REMINISCENCES OF THE JACKSON COUNTY MOB, THE EVACUATIONOF NAUVOO, AND THE SETTLEMENT OF GREAT SALT LAKE CITY

An Address by Elder George A. Smith, to the Children whoformed the Procession at the Anniversary of the Entrance of the Pioneersinto Great Salt Lake Valley, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt LakeCity, July 24, 1854.

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My Young Friends-It is with pleasure I rise to address you on the presentoccasion.

Having been called upon to walk in the Procession, as the Historianof the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it created in my breastfeelings not easily described; it brought a reminiscences of past scenes,and of celebrations similar to this, wherein I have acted in company withmy worthy predecessor, Dr. Willard Richards, one of the First Presidencyof the Church of God on earth, and one of the pioneers who first enteredthis Valley. He has gone to rest, after being worn out by trials, persecutions,and adversities, and by the difficulties incident in the forming of thissettlement in the Valleys of the mountains.

I could have stopped to drop a tear to the memory of departed worthies-theHistorian, the aged Patriarch John Smith, and many others; at the same time,I could but feel joyful to see such an immense assembly, gathered togetherto commemorate the day on which the Pioneers first arrived in this regionto inhabit these valleys.

Should we refer to the pages of the history that is no doubt writtenin many a private journal, our memories would be refreshed with the startlingtruth, that the first fifteen years of our existence had been a continuedscene of trials, persecutions, afflictions, and murders; including the murderof the Prophet, the Patriarch, and a great many others of the ablest andmost energetic members of the Church.

At a Council of the leading men of this community in Nauvoo, it wasconcluded that on finishing the Temple there, a company of one thousandor fifteen hundred pioneers should establish themselves in the mountains,to prepare the way for a safe retreat from the tyranny and oppression whichhad so long followed this people. This conclusion was unknown to the public,hence the surprise of the mob at our willingness to depart.

In a very few days afterwards, bands of organized mobbers commencedthe work of burning our houses in Yelrom, Green Plains, and Bear Creek settlements,and throughout the country. As if they were not satisfied with the destructionof the hundreds of lives their persecutions had already sacrificed, andthe millions of property they had already destroyed in Missouri; as if dissatisfiedwith the blood of the Prophet still smoking from the ground as it were;they lighted anew the torch of the incendiary, and the Governor of the Statewas silently willing to fan its fires. It will be recollected that he didnot stop the house burning, but we stopped it ourselves, under the directionof the Sheriff of the County.

The moment that was done; General Harden, mounted on a white horse,backed up and accompanied by other dignitaries of the State, came into Nauvoowith four hundred men. What was said to us by these worthies? They said,that in consequence of the combination against us throughout the State,the Governor did not feel at liberty to do anything for us; so we were abandonedto the rage of unprincipled men.

They then informed us they had come to search for some men that weremissing, and formed a square around the Temple, also around the stablesof the Nauvoo house, but more particularly around the Masonic Hall, thebasement story of which contained a quantity of wine. General Hardin, andothers of his band, went into the stables where a horse had just been bled,and concluded a man had been killed there, but fortunately the horse wasthere to answer for the blood. The General and his staff then pierced withtheir swords the heaps of manure, thinking, I presume, that if they prickeda dead man, he would squeal. I thought they acted a little simple, for theymight have presumed that if anybody had been killed, they would have beenthrown in the Mississippi, which was not more than ten rods from the stables.

This was all that was done to punish the house burners; and the Stateauthorities said they could do nothing for us; hence the only alternativewas to leave, as nine counties of the State had concluded in Convention,that we must leave or be exterminated. The fact is, this was the very conclusionwe had already come to, ourselves, in a Council a few days before. Yet itwas thought, proper not to reveal the secret of our intention to flee tothe mountains; but as a kind of put off, it was communicated in the strictestconfidence to General Hardin, who promised never to tell of it; that weintended to settle Vancouver's Island. This report, however, was industriouslycirculated, as we anticipated it would be.

The persecution was blazing on every hand, and the reputable authorities"could do nothing for us;" which was equal to saying, "Holdon, and let us run our daggers into you."

The first companies which left, In consequence of those persecutions,were obliged to start in the dead of winter, in the beginning of February,1848. Many of the companies crossed the Mississippi, with their wagons,on the ice, and the rest in flat-boats, and winding their way through anew and trackless country, making a road of nearly four hundred miles inlength, stopped to winter on the right bank of the Missouri, where theybuilt quite a town, called Winter Quarters.

Finding that our numbers in Nauvoo were reduced to a mere handful, themob, numbering some 1800 armed men, supplied with scientific engineers,and good artillery, attacked the remaining few, who were chiefly lame, blind,widows, fatherless children, and those too poor to get away. There werenot one hundred able bodied men to stand against this superior force indefence of the helpless; this is called the battle of Nauvoo, and was foughtin September. They cannonaded the citizens of Nauvoo, and finally, afterthree days fighting, and being forced to retreat three times they succeededin driving them over the river.

What was the result of all this? In April 1847, we started from WinterQuarters, with a hundred and forty-three men (instead of 1000) as Pioneers.We were "few," and I was going to say "far between,"but we were close together. We set out, and made a new road to this valley,the greater portion of the way; we thus worked the path through, and arrivedhere on the day we now commemorate.

This is a hasty glance of history. To enter into details would introducematters that would unnecessarily harrow up the minds of many. Suffice itto say, like the pilgrim fathers who first landed upon Plymouth Rock, weare here pilgrims, and exiles from liberty; and instead of being driveninto the wilderness to perish, as our enemies had designed, we find ourselvesin the middle of the floor, or on the top of the heap. Right in the countrythat scientific men and other travellers had declared worthless, we arebecoming rich in the comforts and blessings of life, we are now rockingin the cradle of liberty, in which we are daily growing; and I challengethe Union to produce a parallel of this day's Celebration.

I say to my young friends, be firm to extend the principles of freedomand liberty to this country, and never suffer the hand of oppression toinvade it.

In the history of our persecutions there have arisen a great many anecdotes;but one will perhaps serve to illustrate the condition in which I wish tosee every man that raises in these mountains the hand of oppression uponthe innocent. I wish to see such men rigged out with the same honors andcomforts as was the honorable Samuel C. Owen, Commander-in-Chief of theJackson County mob. He, with eleven men, was engaged at a mass meeting,to raise a mob to drive the Saints from Clay County. This was in the year1834, in the month of June. They had made speeches, and done everythingto raise the indignation of the people against the Saints. In the evening,himself, James Campbell, and nine others, commenced to cross the Missouririver on their way home again; and the Lord, or some accident, knocked ahole in the bottom of the boat. When they discovered it, says CommanderOwen to the company on the ferry boat, we must strip to the bone, or weshall perish." Mr. Campbell replied, "I will go to hell beforeI will land naked." He had his choice, and went to the bottom. Owenstripped himself of every article of clothing, and commenced floating downthe river. After making several attempts he finally landed on the Jacksonside of the river, after a swim of about fourteen miles. He rested sometime, being perfectly exhausted, and then started into the nettles, whichgrow very thick and to a great height, in the Missouri bottoms, and whichwas his only possible chance in making from the river to the settlements.He had to walk four miles through the nettles, which took him the remainderof the night, and when he got through the nettles, he came to a road, andsaw a young lady approaching on horseback, who was the belle of JacksonCounty. In this miserable condition he laid himself behind a log, so thatshe could not see him. When she arrived opposite the log, he says, "Madam,I am Samuel C. Owen, the Commander-in-Chief of the mob against the Mormons;I wish you to send some men from the next house with clothing, for I amnaked." The lady in her philanthropy dismounted, and left him a lightshawl and a certain unmentionable under garment, and passed on. So His ExcellencySamuel C. Owen, who was afterwards killed in Mexico by foolishly exposinghimself, contrary to orders, took up his line of march for the town, inthe shawl and petticoat uniform, after his expedition against the "Mormons."

My young friends, have the goodness to use every man so, who comes intoyour country to mob and oppress the innocent; and LADIES, DON'T LEND HIMANY CLOTHING