After 1844 it was my habit to keep a journal, in which I wrote at
length all that I considered worthy of remembering. Most of my
journals, written up to 1860, were called for by Brigham, under
the plea that he wished the Church historian to write up the
Mormon history, and wanted my journals to aid him in making the
history perfect. As these journals contained many things not
intended for the public eye concerning the Mormon leaders and all
I knew of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and what led to it, they
were never returned to me.
To proceed: I was at Far West when the Danites returned. They
brought Capt. Patton with them. He died that night, and his death
spread a mantle of gloom over the entire community. It robbed
many of their fond hope that they were invincible. If Fear Not
could be killed, who then might claim immunity from the missiles
of death hurled by Gentile weapons?
Up to this time I firmly believed what the Prophet and his
apostles had said on that subject. I had considered that I was
bullet-proof, that no Gentile ball could ever harm me or any
Saint, and I believed that a Danite could not be killed by
Gentile hands. I thought that one Danite would chase a thousand
Gentiles, and two could put ten thousand to flight.
Alas! my dream of security was over. One of our mighty men had
fallen, and by Gentile hands. My amazement at the fact was equal
to my sorrow for the death of the great warrior apostle. I had
considered that all the battles between Danites and Gentiles
would end like the election fight at Gallatin, and the only ones
to be injured would be the Gentiles.
We had been promised and taught by the Prophet and his Priesthood
that henceforth God would fight our battles, and I looked as a
consequence for a bloodless victory on the side of the Lord, and
that nothing but disobedience to the teachings of the Priesthood
could render a Mormon subject to injury from Gentile forces. I
believed as our leaders taught us, that all our sufferings and
persecutions were brought upon us by the all-wise God of Heaven
as chastisement to bring us together in unity of faith and strict
obedience to the requirements of the Gospel; and the feeling was
general that all our sufferings were the result of individual
sin, and not the fault of our leaders and spiritual guides.
We, as members of the Church, had no right to question any act of
our superiors; to do so wounded the Spirit of God, and would lead
to our own loss and confusion. Still, I was thunderstruck to hear
Joseph the Apostle say at the funeral of Capt. Patton that the
Mormons fell by the missiles of death the same as other men. He
also said that the Lord was angry with the people, for they had
been unbelieving and faithless; they had denied the Lord the use
of their earthly treasures, and placed their affections upon
worldly things more than upon heavenly things; that to expect
God's favor we must blindly trust him; that if the Mormons would
wholly trust in God the windows of heaven would be opened and a
shower of blessings sent upon the people; that all the people
could contain of blessings would be given as a reward for
obedience to the will of God as made known to mankind through the
Prophet of the ever-living God; that the Mormons, if faithful,
obedient, and true followers of the advice of their leaders,
would soon enjoy all the wealth of the earth; that God would
consecrate the riches of the Gentiles to the Saints.
This and much more he said to induce the people to obey the will
of the Priesthood. I believed all he said, for he supported it by
quotations from Scripture, and if I believed the Bible, as I did
most implicitly, I could not help believing in Joseph, the
prophet of God in these last days, Joseph declared that he was
called of God and given power and authority from heaven to do
God's will; that he had received the keys of the holy Priesthood
from the apostles Peter, James, and John, and had been dedicated,
set apart, and anointed as the prophet, seer, and revelator, and
sent to open the dispensation of the fullness of time, according
to the words of the apostles; that he was charged with the
restoration of the House of Israel, and to gather the Saints from
the four corners of the earth to the land of promise, Zion, the
Holy Land (Jackson County), and to the setting up of the Kingdom
of God preparatory to the second coming of Christ in the last
days. Every Mormon, true to his faith, believed as fully in
Joseph and his holy character as he did that God existed.
The Prophet Joseph was a most extraordinary man; he was rather
large in stature, some six feet two inches in height, well built,
though a little stoop-shouldered, with prominent and well-
developed features, a Roman nose, light chestnut hair, upper lip
full and rather protruding, chin broad and square, and an eagle
eye, and on the whole had something in his manner and appearance
that was bewitching and winning; his countenance was that of a
plain, honest man, full of benevolence and philanthropy and void
of deceit or hypocrisy. He was resolute and firm of purpose,
strong as most men in physical power, and all who saw were forced
to admire him, as he then looked and existed. In the sports of
the day, such as wrestling, he was over the average. Very few of
the Saints had the strength needed to throw the Prophet in a fair
tussle. In every gathering he was a welcome guest, and always
added to the amusement of the people, instead of dampening their
ardor.
During the time that we were camping at Adam-on-Diamond, waiting
to see what would be the result of the quarrel between our Church
and the Gentiles, one Sunday morning (it had rained heavily the
night before and the air was cold) the men were shivering over a
few firebrands, feeling out of sorts and quite cast down. The
Prophet came up while the brethren were moping around and caught
first one and then another and shook them up, and said:
"Get out of here, and wrestle; jump, run, do anything but mope
around; warm yourselves up; this inactivity will not do for
soldiers."
The words of the Prophet put life and energy into the men. A ring
was soon formed, according to the custom of the people. The
Prophet stepped into the ring, ready for a tussle with any comer.
Several went into the ring to try their strength, but each one
was thrown by the Prophet, until he had thrown several of the
stoutest of the men present. Then he stepped out of the ring and
took a man by the arm and led him in to take his place, and so it
continued - the men who were thrown retiring in favor of the
successful one. A man would keep the ring so long as he threw his
adversary.
The style of wrestling varied with the desires of the parties.
The Eastern men, or Yankees, used square hold, or collar and
elbow; those from the Middle States side hold, and the Southern
and Western men used breeches hold and old Indian hug or back
hold. If a man was hurt he stood it without a murmur; it was
considered cowardly and childish to whine when thrown or hurt in
the fall.
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 shields 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 balls
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 God 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 massacre at Haughn's Mill. The
description of this massacre was such as to freeze the blood of
each Saint, and force us to swear that revenge should come some
day.
The massacre 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 massacre 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,
passed 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 God, 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 massacre and examined his person. I saw the wounds, then
healed. I felt of them with my own hands, and I saw the shirt and
examined it, that he had on when he was shot, and it was cut in
shreds. Many balls had cut his clothing that had not touched his
person.
The massacre 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 God 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 damned!"
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 assignment of
property that the Mormons were to retain, a pass 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.
This mob rifled the city, took what they wished, and committed
many cruel and shameful deeds. These barbarous acts were done
because they said the Mormons had stolen their goods and
chattels, and while they pretended to search for stolen property
they ravished women and committed other crimes at will.
One day, while we were standing by a log fire trying to keep
warm, a man came up and, recognizing Brother Riley Stewart, said:
"I saw you knock Dick Weldon down at Gallatin."
With this he sprang and caught at an ax that had been stuck in a
log. While trying to get the ax out, as it stuck fast in the log,
Stewart ran. The man succeeded in getting the ax loose; he then
threw it with all his force at Stewart. Fortunately the ax struck
him only a glancing blow on the head, not killing him, but giving
him a severe wound.
The night after he was wounded Stewart broke through the guard
and escaped to his wife's people in Carroll County, fifty miles
south of Far West. As soon as the citizens heard that Stewart had
arrived they notified his wife's brothers and father that an
armed mob intended to take him out and whip him severely, and
then tar and feather him. His friends warned him of the fact, and
he attempted to make his escape, but the mob was on the watch.
They caught him, and, holding two pistols at his head, forced him
to take off his coat, kneel down, and receive fifty lashes. These
were given him with such force that they cut through his linen
shirt. After this whipping he returned to Far West and took his
chances with the rest of us.
One day a soldier of the mob walked up to a house near where I
was standing. The house was occupied by an old widow woman. The
soldier noticed a cow in the little shed near the house. He said
that he thought it was a Danite cow; that he wanted to have the
honor of killing a Danite, or something that belonged to a
Danite. The old widow came to the door of her cabin and begged
him to spare her cow, saying it was her only dependence for milk,
that she had no meat, and if her cow was killed she must suffer.
"Well, then," said he, "you can eat the cow for a change."
He then shot the cow dead, and stood there and tantalized the old
woman while she cried over her loss.
While we were standing in line, waiting our turn to sign the
treaty, a large company of men, painted like Indians, rode up and
surrounded us. They were a part of the men who were in the fight
at the town of Gallatin on the day of election. They abused us in
every way they could with words. This treatment was hard to bear,
but we were powerless to protect ourselves in any way.