He quickly obeyed the call, followed his summoners a few rods from the house, when he was brutally assassinated by those who had him in charge. The following allusion to this murder is from the letter of Captain Jocelyn already quoted from:
—"I do not hesitate to state my most earnest conviction that Brigham Young is the author of Dr. Robinson's assassination, and in this I do not go one iota beyond the public opinion of all gentiles in Salt Lake City, and, I have no doubt, of the Mormons as well, could their secret thoughts be known. He signified his consent, which was the victim's death warrant; some of his satellites—probably Daniel H. Wells—made the detail for the execution; and not the least hideous feature of the whole affair is, that, in all probability, the perpetrators of that most atrocious crime feel no guilt for this deed, have no visitations of remorse or compunctions of conscience in consequence, but consider that they have only done their duty and proved their faith in thus obeying the behests of their Prophet. I will trace the chain of evidence leading to the foregoing conclusion; Brigham Young is the Mormon Church, since therein his word is law. It is the deliberate policy of the church to isolate Mormonism from the intrusion of persons averse to the peculiar faith it teaches. That such is the burden of the discourses of its leaders throughout the Territory, and has been for years, will not be seriously disputed by any sensible Mormon. Hence their strenuous efforts to settle up the valleys, or the more desirable portions, by gathering the saints together from all parts of the world, and concentrating their force in Utah. In Missouri they controlled one county by this means; they now control, and will, if possible perpetuate their authority over an entire Territory which, they hope may become a State, under the absolute dominion of Brigham Young. To effect this, gentiles cannot be permitted to mingle with Mormons unopposed, nor to settle in their vicinity, on account of the dangerous influence they would thus exert. The control of the church authorities over personal actions extends to every possible circumstance. When the headquarters of the District of Utah were established in Salt Lake City by order one year ago, his authority was exercised to prevent the lease of any buildings for that or any other public purpose, and the person from whom they were finally obtained was afterward 'cut off' from the church for disregard of 'counsel' in that particular, and has since been subjected to all manner of petty persecution in consequence. Dr. Robinson had leased certain city property, which he managed without regard to the wishes of the Mormon magnates. Formerly the property of an elder in the church, it was now the place where the 'Vedette' newspaper found
refuge, when driven from every other covert. Moreover, Dr. Robinson was foremost in encouraging the idea that gentiles, as well as Mormons, had rights in Utah, and among them a right to a portion of the public domain, whereon to build themselves homes. Acting upon this unorthodox theory, he, with others, had procured the survey of certain lands near the city, including the famous Warm Sulphur Springs, and had taken all the necessary steps to perfect a title, according to act of Congress regulating the location of cities on the public domain.
"The buildings in process of erection thereon were demolished, and there the matter rested for more than a year, when it was formally revived by Dr. Robinson, who brought the case before the United States Third District Court, praying to be put in possession of his property, from which he was unlawfully restrained.
"About the same time other parties began locating on vacant land near the city, as already stated. No objection was made by any person, however, until Brigham Young began his inflammatory harangues, giving the key-note of assassination. Early in October the semi-annual conference convened in Salt Lake City, and it was attended beyond all precedent. To the thousands there assembled he repeated all his violent language,—and no man knows better how to inspire his hearers with his own purposes,—concluding by taking a vote, in effect, whether the policy thus strenuously urged should be adopted and at once inaugurated.
"What more was necessary for him to do? Not to strike the blow, surely, for there were hundreds ready to do that; all they wanted was to be told who, where, and when. The event was predicted by the writer in a communication to the 'New York Tribune,' dated ten days previous to Dr. Robinson's assassination. None knew, indeed, on whom the blow would descend, but all felt sure it was impending. To my personal knowledge many of those who believed or knew themselves under ban took extraordinary precautions to meet the threatened danger.
"On Saturday, October 20th, Dr. Robinson, acting under legal advice, called on Daniel H. Wells, Mayor of the city, 'Lieutenant-General' of the Utah militia, and only second to Brigham Young in the church, to demand payment of the city for damages done to his premises by police acting under Wells's orders without due process of law. Wells no sooner learned that he was
the person contesting the Warm Springs case, than he ordered him from his house, with every circumstance of gross insult. On the night of Monday following Dr. Robinson was murdered. The full moon made the night almost as light as day. There were at least seven of the assassins. They did the deed, knowing that within twenty steps a witness was observing them. They did not rifle the pockets of their victim. The deduction is irresistible. No mere murderers would commit so heinous a crime under such circumstances, unless certain of adequate backing and sure protection. He had no personal enemies. Who desired his death? Who could protect his murderers? I leave the answer to public opinion, which, I trust, may soon compel our timid lawgivers to do their duty. For myself, I have no doubt on the point. I know as well as I ever hope to know who caused the murder of Dr. Robinson. I feel and write warmly on the subject, for the victim was my intimate friend. Not three days before his foul murder, he expressed to me a sense of the danger he felt himself exposed to in attempting, single-handed, to fight the Mormon authorities of Salt Lake City. The event very soon proved how prophetic were those fears. I was by his side only a few minutes after he was stricken down—held his hand and felt the last faint pulse that flitted from his heart when he died. Who could look upon such a sight—a strong man basely stricken down in his early prime by assassin hands, his family crushed with the awful weight of such a sorrow—and not feel it a duty to use every means which honor allows to bring the perpetrators to punishment. During my residence in Utah I have carefully studied the Mormon system, and confidently assert it to be dangerous to the commonweal. I have traced the connection between public utterances of the leaders and crimes wherewith they have been charged, and entertain no doubt of their guilt from evidences found in their own record.
"Well, Dr. Robinson sleeps in the cemetery at Camp Douglas, the second victim of Mormon hatred to gentiles, within the year, whose ashes repose therein. They sleep as do the Parishes, the innocents slaughtered at the Mountain Meadows, and the hundreds of other victims who have perished to appease the insatiate demon of blood-atonement—the tutelary deity by whose fell assistance Brigham Young maintains his power, and hopes to accomplish his evil purposes."
The following comments upon the same affair, together with the closing portion of the eloquent speech of Governor Weller before the Coroner's Jury, are taken from the "San Francisco Bulletin" of November 16th, 1866:—