The Mormon Menace Part 5

While the sport was at its height Sidney Rigdon, the mouthpiece of the Prophet, rushed into the ring, sword in hand, and said that he would not suffer a lot of men to break the Sabbath day in that manner. For a moment all were silent. Then one of the brethren, with more presence of mind than the others, said to the Prophet:

"Brother Joseph, we want you to clear us from blame, for we formed the ring by your request. You told us to wrestle, and now Brother Rigdon is bringing us to account for it."

The Prophet walked into the ring and said, as he made a motion with his hand:

"Brother Sidney, you had better get out of here and let the boys alone; they are amusing themselves according to my orders. You are an old man. You go and get ready for meeting and let the boys alone." Just then catching Rigdon off his guard, as quick as a flash he knocked the sword from Rigdon's hand, then caught him by the shoulder, and said: "Now, old man, you must go out, or I will throw you down."

Rigdon was as large a man as the Prophet, but not so tall. The prospect of a tussle between the Prophet and the mouthpiece of the Prophet was fun for all but Rigdon, who pulled back like a crawfish; but the resistance was useless, the Prophet dragged him from the ring, bareheaded, and tore Rigdon's fine pulpit coat from the collar to the waist; then he turned to the men and said:

"Go in, boys, and have your fun. You shall never have it to say that I got you into any trouble that I did not get you out of."

Rigdon complained about the loss of his hat and the tearing of his coat. The Prophet said to him:

"You were out of your place. Always keep your place and you will not suffer: but you got a little out of your place and you have suffered for it. You have no one to blame but yourself."

After that Rigdon never countermanded the orders of the Prophet, to my knowledge; he knew who was boss.

An order had been issued by the Church authorities commanding all the members of the Mormon Church to leave their farms and take such property as they could remove and go to one of the two fortified camps - that is Far West or Adam-on-Diamond. A large majority of the settlers obeyed, and the two camps were soon full of people who had deserted home again for the sake of the gospel.

There was a settlement on Log Creek, between three and five miles east from Far West. It was quite a rich settlement. A man named Haughn had just completed a good flouring mill on the creek. The morning after the battle of Crooked River Haughn came to Far West to consult with the Prophet concerning the policy of the removal of the settlers on Log Creek to the fortified camps.

Col. White and myself were standing by when the Prophet said to him:

"Move in, by all means, if you wish to save your lives."

Haughn replied that if the settlers left their homes all of their property would be lost, and the Gentiles would burn their houses and other buildings. The Prophet said:

"You had much better lose your property than your lives; one can be replaced, the other cannot be restored; but there is no need of your losing either if you will only do as you are commanded."

Haughn said that he considered the best plan was for all of the settlers to move into and around the mill, and use the blacksmith's shop and other buildings as a fort in case of attack; in this way he thought they would be perfectly safe.

"You are at liberty to do so if you think best," said the Prophet.

Haughn then departed, well satisfied that he had carried his point. The Prophet turned to Col. White and said:

"That man did not come for counsel, but to induce me to tell him to do as he pleased; which I did. Had I commanded them to move in and leave their property they would have called me a tyrant. I wish they were here for their own safety. I am confident that we will soon learn that they have been butchered in a fearful manner."

At this time the Missourians had determined to exterminate the whole of the Mormon people. Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued orders to that effect. I think Gen. Clark was the officer in command of all the Gentile forces. Gen. Atchison and Col.

Doniphan each commanded a division of from three to four thousand men, and they soon besieged Far West. The Mormons fortified the town as well as they could, and took special care to fortify and build s.h.i.+elds and breastworks, to prevent the cavalry from charging into the town. The Gentile forces were mostly camped on Log Creek, between Far West and Haughn's Mill, about a mile from Far West, and about half a mile south of our outer breastworks.

Our scouts and pickets guards were driven in and forced to join the main ranks for safety. The Mormon troops were placed in position by the officers, so as to guard every point. We all had a large supply of bullets, with the patching sewed on the b.a.l.l.s to facilitate the loading of our guns, which were muzzle loaders.

The Mormon force was about eight hundred strong, poorly armed; many of the men had no guns; some had single-barrel pistols and a few homemade swords. These were our implements of war.

So situated, we were still anxious to meet the enemy, and demanded to be led out against our foes. Our men were confident that G.o.d was going to deliver the enemy into our hands, and so we had no fears. I was one of the advance force, and as I lay behind some timber, with my cap-box open, and bullets lying on the ground by my side, I never had a doubt of being able to defeat the Gentile army.

The troops lay and watched each other several days, then the Gentiles made two efforts to force their way into the town by stratagem; but seeing our forces in order they did not come within range of our guns. The Mormons stood in the ranks, and prayed for the chance of getting a shot; but all to no effect.

The same evening we learned of the ma.s.sacre at Haughn's Mill. The description of this ma.s.sacre was such as to freeze the blood of each Saint, and force us to swear that revenge should come some day.

The ma.s.sacre was reported about as follows to us at Far West.

When the Gentile mob attacked the Mormons at the mill the Mormons took shelter in the blacksmith shop and other buildings. The mob took advantage of the banks of the creek and the timber, and very nearly surrounded the shop, which was built of logs, and served as a slaughterhouse instead of a shelter or protection.

The mob, while protected as they were, shot down the Mormons at their leisure. They killed eighteen and wounded as many more; in fact, they killed and wounded everyone who did not run away during the fight and take refuge in the woods. After shooting down all that could be seen, the mob entered the blacksmith shop and there found a young lad who had secreted himself under the bellows. One of the men said:

"Don't shoot; it is but a small boy."

"It is best to hive them when we can," was the reply.

Thus saying, they shot the little fellow.

There was an old man in the settlement by the name of McBride, who had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War; he was killed by being hacked to pieces with a corncutter while begging for his life. The dead and wounded were thrown into a well together.

Several of the wounded were afterwards taken out of the well by the force that went from Far West, and recovered from their wounds. So great was the hatred of the mob that they saved none, but killed all who fell into their hands at that time. I received my information of the ma.s.sacre from David Lewis, Tarleton Lewis, William Laney, and Isaac Laney; they were Kentuckians, and were also in the fight, but escaped death.

Isaac Laney was shot seven times, the seven shots leaving thirteen ball holes in his person; five of the shots were nearly in the center of the chest; one entered under the right arm, pa.s.sed through the body and came out under the left arm; yet, strange as it appears, he kept his feet, and ran some three hundred yards to a cabin, where a woman raised a loose plank of the cabin floor and he lay down while she replaced the boards.

The mob left, and in about two hours Laney was taken from under the cabin floor nearly lifeless. He was then washed, anointed with oil, the elders praying for his recovery, according to the order of the Holy Priesthood, and he was promised, through prayer and faith in G.o.d, speedy restoration. The pain at once left him, and for two weeks he felt no pain at all. He then took cold, and the wound in his hips pained him for some two hours, when the elders repeated their prayers and again anointed him, which had the effect desired. The pain left him, and never returned. I heard Laney declare this to be a fact, and he bore his testimony in the presence of many of the Saints. I saw him four weeks after the ma.s.sacre and examined his person. I saw the wounds, then healed. I felt of them with my own hands, and I saw the s.h.i.+rt and examined it, that he had on when he was shot, and it was cut in shreds. Many b.a.l.l.s had cut his clothing that had not touched his person.

The ma.s.sacre at Haughn's Mill was the result of the brethren's refusal to obey the wishes of the Prophet. All the brethren so considered it. It made a deep and lasting impression on my mind, for I had heard the Prophet give the counsel to the brethren to come into the town. They had refused, and the result was a lesson to all that there was no safety except in obeying the Prophet.

Col. George M. Hinkle had command of the troops at Far West, under the Prophet Joseph. He was from Kentucky, and considered a fair-weather Saint. When danger came he was certain to be on the strong side. He was a fine speaker, and had great influence with the Saints. Previous to the attack on Far West Col. Hinkle had come to an understanding with the Gentile commanders that in case the danger grew great they could depend on him as a friend and one through whom they could negotiate and learn the situation of affairs in the camp of the Saints. When our scouts were first driven in Col. Hinkle was out with them, and when they were closely pursued he turned his coat wrong side out and wore it so.

This was a peculiar move, but at the time it did not cause much comment among his men; but they reported it to the Prophet, and he at once became suspicious of the Colonel. The Prophet, being a man of thought and cool reflection, kept this information within a small circle, as it was a bad time to ventilate an act of that kind.

The Prophet concluded to make use of the knowledge he had gained of Hinkle's character, and employ him to negotiate between the two parties. I do not believe that Joseph had the least idea that he, with his little handful of men, could stand off the army that had come up against him. I know that now, but at the time I was full of religious zeal and felt that the Mormon Hosts of Israel were invincible. Joseph wished to use Hinkle to learn the designs of the Gentiles, so that he could prepare for the worst. Col.

Hinkle was therefore sent by Joseph to have an interview with the Gentiles.

The Colonel returned and reported to Joseph the terms proposed by the Gentile officers. The terms offered were as follows: Joseph and the leading men of the Church, Rigdon, Lyman White, P. P.

Pratt, Phelps, and others, were to give themselves up without delay; the remainder of the men were to surrender themselves and their arms by ten o'clock the following day, the understanding being that all would be tried for treason against the Government, and for other offenses.

The Prophet took advantage of this information, and had every man that was in imminent danger leave the camp for a place of safety.

The most of those in peril went to Illinois. They left at once, and were safe from all pursuit before the surrender took place, as they traveled north and avoided the settlements.

When the brethren had left for Illinois, as just stated, Joseph called his remaining troops together and told them they were a good lot of fellows, but they were not perfect enough to withstand so large an army as the one now before them; that they had stood by him, and were willing to die for and with him, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven; that he wished them to be comforted, for G.o.d had accepted their offering; that he intended to, and was going to offer himself up as a sacrifice, to save their lives and to save the Church. He wished them to be of good cheer, and pray for him, and to pray that he and the brethren that went with him might be delivered from their enemies. He then blessed his people in the name of the Lord. After that he and the leading men, six in number, went direct to the camp of the enemy.

They were led by a Judas, Col. G. M. Hinkle. I stood upon the breastworks and watched them go into the camp of the enemy. I heard the yells of triumph of the troops as Joseph and his companions approached. It was with great difficulty that the officers could restrain the mob from shooting them down as they entered. A strong guard was then placed over them to protect them from mob violence.

The next morning a court-martial was held, at which Joseph and his six companions who had surrendered with him were sentenced to be shot. The execution was to take place at eight o'clock the next morning. When the sentence of the court-martial was announced to them, Col. Lyman White said:

"Shoot and be d.a.m.ned!"

Gen. Atchison and Col. Doniphan arrived with their divisions the same day, soon after the court-martial had been held. Col.

Doniphan, in particular, remonstrated against the decision. He said it was nothing more nor less than cold-blooded murder, and that every name signed to the decision was signed in blood, and he would withdraw his troops and have nothing to do in the matter if the men were to be shot. Gen. Atchison sustained Col.

Doniphan, and said the wiser policy would be, inasmuch as they had surrendered themselves as prisoners, to place them in the Richmond jail and let them take the due course of the law; let them be tried by the civil authorities of the land. In this way justice could be reached and parties punished according to law, and thus save the honor of the troops and the nation. This timely interposition on the part of Col. Doniphan and Gen. Atchison changed the course and prevented the hasty action of an infuriated mob calling itself a court, and composed of men who were the bitter enemies of Joseph and his followers.

The next day a writing desk was prepared, with two secretaries or clerks; it was placed in the middle of the hollow square formed by the troops. The Mormons were marched in double file across the center of the square, where the officers and men who had remained in Far West surrendered themselves and their arms to Gen. Clark, Commander-in-Chief of the Missouri militia, then in arms against the Saints at Far West. I was among the number that then surrendered. I laid down a good Kentucky rifle, two good horse pistols, and a sword.

After stacking our arms we were marched in single file between a double file of the militia, who stood in a line from the secretary's desk extending nearly across the square, ready to receive us, with fixed bayonets. As each man came up he stepped to the desk and signed his name to an instrument recapitulating the conditions of the treaty, which were substantially as follows: We were to give a deed to all our real estate, and to give a bill of sale of our personal property, to pay the expenses of the war that had been inaugurated against us; also a committee of twelve should be appointed, one for Far West and one for Adam- on-Diamond, who were to be the sole judges of what would be necessary to remove each family out of the State. All of the Mormons were to leave Missouri by the 1st of April, A. D. 1839.

The rest of the property of the Mormons was to be taken by the Missouri troops to pay the expenses of the war. When the committee had examined into affairs and made the a.s.signment of property that the Mormons were to retain, a pa.s.s would be given by the committee to each person as an evidence that he had gone through an investigation both as to his conduct and property. The prisoners at Far West were to be retained and not allowed to return home until the committee had reported and given the certificate that all charges had been met and satisfied. I remained a prisoner for nine days, awaiting the action of the committee.

While such prisoner I witnessed many scenes of inhumanity even more degrading than mere brutality itself. The mob of the militia was mostly composed of men who had been neighbors of the Mormons.