Several of the officers of the troops in Carthage, and other gentlemen, curious to see the Prophet, visited Joseph in his room. General Smith asked them if there was anything in his appearance that indicated he was the desperate character his enemies represented him to be; and he asked them to give him their honest opinion on the subject. The reply was, "No, sir, your appearance would indicate the very contrary, General Smith; but we cannot see what is in your heart, neither can we tell what are your intentions." To which Joseph replied, "Very true, gentlemen, you cannot see what is in my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge me or my intentions; but I can see what is in your hearts, and will tell you what I see. I can see that you thirst for blood, and nothing but my blood will satisfy you. It is not for crime of any description that I and my brethren are thus continually persecuted and harassed by our enemies, but there are other motives, and some of them I have expressed, so far as relates to myself; and inasmuch as you and the people thirst for blood, I prophesy, in the name of the Lord, that you shall witness scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire satisfaction. Your souls shall be perfectly satiated with blood, and many of you who are now present shall have an opportunity to face the cannon's mouth from sources you think not of; and those people that desire this great evil upon me and my brethren, shall be filled with regret and sorrow because of the scenes of desolation and distress that await them. They shall seek for peace, and shall not be able to find it. Gentlemen, you will find what I have told you to be true."
Law Cannot Reach Them—Powder and Ball Must.
12 minutes to 4.—Report came to Joseph that William and Wilson Law, Robert D. Foster, Chauncey L. Higbee and Francis M. Higbee had said that there was nothing against these men; the law could not reach them but powder and ball would, and they should not go out of Carthage alive.
Arraigned on the Expositor Affair.
Joseph, Hyrum and thirteen others, were taken before Robert F. Smith, a justice of the peace residing in Carthage (he being also captain of the Carthage Greys) on the charge of riot destroying the printing press of the Nauvoo Expositor.
It is worthy of notice here, that when the defendants went before Esquire Wells, the prosecution objected, and insisted that they should be taken before the justice who issued the writ—viz., Thomas Morrison, and that Governor Ford had also stated in his letter to General Joseph Smith that he must go before the justice in Carthage who issued the writ. But when the prosecution had the defendants in their own power in Carthage, they could then ride over their own objections by taking them before another justice, who was known to be a greater enemy to the defendants than Justice Morrison, and moreover, before one who was not only a justice of the peace, but also the Military commander of a company of Carthage Greys, who had already been arrested for mutiny.
Chauncey L. Higbee, one of the prosecutors, moved an adjournment.
H. T. Reid and James W. Woods on behalf of the defendants, objected to an adjournment, and said that the court was not authorized to take recognizance without their acknowledging their guilt, or having witnesses to prove it, and we admit the press was destroyed by order of the Mayor, it having been condemned by the City Council as a nuisance.