Show EFFECT OF hostilities hostilities between the mormons cormons and their opponents continued to gain intensity and hatred until the climax was reached in the expulsion of the former from nauvoo in the winter of 1816 1846 18 16 the picture of hundreds of families crossing the river in Febu and establishing a temporary abode in iowa is indeed a pathetic one what feelings must have rankled their hearts as they faced the wintry blasts and icy waters of the alissi mississippi s ippi and turned towards the far off western country where they were to se seek ek a new asylum remote from the centers of civilization when they looked for the last time upon the beautiful city of nauvoo which their toil and industry hall had built bitter I 1 must have been the resentment copain it those who were the cause of misery not only could they find no abiding place ein in illinois missouri or arkansas but apparently nowhere within the confines of the united states the country they loved and whose constitution constin ution they revered as divine hence their eyes were turned in the direction of a remote region then belonging to mexico lico to be sure the definite locality was somewhat vague but the great grea t basin or salt lake valley had been discussed favorably for some time still incidentally other plans were toyed with in fact letters were sent out in various directions direction asking for help one such was written to governor thomas S drew of arkansas he refused refuge but urged emir emigration atlon to Or oregon eiron california texas or nebraska no place seemed to offer security tv but in some isolated region in the mountains the people were gradually being prepared for just suh a wilderness trek in the times and season there appeared in 1846 notice to the saints throughout the tha ha the exodus of the only true israel from these united states to a far distant region of the west where bigotry and insatiable oppression will have lost its power over them forms a new epoch no only in the history of the church but of this nation this statement dined signed by brigham young and the apostles is in accord with declarations of the leaders quoted in in previous articles such declarations coupled with various extravagant rumors led to the belief that perhaps the mormons cormons would go west and in case of war join england or mexico against their own country one basis for this Ms belief wits was a letter of governor edwards of missouri to cwm vm L marcy secretary of war in this hr taid Said the mormons cormons are a bad and deluded sect seat and they have been badly treated but I 1 sup porse very correctly yet they do not believe so and under the treatment treat they have received if they are not enemies both of our people and our government they are better christians and purer patriots than other denominations a thing which nobody in the west can believe to counteract such rumors and five assurance of the loyalty of the mormons cormons Mor mons elder tesse jesse C tittle little wrote pres polk that the cormons mormons Mor Ifor mons as well as myself are true hearted americans atrue to our country true to its laws and true to its glorious situations ly 1 and the high council at nauvoo published a greeting to the saints and to whom it may concern a circular letter in which occurred the following we also further declare for the of some who abo have concluded that our grievances ances have alienated us from our country that our has bas not been over overcome comp by fire by sword by daylight nor by midnight assassinations which we have endured neither have they alienated 13 from the institutions of our country nevertheless the saints were directing their courar cour to a land I 1 belong 1 i nt nf t to 0 a fore foreign izil count country rv fA an other nother article of this series will appear next week to be continued |