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individuals, have greatly lessened the confidence of every friend of law, honour, and humanity, in everything promised by the committees and conventions, though we have already made great advances towards fitting for a move next spring.

"A few troops stationed in the county have not entirely kept the mob at bay, several buildings having been burnt in the month of October.

"We shall, however, make every exertion on our part, as we have always done, to preserve the law and our engagements sacred, and leave the event with God, for he is sure.

"It may not be amiss to say, that the continued abuses, persecutions, murders, and robberies, practised upon us, by a horde of land pirates, with impunity in a Christian republic, and land of liberty (while the institutions of justice have either been too weak to afford us protection or redress, or else they too have been a little remiss), have brought us to the solemn conclusion that our exit from the United › States is the only alternative by which we can enjoy our share of the elements which our Heavenly Father created free for all.

"We then can shake the dust from our garments, suffering wrong rather than do wrong, leaving this nation alone in her glory, while the residue of the world points the finger of scorn, till the indignation and consumption decreed makes a full end.

"In our patience we will possess our souls, and work out a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, preparing, by withdrawing the power and priesthood from the Gentiles, for the great consolation of Israel, when the wilderness shall blossom as the rose, and Babylon f.ll like a millstone cast into the sea. The just shall live by faith; but the folly of fools will perish with their bodies of corruption: then shall the righteous shine. Amen."

After a series of struggles and negotiations, and a regular siege of the city of Nauvoo by the anti-Mormons, of which no authentic account yet appears to have been published, with the exception of the short and interesting summary by Colonel Kane, to be referred to hereafter, the Saints agreed to leave Illinois in the spring of 1846, or as soon as grass grew and water ran;" provided that, in the interval, they should not be molested, and that they should be allowed time and opportunity to sell their farms and properties, and remove beyond the limits of civilization.

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A circular of the High Council to the members of the Church throughout the world, which was published on the 20th of January, 1846, announced that the Mormons of Nauvoo had resolved to seek a home beyond the Rocky Mountains. The document is too curious in itself, and too remarkable in the history of the sect, to be omitted:—

"BELOVED BRETHREN AND FRIENDS,--We, the members of the High Council of the Church, by the voice of all her authorities, have unitedly and unanimously agreed, and embrace this opportunity to inform you, that we intend to set out into the Western country from this place, some time in the early part of the month of March, a company of pioneers, consisting mostly of young, hardy men, with some families. These are destined to be furnished with an ample outfit; taking with them a printing press, farming utensils of all kinds, with mill irons and bolting cloths, seeds of all kinds, grain, &c.

"The object of this early move is, to put in a spring crop, to build houses, and to prepare for the reception of families who will start so soon as grass shall be sufficiently grown to sustain teams and stock. Our pioneers are instructed to proceed West till they find a good place to make a crop, in some good valley in the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains, where they will infringe upon no one, and be not likely to be infringed upon. Here we will make a resting place, until we can determine a place for a permanent location. In the event of the President's recommendation to build block houses and stockade forts on the route to Oregon becoming a law, we have encouragements of having that work to do; and under our peculiar circumstances, we can do it with less expense to the Government than any other people. We also further declare, for the satisfaction of some who have concluded that our grievances have alienated us from our country, that our patriotism has not been overcome by fire-by sword-by daylight nor by midnight assassinations, which we have endured, neither have they alienated us from the institutions of our country. Should hostilities arise between the Government of the United States and any other power, in relation to the right of possessing the territory of Oregon, we are on hand to sustain the claim of the United States' Government to that country. It is geographically ours; and of right, no foreign power should hold dominion there; and if our services are required to prevent it, those services will be cheerfully rendered according to our ability. We feel the injuries that we have sustained, and are not insensible of the wrongs we have suffered. Still we are Americans; and should our country be invaded, we hope to do, at least, as much as did the conscientious Quaker who took his passage on board a merchant ship, and was attacked by pirates. The pirate boarded the merchantman, and one of the enemies' men fell into the water between the two vessels, but seized a rope that was hung over, and was pulling himself up on board the merchantman. The conscientious Quaker saw this, and though he did not like to fight, he took his jack-knife, and quickly moved to the scene, saying to the pirate, 'If thee wants that piece of rope I will help thee to it.' He cut the rope asunderthe pirate fell—and a watery grave was his resting-place.

"Much of our property will be left in the hands of competent agents for sale at a low rate, for teams, for goods, and for cash. The funds arising from the sale of property will be applied to the removal of families from time to time as fast as consistent, and it now remains to be proven whether those of our families and friends who are necessarily left behind for a season to obtain an outfit, through the sale of property, shall be mobbed, burnt, and driven

away by force. Does any American want the honour of doing it? or will Americans suffer such acts to be done, and the disgrace of them to rest on their character under existing circumstances? If they will, let the world know it. But we do not believe they will.

"We agreed to leave the country for the sake of peace, upon the condition that no more vexatious prosecutions be instituted against us. In good faith have we laboured to fulfil this engagement. Governor Ford has also done his duty to further our wishes in this respect. But there are some who are unwilling that we should have an existence anywhere. But our destinies are in the hands of God, and so also is theirs.

"We venture to say that our brethren have made no counterfeit money; and if any miller has received fifteen hundred dollars base coin in a week from us, let him testify. If any land agent of the General Government has received waggon-loads of base coin from us in payment for lands, let him say so; or if he has received any at all from us, let him tell it. Those witnesses against us have spun a long yarn; but if our brethren had never used an influence against them to break them up, and to cause them to leave our city, after having satisfied themselves that they were engaged in the very business of which they accuse us, their revenge might never have been roused to father upon us their own illegitimate and bogus productions.

"We have never tied a black strap round any person's neck, neither have we cut their bowels out, nor fed any to the 'Cat-fish.' The systematic order of stealing, of which these grave witnesses speak, must certainly be original with them. Such a plan could never originate with any person, except some one who wished to fan the flames of death or destruction around us. The very dregs of malice and revenge are mingled in the statements of those witnesses alluded to by the Sangamo Journal. We should think that every man of sense might see this. In fact, many editors do see it, and they have our thanks for speaking of it. “We have now stated our feelings, our wishes, and our intentions; and by them we are willing to abide; and such editors as are willing that we should live and not die, and have a being on the earth while Heaven is pleased to lengthen out our days, are respectfully requested to publish this article. And men who wish to buy property very cheap, to benefit themselves, and are willing to benefit us, are invited to call and look; and our prayer shall ever be, that justice and judgment, mercy and truth, may be exalted, not only in our own land, but throughout the world, and the will of God be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

"Done in Council at the City of Nauvoo, on the 20th day of January 1846.

"SAMUEL BENT.
JAMES ALLKED.
GEORGE W. HARRIS.
WILLIAM HUNTINGTON.
HENRY G. SHERWOOD.
ALPHEUS CUTLER.

"NEWEL KNIGHT.
LEWIS D. WILSON.
EZRA T. BENSON,

DAVID FULLMEK,

THOMAS GROVER.

AARON JOHNSON."

The first companies of the Mormons commenced crossing the

Mississippi on the 3rd February, 1846. They amounted to 1,600 men,

women, and children, and passed the river on the ice. They continued to leave in detachments, or companies of similar magnitude, until July and August, travelling by ox-teams towards California, then almost unknown, and quite unpeopled by the Anglo-Saxon race.

The anti-Mormons asserted that the intention of the Saints was to excite the Indians against the commonwealth, and that they would return at the head of a multitude of the Red Skins to take vengeance upon the white people for the indignities they had suffered. Nothing appears to have been further from the intentions of the Mormons. Their sole object was to plant their Church in some fertile and hitherto undiscovered spot, where they might worship God in their own fashion, unmolested by any other sect of Christians. The war against Mexico was then raging, and, to test the loyalty of the Mormons, it was suggested by their foes that a demand should be made upon them to raise five hundred men for the service of the country. The Mormons obeyed, and five hundred of their best men enrolled themselves under the command of General Kearney, and marched 2,400 miles with the armies of the United States. At the conclusion of the Mexican war, they were disbanded in Upper California. The Mormons allege that it was one of this band who, in working at a mill, first discovered the golden treasures of California; and the " · Saints" are said to have succeeded in amassing large quantities of the precious metal before the secret was made generally known to the "Gentiles."

But faith was not kept with the Mormons who remained in Nauvoo. Although they had agreed to leave in detachments, they were not allowed the necessary time to dispose of their property; and, in September, 1846, the city was besieged by their enemies, upon the pretence, that they did not intend to fulfil the stipulations made with the people and authorities of Illinois. After a three days' bombardment, the last remnant was finally driven out by fire and sword. The details will be found in the following chapter.

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