Show copyright secured HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH AUGUST 1838 wednesday ath after spending the night in counsel at colonel brode I 1 rode out with I 1 i some of the brethren t to view view the situation of I 1 affairs in that region 9 ion and among others called I 1 on adam black justice of the peace and I 1 judged judge e elect ee t for or davies county who had some time p previous rev i ous sold hia farm to brother vinson knight kigh tan and d received part pay according to agreement and afterwards united himself with a band of robbers to drive the saints from and prevent their settling in davies county on interrogation he confessed what he had done and andin in consequence orthis of this violation of his oath as magistrate we asked him to give us some satisfaction so that we might know whether he was our friend or enemy whether he would administer the law in justice and politely requested him to sign an agreement of peace dut but being jealous he would not sign sign it but said he would write one himself to our satisfaction and sign it which he did as follows I 1 1 I adam black a justice of the peace of I 1 davies county do hereby y to the that he i bound to duport the constitution of this state and of the united state and he is not attached to any I 1 mob nor will not attach himself to lo any such people and so long as they will not molest me i will not molest them this the ath day ol of au august 1838 ADAM BLACK J P 11 hoping he would abide his hia own decision and support the law we left him in peace and returned to colonel at adam ondi ahman in the evening some of the citizens from mill i port C called al I 1 ed 0 on a us and we agreed 0 to meet some of the principal princia a men of the county in coonc council ii at adam ondi ahman the next day at twelve the camp still continued their labors in I 1 ohio many were sick and evil s spirits 1 rits were striving to trouble the brethren B elders ders dunham carter knight brown and perry spent th the c evening in in walking through the tents rebuking diseases and foul spirits and standing beaw between een the saints and the destroyer brother Byingt ons child died and many were healed the committee assembled at adam ondi ahman at twelve according to previous appointment viz on the part of citizens joseph morin senator elect john williams representative besenta elect james B turner clerk of theair the circuit court and others on en the part of the saints lyman wight vinson knight john smith reynolds cahoon and others at this i meeting both parties entered into a covenant ot of peace to preserve each others rights and aad stand in their defence that if men abo 10 ald d do wrong neither party should uphold them or endeavour en deavo a r i to screen them from frola ja justice babice but deliver up all offenders to be dealt wit with according C 01 to law and nd justice the assembly assembly y dispersed on these friendly terms myself an and d fri friends ends return returning in to farbest far west where we arrived about midnight and found all quiet quie friday being I 1 somewhat fatigued I 1 spent the day a y w with ith my family transacting but littie business sickness S continued in the camp brother car ricos child died elder tyler was healed by the prayer of faith the spirit of continued to stalk abroad notwithstanding st all our treaties of peace as will vill be seen by the following affidavit state ustate of missouri ray county personally fore me the undersigner undersigned under signed judge of the fifth I 1 judicial circuit william pa P peniston and makes oath that he has good reason to believe I 1 and that he verily does believe that there is ia i now collected and embodied in the county of i davies a large body of armed men whose I 1 I 1 movements and conduct e are of a highly I 1 insurrectionary and unlawful character that they consist of about five fire hundred men and that they or a part of them to the number of i one hundred and twenty have committed vio I 1 lence against adam black by surrounding his i I 1 house and t taking aking him in a violent manner and subjecting sub mi aeeti no him to great indignities by forcing him u under ader n threats of immediate death to sign a paper writing of a very disgraceful i character and by threatening threat ning to do the same to aletho old settlers and citizens of davies county i an and d th that at t they h ey have as a collected and armed body threatened to put to instant death this affiant on sight and ana that he verily believes they will acco accomplish ang lish that act with without 0 u t they are prevented and also they have threatened the same to wm win bowman and others and this affiant states that he verily believes all the above facts to be true and that the body of men now assembled se do intend to commit great violence to many of the citizens of dayie davied county anda andi that they have already done so to adam black 1 and this affiant verily believes from information of others that joseph smith junior and lyman I 1 wight are the leaders lead 0 rs of this body of t armed wel uen and the names of others thus thug combined I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 not certainly known to this thia affiant and he further states the fact to be that it is his opinion and he verily believes that it is the object of this body of armed men to take vengeance bance for some injuries or imaginary injuries ape done to some of their friends and to intimidate and drive from the County all the old citizens and possess themselves of their lands or to force such as do not leave to come into their measures band and submit to their dictation WILLIAM P PENISTON i sworn to and subscribed before me the un der d signed i d judge as aforesaid this day of august 1838 AUSTIN A KING the above was also sworn to by william bowman wilson mckinney and john netherton so it is that when mens hearts become so hard and corrupt as to glory in in devising robbing rabing plundering mobbing and murdering innocent men women and children by wholesale they will more readily swear to lies than speak the truth at this time some of the brethren had removed with their families from the vicinity of gallatin Gall afcin to dichman Di ahman and far west for safety saturday alth this morning I 1 left far west with my council and elder almon W babbitt to visit the brethren on the forks of grand river who had bad come com from canada with elder babitt and settled at that place contrary to counsel in the afternoon after my departure a committee from ray county arrived at par far west to inquire into the proceedings of our society in going armed into davies county complaint having been entered in ray county by adam black william P peniston and others the committee from ray requested an interview with a committee of caldwell Oal dwell and a a general meeting was called at the city hall at six in the evening when etwas if was stated that they were assembled to take into consideration the boings of the citizens of ray hay county wherein 1 they lp y have accused the mormons cormons of this place 0 f breaking the peace in defending their rights and that of their brethren in the county of D avies and the meeting organized by appoint in g r bisho bishop E L partridge chairman and geo VV VS arbiso Rb robinson iSo clerk resolved first that a committee of seven be ap pointed to confer with the committee from R ray y resolved second that this committee with their secretary be authorized to answer suh such questions as way may be offered by the committee from ray and its as are named in the document presented this meeting purporting to be ba tho the preamble and resolutions of the citizens of ray resolved third that whereas the document do referred to h has is no date or signature that our Committee judge of the fact and act ai accordingly cordingly resolved fourth that our comm comin attee report their proceedings to this meeting as ais soon as aa possible i ED WARD PARTRIDGE GE chairman GEO VV ROBINSON clerk elder dominicus carters little daughter 0 surah died in the camp sunday I 1 continued with the brethren at the forks of grand river offering such counsel as their situation required the camp held a public meeting as was common with themon the sabbath another camp consisting of saints from canada was in the vicinity led by elder john E page who preached to tile tho kirtland Kirt laud camp in the afternoon monday I 1 returned with my council to far west we were chased by some evil designing 6 men ton ten or twelve milos but we eluded their grasp when within about eight miles of home we met some brethren who had ad come to inform us that a writ had been issued by judge king for my arrest and that of lyman wiant wight C fo for r attempting 0 to defend our oar rights against the mob the gamp camp as a body were not united and did not improve their time aad labor as they ought some were faithful in the eve evening bilg they were instructed instruct edin in all meekness f forbearance aher ance and love but in great faithfulness by elders zera and elias smith and I 1 spent principally at home en engaged in domestic affairs fairs at thursday famed I 1 spent principally at home the sheriff of davies accompanied by judge morin called and notified me that ho he had a writ for to take mo me to davies county rm on trial for visiting c that county on the seventh instant j it had been bee n currently reported that I 1 bould not be apprehended by legal drocea pr ocea and that I 1 would not submit to the laws of the land but I 1 told the that I 1 I 1 I 1 calculated always to submit athe the lawe la wg of our count I 1 wished to be tried in my iny own county as the citizens of davies 1 county were highly exasperated at me and that the laws of the country gave me this privilege upon udon hearing this the sheriff declined serving th tho writ and said he would go to richmond and see judge ki king ng on the subject I 1 told him I 1 would remain at homb until his ra re turn the sheriff returned from richmond and found me at home whore where I 1 had remained during daring his absence and informed me very gravely that I 1 was out of his jurisdiction and ana that he could not act in caldwell and some of tho the brethren passed on from the I 1 camp to work on another job near dayton sunday elder joel johnson preached to the camp in the morning and the sacrament was administered in the the afternoon by elders johnson and hale monday eljer elder nathan K knight and i george brooks having previously been cut off left the camp with their their families in the evening one of the children of the camp was seized by an evil spirit which drew the childs face quite out of shape and produced great suffering suffering 1 the elders rebuked the spirit and it departed this evening elder willey was taken sick lie he had bad laid his hands on his child and rebuked an evil spirit which left the child and entered into him the elders gathered round him as he lay in hi his is wagon a and nd all his conversation was in rhyme elder hale stepped into the wagon wagon 1 to lift him up when he jumped forward at elders snow and carter crying yow yow yow gnashing his teeth ind and thumping most horribly they laid hands on him and rebuked the foul spirit in the name of jesus when he called for drink and laid quietly down but a oon recommenced his poetry filder duncan mcarthur laid hands upon him and began to rebuke the spirit at the same instant 6 groaned yelled and screamed out as aa it were all in in a whistling sound and he began again to talk like a man As soon as elder mcarthur Mo Arthur was done he lay down went to sleep and remained well nothing peculiar transpired at far west from the sixteenth to this day when the inhabitants of the different parts of the county met to organize themselves into agricultural companies I 1 was present and took part pait in their deliberation one company was formed called the western agricultural 11 company I 1 I 1 who voted to enclose one field for grain con I 1 sections which contain seven thousand six hundred and eighty acres of land another company also was organized called the eastern agricultural company the extent of the field not de decided bided tuesday another company was formed 0 called ithe the southern agricultural company the field to be as large as the first mentioned tuesday there were two births in the camp wednesday I 1 spent part of the da day y in in f co with several brethren upon different subjects the brethren continued to gather ather to zion daily some time this mon month tt the saints were warned by the mob to leave do be witt 1 |