pass around the hat.
+
+
+We have seen how Young gave himself control of a valuable canon.
+That was only the beginning of such acquisitions. The
+territorial legislature of Utah was continually making special
+grants to him. Among them may be mentioned the control of City
+Creek Canon (said to have been worth $10,000 a year) on payment
+of $500; of the waters of Mill Creek; exclusive right to Kansas
+Prairie as a herd-ground; the whole of Cache Valley for a
+herd-ground; Rush Valley for a herd-ground; rights to establish
+ferries; an appropriation of $2500 for an academy in Salt Lake
+City (which was not built), etc.*
+
+* Here is the text of one of these acts: "Be it ordained by the
+General Assembly of the State of Deseret that Brigham Young has
+the sole control of City Creek and Canon; and that he pay into
+the public treasury the sum of $500 therefore. Dec. 9, 1850."
+
+
+Young's holdings of real estate were large, not only in Salt Lake
+City, but in almost every county in the territory.* Besides city
+lots and farm lands, he. owned grist and saw mills, and he took
+care that his farms were well cultivated and that his mills made
+fine flour.**
+
+* "For several years past the agent of the church, A. M. Musser,
+has been engaged in securing legal deeds for all the property
+the prophet claims, and by this he will be able to secure in his
+lifetime to his different families such property as will render
+them independent at his death. The building of the Pacific
+Railroad is said to have yielded him about a quarter of a
+million."--"Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 666.
+
+** "His position secured him also many valuable presents. From a
+barrel of brandy down to an umbrella, Brigham receives
+courteously and remembers the donors with increased kindness. I
+saw one man make him a present of ten fine milch cows."--Hyde,
+"Mormonism," p. 165.
+
+
+As trustee in trust for the church Young had control of all the
+church property and income, practically without responsibility
+or oversight. Mrs. Waite (writing in 1866) said that attempts
+for many years by the General Conference to procure a balance
+sheet of receipts and expenditures had failed, and that the
+accounts in the tithing office, such as they were, were kept by
+clerks who were the leading actors in the Salt Lake Theatre,
+owned by Young.* It was openly charged that, in 1852, Young
+"balanced his account" with the church by having the clerk
+credit him with the amount due by him, "for services rendered,"
+and that, in 1867, he balanced his account again by crediting
+himself with $967,000. A committee appointed to investigate the
+accounts of Young after his death reported to the Conference of
+October, 1878, that "for the sole purpose of preserving it from
+the spoliation of the enemy," he "had transferred certain
+property from the possession of the church to his own individual
+possession," but that it had been transferred back again.
+
+* "The Mormon Prophet," pp. 148-149,
+
+
+Young's will divided his wives and children into nineteen
+"classes," and directed his executors to pay to each such a sum
+as might be necessary for their comfortable support; the word
+"marriage" in the will to mean "either by ceremony before a
+lawful magistrate, or according to the order of the Church of
+Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or by their cohabitation in
+conformity to our custom."
+
+On June 14, 1879, Emmeline A. Young, on behalf of herself and
+the heirs at law, began a suit against the executors of Young's
+estate, charging that they had improperly appropriated $200,000;
+had improperly allowed nearly $1,000,000 to John Taylor as
+trustee in trust to the church, less a credit of $300,000 for
+Young's services as trustee; and that they claimed the power, as
+members of the Apostles' Quorum, to dispose of all the
+testator's property and to disinherit any heir who refused to
+submit. This suit was compromised in the following September,
+the seven persons joining in it executing a release on payment of
+$75,000. A suit which the church had begun against the heirs and
+executors was also discontinued. The Salt Lake Herald (Mormon)
+of October 5, 1879, said, "The adjustment is far preferable to a
+continuance of the suit, which was proving not only expensive,
+but had become excessively annoying to many people, was a large
+disturbing element in the community, and was rapidly descending
+into paths that nobody here cares to see trodden."
+
+Just how many wives Brigham Young had, in the course of his life,
+would depend on his own and others' definition of that term. He
+told Horace Greeley, in 1859: "I have fifteen; I know no one who
+has more. But some of those sealed to me are old ladies, whom I
+regard rather as mothers than wives, but whom I have taken home
+to cherish and support."* In 1869, he informed the Boston Board
+of Trade, when that body visited Salt Lake City, that he had
+sixteen wives living, and had lost four, and that forty-nine of
+his children were living then. " He was," says Beadle, "sealed
+on the spiritual wife system to more women than any one can
+count; all over Mormondom are pious old widows, or wives of
+Gentiles and apostates, who hope to rise at the last day and
+claim a celestial share in Brigham." J. Hyde said that he knew
+of about twenty-five wives with whom Brigham lived. The
+following list is made up from "Pictures and Biographies of
+Brigham Young and his Wives," published by J. H. Crockwell of
+Salt Lake City, by authority of Young's eldest son and of seven
+of his wives, but is not complete:--
+
+* "Overland journey," p. 215.
+
+
+NAME*************    DATE OF MARRIAGE  ***  NUMBER OF CHILDREN***
+Mary Ann Angell *      February, 1834. Ohio       6
+Louisa Beman **        April, 1841. Nauvoo        4
+Mrs. Lucy Decker Seely June, 1842. Nauvoo         7
+H. E. C. Campbell      November, 1843.Nauvoo      1
+Augusta Adams          November, 1843. Nauvoo     0
+Clara Decker           May, 1844. Nauvoo          5
+Clara C. Ross          September, 1844. Nauvoo    4
+Emily Dow Partridge**  September, 1844. Nauvoo    7
+Susan Snively          November, 1844. Nauvoo     0
+Olive Grey Frost**     February, 1845. Nauvoo     0
+Emmeline Free          April, 1845. Nauvoo        0
+Margaret Pierce        April, 1845. Nauvoo        1
+N. K. T. Carter        January, 1846. Nauvoo      0
+Ellen Rockwood         January, 1846. Nauvoo      0
+Maria Lawrence**       January, 1846. Nauvoo      0
+Martha Bowker          January, 1846. Nauvoo      0
+Margaret M. Alley      January, 1846. Nauvoo      2
+Lucy Bigelow           March, 1847. (?)           3
+Z. D. Huntington **    March, 1847 (?). Nauvoo    1
+Eliza K. Snow**        June, 1849. S. L. C.       0
+Eliza Burgess          October, 1850. S. L. C.    1
+Harriet Barney         October, 1850. S. L. C.    1
+Harriet A. Folsom      January, 1863. S. L. C.    0
+Mary Van Cott          January, 1865. S. L. C.    1
+Ann Eliza Webb         April, 1868. S. L. C.      0
+
+* His first wife died 1832.
+** Joseph Smith's widows.
+
+Young's principal houses in Salt Lake City stood at the
+southeastern corner of the block adjoining the Temple block, and
+designated on the map as block 8. The largest building,
+occupying the corner, was called the Beehive House; connected
+with this was a smaller building in which were Young's private
+offices, the tithing office, etc; and next to this was a
+building partly of stone, called the Lion House, taking its name
+from the figure of a lion sculptured on its front, representing
+Young's title "The Lion of the Lord." When J. Hyde wrote,
+seventeen or eighteen of Young's wives dwelt in the Lion House,
+and the Beehive House became his official residence.* Individual
+wives were provided for elsewhere. His legal wife lived in what
+was called the White House, a few hundred yards from his
+official home. His well-beloved Amelia lived in another house
+half a block distant; another favorite, just across the street;
+Emmeline, on the same block; and not far away the latest
+acquisition to his harem.
+
+* The Beehive House is still the official residence of the head
+of the church, and in it President Snow was living at the time
+of his death. The office building is still devoted to office
+uses, and the Lion House now furnishes temporary quarters to the
+Latter-Day Saints' College.
+
+
+Young's life in his later years was a very orderly one, although
+he was not methodical in arranging his office hours and
+attending to his many duties. Rising before eight A.m., he was
+usually in his office at nine, transacting business with his
+secretary, and was ready to receive callers at ten. So many were
+the people who had occasion to see him, and so varied were the
+matters that could be brought to his attention, that many hours
+would be devoted to these callers if other engagements did not
+interfere. Once a year he made a sort of visit of state to all
+the principal settlements in the territory, accompanied by
+counsellors, apostles, and Bishops, and sometimes by a favorite
+wife. Shorter excursions of the same kind were made at other
+times. Each settlement was expected to give him a formal
+greeting, and this sometimes took the form of a procession with
+banners, such as might have been prepared for a conquering hero.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. Social Aspects Of Polygamy
+
+There was something compulsory about all phases of life in Utah
+during Brigham Young's regime--the form of employment for the
+men, the domestic regulations of the women, the church duties
+each should perform, and even the location in the territory
+which they should call their home. Not only did large numbers of
+the foreign immigrants find themselves in debt to the church on
+their arrival, and become compelled in this way to labor on the
+"public works" as they might be ordered, but the skilled
+mechanics who brought their tools with them in most cases found
+on their arrival that existence in Utah meant a contest with the
+soil for food. Even when a mechanic obtained employment at his
+trade it was in the ruder branches.
+
+Mormon authorities have always tried to show that Americans have
+predominated in their community. Tullidge classes the population
+in this order: Americans, English, Scandinavian (these claim
+one-fifth of the Mormon population of Utah), Scotch, Welsh,
+Germans, and a few Irish, French, Italians, and Swiss. The
+combination of new-comers and the emigrants from Nauvoo made a
+rude society of fanatics,* before whom there was held out enough
+prospect of gain in land values (scarcely one of the immigrants
+had ever been a landowner) to overcome a good deal of the
+discontent natural to their mode of life, and who, in religious
+matters, were held in control by a priesthood, against whom they
+could not rebel without endangering that hope of heaven which
+had induced them to journey across the ocean. There are
+roughness and lawlessness in all frontier settlements, but this
+Mormon community differed from all other gatherings of new
+population in the American West. It did not migrate of its own
+accord, attracted by a fertile soil or precious ores; it was
+induced to migrate, not without misrepresentation concerning
+material prospects, it is true, but mainly because of the hope
+that by doing so it would share in the blessings and protection
+of a Zion. The gambling hell and the dance hall, which form
+principal features of frontier mining settlements, were wanting
+in Salt Lake City, and the absence of the brothel was pointed to
+as evidence of the moral effect of polygamy.
+
+* "I have discovered thus early (1852) that little deference is
+paid to women. Repeatedly, in my long walk to our boarding
+house, I was obliged to retreat back from the [street] crossing
+places and stand on one side for men to cross over. There are
+said to be a great many of the lower order of English here, and
+this rudeness, so unusual with our countrymen, may proceed from
+them."-- Mrs. Ferris. "Life among the Mormons."
+
+
+The system of plural marriages left its impress all over the home
+life of the territory. Many of the Mormon leaders, as we have
+seen, had more wives than one when they made their first trip
+across the plains, and the practice of polygamy, while denied on
+occasion, was not concealed from the time the settlement was
+made in the valley to the date of its public proclamation. In the
+early days, a man with more than one wife provided for them
+according to his means. Young began with quarters better than
+the average, but modest in their way, and finally occupied the
+big buildings which cost him many thousands of dollars. If a man
+with several wives had the means to do so, he would build a long,
+low dwelling, with an outside door for each wife, and thus house
+all under the same roof in a sort of separate barracks. When
+Gunnison wrote, in 1852, there were many instances in which more
+than one wife shared the same house when it contained only one
+apartment, but he said: "It is usual to board out the extra
+ones, who most frequently pay their own way by sewing, and other
+female employments." Mrs. Ferris wrote: "The mass of the
+dwellings are small, low, and hutlike. Some of them literally
+swarmed with women and children, and had an aspect of extreme
+want of neatness . . . . One family, in which there were two
+wives, was living in a small hut--three children very sick [with
+scarlet fever]--two beds and a cook-stove in the same room,
+creating the air of a pest-house."*
+
+* "Life among the Mormons," pp. 111, 145.
+
+
+Hyde, describing the city in 1857, thus enumerated the home
+accommodations of some of the leaders:--"A very pretty house on
+the east side was occupied by the late J. M. Grant and his five
+wives. A large barrack-like house on the corner is tenanted by
+Ezra T. Benson and his four ladies. A large but mean-looking
+house to the west was inhabited by the late Parley P. Pratt and
+his nine wives. In that long, dirty row of single rooms, half
+hidden by a very beautiful orchard and garden, lived Dr. Richard
+and his eleven wives. Wilford Woodruff and five wives reside in
+another large house still further west. O. Pratt and some four or
+five wives occupy an adjacent building. Looking toward the
+north, we espy a whole block covered with houses, barns,
+gardens, and orchards. In these dwell H. C. Kimball and his
+eighteen or twenty wives, their families and dependents."*
+
+* "Mormonism," p. 34. The number of wives of the church leaders
+decreased in later years. Beadle, giving the number of wives
+"supposed to appertain to each" in 1882, credits President
+Taylor with four (three having died), and the Apostles with an
+average of three each, Erastus Snow having five, and four others
+only two each.
+
+
+Horace Greeley, prejudiced as he was in favor of the Mormons when
+he visited Salt Lake City in 1859, was forced to observe:--"The
+degradation (or, if you please, the restriction) of woman to the
+single office of childbearing and its accessories is an
+inevitable consequence of the system here paramount. I have not
+observed a sign in the streets, an advertisement in the
+journals, of this Mormon metropolis, whereby a woman proposes to
+do anything whatever. No Mormon has ever cited to me his wife's
+or any woman's opinion on any subject; no Mormon woman has been
+introduced or spoken to me; and, though I have been asked to
+visit Mormons in their houses, no one has spoken of his wife (or
+wives) desiring to see me, or his desiring me to make her (or
+their) acquaintance, or voluntarily indicated the existence of
+such a being or beings."*
+
+* "Overland journey," p. 217.
+
+
+Woman's natural jealousy, and the suffering that a loving wife
+would endure when called upon to share her husband's affection
+and her home with other women, would seem to form a sort of
+natural check to polygamous marriages. But in Utah this check
+was overcome both by the absolute power of the priesthood over
+their flock, and by the adroit device of making polygamy not
+merely permissive, but essential to eternal salvation. That the
+many wives of even so exalted a prophet as Brigham Young could
+become rebellious is shown by the language employed by him in
+his discourse of September 21, 1856, of which the following will
+suffice as a specimen:--"Men will say, 'My wife, though a most
+excellent woman, has not seen a happy day since I took my second
+wife; no, not a happy day for a year.' . . . I wish my women to
+understand that what I am going to say is for them, as well as
+all others, and I want those who are here to tell their sisters,
+yes, all the women in this community, and then write it back to
+the states, and do as you please with it. I am going to give you
+from this time till the 6th day of October next for reflection,
+that you may determine whether you wish to stay with your
+husbands or not, and then I am going to set every woman at
+liberty, and say to them, 'Now go your way, my women with the
+rest; go your way.' And my wives have got to do one of two
+things; either round up their shoulders to endure the
+afflictions of this world, and live their religion, or they may
+leave, for I will not have them about me. I will go into heaven
+alone, rather than have scratching and fighting all around me. I
+will set all at liberty. What, first wife too?' Yes,I will
+liberate you all. I know what my women will say; they will say,
+'You can have as many women as you please, Brigham.' But I want
+to go somewhere and do something to get rid of the whiners . . .
+. Sisters, I am not joking."*
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, p. 55.
+
+
+Grant, on the same day, in connection with his presentation of
+the doctrine of blood atonement, declared that there was
+"scarcely a mother in Israel" who would not, if they could,
+"break asunder the cable of the Church in Christ; and they talk
+it to their husbands, to their daughters, and to their neighbors,
+and say that they have not seen a week's happiness since they
+became acquainted with that law, or since their husbands took a
+second wife."* The coarse and plain-spoken H. C. Kimball, in a
+discourse in the Tabernacle, November 9, 1856, thus defined the
+duty of polygamous wives, "It is the duty of a woman to be
+obedient to her husband, and, unless she is, I would not give a
+damn for all her queenly right or authority, nor for her either,
+if she will quarrel and lie about the work of God and the
+principles of plurality."**
+
+* Ibid, P. 52.
+
+** Deseret News, Vol. VI, p. 291.
+
+
+Gentile observers were amazed, in the earlier days of Utah, to
+see to what lengths the fanatical teachings of the church
+officers would be accepted by women. Thus Mrs. Ferris found that
+the explanation of the willingness of many young women in Utah
+to be married to venerable church officers, who already had
+harems, was their belief that they could only be "saved" if
+married or sealed to a faithful Saint, and that an older man was
+less likely to apostatize, and so carry his wives to perdition
+with him, than a young one; therefore "it became an object with
+these silly fools to get into the harems of the priests and
+elders."
+
+If this advantage of the church officers in the selection of new
+wives did not avail, other means were employed,*as in the
+notorious San Pete case. The officers remaining at home did not
+hesitate to insist on a fair division of the spoils (that is,
+the marriageable immigrants), as is shown by the following
+remarks of Heber C. Kimball to some missionaries about starting
+out: "Let truth and righteousness be your motto, and don't go
+into the world for anything but to preach the Gospel, build up
+the Kingdom of God, and gather the sheep into the fold. You are
+sent out as shepherds to gather the sheep together; and remember
+that they are not your sheep; they belong to Him that sends you.
+Then don't make a choice of any of those sheep; don't make
+selections before they are brought home and put into the fold.
+You understand that. Amen." Mr. Ferris thus described the use of
+his priestly power made by Wilford Woodruff, who, as head of the
+church in later years, gave out the advice about abandoning
+polygamy: "Woodruff has a regular system of changing his harem.
+He takes in one or more young girls, and so manages, after he
+tires of them, that they are glad to ask for a divorce, after
+which he beats the bush for recruits. He took a fresh one, about
+fourteen years old, in March, 1853, and will probably get rid of
+her in the course of the ensuing summer." **
+
+* Conan Doyle's story, "A Study in scarlet," is founded on the
+use of this power.
+
+** "Utah and the Mormons," p. 255.
+
+
+Mrs. Waite thus relates a conversation she had with a Mormon wife
+about her husband going into polygamy:--"'Oh, it is hard,' she
+said, 'very hard; but no matter, we must bear it. It is a
+correct principle, and there is no salvation without it. We had
+one [wife] but it was so hard, both for my husband and myself,
+that we could not endure it, and she left us at the end of seven
+months. She had been with us as a servant several months, and
+was a good girl; but as soon as she was made a wife she became
+insolent, and told me she had as good a right to the house and
+things as I had, and you know that didn't suit me well. But,'
+continued she, 'I wish we had kept her, and I had borne
+everything, for we have GOT TO HAVE ONE, and don't you think it
+would be pleasanter to have one you had known than a stranger?'"*
+
+* "The Mormon Prophet," p. 260. Many accounts of the feeling
+of first wives regarding polygamy may be found in this book and
+in Mrs. Stenhouse's "Tell it All."
+
+
+The voice which the first wife had in the matter was defined in
+the Seer (Vol. I, p. 41). If she objected, she could state her
+objection to President Young, who, if he found the reason
+sufficient, could forbid the marriage; but if he considered that
+her reason was not good, then the marriage could take place, and
+"he [the husband] will be justified, and she will be condemned,
+because she did not give them unto him as Sarah gave Hagar to
+Abraham, and as Rachel and Leah gave Bilhah and Zilpah to their
+husband, Jacob." Young's dictatorship in the choice of wives
+was equally absolute. "No man in Utah," said the Seer (Vol. I,
+p. 31), "who already has a wife, and who may desire to obtain
+another, has any right to make any proposition of marriage to a
+lady until he has consulted the President of the whole church,
+and through him obtained a revelation from God as to whether it
+would be pleasing in His sight."
+
+The authority of the priesthood was always exerted to compel at
+least every prominent member of the church to take more wives
+than one. "For a man to be confined to one woman is a small
+business," said Kimball in the Tabernacle, on April 4, 1857.
+This influence coerced Stenhouse to take as his second wife a
+fourteen-year-old daughter of Parley P. Pratt, although he loved
+his legal wife, and she had told him that she would not live
+with him if he married again, and although his intimate friend,
+Superintendent Cooke, of the Overland Stage Company, to save
+him, threatened to prosecute him under the law against bigamy if
+he yielded.* Another illustration, given by Mrs. Waite, may be
+cited. Kimball, calling on a Prussian immigrant named Taussig
+one day, asked him how he was doing and how many wives he had,
+and on being told that he had two, replied, "That is not enough.
+You must take a couple more. I'll send them to you." The
+narrative continues:--
+
+* When Mr. and Mrs. Stenhouse left the church at the time of the
+"New Movement" their daughter, who was a polygamous wife of
+Brigham Young's son, decided with the church and refused even to
+speak with her parents.
+
+
+"On the following evening, when the brother returned home, he
+found two women sitting there. His first wife said, 'Brother
+Taussig' (all the women call their husbands brother), 'these are
+the Sisters Pratt.' They were two widows of Parley P. Pratt. One
+of the ladies, Sarah, then said, 'Brother Taussig, Brother
+Kimball told us to call on you, and you know what for.' 'Yes,
+ladies,' replied Brother Taussig, 'but it is a very hard task
+for me to marry two' The other remarked, 'Brother Kimball told
+us you were doing a very good business and could support more
+women.' Sarah then took up the conversation, 'Well, Brother
+Taussig, I want to get married anyhow.' The good brother
+replied, 'Well, ladies, I will see what I can do and let you
+know."*
+
+* "The Mormon Prophet," p. 258.
+
+
+Brother Taussig compromised the matter with the Bishop of his
+ward by marrying Sarah, but she did not like her new home, and
+he was allowed to divorce her on payment of $10 to Brigham
+Young!
+
+Each polygamous family was, of course, governed in accordance
+with the character of its head: a kind man would treat all his
+wives kindly, however decided a preference he might show for
+one; and under a brute all would be unhappy. Young, in his
+earlier days at Salt Lake City, used to assemble all his family
+for prayers, and have a kind word for each of the women, and all
+ate at a common table after his permanent residences were built.
+"Brigham's wives," says Hyde, "although poorly clothed and hard
+worked, are still very infatuated with their system, very devout
+in their religion, very devoted to their children. They content
+themselves with his kindness as they cannot obtain his love."* He
+kept no servants, the wives performing all the household work,
+and one of them acting as teacher to her own and the others'
+children. As the excuse for marriage with the Mormons is
+childbearing, the older wives were practically discarded, taking
+the place of examples of piety and of spiritual advisers.
+
+* "Mormonism," p. 164.
+
+** How far this doctrine was not observed may be noted in the
+following remarks of H. C. Kimball in the Tabernacle, on
+February 1, 1857: "They [his wives] have got to live their
+religion, serve their God, and do right as well as myself.
+Suppose that I lose the whole of them before I go into the
+spiritual world, but that I have been a good, faithful man all
+the days of my life, and lived my religion, and had favor with
+God, and was kind to them, do you think I will be destitute
+there? No. The Lord says there are more there than there are
+here. They have been increasing there; they increase there a
+great deal faster than they do here, because there is no
+obstruction. They do not call upon the doctors to kill their
+offspring. In this world very many of the doctors are studying to
+diminish the human race. In the spiritual world . . . we will go
+to Brother Joseph . . . and he will say to us, 'Come along, my
+boys, we will give you a good suit of clothes. Where are your
+wives?' 'They are back yonder; they would not follow us.' 'Never
+mind,' says Joseph, 'here are thousands; have all you
+want.'"--Journal of Discourses, Vol. IV, p. 209.
+
+
+A summing up of the many-sided evils of polygamy was thus
+presented by President Cleveland in his first annual message:--
+"The strength, the perpetuity, and the destiny of the nation
+rests upon our homes, established by the law of God, guarded by
+parental care, regulated by parental authority, and sanctified
+by parental love. These are not the homes of polygamy.
+
+"The mothers of our land, who rule the nation as they mould the
+characters and guide the actions of their sons, live according
+to God's holy ordinances, and each, secure and happy in the
+exclusive love of the father of her children, sheds the warm
+light of true womanhood, unperverted and unpolluted, upon all
+within her pure and wholesome family circle. These are not the
+cheerless, crushed, and unwomanly mothers of polygamy.
+
+"The fathers of our families are the best citizens of the
+Republic. Wife and children are the sources of patriotism, and
+conjugal and parental affection beget devotion to the country.
+The man who, undefiled with plural marriage, is surrounded in
+his single home with his wife and children, has a status in the
+country which inspires him with respect for its laws and courage
+for its defence. These are not the fathers of polygamous
+families."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. The Fight Against Polygamy--Statehood
+
+The first measure "to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy
+in the Territories of the United States" was introduced in the
+House of Representatives by Mr. Morrill of Vermont (Bill No. 7)
+at the first session of the 36th Congress, on February 15, 1860.
+It contained clauses annulling some of the acts of the
+territorial legislature of Utah, including the one incorporating
+the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This bill was
+reported by the Judiciary Committee on March 14, the committee
+declaring that "no argument was deemed necessary to prove that
+an act could be regarded as criminal which is so treated by the
+universal concurrence of the Christian and civilized world," and
+characterizing the church incorporation act as granting "such
+monstrous powers and arrogant assumptions as are at war with the
+genius of our government." The bill passed the House on April 5,
+by a vote of 149 to 60, was favorably reported to the Senate by
+Mr. Bayard from the Judiciary Committee on June 13, but did not
+pass that House.
+
+Mr. Morrill introduced his bill by unanimous consent in the next
+Congress (on April 8, 1862), and it was passed by the House on
+April 28. Mr. Bayard, from the judiciary Committee, reported it
+back to the Senate on June 3 with amendments. He explained that
+the House Bill punished not only polygamous marriages, but
+cohabitation without marriage. The committee recommended limiting
+the punishment to bigamy--a fine not to exceed $500 and
+imprisonment for not more than five years. Another amendment
+limited the amount of real estate which a church corporation
+could hold in the territories to $50,000. The bill passed the
+Senate with the negative votes of only the two California
+senators, and the House accepted the amendments. Lincoln signed
+it.
+
+Nothing practical was accomplished by this legislation, In 1867
+George A. Smith and John Taylor, the presiding officers of the
+Utah legislature, petitioned Congress to repeal this act,
+setting forth as one reason that "the judiciary of this
+territory has not, up to the present time, tried any case under
+said law, though repeatedly urged to do so by those who have
+been anxious to test its constitutionality." The House Judiciary
+Committee reported that this was a practical request for the
+sanctioning of polygamy, and said: "Your committee has not been
+able to ascertain the reason why this law has not been enforced.
+The humiliating fact is, however, apparent that the law is at
+present practically a dead letter in the Territory of Utah, and
+that the gravest necessity exists for its enforcement; and, in
+the opinion of the committee, if it be through the fault or
+neglect of the judiciary of that territory that the laws are not
+enforced, the judges should be removed without delay; and that,
+if the failure to execute the law arises from other causes, it
+becomes the duty of the President of the United States to see
+that the law is faithfully executed."*
+
+* House Report No. 27, 2nd Session, 39th Congress.
+
+
+In June, 1866, Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio obtained unanimous
+consent to introduce a bill enacting radical legislation
+concerning such marriages as were performed and sanctioned by
+the Mormon church, but it did not pass. Senator Cragin of New
+Hampshire soon introduced a similar bill, but it, too failed to
+become a law.
+
+In 1869, in the first Congress that met under President Grant,
+Mr. Cullom of Illinois introduced in the House the bill aimed at
+polygamy that was designated by his name. This bill was the
+practical starting-point of the anti-polygamous legislation
+subsequently enacted, as over it was aroused the feeling--in its
+behalf in the East and against it in Utah--that resulted in
+practical legislation.
+
+Delegate Hooper made the leading speech against it, summing up
+his objections as follows:--
+
+"(1) That under our constitution we are entitled to be protected
+in the full and free enjoyment of our religious faith.
+
+"(2) That our views of the marriage relation are an essential
+portion of our religious faith.
+
+"(3) That, in conceding the cognizance of the marriage relation
+as within the province of church regulations, we are practically
+in accord with all other Christian denominations.
+
+"(4) That in our view of the marriage relation as a part of our
+religious belief we are entitled to immunity from persecution
+under the constitution, if such views are sincerely held; that,
+if such views are erroneous, their eradication must be by
+argument and not by force."
+
+The bill, greatly amended, passed the House on March 23, 1870, by
+a vote of 94 to 32. The news of this action caused perhaps the
+greatest excitement ever known in Utah. There was no intention
+on the part of the Mormons to make any compromise on the
+question, and they set out to defeat the bill outright in the
+Senate. Meetings of Mormon women were gotten up in all parts of
+the territory, in which they asserted their devotion to the
+doctrine. The "Reformers," including Stenhouse, Harrison,
+Tullidge, and others, and merchants like Walker Brothers,
+Colonel Kahn, and T. Marshall, joined in a call for a
+mass-meeting at which all expressed disapproval of some of its
+provisions, like the one requiring men already having polygamous
+wives to break up their families. Mr. Godbe went to Washington
+while the bill was before the House, and worked hard for its
+modification. The bill did not pass the Senate, a leading
+argument against it being the assumed impossibility of
+convicting polygamists under it with any juries drawn in Utah.
+
+The arrest of Brigham Young and others under the act to punish
+adulterers, and the proceedings against them before Judge McKean
+in 1871, have been noted. At the same term of the court Thomas
+Hawkins, an English immigrant, was convicted of the same charge
+on the evidence of his wife, and sentenced to imprisonment for
+three years and to pay a fine of $500. In passing sentence, Judge
+McKean told the prisoner that, if he let him off with a fine,
+the fine would be paid out of other funds than his own; that he
+would thus go free, and that "those men who mislead the people
+would make you and thousands of others believe that God had sent
+the money to pay the fine; that, by a miracle, you had been
+rescued from the authorities of the United States."
+
+After the passage of the Poland law, in 1874, George Reynolds,
+Brigham Young's private secretary, was convicted of bigamy under
+the law of 1862, but was set free by the Supreme Court of the
+territory on the ground of illegality in the drawing of the
+grand jury. In the following year he was again convicted, and was
+sentenced to imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of
+$500. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court,
+which rendered its decision in October, 1878, unanimously
+sustaining the conviction, except that Justice Field objected to
+the admission of one witness's testimony.
+
+In its decision the court stated the question raised to be
+"whether religious belief can be accepted as a justification for
+an overt act made criminal by the law of the land." Next came a
+discussion of views of religious freedom, as bearing on the
+meaning of "religion" in the federal constitution, leading up to
+the conclusion that "Congress was deprived of all legislative
+power over mere opinion, but was left free to reach actions
+which were in violation of social duties, or subversive of good
+order." The court then traced the view of polygamy in England
+and the United States from the time when it was made a capital
+offence in England (as it was in Virginia in 1788), declaring
+that, "in the face of all this evidence, it is impossible to
+believe that the constitutional guaranty of religious freedom
+was intended to prohibit legislation in respect to this most
+important feature of social life." The opinion continued as
+follows:--"In our opinion, the statute immediately under
+consideration is within the legislative power of Congress. It is
+constitutional and valid as prescribing a rule of action for all
+those residing in the Territories, and in places over which the
+United States has exclusive control. This being so, the only
+question which remains is, whether those who make polygamy a
+part of their religion are excepted from the operation of the
+statute. If they are, then those who do not make polygamy a part
+of their religious belief may be found guilty and punished,
+while those who do, must be acquitted and go free. This would be
+introducing a new element into criminal law. Laws are made for
+the government of actions, and, while they cannot interfere with
+mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices.
+Suppose one believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part
+of religious worship, would it be seriously contended that the
+civil government under which he lived could not interfere to
+prevent a sacrifice? Or, if a wife religiously believed it was
+her duty to burn herself on the funeral pile of her dead
+husband, would it be beyond the power of the civil government to
+prevent her carrying her belief into practice?
+
+"So here, as a law of the organization of society under the
+exclusive dominion of the United States, it is provided that
+plural marriages shall not be allowed. Can a man excuse his
+practices to the contrary because of his religious belief? To
+permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious
+belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit
+every citizen to become a law unto himself. Government could
+exist only in name under such circumstances.
+
+"A criminal intent is generally an element of crime, but every
+man is presumed to intend the necessary and legitimate
+consequences of what he knowingly does. Here the accused knew he
+had been once married, and that his first wife was living. He
+also knew that his second marriage was forbidden by law. When,
+therefore, he married the second time, he is presumed to have
+intended to break the law, and the breaking of the law is the
+crime. Every act necessary to constitute the crime was knowingly
+done, and the crime was therefore knowingly committed.*
+
+* United States Reports, Otto, Vol. III, p. 162.
+
+
+P. T. Van Zile of Michigan, who became district attorney of the
+territory in 1878, tried John Miles, a polygamist, for bigamy,
+in 1879, and he was convicted, the prosecutor taking advantage
+of the fact that the territorial legislature had practically
+adopted the California code, which allowed challenges of jurors
+for actual bias. The principal incident of this trial was the
+summoning of "General" Wells, then a counsellor of the church,
+as a witness, and his refusal to describe the dress worn during
+the ceremonies in the Endowment House, and the ceremonies
+themselves. He gave as his excuse, "because I am under moral and
+sacred obligations to not answer, and it is interwoven in my
+character never to betray a friend, a brother, my country, my
+God, or my religion." He was sentenced to pay a fine, of $100,
+and to two days' imprisonment. On his release, the City Council
+met him at the prison door and escorted him home, accompanied by
+bands of music and a procession made up of the benevolent, fire,
+and other organizations, and delegations from every ward.
+
+Governor Emery, in his message to the territorial legislature of
+1878, spoke as plainly about polygamy as any of his
+predecessors, saying that it was a grave crime, even if the law
+against it was a dead letter, and characterizing it as an evil
+endangering the peace of society.
+
+There was a lull in the agitation against polygamy in Congress
+for some years after the contest over the Cullom Bill. In 1878 a
+mass-meeting of women of Salt Lake City opposed to polygamy was
+held there, and an address "to Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes and the
+women of the United States," and a petition to Congress, were
+adopted, and a committee was appointed to distribute the petition
+throughout the country for signatures. The address set forth
+that there had been more polygamous marriages in the last year
+than ever before in the history of the Mormon church; that
+Endowment Houses, under the name of temples, and costing
+millions, were being erected in different parts of the territory,
+in which the members were "sealed and bound by oaths so strong
+that even apostates will not reveal them"; that the Mormons had
+the balance of power in two territories, and were plotting to
+extend it; and asking Congress "to arrest the further progress
+of this evil."
+
+President Hayes, in his annual message in December, 1879, spoke
+of the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court, and
+said that there was no reason for longer delay in the
+enforcement of the law, urging "more comprehensive and searching
+methods" of punishing and preventing polygamy if they were
+necessary. He returned to the subject in his message in 1880,
+saying: "Polygamy can only be suppressed by taking away the
+political power of the sect which encourages and sustains it . .
+. . I recommend that Congress provide for the government of Utah
+by a Governor and judges, or Commissioners, appointed by the
+President and confirmed by the Senate, (or) that the right to
+vote, hold office, or sit on juries in the Territory of Utah be
+confined to those who neither practise nor uphold polygamy."
+
+President Garfield took up the subject in his inaugural address
+on March 4, 1881. "The Mormon church," he said, "not only
+offends the moral sense of mankind by sanctioning polygamy, but
+prevents the administration of justice through ordinary
+instrumentalities of law." He expressed the opinion that Congress
+should prohibit polygamy, and not allow "any ecclesiastical
+organization to usurp in the smallest degree the functions and
+power, of the national government." President Arthur, in his
+message in December, 1881, referred to the difficulty of
+securing convictions of persons accused of polygamy--"this
+odious crime, so revolting to the moral and religious sense of
+Christendom"--and recommended legislation.
+
+In the spirit of these recommendations, Senator Edmunds
+introduced in the Senate, on December 12, 1881, a comprehensive
+measure amending the antipolygamy law of 1862, which, amended
+during the course of the debate, was passed in the Senate on
+Feruary 12, 1882, without a roll-call,*and in the House on March
+13, by a vote of 199 to 42, and was approved by the President on
+March 22. This is what is known as the Edmunds law--the first
+really serious blow struck by Congress against polygamy.
+
+* Speeches against the bill were made in the Senate by Brown,
+Call, Lamar, Morgan, Pendleton, and Vest.
+
+
+It provided, in brief, that, in the territories, any person who,
+having a husband or wife living, marries another, or marries
+more than one woman on the same day, shall be punished by a fine
+of not more than $500, and by imprisonment, for not more than
+five years; that a male person cohabiting with more than one
+woman shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and be subject to a fine
+of not more than $300 or to six months' imprisonment, or both;
+that in any prosecution for bigamy, polygamy, or unlawful
+cohabitation, a juror may be challenged if he is or has been
+living in the practice of either offence, or if he believes it
+right for a man to have more than one living and undivorced wife
+at a time, or to cohabit with more than one woman; that the
+President may have power to grant amnesty to offenders, as
+described, before the passage of this act; that the issue of
+so-called Mormon marriages born before January 1, 1883, be
+legitimated; that no polygamist shall be entitled to vote in any
+territory, or to hold office under the United States; that the
+President shall appoint in Utah a board of five persons for the
+registry of voters, and the reception and counting of votes.
+
+To meet the determined opposition to the new law, an amendment
+(known as the Edmunds-Tucker law) was enacted in 1887. This law,
+in any prosecution coming under the definition of plural
+marriages, waived the process of subpoena, on affadavit of
+sufficient cause, in favor of an attachment; allowed a lawful
+husband or wife to testify regarding each other; required every
+marriage certificate in Utah to be signed by the parties and the
+person performing the ceremony, and filed in court; abolished
+female suffrage, and gave suffrage only to males of proper age
+who registered and took an oath, giving the names of their
+lawful wives, and promised to obey the laws of the United States,
+and especially the Edmunds law; disqualified as a juror or
+officeholder any person who had not taken an oath to support the
+laws of the United States, or who had been convicted under the
+Edmunds law; gave the President power to appoint the judges of
+the probate courts;* provided for escheating to the United States
+for the use of the common schools the property of corporations
+held in violation of the act in 1862, except buildings held
+exclusively for the worship of God, the parsonages connected
+therewith, and burial places; dissolved the corporation called
+the Perpetual Emigration Company, and forbade the legislature to
+pass any law to bring persons into the territory; dissolved the
+corporation known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
+Saints, and gave the Supreme Court of the territory power to
+wind up its affairs; and annulled all laws regarding the Nauvoo
+Legion, and all acts of the territorial legislature.
+
+* The first territorial legislature which met after the passage
+of this law passed an act practically nullifying such
+appointments of probate judges, but the governor vetoed it. In
+Beaver County, as soon as the appointment of a probate judge by
+the President was announced, the Mormon County Court met and
+reduced his salary to $5 a year.
+
+
+The first members of the Utah commission appointed under the
+Edmunds law were Alexander Ramsey of Minnesota, A. B. Carleton
+of Indiana, A. S. Paddock of Nebraska, G. L. Godfrey of Iowa,
+and J. R. Pettigrew of Arkansas, their appointments being dated
+June 23, 1882.
+
+The officers of the church and the Mormons as a body met the new
+situation as aggressively as did Brigham Young the approach of
+United States troops. Their preachers and their newspapers
+reiterated the divine nature of the "revelation" concerning
+polygamy and its obligatory character, urging the people to stand
+by their leaders in opposition to the new laws. The following
+extracts from "an Epistle from the First Presidency, to the
+officers and members of the church," dated October 6, 1885, will
+sufficiently illustrate the attitude of the church
+organization:--"The war is openly and undisguisedly made upon our
+religion. To induce men to repudiate that, to violate its
+precepts, and break its solemn covenants, every encouragement is
+given. The man who agrees to discard his wife or wives, and to
+trample upon the most sacred obligations which human beings can
+enter into, escapes imprisonment, and is applauded: while the
+man who will not make this compact of dishonor, who will not
+admit that his past life has been a fraud and a lie, who will
+not say to the world, 'I intended to deceive my God, my
+brethren, and my wives by making covenants I did not expect to
+keep,' is, beside being punished to the full extent of the law,
+compelled to endure the reproaches, taunts, and insults of a
+brutal judge . . . .
+
+"We did not reveal celestial marriage. We cannot withdraw or
+renounce it, God revealed it, and he has promised to maintain it
+and to bless those who obey it. Whatever fate, then, may
+threaten us, there is but one course for men of God to take;
+that is, to keep inviolate the holy covenants they have made in
+the presence of God and angels. For the remainder, whether it be
+life or death, freedom or imprisonment, prosperity or adversity,
+we must trust in God. We may say, however, if any man or woman
+expects to enter into the celestial kingdom of our God without
+making sacrifices and without being tested to the very
+uttermost, they have not understood the Gospel . . . .
+
+"Upward of forty years ago the Lord revealed to his church the
+principle of celestial marriage. The idea of marrying more wives
+than one was as naturally abhorrent to the leading men and women
+of the church, at that day, as it could be to any people. They
+shrank with dread from the bare thought of entering into such
+relationship. But the command of God was before them in language
+which no faithful soul dare disobey, 'For, behold, I reveal unto
+you a new and everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that
+covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this
+covenant, and be permitted to enter into my glory.' . . . Who
+would suppose that any man, in this land of religious liberty,
+would presume to say to his fellow-man that he had no right to
+take such steps as he thought necessary to escape damnation? Or
+that Congress would enact a law which would present the
+alternative to religious believers of being consigned to a
+penitentiary if they should attempt to obey a law of God which
+would deliver them from damnation?"
+
+There was a characteristic effort to evade the law as regards
+political rights. The People's Party (Mormon), to get around the
+provision concerning the test oath for voters, issued an address
+to them which said: "The questions that intending voters need
+therefore ask themselves are these: Are we guilty of the crimes
+of said act; or have we THE PRESENT INTENTION of committing these
+crimes, or of aiding, abetting, causing or advising any other
+person to commit them. Male citizens who can answer these
+questions in the negative can qualify under the laws as voters
+or office-holders."
+
+Two events in 1885 were the cause of so much feeling that United
+States troops were held in readiness for transportation to Utah.
+The first of these was the placing of the United States flag at
+half mast in Salt Lake City, on July 4, over the city hall,
+county court-house, theatre, cooperative store, Deseret News
+office, tithing office, and President Taylor's residence, to show
+the Mormon opinion that the Edmunds law had destroyed liberty.
+When a committee of non-Mormon citizens called at the city hall
+for an explanation of this display, the city marshal said that
+it was "a whim of his," and the mayor ordered the flag raised to
+its proper place.
+
+In November of that year a Mormon night watchman named McMurrin
+was shot and severely wounded by a United States deputy marshal
+named Collin. This caused great feeling, and there were rumors
+that the Mormons threatened to lynch Collin, that armed men had
+assembled to take him out of the officers' hands, and that the
+Mormons of the territory were arming themselves, and were ready
+at a moment's notice to march into Salt Lake City. Federal troops
+were held in readiness at Eastern points, but they were not
+used. The Salt Lake City Council, on December 8, made a report
+denying the truth of the disquieting rumors, and declaring that
+"at no time in the history of this city have the lives and
+property of its non-Mormon inhabitants been more secure than
+now."
+
+The records of the courts in Utah show that the Mormons stood
+ready to obey the teachings of the church at any cost.
+Prosecutions under the Edmunds law began in 1884, and the
+convictions for polygamy or unlawful cohabitation (mostly the
+latter) were as follows in the years named: 3 in 1884, 39 in
+1885, 112 in 1886, 214 in 1887, and 100 in 1888, with 48 in
+Idaho during the same period. Leading men in the church went
+into hiding--"under ground," as it was called--or fled from the
+territory. As to the actual continuance of polygamous marriages,
+the evidence was contradictory. A special report of the Utah
+Commission in 1884 expressed the opinion that there had been a
+decided decrease in their number in the cities, and very little
+decrease in the rural districts. Their regular report for that
+year estimated the number of males and females who had entered
+into that relation at 459. The report for 1888 stated that the
+registration officers gave the names of 29 females who, they had
+good reason to believe, had contracted polygamous marriages
+since the lists were closed in June, 1887. As late as 1889 Hans
+Jespersen was arrested for unlawful cohabitation. As his plural
+marriage was understood to be a recent one, the case attracted
+wide attention, since it was expected to prove the insincerity
+of the church in making the protest against the Edmunds law
+principally on the ground that it broke up existing families.
+Jespersen pleaded guilty of adultery and polygamy, and was
+sentenced to imprisonment for eight years. In making his plea he
+said that he was married at the Endowment House in Salt Lake
+City, that he and his wife were the only persons there, and that
+he did not know who married them. His wife testified that she
+"heard a voice pronounce them man and wife, but didn't see any
+one nor who spoke." * Such were some of the methods adopted by
+the church to set at naught the law.
+
+* Report of the Utah Commission for 1890, p. 23.
+
+
+But along with this firm attitude, influences were at work
+looking to a change of policy. During the first year of the
+enforcement of the law it was on many sides declared a failure,
+the aggressive attitude of the church, and the willingness of
+its leaders to accept imprisonment, hiding, or exile, being
+regarded by many persons in the East as proof that the real
+remedy for the Utah situation was yet to be discovered. The Utah
+Commission, in their earlier reports, combated this idea, and
+pointed out that the young men in the church would grow restive
+as they saw all the offices out of their reach unless they took
+the test oath, and that they "would present an anomaly in human
+nature if they should fail to be strongly influenced against
+going into a relation which thus subjects them to political
+ostracism, and fixes on them the stigma of moral turpitude." How
+wide this influence was is seen in the political statistics of
+the times. When the Utah Commission entered on their duties in
+August, 1882, almost every office in the territory was held by a
+polygamist. By April, 1884, about 12,000 voters, male and
+female, had been disfranchised by the act, and of the 1351
+elective officers in the territory not one was a polygamist, and
+not one of the municipal officers of Salt Lake City then in
+office had ever been "in polygamy."
+
+The church leaders at first tried to meet this influence in two
+ways, by open rebuke of all Saints who showed a disposition to
+obey the new laws, and by special honors to those who took their
+punishment. Thus, the Deseret News told the brethren that they
+could not promise to obey the anti-polygamy laws without
+violating obligations that bound them to time and eternity; and
+when John Sharp, a leading member of the church in Salt Lake
+City, went before the court and announced his intention to obey
+these laws, he was instantly removed from the office of Bishop
+of his ward.
+
+The restlessness of the flock showed itself in the breaking down
+of the business barriers set up by the church between Mormons
+and Gentiles. This subject received a good deal of attention in
+the minority report signed by two of the commissioners in 1888.
+They noted the sale of real estate by Mormons to Gentiles
+against the remonstrances of the church, the organization of a
+Chamber of Commerce in Salt Lake City in which Mormons and
+Gentiles worked together, and the union of both elements in the
+last Fourth of July celebration.
+
+In the spring of 1890, at the General Conference held in Salt
+Lake City, the office of "Prophet, Seer and Revelator and
+President" of the church, that had remained vacant since the
+death of John Taylor in 1887, was filled by the election of
+Wilford Woodruff, a polygamist who had refused to take the test
+oath, while G. Q. Cannon and Lorenzo Snow, who were disfranchised
+for the same cause, were made respectively counsellor and
+president of the Twelve.* Woodruff was born in Connecticut in
+1807, became a Mormon in 1832, was several times sent on
+missions to England, and had gained so much prominence while the
+church was at Nauvoo that he was the chief dedicator of the
+Temple there. While there, he signed a certificate stating that
+he knew of no other system of marriage in the church but the
+one-wife system then prescribed in the "Book of Doctrine and
+Covenants." Before the date of his promotion, Woodruff had
+declared that plural marriages were no longer permitted, and,
+when he was confronted with evidence to the contrary brought out
+in court, he denied all knowledge of it, and afterward declared
+that, in consequence of the evidence presented, he had ordered
+the Endowment House to be taken down.
+
+* Lorenzo Snow was elected president of the church on September
+13, 1898, eleven days after the death of President Woodruff, and
+he held that position until his death which occurred on October
+10, 1901.
+
+
+Governor Thomas, in his report for 1890, expressed the opinion
+that the church, under its system, could in only one way define
+its position regarding polygamy, and that was by a public
+declaration by the head of the church, or by action by a
+conference, and he added, "There is no reason to believe that any
+earthly power can extort from the church any such declaration."
+The governor was mistaken, not in measuring the purpose of the
+church, but in foreseeing all the influences that were now
+making themselves felt.
+
+The revised statutes of Idaho at this time contained a provision
+(Sec. 509) disfranchising all polygamists and debarring from
+office all polygamists, and all persons who counselled or
+encouraged any one to commit polygamy. The constitutionality of
+this section was argued before the United States Supreme Court,
+which, on February 3, 1890, decided that it was constitutional.
+The antipolygamists in Utah saw in this decision a means of
+attacking the Mormon belief even more aggressively than had been
+done by means of the Edmunds Bill. An act was drawn (Governor
+Thomas and ex-Governor West taking it to Washington) providing
+that no person living in plural or celestial marriage, or
+teaching the same, or being a member of, or a contributor to,
+any organization teaching it, or assisting in such a marriage,
+should be entitled to vote, to serve as a juror, or to hold
+office, a test oath forming a part of the act. Senator Cullom
+introduced this bill in the upper House and Mr. Struble of Iowa
+in the House of Representatives. The House Committee on
+Territories (the Democrats in the negative) voted to report the
+bill, amended so as to make it applicable to all the
+territories. This proposed legislation caused great excitement in
+Mormondom, and petitions against its passage were hurried to
+Washington, some of these containing non-Mormon signatures.
+
+As a further menace to the position of the church, the United
+States Supreme Court, on May 19, affirmed the decision of the
+lower court confiscating the property of the Mormon church, and
+declaring that church organization to be an organized rebellion;
+and on June 21, the Senate passed Senator Edmunds's bill
+disposing of the real estate of the church for the benefit of the
+school fund.*
+
+* After the admission of Utah as a state, Congress passed an act
+restoring the property to the church.
+
+
+The Mormon authorities now realized that the public sentiment of
+the country, as expressed in the federal law, had them in its
+grasp. They must make some concession to this public sentiment,
+or surrender all their privileges as citizens and the wealth of
+their church organization. Agents were hurried to Washington to
+implore the aid of Mr. Blaine in checking the progress of the
+Cullom Bill, and at home the head of the church made the
+concession in regard to polygamy which secured the admission of
+the territory as a state.
+
+On September 25, 1890, Woodruff, as President of the church,
+issued a proclamation addressed "to whom it may concern," which
+struck out of the NECESSARY beliefs and practices of the Mormon
+church, the practice of polygamy.
+
+This important step was taken, not in the form of a "revelation,"
+but simply as a proclamation or manifesto. It began with a
+solemn declaration that the allegation of the Utah Commission
+that plural marriages were still being solemnized was false, and
+the assertion that "we are not preaching polygamy nor permitting
+any person to enter into its practice." The closing and important
+
+part of the proclamation was as follows:--
+
+"Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress, which laws have
+been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I
+hereby declare my intention to submit to these laws, and to use
+my influence with the members of the church over which I preside
+to have them do likewise.
+
+"There is nothing in my teachings to the church, or in those of
+my associates, during the time specified, which can be
+reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage polygamy, and
+when any elder of the church has used language which appeared to
+convey any such teachings he has been promptly reproved.
+
+"And now I publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-Day
+Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by
+the law of the land."
+
+On October 6, the General Conference of the church, on motion of
+Lorenzo Snow, unanimously adopted the following resolution:--
+
+"I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as President of the
+Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and the only man on
+the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing
+ordinances, we consider him fully authorized, by virtue of his
+position, to issue the manifesto that has been read in our
+hearing, and which is dated September 24, 1890, and as a church
+in general conference assembled we accept his declaration
+concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding."
+
+This action was reaffirmed by the General Conference of October
+6, 1891.
+
+Of course the church officers had to make some explanation to the
+brethren of their change of front. Cannon fell back on the
+"revelation" of January 19, 1841, which Smith put forth to
+excuse the failure to establish a Zion in Missouri, namely,
+that, when their enemies prevent their performing a task assigned
+by the Almighty, he would accept their effort to do so. He said
+that "it was on this basis" that President Woodruff had felt
+justified in issuing the manifesto. Woodruff explained: "It is
+not wisdom for us to make war upon 65,000,000 people . . . . The
+prophet Joseph Smith organized the church; and all that he has
+promised in this code of revelations the "Book of Doctrine and
+Covenants" has been fulfilled as fast as time would permit. THAT
+WHICH IS NOT FULFILLED WILL BE." Cannon did explain that the
+manifesto was the result of prayer, and Woodruff told the people
+that he had had a great many visits from the Prophet Joseph
+since his death, in dreams, and also from Brigham Young, but
+neither seems to have imparted any very valuable information,
+Joseph explaining that he was in an immense hurry preparing
+himself "to go to the earth with the Great Bridegroom when he
+goes to meet the Bride, the Lamb's wife."
+
+Two recent incidents have indicated the restlessness of the
+Mormon church under the restriction placed upon polygamy. In
+1898, the candidate for Representative in Congress, nominated by
+the Democratic Convention of Utah, was Brigham H. Roberts. It
+was commonly known in Utah that Roberts was a violator of the
+Edmunds law. A Mormon elder, writing from Brigham, Utah, in
+February, 1899, while Roberts's case was under consideration at
+Washington, said, "Many prominent Mormons foresaw the storm that
+was now raging, and deprecated Mr. Roberts's nomination and
+election."* This statement proves both the notoriety of
+Roberts's offence, and the connivance of the church in his
+nomination, because no Mormon can be nominated to an office in
+Utah when the church authorities order otherwise. When Roberts
+presented himself to be sworn in, in December, 1899, his case
+was referred to a special committee of nine members. The report
+of seven members of this committee found that Roberts married his
+first wife about the year 1878; that about 1885 he married a
+plural wife, who had since born him six children, the last two
+twins, born on August 11, 1897; that some years later he married
+a second plural wife, and that he had been living with all three
+till the time of his election; "that these facts were generally
+known in Utah, publicly charged against him during his campaign
+for election, and were not denied by him." Roberts refused to
+take the stand before the committee, and demurred to its
+jurisdiction on the ground that the hearing was an attempt to
+try him for a crime without an indictment and jury trial, and to
+deprive him of vested rights in the emoluments of the office to
+which he was elected, and that, if the crime alleged was proved,
+it would not constitute a sufficient cause to deprive him of his
+seat, because polygamy is not enumerated in the constitution as
+a disqualification for the office of member of Congress. The
+majority report recommended that his seat be declared vacant.
+Two members of the committee reported that his offence afforded
+constitutional ground for expulsion, but not for exclusion from
+the House, and recommended that he be sworn in and immediately
+expelled. The resolution presented by the majority was adopted by
+the House by a vote of 268 to 50.**
+
+* New York Evening Post, February 20, 1899.
+
+** Roberts was tried in the district court in Salt Lake City, on
+April 30, 1900, on the charge of unlawful cohabitation. The case
+was submitted to the jury of eight men, without testimony, on an
+agreed statement of facts, and the jury disagreed, standing six
+for conviction and two for acquittal.
+
+
+The second incident referred to was the passage by the Utah
+legislature in March, 1901, of a bill containing this provision:
+
+"No prosecution for adultery shall be commenced except on
+complaint of the husband or wife or relative of the accused with
+the first degree of consanguinity, or of the person with whom
+the unlawful act is alleged to have been committed, or of the
+father or mother of said person; and no prosecution for unlawful
+cohabitation shall be commenced except on complaint of the wife,
+or alleged plural wife of the accused; but this provision shall
+not apply to prosecutions under section 4208 of the Revised
+Statutes, 1898, defining and punishing polygamous marriages."
+
+This bill passed the Utah senate by a vote of 11 to 7, and the
+house by a vote of 174 to 25. The excuse offered for it by the
+senator who introduced it was that it would "take away from
+certain agitators the opportunity to arouse periodic furors
+against the Mormons"; that more than half of the persons who had
+been polygamists had died or dissolved their polygamous
+relations, and that no good service could be subserved by
+prosecuting the remainder. This law aroused a protest throughout
+the country, and again the Mormon church saw that it had made a
+mistake, and on the 14th of March Governor H. M. Wells vetoed the
+bill, on grounds that may be summarized as declaring that the
+law would do the Mormons more harm than good. The most
+significant part of his message, as indicating what the Mormon
+authorities most dread, is contained in the following sentence:
+"I have every reason to believe its enactment would be the signal
+for a general demand upon the national Congress for a
+constitutional amendment directed solely against certain
+conditions here, a demand which, under the circumstances, would
+assuredly be complied with."
+
+The admission of Utah as a state followed naturally the
+promulgation by the Mormon church of a policy which was accepted
+by the non-Mormons as putting a practical end to the practice of
+polygamy. For the seventh time, in 1887, the Mormons had adopted
+a state constitution, the one ratified in that year providing
+that "bigamy and polygamy, being considered incompatible with 'a
+republican form of government,' each of them is hereby forbidden
+and declared a misdemeanor." The non-Mormons attacked the
+sincerity of this declaration, among other things pointing out
+the advice of the Church organ, while the constitution was
+before the people, that they be "as wise as serpents and as
+harmless as doves." Congress again refused admission.
+
+On January 4, 1893, President Harrison issued a proclamation
+granting amnesty and pardon to all persons liable to the penalty
+of the Edmunds law "who have, since November 1, 1890, abstained
+from such unlawful cohabitation," but on condition that they
+should in future obey the laws of the United States. Until the
+time of Woodruff's manifesto there had been in Utah only two
+political parties, the People's, as the Mormon organization had
+always been known, and the Liberal (anti-Mormon). On June 10,
+1894, the People's Territorial Central Committee adopted
+resolutions reciting the organization of the Republicans and
+Democrats of the territory, declaring that the dissensions of the
+past should be left behind and that the People's party should
+dissolve. The Republican Territorial Committee a few days later
+voted that a division of the people on national party lines
+would result only in statehood controlled by the Mormon
+theocracy. The Democratic committee eight days later took a
+directly contrary view. At the territorial election in the
+following August the Democrats won, the vote standing:
+Democratic, 14,116; Liberal, 7386; Republican, 6613.
+
+It would have been contrary to all political precedent if the
+Republicans had maintained their attitude after the Democrats
+had expressed their willingness to receive Mormon allies.
+Accordingly, in September, 1891, we find the Republicans
+adopting a declaration that it would be wise and patriotic to
+accept the changes that had occurred, and denying that statehood
+was involved in a division of the people on national party
+lines.
+
+All parties in the territory now seemed to be manoeuvring for
+position. The Morman newspaper organs expressed complete
+indifference about securing statehood. In Congress Mr. Caine,
+the Utah Delegate, introduced what was known as the "Home Rule
+Bill," taking the control of territorial affairs from the
+governor and commission. This was known as a Democratic measure,
+and great pressure was brought to bear on Republican leaders at
+Washington to show them that Utah as a state would in all
+probability add to the strength of the Republican column. When,
+at the first session of the 53d Congress, J. L. Rawlins, a
+Democrat who had succeeded Caine as Delegate, introduced an act
+to enable the people of Utah to gain admission for the territory
+as a state, it met with no opposition at home, passed the House
+of Representatives on December 13, 1893, and the Senate on July
+10, 1894 (without a division in either House), and was signed by
+the President on July 16. The enabling act required the
+constitutional convention to provide "by ordinance irrevocable
+without the consent of the United States and the people of that
+state, that perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be
+secured, and that no inhabitant of said state shall ever be
+molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of
+religious worship; PROVIDED, that polygamous or plural marriages
+are forever prohibited."
+
+The constitutional convention held under this act met in Salt
+Lake City on March 4, 1895, and completed its work on May 8,
+following. In the election of delegates for this convention the
+Democrats cast about 19,000 votes, the Republicans about 21,000
+and the Populists about 6500. Of the 107 delegates chosen, 48
+were Democrats and 59 Republicans. The constitution adopted
+contained the following provisions:--
+
+"Art. 1. Sec. 4. The rights of conscience shall never be
+infringed. The state shall make no law respecting an
+establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise
+thereof; no religious test shall be required as a qualification
+for any office of public trust, or for any vote at any election;
+nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror on
+account of religious belief or the absence thereof. There shall
+be no union of church and state, nor shall any church dominate
+the state or interfere with its functions. No public money or
+property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious
+worship, exercise, or instruction, or for the support of any
+ecclesiastical establishment.
+
+"Art. 111. The following ordinance shall be irrevocable without
+the consent of the United States and the people of this state:
+Perfect toleration of religious sentiment is guaranteed. No
+inhabitant of this state shall ever be molested in person or
+property on account of his or her mode of religious worship; but
+polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited."
+
+This constitution was submitted to the people on November 5,
+1895, and was ratified by a vote of 31,305 to 7687, the
+Republicans at the same election electing their entire state
+ticket and a majority of the legislature. On January 4, 1896,
+President Cleveland issued a proclamation announcing the
+admission of Utah as a state. The inauguration of the new state
+officers took place at Salt Lake City two days later. The first
+governor, Heber M. Wells,* in his inaugural address made this
+declaration: "Let us learn to resent the absurd attacks that are
+made from time to time upon our sincerity by ignorant and
+prejudiced persons outside of Utah, and let us learn to know and
+respect each other more, and thus cement and intensify the
+fraternal sentiments now so widespread in our community, to the
+end that, by a mighty unity of purpose and Christian resolution,
+we may be able to insure that domestic tranquillity, promote that
+general welfare, and secure those blessings of liberty to
+ourselves and our posterity guaranteed by the constitution of
+the United States."
+
+* Son of "General" Wells of the Nauvoo Legion.
+
+
+The vote of Utah since its admission as a state has been cast as
+follows:--
+
+*************  REPUBLICAN **** DEMOCRAT
+1895. Governor   20,833          18,519
+1896. President  13,491          64,607
+1900. Governor   47,600          44,447
+1900. President 47,089           44,949
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. The Mormonism Of To-Day
+
+An intelligent examination of the present status of the Mormon
+church can be made only after acquaintance with its past
+history, and the policy of the men who have given it its present
+doctrinal and political position. The Mormon power has ever in
+view objects rather than methods. It always keeps those objects
+in view, while at times adjusting methods to circumstances, as
+was the case in its latest treatment of the doctrine of
+polygamy. The casual visitor, making a tour of observation in
+Utah, and the would-be student of Mormon policies who satisfies
+himself with reading their books of doctrine instead of their
+early history, is certain to acquire little knowledge of the
+real Mormon character and the practical Mormon ambition, and if
+he writes on the subject he will contribute nothing more
+authentic than does Schouler in his "History of the United
+States" wherein he calls Joseph Smith "a careful organizer," and
+says that "it was a part of his creed to manage well the
+material concerns of his people, as they fed their flocks and
+raised their produce." Brigham Young's constant cry was that all
+the Mormons asked was to be left alone. Nothing suits the
+purposes of the heads of the church today better than the
+decrease of public attention attracted to their organization
+since the Woodruff manifesto concerning polygamy. In trying to
+arrive at a reasonable decision concerning their future place in
+American history, one must constantly bear in mind the arguments
+which they have to offer to religious enthusiasts, and the
+political and commercial power which they have already attained
+and which they are constantly strengthening.
+
+The growth of Utah in population since its settlement by the
+Mormons has been as follows, accepting the figures of the United
+States census:--
+
+1850 11,380
+1860 40,273
+1870 86,786
+1880 143,963
+1890 207,905
+1900 276,749
+
+The census of 1890 (the religious statistics of the census of
+1900 are not yet available) shows that, of a total church
+membership of 128,115 in Utah, the Latter-Day Saints numbered
+118,201.
+
+What may be called the Mormon political policy embraces these
+objects: to maintain the dictatorial power of the priesthood
+over the present church membership; to extend that membership
+over the adjoining states so as to acquire in the latter, first
+a balance of power, and later complete political control; to
+continue the work of proselyting throughout the United States and
+in foreign lands with a view to increasing the strength of the
+church at home by the immigration to Utah of the converts.
+
+That the power of the Mormon priesthood over their flock has
+never been more autocratic than it is to-day is the testimony of
+the best witnesses who may be cited. A natural reason for this
+may be found in the strength which always comes to a religious
+sect with age, if it survives the period of its infancy. We have
+seen that in the early days of the church its members apostatized
+in scores, intimate acquaintance with Smith and his associates
+soon disclosing to men of intelligence and property their real
+objects. But the church membership in and around Utah to-day is
+made up of the children and the grandchildren of men and women
+who remained steadfast in their faith. These younger generations
+are therefore influenced in their belief, not only by such
+appeals as what is taught to them makes to their reason, but by
+the fact that these teachings are the teachings which have been
+accepted by their ancestors. It is, therefore, vastly more
+difficult to convince a younger Mormon to-day that his belief
+rests on a system of fraud than it was to enforce a similar
+argument on the minds of men and women who joined the Saints in
+Ohio or Illinois. We find, accordingly, that apostasies in Utah
+are of comparatively rare occurrence; that men of all classes
+accept orders to go on missions to all parts of the world without
+question; and that the tithings are paid with greater regularity
+than they have been since the days of Brigham Young.
+
+The extension of the membership of the Mormon church over the
+states and territories nearest to Utah has been carried on with
+intelligent zeal. The census of 1890 gives the following
+comparison of members of Latter-Day Saints churches and of "all
+bodies" in the states and territories named:--
+
+******* L.D. SAINTS **** ALL BODIES ***
+Idaho******* 14,972 ****  24,036
+Arizona***** 6,500  ****  26,972
+Nevada****** 525    ****   5,877
+Wyoming***** 1,336  ****  11,705
+Colorado**** 1,762  ****  86,837
+New Mexico** 456    **** 105,749
+
+The political influence of the Mormon church in all the states
+and territories adjacent to Utah is already great, amounting in
+some instances to practical dictation. It is not necessary that
+any body of voters should have the actual control of the
+politics of a state to insure to them the respect of political
+managers. The control of certain counties will insure to them the
+subserviency of the local politicians, who will speak a good
+word for them at the state capital, and the prospect that they
+will have greater influence in the future will be pressed upon
+the attention of the powers that be. We have seen how steadily
+the politicians of California at Washington stood by the Mormons
+in their earlier days, when they were seeking statehood and
+opposing any federal control of their affairs. The business
+reasons which influenced the Californians are a thousand times
+more effective to-day. The Cooperative Institution has a hold on
+the Eastern firms from which it buys goods, and every commercial
+traveller who visits Utah to sell the goods of his employers to
+Mormon merchants learns that a good word for his customers is
+always appreciated. The large corporations that are organized
+under the laws of Utah (and this includes the Union Pacific
+Railroad Company) are always in some way beholden to the Mormon
+legislative power. All this sufficiently indicates the measures
+quietly taken by the Mormon church to guard itself against any
+further federal interference.
+
+The mission work of the Mormon church has always been conducted
+with zeal and efficiency, and it is so continued to-day. The
+church authorities in Utah no longer give out definite
+statistics showing the number of missionaries in the field, and
+the number of converts brought to Utah from abroad. The number of
+
+missionaries at work in October, 1901, was stated to me by church
+officers at from fourteen hundred to nineteen hundred, the
+smaller number being insisted upon as correct by those who gave
+it. As nearly as could be ascertained, about one-half this force
+is employed in the United States and the rest abroad. The home
+field most industriously cultivated has been the rural districts
+of the Southern states, whose ignorant population, ever
+susceptible to "preaching" of any kind, and quite incapable of
+answering the Mormon interpretation of the Scriptures, is most
+easily lead to accept the Mormon views. When such people are
+offered an opportunity to improve their worldly condition, as
+they are told they may do in Utah, at the same time that they
+can save their souls, the bait is a tempting one. The number of
+missionaries now at work in these Southern states is said to be
+much smaller than it was two years ago. Meanwhile the work of
+proselyting in the Eastern Atlantic states has become more
+active. The Mormons have their headquarters in Brooklyn, New
+York, and their missionaries make visits in all parts of Greater
+New York. They leave a great many tracts in private houses,
+explaining that they will make another call later, and doing so
+if they receive the least encouragement. They take great pains to
+reach servant girls with their literature and arguments, and the
+story has been published* of a Mormon missionary who secured
+employment as a butler, and made himself so efficient that his
+employer confided to him the engagement of all the house
+servants; in time the frequent changes which he made aroused
+suspicion, and an investigation disclosed the fact that he was a
+Mormon of good education, who used his position as head servant
+to perform effective proselyting work. By promise of a husband
+and a home of her own on her arrival in Utah, this man was said
+to have induced sixty girls to migrate from New York City to that
+state since he began his labors.
+
+* New York Sun, January 27, 1901.
+
+
+The Mormons estimate the membership of their church throughout
+the world at a little over 300,000. The numbers of "souls" in
+the church abroad was thus reported for the year ending December
+31, 1899, as published in the Millennial Star:--
+
+Great Britain 4,588
+Scandinavia 5,438
+Germany 1,198
+Switzerland 1,078
+Netherlands 1,556
+
+These figures indicate a great falling off in the church
+constituency in Europe as compared with the year 1851, when the
+number of Mormons in Great Britain and Ireland was reported at
+more than thirty thousand. Many influences have contributed to
+decrease the membership of the church abroad and the number of
+converts which the church machinery has been able to bring to
+Utah. We have seen that the announcement of polygamy as a
+necessary belief of the church was a blow to the organization in
+Europe. The misrepresentation made to converts abroad to induce
+them to migrate to Utah, as illustrated in the earlier years of
+the church, has always been continued, and naturally many of the
+deceived immigrants have sent home accounts of their deception.
+A book could be filled with stories of the experiences of men
+and women who have gone to Utah, accepting the promises held out
+to them by the missionaries,--such as productive farms, paying
+business enterprises; or remunerative employment,--only to find
+their expectations disappointed, and themselves stranded in a
+country where they must perform the hardest labor in order to
+support themselves, if they had not the means with which to
+return home. The effect of such revelations has made some parts
+of Europe an unpleasant field for the visits of Mormon
+missionaries.
+
+The government at Washington, during the operation of the
+Perpetual Emigration Fund organization, realized the evil of the
+introduction of so many Mormon converts from abroad. On August
+9, 1879, Secretary of State William M. Evarts sent out a
+circular to the diplomatic officers of the United States
+throughout the world, calling their attention to the fact that
+the organized shipment of immigrants intended to add to the
+number of law-defying polygamists in Utah was "a deliberate and
+systematic attempt to bring persons to the United States with
+the intent of violating their laws and committing crimes
+expressly punishable under the statute as penitentiary
+offences," and instructing them to call the attention of the
+governments to which they were accredited to this matter, in
+order that those governments might take such steps as were
+compatible with their laws and usages "to check the organization
+of these criminal enterprises by agents who are thus operating
+beyond the reach of the law of the United States, and to prevent
+the departure of those proposing to come hither as violators of
+the law by engaging in such criminal enterprises, by whomsoever
+instigated." President Cleveland, in his first message,
+recommended the passage of a law to prevent the importation of
+Mormons into the United States. The Edmunds-Tucker law contained
+a provision dissolving the Perpetual Emigration Company, and
+forbidding the Utah legislature to pass any law to bring persons
+into the territory. Mormon authorities have informed me that
+there has been no systematic immigration work since the
+prosecutions under the Edmunds law. But as it is conceded that
+the Mormons make practically no proselytes among then Gentile
+neighbors, they must still look largely to other fields for that
+increase of their number which they have in view.
+
+As a part of their system of colonizing the neighboring states
+and territories, they have made settlements in the Dominion of
+Canada and in Mexico. Their Canadian settlement is situated in
+Alberta. A report to the Superintendent of Immigration at
+Ottawa, dated December 30, 1899, stated that the Mormon colony
+there comprised 1700 souls, all coming from Utah; and that "they
+are a very progressive people, with good schools and churches."
+When they first made their settlement they gave a pledge to the
+Dominion government that they would refrain from the practice of
+polygamy while in that country. In 1889 the Department of the
+Interior at Ottawa was informed that the Mormons were not
+observing this pledge, but investigation convinced the
+department that this accusation was not true. However, in
+1890, an amendment to the criminal law of the Dominion was
+enacted (clause 11, 53 Victoria, Chap. 37), making any person
+guilty of a misdemeanor, and liable to imprisonment for five
+years and a fine of $500, who practises any form of polygamy or
+spiritual marriage, or celebrates or assists in any such
+marriage ceremony.
+
+The Secretario de Fomento of Mexico, under date of May 4,
+1901, informed me that the number of Mormon colonists in that
+country was then 2319, located in seven places in Chihuahua and
+Sonora. He added: "The laws of this country do not permit
+polygamy. The government has never encouraged the immigration of
+Mormons, only that of foreigners of good character, working
+people who may be useful to the republic. And in the contracts
+made for the establishment of those Mormon colonies it was
+stipulated that they should be formed only of foreigners
+embodying all the aforesaid conditions."
+
+No student of the question of polygamy, as a doctrine and
+practice of the Mormon church, can reach any other conclusion
+than that it is simply held in abeyance at the present time,
+with an expectation of a removal of the check now placed upon
+it. The impression, which undoubtedly prevails throughout other
+parts of the United States, that polygamy was finally abolished
+by the Woodruff manifesto and the terms of statehood, is founded
+on an ignorance of the compulsory character of the doctrine of
+polygamy, of the narrowness of President Woodruff's decree, and
+of the part which polygamous marriages have been given, by the
+church doctrinal teachings, in the plan of salvation. The sketch
+of the various steps leading up to the Woodruff manifesto shows
+that even that slight concession to public opinion was made, not
+because of any change of view by the church itself concerning
+polygamy, but simply to protect the church members from the loss
+of every privilege of citizenship. That manifesto did not in any
+way condemn the polygamous doctrine; it simply advised the
+Saints to submit to the United States law against polygamy, with
+the easily understood but unexpressed explanation that it was to
+their temporal advantage to do so. How strictly this advice has
+since been lived up to--to what extent polygamous practices have
+since been continued in Utah--it is not necessary, in a work of
+this kind, to try to ascertain. The most intelligent non-Mormon
+testimony obtainable in the territory must be discarded if we
+are to believe that polygamous relations have not been continued
+in many instances. This, too, would be only what might naturally
+be expected among a people who had so long been taught that
+plural marriages were a religious duty, and that the check to
+them was applied, not by their church authorities, but by an
+outside government, hostility to which had long been inculcated
+in them.
+
+It must be remembered that it is a part of the doctrine of
+polygamy that woman can enter heaven only as sealed to some
+devout member of the Mormon church "for time and eternity," and
+that the space around the earth is filled with spirits seeking
+some "tabernacles of clay" by means of which they may attain
+salvation. Through the teaching of this doctrine, which is
+accepted as explicitly by the membership of the Mormon church at
+large as is any doctrine by a Protestant denomination, the
+Mormon women believe that the salvation of their sex depends on
+"sealed" marriages, and that the more children they can bring
+into the world the more spirits they assist on the road to
+salvation. In the earlier days of the church, as Brigham Young
+himself testified, the bringing in of new wives into a family
+produced discord and heartburnings, and many pictures have been
+drawn of the agony endured by a wife number one when her husband
+became a polygamist. All the testimony I can obtain in regard to
+the Mormonism of today shows that the Mormon women are now the
+most earnest advocates of polygamous marriages. Said one
+competent observer in Salt Lake City to me, "As the women of the
+South, during the war, were the rankest rebels, so the women of
+Mormondom are to-day the most zealous advocates of polygamy."
+
+By precisely what steps the church may remove the existing
+prohibition of polygamous marriages I shall not attempt to
+decide. It is easy, however, to state the one enactment which
+would prevent the success of any such effort. This would be the
+adoption by Congress and ratification by the necessary number of
+states of a constitutional amendment making the practice of
+polygamy an offence under the federal law, and giving the
+federal courts jurisdiction to punish any violators of this law.
+The Mormon church recognizes this fact, and whenever such an
+amendment comes before Congress all its energies will be directed
+to prevent its ratification. Governor Wells's warning in his
+message vetoing the Utah Act of March, 1901, concerning
+prosecutions for adultery, that its enactment would be the
+signal for a general demand for the passage of a constitutional
+amendment against polygamy, showed how far the executive thought
+it necessary to go to prevent even the possibility of such an
+amendment. One of the main reasons why the Mormons are so
+constantly increasing their numbers in the neighboring states is
+that they may secure the vote of those states against an
+anti-polygamy amendment. Whenever such an amendment is
+introduced at Washington it will be found that every Mormon
+influence--political, mercantile, and railroad--will be arrayed
+against it, and its passage is unlikely unless the church shall
+make some misstep which will again direct public attention to it
+in a hostile manner.
+
+The devout Mormon has no more doubt that his church will dominate
+this nation eventually than he has in the divine character of
+his prophet's revelations. Absurd as such a claim appears to all
+non-Mormon citizens, in these days when Mormonism has succeeded
+in turning public attention away from the sect, it is
+interesting to trace the church view of this matter, along with
+the impression which the Mormon power has made on some of its
+close observers. The early leaders made no concealment of their
+claim that Mormonism was to be a world religion. "What the world
+calls 'Mormonism' will rule every nation," said Orson Hyde. "God
+has decreed it, and his own right arm will accomplish it."*
+Brigham Young, in a sermon in the Tabernacle on February 15,
+1856, told his people that their expulsion from Missouri was
+revealed to him in advance, as well as the course of their
+migrations, and he added: "Mark my words. Write them down. This
+people as a church and kingdom will go from the west to the
+east."
+
+* Journal of Discourses, Vol. VII, pp. 48-53.
+
+
+Tullidge, whose works, it must be remembered, were submitted to
+church revision, in his "Life of Brigham Young" thus defines the
+Mormon view of the political mission of the head of the church:
+"He is simply an apostle of a republican nationality, manifold
+in its genius; or, in popular words, he is the chief apostle of
+state rights by divine appointment. He has the mission, he
+affirms, and has been endowed with inspiration to preach the
+gospel of a true democracy to the nation, as well as the gospel
+for the remission of sins, and he believes the United States
+will ultimately need his ministration in both respects . . . .
+They form not, therefore, a rival power as against the Union, but
+an apostolic ministry to it, and their political gospel is state
+rights and self-government. This is political Mormonism in a
+nutshell."*
+
+* p. 244.
+
+
+Tullidge further says in his "History of Salt Lake City" (writing
+in 1886): "The Mormons from the first have existed as a society,
+not as a sect. They have combined the two elements of
+organization--the social and the religious. They are now a new
+society power in the world, and an entirety in themselves. They
+are indeed the only religious community in Christendom of modern
+birth."*
+
+* p. 387.
+
+
+Some of the closest observers of the Mormons in their earlier
+days took them very seriously. Thus Josiah Quincy, after
+visiting Joseph Smith at Nauvoo, wrote that it was "by no means
+impossible" that the answer to the question, "What historical
+American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful
+influence upon the destiny of his countrymen," would not be,
+"Joseph Smith." Governor Ford of Illinois, who had to do
+officially with the Mormons during most of their stay in that
+state, afterward wrote concerning them: "The Christian world,
+which has hitherto regarded Mormonism with silent contempt,
+unhappily may yet have cause to fear its rapid increase. Modern
+society is full of material for such a religion . . . . It is to
+be feared that, in the course of a century, some gifted man like
+Paul, some splendid orator who will be able by his eloquence to
+attract crowds of the thousands who are ever ready to hear and be
+
+carried away by the sounding brass and tinkling cymbal of
+sparkling oratory, may command a hearing, may succeed in
+breathing a new life into this modern Mohammedanism, and make
+the name of the martyred Joseph ring as loud, and stir the souls
+of men as much, as the mighty name of Christ itself."*
+
+* Ford, "History of Illinois," p. 359.
+
+
+The close observers of Mormonism in Utah, who recognize its aims,
+but think that its days of greatest power are over, found this
+opinion on the fact that the church makes practically no
+converts among the neighboring Gentiles; and that the increasing
+mining and other business interests are gradually attracting a
+population of non-Mormons which the church can no longer offset
+by converts brought in from the East and from foreign lands.
+Special stress is laid on the future restriction on Mormon
+immigration that will be found in the lack of further government
+land which may be offered to immigrants, and in the discouraging
+stories sent home by immigrants who have been induced to move to
+Utah by the false representations of the missionaries.
+Unquestionably, if the Mormon church remains stationary as
+regards wealth and membership, it will be overshadowed by its
+surroundings. What it depends on to maintain its present status
+and to increase its power is the loyal devotion of the body of
+its adherents, and its skill in increasing their number in the
+states which now surround Utah, and eventually in other states.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext The Story of the Mormons, by Linn
+
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