WAR TIMES, 1857.
Deposit of Church Records in Temple Foundation.--Approach of
the Army.--Present of a Team.--John D. Lee.--Visit of Captain
Van Vliet.--Lot Smith.--Col. Alexander Writes President
Young.--Communication from Governor Cumming to Governor
Young.--Miraculous Escapes.--High Price of Salt at Army
Headquarters.--Prediction of Calamity to the Nation.--A Poetic Tribute
by Eliza R. Snow.
Apostle Woodruff was asked by President Young to notify the Twelve
to meet at the Temple foundation, on August 13th. The purpose of the
meeting was to deposit the works of the Church in the foundation of
the Temple and to dedicate the corner-stone containing the deposit.
About 7 o'clock in the morning, President Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow,
Franklin D. Richards, also Elders Truman O. Angel, Alonzo H. Raleigh,
Benjamin F. Mitchell, Jonathan Pugmire, Jr., Edward L. Parry, Henry
Maiben, Jesse C. Little, Albert Carrington, John Lyon, Joseph A. Young,
and Brigham Young, sons of Brigham Young, met on the grounds where
President Young and Wilford Woodruff packed about 65 books, chiefly
Church works, and a number of coins in a stone box, whose dimensions
were as follows: length 2 1/2 feet, depth 20 inches, and width 19
inches. At 15 minutes to 8 o'clock the lid was put on, soldered with
lead and covered with plaster of paris. The stone box was turned bottom
side up and placed in the south-east corner. After this a dedicatory
prayer was offered by President Young.
Three days later, President Young delivered a discourse to the
thousands who had congregated for the purpose of receiving instructions
with reference to the policy to be pursued respecting the approach
of the so-called Johnston's army. There was naturally a great deal
of anxiety and heartfelt prayer over a situation that seemed to
forebode nothing but evil and misfortune to the Saints. The vast
multitude, however, with uplifted hands pledged {385} their support to
the President and the leaders of the Church. It was one of the most
important days, says Elder Woodruff, ever witnessed in Israel.
On September 5th, a messenger arrived with the news that General
Johnston was at Ash Hollow, with nearly 2,000 men who were traveling
fifteen miles per day. The people were promised that, if they would
follow counsel, they should never be driven from the Valleys.
The spirit of the times, and the willingness of men to make any
sacrifice are well illustrated in a little circumstance which at this
point Elder Woodruff records in his journal. President Young had sent
for him and asked if he had a team, to which the latter replied: "'Yes,
I have a pair of small ponies.'
"'Can you spare them?' he asked.
"I hesitated a moment and then answered, 'Yes, I can do anything that
is wanted.'
"President Young then said: 'I have a pair of good horses which I wish
you to have as you are laboring here in the Historian's Office.
"I was taken by surprise, but accepted them and felt very thankful.
They were a fine, large team of sorrel horses."
The Saints now realized that though far away in the Valleys of the
Mountains, they were nevertheless the objects of hatred by many
throughout the nation. Men sought popularity among the masses by
denouncing them. At this time, Stephen A. Douglas was receiving
"honorable mention" for President of the United States. He had known
President Joseph Smith in the early days of the Church, and had
defended him against the injustice of his enemies, but he knew how
unpopular the people were and sought the support of the masses in a
bitter denunciation of the Saints. Elder Woodruff says that Sunday,
August 30th, President Young, himself, and others were engaged in
a discussion of the Douglas speech, which was answered by Albert
Carrington.
Captain Van Vliet of the United States army reached the city on the
8th of September, and at once had an interview with Governor Young.
The next day he met with the Presidency and the Twelve and presented
a letter of introduction to Governor Young which was read to those
present. Little, it seems, was said on {386} this occasion, but there
was a deep-seated anxiety in the hearts of all those present. Later
in the day, the President introduced the Captain to his wives and
children. He then escorted him through his orchard and garden, and then
went with him to Albert Carrington's orchard, where he introduced the
Captain to Mrs. Carrington. He asked her if she was willing to destroy
her beautiful orchard and leave it desolate for her religion's sake.
She said she was, and would remain up nights to do so if it became
necessary.
The Captain was much impressed by the thrift and industry of the
Latter-day Saints, and in his interview with President Young said:
"The Mormons have been lied about more than any people I ever knew."
He admitted his belief that Judge Drummond's lies, charging the Saints
with burning court records, led to the sending of the army to Utah.
Governor Young thereupon told Captain Van Vliet of the impositions that
had been heaped upon the Latter-day Saints, and said that the people
did not wish to fight the United States. "If we are driven to it, we
shall put our trust in God and do the best we can. He has set His
kingdom upon the earth and it will never fail; and if they drive us to
fight, God will overthrow those who do so. We are the supporters of the
United States Constitution. We love the Constitution and the laws of
our country, but it is the corrupt administration of these laws that
we suffer from and not from the laws. If the laws had been enforced
in Missouri, Governor Boggs would have been hanged and many of his
friends who took part in killing and driving the Saints. The government
officers who have been sent here have no interest in common with ours.
They have sought to destroy us. Captain Van Vliet, we have treated all
men who have been sent to us as government officials as well as we have
you, and will treat them well; but if they drive us to fight, we shall
put our trust in God and do the best we can."
The Captain, who was deeply impressed by the statement of Governor
Young, felt thoroughly convinced that he meant every word he said.
On the 13th he attended services in the Tabernacle and listened with
attention to sermons from John Taylor and President Brigham Young. On
the evening of that day, the Captain had another interview with the
leaders, in the course of which he said: "If our government pushes
forward this thing and {387} makes war against you, I shall withdraw
from the army, for I will not take a hand in shedding the blood of
American citizens."
Upon the departure of Captain Van Vliet, Elder Woodruff presented
him with a box of peaches which he had raised in his own garden. The
Captain was accompanied by Dr. Bernhisel. The two departed together for
the East for the purpose of reporting conditions in Utah.
All the time these agitations were going on, the Saints pursued the
even tenor of their ways, raising fruit and grain. There were home
missionaries among them preaching home industry and self-support.
The purpose of the authorities was to impede the progress of the army
and so delay it that the government might have an opportunity to make
an investigation into the real condition of affairs in Utah, and after
learning them, withdraw the army which was then approaching Salt Lake
City. A body of men under the command of Daniel H. Wells and Lot Smith
had been sent to the front to stop the progress of the army. This
they did by stampeding the cattle and horses. They were enjoined by
President Young to avoid the shedding of blood except in self-defense.
Those who had thus volunteered to act in the defense of their homes
and their liberties were without sufficient equipments and provisions
to sustain them in their defensive warfare. They had no well-equipped
commissary like that with which an army is provided. The teams and
wagons were a part of the equipment which belonged to the farm. They
were needed at home. Very naturally in such an emergency they suffered
great privations and were anxious that the difficulties and dangers
might end as speedily as possible.
Before Captain Van Vliet had left, he promised to hasten to Washington
and speak in our favor. President Young told him that the Lord would
bless him in so doing, for he felt that He had sent him to Utah. On his
return, the Captain endeavored to persuade the army to remain at Ham's
Fork for the winter, but the Tenth regiment swore it would come on at
all hazards. The Captain then informed them that if they did, they
would get a different reception from anything they had ever encountered
before.
Just at this time, when the advance of the army was the all-absorbing
{388} topic and the dangers of its approach weighed heavily upon the
leaders, John D. Lee added to their distress the news of the Mountain
Meadow massacre. He had reached Salt Lake City from his home in Harmony
on the 29th of September, 1857.
At this place in his record and at this time, Apostle Woodruff gives
the account of the Mountain Meadow massacre which John D. Lee gave to
President Young: "A company of California emigrants of about 150 men,
women, and children, many of them belonging to the mobbers of Illinois
and Missouri, had been massacred. They had many cattle and horses with
them. As they traveled along south, they went damning Brigham Young,
Heber C. Kimball and the heads of the Church, saying that Joseph Smith
ought to have been shot long before he was. They wanted to do all the
evil they could, so they poisoned beef and gave it to the Indians and
some of them died. They poisoned the springs of water and some of the
Saints died. The Indians became enraged at their conduct and surrounded
them on a prairie. The emigrants formed a bulwark of their wagons,
but the Indians fought them five days until they killed all their
men--about 60 in number. They then rushed into the corral and cut the
throats of their women and children, except some eight or ten children
which they brought with them and sold to the whites.
"The Indians then stripped the men and women of their clothing and left
them in the broiling sun. When Brother Lee found it out, he took some
men with him to the place and buried their bodies. It was a horrible
task. The whole air was filled with an awful stench. The Indians
obtained all their property, cattle, horses, wagons, etc. There was
another large company of emigrants who had 1,000 head of cattle. They
were also damning both Indians and Mormons, but were afraid of sharing
the same fate. Brother Lee had to send interpreters with them to the
Indians to try to save their lives."
The foregoing statement from the journal of Elder Woodruff which was
recorded at that time is of special importance in view of the fact that
the enemies of the Church for years endeavored to fasten upon President
Young some responsibility for that awful affair. There is nothing in
the statement whatever which bears the least semblance of deception.
It was one of those straightforward {389} records which characterize
Elder Woodruff's journal from beginning to end. Then the character and
integrity of the man are both guarantees of the truthfulness of the
statement made by John D. Lee to President Young as recorded in Elder
Woodruff's journal.
If President Young neglected at this time to give the report of John
D. Lee as much attention as it perhaps should have received, and if an
investigation was not immediately instituted, there is ample excuse to
be found in the circumstances of those times. The army was pressing
upon the people and uttering dire threats as to what would take place
when it reached the Valleys.
Immediately following the record of John D. Lee's visit, Elder
Woodruff says in his journal: "An express came in at night saying that
the troops were near Bridger and had formed into three bodies while
traveling. General Wells sent word to President Young to let them come
on to Echo Canyon and there give them battle. At 6 o'clock on the
morning of the 30th the drums beat, and an army of soldiers, some 400
in number, paraded the streets. They were in readiness to march at a
moment's notice to the seat of war. We had at this time about 800 men
in the mountains. It was a solemn time; for the armies of the Gentiles
were making war upon us because of our religion, and we had to defend
ourselves against a nation of 25,000,000 people, and the war had just
commenced. We had to trust in God for the results. We resolved to do
what we could and leave the work in His hands. All were anxiously
awaiting the arrival of the express. I told President Young that I was
on hand at any moment to go into the mountains when he would say the
word. I went up in the evening to the President's office and learned
that the California mail had arrived. I heard some letters read. One
stated that the government had made arrangements to send light draft
boats up the Colorado with men and arms against us from that point.
"Next morning, Oct. 1st, I arose early and looked for an express signal
flag but saw none. There was a great deal of anxiety throughout the day
while we were waiting, for the express had arrived late. Word came from
General Wells respecting the conditions existing at the seat of war."
The time for conference was now approaching, but the agitation {390}
among the people about the approach of the army was so great, and there
were so many of the men absent, that the meetings were not largely
attended. The conference continued only two days, the time being
occupied by President Young and members of the Twelve.
On Oct. 8th an express arrived with the news that Captain Lot Smith had
burned up fifty of the government wagons, but gave to the teamsters all
their arms and ammunition. One deserter from the army came in reporting
that rations were short among the soldiers. To each man, he said, there
was allowed only three biscuits, two cups of coffee and a small piece
of beef per day. Elder Woodruff writes: "The enemy is in a close place.
Their provisions are rapidly diminishing and there are prospects of
starvation. We have prayed that the Lord would lead them into the pit
which they had prepared for the Saints, and the Lord heard our prayers
and our enemies are now in a trap and are suffering humiliation without
us harming a hair of their heads."
The express which arrived on the 16th of October brought a threatening
letter from Col. Alexander to President Young. He threatened
extermination if the Saints resisted, and expressed confidence in his
ability to carry out the orders of the government. Governor Young sent
the Colonel a strong reply; wanted to know why he spent an entire
month on Ham's Fork if he was confident in his ability to carry out
orders. He gave the Colonel to understand that on our part there was no
surrender. "We shall trust in God and go ahead."
The Sunday following, President Young addressed the Saints and declared
his belief in their ability to keep the enemy back, and counseled the
people to go on with their farming, fruit raising, etc. President
Kimball arose and prophesied that if the Saints would hearken to
counsel they would continue to live in their own homes in the valleys,
produce crops, and remain until they returned to Jackson County,
Missouri. President Young thereupon shouted out, "I believe it." At the
same time, communications were coming in from the army, but they only
received from him the same determined answer that the army should not
enter Salt Lake Valley until conditions had changed and the sentiment
of bitterness and hostility had been allayed.
{391} About the same time Governor Cumming arrived at the headquarters
of the army and sent a communication to Governor Young, in which he
declared himself the Governor of Utah. At the same time he charged
with treason all who opposed his and the army's movement. Mr. Cumming
no doubt felt some misgivings from the fact that the horses and mules
belonging to the army were dying by the hundreds, and the soldiers were
short of provisions. The difficulty of the situation was rendered worse
from the fact that there existed both among the officers and soldiers a
pronounced division. Some of them openly declared that Governor Young
was perfectly justified in his course in defending the rights of the
people of Utah.
In December the Mormon soldiers were disbanded and allowed to return
home for the winter, and the change was welcomed by them. Their
provisions were not more than half their actual wants, and there were
no comforts on the frontier. In summing up the condition of affairs
at the close of the year Apostle Woodruff writes: "The expedition of
the season is now entirely closed, and we have clearly seen the hand
of the Lord made visible in our behalf. An army has been sent by the
United States to make war upon us for the sole purpose of destroying
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church has been
driven from the confines of the United States into the Rocky Mountains,
then a Mexican Territory, with the hope of the nation that we should
perish; but as soon as they found that we were to live and prosper
they became alarmed and resolved upon our destruction. As soon as this
intention was known to us, the leader of the Church and Kingdom of God
arose up in the strength of Israel's God and proclaimed Israel free. In
this, his counselors, Heber C. Kimball and D. H. Wells, with the Twelve
Apostles, sustained him, and all the people said, 'Amen.'"
Continuing, Elder Woodruff wrote: "From two to three thousand of the
brethren, who went into the mountains under the command of Gen. D. H.
Wells to hedge up the way of the enemy, have arrived. Our brethren made
large entrenchments and ditches and piled up large masses of rocks
above the narrow passes for the purpose of rolling them down upon the
enemy; but the Lord has fought our battles and hedged up the way. When
the army {392} reached Ham's Fork, 150 miles from our city, the storms
and cold killed their horses, mules, and cattle, by the hundreds, so
that when the whole army got together with the governors and judges,
whom the government had sent to rule over us, they had not teams enough
left to draw one-third of their train and were obliged to stop and pass
the winter in the storms of the mountains. Their wisdom seems to be
taken from them, and our brethren have been able to herd them like a
herd of cattle. The soldiers shot grape and musket and many balls at
our men from time to time, and those balls fell like hail around the
servants of God, but not a drop of their blood has been shed, neither
did the brethren return fire upon the enemy even in a single instance.
Fear had so taken hold of the soldiers that they would flee into the
main body of the army at the approach of a small number of our brethren.
"Through all this President Young has been as calm as a summer's day.
The army of Zion is now returning to its home with the same spirit of
composure and quietude that it carried with it into the mountains. As
the men passed, on their return, by President Young, they gave him a
quiet salute and went silently to their homes, while President Young
gazed upon them with thanksgiving and praise to the God of Israel."
President Woodruff here relates the circumstance of a Brother Maxwell
who had been in charge of a small scouting party: "After going into
camp for the night, Elder Maxwell felt strongly impressed that danger
confronted him and his companions, and so informed them. He said they
would have to leave, but some were opposed to his recommendation and
they retired to rest. The same impression, however, increased upon
Elder Maxwell until he promptly arose from his bed and said they must
all leave or serious trouble would befall them. His brethren quickly
followed, and it was only a short time when a hundred men surrounded
the place of their encampment with the expectation of taking them
prisoners."
"At another time, Col. Allen of the Mormons, fell a prisoner in the
hands of the enemy. Col. Johnston threatened to hang him. At the camp
fire at night Col. Allen took off his boots and pretended to warm his
feet. Suddenly, he leaped by the guard and ran into a herd of cattle.
His pursuers became confused and he made {393} good his escape. He ran
thirty miles to the camp of his brethren, in his stocking feet."
During these trying circumstances in the army, President Young sent
some salt which they needed very much. One of the sacks of salt which
was sent, however, was lost, and later picked up by a traveler who
sold it to merchants for twenty dollars. They in turn sold it to the
soldiers for two hundred dollars. Ben Simons, a Cherokee, took to the
army nine hundred pounds of salt, which he sold for two dollars and a
half a pound, or a total of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars.
He sold them service berries for one dollar a pound. It will be seen
that the expedition was becoming a very expensive piece of folly.
As the year was closing, the legislature convened, and Elder Woodruff
was again a member of that body. In his journal, speaking of these
times, he prophecies: "The judgments of God will now begin to rest
more fully upon this nation and will be increased upon it, year by
year. Calamities will come speedily upon it and it will be visited with
thunder, lightning, storms, whirlwinds, floods pestilence, plagues,
war and devouring fire; and the wicked will slay the wicked until the
wicked are wasted away."
His journal closes with a copy of the poem dedicated to him by Eliza R.
Snow.
POEM.
"With true respect, and as a tribute due
To friendship, Brother Woodruff, unto you,
As one more blessed than most your fellow men,
I now address the effusion of my pen.
You were appointed, ere your mortal birth,
To an apostleship upon the earth;
The Lord our God has His eye on thee,
With watchful care from earliest infancy.
You were preserved, midst Babylonish night,
From atheistic and sectarian blight;
From manly rectitude you did not swerve,
The Priest of Baal you never stooped to serve.
{394} From heavenly courts, the light that's shining now,
Shone on your path, and mantled o'er your brow;
Eternal visions opened to your view,
You loved the truth and found salvation, too.
You then with joy the Gospel banner bore
To distant lands and on your native shore,
In truth's defense most valiantly you stood,
And cleared your garments of the Gentiles' blood.
One of the chosen Twelve, who're called to stand,
To turn the Gospel key for every land;
Your name in honor, as a faithful one,
To future generations will be known.
With heart inspired, rich matter to indite,
In Zion now your business is to write,
With skill you wield the ready writer's pen;
'Tis yours to immortalize the deeds of men.
Full many a righteous act and gifted word
By Saints performed from lips of prophets heard,
Had slipped the mem'ries of judicious men,
But for the promptings of your faithful pen.
The Church historian's labors to divide,
As his assistant coupled side by side,
You write for Zion, where her history's known,
Inscribing her's, perpetuates your own.
Faithful to God, to your brethren true,
Integrity has twined a wreath for you,
Of never-fading laurels, which will be,
A glorious coronet eternally.
In that blessed world, where light and knowledge dwell,
Your blessedness no earthly tongue can tell,
Where heaven's effulgence will your head surround,
And you with everlasting glory crowned.
{395} Filled with immortal majesty and might,
Associated with the Gods of light,
With gifts and powers of endless lives you'll be,
Progressing on and on eternally."
{396}