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"The
Prophet's Death!"
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| Deseret
News introduction |
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The following, from the Chicago Times,
which is in the main correct as concerning the tragedy which is the burden
of the article, will be perused with much interest by our readers, coming
as it does from a disinterested source— |
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| Chicago
Times introduction |
Some three months since The Times published
a history of the Mormon church, from its inception, in New York, to the
expulsion of the Saints from Missouri, and their subsequent settlement in
Illinois. As the particulars of the discovery of the golden tablets in the
hill Cumorah, the translation of their hieroglyphics into the Book of Mormon
by means of the Urim and Thummim, the propagation of the faith, and the
graphic details of the Missouri war, resulting in the capture and ultimate
escape of Joseph Smith the prophet, by bribing his guards, were obtained
from the only parties now living who are competent to give reliable information
regarding these interesting events, the article attracted much attention,
and was of historic value. Another and a more tragic chapter in the eventful
life of this strange man remained to be written, and The Times
is in possession of the facts that enable it to complete the task. |
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| Dr. B.
W. Richmond knew Joseph in Palmyra and saw him in Ohio |
Half a century ago there lived in New York, in the vicinity
of where Joseph Smith first became known to fame, a young man named B. W.
Richmond, who afterward studied medicine and acquired the title of doctor.
He formed Joseph's acquaintance there, and was familiar with the denomination
attending his self-announcement as a prophet. In later years he saw him
in Ohio, and observed his course with interest. |
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| Richmond
visited Joseph in Nauvoo |
Still later he met him in Nauvoo, and was an accidental witness
of scenes incident to, and consequent upon, his tragic death at the hands
of an Illinois mob. |
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| Reminiscence
written partly a t Joseph's behest |
Ten years afterward, partly in compliance with a request of
the prophet, made just prior to his assassination, he wrote a full account
of the affair, intending to publish it in book form. Various causes combined
to delay the publication, and in 1864, twenty years after the occurrence
of the events which he had committed to writing, Dr. Richmond died, leaving
the manuscript in the hands of his widow, Mrs. Lucinda Richmond, now residing
in McGregor, Iowa, by whom it has been carefully treated until the present
time. |
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| interesting
as a novel … thrilling as any tragedy … a reliable chronicle |
This manuscript is not only as interesting as a novel and
as thrilling as any tragedy, but it is a reliable chronicle of one of the
most singular and startling events in the history of the nation, and contains
a large amount of information never before given to the public. |
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| Sympathetic,
but not a follower |
As Richmond was not a believer in Mormonism, and would as
soon have chosen the devil for his spiritual guide as Joseph Smith, and
yet his humanity led him into sympathy with him in many of his acts, and
his acquaintance and facilities enabled him to judge him from a standpoint
entirely different from that occupied by other historians his prejudices
may have led him into errors, and innocent parties may rest under undeserved
censure or imputations, but of this the reader must judge for himself. The
Times purposes setting forth, in brief, the most striking features
of this exciting narrative, quoting the exact language of the writer only
where it serves to make the description more forcible. |
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| Need to
know Joseph's character and conditions at Nauvoo |
FOR A PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATTER,
a knowledge of the character of the prophet, as well as of the situation
at Nauvoo in 1844, is essential. |
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| Success
induced Joseph to believe in his destiny |
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That the common masses that composed the Mormon
church regarded Smith as a prophet there is little doubt. The leaders and
wise heads could not looked upon his imagination as very deep, but they
knew full well that their machinery—the mode of their manifesting the
belief they held—was well calculated to succeed. That Smith could have
regarded himself as inspired, in the usual sense of the term is more than
doubtful; that success had implanted in his mind—which was intuitive
rather than logical—the belief that he was born for some great end,
is certain; that his death, in the way and manner, has done much to stamp
him as a martyr among his friends, is equally true. |
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| Causes
of assassination |
The causes which led to the assassination of
the Smiths were various. The Mormons, after their expulsion from Missouri,
were looked upon by the people of Illinois as an estranged and persecuted
people, and were received with open arms to such shelter as they could afford
them without inquiry as to what the consequences might be of receiving into
their midst a people who differed so widely from them in religious belief.
The sagacious [one line missing at the paper fold] a little for a city in
Hancock county, on the Mississippi river, and from the sad wreck of their
Missouri expulsion, had commenced with almost incredible energy, the construction
of all sorts of buildings, from the stately brick edifice to the humble
slab but—anything that would give shelter to their suffering people.
The site bore the name of Commerce, and lay in a horse-shoe bend of the
Mississippi, that noble stream making almost a circuit around the cape.
From the point two miles back the land was low, and then rose into a bluff
of considerable height, extending from river to river. The central and most
prominent point of the bluff was selected as a site for the temple, where
it would command a view of almost every house in the city. |
Rapid
growth, older residents versus newcomers
Economic tensions |
Those who could purchased farms of the old settlers
in the vicinity in all directions, and the city and colony increased with
such rapidity that in a few months the older residents found, instead of
a few persecuted strangers, thousands of persons in their midst, who professed
a new religion and whose avarice had been increased by outrage, poverty,
and disappointment. They now became anxious to sell, at fair prices, and
the Saints were as anxious to buy at as low prices as possible. This competition
in interest resulted in frequent personal quarrels. The farmers endeavored
to prevent supplies of food from reaching the city, and the Saints reciprocated
by endeavoring to control the grain market in that region, and to force
the farmers to sell at the lowest price.
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| Lawlessness
in and around Nauvoo |
THE MASSES OF THE MORMONS
in and about Nauvoo—the name of the new city—were sober and industrious;
but there were some who, oppressed by want or actuated by innate cussedness,
stole grain, horses, and cattle from the people in the surrounding country.
This led to frequent lawsuits, but seldom to convictions or punishment.
Combined with this was another fact which bore more heavily on the Mormons
than their own acts. Horse thieves from all parts of the country flocked
thither and plied their profession on the credit of the Saints. In numerous
instances cattle were shot by the political and religious enemies of the
Saints, and the slaughter was charged to their account. |
| Joseph
religious and military leader |
Meanwhile, newly converted Saints flocked in from
all quarters, and at the end of the first year of the settlement they had
done much to repair their losses in Missouri. The legislature incorporated
the city, the people were organized into a military force called the Nauvoo
Legion, and Joseph Smith was not only prophet of the Lord and preacher to
the Saints, but brigadier general and commander of the legion. |
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Adopt bold measures
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He now felt his position more secure than formerly,
and the leaders adopted every measure political or pecuniary, that would
be likely to give them control of their destiny. |
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Block voting
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With a design to draw from the legislature such
acts as would benefit them in their isolated position, they soon began to
make their votes felt in the local and state elections, and W. W. Phelps
one of their chief men, became a local judge in the courts of country. They
voted even masse with one or the other party, and twice turned the state
election in favor of the democracy] by voting a solid vote in favor of its
gubernatorial candidate. This enraged the opposition, and ,under the circumstances,
it was easy to elicit the hatred of the opposing religious sects. |
| Threaten
to take over county |
This was done the more this was done the more
effectually as some of the less prudent Saints claimed that they were not
only going to possess Hancock Co., but God was in their opinion, going to
assign to them domination over the whole earth, and the Gentiles must lick
their dust. |
| Joseph's
high profile |
Their leader was regarded as endowed with the having, and
his sword was given him that he might extend and defend his dominions. No
other show could draw such crowds to its solemn feasts and baptismal gatherings,
and the hatred of other denominations was kindled to a flame. Several papers
advocated the necessity of driving the Mormons in a body beyond the Rocky
Mountains, and the feeling became so great that candidates for the presidency
were interrogated as to their view. |
| Joseph's
letter to Henry Clay |
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SMITH EVEN PERPETRATED THE FOLLY
of addressing a letter to Henry Clay (written by Phelps), demanding his
policy providing he should be elected. The Sage of Ashland replied in vague
and guarded terms, as no answer seemed unsafe, as the Mormons were supposed
to hold the balance of power in the State, and thus a fictitious political
consequence attached to their vote. |
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| Caustic,
bitter reply to Clay |
The letter was unsatisfactory, and Joseph Smith was at once
proclaimed a candidate for the presidency, with Sidney Rigdon on the ticket
for vice-president. That Joseph Smith, who claimed to be anointed with heavenly
wisdom, and therefore might have inquired of the Lord by Urim and Thummim—the
prophetic stones found at the hill Cumorah—and received answer by a
"thus saith the Lord," should seek through the medium of correspondence,
seemed to indicate not only a lack of courtesy, but a want of confidence
in the inspiration with which he claimed to be endowed. He replied to Clay
in a caustic and bitter letter—also written by Phelps—which was
widely published in the democratic papers, and besides raising a general
laugh at its ridiculousness, served to irritate a powerful party against
the whole sect. |
| Kirtland
Safety Society notes circulating |
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ANOTHER CAUSE OF HATRED,
was the circulation of a large number of the worthless bills of the old
Kirtland bank, an institution established in Ohio some ten year previous,
by Joseph Smith, and which, having failed to recommend a charter, went to
pieces. Some speculator or enemy put quantities of them in circulation around
Nauvoo, and their worthless character raised a hue and cry against the honesty
of the Saints. Smith warned the people, in a notice in The Nauvoo
Neighbor, against receiving the bills, as they were worthless, and claimed
that they had never been circulated by him, but had been stolen from the
vault by a mob that broke into the bank. |
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| "Doctor"
John C. Bennett |
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To the above-mentioned causes may also be added
the apostasy, from the Saints, of Gen. John C. Bennett. This strange compound
of folly and depravity had passed through a checkered business career in
the east, and was at one time in Erie, Pa., carrying on the manufacture
and sale of "compound tomato pills," which he claimed to be highly
efficacious in removing "humors in the blood" and "obstructions
of the liver," and the rival calomel generally. |
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| Secures
incorporation for city, rewarded with high positions |
Not finding his pill business sufficiently lucrative,
through various revolutions the doctor found himself among the Mormons,
in Nauvoo. Having considerable knowledge of mankind, and a good deal more
of "the way a thing was to be done," he soon rendered himself
very useful to the prophet by bringing to bear on the legislature, influences
that resulted interest incorporation of the city and the organization of
the legion. In return, he was made mayor of the city, major general of the
legion, and quartermaster general of the State. |
| Joseph's
revelations regarding Bennett |
Joseph Smith received repeated "revelations" concerning
[line missing] the church, [-] always adding, by way of prudent precaution
against backsliding,"If my servant John continues faithful," then
"thus saith the Lord." |
| Joseph
accused of urging theft |
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RUMORS HAVING GONE ABROAD
to the discredit of the church, that Joseph Smith taught stealing as a duty,
on November 9, 1841, the prophet personally appeared before Mayor Bennett
and made oath that "he had never, directly or indirectly, encouraged
the purloining of property or taught the doctrine of stealing, and the all
such unlawful acts and vile practices will recommend his unqualified disapproval."
This singular document is signed, "Joseph Smith, President of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." |
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| Higbees,
Fosters, Laws |
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As the Lord, who inspired the prophet, evidently
supposed, His "servant John" did not remain faithful ,but went
out in a most woeful apostacy, and a furious quarrel ensued that deepened
the current of existing hatred towards the Saints. At the same time there
dwelt among the Saints, and much of the time at Nauvoo, six or eight persons
who were determined to bring to an end the career of that singular man,
Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. There were two brothers named Higbee,
from Cincinnati, worthless and reckless fellows; two brothers named Foster,
Englishman by birth, who had come among the Saints and grown rich by speculation,
and two other brothers named Wilson and William Law, Canadian refugees who
had engaged in the revolutionary movement under McKenzie, and on the failure
of that enterprise had fled to the States, and floated around in the west
with the mere wreck of a large fortune which they had had in Canada. |
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| William
Law set apart to succeed |
Wm. Law had made himself so popular with the Saints that at
a conference held to provide against the possibility of the church being
left without a prophet, he had been set apart, with several others, to succeed
in the leadership, provided Joseph or Hyrum should die, or be assassinated,
which they constantly feared. While still in the confidence of the church,
he was, it is claimed, plotting for the abduction and assassination of Joseph.
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| Price
gouging |
During time of a great scarcity he had charge
of a flouring mill, and ran the prices of bread up to oppressive figures.
Against this speculation on the necessities of the poor, Joseph interposed,
so far as his position would allow, and this only added to the current of
ill-will already setting in strongly between them. |
| Jackson |
Joined to these six men was another of more desperate
make than any of them, named Jackson. He had led a wandering life, and at
last came to Nauvoo, and for a time demeaned himself so as to gain the confidence
of many, do be on intimate terms with the prophet, Joseph Smith was not
a suspicious man, but took a stranger for what he professed to be, although
he had |
| Suspected
of counterfeiting |
|
BEEN BETRAYED AGAIN AND AGAIN
by almost every leading man in the church, who had, at one time and another,
sought to use him and the church for their own private ends. Jackson was
at length suspected of counterfeiting, and had laid his plans to obtain
dies with which to manufacture notes of several popular banks. |
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| Proposed
to Hyrum's daughter, rebuffed, swears vengeance |
Meanwhile he had made proposals of marriage to the daughter
of Hyrum Smith, and had been rejected and informed by her father that he
was a wicked, unprincipled man, whom his daughter should never marry. Miss
Smith was a lovely and accomplished girl, intellectual and well educated,
and eventually married a respectable young merchant in the city. This and
his rebuff enraged the ferocious vagabond so much that he threatened to
abduct her and swore vengeance against her father. Jackson was a very tall,
dark-skined, black-eyed man, a dare-devil at heart and a bankrupt in character,
and scrupled at no means to compass the destruction of both father and daughter. |
| The
Expositor calculated to incite mob violence |
|
With all these men the Prophet came to be on bad
terms, and the result was that they purchased a press and started an anti-Mormon
paper called The Expositor, the first number of which contained a
violent assault on Joseph, calculated to excite mob violence against him
and the city of the Saints. |
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| City
council declares Expositor a nuisance |
The city council was convened … and, after
consulting legal authority, declared the paper a nuisance. Accordingly the
mayor issued an order for its abatement. To have arrested the publishers
for libel would not have averted the danger of a mob, and to have been likely
to provoke violence. |
| City
council debate |
The sitting of the council was long and trying,
and the debates and statements of persons under oath showed clearly the
painful apprehensions of all concerned. |
Foster
abused women
Law seduced an orphan |
The horrors of Missouri were fresh in memory.
The Fosters and their accomplices had been expelled from the church, and
one of them had been proven guilty of abuse to females and reprimanded by
Smith. The evidence that the whole six had been engaged in bogus money-making
was deemed conclusive. William Law had seduced an orphan girl and had been
exposed. |
| Law
tried to hire assassin |
William Law had offered Jackson $500
TO KILL THE PROPHET,
and Jackson had been proved a murderer before the city council, and had
threatened the lives of the Silas Smith. |
| Destruction
of The Expositor |
|
In compliance with the order of the mayor, Mr.
Green, city marshal, with about a dozen men, went to the office of The
Expositor removed the press, pied the type in the street, destroyed
the issue of the paper and a number of objectionable handbills, without
noise or confusion, and returned the order to the mayor, with an endorsement
setting forth their acts. A full account of the affair was given to the
public through the column of The Nauvoo Neighbor, the Mormon paper.
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| Richmond:
Mormons believe they acted to prevent bloodsheed and were within their legal
rights |
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Dr. Richmond, in his narrative, says: |
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"I have all these papers before me, and no one can fail
to perceive that they believed that course to be the only one that could
save the city from bloodshed and murder. They did what they believed to
be legal, under their charter, and claimed the right to be tried within
their city limits, repudiating the jurisdiction of the courts of the county." |
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| Higbees,
Laws, and Fosters flee, incite mob |
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The Higbees, Laws, and Fosters fled into the country and published
the outrage to the world, grossly exaggerated, alleging that a mob of a
thousand men had assembled, with yells and threats of death to all who hindered
them, and had demolished the press, destroyed the building, and burned other
property in the city belonging to the Fosters. On the other hand, at an
investigation subsequently held, Dr. J. R. Wakefield, of New York, testified
that the March to the office of the newspaper was "an orderly and solemn
a the Dead March in ‘Saul,' that no violence was used toward anyone,
and nothing but press was disturbed. |
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| Warrants
for press-destroyers |
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[Both sides appealed to Governor Ford.] Smith,
a justice of the peace at Carthage, the county seat of Hancock county, had
issued warrants for the arrest of the press-destroyers on a charge of riot.
Some of them escaped through a writ of habeas corpus obtained from the municipal
court of Nauvoo, and subsequently refused to be arrested for the same offense. |
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| Warsaw
Signal incites mob |
The Warsaw Signal, of June 19, 1844, contained a mobocratic
appeal to [partial line missing] that Nauvoo had been [partial line missing]
the prophet; that every able-bodied man in Warsaw was under arms; that an
insulted and injured people were determined to redress their wrongs; the
troops promised from Missouri and Iowa, and 300 men were ready in Rashville;
that this delegation sent to the governor had not yet returned, and if they
failed to secure his interference, a day would be set forthwith for a general
rally as a posse, to assist the officers of justice; that muskets had been
received from Quincy, and men and arms were promised from St. Louis; that
they were too weak in Hancock county to effect their object, and calling
on everybody to come to their aid. "You will be doing your God and
your country a service in aiding us rid earth of a most heaven-daring wretch,"
said incendiary sheet. |
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Thus it will be seen the war was virtually declared, and death
to the Mormons proclaimed before Governor Ford arrived at Carthage, on June
21. |
Joseph
calls out the Nauvoo Legion
Charge of treason |
On learning of the military preparations, Joseph Smith ordered
the legion under arms, and in a speech declared the city under martial law.
On this declaration was subsequently based,
THE CHARGE OF HIGH TREASON, |
| Joseph:
powers of earth will bow |
|
on which he was arrested. In this same speech
Joe declared that God had set up His standard on the earth, and the powers
of the earth would bow before it. |
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Legion
disbands
Governor: Treat both sides fairly |
Nevertheless the moment the Governor arrived the
Mormon troops disbanded and matters were left to take their own course.
The Governor at first issued a proclamation declaring that both sides should
be fairly heard. |
| Declares
destruction of the press unconstitutional |
Afterward he issued another, directed to the mayor and council
of Nauvoo, in which he argued the case at length and decided every point
against the Saints. He declared they had violated the constitution in interfering
with the freedom of the press, in seizing property unlawfully, in usurping
the power of a court in deciding that the press was a nusiance,etc. |
| Joseph
flees to Iowa, returns |
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After disbanding the troops, Joseph fled to Iowa,
where he remained until he received the Governor's letter, and then returned.
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| Ford
denies protection |
Both Joseph and have were afraid of assassination, as their
lives had frequently been threatened, and appealed to the Governor for a
guard, but their request was denied. |
| Start
for Carthage, return to surrender arms |
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Accordingly they started for Carthage alone, to surrender
themselves. When about four miles out, they met Capt. Dunn, with an order
for the state arms in the possession of the Saints, and faced about and
returned with him to the city. |
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| Richmond's
description of Joseph |
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It was at this juncture that Dr. Richmond reached the county.
He says:
"I was travelling in the west, and reached Nauvoo, June 24, and with
friends, went to the Nauvoo House, kept by Joseph Smith. As I entered the
hall I saw a well dressed individual sated on a trunk at the further end
of the hall, quietly smoking a cigar who was pointed out to me as Joseph
Smith. He was over six feet tall, of heavy build, with broad shoulders,
light hair and complexion, light blue eyes, along nose, a retreating forehead,
large brain and short neck. It was the first time I had [-] seen him, and
the impression was a [-] one. He was easy in his manners, and seemed sure
of an acquittal if he could get a fair hearing. |
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| Surrender
arms |
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Presently he mounted a beautiful chestnut horse,
and with [-] others rode up Main Street to Masonic hall, where the state
arms were delivered up. |
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| Richmond's
description of Hyrum |
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Hyrum Smith was even taller than the prophet, [-]
built, with light hair and blue eyes, and impressed me as being a quiet
well-disposed man.
He was talking with a friend and said he knew they were in danger, but they
were in the hand of a just God, and He would do all things right. He seemed
deeply impressed with the right of their position, and declared his belief
that the leaders of the movement fully intended to destroy their lives. |
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| Joseph's
farewell |
The prophet was quietly talking while the arms
were being thrown into the wagon. He told Capt. Dunn that "his boys
would do nothing wrong, they were good boys.," and as he turned his
horse toward Carthage he waved his hand to his friends and said: "You
are good boys; farewell, if I never see you again!'" |
| Smiths
turn themselves in at Carthage |
|
It was midnight when the Smiths reached Carthage
and
SURRENDERED TO THE AUTHORITIES.
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The
militia
Ford promises protection |
|
A thousand men had responded to the calls for
troops, and were encamped in the vicinity of the court house. Mr. Woods,
Smith's counsel, who had preceded him to Carthage, endeavored to impress
Gov. Ford with the danger of the prisoners, and was assured and reassured
that they would be protected. |
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| Near
mutiny |
|
On the morning after their arrival the press of
people at the hotel was so great, so anxious were the masses to see the
Smiths, that Gov. Ford and Gen. Deming conducted them before the McDonough
county troops and introduced them as the Gens. Smith. The Carthage Grays
took umbrage at this, regarding it as disrespectful to themselves, and expressed
their disapprobation by hissing Gen. Deming, for which offense he immediately
ordered them to ground their arms. They refused to obey, and at the command
of their captain, fixed bayonets and loaded with ball cartridge. The Governor
interposed and coolly asked if they would obey him. They responded,"Yes,"
wherereupon he countermanded the general's order and thus averted the imminent
danger. |
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| "Death
to the prophet!" |
|
About six acre of ground, in the open space in
the centre of town, was covered with ordinary camp-meeting tents, and into
these the soldiers were crammed pell-mell without order or discipline. Some
were playing cards, and others drinking, or boiling potatoes in small iron
pots or roasting bits of bacon impaled on sharp sticks, or baking corn-cakes.
Many were pretty drunk, and let out without reserve what was going on in
the camp. "Death to the prophet!" was the watchword. |
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And here the doctor may be allowed to persue
the thread of the narrative. He says: |
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| Richmond:
mob intent on killing the Smiths |
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"I mingled freely with these men, to learn their intentions, and
found a fixed and settled purpose among them
"TO KILL THE SMITHS
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"The guard at the door where the trial was
proceeding assured me that if the Governor did not hang Joe, more than a
hundred had sworn never to go home till he was shot. |
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| William
Marks, man of integrity |
|
I had accompanied William Marks to Carthage, and
returned with him to Nauvoo. This man came from Oak Hill, near Portage,
Allegheny county, Pa., and was a wealthy farmer and a man of strict integrity.
He found the Saints under the full impression that theirs was a new and
glorious dispensation under the head of a prophet anointed by God. |
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|
1833
Mormons speak in tongues
Meetings crowded |
|
I was teaching near his residence in 1833 when
this new sect made its advent into the neighborhood. Five or six priests
remaining in the vicinity all winter, and drew many respectable persons
into the church [sic]. The spirit of the strange sect entered my school,
and it was constant subject of discussion among the scholars, at recess.
There were wild scenes of hubbub, talking in the 'gift of tongues,' giving
revelations and interpretations, with prophesying and visions. Every man,
woman and child entered into the dispute, and their nightly meetings were
crowded with the curious. |
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| Gift
of tongues, interpretation |
It is true that the most unlearned were often
seized with the 'gift of tongues,' and uttered with great vehemence a jargon
of words resembling a language, which was reeled off into English by a young
lady named Sawyer who was gifted with interpretation. |
| Bodily
and mental excitement |
The leaders often showed great bodily and mental
excitement, and seemed fully imbued with a serious, half-wild religious
spirit. |
| Healing
at Marks' home |
|
They often made efforts at healing, and claimed
one noticeable instance in the place. An old lady by the name of Simmons,
living, without comforts or decent food, is an old log house, which was
removed for healing to Wm. Marks' residence. A good bed, comfortable room,
cheerful fire, and good nurses were assigned the poor bed-ridden invalid.
She was a nervous and susceptible female, with pale skin, and large black
eyes, that glared with the intense fire of nervous excitability. Around
the bed of this strange object were ranged the priests gifted with healing,
some with hands on her bed, other clasping her hands in theirs, or reverently
laying them on various parts of her person, and uttering earnest prayers,
and raising their solemn eyes to heaven with reverent look. Three or four
times a day they poured out this heavenly [auction?] upon the emaciated
body of the old lady. To this they added a nourishing diet, including plenty
of hen's meat. Mr. Marks had a large, fine, red, rooster which |
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THEY SLEW IN THE NAME OF THE LORD |
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| Invalid
walks, Saints shout and praise God |
|
and the invalid was nourished most tenderly with the broth.
Hope beamed into her soul, and, as her care and food became better, her
faith increased and added to the earnest prayers of the faithful, and to
the amazement of everybody the old lady, who had not walked for months,
was on her feet in two weeks, and shouted and praised God for her recovery. |
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| Was
it the nursing or the blessing? |
|
My friend Marks and myself could never agree whether the benediction
of the priests or the nursing and the flesh and broth of the slain chanticleer
had most to do with the remarkable recovery of this most helpless case of
neglect and [-]. |
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Similar
recoveries
Neighbors fear the Lord is with the Saints |
|
This and similar recoveries were changed among the multitude
as the work of faith, with an earnestness that bordered on fury, backed
up with the commission of Christ to His apostles to heal the sick, raise
the dead, cast out devils, and rebuke evil spirits. Most of the women in
the neighborhood began to fear that the Lord was among the Saints, and to
escape the fearful penalties denounced against unbelievers, hastened [missing
line] they believed, they had worked a miracle, aided by God, to confound
the faithless and stubborn. |
|
|
| Many
of good minds and well educated join |
|
Among the persons who joined them in this region were many
of good minds and well educated." |
|
|
| Marks:
saved Twelve from Rigdon attempt to kill them |
|
After speaking at some length of his friend Marks' services,
in which he incidentally states that at one time he saved the Twelve from
being assassinated by Rigdon, who had resolved to make way for his prophetship
by disposing of Brigham Young and the other members of the council of twelve,
the doctor return to his narrative: |
|
|
| Trial
in Hamilton's tavern |
|
"When myself and Mr. Marks reached Carthage, the Smiths
were undergoing examination in Hamilton's tavern, the mob spirit being so
violent that they dare not go to the court room, where so much scope was
offered to those who were resolved to slay them at all hazards. Mr. Marks
here introduced me to Gov. Ford, the prophet and his brothers, and several
other persons present in a small bedroom. The trial was proceeding in a
small sitting room in the back part of the house, on the second floor. |
|
|
| Joseph
calm, straightforward, acquainted with fickleness of human nature |
|
I conversed half an hour with Joseph Smith, and told him plainly
his danger, which seemed in no way to disturb him. He remarked that he was
surrounded by so many enemies that he known not whom to trust, and insisted
that his people were greatly misrepresented. He appeared straightforward
in the expression of his feelings and opinions, and evinced much acquaintance
with the world together with a complete knowledge of the fickleness of human
nature. |
|
|
| Joseph:
tell the truth about my boys |
|
As I parted with him he presented his hand and said: "Stranger,
if I fall by the hand of assassins, tell the truth about my boys,"—a
name by which he called his friends. I assured him that I would—if
I told the world anything. |
|
|
| Warners
governor danger is real |
|
By request, I had an interview with Gov. Ford, who asked me
whether the danger was real or only the work of excitement. I assured him
of the fullest conviction, on my part, that there were numerous persons
among the crowd who never intended to leave Carthage until the Smiths were
dead. |
|
|
| Ford
unsure of mlitia |
|
THE GOVERNOR WAS A MAN OF SMALL STATURE
with dark eyes and complexion. He appeared like a man weary of human nature
and of life, and to be more than betrayed the fear that he could not, if
he would, protect the prisoners. After the conduct of the military in the
morning, he thought little could be told as to what they would do before
another morning. |
|
|
| Richmond
and Marks return to Nauvoo |
|
Myself and friend returned to Nauvoo that night, and, after
a tedious ride over the prairie, had called for water at a log hut standing
in the centre of a large field. It was very dark, and we had hardly entered
the dwelling when we heard the clatter of horses' feet, and in a few moments
the house was surrounded by armed men. |
|
|
Militia
under Singleton sent to keep peace in Nauvoo
Men had left Nauvoo |
|
They proved to be a company of militia, under Captain Singleton,
going to Nauvoo to keep the peace. Such a visit was not only ridiculous
but insulting, since for ten days the city had presented the appearance
of a deserted place, and women and children were almost the only inhabitants,
and they were in hourly fear of death by violence. |
|
|
| Most
of militia are vagabonds |
|
Mr. Marks took the soldiers to good quarters, provided them
with supper, and in the morning they paraded the streets. The majority were
ragged vagabonds who had rushed together to see the sights. |
|
|
| Example
of a grenadier |
|
The figure of one of these grenadiers I shall never forget.
He rode a [-] gray nag, was seated on a saddle without stirrups, and his
long martial figure made him conspicuous among the company. He wore a suit
of linen begrimed with dirt, a straw hat without a brim, and an old sword,
long and rusty, dangled at his side. His boots were toeless, so that his
feet protruded; his pants were bagging, and his coat was a roundabout of
new linen His visage, long and lean as his uniform, and his big clear blue
eyes and thin lips made him a figure of most striking appearance. He cast
about him suspicious glances, as though he feared at every turn that some
stray bullet might send him to fairer climes. He evidently regarded the
city of the prophet as a solemn place, and felt in his inmost soul that
he would not willingly die for his country. At every turn of the captain's
troop this long, [-] grenadier hove in sight." |
|
|
| Higbee
attempts to assassinate Rockwell |
|
As soon as the Smiths were in the hands of the authorities,
H. F. Higbee [sic—the Fosters were Francis M. and Chauncey L.]
concluded he would gratify a long cherished desire and accordingly returned
to Nauvoo with the avowed
INTENTION OF ASSASSINATING O. P. ROCKWELL,
of Gov. Boggs and Missouri memory. He found his intended victim at midday,
walking in the street, and cooly drew a revolver and attempted to shoot
him. [Orrin Porter] Rockwell was unarmed, but being as fearless
and agile as a savage he knocked the deadly weapon from his assailant's
hand, seized him by the hair, dashed him violently to the ground, and
planted his fist forcibly in his face and stomach. Higbee begged for life,
and Rockwell at length released him and assisted in conveying him to the
house of Robinson, the postmaster, where his wounds were dressed and a
bed furnished him till the next day. He was drunk when he made the assault.
The next morning found him sober with a badly scarred face, and a revolver
and [dirk?] lying by his side. Rockwell, who had been greatly feared in
Missouri, was a very small man, slim and pale, with a keen black eye,
and a very winning address.
|
|
|
| Ford
addresses the Saints |
|
On the afternoon of June 27th, Gov. Ford came to Nauvoo with
an escort of 60 men or more, and addressed the citizens from a small wooden
platform standing near the prophet's house. His address gave everything
into the hands of the mob, and, in fact, encouraged, by its timidity, the
spirit of rebellion against the laws. He concluded by warning the people
that if they molested anyone their city would be fired, and their wives
and children put to the sword. |
|
|
| Saints
petition for protection |
|
The wives of Joseph and Hyrum set on foot a petition praying
the Governor would protect the defenseless women and children of the city
from mob violence it was signed by large numbers of women, and was received
by the Governor with respect, and even with emotion. |
|
|
| Emma
described |
|
Joseph's wife presented it in person, accompanying it with
a brief history of their troubles, and a statement of their painful apprehensions.
This lady is described as large and well-built, with dark hair, light hazel
eyes, and a finely moulded head, much superior to her husband's. She was
the daughter of a Baptist clergyman living on the Susquehanna, was naturally
intelligent, and in her strange and eventful career had learned much of
human nature. |
|
|
| Charged
with treason |
|
BEFORE THE GOVERNOR LEFT CARTHAGE
the Smiths were held to trial for riot, and under the impression of securing
greater safety, did not ask for bail, but consented to be lodged in jail.
On the morning before commitment they were arrested on a charge of high
treason,
on which, however, no examination was had, and not one supposed them guilty. |
|
|
| Militia
disbanded |
|
The troops incessantly demanded to be taken to Nauvoo, but
the Governor declined to grant their requests, on the grounds that their
mutinous spirit would surely lead to an attack on the city. He therefore
disbanded them at Carthage. |
|
|
| Carthage
Grays |
|
The Smith's were escorted to jail by the Carthage Grays, their
most biter enemies, whose captain had the day before ordered them to fix
bayonets and load with ball cartridges to sustain themselves in their mutinous
action in [-] Gen. Deming. Their captain was also the justice of the peace
before whom they had been arraigned. A lawyer by the name of Skinner was
lieutenant of the company. He had formerly been the counsel of the Smiths,
but had quarreled with them, and now loudly demanded their expulsion from
the county. To such men Gov. Ford committed the Smiths for safe keeping,
disbanding, a few hours before he left, within a few rods of the jail, a
thousand or more men whom he dare not take with him to Nauvoo for fear they
would burn the city. |
|
|
| Attack
on the jail |
|
About the hour the Governor was addressing the Mormons at
Nauvoo—6 o'clock p.m.—some 200 armed men, disguised with red,
black, and blue paint, surrounded the Carthage jail, which was guarded by
half a dozen of the Grays, the rest being half a mile distant. The guards
fired their guns at the mob, but as they were loaded only with wads, nobody
was hurt. Quickly disarming these valiant sentinels, the mob rushed up the
stairs leading to the second floor, where the prisoners were confined. |
|
|
| Hyrum
killed |
|
The door to their room had not even a latch, and
Hyrum Smith, on seeing the approach of the bloodthirsty crew, sprang to
it, closed, and held it. Instantly a volley of balls went crashing through
the thin protection into the room, one of them striking Hyrum under the
eye and near the nose, and entering the brain. He reeled backwards, exclaiming,
"O GOD, I AM A DEAD MAN,"
|
|
|
|
|
and at this instant another ball entered under his chin and
plunged upward into his brains. He fell backward at full length and was
dead. While he was falling a ball struck his knee, passed through the legislature,
and out at the thigh. Another truck his watch, and entered his body. |
|
|
| Joseph
and John Taylor resist, retreat |
|
Some friend had given Joe Smith a revolver, and when his brother
fell, the mob having pushed the door, held by himself, Dr. Richards, and
Taylor, partially open, he passed the muzzle into the opening and fired
three shots into the crowd, a fourth cap missing fire. They were then forced
back from the door and retreated across the room, Smith and Taylor making
for a window. |
|
|
| Taylor
hit |
|
Taylor put one foot out and received four balls in it, fell
back into the room and crept under a bed. |
|
|
| Joseph
killed |
|
As Joseph's head protruded from the window, two
balls from the outside mob pierced his chest, one near the throat, and the
other further down and passing through the lungs he was also fired upon
from the rear by those inside, one ball entering his back and another his
thigh. He reeled forward, the blood spurting from his wounds at every heart
stroke, [-] from the window among the mob outside, and
WAS DEAD WHEN HE STRUCK THE GROUND.
Now that the deed was done no further violence was offered to his person.
|
|
|
| Tayor
and Richards survive |
|
Dr. Richards had the lobe of his ear carried away by a ball
that also left a scar over the jugular vein an inch in length. He drew Taylor
from under the bed and hid him in the dungeon, saying: "Brother [line
missing] [private?] secretary, and Taylor was editor of The Nauvoo Neighbor.
|
|
|
| Bodies
taken to Hamilton's tavern |
|
The tragedy was ended and the perpetrators were out of reach
before the guard arrived at the jail. The bodies of the victims were at
first laid in a lower room of the jail building, and as soon as possible
were removed to Hamilton's tavern. |
|
|
| Ford
arrests and conceals messenger |
|
Gov. Ford, with his troops, when three miles out from Nauvoo,
met the messenger who had been dispatched to that city with the news, arrested
him and took him back to Carthage, fearing the Mormons would arm and avenge
the blood of their leaders before he could place himself at a safe distance.
|
|
|
| Residents
flee Carthage |
|
At Carthage he found all parties in the utmost consternation.
The inhabitants were busily packing up and fleeing for life. Old men, women
and children, with cart and wagon loads of furniture and bedding, and droves
of cattle, hogs and mules, fled in the greatest confusion from the blood-stained
town. |
|
|
| The
bodies are taken to Nauvoo |
|
Dr. Richards, Taylor, Hamilton, and a Mr. Southwick were the
only living persons left in the town during the night, and they kept watch
by the dead bodies. On the [-] day the corpses, wet with blood, were put
into boxes of rough oak boards, covered with prairie hay and an Indian horse
blanket, and thus were carried to Nauvoo. |
|
|
| Ford
calls out Legion, calls for quiet, leaves for Quincy |
|
Meanwhile Gov. Ford had issued an order to the Nauvoo legion
to defend their city till help could be sent them, and had sent a letter
to Mrs. Emma Smith, by Dr. Richards, advising quiet and patience, and in
twenty minutes thereafter was hurrying over the prairie towards Quincy,
confidently expecting that the morrow's son would find only heaps of stone
and ashes to mark the place where Carthage had been. |
|
|
|
|
Three days later he was receiving and making fashionable calls
in Quincy. |
|
|
| News
reaches Nauvoo in early morning |
|
Intelligence of
THE DEATH Of SMITH
reached Nauvoo early in the morning after the assassination, and fell with
terrible effect upon the entire community. The prophet of God had been shot
by the cowardly. Their feelings were akin to those of the early apostles
when they learned that Jesus had been crucified. |
|
|
|
|
While preparations were being made to [-] the bodies, Dr.
Richmond repaired to the tavern of the prophet, to witness the [-] with
his family. His own words will best describe the heartrending details. He
says: |
|
|
| Richmond
describes scene at Mansion House |
|
"When I entered the Mansion I found the wife of Joseph
seated in a chair in the center of a small room, weeping and wailing bitterly,
in a loud and unrestrained voice, her face covered with her hands.
"Rev. Mr. Greene came in and as the bitter cries of the weeping women
reached his ears, he burst forth in tones of manly grief, and, trembling
in every move, approached Mrs. Smith and exclaimed: "Oh, Sister Emma,
God bless you!" Then clasping her hand in his hands, he uttered a long
and fervent prayer for her peace, protection and resignation. |
|
|
| Emma's
cry |
|
The first words the poor woman uttered were "Why, O God,
am I thus afflicted? Why am I a widow and my children orphans? Thou knowest
I have always trusted in thy law."
Mr. Greene rejoined to her that this affliction would be to [3] her a crown
of life. She answered quickly: |
|
|
|
|
"'MY HUSBAND WAS MY CROWN;
"'for him and my children I have suffered the loss of all things; and
why, O God, am I thus deserted, and my bosom torn with this ten-fold anguish?' |
|
|
| Lucy |
"I passed into the next room, and the aged mother of
Joseph and Hyrum looked up to me with a gaze of wild despair, and clasping
me with both hands she asked me why they had shot her dear children. Her
eyes were dry, and her anguish seemed too deep for tears. She paced the
room, turned around, went to the window, and then to the door of the room
where Joseph's wife was still weeping, and Mr. Greene still praying. |
| Joseph
and Emma's children |
|
"In another room the children of Joseph were huddled
together, the eldest, an adopted daughter, I think, being about eighteen.
Two young boys were lying on the floor, and other two were kneeling over
them, mingling their grief in one wild scream of childish despair. |
|
|
Hyrum's
home
Mary in shock |
|
"At the home of Hyrum, a little way
off, the scene was not less heart rending. His wife had gathered her family
of four children into the sitting room, and the youngest about four years
old sat on her lap. The poor and disabled that fed at the table of her husband,
had come in and formed a group of about twenty about the room. They were
all sobbing and weeping, each expressing his grief in his own peculiar way.
Mrs. Smith seemed stupefied with horror at the deed. |
|
|
| Phelps
and Ford aid address citizens |
|
"While the scenes were being enacted in the city, the
bodies were on the way from Carthage. To preserve peace and prepare the
citizens to endure the ordeal with resignation, a general assembly was called
at 10 o'clock a.m. which was addressed by W. W. Phelps, and by Col. [Buckmaster?],
of [Alton?], aide-de-camp to Gov. Ford. |
|
|
|
|
"NO ONE THOUGHT OF REVENGE: |
|
|
| Bodies
arrive |
|
"all seemed overpowered with grief. At 3
o'clock in the afternoon the bodies arrived in charge of the marshal, Samuel
H. Smith, the only surviving brother of the murdered men, and followed by
Dr. Richards, and Mr. Hamilton, of Carthage. They were received near the
temple grounds, by general Joseph Smith's staff, the major general and staff,
the brigadier general and staff, and other commanders of the legion, the
city council, and a vast concourse of citizens. The officials formed around
the bodies, the masses silently sobbing to give them way, and as the mournful
procession moved on, the women broke out in lamentations at the sight of
the two rude boxes in the wagon, covered by the Indian blanket. |
|
|
| Weeping |
"The weeping was communicated to the crowd, and spread
along the vast waves of humanity extending from the Temple to the residence
of the Prophet. The groans and sobs and shrieks grew deeper and louder till
the sound resembled the roar of a mighty tempest, or the slow, deep, roar
of the distant tornado. |
| Mansion
House |
|
"When the bodies arrived at the mansion of Mrs. Emma
Smith, the people numbering eight or ten thousand, mostly Mormons, and in
close sympathy with the deceased, pressed about the house and the loud wails
of the mourners outside, and of the family within, were truly terrible.
Means to divert the multitude were finally in requisition, to aid in making
way for the removal of the bodies into the house. |
|
|
| Attorneys |
|
"Judge Phelps, Dr. Richards and Messrs. Woods and Reed—the
two latter having been the Smiths' counsel—moved in different places
[-] Mr. Woods [-] of high [-] in his condemnation of the whole affair, and
careless and giddy part he had acted in not protecting the prisoners. |
|
|
| Bodies
laid out |
|
"The bodies were carried into the dining
room, and about a dozen resolute men who could stand the scent of blood
were selected to lay them out. This occupied an hour or more, and they were
then arranged near the west windows of the room, and their families were
brought in to take a first look at the dead husbands, children and fathers.
|
|
|
| Emma
faints |
|
" As the door opened the Prophet's wife entered with
two attendants. She advanced a few steps towards the body of Hyrum, swooned
and fell to the floor. Her friends raised her up and gave her water, but
she fainted again, and was carried out insensible.
"SIX TIMES SHE ATTEMPTED TO SEE THE BODIES,
"and six times she was removed in the arms of her two attendants. |
|
|
| Mary
enters |
|
"Hyrum's wife next entered
the room with her four orphans. She trembled at every step, and nearly fell,
but reached her husband's body, kneeling down by him, clasped her arms around
his head, turned his pale face upon her heaving bosom, and then a gushing,
plaintive wail burst forth from her lips: |
|
|
| Mary's
cry |
"'Oh! Hyrum, Hyrum! Have they shot you, my
dear Hyrum—are you dead, my dear Hyrum!' She drew him closer and closer
to her bosom, kissed her pale lips and face, put her hands on his brow and
brushed back his hair. Her grief seemed to consume her, and she lost all
power of utterance. Her two daughters and two young children clung, some
around her neck and some to her body, falling prostrate upon the corpse,
and shrieking in the wildness of their wordless grief. |
| Hyrum's
children |
"Her two daughters and two young children
clung, some around her neck and some to her body, falling prostrate upon
the corpse, and shrieking in the wildness of their wordless grief. |
| Emma
enters |
|
"In about ten minutes Mrs. Emma Smith, wife of the Prophet,
came again into the room, between two attendants, in a half swooning state.
She came toward the body of Hyrum, and knowing that the sensation of feeling
a cold, dead body exerted a calming effect on the human nerves, I took her
hand and laid it on Hyrum's brow and in a moment, her strength returned.
She murmured something in a low tone that I did not hear; her eyes opened,
and she said to her friends: |
|
|
| Emma's
cry |
|
"Now I can see him; I am strong now." She walked
alone to her husband's bed, kneeling down, clasped him around his face,
and sank upon his body. Suddenly her grief found vent; and sighs and groans
and words and lamentations filled the room. 'Joseph, Joseph,' she said,
'are you dead? Have the assassins shot you?' |
|
|
| Emma's
children |
|
"Her children four in number gathered around their weeping
mother and the dead body of a murdered father, and grief that words cannot
embody seemed to overwhelm the whole group. She continued to speak in low
tones, but none of the words were audible save those which I have recorded.
"WHILE THE TWO WIVES WERE BEWAILING |
|
|
| William
Morgan's wodpw |
|
"their loss, and prostrate on the floor with their eight
children, I noticed a lady standing at the head of Joseph Smith's body,
her face covered, and her whole frame convulsed with weeping. She was the
widow of William Morgan, of Masonic memory, and twenty years before had
stood over the body of her husband, found at the mouth of Oak Orchard Creek,
on Lake Ontario. She was now the wife of a Mr. Harris, whom she married
in Batavia, and who was a saint in the Mormon church, and a high Mason.
" I had called on her a few days previous to this occasion, and while
conversing with her, put my hand on a gilt-edged volume lying on the stand.
It was ‘Stearns on Masonry,' and contained the likeness of William
Morgan. She said she had taken it out, and thought if the mob did come,
and she was obliged to flee, or jump into the Mississippi, she would take
it with her. |
|
|
|
|
"THE MULTITUDE DISPERSED
"about dark, and next day was set apart for the people to come and
see the bodies of the two brothers. |
|
|
| Viewing
early next morning |
They commenced assembling at an early hour, and the city,
the river, and the surrounding country swarmed with men and women during
the whole day. The scene around the bodies of the dead men was too horrible
to witness. |
|
| Hyrum's
wounds |
"Hyrum was shot in the brain, and bled none, but by noon
his body was so swollen—the neck and face forming one bloated mass—that
no one could recognize [-] blood continued to pour out of his wounds, which
had been filled with cotton; the muscles relaxed and the [-] fluid trickled
down on the floor and formed in puddles across the room. |
|
| Stench
of death |
"Tar, vinegar and sugar were kept
burning on the stove to enable persons to stay in the apartment. In order
to see the bodies, thousand passed in at one door and out at another, tracking
the feet in the prophet's blood. The fumes of the tar and the stench of
death were terrible, and still from morning till night they came and went
and in the house for the live-long day the lament of sorrow was heard. |
|
| Crowd
disperses |
"The day was clear; the sun stole down on the western
sky and set in a cloudless field of blue, glancing his rays on the thronging
mass of nearly 20,000 persons, that now began to move off in every direction.
|
|
| Bodies
hidden in closet |
"The rooms were then cleared and the bodies put in coffins
and concealed in a small closet opening from the dining hall. Two bags of
sand had been prepared, and also two rough outside coffins into which the
other were apparently to be put, but instead of that these outside boxes
received the bags of sand and were sealed up. |
|
| Read
Revelation 6 |
"W. W. Phelps had called the populace away
to read to them the sixth chapter of Revelations. The prophet, on the day
before his death, while in jail at Carthage, had sent word to his followers
to read that chapter for it was about to be fulfilled. From this, and many
other acts in the man's life, it appears that he regarded himself as the
appointed instruments in God's hand to represent some new and singular event
in the history of men. |
|
| Crowd
returns to the residence |
|
"The multitude, after the reading, returned
to the residence of Joseph Smith and received
"WHAT THEY SUPPOSED TO BE THE BODIES OF THE TWO MEN,
"but in reality the families of the Smiths had resolved on burying
the bodies secretly, and concealing the fact from all persons but twelve
chosen friends and the families of the murdered men. |
|
|
| Bags
of sand switched with bodies |
"The coffins containing the bodies remained
secreted in the small closet, while the boxes and bags of sand were carried
in solemn procession to the city cemetery, followed by a vast concourse
who [-] and wept around the graves of the leaders whom they really supposed
they were burying." |
|
| Temple
tombs |
When the Mormons began to rear their gorgeous temple, two
tombs of hewn stone were built on the west side of the edifice, one for
Joseph Smith and the other for Sidney Rigdon. These vaults were both completed,
but friends dared not trust the bodies there for fear they would be violently
removed by enemies. |
|
| Marks
conducts funeral |
|
The task of conducting
THE ACTUAL BURIAL
was conducted by William Marks. |
|
|
| Richmond
denied permission to join |
|
"I was at the time," says the doctor, "staying
with this man as a guest and old friend, and became possessed of the facts
now stated through him. I made an earnest appeal, through him, to be permitted
to aid in carrying the bodies, at midnight, to their final resting place,
but as I was a total stranger to all but him they refused, on the ground
that it would be a breach of the regulations to which they had agreed to
adhere." |
|
|
| Twelve
graves |
|
Twelve graves had been secretly prepared for their reception,
and midnight was the appointed hour to remove the bodies. |
|
|
| Midnight
thunder storm |
|
At 12 o'clock precisely the bodies were brought from the closet
into the dining room. The orders were about to be given, when the labors
of all were arrested by a clap of thunder that shook the very heavens and
made the earth quake and tremble. The placid face of the Mississippi was
covered for a time with ripples, as though a light, sighing night-wind had
passed over the stream, breathing out a last requiem to the souls of the
departed. The day had been intensely hot; the sun set in glowing splendor
down behind the broad prairie; the night was calm and warm; the stars glimmered
in the blue dome of heaven; and no signs of a storm appeared. At about 10
oclock, a cloud, black and jagged, rose on the western horizon, rode slowly
up the vault of night, alone and unconnected with any other cloud, till
it hung directly in mid-air over the City of the Saints. |
|
|
| Midnight
move |
|
Precisely at 12 o'clock, while the men were removing the bodies
from the closet, and hid the coffin in their hands,
THIS [-], FRIGHTFUL PEAL
broke in the zenith fearful enough to stir the death in their shrouds.
|
|
|
| Men
fearful |
|
The bodies were deposited on the floor in singular
haste. The company became pale with terror, appalled by the strange fear
which death, darkness, and thunder create. A candle glimmering on the table,
revealed the faces to each other. |
|
|
| Superstition |
|
Popular superstition has always connected the movements in
nature with the death of singular and great men, and the doctor confesses
that this strange feeling came over him strongly at time he was standing
in the open street watching for the procession to pass out by a back way.
Two lighter peals quickly followed the grand explosion, the cloud retired
toward the horizon, and in an hour no signs of it were to be seen. |
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| Half
hour delay |
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It was half an hour before the friends could rally courage
enough to remove the bodies. They were alone with the dead, while enemies
all around them, and nature set men in commotion, hoarsely muttering among
the clouds of heaven.
During this parley they resolved on a new place of deposit for the bodies.
The reasons for this were thus given by Mr. Marks: |
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| Marks:
Joseph peculiar |
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He had been for ten years very intimately acquainted
with the prophet, and regarded him as a most singular and eccentric man.
Smith fully believed that he was to found a church that would last forever,
and at times showed strange freaks of personal behavior during the spring.
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Joseph's cave |
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Marks and Joseph had been spending the day in
a secluded part of the city grounds, and had visited a singular cave which
they had discovered and explored. When they returned they sat down on some
stones near the mouth of the cave, at the same time asking Marks if he knew
what the cave was intended for. Marks replied that he did not, and Smith
rejoined: "I do know and you will also. It is connected with my history."
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| Marks
makes connection |
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They then walked on, and incident had passed from
memory till the occurrence of the thunder clap, when Marks and the scene
returned to him with such force that he resolved at once to hide the bodies
in that cave. |
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| Bodies
deposited in cave |
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The facts were made known to the company and
that cave did become a part of the prophet's history, as the bodies were
carried thither, through the shades of night and deposited. |
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IT WAS ON THE NIGHT
of June 19 that the sepulcher in the cave was made, and only on July 1,
Phelps, Richards, and Taylor issued the following remarkable [directive?]
to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: |
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| Consolation
from Phelps, Richards, and Taylor |
|
Deeply [- - ] for the welfare of all, while mourning the great
loss of President Joseph Smith, our prophet and seer, we have considered
that the occasion demanded of us a word of consolation. As has been the
case in all ages, these saints have fallen martyrs for the truth's sake,
and their escape from a wicked world, in blood … |
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| Eliza
R. Snow poem |
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ANOTHER [-]
of the peculiar literature of the time is an indignant and yet pathetic
poem, written by Eliza R. Snow, a young lady who formerly resided in Auburn
O[hio]., and which evinces considerable genius and great [-] of character,
but the address, above given, will suffice to give a sufficiently definite
idea of the spirit that actuated the leaders in these trying times.
Their leaders had just been killed; they were menaced by enemies; the Governor
had sent a delegation from Quincy to ascertain whether they were for peace
or war; they had declared for peace, and the |
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THE BANNER OF BRIGHAM YOUNG … |
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| Story
of Joseph ejecting Baptist preacher |
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A WELL-AUTHENTICATED ANTECDOTE
of Joseph Smith proves that he was a disciple of muscular as well as revealed
religion on a certain occasion, one of his old enemies, a Baptist clergyman,
from New York, called on him, and began to rally him about his peculiar
religion. Smith bore the fellow's impudence with considerable composure
till it became insufferable, when that quietly known among prophets as "righteous
indignation" began to show itself. |
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He ordered the intruder from his house, and finally from his
yard, just outside of which there was an abrupt descent of ten feet or more.
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Then the clergyman leaned against the fence, and deeming
himself safe, redoubled his abuse. Presently Smith drew up his big, bony
fist, and by a well directed blow, sent him reeling down the precipice into
a heap of sand. |
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He spring to his feet in utter amazement at to unexpected
a revelation and started for his horse which he had left hitched near by.
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A man who happened to be riding at the moment was accosted
as "constable" by Smith, and ordered to seize the fellow for assault,
when the frightened clergyman leaped into his buggy, and, standing bold
upright, applied the whip vigorously to his steed, and made a most unorderly
exit from the prophet's city; the "constable" gave chase to insure
his departure and polish the fun. |
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| Joseph's
accomplishments |
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JOSEPH SMITH'S CAREER
was measured by sixteen years and yet he had organized a powerful church,
built cities and temples, and carried on war, been a presidential candidate,
and at his death was an extensive merchant, a hotel-keeper, had nearly 1,000
of land under cultivation, was major-general of the legion, mayor of Nauvoo,
first president of the church, prophet of the Lord, and preacher to the
Saints. A fanatic might have done all of these, but a fool never could have
compassed one of them. |
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Murder News Reaches Mary
Trials of Young Joseph F. Smith (1)
|