ely accused of all manner of wrong doings. It also set forth that no
more "Mormons" must settle in Jackson county; that the "Mormons" already
there should be given a reasonable time to sell their property and then
remove; that the printing of their paper must cease; that the stores of the
Saints must close up their business as soon as possible; and that the
leading brethren should use their influence to have the Saints comply with
these requests. The meeting agreed to all this and a committee was
appointed to wait on the leaders of the Saints to see what they would do
about it. When the committee called, the brethren asked for time to
consider the matter, but fifteen minutes only were given them. Nothing
could be done in that short time, so the committee went back to the meeting
and reported.
The mob then broke loose, yelling like a band of wild Indians. They went to
the house and printing office of W.W. Phelps, forced Mrs. Phelps and the
children, one of whom was sick, out of the house and threw the furniture
out in the street. They then destroyed the printing press and tore the
office down. Then they went through the town hunting for the leading
brethren. They caught Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, dragged
them to the public square, stripped most of their clothes off, and then
smeared tar all over their bodies. This ended that day's work, and the
frightened women and children who had fled to the woods came back to their
homes.
The third day after this a mob of five hundred men came into Independence.
They were armed with guns, knives, and whips, and they swore they would
kill or whip all who would not agree to leave. The leading brethren, seeing
that it was no longer of any use to plead or resist, made an agreement with
the mob that they with their families would leave the county by the first
of January, and that they would use their influence in trying to induce the
rest of the Saints to leave, one-half by January 1st, the rest by April
1st, 1834. They were also to use all the means they could to prevent more
of the Saints from settling in the county. The mob for their part agreed
not to persecute the Saints while this was being done.
The mob, however, did not keep this promise, but daily broke into houses
and abused the inmates.
The Saints now appealed to the highest officer of the state, Governor
Dunklin, for protection. He told them that the laws were able to protect
everybody in their rights, an
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