industrious, agricultural people, or at least that portion of them who located in the country round about the 'stakes'" as these settlements were called by them. Between the years 1834 and the beginning of 1838, these settlements, outside of Jackson, continued to thrive, disturbed, possibly, by now and then an outrage or reprisal, such as may occur in newly settled countries among any class of settlers, for which mutual wrongs, attempted redresses were sought before mutual courts, as some of the local minor courts were in the hands of the Mormons, though the county and superior ones were held by other citizens; and each party claimed that injustice was done them by these courts by reason of partisan bias. The feeling was growing bitter against the Mormons on the part of the citizens, and the feelings of injury and resentment began to crystallize into provo cation and resentment, (especially so with some indididuals,) on the part of the Mormons. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had settled with their families in the State, and under their direction the people had been organized and armed, more or less efficiently, to repel encroachments and protect themselves, as they stated, from unlawful aggressions. They had been told that the authority of the Legislature and Executive could not be brought to bear for their defense until remedies at the lesser courts failed them, and then only at the requisition of local civil officers, and had been advised whether judiciously or otherwise to defend themselves. There grew up some dissensions among themselves; a few, some of their prominent men among them, dissented from the rules of the society and the authority of Messrs. Smith and Rigdon; these were denounced as apostate, and attempts made to drive them out from the society and settlements, which resulted in mutual recrimination and the making public exaggerated accounts of the intentions of the Mormon leaders. Some of the brethren more fanatical or more unwise than others, were guilty of of flagrant excesses of language calculated to createsuspicion and uneasiness in the minds of those already prejudiced against them as a people. There were some law-breakers among them who committed crimes and were not punished; all of which hastened the impending trouble. These things among themselves, and the constant manifestation of hostility from many of the citizens, lawless and irresponsible, and some of note and ability among the most respectable as well, with occasional depredation upon the Mormons, resulted in making further peace very improbable.

In June, 1838, Sidney Rigdon preached a sermon taking strong ground against the dissenters and the Missourians. This sermon was construed as a declaration of war against the apostates and of reprisal against the citizens. Mr. Hunt states that in this state of things the citizens apprehended wrong-doers against them, but having to go before a Mormon justice and jury they failed and were abused by the Mormons for bringing vexatious suits; and that the Gentiles were not idle in "setting afloat their grievances, and probably exaggerating them." Mr. Rigdon is said to have delivered an oration July 4th, 1838, at Far West, before a gathered multitude, which was called a treasonable speech. This oration we have carefully read, and can now see that the passages construed as treasonable and dangerous, may have been but the indignant protest against violence that a possible enthusiast might unadvisedly use. They are as follows: "And that mob that comes on us to disturb us, it shall be between us and them a war of extermination; for we will follow them till the last drop of their blood is spilled, or they will have to exterminate us, for we will carry the seat of war to their own houses and their own families, and one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed. Remember it, then, all men! We will never be the aggressors-we will infringe on the rights of no people, but shall stand for our own until death. We claim our own rights, and are willing that all others shall enjoy theirs. No man shall be at liberty to come into our streets, to threaten us with mobs for if he does, he shall atone for it before he leaves the place; neither shall he vilify or slander any of us, for suffer it we will not in this place.

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Neither will we indulge any man or set of men, in instituting vexatious law-suits against us to cheat us out of our rights; if they attempt it, we say woe be unto them."

August 1st, at an election in Davies county, a quarrel ensued between some citizens and Mormons. One of the latter was badly stabbed, and others on both sides wounded. From this occurrence, rumors flew in every direction. The Mormons at Far West were told that several of their number had been killed, and two hundred of them went into Davies county, to inquire into it. They found no one killed; but Mr. Adam Black, a justice of the peace of Davies county, stated under oath, before John Wright and Elijah Foley, fellow justices, that Mr. Smith and others, to the number of one hundred and fifty-four, exacted from him about August 8th, 1838, a written promise to support the Constitution of the State and the United States; and not to support a mob, nor to attach himself to any mob, nor to molest the Mormons. To answer to this charge, Mr. Smith, L. Wight and others were arrested, and recognized to appear for trial. Other disturbances followed, and upon representation of a deputation of citizens from Davies county, Major-General Atchison, at the head of a thousand men of the Third Division of Militia, went to the scene of trouble. The Major-General found the citizens and the Mormons in hostile array. He dispersed both parties, and reported to the Governor, with the further statement that no further depredations were to be feared from the Mormons. Almost simultaneously disturbances occurred in Carroll and Caldwell counties. The citizens determined to drive the Mormons out of the State; the Mormons refused to be driven. A number of the citizens made representations to General Atchison, on September 10th, that the citizens of Davies had a Mormon in custody, as a prisoner, and that the Mormons had Messrs. John Comer, Wm. McHamy and Allen Miller prisoners, as hostages. Certain of the Mormons, and other citizens of Carroll county, petitioned the Governor from De Witt, stating the committal of lawless acts against them, among which was the ordering them to leave the county, giving them until October 1st, and asking interference and relief. This was dated September 22d, 1838.

From reports filed with the Governor, by Generals H. G. Parks, David R. Atchison and A. W. Doniphan, copies of which accompanied the message of the Governor to the Assembly, it appears that when the proper authorities of the State appeared on the scene of difficulty, the Mormons gave up, not only the prisoners they had taken in reprisal, but their arms, and also the men of their number against whom civil processes were pending. General Parks, in a report dated Mill Post, September 25th, 1838, states: Whatever may have been the disposition of the people called Mormons, before our arrival here, since we have made our appearance, they have shown no disposition to resist the laws, or of hostile intention." * * There has been so much prejudice and exaggeration concerning this matter, that I found things, on my arrival here, totally different from what I was prepared to expect. When we arrived here, we found a large body of men from the counties adjoining, armed, and in the field, for the purpose, as I learned, of assisting the people of this county against the Mormons, without being called out by the proper authorities." General Atchison wrote the Governor from Liberty, Missouri, September 27th, 1838: "I have no doubt Your Excellency has been deceived by the exaggerated statements of designing or half crazy men. I have found there is no cause of alarm on account of the Mormons; they are not to be feared; they are very much alarmed."

Hostile feeling culminated rapidly. The citizens, in absence of the militia, gathered their forces together, and, on the night of October 1st, attacked Dewitt. A committee of citizens of Chariton county went into Carroll county and found Dewitt invested by a large force, the Mormons in defense and suing for peace, and wishing for the interposition of the civil authorities. They reported October

5th, 1838. General Atchison reported October 16th that the Mormons had sold out in Carroll county and left, and that a portion of their assailants were on the march to Davies county with one piece of artillery, "where, it is thought, the same lawless game is to be played over, and the Mormons driven from that county, and probably from Caldwell." Nothing, in my opinion," wrote this general in his report, "but the strongest measures within the power of the executive will put down this spirit of mobocracy."

The Mormons resisted, and in their turn plundered the store of Jacob Stollings at Gallatin, removing the goods, burned the store and other buildings in that place and Millport. The citizens of Ray, Davies, Carroll, Jackson, Howard and some other counties gathered, and apprising the governor that the Mormons, now growing desperate, had become the aggressors, the governor, L. W. Boggs, moved thereto by the representations made to him, issued orders to General John B. Clark, placing him in command of all the force necessary, with instructions that he was in receipt of information of the most appalling nature," which entirely changed the face of things, and places the Mormons in the attitude of an open and armed defiance of the laws, and of having made war upon the people of this State. * * * The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State, if necessary for the public peace-their outrages are beyond all description."

In obedience to this order, General Clark, associated with General Lucas, proceeded to the seat of war, and, without much resistance, disbanded the armed forces of the Mormons, demanded and received their arms, took Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith and fifty other leading men prisoners for trial upon various charges-high treason against the State, murder, burglary, arson, robbery and larceny. These men were examined before Austin A. King, Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in the State of Missouri, at Richmond, beginning November 12, 1838. At this examination some were discharged for lack of evidence to hold them, but Joseph Smith. Lyman Wright, Hyrum Smith, Alexander McRae and Caleb Baldwin were held for trial and committed to jail in Clay county; some others were recognized for trial and gave bonds. A further demand was made to the effect that the Mormons make an appropriation to pay their debts and indemnification for the damage to citizens done by them. The property said to have been taken by them was mostly restored upon demand of the officers.

The Mormons began leaving at once, and continued to leave until all were gone, except now and then a recalcitrant member, or one who had some personal friends among the citizens. Many sold out for what they could get, and many were compelled to go without selling at all. Their leaders were taken prisoners, their means of defense, as well as offense, were taken from them by law, and by the will of the citizens, enforced by the order of the governor, some twelve thousand people were driven from the State. The number of killed in this Mormon war is stated by the official report of the general in command in the following language: "The whole number of the Mormons killed through the whole difficulty, as far as I can ascertain, are about forty, and several wounded. There has been one citizen killed and about fifteen badly wounded." This is rather a damaging result against the State after the terrible character given the Mormons by those opposed to them, and upon whose reports the governor ordered their suppression. Messrs. Smith, Rigdon and his comrades in jail in Liberty took change of venue to Boone county, but the officer charged with their delivery in Boone in his return of the order of removal to Davies county states that the prisoners escaped. They afterward reached Illinois in safety.

Such in brief is the history of that strange people called Mormons, in Missouri; the events succeeding their departure from the County of Jackson and settlements in Ray, Clay, Caldwell, Davies and other counties, have been hurried over as not properly belonging in our history of Jackson.

After this expulsion from Missouri, the Mormons settled in Illinois, where in six years, from 1838 to 1844, they increased rapidly, and laid the foundation for a magnificent city. They began the erection of a stone temple upon a sightly location. Trouble followed them, the citizens were again aroused. Process was issued for the arrest of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, on charge of treason; awaiting trial upon which charge in the jail of Hancock county, Illinois, June 27th, 1844, they were attacked and killed by a mob. Two years after that, the Mormons, under the leadership of Brigham Young, were expelled from Illinois, and Utah and polygamy are the outcome.

There is now in Jackson county, a body of people calling themselves Latter Day Saints. They are in fact a branch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which church Joseph Smith, Jr., the eldest son of Joseph Smith, the putative father of Mormonism, is the president. The present headquarters of this church is at Plano, Kendall county, Illinois; where they have a printing house, containing engine, presses, type and other facilities for carrying on quite an extensive business. They number some fifteen thousand members now, dispersed through the United States in over four hundred congregations, including branches in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Salt Lake City and many other prominent cities; and are most numerous in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. In many places they have houses of worship, which they by the encouragement and aid of the citizens have built; one of these buildings is in Independence.

This church, under Mr. Smith's presidency, has kept an active ministry at work in Utah, endeavoring to disabuse the Mormons of that territory of the dogma of polygamy, which they assert to be no part of primitive Mormonism; and from the history of the sect during its stay in Missouri from 1835 to 1838, it would appear that these organizers are correct; for not a single charge of such dogma being held or taught appears in the many statements made against them, or in the published orders and reports of the officers engaged in expelling them from the State. They, at all events, oppose the tenet, and are directly antagonizing Utah Mormonism.

CHAPTER XIV.

INCIDENTS OF THE WAR.

Politics in Jackson County from 1857 to 1860-Missouri Men and Families Abused-Colonel Henry Younger and John Fristoe-Cole Younger's Revolution to Avenge His Father's Death-Dr. Lee and the Summit, Etc.-The County Officers-Two Silly Young MenCapt. Quantrell and His Men-He Dashes Upon the Headquarters of the Troops and Escapes Again-The Community.

The enormities of violated law in Jackson county will never be recorded; figuratively speaking, the half has never been told and the history of the important events alone would fill a book.

At this late day when our country is sailing over the smoothest seas of prosperity, and when all is favorable and inviting for at least a succession of years to come, men are beginning to be disposed to remember that unfortunate period in our history as a dream, as some story of romance that they remember to have read years ago. Therefore there is some difficulty in getting men to agree to live that life over again in the way of telling men what they saw and suffered during those times.

It is not so much our wish to learn which individual was guilty and thereby establish the innocency of his neighbor, or which party was just and right while the other was wrong and deserving of annihilation, but to know and record the facts, in the case, as the attorney would say, in his pleading at the bar. The harsh and unreasoning world is by no means in sympathy with historians; but to the contrary, often times, there is the bitterest feeling toward them, simply because they endeavor to solicit and place on record the truth. In the following

sections on the civil and criminal record of Jackson county, from the spring of 1860 to the autumn of 1866, the charity and good will of all are sought, and their assistance is earnestly desired that true and reliable facts as they really occured might go down to coming generations.

It is not the trouble to find something to write about, as much as it is what to write, and what not to write. There is not a more prolific period for a multiplicity of interesting subjects in the history of Missouri than in that of Jackson county during the years 1860-6. Crime and blood-shed held high carnival for some time outside of the above indicated years, a part of which has found its way into the history of our country, but the great part is yet unwritten and remains within the minds of those who were unfortunate enough to experience it.

There must be a difference made between crimes. As a matter of course, rebellion and treason are more or less reprehensible wherever found, yet quite frequently in the history of nations do we find very respectable and plausible rebellions and revolutions. No particular illustrations are necessary to prove this observation; it is almost understood as a condition of man's energies in behalf of liberty. Consequently, it need not be expected by either North, East, South or West for the late Civil War-in the great Rebellion, as some choose to call it-to be considered as a crime in these pages; not that there were no crimes committed during those troublesome times, for both sides of that desperate struggle did things that have disgraced the fair name of American freemen. So, if any have charges to make, let them be made against the times and not against the men; and hardly so much against the times as against the culmination and development of certain counter and exceptional principles that enter the constitutions of all Republics.