Show 1 hemily or OF 77 TH I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 r D E c im u ea 10 1338 3 friday I 1 about this time those of us ohp ho had bad been sentenced thereto were colv convey byj ed to 0 liberty jail put pat in jose close confinement and all communication with our friend sf cut off during our oar trial william E mcclellin Mc Lellin accompanied by burr barr riggs and others at times were busy in plundering dering and robbing the houses of si sidney d ey rigdon george morey and the tha widow pheb ann patten and others under pretence predence pre tence or colot of law or su an order from general dark clark as testified io by the members of the different families admies robbed saturday decem december ber 1st ast 1838 at a meeting of the committee on the part of the mor mons and aad a like committee I 1 on the part of them the ei citizens ti zens of daviess cou county uty met at adam ondi ahman on on the first of december 1858 the following lowing propositions by the mormon committee were made and agreed to by the daviess county I 1 I 1 committee I 1 that the mormon committee be allowed to employ say 30 20 teamsters for V the ie purpose ur pose 9 of f hauling off their property ad that the mormon committee collect whatever stock they may live in daviess county at some point and some 2 or 3 of the daviess county committee be notified to attend for the purpose of examining said stock and convey or attend the mormon committee out of the limits of the county and it is further understood 6 that the mormon committee is not to drive or take from this county any stock of any description iou at any other time nor under any ther other circumstances than these mentioned As witness our hands william PPe dr K kerr adam black committee the above propositions were made and agreed to by the undersigned undersigner under signed committee on the part of the mormons cormons Mor mons william huntington B S wilber J H hale henry herriman Z wilson wednesday ath the missouri legislature having assembled governor boggs laid before the house of representatives all the information orma in his possession relative to the difficulties between the mob and mormons cormons Mor mons I 1 monday to the honorable legisla ture of the state of missouri in senate an and house of representatives convened 1 we the undersigned undersigner under signed petitioners petition ers and inhabitants of caldwell Gal dwell county missouri in consequence I 1 of the late calamity that has come come upon us taken in connection with former afflic 1 i eions feel it a duty we owe to ourselves and our i country to lay our case before your hon body for consideration it is a well known fact that tha a society of our people commenced settling in jackson county missouri in the summer of 1831 where they according to their ability I 1 purchased lands and settled upon them with the intention and expectation of becoming per I 1 manent citizens in common with othe others rs I 1 I 1 soon after the settlement began persecution i began and as the society increased persecution I 1 1 also increased until the society at last was compelled to leave the county and although an account of these persecutions has been pub dished to the world yet we feel that it will not i be improper to notice a few of the most prom 1 anent items in this memorial on the july 1833 1111 a mob convened a at independence a committee of which calt called upon a few of the men of our church there and I 1 stated to them that the sto reprinting office and 6 indeed all other mechanic shops must be closed I 1 forthwith and the society leave the county immediately these propositions were so unexpected 3 that a certain time was asked for to consider on the subject before an answer should be returned which was refused and our men being individually interrogated each one answered that he could not nol oo 00 consent n sent to comply with their propositions I 1 one of the mob replied that he e was I 1 sorry for the work of destruction would commence I 1 immediately in a short time the printing office which was a tw two 0 story building was assailed by the mob and soon thrown down and with it much able property destroyed next they went to the store for the same purpose but mr gilbert one of the owners agreeing to clote close it they abandoned their design their next move was their dragging of bishop partridge from his house and ana family to tb the public square where surrounded by hundreds they partially stripped him of his clothes and tarred and feathered him from head to foot A man by the name of allen alien was also tarred at the same time this was saturday and the mob agreed to meet the following tuesday to accomplish their purpose I 1 of driving 0 or massac massacre irig the society tuesday came and the mob came also bearing ino C with them a red flag in token of blood some two or three of the principal men of the society offered their lives if that would appease the wrath of the mob so that the rest of the society might dwell in peace upon their lands the aisher answer was that unless the society would leave en masse every man should die for himself being in a de fenceless situation to 0 save a gene general ral massacre it was agreed that one half balf of the society should leave the county by the first of the next january and the remainder by the first of the following 11 april A treaty was entered into and ratified and all ail things went on smoothly for a while awhile but some time in october the wrath of the mob be began gan again to be kindled insomuch that the they y shot at some come of our oar people whipped others and threw down their li houses lineses and committed many other depredations indeed the society of saints were harr ased for some some time both day and nd night their houses were brick batted and broken ae open women and children insulted ac the storehouse of A S gilbert oo 00 was broken open r ransacked an sacked und and some of the goods strewed in the streets these abuses with many others of a very aggravated grava ted nature so stirred up the ina indignant cinat feelings of our people that when a party of them say about thirty met a company of the mob of about double their number a skirmish took place in which sorn some e two or three of the mob and ad one of oa our people were killed this I 1 raised as it were the whole country in arms and nothing would satisfy them but bat an immediate surrender of the arms of our people and they forthwith to leave the county fifty one guns were given up which have never been returned or pid paid for to this day the next day pa parties r ies of the mob from 50 to 70 headed by pr priests et went from house to house houie threatening women and children with nith death if they were not off before they returned this so a limed them that they fled in different directions some took shelter in the woods while others wandered wim deredin in the estill their feet bled in the the weather being very cold theia thair sufferings suffering iz in other respects were very great I 1 the society made to t my clay c county unity as faval they possibly could people mceiver dt n kindly and administer ea toj to pa their ir i after the society had left jackson 0 06 0 their buildings dil dings amounting to aballi ab ou two hunu red were ere either bu burned arned or otherwise destroyed and imich of the their r crops as well as furniture ao which wh ich if properly estimated would li large sum for which afie they y have ave not as yet et received any remuneration athe the society remained in olay clay county bounty 1 nearly three years when at the suggestion of the he peo pie there they removed to that lachat section 0 0 the c country known noy nor as caldwell county here the people out most of the former inhabitants and al also sa entered ente much of the wild land many soon poon owned I 1 a number I 1 of e eighties 19 cities while there was scarcely sear celya man that did not secure to himself arleas a foit forty here we were P permitted permitted ermit e ted to enjoy peace for a season but as our society increased in numbers and settlements were m made ade in daviess and carroll counties the mob spirit spread itself again for months previous ts to our oar giving up up our arms to general trellou laca rea army armay we heard beardi he ardi ji title else than rumors of mobs collecting in different places and threatening our pec people aple jib it is well knowin that th atthe the people of owr our had bad loca located selves beaves at do de wit had to give up to a mob and I 1 leave the place notwithstanding the militia were called out oat for their protection from de wit the mob wont towards daviess county and while on their way there they took two of our men prisoners and made them ride upon the cannon and told them that they would drive the mormons cormons from daviess to caldwell Oal dwell and from caldwell Oal dwell to hell and that they would give them no quarter only at the cannons mouth the threats of the mob induced some of our people to go to daviess to help to protect their brethren who bad settled at dichman on grand river the mob soon fled from daviess county and af after ter they were dispersed and the cannon taken durin during which time no blood was shed the people of caldwell returned to their homes in hopes of enjoying peace and quiet but in this they were disappointed for a large mob was soon found to be collecting 0 on the grindstone fork of grand river from ten to fifteen miles off under the command of cornelius I 1 gillium a scouting party of which came within four miles of far west and drove off stock belonging to our people in open daylight I 1 I 1 t about this t time me word came cama to far west I 1 that a party of the mob had come into caldwell county to the south of far west that they were taking horses and cattle burning houses and cordei ordering ino t the inhabitants to leave their homes immedi immediately a tely and that they had then actually in their possession three men prisoners this report reached far west in the tha evening c and 1 was confirmed about madni midnight A co company m pany of about sixty men went forth under the command of david VV patten to disperse the mob as they supposed A battle was the result in I 1 which captain patten and two of his men were I 1 killed and others wounded bogart it appears had but one killed and others wounded I 1 notwithstanding the unlawful acts committed by captain bogaerts Bo garts men previous to the battle it is now asserted asserted and claimed that he was regularly ordered out as a militia captain to preserve the peace alono along the line of ray liay and caldwell c unties counties that tha t battle was fought four or five days previous to the arrival of general lucas and his army about the time 0 of the battle with we captain a pta in bogart a number of our people who were re living ivino near hauns mills on rhonl creek about awen twenty ty miles below F far r west too together 0 ether with a n number u aber of emigrants who had been stopped there in in consequence of the excitement made an agreement with the mob which was about there that neither party should molest the other but dwell in peace shortly after this agreement was made a mo mob b early party of from two to three hundred ma many ny of w whom om are supposed to io be from chariton county some from davies and also those who had agreed agree 0 df fo dwell in peace came upon our people there whose number in men was about forty at a time they little expected any such thing and without any ceremony notwithstanding they begged for quarter shot them down as they would tigers or panthers some few made their escape by fleeing eighteen were killed anda and a number more were vere severely wounded this tragedy was conducted in the most brutal and savage Z e manner an old man after the massacre was partially over threw himself into their hands and begged for quarter when he was instantly shot down that not killing him they took ati an old corn cutter and literally mangled h him i to pieces A lad of ten years of age age after ate bi being g shot down also begged to be sp spared a rn when one of them placed the muzzle of his gun to his head and blew out his brains the slaughter of these not satisfying the mob they then proceeded to rob and plunder the soene scene that presented i itself after the massacre to the widows and orphans of the killed is beyond description it was trul truly y a time of weeping of moarnin mourning g and of lamentation lamen cation As yet wo we have not heard of any being arrested for these murders notwithstanding there are men boasting about the county bounty that they did kill on that occasion more than one mormon whereas all our people who wore in the battle with captain patten against bogart 0 that 1 I 1 can be found have been arrested and are now confined in jail to await their trial fur for murder when general lucas arrived near far west and presented the governors order we were greatly surprised yet we V e felt willing 11 to submit to 10 the authorities of tho the state wo ga gave ve up our arms without reluctance we were then made prisoners and confined to fro the lim limits it of the town for about a week during which time tho the men from the country were not permitted to go tro to their families many of whom were in a s suffering ering condition for the want of food a and n d firewood the weather being 0 very cold and stormy much pro property perky was destroyed by the broo troops P s in town during their stay there such as burning house logs rails corn cribs boards ac the usino using of corn and hay the plundering 3 of houses the killing of cattle sheep and hogs and also the taking of horses not their r own landfill and all this without regard to owners or asking 0 leave of any one in the meantime men were abused women insulted lied and abused by the I 1 I 1 troops and all this while we evere vere kept prisoners whilst the town was guarded 3 we were called together by the order of gen general eral lucas and a guard placed close around us and in that situation were compelled to sign a deed of trust for the purpose of making 0 our individual ft property ert ya alf an bolden hoiden as 18 they said to payal pay all the e debts of every in individual d cividal belong belonging ging adl the th church bui c and also alo to pay for all d damages a m 1 ge 8 tb the 0 ol 01 old 4 inhabitants of davies may have sustained in consequence of the I 1 late ae t difficulties in that county 1 I 1 I 1 ge general eral clark was now arrived and the first important move made by him was the collecting of our aur men together on the square and a selected e out about fifty of themi them whom he imme irately marched into a and close this way was done without the aid of the sheriff Sherif for or any an yega lega pro process the next day 46 0 of f tho those 8 e ta taken e ii were driven dikea like a parcel of menial slaves off to richmond not knowing why they were taken or what they were tak taken e f for or after being confined in richmond more in ore than two weeks a about t ona on 3 half were liberated the rest after another weeks confinement were most moat of them required to appear at court court and have since been let to bail since general dark clark withdrew his troops from far west parties of 0 armed men have gone through the county driving oft off horses sheep and batilo cattle a and also F plundering lundering houses the barbarity I 1 of general genera lucas troops ought not tor to be passed over in silence they y shot our cattle and hogs me merely rely for the a ike of destroying theme them leaving them for the ravens to eat they took prisoner an aged man by the name of tanner and wit without hout any reason for ithe it he was struck over the head bead with a gu gun which laid bis his skull bare Ano another therman man by the name of carey was also taken prisoner by them and I 1 w auf provocation had his brains caius das dashed hed |