Chapter XXIII: Section 4: And be it further ordained that, for all services

rendered in quelling mobs and preserving the public peace the said
Nauvoo {132} Legion shall be under the same regulations, rules, and
laws of pay as the troops of the United States.

City of Nauvoo, Illinois, December 21st, 1843.

Hyrum Smith, Benjamin Warrington,

John Taylor, Daniel Spencer,

Orson Pratt, Brigham Young,

W. W. Phelps, Orson Hyde,

Heber C. Kimball,

Councilors;

Orson Spencer,

Daniel H. Wells,

Samuel Bennett,

Geo. A. Smith,

Geo. W. Harris,

Aldermen;

Joseph Smith, Mayor;

Willard Richards, Recorder;

John P. Greene, Marshal. [1]

Two letters came into the post-office from the sheriff of Clark County, Missouri. From them it appears that that State wishes to continue the old game of seizing witnesses and making prisoners of them, to cover up her mobocracy and kidnapping under a legal form. The following answer was written:--

_Letter: W. W. Phelps to J. White, Esq., Anent Avery Affair_.

CITY OF NAUVOO, ILL., Dec. 21, 1843.

SIR,--Two letters were put into my hands this morning relative
to the witnesses of Mr. Avery's innocence as to being accessory
to horse stealing some four years since. In the first place, Mr.
Avery was abducted from this State without process, contrary to
law. In the second place, the principal for felony by the law of
Missouri should be indicted within three years, &c. Again, the
revised statutes of Missouri have a wise provision in such cases
as Mr. Avery's. If Mr. Avery, therefore, will sue out a commission
according to the law concerning {133} depositions, (R. S., page 219
to 222,) directed to Alderman Geo. W. Harris, an acting justice
of the peace for the city of Nauvoo, and county of Hancock, the
necessary testimony to establish Mr. Avery's innocence will be
taken according to law, and forwarded to the proper officer in due
time.

Respectfully, &c..

W. W. PHELPS.

J. WHITE, ESQ., Dep. Sheriff,

Clark Co., Waterloo, Mo.

P.S. You will have the politeness to show this to Mr. Avery.

In the evening I was visited by several strangers, and had considerable conversation with them.

_Friday, 22.--_At home at nine o'clock, a.m., reading a magazine to my children.

[Sidenote: Attitude of Prophet on Mobocracy and Politics.]

A little after twelve went into the store-room occupied by Butler and Lewis, and commenced a conversation with Dr. John F. Charles, to convince him that mobocracy is not justifiable, and that I did not deal in politics.

David Holman, living about two miles from Ramus, went out in the evening with his family visiting. About ten o'clock he discovered his house on fire. The neighbors had inquired how long he would be gone. A man rode to Carthage. A company went up, secured the provisions to themselves, and fired the house.

Warm and pleasant weather.

_Saturday, 23.--_At home, counseling the brethren who called on me, and attending to my domestic duties, making preparations for a Christmas dinner party.

Prayer meeting in the Assembly Room.

_Sunday, 24.--_At home. Received a visit from Mr. Richardson, one of the men who assisted in kidnapping Avery. He manifested some repentance and sorrow for his part in that transaction, and promised to use what influence he had with the Missourians to have Avery set at liberty.

[Sidenote: A Christmas Serenade.]

{134} _Monday, 25.--_This morning, about one o'clock, I was aroused by an English sister, Lettice Rushton, widow of Richard Rushton, Senior, (who, ten years ago, lost her sight,) accompanied by three of her sons, with their wives, and her two daughters, with their husbands, and several of her neighbors, singing, "Mortals, awake! with angels join," &c., which caused a thrill of pleasure to run through my soul. All of my family and boarders arose to hear the serenade, and I felt to thank my Heavenly Father for their visit, and blessed them in the name of the Lord. They also visited my brother Hyrum, who was awakened from his sleep. He arose and went out of doors. He shook hands with and blessed each one of them in the name of the Lord, and said that he thought at first that a cohort of angels had come to visit him, it was such heavenly music to him.

At home all day. About noon, gave counsel to some brethren who called on me from Morley Settlement, and told them to keep law on their side, and they would come out well enough.

At two o'clock, about fifty couples sat down at my table to dine. While I was eating, my scribe called, requesting me to solemnize the marriage of his brother, Dr. Levi Richards, and Sara Griffiths; but as I could not leave, I referred him to President Brigham Young, who married them.

[Sidenote: Rockwell's Return to Nauvoo.]

A large party supped at my house, and spent the evening in music, dancing, &c., in a most cheerful and friendly manner. During the festivities, a man with his hair long and falling over his shoulders, and apparently drunk, came in and acted like a Missourian. I requested the captain of the police to put him out of doors. A scuffle ensued, and I had an opportunity to look him full in the face, when, to my great surprise and joy untold, I discovered it was my long-tried, warm, but cruelly persecuted friend, Orrin {135} Porter Rockwell, just arrived from nearly a year's imprisonment, without conviction, in Missouri.

The following is his statement of his experience and sufferings by that people:--

_Rockwell's Experience in Missouri_.

I, Orrin Porter Rockwell, was on my way from New Jersey to Nauvoo;
and while at St. Louis, on the 4th March, 1843, was arrested
by a Mr. Fox, on oath of Elias Parker, who swore I was the O.
P. Rockwell advertised in the papers as having attempted to
assassinate Lilburn W. Boggs, and was taken before a magistrate in
St. Louis.

I was then put into the St. Louis county jail, and kept two days
with a pair of iron hobbles on my ankles. About midnight, was taken
into the stage coach in charge of Fox, and started for Jefferson
City. There were nine passengers, two of them women. I sat on the
middle seat. One of the men behind me commenced gouging me in the
back. I spoke to him, and told him that it was dark, and I could
not see him, but that he was no gentleman. One of the ladies
whispered to him, and he ceased the operation.

The next night, the driver, being drunk, ran against a tree, and
broke the king bolt; and not knowing what to do, ironed as I was,
I crawled into the boot, and found an extra bolt, and in the dark
fixed the coach, got it off the tree, and we started on. Soon
after, ran against a bank, and could not move. I was asleep at the
time, but the bustle awake me, when I told them, if they would
take off my irons, I would get off and drive, as the driver was
too drunk to manage the horses. They refused. I, however, got hold
of the lines, and, by the help of other passengers lifting at the
wheels, got it righted, and I drove to the next stand, near the
Osage river. The roads were very bad, and the load heavy; so we got
along slowly.

There was an officer of the U. S. army in the coach. We were two
days and two nights from St. Louis in reaching Jefferson City,
where I was lodged in the jail two days and two nights. The U. S.
officer went on.

Started on for Independence, still in charge of Fox. At Boonville,
overtook the U.S. officer. We three were all that were in the coach
all the way from Boonville to Independence. Sheriff Reynolds told
me afterwards that when he looked into the stage he took me for the
guard, and the officer for the prisoner, for he looked like the
guilty one.

Was about four days going to Independence: arrived there just at
night. A large crowd gathered around, making many remarks. Some
{136} were for hanging me at once. I was then placed in the jail.
In two or three days, underwent a sham trial before a justice of
the peace. The courthouse was crowded, and the men were armed with
hickory clubs. They set on boys from ten to twelve years of age to
kick and punch me, which they did repeatedly. While in court, Fox
was the main witness introduced, and he swore falsely.

Fox swore that I had stated to him that I had not been in the
county for five years. I informed the court that Fox swore falsely,
in proof thereof that the people of Independence knew that I had
traveled through Independence several times during that time, for
the people were all well aware of my having visited this place,
which fact alone should satisfy them that Fox was swearing for
money, which I afterwards learned that he obtained and divided with
Parker.

The magistrate committed me to prison for my safe preservation,
as he was afraid the people would kill me; but he could find no
crime against me. This I was told by the officer who conveyed me to
prison.

I was re-committed to jail, still wearing the iron hobbles, and
was kept in the upper part in the day-time, and in the dungeon at
night, with a little dirty straw for a bed, without any bedding, no
fire, and very cold weather. For eighteen days I was not free from
shaking with cold. I then got permission to buy 1 1/2 bushels of
charcoal, which I put into an old kettle, and kept a little fire.
When that was gone, I could not obtain any more.

After I was arrested at St. Louis, I was visited by Joseph Wood, an
apostate "Mormon," who professed to be a lawyer. He was accompanied
by Mr. Blanerhasset, who told me that everything I had would be
taken from me, and proposed to take charge, keep, and return to
me any property I might have with me. I let him have a pair of
pistols, a bowie knife, and watch, which he never returned to me.

After the weather got a little warmer, they furnished me with a few
old newspapers to read. A family lived at the corner of the jail.
The women once in a while used to send out a little negro girl
with a small basket of victuals. She handed up to the grate a big
Missouri whip-stock, with a piece of twine, which I tied to the
pole and drew up the basket, and let it down again.

I made a pin-hook and tied to the twine, and baited with a chunk of
corn-dodger hard enough to knock a negro down with, and stuck it
out of the grated window and fished for pukes. When passers-by came
along, they would stop and gawk at me awhile, and pass on.

A preacher who had a family of girls lived on the opposite side of
the street. The girls would watch and laugh at them, and call out
and ask me if I got any bites. I replied, No, but some glorious
nibbles.

{137} Numbers were put into the jail with me at different
times, and taken out again. One of them, who was charged with a
fraudulent issue of U. S. Treasury notes, was allowed to have his
saddle-bags with him They contained some fire-steels, gun-flints,
and articles of Indian trade. I sawed the irons nearly off with
one of the fire-steels. He got the negro girl to get him a knife,
and I finished cutting the fetters with it. He would frequently
call for a good supper and pay for it, which was allowed him, but
not allowed me. He was very anxious to escape, and urged me to
undertake it with him. He ordered a good supper, and he ate very
heartily. I would not eat, telling him that he could not run if he
ate so much. Nearly dusk, as the jailer came in to get the dishes,
we sprang to the door, and I locked him in, and threw the key into
the garden. In coming down stairs, we met the jailer's wife. I told
her that her husband was unharmed; I had only locked him up. We had
a board fence to climb over, which was about twelve feet high. I
climbed it and ran about twenty rods, when he called me to come and
help him over, which I did. If I had not, I should have escaped.
The pure air had so great an effect upon me, that I gave out and
slacked my pace, The populace of the place came up, and I told them
to run; they would soon catch him; and that I had given out and
could not run. They soon returned with him. I fell into the crowd
and walked back to the jail yard.

Sheriff J. H. Reynolds laid his hand upon my shoulder, he being the
first to approach me. Asked where the key was. I told him, In the
garden.

Smallwood Nowlin was the first who proposed to hang me on the spot,
when Reynolds gave me a push towards the crowd, and said, "There he
is, G--d--n him! Do what you damn please with him." Nowlin's son
in-law (by marrying one of his mulatto wenches), a Mexican, stepped
up to me to lay hold of me, when I told him to stand off, or I
would mash his face. He stepped back.

I then walked up stairs into the jail. Was followed by Reynolds and
others, until the room and stairs were full. Reynolds asked me what
I had cut my irons off with. I went to the saddle-bags and handed
him the knife and fire-steel. While feeling for them, I got hold of
a piece of buckskin that had some three or four pounds of bullets
tied up in it which I intended to use in mashing in the head of any
one that should attempt to put a rope on my neck. A rope was passed
along over the heads of the people into the room to a bald-headed
man. About this time pistols could be heard cocking in every part
of the room, and bowie-knives were produced as if for fight. In a
few minutes the room was clear of all but three or four persons.

{138} I was then put into the dungeon, my feet ironed together,
my right hand to my left foot, so close that I could not half
straighten myself. The irons, when put on my wrists, were so small
that they would hardly go on, and swelled them; but in eighteen
days I could slip them up and turn them around my arm at the elbow.
I was fed on cold corndodger and meat of the poorest description;
and if I did not eat it all up, it was returned the next time.

About a month after the court sat, my irons were taken off, and I
was so weak that I had to be led to the court-room by the officer.
I was notified that a bill was found against me for breaking jail,
and that the grand jury had failed to find a bill against me on the
charge of shooting Boggs, as charged in the advertisement offering
a reward for my apprehension.

I was taken into court, and was asked by the judge if I had any
counsel. I told him I had not. He asked if I had any means to
employ a counsel. I answered that I had none with me that I could
control. He then said, Here are a number of counselors: if I was
acquainted with any of them, I could take my choice. I told him I
would make choice of Mr. Doniphan, who arose and made a speech,
saying he was crowded with business, but that here are plenty of
young lawyers who could plead for me as well as he could. The
judge heard his plea, and then told me he did not consider that a
sufficient excuse, and I could consider Mr. Doniphan my counsel.

I was then ordered back to jail, and ironed again in the same way.
Mr. Doniphan asked for and obtained a change of venue to Clay
County, which is in another district.

When the officers came to Independence jail for me, they requested
me to get ready in a hurry, as they feared the mob would kill me. I
told them I wanted to put on a clean shirt, if it cost me my life,
as I had not been permitted to enjoy the luxury of a change of
linen since I had boarded at the expense of Jackson County. While I
was changing my shirt, the officers several times told me to hurry,
or the mob would be on me and kill me.

When I got ready to start, the officers furnished me a very
hard-trotting horse, with a miserable poor saddle, tied my feet
under the horse with ropes, and my hands behind my back, and
started off at a good round trot, in charge of two officers. In a
short time a strange gentleman fell into our company, who was also
on horseback. It was six miles to the ferry, where we could cross
the Missouri river. When we got there, we saw the boat land on
the opposite side, when several men got off the boat, and took a
course to the woods, through which the road ran. The boat returned.
This stranger asked--"Where are {139} those men going?" and was
answered--"They are going to the woods to hew timber."

We then crossed, and took our way for Liberty. When we left the
boat, we saw no signs of people, nor heard any sound of axes.
After traveling some two or three miles, the woods became dense
and brushy: we heard the crackling of brush, and the noise of
men traveling through it. The officers and stranger appeared
frightened, and urged speed, keeping close watch. We came to an
opening in the woods, when the noise of crackling of brush ceased.
We traveled safely to Liberty, where this stranger told his friends
that he overheard several men in Independence planning to waylay
me in the thick timber on the Missouri bottom, at the place where
we heard the noises; but his being in company counteracted their
plot. I was then lodged in Liberty jail. In a few days afterwards
I learned that the men who went into the brush told it, that they
went into the woods according to agreement to waylay me; but when
they saw this stranger, it frustrated their plans.

In about ten days, on pretext of informality in the papers, I was
remanded back to Independence jail. It was rumored that I was again
going to be waylaid, when the two officers from Clay county took me
by a different road, and so I escaped the second time.

When I was put in Independence jail, I was again ironed hand and
foot, and put in the dungeon, in which condition I remained about
two months. During this time, Joseph H. Reynolds, the sheriff,
told me he was going to arrest Joseph Smith, and they had received
letters from Nauvoo which satisfied them that Joseph Smith had
unlimited confidence in me, that I was capable of toting him in a
carriage or on horseback anywhere that I pleased; and if I would
only tote him out by riding or any other way, so that they could
apprehend him, I might please myself whether I stayed in Illinois
or came back to Missouri; they would protect me, and any pile
that I would name the citizens of Jackson county would donate,
club together, and raise, and that I should never suffer for want
afterwards: "you only deliver Joe Smith into our hands, and name
your pile." I replied--"I will see you all damned first, and then I
won't."

About the time that Joseph was arrested by Reynolds at Dixon, I
knew that they were after him, and [yet had] no means under heaven
of giving him any information. My anxiety became so intense upon
the subject, knowing their determination to kill him, that my flesh
twitched on my bones. I could not help it; twitch it would. While
undergoing this sensation, I heard a dove alight on the window in
the upper room of the jail, and commence cooing, and then went
off. In a short time, he came back to the window, where a pane was
broken: he crept through between the bars of iron, which were about
two and-a-half inches apart. {140} I saw it fly round the trap-door
several times: it did not alight, but continued cooing until it
crept through the bars again, and flew out through the broken
window.

I relate this, as it was the only occurrence of the kind that
happened during my long and weary imprisonment; but it proved a
comfort to me: the twitching of my flesh ceased, and I was fully
satisfied from that moment that they would not get Joseph into
Missouri, and that I should regain my freedom. From the best
estimates that can be made, this incident occurred about the time
when Joseph was in the custody of Reynolds.

In a few days afterwards, Sheriff Reynolds came into the jail and
told me that he had made a failure in the arrest of Joseph.

After the lawyers had been about two months making out fresh
papers, I was again conveyed to Liberty jail on a miserable horse,
with feet and hands tied as before, but [by] a different road.

In a few days afterwards, my mother found where I was, and she came
to see me and brought me $100, whereby I was enabled to fee Mr.
Doniphan for his services as counsel.

The time of trial being continually delayed, I began to be uneasy.
I was handcuffed in the dungeon, which is the basement story of the
prison, and is about nine feet high. I took down the stove-pipe,
pushed my clothes up through the stove-pipe hole, and then crawled
through the hole in the floor, which was made of logs about
fourteen inches thick, into the upper room. The hole was so small
that it scratched my flesh, and made me bleed from many wounds. I
then examined the inside door, and with the bail of the water pail
I unbolted it; but finding I could not get through the outside
door, I returned to my dungeon through the same narrow pass.

The following night I made another attempt through the same way;
but, failing to get through the outside door, I lay down on the
upper floor, where the boys who were bringing my food next morning
found me. They made an alarm, when five or six men came and again
conveyed me down into the dungeon. It caused quite an excitement.

My mother, learning that Mr. Doniphan had returned home, went to
him, and prevailed on him to come and speak to me at the dungeon
grate. While he was talking to me, a little boy, the son of a poor
widow, about five or six years old, who had previously been to
see me, finding I had no fire, had run home and brought some fire
and chips to the grate. Mr. Doniphan said--"You little devil you,
what are you doing here with this fire?" He replied, "I am going
to give it to Mr. Rockwell, so that he can warm him." Doniphan
then said--"You little devil you, take this fire and leave;" when
the little urchin replied {141} (looking him in the face)--"Mr.
Doniphan, you go to hell: I am going to give Mr. Rockwell this
fire, so that he can warm him;" and he pushed it through the grate,
gave me the chips, and continued to supply my daily wants of chips
and fire while I continued in the dungeon.

From Mr. Doniphan I learned that a special term of court was
called, and my trial would come on in about fifteen days. The night
following this visit, some men came to the grates of my dungeon,
and asked if I wanted to get out. I told them, No, as I had been
informed that day that I should have a trial in a fortnight. They
replied--"Honor bright: if you wish to get out, we'll let you out
in a few minutes." I replied that I would rather remain, as my
trial would come on so soon. Next morning one of the men came, put
some money in the cleft of a stick, and put it through the hole to
me. He refused to tell his name; but I knew by his voice that he
was one of the men who came to me in the night.

The trial came on according to my last notification. I was tried
for breaking Independence jail; and although the law of Missouri
reads that, in order to break jail, a man must break a lock, a
door, or a wall, still Judge King ruled that it was breaking jail
to walk out when the door is open; and under this ruling the jury
brought in a verdict of "five minutes' imprisonment in the county
jail;" but I was kept there four or five hours, during which time
several attempts were made to get up some other charge against me.

About 8 p.m. on December 13th, General Doniphan took me out and
told me I must take across the country on foot, and not walk on any
traveled road, unless it was during the night, as they would be apt
to follow and again take me, as they did not care on what grounds,
so they could make me trouble.

I accordingly started, accompanied by my mother, and went to the
house of a widow, where I obtained my first supper in freedom for
more than nine months. We then traveled two miles and obtained $4.

I then took through the woods to the road, where I heard two men
riding on horseback. I hid behind a shady tree, and overheard one
of them say, "He has not been gone many minutes: we shall soon
overtake him."

I went round the houses and traveled in the fields by the side of
the road. The moon was in its first quarter, and I traveled during
the night about twenty-five miles. I carried a little food with me,
and next day traveled on the road, and walked past Crooked River to
a Mr. Taylor's, with all the skin off my feet.

A neighbor offered to take me in for the night, if I would go back
{142} two miles. I did so, found his wife very cross with her
husband, who said, "Stranger, you see my wife is very cross. I have
got some whisky; let's drink: my wife will soon have something to
eat." When supper was eaten, she became good tempered. I stayed in
peace through the night. Next morning I ate breakfast with them,
and gave them fifty cents, when the man brought out a horse, and
sent a little boy with me fourteen miles, which was a very great
relief to my weary feet.

The next night I stopped near where the Haun's Mill massacre took
place.

The third day I walked till noon, and then hired a man to carry
me the remainder of the day for seventy-five cents. Stayed at a
house where I was well acquainted; but the people did not recognize
me, and I did not make myself known. Paid fifty cents for supper,
lodging, breakfast, and being sent twelve miles on horseback the
next morning.

I then continued my journey about thirty miles, where I rested
three days to recruit my feet. I was then carried twenty-five miles
on horseback, and walked the same day twenty-five miles. The day
following I walked forty miles, and then waited another day and
engaged a man to carry me to Montrose, to which place I was three
days in going. I immediately crossed the river to Nauvoo in a small
boat, and came straight to the Mansion.

[Sidenote: Release of Daniel Avery.]

Daniel Avery was liberated from his imprisonment in Missouri by _habeas corpus._ This was, no doubt, on account of our vigilance in communicating with the Governor, and endeavoring to prosecute the kidnappers, and continually making public the conduct of Missouri.

Warm day; rain in the evening.

A PLAN FOR WOMEN'S SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE TEMPLE.

_(From the Millennial Star.)_

We have much pleasure in publishing and recommending the following
plan to be adopted amongst the sisters of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in England. We believe that the
completion of the Temple is as near the hearts of the sisters as
to the hearts of the brethren, and that the following proposed
[plan] will be responded to on the part of the English sisters in a
manner that shall reflect honor upon themselves, and be materially
instrumental in forwarding the great work.

{143} NAUVOO, Dec. 25, 1843.

_To the Sisters of the Church of Jesus Christ in England,
Greeting_:--

DEAR SISTERS:--This is to inform you that we have here entered into
a small weekly subscription for the benefit of the Temple funds.
One thousand have already joined it, while many more are expected,
by which we trust to help forward the great work very much. The
amount is only one cent or a halfpenny per week.

As Brother Amos Fielding is waiting for this, I cannot enlarge
more than to say that myself and Sister Thompson are engaged in
collecting the same.

We remain,

Your affectionate sisters in Christ,

MARY SMITH,

M. R. THOMPSON.

NAUVOO, Dec. 25, 1843.

The ladies' subscription for the Temple, of one cent per week, is
fully sanctioned by the First Presidency.

HYRUM SMITH.

We feel much to encourage this plan, and trust that the sisters in
England will manifest that they will not be behind the sisters in
Nauvoo in this laudable work. One thing in connection with this
work we would mention, and request that it be attended to with the
strictest accuracy; that is, that the name of each individual be
recorded, and the amount which they subscribe, in order that such
names may be transmitted to Nauvoo, where they will have to be
entered in the books of the Lord's House. The sisters or others who
may collect the subscriptions will please to be very particular on
this point.

[Sidenote: Prophet's Joy at the Return of Rockwell and Avery.]

_Tuesday, 26.--_At home. I rejoiced that Rockwell had returned from the clutches of Missouri, and that God had delivered him out of their hands. Brother Daniel Avery also arrived about dusk this evening; and the Missourians have no longer the pleasure of exulting over any Mormon victims for the present; but their blood-thirstiness will not long be satisfied unless they seek out another victim on whom to glut their malice and vengeance.

_Wednesday, 27:--_Cold: a little ice in the river, which has been clear for some time past.

{144} I received letters from General Lewis Cass, of Michigan, and Hon. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, in answer to mine of Nov. 4.

Mr. Keith gave a lecture and concert of music in the assembly room this evening.

MR. ROCKWELL.

_(Editorial from the Neighbor.)_

The name of this individual is, no doubt, familiar to most of our
readers. He has obtained some celebrity in the world also, not for
his reputed virtue, but for his supposed crimes.

It will be recollected that he is the person who was basely and
falsely implicated, along with Joseph Smith, as the reputed [would
be] murderer of ex-Governor Boggs, while Mr. Smith was charged with
being accessory before the fact. A vexatious lawsuit was instituted
against Joseph Smith, wherein he was charged with the above-named
crime; and finally, after many attempts of the governor of Missouri
to get him into his power, was acquitted by the United States Court
for the district of Illinois,

Stories of murder and blood were circulated from Maine to Missouri;
they were iterated and reiterated by the newspapers of the whole
Union, and painted in the most glowing colors that human ingenuity
could invent. Mr. Rockwell was branded as a murderer, and Joseph
Smith as accessory before the fact, without any other evidence
than a story fabricated by some of our generous politicians,
engendered in falsehood by hearts as dark as Erebus for religious
and political effect.

This demagoguery and political corruption has caused an innocent
man to be immolated in a Missouri dungeon for upwards of eight
months, without the slightest evidence of his guilt, or even the
most remote evidence of crime leading to his committal. He was
taken without process, and committed to jail upon mere supposition,
and finally acquitted without any shadow of proof having been
adduced from beginning to end. This is the way that Missouri treats
free-born American citizens, and they can obtain no redress.

Mr. Rockwell arrived here on Monday night, and has given us some
of the details of his history since he was first taken in Missouri
to the present time; and we can assure our readers that it will "a
tale unfold" relative to that state, which even many of those who
have been driven therefrom will find it difficult to believe that
there did exist such monsters in human shape.

_Thursday, 28.--_At home. Elder Orson Hyde returned {145} from Adams county, having obtained quite a number of signatures to the Memorial to Congress, and made an affidavit of what he learned in Warsaw concerning the mob.

_Affidavit of Orson Hyde--Disclosing Plan to Drive the Saints_.

STATE OF ILLINOIS,

CITY OF NAUVOO. ss.

On the 28th day of December, 1843, came Orson Hyde before me,
Joseph Smith, mayor of said city; and after being duly sworn,
deposeth and saith that on the 26th instant, as he was passing from
Lima to Nauvoo, through that part of Hancock county where Colonel
Levi Williams resides, he was credibly informed that on Saturday
previous the anti-Mormons held a meeting, drew up an article, and
passed several resolutions, among which were these:--"We will
revere and hold sacred and inviolate the Constitution of the United
States, and also the Constitution of this State. We will visit the
Mormons residing in our vicinity and require them to give up their
guns; and such as do it shall dwell here in peace; but those who
will not do it may have thirteen days to leave in; and if they
are not off in that time, we will drive them." The above is the
substance, but perhaps not the very words. They also swear that the
Mormons shall never raise another crop in that region, &c.; &c.,
and further this deponent saith not.

ORSON HYDE.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th of December, 1843.

W. W. PHELPS, Clerk, M. C.

Daniel Avery having made affidavit of the cruel treatment he had recently received at the hands of Missourians, I here insert it:--

_Affidavit of Daniel Avery--His Treatment in Missouri_.

STATE OF ILLINOIS,

CITY OF NAUVOO. ss.

On the 28th day of December, 1843, came Daniel Avery before me,
Joseph Smith, mayor of the city aforesaid, and after being duly
sworn, deposeth and saith that on the second day of December,
1843, he was unlawfully arrested by force and arms, and kidnapped
at Doty's Mill in Bear Creek precinct, Hancock county, and State
aforesaid, by Colonel Levi Williams, his son John Williams, of
Hancock county; John Elliott, a schoolmaster, from four-and-a-half
miles below Warsaw; William Middleton and Joseph McCoy, of Clark
county, Missouri, and four {146} others. Colonel Williams held
his bowie-knife to his breast. Six of the others stood with their
pistols cocked and their fingers upon the triggers, muzzles
presented at his body, ready to fire; and two stood with clubs, and
amidst the most horrid oaths and imprecations, took and bound with
silk handkerchiefs your said affiant, and led him away between two
men, one holding a savage bowie-knife on one side, and the other
a cocked pistol on the other side, (having taken away your said
affiant's weapons while binding him in the mill,) and led your
affiant about a mile. Your affiant refused to walk any further, and
they put him upon a horse, and tied his legs under the horse; and
John Elliott, the aforesaid schoolmaster, led the horse as fast as
he could make his way, through a thicket and by-way to the house of
the aforesaid Colonel Williams. Here the kidnappers ate and drank;
and after they had unbound me, (for they had bound me so tight that
I was in great pain,) I was also suffered to partake.

They then put me upon the horse again, and bound me, and started
for the river, the said schoolmaster Elliott leading the horse.
When we came near a schoolhouse where there was a meeting, they
came to a halt, sent messengers to the meeting, and in the course
of half an hour they returned with an armed mob, with rifles and
other weapons, sufficient to make the whole company number about
twenty. Being all on horseback, they formed a circle, with your
affiant in the center, who up to that time had acquainted every
man he saw that _they were kidnapping him_, and marched in that
order to a house on a point below Warsaw; and as I was very cold
from being bound, they took me into the house to warm. I now called
for a trial, as I had told them all the way that I never resisted
legal authority. They said they were hunting a magistrate. Said
I, "I understand you; you mean to force me into Missouri." McCoy
returned, and said, "We are ready." It was about midnight. We went
about three hundred yards up the river to a skiff. I refused to
cross as they had promised me a trial. They forced me into a skiff
and bound me, and five men put me across. Their names, so far as
I could ascertain, are William Middleton, William Clark, Joseph
McCoy, John Elliott, and Charles Coolidge. They landed at the
tavern on the south side of the Des Moines, and took me into a back
room, threw down a buffalo robe for my bed; but as my arms were
bound so tight that I could not rest, I complained; told Middleton
that was not the way he was used at my house. They felt at my arms
and exclaimed, "By God, they are not too tight!" I begged to have
one arm liberated, and finally they untied both, and I slept (under
guard) on the buffalo robe before the fire.

About noon they got ready and started with me, guarded upon a
horse, for McCoy's in Clark county, Missouri, about twelve miles
distant. {147} It being night when we arrived, and I unwell
through fatigue and confinement and the abuses before received, I
went to bed. They had sent runners ahead; and after I had been in
bed awhile, the sheriff came up from Waterloo, the county seat,
a distance of about two miles, to arrest me and take me before
a magistrate that night; but Middleton and McCoy objected, as I
was sick. The sheriff, however, executed his writ, and left me in
their care till morning. It being late before we breakfasted, he
came in the morning and made the second scope of his authority and
took me. He quizzed me the night before, to draw something out for
testimony; but as innocence cannot be affected by truth, he was as
wise at one end of the story as the other.

At Waterloo I was examined by a magistrate, who committed me upon
the substance of an affidavit made by my son in duress with a
bowie-knife at his breast, and upon a promise that he should be
liberated from Monticello jail, where he was confined after being
kidnapped some three or four weeks previous. My bonds were fixed at
$1000; and as I had no bail in such a strange place, I was started
for Palmyra jail, in Marion county. The deputy sheriff took me to
Musgrove, the sheriff, a distance of ten miles. Here I sued out a
writ of habeas corpus, but the judge remanded me to prison.

At Monticello my chains were taken off, and I was at liberty in the
midst of a strong guard to view the town. Here a lawyer agreed to
take me and my son through court (as the Missourians say,) for a
horse. Saw my son in the prison; said he was forced at the point of
a bowie-knife to make an affidavit against me; but he knew I was
innocent.

I tried to be left with him in jail; but no, I was compelled to go
to Palmyra, where I arrived the next evening. The sheriff thrust me
into the dungeon without waiting to eat, warm, or anything else.
The next morning the blacksmith came into the jail and ironed me
to the middle of a great chain that was fast to the floor, where I
remained in the horrid gloom of a Missouri prison two weeks.

From thence the deputy sheriff started, with me chained upon the
horse in this wise. He then chained my right leg, and then passed
the chain up to my left hand. In this way I traveled nine miles,
when we stopped, and he changed the chain from my hand to the
horse's neck. We arrived at Monticello, and I was chained all night.

The next day I was conveyed to Waterloo, and delivered into the
custody of the sheriff of Clark county. I was kept under a strong
guard by day, and at night chained to one of the guards or to the
bedpost.

{148} I was informed that Middleton and McCoy procured an
indictment against me, by giving bonds to the amount of some two
or three hundred dollars, that they would hunt up testimony to
the point for next court, there being nothing against me but the
affidavit of my son before alluded to; and so the grand jury found
a bill.

Ellison, my lawyer, deceived me, and put over my case for six
months, because, as I suppose, I, being kidnapped, had no fees for
him. I objected to having my trial put off for six months. I did
not fancy the dungeon of Palmyra prison. The court concluded to
let me to bail under bonds of $1000, but this I could not obtain.
Subsequently it was reduced to $500, but all in vain, for I was
unacquainted with the people.

This was on Saturday, and I was thus left to meditate on the
mischief that may be made out of a little matter by meddlesome men.

On Monday I sued out a writ of habeas corpus; and after a fair
hearing of the matter, I received the following order:--

STATE OF MISSOURI,

COUNTY OF CLARK. ss.

December, 25, 1843.

Ordered by the Clark County Court that Samuel Musgrove, sheriff
of Clark county, discharge Daniel Avery from imprisonment, on an
indictment found against him for the alleged crime of stealing a
mare of Joseph McCoy.

By order of Court.

[Sidenote: [L. S.]]

Witness--Willis Curd, Clerk of said court, and seal of office this
25th of December, 1843.

Done at office in Waterloo, date above.

WILLIS CURD, Clerk.

HONS. JOHN W. DEWELLIN,

HENRY SNIVELY, Judges.

Very early on Tuesday morning your affiant started for Nauvoo and
arrived the same evening about sundown, a distance of nearly twenty
miles so crippled from the iron bondage and hard usage of Missouri,
that he is hardly able to walk. To those who assisted your said
affiant to obtain his release from bondage, he tenders his grateful
acknowledgements; and further your affiant saith not.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 28th day of December, 1843.

DANIEL AVERY.

W. W. PHELPS, Clerk, M. C.

[Sidenote: Joseph H. Jackson--Prophet's Interview with.]

{149} _Friday, 29.--_At home. In the forenoon, W. W. Phelps called and gave us a lesson on eloquence, and read my Appeal to the Green Mountain Boys, and also a New Year's hymn without rhyme. Three p.m., I related to Dr. Bernhisel and Joseph H. Jackson [2] my commencement in receiving revelations. Mr. Jackson said he was almost persuaded to be one with me. I replied, I would that he were not only almost, but altogether.

At four p.m., I met with the City Council.

[Sidenote: Police Force of Nauvoo Increased.]

Having selected forty men to act as city policemen, they met with the Council, and were sworn into office to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Illinois, and obey the ordinances of this city and the instructions of the Mayor, according to the best of their ability.

Names of police called by Captain Jonathan Dunham:

Jonathan Dunham, High Policeman, Charles C. Rich, 1st Lieutenant, Hosea Stout, 2nd Lieutenant, Shadrack Roundy, 3rd Lieut., John Pack, Ensign, Jesse P. Harmon, Orderly Sergt., John D. Lee, 2nd Sergeant, Daniel Carn, 3rd Sergeant, Josiah Arnold, 4th Sergeant, James Emmett, 1st Corporal, Alexander Mills, 2nd Corporal, Steven H. Goddard, 3rd Corporal, William Pace, 4th Corporal, Abraham C. Hodge, Pioneer, Levi W. Hancock, Fifer, Daniel M. Repsher, Fifer, Richard D. Sprague, Drummer, Samuel Billings, Drummer, {150} Abraham O. Smoot, Dwight Harding, John Lytle, Simeon A. Dunn, Andrew Lytle, Appleton M. Harmon, Howard Egan, James Pace, Benjamin Boyce, Francis M. Edwards, Lorenzo Clark, William H. Edwards, Davies McOlney, Moses M. Sanders, Abram Palmer, Warren A. Smith, Isaac C. Haight, George W. Clyde, John L. Butler, Vernon H. Bruce, Elbridge Tufts, Armsted Moffet, Truman R. Barlow, Azra Adams.

The Mayor said--

_Address of the Mayor to the Nauvoo Police_.

It is expected that a part will be on duty while others rest. It
might be expected that thieves had crept into the Church for the
purpose of concealing their wickedness under the garb of sanctity.

It is an abominable thing to set a thief to catch a thief; and I
would look with the utmost contempt upon men who do this as guilty
of a mean or cowardly act.

Some city councils have taken thieves out of their prisons, and
employed them as policemen, under the old and foolish adage--"Set a
rogue to catch a rogue," which is decidedly wrong, and is corrupt
in policy.

You will act under the direction of Jonathan Dunham--we will call
him High Policeman. In reality he is the captain of the police: but
as men are apt to be frightened at a military title, we will use s
civil title, as these policemen are all civil officers of the city.

Captain Dunham is the man to send after a thief. He will not come
back, after following him a mile, to ask if he may shoot him, if
he resists. Some men have strange ears and changeable hearts: they
become transformed from their original purity and integrity, and
become altogether different from what they were.

If the bloodthirsty hell-hounds of Missouri continue their
persecution, we will be forbearing, until we are compelled to
strike; then do it decently and in good order, and break the yoke
effectually, so that it cannot be mended. The mob have been so
repulsed in their last attempt at kidnapping, they may stand in
fear, at least for a short time.

We will be in peace with all men, so long as they will mind their
own business and let us alone. Even "Peace with Missouri" shall
be the motto of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
from this {151} time forth, if they will stop their persecution
and oppressive warfare against us. Let them alone, for they stink
in the nostrils of the Almighty: let them alone. Porter Rockwell
has come home clear. A Missouri grand jury could not find a bill
against him even in Jackson county; and that proves me clear of the
charge of being accessory of shooting Lilburn W. Boggs. Many of our
difficulties from the State of Missouri are hurled upon us through
the influence of some of our near neighbors.

Governor Ford has boasted of being a law-abiding man. A governor
certainly should be law-abiding. It is therefore our best policy to
acquaint the Executive, by affidavits, of every violation of our
rights, so that when the onset comes, he will be obliged by law to
send the militia to our support. Let us keep cool as a cucumber on
a frosty morning. Do not be excited. Say nothing about Missouri's
oppression. "A soft answer turns away wrath but grievous words stir
up anger," therefore we "poor pussy" this generation.

Keep a strict account of the time you serve as policemen. Have
the ordinances of the city always in your possession, and study
them, sad ferret out all grogshops, gambling-houses, brothels, and
disorderly conduct; and if a transgressor resists, cuff his ears.
If anyone lifts a weapon or presents a pistol at you, take his
life, if need be, to preserve your own; but enforce the ordinances,
and preserve the peace of the city, and take care of your own
lives. Let no horses be taken away out of the city, or anything
else stolen, if you can help it.

Let Missouri alone. Keep out of her territory. Don't go over there
on any business whatever. Any of this people would be subject to
cruel abuse, if found in that State, in the same manner that Porter
Rockwell has been. He was seized in St. Louis while attending to
his lawful business, picked up and ironed, and thrown in jail
without any form of law, conveyed to Independence in the custody of
a ruffian who swore falsely in the hope of getting a reward, kept
in irons all the way, lodged in Independence jail without even the
form of an inquiry, chained double in a filthy, damp, unventilated
dungeon,--chained hand and foot, so that he could not straighten
for months, till his body was reduced to a mere skeleton, and he
unable to walk when the irons were taken off, and he had to be
led,--half fed on the refuse of what dogs would not eat: his case
presented to a Jackson county grand jury, and not evidence enough
to warrant them in even finding an indictment. After which, the
Missouri court, in the plenitude of their justice, transmitted the
innocent and unindicted man back to the dungeon, without fire,
provisions, or any other comfort,--hoping by this torture, no
doubt, to produce death, or force him to accede to an infamous
proposition, "that whether Jo Smith was guilty or innocent, only
come out against {152} him, you shall have your liberty, and
receive a liberal reward." After months have passed away, without
any shadow of law, the door is opened, and he is told to "slip off
privately, or the people will hang you." Keep out of Missouri, if
you don't want such treatment as this; for the Averys, Rockwell,
and many others have been thankful to get away with their lives.

If any man attempts to bribe you in any way whatever, or persuade
you to neglect your duty, tell the same to me. Let us have a
reformation.

There are speculators in this State who are wanting to sell
revolving pistols to us, in order to fight the Missourians, and at
the same time inciting the Missourians to fight us. Don't buy: it
would be better to buy ploughshares and raise corn with them.

My life is more in danger from some little dough-head of a fool in
this city than from all my numerous and inveterate enemies abroad.
I am exposed to far greater danger from traitors among ourselves
than from enemies without, although my life has been sought for
many years by the civil and military authorities, priests, and
people of Missouri; and if I can escape from the ungrateful
treachery of assassins, I can live as Caesar might have lived, were
it not for a right-hand Brutus. I have had pretended friends betray
me. All the enemies upon the face of the earth may roar and exert
all their power to bring about my death, but they can accomplish
nothing, unless some who are among us and enjoy our society, have
been with us in our councils, participated in our confidence, taken
us by the hand, called us brother, saluted us with a kiss, join
with our enemies, turn our virtues into faults, and, by falsehood
and deceit, stir up their wrath and indignation against us, and
bring their united vengeance upon our heads. All the hue-and-cry of
the chief priests and elders against the Savior, could not bring
down the wrath of the Jewish nation upon His head, and thereby
cause the crucifixion of the Son of God, until Judas said unto
them, "Whomsoever I shall kiss, he is the man; hold him fast."
Judas was one of the Twelve Apostles, even their treasurer, and
dipt with their Master in the dish, and through his treachery, the
crucifixion was brought about; and _we have a Judas in our midst_.

_The Mayor blesses the Police_.

It shall be said in time to come, Where are our old policemen? Let
us have one of the old policemen, to stand at our window, guard our
interest, and protect our families, and we shall be safe.

If you will magnify your office, the full confidence of Israel
shall be the blessing that shall be conferred on you in time to
come.

{153} Counselor Hyrum Smith spoke of the importance of the police office.

The Mayor said that if any one offered a bribe to a policeman, the city will pay that policeman twice the amount offered for the information, when reported to the Mayor.

_Friday, 29.--_My clerk made copies of five affidavits made yesterday by Elder Orson Hyde, Mr. Daniel Avery, and others, and sent the same to the Governor, with the following letter:--

_Letter to Governor Ford--Accompanying Affidavits_.

NAUVOO, December 30, 1843.

SIR:--I forward to your Excellency a number of affidavits relative
to the late kidnapping of the Averys, and upon other matters.
When the mob made efforts to resist the laws, Joseph Smith, as
Mayor, gave notice to Major-General Law to hold a portion of the
Nauvoo Legion in readiness; and Aaron Johnson, Esq., called for
some troops to maintain the laws: but I am happy to say, none were
ordered to march, as it was deemed most advisable to let Colonel
Levi Williams and his mob flourish until indictments could be made
at the Circuit Court of Hancock county.

We shall continue to keep your Excellency informed upon all matters
of moment touching the premises.

_Saturday, 30.--_At nine, a.m., held Mayor's court. Two boys, Roswell and Evander White, were brought up for stealing six hens and a rooster. They were sentenced to pay for the fowls, and to ten days' hard labor each on the streets.

In the afternoon, met in the assembly room with the quorum. William Law and wife were not present. Warm and rainy.

_Sunday, 31st.--_At home.

In the afternoon, called with Elder Parley P. Pratt to see his wife.

At early candle-light, went to prayer-meeting; administered the sacrament; after which I retired. At midnight, about fifty musicians and singers sang Phelps' New Year's Hymn under my window.

{154} Warm and rainy. No ice to be seen.

The subjoined list shows a few of the publications for and against the Saints during the year.

_Pro et con Mormonism, publications for the year 1843_.

The _Alton Telegraph_ published several very severe articles
against the Church.

Edward Brotherton published a scurrilous pamphlet at Manchester,
England, entitled "Mormonism--its Rise and Progress, and the
Prophet Joseph Smith."

The _Richmond Palladium_ published an amusing and favorable article
on "Mormonism."

The _Boston Bee_ published a series of articles favorable to the
Saints, which had a beneficial effect in putting down prejudice and
misrepresentation.

A favorable account of a visit to Nauvoo was published by Samuel A.
Prior, Methodist minister.

The _Morning Star,_ a Freewill Baptist paper, published a long and
bitter article against the Latter-day Saints, entitled "Mormon
Perversion."

A favorable article, entitled "Nauvoo and Mormonism," was published
by a Traveler.

The _Quincy Whig_ published several bitter articles against me.

The _Warsaw Message,_ and subsequently the _Warsaw Signal_,
published a continual tirade of abuse, misrepresentation, and lies
against the Saints.

The _New Haven_ (Con.) _Herald_ published a favorable account of
the "Mormons" in Nauvoo.

Footnotes:

1. There was also a Memorial prepared by the Prophet from the inhabitants of Hancock county generally to the same effect as the above, but it was never extensively signed or presented to Congress.

2. This man afterwards was discovered to be an adventurer and a most desperate character. Gregg in his Prophet of Palmyra, Chapter XXX, speaks of him as "an adventurer of fine appearance and gentlemanly manners, who appeared in the county (Hancock) during the troubles; went to Nauvoo, and became intimate with Smith and the leaders; afterwards turned against them--went to Warsaw and issued a pamphlet--claiming to be an expose of Mormonism and the evil purposes and practices of the Prophet * * * He was an entire stranger to the county and its people; no one knew whence he came or what became of him afterwards, when the excitement was all over. Hence it is just to say, that the equivocal position in which he stood very justly tended to lessen confidence of the public in his statements, and his little book made slight impression. The Mormons charged that he was an adventurer of the worst class--himself a counterfeiter, etc., and that he quarreled with the Prophet and the authorities because he was detected and exposed." Gregg also says that this "Expose was much of the same character as that of General Bennett's." (Ibid).

{155}