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the effect of still further exasperating the people against Joseph and his disciples. The Mormons, seeing the law broken by their opponents, refused obedience to the law themselves. They fortified their farms and towns, and treated with contempt the legal processes which it was attempted to serve upon them. The militia of the State was again called out, under the command of General Doniphan. His measures were so vigorous, and the fury of the people against Joseph was so great, that the Mormons, dreading the general massacre of their sect, so long threatened, laid down their arms, and finally resolved to leave the State of Missouri and take refuge in Illinois, then very partially cleared and settled.

The following address, which is of itself sufficient evidence of the cruelty and injustice with which the sect was treated, was delivered at Far West, by Major-General Clark, to the Mormons, after they had surrendered their arms, and declared themselves prisoners of war:

"Gentlemen,-You whose names are not attached to this list of names will now have the privilege of going to your fields to obtain corn for your families, wood, &c. Those that are now taken will go from thence to prison, be tried, and receive the due demerit of their crimes; but you are now at liberty, all but such as charges may be hereafter preferred against. It now devolves upon you to fulfil the treaty that you have entered into, the leading items of which I now lay before you. The first of these you have already complied with, which is, that you deliver up your leading men to be tried according to law. Second, that you deliver up your arms- - this has been attended to. The third is, that you sign over your properties to defray the expenses of the war-this you have also done. Another thing yet remains for you to comply with—that is, that you leave the State forthwith; and whatever your feelings concerning this affair, whatever your innocence, it is nothing to me. General Lucas, who is equal in authority with me, has made this treaty with you. I am determined to see it executed. The orders of the Governor to me were, that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to continue in the State; and had your leader not been given up, and the treaty. complied with, before this, you and your families would have been destroyed, and your houses in ashes.

"There is a discretionary power vested in my hands, which I shall try to exercise for a season. I did 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, the citizens will be upon you. I am determined to see the Governor's Message fulfilled, but shall not come upon you immediately--do not think that I shall act as I have done any more-but if I have to come again, because the

treaty which you have made here shall be broken, you need not expect any mercy, but extermination; for I am determined the Governor's order shall be executed. As for your leaders, do not once think—do not imagine for a moment-do not let it enter your mindthat they will be delivered, or that you will see their faces again; for their fate is fixed, their die is cast, their doom is sealed.

"I am sorry, gentlemen, to see so great a number of apparently intelligent men found in the situation that you are;—and, oh! that I, could invoke the spirit of the unknown God to rest upon you, and de liver you from that awful chain of superstition, and liberate you from those fetters of fanaticism with which you are bound. I would advise you to scatter abroad, and never again organize with bishops, presidents, &c., 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 ruleand my advice is, that you become as other citizens, lest by a recurrence of these events, you bring upon yourselves irretrievable ruin.”

While the great body of the Mormons were thus barbarously dealt with, and while General Clark so coolly spoke of their "extermination" as a result which they might expect, the Prophet himself, was betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and taken into custody, to answer the various charges of treason, murder, and felony, which were brought against him. His brother Hyrum, and three other leaders of the sect, were apprehended at the same time. The "treason" was for making war against the State of Missouri, the "murder" was the death of the two men in the affray at Gallatin, and the "felony" was the destruction and robbery of property committed by the Danite band. Though Joseph at first anticipated an acquittal upon the whole of these charges, the mob breathed such vengeance against him that he made an attempt to escape after he had been a few weeks in prison. His attempt, however, was discovered and foiled, partly by the breaking of an auger with which he was at work, and partly by the indiscretion of his friends outside.

Hyrum Smith, in a "Communication to the Saints scattered abroad," published in the first volume of the Times and Seasons, a year after the events described, gave a painfully interesting account of the sufferings and persecutions which he and other members of the sect underwent at this time, in which he recapitulated the main portion of the evidence from which we have quoted, and added many other facts, which are necessary to the proper understanding of the narrative.

"It would be unnecessary for me," he said, " to enter into the particulars prior to my settlement in Missouri, or give an account of my journey

to that State; suffice it to say, that after having endured almost all manner of abuse, which was poured out upon the Church of Latter-Day Saints, from its commencement, by wicked and ungodly men, I left Kirtland, Ohio, the beginning of March, 1838, with a family consisting of ten individuals, and with means only sufficient to take us one half the way. The weather was very unpropitious, and the roads were worse than I had ever seen them before. However, after enduring many privations and much fatigue, through the kind providence of God, I arrived with my family in Far West, the latter part of May, where I found many of my friends who had borne the heat and burthen of the day, and whose privations and sufferings for Christ's sake had been great, with whom I fondly hoped and anticipated the pleasure of spending a season in peace, and having a cessation from the troubles and persecutions to which we had been subject for a number of years. The prospect was truly flattering; we were the owners of almost the entire county; many of the brethren had already opened very extensive farms; nature was propitious, and the comforts of life would have soon been realized by every industrious person. But notwithstanding these favourable auspices, a storm arose, before whose withering blast our fair and reasonable prospects were blasted and ruined: anarchy and dismay were spread through that county, as well as the adjoining ones, in which our brethren had found a resting-place.

“The inhabitants of the upper counties, jealous of the increasing number of the Saints, thinking, like some in ancient times, that if they were to let us alone, we should take away their place and nation, soon began to circulate reports prejudicial to us, and after threatening us with mobs for some time, at last put their threats into execution, and proceeded to drive off our cattle, and burn down our houses, while helpless females, with their tender offspring, had to flee into the wilderness, and wander to a considerable distance for shelter. This state of things continued until, from false representations, and a wicked desire to overthrow the Saints, the Governor called out the militia, and gave orders for our extermination.

"Soon after the arrival of the militia at Far West, my brother Joseph, with several others, who were considered leading characters in the church, were betrayed into their hands, and the day after Colonel George Hinckle, who had always been a professed friend, but who had now turned traitor, came with a company of the enemy to my house, and told them I was the person whom they sought. They told me I must go with them to the camp. I inquired when I could return, my family being in a situation that I knew not how to leave them; but could get no answer. Remonstrance was in vain, so I was obliged to go with them. I was aware of the hostile feelings of our enemies, and

their hatred to all those who professed the faith of the Church of LatterDay Saints; and I can assure my brethren that I would as soon have gone into a den of lions, as into that host, who had orders from the executive of the State to put us to death, and who had every disposition to do so. However, I was enabled to put my trust in the Lord, knowing that he who delivered Daniel out of the den of lions, could deliver me from cruel and wicked men. When I arrived at the camp, I was put under the same guard with my brother Joseph and my other friends, who had been taken the day previous.

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"That evening a court-martial was held, to consult what steps should be taken with the prisoners, when it was decided that we were to be shot the next morning, as an ensample to the rest of the church. Knowing that I had done nothing worthy of death or of bonds,' and feeling an assurance that all things would work together for our good, I remained quite calm, and felt altogether unmoved. When I heard of their unjust and cruel sentence, my heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord.' "The next morning came on, when (according to the sentence of the court) we were to be shot. It was an important time; thousands were anticipating the event with fiendish joy, and seemed to long for the hour of execution, while our friends and brethren were beseeching a throne of grace on our behalf, and praying for our deliverance. The time at length arrived when their sentence was to be carried into effect: but in consequence of General Doniphan protesting against the unlawfulness of the proceedings, and, at the same time, threatening to withdraw his troops, if they should offer to carry into effect their murderous sentence, the court rescinded their resolution; and thus their purposes were frustrated, and our bitterest enemies were disappointed. The prayers of our friends were answered, and our lives spared. Notwithstanding the discomfiture of their plans, yet our destruction was determined upon by a vast majority, who, thinking they could better carry into effect their purposes, ordered us to be conveyed to Jackson county, where they were well aware our most cruel persecutors resided. Before starting, I got permission to visit my family, but had only time to get a change of clothes, and then was hurried away from them, while they clung to my garments, they supposing it would be the last time they would see me in this world. While getting into the waggon which was to convey us to our destination, four men rushed upon us, and levelled their rifles at us, seemingly with a determination to shoot us. But this was not permitted them to do. No! their arms were unnerved, and they dropped their pieces and slunk away. While thus exposed, I felt no tremour or alarm; I knew I was in the hands of God, whose power was unlimited.

"While on our way to Jackson county we excited great curiosity

At our stopping places, people would flock to see us from all quarters, a great number of whom would rail upon us, and give us abusive language, while a few would pity us, knowing that we were an injured people. When we arrived at Independence, the county seat of Jackson county, the citizens flocked from all parts of the county to see us. They were generally very abusive: some of the most ignorant gnashed their teeth upon us; but all their threats and abuse did not move me, for I felt the spirit of the Lord to rest down upon me, and I felt great liberty in speaking to those who would listen to the truth. Notwithstanding the determination of our enemies, they were not suffered to carry out their designs in that county; for, after enduring considerable hardships, we were removed back as far as Richmond, in Ray county, where, for the first time in my life, I was put into prison. My feet were hurt with the fetters; and I remained in this situation for fourteen days. I endeavoured to bear up under my sufferings and wrongs, but at the same time could not help but feel indignant at those who treated us with such cruelty, and who pretended to do it under the sanction of the laws. After many attempts to destroy us by the military, in all of which they were unsuccessful, we were at length delivered up to the civil law, soon after which, a court of inquiry was held. A great deal of false testimony was given prejudicial to my brethren; but all the testimony they could produce against me was, that I was one of the presidency of the church, and a firm friend to my brother Joseph. This the court deemed sufficient to authorize my committal to prison. I was then, with my brethren, removed to Liberty, in Clay county, where I was confined for more than four months, and suffered much for want of proper food, and from the nauseous cell in which I was confined, but still more so on account of my anxiety for my family, whom I had left without any protector, and who were unable to help themselves. My wife was confined while I was away from home, and had to suffer more than tongue can tell. She was not able to sit up for several weeks, and to heighten my affliction, and the sufferings of my helpless family, my goods were unlawfully seized upon and carried off, until my family had to suffer in consequence thereof. Nor were the Missourians my only oppressors; but those with whom I had been acquainted from my youth, and who had ever pretended the greatest friendship towards me, came to my house while I was in prison, and ransacked and carried off many of my valuables; this they did under the cloak of friendship. Amongst those who treated me thus, I cannot help making particular mention of Lyman Cowdery, who, in connection with his brother Oliver, took from me a great many things; and, to cap the climax of his iniquity, compelled my aged father, by threatening to bring a mob upon him, to deed over to

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