10. Wine, oil, refreshment: he was heal’d;

I had myself a wound conceal’d,

But from that hour forgot the smart,

And peace bound up my broken heart.

11. In prison I saw him next, condemn’d

To meet a traitor’s doom at morn;

The tide of lying tongues I stemm’d,

And honor’d him ’mid shame and scorn.

12. My friendship’s utmost zeal to try,

He asked if I for him would die;

The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill;

But the free spirit cried “I will.”

13. Then in a moment to my view

The stranger started from disguise;

The tokens in his hands I knew;

The Savior stood before mine eyes.

14. He spake--and my poor name he named--

“Of me thou hast not been ashamed;

These deeds shall thy memorial be;

Fear not; thou didst them unto me.”

The song is pathetic, and the tune quite plaintive, and was very much

in accordance with our feelings at the time, for our spirits were all

depressed, dull, and gloomy, and surcharged with indefinite ominous

forebodings. After a lapse of some time, Brother Hyrum requested me

again to sing that song. I replied, “Brother Hyrum, I do not feel like

singing;” when he remarked, “Oh! never mind; commence singing, and you

will get the spirit of it.” At his request I did so. Soon afterward

I was sitting at one of the front windows of the jail, when I saw a

number of men, with painted faces, coming round the corner of the

jail, and aiming toward the stairs. The other brethren had seen the

same, for, as I went to the door, I found Brother Hyrum Smith and Dr.

Richards already leaning against it; they both pressed against the door

with their shoulders to prevent its being opened, as the lock and latch

were comparatively useless. While in this position, the mob, who had

come up stairs, and strove to open the door, probably thought it was

locked, and fired a ball through the keyhole; at this Dr. Richards and

Brother Hyrum leaped back from the door, with their faces toward it;

almost instantly another ball passed through the panel of the door, and

struck Brother Hyrum on the left side of the nose, entering his face

and head; simultaneously, at the same instant, another ball from the

outside entered his back, passing through his body and striking his

watch. The ball came from the back, through the jail window, opposite

the door, and must, from its range, have been fired from the Carthage

Grays, as the balls of fire-arms, shot close by the jail, would have

entered the ceiling, we being in the second story, and there never

was a time after that Hyrum could have received the latter wound.

Immediately, when the balls struck him, he fell flat on his back,

crying as he fell, “I am a dead man!” He never moved afterward.

I shall never forget the feeling of deep sympathy and regard manifested

in the countenance of Brother Joseph as he drew nigh to Hyrum, and,

leaning over him, exclaimed, “Oh! my poor, dear brother Hyrum.” He,

however, instantly arose, and with a firm, quick step, and a determined

expression of countenance, approached the door, and pulling the

six-shooter left by Brother Wheelock from his pocket, opened the door

slightly, and snapped the pistol six successive times; only three of

the barrels, however, were discharged. I afterward understood that two

or three were wounded by these discharges, two of whom, I am informed,

died. I had in my hands a large, strong hickory stick, brought there

by Brother Markham, and left by him, which I had seized as soon as I

saw the mob approach; and while Brother Joseph was firing the pistol,

I stood close behind him. As soon as he had discharged it he stepped

back, and I immediately took his place next the door, while he occupied

the one I had done while he was shooting. Brother Richards, at this

time, had a knotty walking-stick in his hands belonging to me, and

stood next to Brother Joseph, a little farther from the door, in an

oblique direction, apparently to avoid the rake of the fire from the

door. The firing of Brother Joseph made our assailants pause for a

moment; very soon after, however, they pushed the door some distance

open, and protruded and discharged their guns into the room, when I

parried them off with my stick, giving another direction to the balls.

It certainly was a terrible scene: streams of fire as thick as my arm

passed by me as these men fired, and, unarmed as we were, it looked

like certain death. I remember feeling as though my time had come,

but I do not know when, in any critical position, I was more calm,

unruffled, and energetic, and acted with more promptness and decision.

It certainly was far from pleasant to be so near the muzzles of those

fire-arms as they belched forth their liquid flame and deadly balls.

While I was engaged in parrying the guns, Brother Joseph said, “That’s

right, Brother Taylor; parry them off as well as you can.” These were

the last words I ever heard him speak on earth.

Every moment the crowd at the door became more dense, as they were

unquestionably pressed on by those in the rear ascending the stairs,

until the whole entrance at the door was literally crowded with

muskets and rifles, which, with the swearing, shouting, and demoniacal

expressions of those outside the door and on the stairs, and the firing

of guns, mingled with their horrid oaths and execrations, made it look

like Pandemonium let loose, and was, indeed, a fit representation of

the horrid deed in which they were engaged.

After parrying the guns for some time, which now protruded thicker

and farther into the room, and seeing no hope of escape or protection

there, as we were now unarmed, it occurred to me that we might have

some friends outside, and that there might there be some chance of

escape, but here there seemed to be none. As I expected them every

moment to rush into the room--nothing but extreme cowardice having thus

far kept them out--as the tumult and pressure increased, without any

other hope, I made a spring for the window, which was right in front

of the jail door, where the mob was standing, and also exposed to the

fire of the Carthage Grays, who were stationed some ten or twelve rods

off. The weather was hot, we all of us had our coats off, and the

window was raised to admit air; as I reached the window, and was on

the point of leaping out, I was struck by a ball from the door about

midway of my thigh, which struck the bone, and flattened out almost

to the size of a quarter of a dollar, and then passed on through the

fleshy part to within about half an inch of the outside. I think some

prominent nerve must have been severed or injured, for as soon as the

ball struck me I fell like a bird when shot, or an ox struck by a

butcher, and lost entirely and instantaneously all power of action or

locomotion. I fell on to the window-sill, and cried out, “I am shot!”

Not possessing any power to move, I felt myself falling outside of the

window, but immediately I fell inside, from some, at that time, unknown

cause; when I struck the floor my animation seemed restored, as I have

seen sometimes squirrels and birds after being shot. As soon as I felt

the power of motion I crawled under the bed, which was in a corner of

the room, not far from the window where I received my wound. While on

my way and under the bed I was wounded in three other places; one ball

entered a little below the left knee, and never was extracted; another

entered the forepart of my left arm, a little above the wrist, and,

passing down by the joint, lodged in the fleshy part of my hand, about

midway, a little above the upper joint of my little finger; another

struck me on the fleshy part of my left hip, and tore away the flesh

as large as my hand, dashing the mangled fragments of flesh and blood

against the wall.

My wounds were painful, and the sensation produced was as though a ball

had passed through and down the whole length of my leg. I very well

remember my reflections at the time. I had a very painful idea of

becoming lame and decrepit, and being an object of pity, and I felt as

though I had rather die than be placed in such circumstances.

It would seem that immediately after my attempt to leap out of the

window, Joseph also did the same thing, of which circumstance I have

no knowledge only from information. The first thing that I noticed

was a cry that he had leaped out of the window. A cessation of firing

followed, the mob rushed down stairs, and Dr. Richards went to the

window. Immediately afterward I saw the doctor going toward the jail

door, and as there was an iron door at the head of the stairs adjoining

our door which led into the cells for criminals, it struck me that the

doctor was going in there, and I said to him, “Stop, doctor, and take

me along.” He proceeded to the door and opened it, and then returned

and dragged me along to a small cell prepared for criminals.

Brother Richards was very much troubled, and exclaimed, “Oh! Brother

Taylor, is it possible that they have killed both Brother Hyrum and

Joseph? it can not surely be, and yet I saw them shoot him;” and,

elevating his hands two or three times, he exclaimed, “Oh Lord, my God,

spare thy servants!” He then said, “Brother Taylor, this is a terrible

event;” and he dragged me farther into the cell, saying, “I am sorry

I can not do better for you;” and, taking an old, filthy mattress, he

covered me with it, and said, “That may hide you, and you may yet live

to tell the tale, but I expect they will kill me in a few moments.”

While lying in this position I suffered the most excruciating pain.

Soon afterward Dr. Richards came to me, informing me that the mob had

precipitately fled, and at the same time confirming my worst fears that

Joseph was assuredly dead. I felt a dull, lonely, sickening sensation

at the news. When I reflected that our noble chieftain, the prophet of

the living God, had fallen, and that I had seen his brother in the cold

embrace of death, it seemed as though there was an open void or vacuum

in the great field of human existence to me, and a dark, gloomy chasm

in the kingdom, and that we were left alone. Oh, how lonely was that

feeling! how cold, barren, and desolate! In the midst of difficulties

he was always the first in motion; in critical position his counsel

was always sought. As our prophet he approached our God, and obtained

for us his will; but now our prophet, our counselor, our general, our

leader was gone, and, amid the fiery ordeal that we then had to pass

through, we were left alone without his aid, and as our future guide

for things spiritual or temporal, and for all things pertaining to this

world or the next, he had spoken for the last time on earth.

These reflections and a thousand others flashed upon my mind. I

thought, Why must the good perish, and the virtuous be destroyed?

Why must God’s nobility, the salt of the earth, the most exalted of

the human family, and the most perfect types of all excellence, fall

victims to the cruel, fiendish hate of incarnate devils?

The poignancy of my grief, I presume, however, was somewhat allayed by

the extreme suffering that I endured from my wounds.

Soon afterward I was taken to the head of the stairs and laid there,

where I had a full view of our beloved and now murdered brother Hyrum.

There he lay as I had left him; he had not moved a limb; he lay placid

and calm, a monument of greatness even in death; but his noble spirit

had left its tenement, and was gone to dwell in regions more congenial

to its exalted nature. Poor Hyrum! he was a great and a good man, and

my soul was cemented to his. If ever there was an exemplary, honest,

and virtuous man, an embodiment of all that is noble in the human form,

Hyrum Smith was its representative.

While I lay there a number of persons came around, among whom was a

physician. The doctor, on seeing a ball lodged in my left hand, took

a penknife from his pocket and made an incision in it for the purpose

of extracting the ball therefrom, and having obtained a pair of

carpenter’s compasses, made use of them to draw or pry out the ball,

alternately using the penknife and compasses. After sawing for some

time with a dull penknife, and prying and pulling with the compasses,

he ultimately succeeded in extracting the ball, which was about a half

ounce one. Some time afterward he remarked to a friend of mine that “I

had nerves like the devil to stand what I did in its extraction.” I

really thought I had need of nerves to stand such surgical butchery,

and that, whatever my nerves may be, his practice was devilish.

This company wished to remove me to Mr. Hamilton’s hotel, the place

where we had staid previous to our incarceration in jail. I told them,

however, that I did not wish to go; I did not consider it safe. They

protested that it was, and that I was safe with them; that it was a

perfect outrage for men to be used as we had been; that they were my

friends; that it was for my good they were counseling me, and that I

could be better taken care of there than here.

I replied, “I don’t know you. Who am I among? I am surrounded by

assassins and murderers; witness your deeds! Don’t talk to me of

kindness or comfort; look at your murdered victims. Look at me! I want

none of your counsel nor comfort. There may be some safety here; I can

be assured of none any where,” etc.

They “God damned their souls to hell,” made the most solemn

asseverations, and swore by God and the devil, and every thing else

that they could think of, that they would stand by me to death and

protect me. In half an hour every one of them had fled to the town.

Soon after a coroner’s jury were assembled in the room over the body

of Hyrum. Among the jurors was Captain Smith, of the “Carthage Grays,”

who had assisted in the murder, and the same justice before whom we

had been tried. I heard the name of Francis Higbee as being in the

neighborhood; on hearing his name mentioned, I immediately rose and

said, “Captain Smith, you are a justice of the peace; I have heard his

name mentioned; I want to swear my life against him.” I was informed

that word was immediately sent to him to leave the place, which he did.

Brother Richards was busy during this time attending to the coroner’s

inquest, and to the removal of the bodies, and making arrangements for

their removal from Carthage to Nauvoo.

When we had a little leisure, he again came to me, and at his

suggestion I was removed to Hamilton’s tavern; I felt that he was the

only friend, the only person, that I could rely upon in that town. It

was with difficulty that sufficient persons could be found to carry

me to the tavern; for immediately after the murder a great fear fell

upon all the people, and men, women, and children fled with great

precipitation, leaving nothing nor any body in the town but two or

three women and children, and one or two sick persons.

It was with great difficulty that Brother Richards prevailed upon

Mr. Hamilton, hotel-keeper, and his family, to stay; they would not

until Brother Richards had given a solemn promise that he would see

them protected, and hence I was looked upon as a hostage. Under these

circumstances, notwithstanding, I believe they were hostile to the

“Mormons,” and were glad that the murder had taken place, yet they

did not actually participate in it; and, feeling that I should be a

protection to them, they staid.

The whole community knew that a dreadful outrage had been perpetrated

by those villains, and fearing lest the citizens of Nauvoo, as they

possessed the power, might have a disposition to visit them with a

terrible vengeance, they fled in the wildest confusion. And, indeed,

it was with very great difficulty that the citizens of Nauvoo could

be restrained; a horrid, barbarous murder had been committed, the

most solemn pledge violated, and that, too, while the victims were,

contrary to the requirements of the law, putting themselves into the

hands of the governor to pacify a popular excitement. This outrage

was enhanced by the reflection that we were able to protect ourselves

against not only all the mob, but against three times their number and

that of the governor’s troops put together. These were exasperated

by the speech of the governor in town. The whole events were so

faithless, so dastardly, so mean, cowardly, and contemptible, without

one extenuating circumstance, that it would not have been surprising

if the citizens of Nauvoo had arisen _en masse_, and blotted the

wretches out of existence. The citizens of Carthage knew they would

have done so under such circumstances, and, judging us by themselves,

they were all panic-stricken and fled. Colonel Markham, too, after his

expulsion from Carthage, had gone home, related the circumstances of

his ejectment, and was using his influence to get a company to go out.

Fearing that when the people heard that their prophet and patriarch

had been murdered under the above circumstances they might act rashly,

and knowing that, if they once got roused, like a mighty avalanche

they would lay the country waste before them and take a terrible

vengeance--as none of the twelve were in Nauvoo, and no one, perhaps,

with sufficient influence to control the people, Dr. Richards, after

consulting me, wrote the following note, fearing that my family might

be seriously affected by the news. I told him to insert that I was

slightly wounded.

_William Richards’s Note from Carthage Jail to Nauvoo._[243]

“Carthage Jail, 8 o’clock 5 min. P.M., June 27th, 1844.

“Joseph and Hyrum are dead. Taylor wounded, not very badly. I am

well. Our guard was forced, as we believe, by a band of Missourians

from 100 to 200. The job was done in an instant, and the party fled

toward Nauvoo instantly. This is as I believe it. The citizens here

are afraid of the Mormons attacking them; I promise them no.

W. RICHARDS.

“N.B.--The citizens promise us protection; alarm guns have been fired.

“JOHN TAYLOR.”

[243] “Des. News,” No. 38, Nov. 25, 1857, p. 297.

I remember signing my name as quickly as possible, lest the tremor of

my hand should be noticed, and their fears too excited.

A messenger was dispatched immediately with that note, but he was

intercepted by the governor, who, on hearing a cannon fired at

Carthage, which was to be the signal for the murder, immediately

fled with his company, and fearing that the citizens of Nauvoo, when

apprised of the horrible outrage, would immediately rise and pursue, he

turned back the messenger, who was George D. Grant. A second one was

sent, who was treated similarly; and not until a third attempt could

news be got to Nauvoo.

Samuel H. Smith, brother to Joseph and Hyrum, was the first brother

that I saw after the outrage; I am not sure whether he took the news

or not; he lived at the time at Plymouth, Hancock County, and was on

his way to Carthage to see his brothers, when he was met by some of the

troops, or rather mob, that had been dismissed by the governor, and who

were on their way home. On learning that he was Joseph Smith’s brother

they sought to kill him, but he escaped, and fled into the woods, where

he was chased for a length of time by them; but, after severe fatigue,

and much danger and excitement, he succeeded in escaping, and came

to Carthage. He was on horseback when he arrived, and was not only

very much tired with the fatigue and excitement of the chase, but was

also very much distressed in feelings on account of the death of his

brother. These things produced a fever, which laid the foundation for

his death, which took place on the 30th of July. Thus another of the

brothers fell a victim, although not directly, but indirectly to this

infernal mob.

I lay from about five o’clock until two next morning without having my

wounds dressed, as there was scarcely any help of any kind in Carthage,

and Brother Richards was busy with the dead bodies, preparing them for

removal. My wife Leonora started early the next day, having had some

little trouble in getting a company or a physician to come with her;

after considerable difficulty she succeeded in getting an escort, and

Dr. Samuel Bennet came along with her. Soon after my father and mother

arrived from Quakie, near which place they had a farm at that time, and

hearing of the trouble, hastened along.

General Demming, Brigadier General of the Hancock County Militia, was

very much of a gentleman, and showed me every courtesy, and Colonel

Jones also was very solicitous about my welfare.

I was called upon by several gentlemen of Quincy and other places,

among whom was Judge Ralston, as well as by our own people, and a

medical man extracted a ball from my left thigh that was giving me much

pain: it lay about half an inch deep, and my thigh was considerably

swollen. The doctor asked me if I would be tied during the operation;

I told him no; that I could endure the cutting associated with the

operation as well without, and I did so; indeed, so great was the pain

I endured that the cutting was rather a relief than otherwise.

A very laughable incident occurred at the time: my wife Leonora went

into an adjoining room to pray for me, that I might be sustained during

the operation. While on her knees at prayer, a Mrs. Bedell, an old lady

of the Methodist association, entered, and, patting Mrs. Taylor on her

back with her hand, said, “There’s a good lady, pray for God to forgive

your sins; pray that you may be converted, and the Lord may have mercy

on your soul.”

The scene was so ludicrous that Mrs. Taylor knew not whether to laugh

or be angry. Mrs. Taylor informed me that Mr. Hamilton, the father of

the Hamilton who kept the house, rejoiced at the murder, and said in

company “that it was done up in the best possible style, and showed

good generalship;” and she farther believed that the other branches of

the family sanctioned it. These were the associates of the old lady

referred to, and yet she could talk of conversion and saving souls in

the midst of blood and murder: such is man and such consistency.

The ball being extracted was the one that first struck me, which I

before referred to; it entered on the outside of my left thigh, about

five inches from my knee, and, passing rather obliquely toward my body,

had, it would seem, struck the bone, for it was flattened out nearly as

thin and large as a quarter of a dollar.

The governor passed on, staying at Carthage only a few minutes, and

he did not stop until he got fifty miles from Nauvoo. There had been

various opinions about the complicity of the governor in the murder,

some supposing that he knew all about it, and assisted or winked at its

execution. It is somewhat difficult to form a correct opinion; from

the facts presented it is very certain that things looked more than

suspicious against him.

In the first place, he positively knew that we had broken no law.

Secondly. He knew that the mob had not only passed inflammatory

resolutions, threatening extermination to the “Mormons,” but that they

had actually assembled armed mobs and commenced hostilities against us.

Thirdly. He took those very mobs that had been arrayed against us, and

enrolled them as his troops, thus legalizing their acts.

Fourthly. He disbanded the Nauvoo Legion, which had never violated law,

and disarmed them, and had about his person in the shape of militia

known mobocrats and violators of the law.

Fifthly. He requested us to come to Carthage without arms, promising

protection, and then refused to interfere in delivering us from prison,

although Joseph and Hyrum were put there contrary to law.

Sixthly. Although he refused to interfere in our behalf, yet, when

Captain Smith went to him and informed him that the persons refused to

come out, he told him that “he had a command and knew what to do,” thus

sanctioning the use of force in the violation of law when opposed to

us, whereas he would not for us interpose his executive authority to

free us from being incarcerated contrary to law, although he was fully

informed of all the facts of the case, as we kept him posted in the

affairs all the time.

Seventhly. He left the prisoners in Carthage jail contrary to his

plighted faith.

Eighthly. Before he went he dismissed all the troops that could be

relied upon, as well as many of the mob, and left us in charge of the

“Carthage Grays,” a company that he knew were mobocratic, our most

bitter enemies, and who had passed resolutions to exterminate us, and

who had been placed under guard by General Demming only the day before.

Ninthly. He was informed of the intended murder, both before he left

and while on the road, by several different parties.

Tenthly. When the cannon was fired in Carthage, signifying that the

deed was done, he immediately took up his line of march and fled. How

did he know that this signal portended their death if he was not in the

secret? It may be said some of the party told him. How could he believe

what the party said about the gun-signal if he could not believe the

testimony of several individuals who told him in positive terms about

the contemplated murder?

He has, I believe, stated that he left the “Carthage Grays” there

because he considered that, as their town was contiguous to ours, and

as the responsibility of our safety rested solely upon them, they would

not dare suffer any indignity to befall us. This very admission shows

that he did really expect danger; and then he knew that these people

had published to the world that they would exterminate us, and his

leaving us in their hands and talking of their responsibilities was

like leaving a lamb in charge of a wolf, and trusting to its humanity

and honor for its safe-keeping.

It is said, again, that he would not have gone to Nauvoo, and thus

placed himself in the hands of the “Mormons,” if he had anticipated any

such event, as he would be exposed to their wrath. To this it may be

answered that the “Mormons” did not know their signals, while he did;

and they were also known in Warsaw, as well as in other places; and as

soon as the gun was fired, a merchant of Warsaw jumped upon his horse

and rode directly to Quincy, and reported “Joseph and Hyrum killed, and

those who were with them in jail.” He reported farther “that they were

attempting to break jail, and were all killed by the guard.” This was

their story; it was anticipated to kill all, and the gun was to be the

signal that the deed was accomplished. This was known in Warsaw. The

governor also knew it and fled; and he could really be in no danger in

Nauvoo, for the Mormons did not know it, and he had plenty of time to

escape, which he did.

It is said that he made all his officers promise solemnly that they

would help him to protect the Smiths; this may or may not be. At any

rate, some of these same officers helped to murder them.

The strongest argument in the governor’s favor, and one that would bear

more weight with us than all the rest put together, would be that he

could not believe them capable of such atrocity; and, thinking that

their talk and threatenings were a mere ebullition of feeling, a kind

of braggadocio, and that there was enough of good moral feeling to

control the more violent passions, he trusted to their faith. There

is, indeed, a degree of plausibility about this, but when we put it in

juxtaposition to the amount of evidence that he was in possession of

it weighs very little. He had nothing to inspire confidence in them,

and every thing to make him mistrust them. Besides, why his broken

faith? why his disregard of what was told him by several parties?

Again, if he knew not the plan, how did he understand the signal? Why

so oblivious to every thing pertaining to the “Mormon” interest, and so

alive and interested about the mobocrats? At any rate, be this as it

may, he stands responsible for their blood, and it is dripping on his

garments. If it had not been for his promises of protection, they would

have protected themselves; it was plighted faith that led them to the

slaughter; and, to make the best of it, it was a breach of that faith

and a non-fulfillment of that promise, after repeated warnings, that

led to their death.

Having said so much, I must leave the governor with my readers and

with his God. Justice, I conceive, demanded this much, and truth could

not be told with less; as I have said before, my opinion is that the

governor would not have planned this murder, but he had not sufficient

energy to resist popular opinion, even if that opinion led to blood and

death.

It was rumored that a strong political party, numbering in its ranks

many of the prominent men of the nation, were engaged in a plot for the

overthrow of Joseph Smith, and that the governor was of this party,

and Sharp, Williams, Captain Smith, and others, were his accomplices,

but whether this was the case or not I don’t know. It is very certain

that a strong political feeling existed against Joseph Smith, and I

have reason to believe that his letters to Henry Clay were made use of

by political parties opposed to Mr. Clay, and were the means of that

statesman’s defeat. Yet, if such a combination as the one referred to

existed, I am not apprised of it.

While I lay at Carthage, previous to Mrs. Taylor’s arrival, a pretty

good sort of a man, who was lame of a leg, waited upon me, and sat up

at night with me; after Mrs. Taylor, my mother and others waited upon

me.

Many friends called upon me, among whom were Richard Ballantyne,

Elizabeth Taylor, several of the Perkins family, and a number of the

brethren from Macedonia and La Harpe. Besides these, many strangers

from Quincy, some of whom expressed indignant feelings against the

mob and sympathy for myself. Brother Alexander Williams called upon

me, who suspected that they had some designs in keeping me there, and

stated “that he had at a given point in some woods fifty men, and that

if I would say the word he would raise other fifty, and fetch me out

of there.” I thanked him, but told him I thought there was no need.

However, it would seem that I was in some danger; for Colonel Jones,

before referred to, when absent from me, left two loaded pistols on

the table in case of an attack, and some time afterward, when I had

recovered and was publishing the affair, a lawyer, Mr. Backman, stated

that he had prevented a man by the name of Jackson, before referred to,

from ascending the stairs, who was coming with a design to murder me,

and that now he was sorry he had not let him do the deed.

There were others, also, of whom I heard that said I ought to be

killed, and they would do it, but that it was too damned cowardly to

shoot a wounded man; and thus, by the chivalry of murderers, I was

prevented from being a second time mutilated or killed. Many of the

mob, too, came around and treated me with apparent respect, and the

officers and people generally looked upon me as a hostage, and feared

that my removal would be the signal for the rising of the Mormons.

I do not remember the time that I staid there, but I think three

or four days after the murder, when Brother Marks with a carriage,

Brother James Aldred with a wagon, Dr. Ells, and a number of others on

horseback, came for the purpose of taking me to Nauvoo. I was very weak

at the time, occasioned by the loss of blood and the great discharge

of my wounds, so that when Mrs. Taylor asked me if I could talk I

could barely whisper no. Quite a discussion arose as to the propriety

of my removal, the physicians and people of Carthage protesting that

it would be my death, while my friends were anxious for my removal if

possible.

I suppose the former were actuated by the above-named desire to keep

me. Colonel Jones was, I believe, sincere; he has acted as a friend

all the time, and he told Mrs. Taylor she ought to persuade me not to

go, for he did not believe I had strength enough to reach Nauvoo. It

was finally agreed, however, that I should go; but as it was thought

that I could not stand riding in a wagon or carriage, they prepared a

litter for me; I was carried down stairs and put upon it. A number of

men assisted to carry me, some of whom had been engaged in the mob. As

soon as I got down stairs, I felt much better and strengthened, so that

I could talk; I suppose the effect of the fresh air.

When we had got near the outside of the town I remembered some woods

that we had to go through, and telling a person near to call for Dr.

Ells, who was riding a very good horse, I said, “Doctor, I perceive

that the people are getting fatigued with carrying me; a number of

Mormons live about two or three miles from here, near our route; will

you ride to their settlement as quietly as possible, and have them come

and meet us?” He started off on a gallop immediately. My object in this

was to obtain protection in case of an attack, rather than to obtain

help to carry me.

Very soon after the men from Carthage made one excuse after another,

until they had all left, and I felt glad to get rid of them. I found

that the tramping of those carrying me produced violent pain, and a

sleigh was produced and attached to the hind end of Brother James

Aldred’s wagon, a bed placed upon it, and I propped up on the bed. Mrs.

Taylor rode with me, applying ice and ice-water to my wounds. As the

sleigh was dragged over the grass on the prairie, which was quite tall,

it moved very easily and gave me very little pain.

When I got within five or six miles of Nauvoo the brethren commenced to

meet me from the city, and they increased in number as we drew nearer,

until there was a very large company of people of all ages and both

sexes, principally, however, men.

For some time there had been almost incessant rain, so that in many

low places in the prairie it was from one to three feet deep in water,

and at such places the brethren whom we met took hold of the sleigh,

lifted it, and carried it over the water; and when we arrived in the

neighborhood of the city, where the roads were excessively muddy and

bad, the brethren tore down the fences, and we passed through the

fields.

Never shall I forget the difference of feeling that I experienced

between the place that I had left and the one that I had now arrived

at. I had left a lot of reckless, bloodthirsty murderers, and had

come to the City of the Saints, the people of the living God; friends

of truth and righteousness, thousands of whom stood there with warm,

true hearts to offer their friendship and services, and to welcome

my return. It is true it was a painful scene, and brought sorrowful

remembrances to mind, but to me it caused a thrill of joy to find

myself once more in the bosom of my friends, and to meet with the

cordial welcome of true, honest hearts. What was very remarkable, I

found myself very much better after my arrival at Nauvoo than I was

when I started on my journey, although I had traveled eighteen miles.

The next day, as some change was wanting, I told Mrs. Taylor that if

she could send to Dr. Richards, he had my purse and watch, and they

would find money in my purse.

Previous to the doctor leaving Carthage, I told him that he had better

take my purse and watch, for I was afraid the people would steal them.

The doctor had taken my pantaloons’ pocket, and put the watch in it

with the purse, cut off the pocket, and tied a string round the top; it

was in this position when brought home. My family, however, were not a

little startled to find that my watch had been struck with a ball. I

sent for my vest, and, upon examination, it was found that there was

a cut, as if with a knife, in the vest pocket which had contained my

watch. In the pocket the fragments of the glass were found literally

ground to powder. It then occurred to me that a ball had struck me at

the time I felt myself falling out of the window, and that it was this

force that threw me inside. I had often remarked to Mrs. Taylor the

singular fact of finding myself inside the room, when I felt a moment

before, after being shot, that I was falling out, and I never could

account for it until then; but here the thing was fully elucidated,

and was rendered plain to my mind. I was indeed falling out, when some

villain aimed at my heart. The ball struck my watch, and forced me

back; if I had fallen out I should assuredly have been killed, if not

by the fall, by those around, and this ball, intended to dispatch me,

was turned by an overruling Providence into a messenger of mercy, and

saved my life. I shall never forget the feelings of gratitude that I

then experienced toward my heavenly Father; the whole scene was vividly

portrayed before me, and my heart melted before the Lord. I felt that

the Lord had preserved me by a special act of mercy; that my time had

not yet come, and that I had still a work to perform upon the earth.

(Signed), JOHN TAYLOR.

NOTES.

In addition to the above I give the following:

Dr. Bernhisel informed me that Joseph, looking him full in the

face, and as solemn as eternity, said, “I am going as a lamb to the

slaughter, but I am as calm as a summer’s morning. I have a conscience

void of offense toward God and man.” I heard him state, in reply to

an interrogatory, made either by myself or some one in my hearing, in

relation to the best course to pursue, “I am not now acting according

to my judgment; others must counsel, and not me, for the present,” or

in words to the same effect.

The governor’s remarks about the press may be partially correct, so far

as the legal technicality was concerned, and the order of administering

law. The proper way would perhaps have been for the City Council to

have passed a law in regard to the removal of nuisances, and then for

the Municipal Court to have ordered it to be abated on complaint. Be

this as it may, it was only a variation in form, not in fact, for the

Municipal Court formed part of the City Council, and all voted; and,

furthermore, some time after the murder, Governor Ford told me that the

press ought to have been removed, but that it was bad policy to remove

it as we did; that if we had only let a mob do it, instead of using

the law, we could have done it without difficulty, and no one would

have been implicated. Thus the governor, who would have winked at the

proceedings of a mob, lent his aid to, or winked at, the proceedings

of mob violence in the assassination of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, for

removing a nuisance according to law, because of an alleged informality

in the legal proceedings or a legal technicality.

I must here state that I do not believe Governor Ford would have

planned the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith; but, being a man that

courted popular opinion, he had not the firmness to withstand the mob,

even when that mob were seeking to imbrue their hands in the blood of

innocence; he lent himself to their designs, and thus became a partaker

of their evil deeds.

I will illustrate this vexed question with the following official

paper, which appeared in the “Deserét News,” No. 30:

“Two of the brethren arrived this evening (June 13th, 1844), from

Carthage, and said that about 300 mobbers were assembled there, with

the avowed intention of coming against Nauvoo. Also that Hamilton was

paying a dollar per bushel for corn to feed their animals.”

The following was published in the Warsaw Signal Office; I insert it as

a specimen of the unparalleled corruption and diabolical falsehood of

which the human race has become capable in this generation:

“At a mass meeting of the citizens of Hancock County, convened at

Carthage on the 11th day of June, 1844, Mr. Knox was appointed

President, John Doty and Lewis F. Evans, Vice-Presidents, and William

Y. Head, Secretary.

“Henry Stephens, Esq., presented the following resolutions, passed at

a meeting of the citizens of Warsaw, and urged the adoption of them as

the sense of this meeting:

“PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS.

“Whereas information has reached us, about which there can be no

question, that the authorities of Nauvoo did recently pass an ordinance

declaring a printing-press and newspaper published by the opponents

of the Prophet a nuisance, and in pursuance thereof did direct the

marshal of the city and his adherents to enter by force the building

from whence the paper was issued, and violently (if necessary) to take

possession of the press and printing materials, and thereafter to burn

and destroy the same; and whereas, in pursuance of said ordinance, the

marshal and his adherents, together with a mob of Mormons, did, after

sunset on the evening of the 10th inst., violently enter said building

in a tumultuous manner, burn and destroy the press and other materials

found on the premises;

“And whereas Hyrum Smith did, in presence of the City Council and

the citizens of Nauvoo, offer a reward for the destruction of the

printing-press and materials of the ‘Warsaw Signal,’ a newspaper also

opposed to his interest;

“And whereas the liberty of the press is one of the cardinal principles

of our government, firmly guaranteed by the several Constitutions of

the states as well as the United States;

“And whereas Hyrum Smith has within the last week publicly threatened

the life of one of our valued citizens, Thos. C. Sharp, the editor of

the ‘Signal:’

“Therefore be it solemnly _Resolved_ by the citizens of Warsaw in

public meeting assembled,

“That we view the recent ordinance of the city of Nauvoo, and the

proceedings thereunder, as an outrage of an alarming character,

revolutionary and tyrannical in its tendency, and, being under color of

law, as calculated to subvert and destroy in the minds of the community

all reliance on the law.

“_Resolved_, That as a community we feel anxious, when possible, to

redress our grievances by legal remedies; but the time has now arrived

when the law has ceased to be a protection to our lives and property;

a mob at Nauvoo, under a city ordinance, has violated the highest

privilege in our government, and to seek redress in the ordinary mode

would be utterly ineffectual.

“_Resolved_, That the public threat made in the council of the city not

only to destroy our printing-press, but to take the life of its editor,

is sufficient, in connection with the recent outrage, to command the

efforts and the services of every good citizen to put an immediate stop

to the career of the mad Prophet and his demoniac coadjutors. We must

not only defend ourselves from danger, but we must resolutely carry

the war into the enemy’s camp. We do therefore declare that we will

sustain our press and the editor at all hazards. That we will take full

vengeance--terrible vengeance, should the lives of any of our citizens

be lost in the effort. That we hold ourselves at all times in readiness

to co-operate with our fellow-citizens in this state, Missouri, and

Iowa, _to exterminate_--UTTERLY EXTERMINATE, the wicked and abominable

Mormon leaders, the authors of our troubles.

“_Resolved_, That a committee of five be appointed forthwith to notify

all persons in our township _suspected_ of being the tools of the

Prophet to leave immediately on pain of INSTANT VENGEANCE. And we do

recommend the inhabitants of the adjacent townships to do the same,

hereby pledging ourselves to render all the assistance they may require.

“_Resolved_, That the time, in our opinion, has arrived when the

adherents of Smith, as a body, should be driven from the surrounding

settlements into Nauvoo; that the Prophet and his miscreant adherents

should then be demanded at their hands, and if not surrendered, A

WAR OF EXTERMINATION SHOULD BE WAGED, to the entire destruction, if

necessary for our protection, of his adherents. And we do hereby

recommend this resolution to the consideration of the several

townships, to the Mass Convention to be held at Carthage, hereby

pledging ourselves to aid to the utmost the complete consummation of

the object in view, that we may thereby be utterly relieved of the

alarm, anxiety, and trouble to which we are now subjected.

“_Resolved_, That every citizen arm himself, to be prepared to sustain

the resolutions herein contained.

“Mr. Roosevelt rose and made a brief but eloquent speech, and called

upon the citizens throughout the country to render efficient aid

in carrying out the spirit of the resolutions. Mr. Roosevelt then

moved that a committee of seven be appointed by the chair to draft

resolutions expressive of our action in future.

“Mr. Catlin moved to amend the motion of Mr. Roosevelt so that the

committee should consist of one from each precinct; which motion, as

amended, was adopted.

“The chair then appointed the following as said committee: Colonel Levi

Williams, Rocky Run Precinct; Joel Catlin, Augusta; Samuel Williams,

Carthage; Elisha Worrell, Chili; Captain Maddison, St. Mary’s; John

M. Ferris, Fountain Green; James Rice, Pilot Grove; John Carns, Bear

Creek; C. L. Higbee, Nauvoo; George Robinson, La Harpe; and George

Rockwell, Warsaw.

“On motion of Mr. Sympson, Walter Bagby, Esq., was requested to

address the meeting during the absence of the committee. He spoke long

and eloquently upon the cause of our grievances, and expressed his

belief that the time was now at hand when we were individually and

collectively called upon to repel the innovations upon our liberties,

and suggested that points be designated as places of encampment at

which to rendezvous our forces, that we may be ready, when called upon,

for efficient action.

“Dr. Barns, one of the persons who went with the officers to Nauvoo

for the purpose of arresting the rioters, having just arrived, came

into the meeting, and reported the result of their proceedings, which

was, that the persons charged in the writs were duly arrested, but

taken from the officer’s hands on a writ of _habeas corpus_ from the

Municipal Court, and discharged, and the following potent words entered

upon the records--HONORABLY DISCHARGED.

“On motion of O. C. Skinner, Esq., a vote of thanks was tendered to Dr.

Barns for volunteering his services in executing said writs.

“Francis M. Higbee was now loudly called for. He stated his personal

knowledge of the Mormons from their earliest history, throughout their

hellish career in Missouri and this state, which had been characterized

by the darkest and most diabolical deeds which had ever disgraced

humanity.

“The committee appointed to draft resolutions brought in the following

report, which, after some considerable discussion, was unanimously

adopted:

“‘Whereas the officer charged with the execution of a writ against

Joseph Smith and others, for riot in the County of Hancock, which said

writ said officer has served upon said Smith and others; and whereas

said Smith and others refuse to obey the mandate of said writ; and

whereas, in the opinion of this meeting, it is impossible for the said

officer to raise a posse of sufficient strength to execute said writ;

and whereas it is the opinion of this meeting that the riot is still

progressing, and that violence is meditated and determined on, it is

the opinion of this meeting that the circumstances of the case require

the interposition of executive power: Therefore,

“‘_Resolved_, That a deputation of two discreet men be sent to

Springfield to solicit such interposition.

“‘2d. _Resolved_, That said deputation be furnished with a certified

copy of the resolution, and be authorized to obtain evidence by

affidavit and otherwise in regard to the violence which has already

been committed and is still farther meditated.’

“Dr. Evans here rose and expressed his wish that the above resolutions

would not retard our operations, but that we would each one arm and

equip ourselves forthwith.

“The resolutions passed at Warsaw were again read by Dr. Barns, and

passed by acclamation.

“On motion of A. Sympson, Esq., the suggestion of Mr. Bagby, appointing

places of encampment, was adopted, to wit: Warsaw, Carthage, Green

Plains, Spilman’s Landing, Chili, and La Harpe.

“On motion, O. C. Skinner and Walter Bagby, Esqrs., were appointed

a committee to bear the resolutions adopted by this meeting to his

excellency the governor, requiring his executive interposition.

“On motion of J. H. Sherman, a Central Corresponding Committee was

appointed.

“Ordered, That J. H. Sherman, H. T. Wilson, Chauncy Robinson, Wm. S.

Freeman, Thomas Morrison, F. M. Higbee, Lyman Prentiss, and Stephen H.

Tyler be said committee.

“On motion of George Rockwell,

“_Resolved_, That constables in the different precincts hold themselves

in readiness to obey the officer in possession of the writs, whenever

called upon, in summoning the posse.

“On motion, the meeting adjourned.

“JOHN KNOX, President.

“JOHN DOTY, } Vice-Presidents.

“LEWIS F. EVANS, }

“W. Y. HEAD, Secretary.”

The following will conclude the “Expositor Question:”

“Nauvoo, June 14th, 1844.

“SIR,--I write you this morning briefly to inform you of the facts

relative to the removal of the press and fixtures of the ‘Nauvoo

Expositor’ as a nuisance.

“The 8th and 10th instant were spent by the City Council of Nauvoo in

receiving testimony concerning the character of the ‘Expositor,’ and

the character and designs of the proprietors.

“In the investigation it appeared evident to the Council that

the proprietors were a set of unprincipled, lawless debauchees,

counterfeiters, bogus-makers, gamblers, peace-disturbers, and

that the grand object of said proprietors was to destroy our

constitutional rights and chartered privileges; to overthrow all

good and wholesome regulations in society; to strengthen themselves

against the municipality; to fortify themselves against the Church

of which I am a member, and destroy all our religious rights and

privileges by libels, slanders, falsehoods, perjury, etc., and

sticking at no corruption to accomplish their hellish purposes; and

that said paper of itself was libelous of the deepest dye, and very

injurious as a vehicle of defamation, tending to corrupt the morals,

and disturb the peace, tranquillity, and happiness of the whole

community, and especially that of Nauvoo.

“After a long and patient investigation of the character of the

‘Expositor,’ and the characters and designs of its proprietors, the

Constitution, the Charter (see Addenda to Nauvoo Charter from the

Springfield Charter, sec. 7), and all the best authorities on the

subject (see Blackstone, iii., 5, and n., etc., etc.), the City

Council decided that it was necessary for the ‘peace, benefit, good

order, and regulations’ of said city, ‘and for the protection of

property,’ and for ‘the happiness and prosperity of the citizens

of Nauvoo,’ that said ‘Expositor’ should be removed; and declaring

said ‘Expositor’ a nuisance, ordered the mayor to cause them to be

removed without delay, which order was committed to the marshal by

due process, and by him executed the same day, by removing the paper,

press, and fixtures into the streets, and burning the same; all which

was done without riot, noise, tumult, or confusion, as has already

been proved before the municipality of the city; and the particulars

of the whole transaction may be expected in our next ‘Nauvoo

Neighbor.’

“I send you this hasty sketch that your excellency may be aware of

the lying reports that are now being circulated by our enemies, that

there has been a ‘_mob_ at _Nauvoo_,’ and ‘_blood and thunder_,’

and ‘_swearing that two men were killed_,’ etc., etc., as we hear

from abroad, are false--false as Satan himself could invent, and

that nothing has been transacted here but what has been in perfect

accordance with the strictest principles of law and good order on

the part of the authorities of this city; and if your excellency is

not satisfied, and shall not be satisfied, after reading the whole

proceedings, which will be forthcoming soon, and shall demand an

investigation of our municipality before Judge Pope, or any legal

tribunal at the Capitol, you have only to write your wishes, and we

will be forthcoming; we will not trouble you to file a writ or send

an officer for us.

“I remain, as ever, a friend to truth, good order, and your

excellency’s humble servant,

(Signed), JOSEPH SMITH.

“His Excellency Thomas Ford.”

IV.

I think that the unpalatable assertion in the text will be proved by

the following contrasted extracts from the London “Times” and the

“Deserét News.”

THE BLACK COUNTRY.--The reports of the assistant commissioners

engaged in the recent education inquiry contain some very painful

notices of the state of morals in some parts of the kingdom. In

collier villages in Durham, where the men earn high wages, which

they know no way of spending but in the gratification of animal

appetites, the condition of the people in respect to morals and

manners, it is said, may not be described. Adultery is made a matter

of mere jest, and incest also is frightfully common, and seems to

excite no disgust. In some of those parts girls mingle with boys

at school till 13, 14, or 15 years of age, and that in schools not

superintended by women; it is impossible to state the coarseness

of manners that prevails in these schools. Coming south, into

Staffordshire, we are told that in the union of Dudley, where boys

and girls can earn high wages, their independence of their parents’

aid to maintain them leads to a remarkable independence of conduct,

and, in fact, no restraint is put upon their inclinations either

by their parents or the opinion of the neighborhood. It is held

rather a shame to an unmarried woman not to have had a child; and

the assistant commissioner, Mr. Coode, says that the details given

to him by the most respectable and trustworthy witnesses would, if

they could be reported, be discredited by most men of the world only

acquainted with the ordinary profligacy of the poor; but he adds

that, notwithstanding all this, the behavior and manners in other

respects of girls and women is not in public less decent than that

in places of better repute, and it is generally asserted that this

early corruption of females does not hinder them from being very

good neighbors, and excellent, hard-working, and affectionate wives

and mothers. Education in this district is not much prized; it is

a common saying, “The father went to the pit and he made a fortune,

the son went to school and he lost it.” But so much has been done by

the upper classes in providing schools for the lower that education

is gradually making its way, and many who can not read are ashamed of

their deficiency, and desirous to have their children taught. In a

village where an energetic clergyman, who has adopted a rough, strong

style of preaching, has succeeded in filling his church, Mr. Coode

noticed during the service that all the people affected to find the

place in the books furnished to them, but full half the books were

held upside down, and within his observation not one was open at the

right place, except where some young person taught to read in the

school was by to find it.

_An Ordinance relating to Houses of Ill-fame and Prostitution._

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of Great Salt Lake City,

that any person or persons who shall be found guilty of keeping,

or shall be an inmate of any house of ill-fame, or place for

the practice of fornication or adultery, or knowingly own or be

interested as proprietor or landlord of any such house, or any person

or persons harboring or keeping about his, her, or their private

premises any whore-master, strumpet, or whore, knowing them to be

guilty of following a lewd course of life, shall be liable to a fine

for each offense not exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisonment

not exceeding six months, or both fine and imprisonment, at the

discretion of the court having jurisdiction. In a prosecution under

this section, the person having charge of any house or place shall be

deemed the keeper thereof.

Sec. 2. It shall be lawful, on the trial of any person before said

court charged with either of the offenses named in the preceding

section, for the city to introduce in support of such charge

testimony of the general character and reputation of the person or

place touching the offense or charge set forth in the complaint, and

the defendant may likewise resort to testimony of a like nature for

the purpose of disproving such charge.

Sec. 3. No person shall be incapacitated or excused from testifying

touching any offense committed by another against any of the

provisions set forth in the first section of this ordinance by reason

of his or her having participated in such crime, but the evidence

which may be given by such person shall in no case be used against

the person so testifying.

Sec. 4. The word adultery, as made use of in this ordinance, shall be

construed to mean the unlawfully cohabiting together of two persons

when either one or both of such persons are married; and the word

fornication shall be construed to mean the cohabiting together of two

unmarried persons.

Passed December 30th, 1860.

A. O. SMOOT, Mayor.

ROBERT CAMPBELL, City Recorder.

V. CHRONOLOGICAL ABSTRACT OF MORMON HISTORY.

1801. June 1. Birth of Mr. Brigham Young, at Wittingham, Vermont, U.

S. In this year Mr. Heber C. Kimball also was born (June 14th).

1805. Dec. 23. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., son of Mr. Joseph Smith, sen.,

generally called “Old Father Smith,” and Lucy Mack, known as “Mother

Smith,” born at Sharon, Windsor Co., Vermont.

1812. A book called the “Manuscript Found” was presented to Mr.

Patterson, a bookseller at Pittsburgh, Penn., by Mr. Solomon Spalding

or Spaulding, of Crawford, Penn.; born in Ashford Co., and a graduate

of Dartmouth College. The author died, the bookseller followed him

in 1826, and the book fell into the hands of a printer’s compositor,

Sidney Rigdon, one of the earliest Mormon converts. Anti-Mormons

identify parts of the “Book of Mormon” with the “Manuscript Found.”

The Saints deny the existence of a Patterson, and assert that Mr.

Spaulding’s book was a mere historical and idolatrous romance

concerning the Ten Lost Tribes, altogether different from their

Biblion. They trace the calumny to a certain Doctor (so called

because a seventh son) Philastus Hurlbert or Hurlbut, an apostate

excommunicated for gross immorality, and bound over in $500 to keep

the peace, after threatening to murder Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.; and

they observe that in those early days their Prophet was too unlearned

a man to adapt or to alter a manuscript.

1814. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., powerfully awakened by the preaching of

Mr. Lane, an earnest Methodist minister.

1815. Mr. and Mrs. Smith removed with their family--Alvin, Hyrum,

Sophronia, Joseph, Samuel, Ephraim, William, and Catharine, from

Vermont to New York. They first lived at Palmyra, Wayne Co., for ten

years, and then passed on to Manchester, Ontario Co., the site of the

Hill Cumorah, where they tarried eleven or twelve years.

1820. Many religious revivals in Western New York. Mr. Joseph Smith

becomes partial to Methodism (J. Hyde, chap. viii.). Early in the

spring of the year occurred Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.’s first or

preparatory vision announcing his ministry.

1823. Sept. 20. Second vision; the Angel of the Lord revealed in

rather a solemn way to Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., the existence of the

Gold Plates, which, according to anti-Mormons, he and his brother

Hyrum had been employed in forging and fabricating for some years. On

the next day (22d) Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., opened the place where the

Plates were deposited and saw them.

1825. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was employed by a person called Stroude

to dig for him, near Hartwich, Oswego City, N. Y. Money-diggers were

then common in that part of the state, seeking the buried treasures

of Captain Kidd, the buccaneer. Near Hartwich, between the years

1818-1832, lived Mrs. Spaulding, and Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., stole

the “Manuscript Found” from a trunk full of papers (J. H).

1827. Jan. 18. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., married Miss Emma Hale,

daughter of Isaac Hale, of South Bainbridge, Chenango Co., N. Y. This

person afterward became the Cyria Electa, or Elect Lady, and ended by

apostatizing and marrying a Gentile.

Sept. 22. The Golden Plates which the angel announced were taken up

from the Hill Cumorah with a mighty display of celestial machinery,

and the Breastplate and the Urim and Thummim were found. According to

Gentiles, the latter was a “peep-stone stolen from Willard Chase.”

1828. February. Martin Harris, a farmer from whom Mr. Joseph Smith,

jun., had borrowed $50 to defray expenses of printing the “Book of

Mormon,” submitted a transcript of the characters to Professor Anthon

and Dr. Mitchell of New York. The former pronounced them to be a

“singular scroll,” and “evidently copied after the Mexican Calendar

given by Humboldt.”

July. Translation of the “Book of Mormon” suspended in consequence

of Martin Harris stealing (116-118?) pages of the manuscript, which

were never replaced. For this reason he was not enrolled among the

glorious first six converts to Mormonism.

1829. April 16. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., saw O. Cowdery the first

time. Translation of the “Book of Mormon” resumed, O. Cowdery acting

as secretary.

May 15. John the Baptist ordained into the Aaronic priesthood Mr.

Joseph Smith, jun., and O. Cowdery, his amanuensis, who forthwith

baptized each other.

June or July. The Plates of the “Book of Mormon” were shown by the

Angel of God to the three earthly witnesses--Oliver Cowdery, David

Whitmer, and Martin Harris.

1830. The “Book of Mormon” was translated and published, and this

year is No. 1 of the Mormon Æra.

April 6. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was

organized at Manchester, N. Y. It began with six members or elders

being ordained, viz., Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., Mr. Hyrum Smith, Mr.

Joseph Smith, jun., Mr. Samuel Smith, Mr. Oliver Cowdery, and Mr.

Joseph Knight. The Sacrament was administered, and hands were laid on

for the gift of the Holy Ghost on this first occasion in the Church.

April 11. Oliver Cowdery preached the first public discourse on this

dispensation, and the principles of the Gospel as revealed to Mr.

Joseph Smith, jun. During this month the first miracle was performed

by the power of God in Colesville, Broome Co., N. Y.

June 1. First Conference of the Church at Fayette, Seneca Co., N.

Y. During this month Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was twice arrested on

false pretenses, tried, and acquitted; while his wife, by special

revelation, was entitled “Elect Lady” and “Daughter of God.”

August. Parley P. Pratt and Sidney Rigdon were converted.

Sept. 19. O. Pratt baptized.

October. The first missionaries to the Lamanites were appointed.

December. Sidney Rigdon visited the Prophet.

1831. January. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., set out for Kirtland, the

birthplace of Sidney Rigdon.

Feb. 1. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., arrived at Kirtland, Ohio, the first

of his many Hegiras.

Feb. 9. God commanded the elders to go forth in pairs and preach.

March 8. John Whitmer was appointed Church recorder and historian by

revelation.

June 6. The Melchizedek, or Superior Priesthood, was first conferred

upon the elders.

June 10-19. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and sundry Saints transferred

themselves from Kirtland, Ohio, to Jackson County, Missouri, where

they arrived in the middle of July. The Land of Zion was dedicated

and consecrated for the gathering of the Saints, and the first log

was laid in Kaw township, twelve miles west of Independence, Missouri.

Aug. 2-3. Site for the temple of New Zion dedicated, a little west of

Independence.

Aug. 4. First Conference of the Church in the land of Zion held.

Aug. 9. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., returned from Independence to

Kirtland, and, arriving about the end of the month (27th?),

established the fatal “Kirtland Safety Society Bank.”

1832. March 25. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and Sidney Rigdon were tarred

and feathered by a mob for attempting to establish communism and

dishonorable dealing, forgery, and swindling (J. H.).

March 26. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., acknowledged the President of the

High Priesthood at a General Council of the Church; visited his flock

in Missouri.

April 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Ohio for Missouri, and arrived

at Independence on the 24th.

April 14. Mr. Brigham Young, converted by Elder Samuel Smith, and

baptized by Eleazar Millard, in this year went to Kirtland, Ohio, and

became a devoted follower of the Prophet.

May 1. At an Œcumenical Council held at Independence, Mo., it was

decided to print the “Book of Doctrines and Covenants.”

May 6. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Missouri for Kirtland, where he

arrived in June.

June. The first Mormon periodical, the “Evening and Morning Star,”

was published by the Church, under the superintendence of Mr. W. W.

Phelps, at Independence, Mo., where the Saints numbered 1200 souls.

Nov. 6. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun.’s, son Joseph born at Kirtland, Ohio.

In this year Mr. Heber C. Kimball was baptized.

1833. Jan. 22. Gift of tongues conferred.

Feb. 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., finished his inspired retranslation

of the New Testament.

March 18. The Quorum of Three High Priests, viz., Mr. Joseph Smith,

jun., Sidney Rigdon, a Campbellite or reformed Baptist preacher,

and Frederick G. Williams, an early convert, was organized as a

Presidency of the Church in Kirtland, and forthwith proceeded to have

visions of the Savior, of concourses of angels, etc., etc.

July 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., finished the translation of the Bible.

July 20. A mob of Missourians in Jackson City tore down the new

newspaper office, tarred, feathered, and whipped the Saints.

Thereupon, three days afterward, the Saints agreed with their

persecutors to leave Jackson Co., and laid the corner-stone of the

Lord’s House in Kirtland.

Sept. 11. A printing-press was established at Kirtland for the

publication of the “Latter-Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate,”

Bishop Partridge being at the head of the Church in Zion.

Oct. 8. Elders W. W. Phelps and O. Hyde presented to the governors

of Missouri a petition from the Saints of Jackson City praying for

redress.

Oct. 31. Ten Mormon houses destroyed by the populace in Jackson Co.

Two of a mob were killed by the Saints. “This was the first

blood shed, and the Mormons shed it” (J. H.). Until Nov. 4, the

persecutions continued till the Saints evacuated Jackson Co., and

fled to Clay Co.

December. Persecutions raged against the Saints in Van Buren Co., Mo.

Dec. 18. Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., was ordained Patriarch.

Dec. 27. The mob permitted Messrs. Davis and Kelley to carry the

establishment of the “Evening and Morning Star” to Liberty, Clay Co.,

Mo., where they began to publish the “Missouri Enquirer.”

1834. Feb. 17. A First Presidency of Three and a High Council of

Twelve were first organized.

Feb. 20. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., began to raise a small army for

carrying out his dreams of physical conquest and temporal sovereignty

(J. H.); also to defend himself against the Missourian mob.

May 3. At a Conference of Elders in Kirtland, the body ecclesiastic

was first named “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.”

The body of Zelph, the Lamanite, was dug up by Mr. Joseph Smith,

jun., in Illinois.

May 5. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., marched on Missouri with 150

Mormons(?). In other words, left Kirtland for Missouri with a company

for the redemption of Zion.

June 19. The cholera broke out in “Zion’s camp” soon after its

arrival in Missouri, and a terrible storm scattered the mob.

June 23. The camp, after suffering from cholera, arrived at Liberty,

Clay Co., Missouri.

June 29 (or Nov. 29?). Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and Oliver Cowdery

first make a “Conditional Covenant with the Lord” that they would pay

tithing. This was its first introduction among the Latter-Day Saints.

July 9. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Clay Co. and returned to

Kirtland, where he arrived about the end of the month.

1835. Feb. 14. A Quorum of Twelve Apostles was organized, among

whom were Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. The former, being

then thirty-four years old, was appointed the head of the Apostolic

College, and, receiving the gift of tongues, was sent on a missionary

tour toward the east.

Feb. 21. First meeting of the Twelve Apostles.

Feb. 28. The organization of the Quorum of Seventies began.

May 3. The Twelve left Kirtland on their first mission.

July. The rolls of Egyptian papyrus, which contained the writings of

Abraham and Joseph in Egypt,[244] were obtained in the early part of

this month.

[244] “Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit” is well proved by the

Mormon attempts to decipher hieroglyphics. M. Remy has given, with

the assistance of M. Théodule Devéria, a terrible blow to the Book of

Abraham in the seventeenth note at the end of his second volume.

Aug. 17. At a General Assembly at Kirtland, the “Book of Doctrines and

Covenants” was accepted as a rule of faith and practice, including the

“Lectures on Faith” delivered by Sidney Rigdon.

1836. Jan. 4. A Hebrew professorship established at Kirtland.

Jan. 21. The authorities of the Church in Kirtland met in the Temple

school-room, and anointed and blessed one another, when visions of

heaven were opened to many.

March 24-27. The House of the Lord in Kirtland, costing $40,000, was

dedicated.

April 3. In the House of the Lord, the Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah

appeared to Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and O. Cowdery, and delivered the

keys of the several priesthoods, and unlimited power in things temporal

and spiritual.

May. The Mormons were requested by the citizens to remove from Clay

Co., Mo., to Carroll, Davies, and Caldwell Counties, and founded the

city of “Far West” in Caldwell Co.

1837. June 12. Messrs. H. C. Kimball and O. Hyde, and on the 13th W.

Richards, set out to convert England (returned in July, 1838). This was

the first organized foreign mission.

July 20. Elders H. C. Kimball, O. Hyde, W. Richards, J. Goodson, T.

Russell, and Priest J. Fielding, leaving Kirtland on June 13, sailed

from New York in the ship “Garrick” (July 1), and landed at Liverpool.

Three days afterward Preston had the honor of first hearing the

preaching of the Gospel as revealed to Mr. Joseph Smith, jun. The first

baptism by divine authority was performed by immersion in the River

Ribble (July 30), and the first confirmation of members took place at

Walkerford Chaidgey (Aug. 4).

July 27. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was prosecuted with a vexatious

lawsuit at Painesville, Ohio.

Sept. 27. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., left Kirtland to establish

gathering-places and visit the Saints in Missouri, and arrived in Far

West about the last of October or the first of November.

Dec. 10. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., arrived in Kirtland from Missouri.

Dec. 25. The first Conference of Mormons in England was held in the

Cock-pit, Preston. An extensive apostasy befell during this month in

Kirtland, Ohio; and the “Safety Society Bank” failed, to the great

scandal of Mormondom.

1838. Jan. 12. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and Sidney Rigdon fled from

Kirtland to escape mob violence, and arrived at Far West on March 14.

April 12 and 13. Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, the

three witnesses to the “Book of Mormon” (others say O. Cowdery, D.

Whitmer, and L. E. Johnson), charged with lying, theft, counterfeiting,

and defaming the Prophet’s character, were cut off from the Church (J.

H.). Orson Hyde, Thos. B. Marsh, W. W. Phelps, and others apostatized,

accused the Prophet of being accessory to several thefts and murders,

and of meditating a tyranny over that part of Missouri, and eventually

over the whole republic (J. H.).

April 20. Elders H. C. Kimball and O. Hyde sailed from Liverpool on

their return home.

July 4. Sidney Rigdon, in an anniversary discourse called “Sidney’s

Last Sermon,” threatened Gentiles and apostates with violence; the

“Danite Band,” according to anti-Mormons, was at once organized.

July 6. The Saints were again persecuted; 565 Saints left Kirtland for

Missouri, and Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., was carried before Judge King.

Aug. 6. Troubles in Gallatin Co. occasioned by elections. The Mormons

say that persecutions of the Saints commenced in Davies Co., Mo.

Aug. and Sept. Emeutes between the mob and the Mormons: the latter

seized sixty to eighty stand of arms at Richmond, and fired on the

militia, mistaking them for the mob. The militia, after losing several

of their number, returned the fire, killing Mr. D. W. Patten (J. H.).

Sept. 7. Mr. Joseph Smith, jr., was tried before Judge King, of Davies

Co.

Sept. 25. The Saints, attempting political rule in Davies Co., were

attacked by the citizen mob, who murmured at being placed under Mormon

rule (J. H.), and forced the intruders to vacate. Mr. Brigham Young

fled for his life to Quincy, Ill.

Oct. 1. After a battle in Carroll Co., Mo., the Saints agreed to

evacuate the town of De Witt, Carroll Co. (Oct. 11).

Oct. 25. At the battle of Crooked River, D. W. Patten, alias Captain

Fearnot, the head of the Danites, was killed (Mormon Calendar).

Oct. 27. General Lilburn W. Boggs, of Missouri, issued his

“extermination order” to General J. B. Clark.

Oct. 30. The militia (mob), to revenge the death of their comrades,

slaughtered sixteen Mormons and two boys at Haun’s Mills.

Oct. 31. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and others, were betrayed by J. M.

Hinckle.

Nov. 1. General J. B. Clark, with a military force, surrounded Far

West, and took prisoners (by stratagem) Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., Mr.

Hyrum Smith, and forty others, who were placed in jail, tried by

court-martial, and sentenced to be shot--a catastrophe prevented by

General Doniphan. The Saints gave up their arms, and Far West was

plundered by the mob.

Nov. 2. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his fellow-prisoners left Far West

for Independence.

Nov. 4. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his fellow-prisoners were kindly

received at Independence.

Nov. 12. Mr. Joseph Smith and 52 others were tried at Richmond, Ray

Co., Mo., and, after a narrow escape from being shot by the militia,

were handed to the civil authorities, placed in close confinement in

Liberty jail, and released.

December. The Saints withdrew into Illinois.

1839. Feb. 14 and March 26. Mr. Brigham Young and others fled from Far

West to Illinois, and attempted to relay the foundations of the Temple

at the New Jerusalem, twelve miles west of Independence, Jackson Co.,

Missouri.

April 6. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his fellow-prisoners were removed

for trial from Richmond to Gallatin, Davies Co.

April 9. The trial of the prisoners commenced before Judge King.

April 15. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., and his companions left Davies for

Boone Co., and on the way escaped from their jailor-guards.

April 18-22. The Saints evacuated Far West, and arrived with Mr. Joseph

Smith, jun., at Quincy, Illinois.

April 26. Mr. Brigham Young privily laid the foundation of a Temple at

Independence (M. Remy). A Conference was held at the Temple Lot, in Far

West, in fulfillment of a revelation given July 8th, 1838. (Appendix to

“Compendium of Faith and Doctrines,” etc.)

May 9. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., visited Commerce, Hancock Co., Illinois,

at the invitation of Dr. Isaac Galland, of whom he obtained, gratis, a

large tract of land to induce the Mormons to immigrate, and upon the

receipt of revelation called his people around him, and sold them the

town lots (J. H.).

June 11. The first house was built by the Saints at Commerce, a new

“State of Zion,” afterward called Nauvoo--the beautiful site--which

presently contained 15,000 souls.

June 27. Orson Hyde, the Apostle, returned to the Church.

July 4. P. P. Pratt and Morris Phelps escaped from the jail in

Columbia, Boone Co., Missouri.

Aug. 29. Elders P. P. Pratt and O. Pratt set out on their first mission

to England, followed on Sept. 18 by Elders Brigham Young and H. C.

Kimball, and on Sept. 20, 21, by Elders G. A. Smith, R. Hedlock, and

T. Turley: O. Hyde, though previously appointed by revelation, did not

accompany them (J. H.). The result was a body of 769 converts.

Oct. 29. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., S. Rigdon, E. Higbee, and O. P.

Rockwell, the chief of the Danites, set out from Nauvoo as delegates

from the Church to the general government, and arrived on. the 28th of

November at Washington, D. C., seeking to obtain redress from Congress

for their losses in Missouri.

1840. March 4. Mr. Joseph Smith, jun., returned from Washington to

Nauvoo.

March 9. Elders Young, Kimball, P. P. Pratt, O. Pratt, Smith, and

Hedlock sailed from New York for England.

April 6. The English mission from New York landed at Liverpool.

April 15. Elder O. Hyde set out from Nauvoo on a mission to Jerusalem.

April 21. Commerce was finally named Nauvoo.

May 27. The first number of the “Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star”

was published at Manchester.

June 6. The first company of emigrating Saints sailed from Liverpool,

and reached New York in July 20. About the 1st of June appeared the

first English edition of the “Latter-Day Saints’ Hymn Book.”

Aug. 7. The first regular company of 200 emigrants, conducted by Elders

Theodore Turley, a returning missionary, and William Clayton, an early

English convert, sailed from Liverpool to New York.

Sept. 14. Mr. Joseph Smith, sen., died at Nauvoo.

Oct. 3. The Mormons began to build their Temple, and petitioned the

Legislature of Illinois for the incorporation of Nauvoo.

Dec. 16. The municipal charter of the city of Nauvoo became law.

1841. January. The first English edition of the “Book of Mormon” was

published.

Feb. 4. The Nauvoo Corporation Act, passed in the preceding winter,

began to be in force. The Nauvoo Legion was organized by Mr. Joseph

Smith, who made himself its lieutenant general.

April 6. The corner-stone of the House of the Lord in Nauvoo was laid.

A second mission, composed of Elders B. Young, H. C. Kimball, O.

Pratt, W. Woodruff, J. Taylor, G. A. Smith, and W. Richards left New

York on April 2d, and landed at Liverpool on May 20.

June 5. Mr. Joseph Smith was arrested under a requisition from the

Governor of the State of Missouri, was tried at Monmouth, Illinois, on

the 9th, and was acquitted on the next day.

July 1. Messrs. Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball returned from

England.

Nov. 8. The baptismal font in Nauvoo Temple was dedicated.

1842. March 1. “Book of Abraham” translated and published in “Times and

Seasons.”

May 6. Attempt to assassinate Lieutenant Governor Boggs, attributed to

O. P. Rockwell.

May 19. Mr. Joseph Smith made Mayor of Nauvoo.

Aug. 6. Mr. Joseph Smith prophesied that the Saints would be driven to

the Rocky Mountains.

Aug. 8. Mr. Joseph Smith arrested a second time under circumstances

similar to those of the first.

Dec. 7. Mr. O. Hyde returned from his mission to Palestine.

Dec. 26. Mr. Joseph Smith, charged with assassination, was arrested

a third time under a requisition from the Governor of the State of

Missouri.

In this year polygamy began to be whispered about Nauvoo (J. H.).

1843. Jan. 5. Mr. Joseph Smith acquitted at Springville.

Jan. 20. Mr. O. Pratt received back into the Church.

May 6. Lieutenant Governor L. W. Boggs (under Governor D. Dunklin),

of Missouri (who had offended the Mormons by driving them from the

state in 1838), was shot in the mouth through an open window--an act

generally attributed to O. P. Rockwell, Chief of the Danites, “with the

connivance and under the instructions of Joseph Smith” (J. H.). In this

year Mr. Joseph Smith became Mayor of Nauvoo, _vice_ J. C. Bennett,

“cut off for imitating Smith in his spiritual wifedom” (J. H.).

Anti-Mormons declare that in 1843 polygamy was enjoined a second time,

but not practiced till 1852.

June 23. Mr. Joseph Smith again arrested, and released on July 2.

July 12. Revelation enjoining polygamy received.

Aug. 30. General J. A. Bennett baptized.

Nov. 4. Mr. Joseph Smith sent his letters to the candidates for the

Presidency of the United States.

Nov. 28. Mr. Joseph Smith addresses a memorial to Congress respecting

the transactions at Missouri.

1844. Feb. 7. Mr. Joseph Smith issued his address as candidate for the

Presidency of the United States.

May 17. Mr. Joseph Smith was carried in triumph through the streets of

Nauvoo.

May 4. Francis M. Higbee, expelled for disobedience from the Church,

prosecuted Mr. Joseph Smith for slander, and arrested him under

a capias: the defendant then sued out a habeas corpus before the

Municipal Court of Nauvoo, of which he was mayor.

May 6. Dr. R. D. Foster and Mr. William Law, having libeled, in the

“Expositor” paper, Mr. Joseph Smith, accusing him of having taken to

spiritual wife Mrs. Foster, were punished by the marshal and municipal

officers, who, with a posse, broke the press as a nuisance, and burned

the types. The libelers fled, and took out a warrant against Mr. Joseph

Smith and others, who resisted and repelled the officer in charge,

whereupon the militia was ordered out.

June 13. The Gentiles armed against the Mormons.

June 17. Mr. Joseph Smith arrested and released.

June 24. Governor Ford, of Illinois, persuaded the Smiths, under the

pledge of his word, and the faith and honor of the state, to yield

up their arms, and sent them prisoners under the charge of sixty

militia-men, the Carthage Grays, a highly hostile body, commanded by

Captain Smith, to Carthage, the capital of Hancock Co., eighteen to

twenty miles from Nauvoo, where 5000 Mormons were in arms.

June 25. The prisoners were arrested by the constable on a charge of

treason.

June 26. The governor again pledged himself for the personal safety of

his prisoners.

June 27 (Thursday). A body of 200 armed Missourians, with their

faces painted and blackened, broke into Carthage jail, and at 5 P.M.

murdered, in a most cowardly and brutal manner, Mr. Joseph Smith and

his brother Hyrum, and desperately wounded Mr. John Taylor; Dr. Willard

Richards alone escaping.

Aug. 15. The Twelve Apostles, with Mr. Brigham Young at the head,

assumed the Presidency of the Church, and addressed an Encyclical to

“all the Saints in the world.”

Oct. 7. Mr. Brigham Young, the President of the Twelve Apostles, came

from Boston, and succeeded to the Presidency of the Church, defeating

Sidney Rigdon, who was forthwith cut off, and delivered over to the

buffetings of Satan.

Nov. 17. Mr. David Smith, son of the Prophet, born at the Nauvoo

Mansion.

1845. The Mormon leaders determined to abandon Nauvoo.

May. The capstone of the Mormon Temple was laid, and endowments began.

Sept. 11. Twenty-nine Mormon houses burnt by the Gentiles.

Sept. 24. The charter of Nauvoo was repealed by the State Legislature.

The authorities of the Church made a treaty with the mob to evacuate

the “Beautiful City” on the following spring. Several places were

proposed: Vancouver’s Island by Mr. John Taylor, Texas by Mr. Lyman

Wight, California by others; at last they chose some valley in the

Rocky Mountains (J. H.).

1846. January. Baptism for the dead was administered in the Mississippi

River; on the 20th a band of Mormon pioneers left Nauvoo, and “located”

at Council Bluffs, Iowa.

February. The first Mormon exodus began with this month; 2000 souls

crossed the frozen Mississippi _en route_ for Council Bluffs.

April 24. The exiled Saints arrived at Garden Grove, Iowa Territory.

May 1. Dedication of the Temple at Nauvoo.

May 16. The pioneer camp of the Saints arrived at Mount Pisgah, Iowa

Territory.

June-July. The Mormon battalion (500 men), on being called for by the

general government, set out for the Mexican campaign. “Mr. Brigham

Young sells a company of his brethren for $20,000” (J. H.). “You shall

have your battalion at once, if it has to be a class of our elders,”

said Mr. Brigham Young (Captain H. Stansbury).

Sept. 10-13. After three days of fighting the few surviving Saints were

expelled from Nauvoo in a “cruel, cowardly, and brutal manner.”

Sept. 16. The trustees of the Church in Nauvoo made a treaty with the

mob for the surrender of their city, and its immediate evacuation

by the remnant of the Saints. Toward the end of this year and the

beginning of the next, the Quorum of Three was reorganized at a special

conference, held at Council Bluffs, Iowa, Mr. Brigham Young nominating

his coadjutors. The “Twelve” delivered themselves of an epistle to the

Saints, urging them to recommence the gathering.

1847. April 14. The pioneer band, 143 men, headed by Mr. Brigham Young,

and driving seventy wagons, left winter quarters, Omaha Nation, on the

west bank of the Missouri River, and followed Colonel Frémont’s trail

over the Rocky Mountains.

July 23. Messrs. O. Pratt, W. Woodruff, and a few others arrived at the

valley of the Great Salt Lake.

July 24. Mr. Brigham Young and the main body entered the valley on

this day, which became a solemn anniversary in the Church. The Mormons

proceeded to lay the foundations of the city.

Oct. 31. Mr. Brigham Young returned to Council Bluffs.

1848. Feb. 20. The emigration from England reopened after a suspension

of two years.

May. Mr. Brigham Young (whose appointment had been confirmed by a

General Conference held at Kanesville, Iowa) left winter quarters the

second time, and, followed by Mr. H. C. Kimball and the mass of the

Saints, reached the Promised Land in September.

September. Some Mormons who had started from New York for San

Francisco, expecting to find the Church in California or Vancouver’s

Island, arrived in Great Salt Lake City from the West.

Nov. 10. The Temple in Nauvoo burnt.

1849. March 5. At a convention held in Great Salt Lake City the

Constitution of the State of Deserét was drafted, and the Legislature

was elected under its provisions.

July 2. Delegates sent to Washington petitioned for admission into the

Union as a free, sovereign, and independent state.

August. Captain Stansbury and Lieutenant Gunnison, Topographical

Engineers, by order of the federal government, surveyed Great Salt Lake

Valley.

Sept. 9. A bill organizing Utah Territory was signed by President

Fillmore. The Perpetual Emigration Fund was organized. Five Yutas were

killed in battle by Captain John Scott and his Mormons.

1850. April 5. The Assembly met, and Utah Territory was duly organized.

May 27. The walls of the Temple at Nauvoo were blown down by a

hurricane.

June 14. The first missionaries to Scandinavia landed in Copenhagen,

Denmark.

June 15. The first number of the “Deserét News” appeared under the

editorship of Dr. Willard Richards.

Aug. 12. The first baptisms in Denmark by legal authority in this

Dispensation took place.

Sept. 9. The “Act” for organizing the Territory of Utah became a law.

Mr. Brigham Young was appointed Governor and Superintendent of Indian

Affairs in Utah Territory by President Fillmore, who signed the act.

The judges, Brocchus, Day, and Brandeburg, and Mr. Secretary Harris,

arrived at Great Salt Lake City.

Sept. 22. Judge Brocchus insulted the people, and, accompanied by the

other federal officers, fled from the Territory.

Oct. 13. The first company of Perpetual Emigration Fund emigrants

arrived in Great Salt Lake City from the United States.

Dec. 7. The first branch of the Church in France was organized at Paris.

In 1850 was the Indian War. Mr. Higbee was the first white settler

slain, and many of the Yutas were killed.

1851. Jan. 9. Great Salt Lake City was incorporated.

Feb. 3. Mr. Brigham Young sworn in as Governor of Utah.

April 5. Legislature of Provisional State of Deserét dissolved. The

Legislative Assembly was elected under the Territorial Bill. A memorial

signed by 13,000 names was forwarded to her Britannic majesty’s

government, proposing for a relief by emigration of a portion of the

poorer subjects to colonize Oregon or Vancouver’s Island, the latter

being about the dimensions of England.

April 7. The Tabernacle was built, and at a General Conference in Great

Salt Lake City it was voted to build a Temple.

Sept. 22. Opening of the Legislature of Utah Territory. Great trouble

with the government of the United States fomented by the federal

officials’ march. The Legislature forbade by ordinances the sale of

arms, ammunition, and spirituous liquors to the Indians.

Dec. 13. Parovan City, on Centre Creek, Iron Co., Utah Territory,

founded.

1852. June. Fifteen Frenchmen baptized in Paris.

Aug. 29. The revelation on the celestial law of marriage, alias

polygamy (bearing date 1843), was published by Mr. Brigham Young.

Sept. 3. The first company of Perpetual Emigration Fund converts from

Europe reached Great Salt Lake City.

Dec. 13. The Legislative Assembly of Utah Territory met for the first

time. The judges and the Secretary of State appointed by President

Pierce came to hand.

1853. Jan. 17. The Deserét Iron Company was chartered by the

Legislature of Utah Territory.

Jan. 25. The missionary elders O. Spencer and J. Houtz arrived in

Berlin, Prussia, and were banished on the 2d of February.

Feb. 14. Temple Block was consecrated, ground was broken for the

foundation of the Temple, and the excavations began.

March 7. The first missionaries to Gibraltar arrived there.

April 6. Corner-stone of the new Temple laid with religious rites.

In the summer (July) and autumn of this year were serious Indian

troubles. At 6 A.M., Oct. 26th, Lieutenant J. W. Gunnison and eight men

of his party, including the botanist, M. Creutzfeldt, were massacred on

the border of Sevier River, twenty miles north of Lake Sevier.

Nov. 1. The first number of the “Journal of Discourses” was published

in England. This year Keokuk was made the outfitting place for

emigrants.

1854. January. New alphabet adopted by the University of Deserét.

April 7. Mr. J. M. Grant was appointed to the First Presidency, _vice_

W. Richards, deceased on March 11th.

May 23. The patriarch John Smith died, and was succeeded by another

John Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, and nephew of the Prophet.

June 28. John Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, was appointed Patriarch over

the Church.

August. Colonel Steptoe, commanding about 1000 federal troops, arrived

at Great Salt Lake City.

Sept. 9. At the instance of Colonel Steptoe, who refused to resign his

military commission, Mr. Brigham Young was reappointed governor, and

held the office until 1857. Even the Gentiles memorialized in his favor.

1855. Jan. 29. Walchor, alias Wakara, alias Walker, chief of the Yuta

Indians, died (was secretly put to death and buried by Jordan, Mr.

Chandless).

May 5. Endowment House in Great Salt Lake City consecrated.

May 11. Treaty of peace concluded with the Yuta Indians.

May. Colonel Steptoe, after a stay of six months, marched with the

United States cavalry to California.

August (July?). Judge Drummond, Surveyor General Burr, and other United

States officials, arrived at Great Salt Lake City.

In the fall of this year one third of the crops was destroyed by

drought and grasshoppers.

October. A branch of the Church was organized in Dresden (15th);

Elder O. Spencer died on the 29th. The First Presidency of the Church

proposed in a general epistle that Saints emigrating by the Perpetual

Emigration Fund should cross the Prairies and Rocky Mountains with

hand-carts.

Dec. 10. The local Legislature met for the first time at Fillmore,

the Territorial capital, and passed a bill authorizing an election of

delegates to a Territorial Convention for the purpose of forming a

State Constitution, and to petition Congress for the admission of Utah

into the Union. They also passed a bill authorizing a census.

Most of the Mormons became polygamists (J. H.).

1856. March 17. A convention of delegates met in Great Salt Lake

City, and adopted a State Constitution, sending Messrs. John Taylor

and George A. Smith, apostles, both as delegates to Washington, with

a view to obtaining admission into the Union as a state. No answer

was returned. During the very severe winter and spring half the stock

perished by frost, and grain became very scarce.

May. Judge W. W. Drummond left Great Salt Lake City, after having

forwarded false charges of rebellion, burning the library, and

destroying the archives: these reports caused all the troubles with the

United States.

The practice of tithe-paying was introduced among the Saints in Europe.

Iowa City was made the outfit point for the Plains.

June. Lucy Mack, the Prophet’s mother, died.

Sept. 26. The first hand-cart train crossed the Plains, and arrived at

Great Salt Lake City.

1857. (The winter of Mormon discontent.) March. Judge Drummond reported

calumnies against the Mormons.

April. Surveyor General Burr and other United States officials left

Utah Territory and returned to the United States.

The Territorial Legislature petitioned Congress to send better

officers, or to permit the Mormons to appoint _bonâ fide_ citizens and

residents.

Mail communication with the States--the “Y Express” established by Mr.

Brigham Young--was cut off, to keep the Mormons ignorant of the steps

taken against them, and this continued for nearly a year. The Press in

the United States generally opined that the Mormons were to be “wiped

out.”

May 14. Apostle Parley P. Pratt killed by Hector M‘Lean in Kansas.

June 29. Brigadier General W. S. Harney, commanding Fort Leavenworth,

was ordered to take charge of the army of Utah. He was removed after

declaring that he would “hang Brigham first and try him afterward,”

and was succeeded first by Colonel Alexander, and afterward by General

Johnston.

Sept. 3, 4. Indians aided by white men massacred 115 to 120 emigrants

at Mountain Meadow.

In this month 1400 men, artillery and liners of the 5th and 10th

regiments, appeared upon the Sweetwater, followed by 1000 more, making

the whole force amount to 2400 men, a kind of _posse comitatus_ to

enforce obedience to the federal laws.

Sept. 15. Mr. Brigham Young issued the remarkable document

subjoined.[245] General Wells was ordered to occupy the passes in the

Wasach Mountains, and 2016 Mormons prepared to defend their hearths

and homes against the violence of the United States. Captain Van Vliet

arrived at Great Salt Lake City.

[245] _Proclamation by the Governor, proclaiming Martial Law in the

Territory of Utah._

“CITIZENS OF UTAH,--We are invaded by a hostile force, who are

evidently assailing us to accomplish our overthrow and destruction.

“For the last twenty-five years we have trusted officials of the

government, from constables and justices to judges, governors, and

presidents, only to be scorned, held in derision, insulted, and

betrayed. Our houses have been plundered and then burned, our fields

laid waste, our principal men butchered while under the pledged

faith of the government for their safety, and our families driven

from their homes to find that shelter in the barren wilderness, and

that protection among hostile savages, which were denied them in the

boasted abodes of Christianity and civilization.

“The Constitution of our common country guarantees unto us all that

we do now or have ever claimed.

“If the constitutional rights which pertain unto us as American

citizens were extended to Utah, according to the spirit and meaning

thereof, and fairly and impartially administered, it is all that we

could ask--all that we have ever asked.

“Our opponents have availed themselves of prejudice existing against

us because of our religious faith to send out a formidable host to

accomplish our destruction. We have had no privilege, no opportunity

of defending ourselves from the false, foul, and unjust aspersions

against us before the nation. The government has not condescended

to cause an investigating committee or other person to be sent to

inquire into and ascertain the truth, as is customary in such cases.

“We know those aspersions to be false, but that avails us nothing.

We are condemned unheard, and forced to an issue with an armed

mercenary mob, which has been sent against us at the instigation

of anonymous letter-writers ashamed to father the base, slanderous

falsehoods which they have given to the public; of corrupt officials,

who have brought false accusations against us to screen themselves in

their own infamy; and of hireling priests and howling editors, who

prostitute the truth for filthy lucre’s sake.

“The issue which has been thus forced upon us compels us to resort

to the great first law of self-preservation, and stand in our own

defense--a right guaranteed unto us by the genius of the institutions

of our country, and upon which the government is based.

“Our duty to ourselves, to our families, requires us not to tamely

submit to be driven and slain without an attempt to preserve

ourselves. Our duty to our country, our holy religion, our God,

to freedom and liberty, requires that we should not quietly stand

still and see those fetters forging around which are calculated to

enslave and bring us in subjection to an unlawful military despotism,

such as can only emanate [in a country of constitutional law] from

usurpation, tyranny, and oppression.

“Therefore I, Brigham Young, Governor and Superintendent of Indian

Affairs for the Territory of Utah, in the name of the people of the

United States in the Territory of Utah,

“1st. Forbid all armed forces, of every description, from coming into

this Territory under any pretense whatever.

“2d. That all the forces in said Territory hold themselves in

readiness to march at a moment’s notice, to repel any and all such

invasion.

“3d. Martial law is hereby declared to exist in this Territory from

and after the publication of this proclamation; and no person shall

be allowed to pass or repass into, or through, or from this Territory

without a permit from the proper officer.

(L.S.)

“Given under my hand and seal at Great Salt Lake City, Territory of

Utah, this fifteenth day of September, A.D. eighteen hundred and

fifty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America

the eighty-second.

BRIGHAM YOUNG.”

Oct. 5-6. The Mormons, who were “spoiling for a fight,” burned, without

the orders of their governor, two provision trains, one of fifty-one

and the other of twenty-three wagons, causing great want and violent

exasperation in the army of Utah.

November. Army of Utah encamped near Green River.

Nov. 21. Proclamation of Mr. Cumming, the new governor.

Dec. 15. Mr. Brigham Young’s message to the Legislature of Utah.

1858. Jan. 16. Address of citizens of Great Salt Lake City sent to

President Buchanan.

February. Colonel Kane reached Great Salt Lake City.

April 5. Governor A. Cumming appointed to Utah Territory after the

thankless offer had been refused by sixteen or seventeen political

persons; left Camp Scott, near Fort Bridger, and on the 12th of April

entered Great Salt Lake City. The “rebellion in Utah” found to be a

pure invention.

Mr. Brigham Young, followed by 25,000 souls, marched to Provo, with

their stock, flocks, and chattels, even their furniture.

April 15. Governor Cumming officially reported a respectful reception,

and the illumination of Echo Kanyon; also that the records of the

United States Courts, then in charge of a Mormon, Mr. W. H. Hooper,

Secretary _pro tem._, the Territorial Library, in charge of Mr. W. C.

Staines, and other public property, were all unimpaired, the contrary

report having constituted the _causa belli_.

April 24. Governor Cumming issued a proclamation that he would assume

effective protection of all persons illegally restrained of their

liberty in Utah. Few availed themselves of his offer. The Indian agent,

Dr. T. Garland Hurt, was accused of having incited the Uinta Indians to

acts of hostility against the Mormons--a standing charge and counter

charge in the United States.

May 21. The governor made a requisition that “no hinderance may be

hereafter presented to the commercial, postal, or social communications

throughout the Territory.”

May 29. The “Peace Commissioners” from Washington, ex-Governor

Lazarus W. Powell, of Kentucky, and Major Ben M‘Culloch, of Texas,

the celebrated Indian fighter, arrived at Great Salt Lake City (where

they staid till June 2), and after proclaiming a general amnesty and

free pardon, obtained permission for the army of Utah to enter the

Territory, and to encamp at a place not nearer than forty miles from

New Zion.

June 12. Mr. Brigham Young treated with the Peace Commissioners.

June 14. The President’s pardon “for all treasons and seditions” was

proclaimed by the governor, and accepted by the citizens.

June 26. The federal troops, having left Camp Scott, passed through the

deserted City of the Saints, led by Lieutenant Colonel Cooke, who rode,

according to Mormon report, with head uncovered; they remained for two

days encamped on the Jordan, outside the settlement, and then moved

twelve to fifteen miles westward for wood and grass.