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Show It was the following July when Port emerged from his cabin late one night after hearing voices across the river. Men were calling for him 1 bring the ferry over. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Rockwell hung his glowing lantern on a tree limb, hen harnessed the mare and hitched hit-ched her to the ferry rope. After loosening the ferry from its moorings he led the mare up the trail as the ferry began moving to the far side of the river. One hand held the mare's lead rope The other rested on the butt of a Colt Navy revolver tucked snugly down the front of his trousers. Since April he had been carrying the pistol With increasing frequency, especially at night and when he traveled alone. In April a large group of old citizens had met in Independence, deciding the Mormons must leave Jackson County. Lieutenant Governor Boggs had been among them, issuing the official ultimatum to the Mormons that they must leave jie county before January 1, 1834. The Mormons held a meeting of their own, deciding they would not obey the unjust ultimatum. They would fight back in the courts, and in the press. Many guessed, however, that the battle would spread beyond the courts and newspapers, especially after another W. W. Phelps blistering editorial against slavery, inviting free blacks to join the Mormons in Missouri. That's why Porter was carrying a gun. When the mare stopped at the end of the path, Port could hear the clatter of shod hooves on wood as horses scrambled onto his boat. He had ferried a group of mounted Missourians across the river earlier in the afternoon, and guessed the same men were returning. Earlier, the men had been sullen and angry. One had told Rockwell they were on their way to the Evening and Morning Star headquarters in Independence In-dependence to have a little talk with "nigger-lover Phelps." Upon receiving the signal that the craft was loaded, Port led the mare towards the landing as the ferry began moving back across the river towards the landing. Porter felt relief, hearing a generous amount of laughter and good-natured swearing coming from his craft. He figured the men on the boat wouldn't be acting that way had they had any intention of doing harm to Port or his property. He couldn't help but wonder why they were so jovial. Perhaps they were drunk. When the ferry bumped against its moorings, Port was there to secure it snugly against the dock. The men were silent now as they began to remove their horses. "How was it? Your little talk with Elder Phelps?" Port asked as he helped unload the first horse. He was eager to know what had happened, thinking they might just tell him, if he asked. "Wonderful," responded one of the men, a note of sarcasm in his voice that Porter didn't trust. (To be continued) |