The Autobiography of Parley
P. Pratt — Revised and Enhanced Edition
Edited by Scot Facer
Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor
Chapter 13
Prosperity of the Church — School
in Zion — Revelation —Mob — Destruction of printing office
— Defense — Prisoners — Journey to Lexington — A dream — Its
fulfillment — Battle — Defeat of the robbers — A miracle — Defense
construed into murder — Gov. Boggs and militia join the mob —
Church driven from the county — Plunderings and burnings — Insurrections
— Signs in the heavens — Action of the governor — Attorney general
driven from court — Refugees settle in the north — A bandit
chief made governor.
Summer
1833–November 1833
It was now the summer of 1833. Immigration
had poured into the County of Jackson in great numbers; and the
Church in that county now numbered upwards of one thousand souls.
These had all purchased lands and paid for them, and most of them
were improving in buildings and in cultivation. Peace and plenty
had crowned their labors, and the wilderness became a fruitful
field, and the solitary place began to bud and blossom as the
rose.
They lived in peace and quiet; no lawsuits
with each other or with the world; few or no debts were contracted;
few promises broken; there were no thieves, robbers, or murderers;
few or no idlers; all seemed to worship God with a ready heart.
On Sundays the people assembled to preach,
pray, sing, and receive the ordinances of God. Other days all
seemed busy in the various pursuits of industry. In short, there
has seldom, if ever, been a happier people upon the earth than
the Church of the Saints now were.
In the latter part of summer and in the autumn,
I devoted almost my entire time in ministering among the churches;
holding meetings; visiting the sick; comforting the afflicted,
and giving counsel. A school of Elders was also organized, over
which I was called to preside. This class, to the number of about
sixty, met for instruction once a week. The place of meeting was
in the open air, under some tall trees, in a retired place in
the wilderness, where we prayed, preached and prophesied, and
exercised ourselves in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Here great blessings were poured out, and
many great and marvelous things were manifested and taught. The
Lord gave me great wisdom, and enabled me to teach and edify the
Elders, and comfort and encourage them in their preparations for
the great work which lay before us. I was also much edified and
strengthened. To attend this school I had to travel on foot, and
sometimes with bare feet at that, about six miles. This I did
once a week, besides visiting and preaching in five or six branches
a week.1
While thus engaged, and in answer to our correspondence
with the Prophet, Joseph Smith, at Kirtland, Ohio, the following
revelation was sent to us by him, dated August, 1833:2
“Verily I say unto you, my friends, I speak
unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit; that I may
show unto you my will concerning your brethren in the land of
Zion; many of whom are truly humble, and are seeking diligently
to learn wisdom and to find truth; verily, verily I say unto you,
blessed are such for they shall obtain; for I, the Lord, showeth
mercy unto all the meek, and upon all whomsoever I will, that
I may be justified when I shall bring them into judgment.
“Behold, I say unto you, concerning the school
in Zion,3 I the Lord am
well pleased that there should be a school in Zion; and also with
my servant, Parley P. Pratt, for he abideth in me; and inasmuch
as he continueth to abide in me, he shall continue to preside
over the school in the land of Zion until I shall give unto him
other commandments; and I will bless him with a multiplicity of
blessings in expounding all Scriptures and mysteries to the edification
of the school and of the Church in Zion, and to the residue of
the school, I, the Lord, am willing to show mercy; nevertheless,
there are those that must needs be chastened, and their works
shall be made known.
“The axe is laid at the root of the trees,
and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be hewn
down and cast into the fire. I, the Lord have spoken it. Verily
I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest,
and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to
observe their covenants by sacrifice — yea, every sacrifice which
I, the Lord, shall command — they are all accepted of me, for
I, the Lord will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful
tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream that
yieldeth much precious fruit.
“Verily I say unto you, that it is my will
that an house should be built unto me in the land of Zion, like
unto the pattern which I have given you; yea, let it be built
speedily by the tithing of my people; behold, this is the tithing
and the sacrifice which I, the Lord, require at their hands; that
there may be an house built unto me for the salvation of Zion
— for a place of thanksgiving for all saints, and for a place
of instruction for all those who are called to the work of the
ministry in all their several callings and offices, that they
may be perfected in the understanding of their ministry in theory,
in principle, and in doctrine; in all things pertaining to the
kingdom of God on the earth, the keys of which kingdom have been
conferred upon you.
“And inasmuch as my people build an house
unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean
thing to come into it that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest
upon it; yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come
into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall
see God. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my
glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples.
“And, now, behold, if Zion do these things
she shall prosper, and spread herself and become very glorious,
very great, and very terrible. And the nations of the earth shall
honor her, and shall say: Surely Zion is the city of our God,
and surely Zion cannot fall, neither be moved out of her place,
for God is there, and the hand of the Lord is there; and He hath
sworn by the power of His might to be her salvation and her high
tower.
“Therefore, verily thus saith the Lord, let
Zion rejoice, for this is Zion — the Pure in heart; therefore, let Zion
rejoice while all the wicked shall mourn. For behold, and lo,
vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and
who shall escape it? The Lord’s scourge shall pass over by night
and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yet 4
it shall not be stayed until the Lord come; for the indignation
of the Lord is kindled against their abominations and all their
wicked works.
“Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observes
to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her; but if she observes
not to do whatsoever I have commanded her, I will visit her, according
to all her works, with sore affliction, with pestilence, with
plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire. Nevertheless,
let it be read this once in their 5
ears, that I, the Lord, have accepted of their offering; and if
she sin no more none of these things shall come upon her; and
I will bless her with blessings, and multiply a multiplicity of
blessings upon her, and upon her generations forever and ever,
saith the Lord your God. Amen.”
This revelation was not complied with by the
leaders and Church in Missouri, as a whole; notwithstanding many
were humble and faithful. Therefore, the threatened judgment was
poured out to the uttermost, as the history of the five following
years will show.
That portion of the inhabitants of Jackson
County which did not belong to the Church, became jealous of our
growing influence and numbers. Political demagogues were afraid
we should rule the county; and religious priests and bigots felt
that we were powerful rivals, and about to excel all other societies
in the State in numbers, and in power and influence.
These feelings, and the false statements and
influences growing out of them, gave rise to the organization
of a company of outlaws, whose avowed object was to drive the
Church of the Saints from the county.
These were composed of lawyers, magistrates,
county officers, civil and military; religious ministers, and
great numbers of the ignorant and uninformed portion of the population,
whose prejudices were easily aroused.6
They commenced operations by assembling in
great numbers, destroying a printing office and its materials;
demolishing dwellings and stores, and plundering the contents
and strewing them in the street; cutting open feather beds, breaking
furniture, destroying fences and crops, whipping, threatening
and variously abusing men, women and children, etc.7
The saints submitted to these outrages for
a time in all patience, without defence or resistance of any kind,
supposing that the public authorities would of course put a stop
to them, as in duty bound.
But they were soon convinced to the contrary,
and were compelled to take up arms for defence; and also to make
the most vigorous exertions to prosecute according to law. We
assembled in small bodies in different neighborhoods, and stood
on guard during the nights, being ready to march in a moment to
any place of attack.
I had the command of about sixty men who were
thus assembled in the Colesville branch; and rendezvoused in some
log buildings during a very rainy time.
It was evening. I was out in the act of posting
guards a short distance from the dwellings, when two men assailed
us, armed with guns and pistols; and supposing it against our
principles to make any defence, they attacked the guards. I was
without arms, but stepped forward to interfere between them, when
one of them drew his gun backwards, and, with both hands, struck
the barrel of it across the top of my head.
I staggered back, but did not fall; the blood
came streaming down my face, and I was for an instant stunned
by the blow; But, recovering myself, I called help from the house
and disarmed them, and put them under guard till morning. Their
arms were then restored, and they let go in peace.
The taking of these two men proved a preventive
against an attack that night. They were the advance of a party
of men who were about to come upon the settlement, but were disconcerted
by this means.
On the next day,8
about sunset, myself and a Mr. Marsh 9 set
out on horseback to visit the Circuit Judge at Lexington, a distance
of some forty miles. We were under the necessity of travelling
the most private paths across the country, in order to avoid our
enemies; but we had a most faithful pilot, an old resident of
the country, who knew every crook and turn of the different paths.
We had ridden but a few miles when it became
so excessively dark that we could not see each other, or distinguish
any object. Our pilot dismounted several times and tried to feel
his way. We were at last compelled to halt for some time, until
it cleared and became a little lighter; but the rain began to
fall in torrents, and continued all the latter part of the night.
We soon became drenched, and every thread about us perfectly wet;
but still we dare not stop for any refreshment or shelter, until
day dawned, when we found ourselves forty miles from home and
at the door of a friend, where we breakfasted and refreshed ourselves.
We then repaired to Lexington, and made oath
before Judge Ryland of the outrages committed upon us, but were
refused a warrant. The Judge advised us to fight and kill the
outlaws whenever they came upon us. We then returned to the place
where we breakfasted, and, night coming on, we retired to bed.
Having been without sleep for the three previous nights, and much
of the time drenched with rain, this, together with the severe
wound I had received, caused me to feel much exhausted. No sooner
had sleep enfolded me in her kind embrace than a vision opened
before me.
I was in Jackson County; heard the sound of
firearms, and saw the killed and wounded lying in their blood.
At this I awoke from slumber, and awaking Mr. Marsh and the family
with whom we lodged, I told them what I had seen and heard in
my dream, and that I was sure a battle had just occurred.
Next morning we pursued our journey homeward
with feelings of anxiety indescribable. Every officer of the peace
had abandoned us to our fate; and it seemed as if there was no
alternative but for men, women and children to be exterminated.
As we rode on, ruminating upon these things, a man met us from
Independence, who told us there was a battle raging when he left;
and how it had terminated he knew not.
This only heightened our feelings of anxiety
and suspense. We were every instant drawing nearer to the spot
where we might find our friends alive and victorious, or dead,
or perhaps in bondage, in the hands of a worse than savage enemy.
On coming within four miles of Independence,
we ventured to inquire the distance at a certain house; this we
did in order to pass as strangers, and also, in hopes to learn
some news; the man seemed frightened, and inquired where we were
from. We replied, from Lexington. Said he, “Have you heard what
has happened?” We replied, “That we had heard there was some difficulty,
but of all the participants we had not been informed.” “Why,”
said he, “the Mormons have riz, and have killed six men.”
We then passed on, and as soon as we were
out of sight we left the road and took into the woods.
Taking a circuitous route,
through thickets of hazel interwoven with grape vine, we came
in sight of Independence, after some difficulty and entanglement,
and advanced towards it; but seeing parties of armed men advancing
towards us, we wheeled about, and retreating a distance, turned
again into the woods, and galloping about a half mile, reached
the tents of our friends.
But what was our astonishment when we found
our brethren without arms, having surrendered them to the enemy!
The truth was this: The same evening that
I dreamed of the battle, a large body of the outlaws had marched
to a certain settlement, where they had before committed many
outrages, and commenced to unroof dwellings, destroy property,
and threaten and abuse women and children.10
While some sixty men were thus engaged, and their horses quietly
regaling themselves in the cornfields of the brethren, about thirty
of our men marched upon them, and drove them from the field. Several
were severely if not mortally wounded on both sides; and one young
man of the Church died of his wounds the next day — his name was
Barber.
In the battle brother Philo Dibble, of Ohio,
was shot in the body through his waistband; the ball remained
in him. He bled much inwardly, and, in a day or two his bowels
were so filled with blood and so inflamed that he was about to
die, or, rather, he had been slowly dying from the time he was
wounded. The smell of himself had become intolerable to him and
those about him.
At length Elder Newel Knight administered
to him, by the laying on of hands, in the name of Jesus; his hands
had scarcely touched his head when he felt an operation penetrating
his whole system as if it had been a purifying fire. He immediately
discharged several quarts of blood and corruption, among which
was the ball with which he had been wounded. He was instantly
healed, and went to work chopping wood.11
He remained an able bodied man, a hard worker, and even did
military duty for many years after. He is still living in Davis
County, Utah.12
The next morning, Nov. 5, armed men were assembled
in Independence from every part of the county. These joined the
outlaws, and called themselves militia, and placed themselves
under the command of Lieutenant-Governor Boggs and a colonel by
the name of Pitcher. Thus organized, manned and officered, they
were a formidable band of outlaws; capable of murder, or any other
violence or outrage which would accomplish their purpose; which
was to drive the people of the Church from the county, and plunder
their property and possess their lands.
Very early the same morning, several volunteers
united their forces from different branches of the Church and
marched towards Independence, in order to defend their brethren
and friends. When within a short distance from the town they halted,
and were soon informed that the militia were called out for their
protection; but in this they did not place confidence; for they
saw that the armed body congregated had joined with the mobbers
and outlaws, and were one with them to carry out their murderous
purposes.
On communicating with the leaders, Boggs and
Pitcher, it was found that there was no alternative but for the
Church to leave the county forthwith, and deliver up their arms,
and certain men to be tried for murder, said to have been committed
in the battle the previous evening.
Rather than have submitted to these outrageous
requirements the saints would willingly have shed their blood;
but they knew that if they resisted this mob, the lies of the
designing and the prejudice of the ignorant would construe their
resistance into a violation of law, and thus bring certain destruction
upon them; therefore, they surrendered their arms and agreed to
leave the county forthwith. The men who were demanded as prisoners
were also surrendered and imprisoned, but were dismissed in a
day or two without trial.13
A few hours after the surrender we arrived
at the camp of our brethren on our return from Lexington.
The struggle was now over, our liberties were
gone, our homes to be deserted and possessed by a lawless banditti;
and all this in the United States of America.
The sun was then setting, and twelve miles
separated me from my family; but I determined to reach home that
night. My horse being weary I started on foot, and walked through
the wilderness in darkness; avoiding the road lest I should fall
into the hands of the enemy.
I arrived home about the middle of the night,
and furnishing my wife with a horse, we made our escape in safety.14
When night again overtook us we were on the
bank of the Missouri River, which divided between Jackson and
Clay Counties. Here we camped for the night, as we could not cross
the ferry till morning. Next morning we crossed the river, and
formed an encampment amid the cottonwoods on its bank.
While we thus made our escape companies of
ruffians were ranging the county in every direction; bursting
into houses without fear, knowing that the people were disarmed;
frightening women and children, and threatening to kill them if
they did not flee immediately. At the head of one of these parties
appeared the Rev. Isaac McCoy (a noted Baptist missionary to the
Indians), with gun in hand, ordering the people to leave their
homes immediately and surrender everything in the shape of arms.
Other pretended preachers of the gospel took
part in the persecution — speaking of the Church as the common
enemies of mankind, and exulting in their afflictions. On Tuesday
and Wednesday nights, the 5th and 6th of November, women and children
fled in every direction. One party of about one hundred and fifty
fled to the prairie, where they wandered for several days, mostly
without food; and nothing but the open firmament for their shelter.15
Other parties fled towards the Missouri River. During the dispersion
of women and children, parties were hunting the men, firing upon
some, tying up and whipping others, and some they pursued several
miles.
Thursday, November 7. The shore began to be
lined on both sides of the ferry with men, women and children;
goods, wagons, boxes, provisions, etc., while the ferry was constantly
employed; and when night again closed upon us the cottonwood bottom
had much the appearance of a camp meeting. Hundreds of people
were seen in every direction, some in tents and some in the open
air around their fires, while the rain descended in torrents.
Husbands were inquiring for their wives, wives
for their husbands; parents for children, and children for parents.
Some had the good fortune to escape with their families, household
goods, and some provisions; while others knew not the fate of
their friends, and had lost all their goods. The scene was indescribable,
and, I am sure, would have melted the hearts of any people on
the earth, except our blind oppressors, and a blind and ignorant
community.16
Next day our company still increased, and
we were principally engaged in felling cottonwood trees and erecting
them into small cabins. The next night being clear, we began to
enjoy some degree of comfort.
About two o’clock the next morning we were
called up by the cry of signs in the heavens. We arose, and to
our great astonishment all the firmament seemed enveloped in splendid
fireworks, as if every star in the broad expanse had been hurled
from its course, and sent lawless through the wilds of ether.
Thousands of bright meteors were shooting through space in every
direction, with long trains of light following in their course.
This lasted for several hours, and was only closed by the dawn
of the rising sun. Every heart was filled with joy at this majestic
display of signs and wonders, showing the near approach of the
coming of the Son of God.17
All our goods were left behind; but I obtained
some of them afterwards at the risk of my life. But all my provisions
for the winter were destroyed or stolen, and my grain left growing
on the ground for my enemies to harvest. My house was afterwards
burned, and my fruit trees and improvements destroyed or plundered.
In short, every member of the society was driven from the county,
and fields of corn were ravaged and destroyed; stacks of wheat
burned, household goods plundered, and improvements and every
kind of property destroyed. One of this banditti afterwards boasted
to one of the brethren that, according to their own account of
the matter, the number of houses burned was two hundred and three.18
The Saints who fled took refuge in the adjoining
counties, mostly in Clay County, which received them with some
degree of kindness. Those who fled to the county of Van Buren
were again driven and compelled to flee; and those who fled to
Lafayette County were soon expelled, or the most part of them,
and had to move to wherever they could find protection.
When the news of these outrages reached the
Governor of the State,19
courts of inquiry, both civil and military, were ordered by him,
but nothing effectual was ever done to restore our rights, or
to protect us in the least. It is true the Attorney-General, and
a military escort under Colonel, afterwards General Doniphan,20
and our witnesses went to Jackson County and demanded indictments;
but the court refused to do anything in the case, and the military,
Attorney-General and witnesses were mobbed out of the county;
and thus that matter ended.
The Governor also ordered them to restore
the arms of which they robbed us, but they never were restored.
Even our lands were robbed of their timber, and either occupied
by our enemies for years or left desolate. Soon after Jackson
County had rebelled against the laws and constitution of the General
and State Governments, several of the adjacent counties followed
the example, by justifying her proceedings, and by opposing the
Saints in settling among them.
The counties of Clay, Ray, Clinton and various
others, held public meetings, the tenor of which was to deprive
the members of our society of the rights of citizenship, drive
them from among them, and to compel them to settle only in such
places as these outlaws should dictate; and even at that time
some of their proceedings went so far as to publicly threaten
to drive the whole society from the State. The excuses they offered
for these outrages were:
First:
The society were guilty principally of being eastern or northern
people.
Secondly:
They were guilty of some slight variations in manners and language
from the other citizens of the State, who were mostly from the
South.
Thirdly:
Their religious principles differed in some important particulars
from most other societies.
Fourthly:
They were guilty of immigrating rapidly from the different States,
and of purchasing large quantities of land, and of being more
enterprising and industrious than their neighbors.
Fifthly:
Some of them were guilty of poverty — especially those who had
been driven, from time to time, and robbed of their all. And,
Lastly:
They were said to be guilty of believing in the present Government
administration of Indian affairs, viz: that the land west of the
Mississippi, which Government had deeded in fee simple to the
immigrating tribes, was destined by Providence for their permanent
homes.
All these crimes were charged upon our society,
in the public proceedings of the several counties, and were deemed
sufficient to justify their unlawful proceedings against us. The
reader may smile at this statement, but the public journals of
Upper Missouri in 1835, actually printed charges and declarations
against us, of the tenor of the foregoing.
By these wicked proceedings our people were
once more compelled to remove, at a great sacrifice of property,
and were at last permitted to settle in the north of Ray County,
where, by the next legislature, they were organized into the counties
of Caldwell and Davies.21
Here again they exercised the utmost industry and enterprise,
and these wild regions soon presented a more flourishing aspect
than the oldest counties of the State.
In the meantime, the majority of the State
so far countenanced these outrages that they actually elected
Lilburn W. Boggs (one of the oldest actors in the scenes of Jackson
County, who had assisted in murder and plunder, and the expulsion
of twelve hundred citizens, in 1833) for Governor of the State,22
and placed him in the executive chair, instead of suspending him
by the neck, between the heavens and the earth, as his crimes
justly merited. This movement may be said to have put an end to
liberty, law and Government in that State.
About this time, Colonel Lucas, a leader of
the banditti, was elected Major-General, instead of being hung
for treason and murder.23
And Moses Wilson, another leader of the mob, was elected Brigadier-General;24
and others were advanced accordingly. These all very readily received
their commissions from their accomplice, Governor Boggs, and thus
corruption, rebellion and conspiracy had spread on every side,
being fostered and encouraged by a large majority of the State;
and thus the treason became general.
In the meantime, our society had greatly increased
by a rapid immigration, and having long felt the withering hand
of oppression from so corrupt an administration, they had endeavored
to organize themselves, both civil and military, in the counties
where they composed the majority, by electing such officers as
they thought would stand for equal rights, and for the laws and
Constitution of the country. In this way they hoped to withstand
the storm which had so long beaten upon them, and whose black
clouds now seemed lowering in awful gloom, preparing to burst
with overwhelming fury upon all who dared to stand for liberty
and law.
Notes
24. Moses Wilson, who
had been active in driving the Saints from their homes and lands
in Jackson County, later served under Samuel Lucas and became a
leader of the Missouri militia that surrounded Far West and condemned
the Prophet Joseph and many others to be shot in the town square.
Both Wilson and Lucas had worked closely with Lilburn Boggs in Jackson
County.
