BOGGS IN ACTION--DEFENSE CONSTRUED INTO OFFENSE.
This excitement in Daviess and surrounding counties, and the Indian
difficulties which were threatening about the same time, induced
Governor Boggs [A] to send an order to Gen. David R. Atchison, third
division of Missouri militia, ordering him to raise within the limits
of his district, four hundred mounted men, armed and equipped as
infantry or riflemen, to be held in readiness to quell disturbances
arising either from the excitement concerning the "Mormon" troubles, or
Indian outbreaks. This order was dated August 30, 1838.
[Footnote A: This was Lilburn W. Boggs who, during the troubles in
Jackson County, was lieutenant-governor of the State, and who not only
quietly looked on and saw the saints driven from their homes by mob
violence, but secretly aided and encouraged the mob in its atrocities.]
In order to show his willingness to honor the law, Joseph, under the
counsel of General Atchison, under whom and General Doniphan, Joseph
and Sidney Rigdon were studying law, volunteered to be tried for going
armed into Daviess County before the circuit judge, Austin A. King.
The judge was notified of Joseph's action, and the place selected for
trial was the house of a Brother Littlefield, about fifteen miles north
of Far West, where the little village of Winston is now located. But
as the plaintiff, Wm. P. Peniston, failed to put in an appearance, the
trial was postponed until the next day, to take place at the house of
a Mr. Raglin, one of the chief mobocrats. The result of the trial was
that Joseph and Lyman Wight were bound over in a five hundred dollar
bond to appear at the next session of the district court; though Judge
King afterwards said nothing worthy of bonds had been proven against
them.
The leaders of the mob had sent out representatives into the
surrounding counties, asking the people to join them in driving the
"Mormons" from the State. They were usually successful in getting
assistance, but when the people of Chariton County were appealed
to they determined to proceed carefully, and very wisely sent two
delegates to Caldwell and Daviess counties, to make inquiries as to the
cause of the excitement. These men were at Joseph's trial before Judge
King, and at its close accompanied him and his party to Far West, where
the information they received convinced them that there was no occasion
for the people of Chariton County to join with the surrounding counties
in an effort to drive the saints from their homes. Chariton County is
due east of Caldwell, with Carroll and Livingston intervening.
The whole country was in a state of intense excitement, and so many
wild rumors were afloat, that it was difficult to determine just what
the situation was. The brethren, however, were very active in moving
from point to point, wherever there was a threatened attack upon their
people. Hearing that a wagon load of arms and ammunition was _en route_
from Richmond to the mob infesting the vicinity of Diahman, Captain
Wm. Allred took a company of ten mounted men and started to intercept
the transport. They found the wagon broken down, and the boxes of guns
concealed near the roadside in the tall grass; but no one was in sight.
Shortly after this party had discovered the arms, they saw moving over
the prairie, from the direction of the mob's camp, two horsemen and
behind them a third man driving a team. These parties came up to the
broken down wagon and were arrested by Captain Allred, by virtue of
a writ he held for them issued by the civil authorities of Caldwell
County. The prisoners and the guns were taken to Far West, and after an
examination before Albert Petty, justice of the peace, they were held
to bail for their appearance at the next term of the circuit court. The
names of these parties were, J. B. Comer, held as principal, and Wm. L.
McHoney and Allen Miller as being in the employ of Comer, engaged in
furnishing a mob with arms for an illegal purpose.
Judge King was informed of the arrest of these men, and his advice was
asked as to what disposal should be made of the prisoners. He replied
that the prisoners must be turned loose and treated kindly. He had
no advice to give about the guns, and was at a loss to know how to
account for them being in the possession of Comer, as they belonged to
government, and had been in the custody of Captain Pollard, living in
the vicinity of Richmond. I have already related how the prisoners were
held to bail. The guns were distributed among the brethren to be used
in self-defense. A few days afterwards the prisoners were delivered up
to Gen. A. W. Doniphan; and forty-two stands of the firearms were also
collected and delivered to him.
The mob took a number of the brethren prisoners, and sent word to Far
West and other settlements that they were torturing them in the most
inhuman manner, by this means, doubtless, seeking to provoke the saints
to some act of cruelty upon their enemies that might fall into their
power, and thus give the mob an excuse for assaulting and driving the
"Mormon" community from the State.
All parts of the State were flooded with the falsehoods about "Mormon"
atrocities and cruelties--cruelties which never occurred. A bitter
prejudice, however, was manufactured against the saints, and people
generally believed the "Mormons" were capable of all the crimes known
to hardened, sinful wretches; and that they were unfit to live.
In the meantime, the militia Governor Boggs had ordered to be held
in readiness, was mustered into service. Under the direction of Gen.
Doniphan six companies of fifty men each were collected and armed from
the militia of Clay County, and at once marched into the vicinity of
Diahman. Here Doniphan found the citizens of Daviess and surrounding
counties to the number of two or three hundred under arms, and
commanded by Dr. Austin, from Carroll County. They claimed to have
collected solely for the purpose of defending the people of Daviess
County against the "Mormons." Doniphan read to them the order of his
superior officer, General Atchison, to disperse, but this they refused
to do.
"I had an interview," said Doniphan, "with Dr. Austin, and his
professions were all pacific. But they (Austin's men) still continued
under arms, marching and counter marching." The general also visited
the encampment of the brethren under the command of Colonel Lyman
Wight. Doniphan's report says: "We held a conference with him, and he
professed entire willingness to disband, and surrender up to me every
one of the 'Mormons' accused of crime; and required in return that the
hostile forces collected by the other citizens of the county, should
also disband." As they refused to obey the order to disband, the safety
of the brethren and their families required that they should continue
under arms; and General Doniphan took up a position between the two
opposing forces, hoping that if the parties were kept apart, in a few
days they would disband without coercion.
In the course of two or three days General Atchison arrived with a
body of militia from Ray County. He at once ordered the citizens
from the surrounding counties to repair to their respective homes, a
movement they began to make with many signs of reluctance. Only about
one hundred of them obeyed the order. Atchison reported to Governor
Boggs, that he had received assurance from the "Mormons" that all those
accused of a violation of the laws would be in for trial the very day
on which his report was dated--the 17th of September, 1838. "And," says
the report, "when that is done, the troops under my command will be no
longer required in this county, if the citizens of other counties will
retire to their respective homes."
A day or two after this report, Atchison succeeded in disbanding the
mob forces; and the brethren against whom charges were trumped up
appeared before a court of inquiry and entered into bonds to appear
at the next session of the circuit court. This much having been
accomplished, Atchison thought it no longer needful to keep his whole
force of militia in the field, hence he dismissed all his forces except
two companies, which were left in the vicinity, under the command of
Brigadier-General H. G. Parks. In reporting these latter movements to
the governor, Atchison says in conclusion:
The "Mormons" of Daviess County, as I stated in a former report, were
encamped in a town called Adam-ondi-Ahman, and they are headed by
Lyman Wight, a bold, brave, skillful, and I may add, a desperate man;
they appear to be acting on the defensive, and I must further add,
gave up the offenders with a good deal of promptness. The arms taken
by the "Mormons" and the prisoners were also given up upon demand with
cheerfulness.
The forces, then, which had been called out by order of General
Atchison were disbanded, except the two companies that were left under
the command of General Parks. Parks and these men remained in the
vicinity of Diahman, watching both "Mormons" and Gentiles, assisting
in serving civil process, and reporting occasionally to his superior
officers. As these reports come from a source that is other than a
"Mormon" one, he is a witness to the uprightness of the acts of the
"Mormon" people at that time of considerable importance; and this
must be our excuse for inserting several extracts from his official
reports. In a report which Parks made to Governor Boggs, on the 25th of
September, occurs the following:
Whatever may have been the disposition of the people called "Mormons"
before our arrival here, since we have made our appearance, they have
shown no disposition to resist the law or of hostile intentions. There
has been so much prejudice and exaggeration concerned in this matter,
that I found things entirely different from what I was prepared to
expect. When we arrived here, we found a large body of men from the
counties adjoining, armed and in the field, for the purpose, as I
learned, of assisting the people of this county against the "Mormons,"
without being called out by the proper authorities.
In the meantime, a committee of old citizens had agreed to meet with a
committee appointed by the saints in Daviess County, for the purpose
of making arrangements for either buying the property of the saints,
or of selling theirs to the brethren. Speaking of this committee in a
postscript to the above report, Parks says: "I received information
that if the committee do not agree, the determination of the Daviess
County men is to drive the 'Mormons' with powder and lead."
Two days later than the date of Parks' report, General Atchison wrote
to the governor, saying:
The force under General Parks is deemed sufficient to execute the laws
and keep the peace in Daviess County. Things are not so bad in that
county as represented by rumor, and in fact from affidavits. I have no
doubt your Excellency has been deceived by the exaggerated statements
of designing or half crazy men. I have found there is no cause of
alarm on account of the "Mormons;" they are not to be feared; they are
very much alarmed.
These statements, accompanied by the former statements of Atchison and
Doniphan, which said the "Mormons" were only acting on the defensive,
and had surrendered the arms they had taken from the mob, together with
the prisoners, with promptness and cheerfulness, prove that the saints
in collecting and arming were merely acting in self-defense, and not
with any desire to outrage the laws or injure the Missourians.