While I was in jail, the following statements were made by the witnesses, and sent to Colonel Price, namely:
William E. McLellin is guilty of entering the house of Joseph Smith, Jun., in the city of Far West, and plundering it of the following articles, viz.—one roll of linen cloth, a quantity of valuable buttons, one piece of cashmere, a number of very valuable books of great variety, a number of vestings, with various other articles of value.
Said McLellin was aided and assisted in the above transactions by Harvey Green, Burr Riggs and Harlow Redfield.[[2]]
The above mentioned William E. McLellin also came to and took away from the stable of the said above mentioned Joseph Smith Jun., one gig and harness, with some other articles which cannot now be called to mind, aided and assisted by Burr Riggs—which can be proven by the following witnesses—
Caroline Clark,
James Mulholland,
Mrs. Sally Hinkle,
Joanna Carter.
J. Stollins is guilty of entering the house of Joseph Smith, Jun., in the city of Far West, in company with Sashiel Woods and another man not known, and taking from a trunk, the property of James Mulholland an inmate of said house, one gold ring, which they carried away; also of breaking open a sealed letter, which was in said trunk inside a pocket book, in which was the ring above mentioned; besides tossing and abusing the rest of the contents of said trunk; which can be proven by the following persons—
Mrs. Emma Smith,
Mrs. Sally Hinkle,
Caroline Clark,
James Mulholland.
The Mission of Kimball and Turley to Governor Boggs.
Monday, March 25.—About this time, Elders Kimball and Turley started on their mission to see the governor. They called on the sheriff of Ray county and the jailer for a copy of the mittimus, by which the prisoners were held in custody, but they confessed they had none. They went to Judge King, and he made out a kind of mittimus. At this time we had been in prison several months without even a mittimus; and that too for crimes said to have been committed in another county.
Elders Kimball and Turley took all the papers by which we were held, or which were then made out for them, with our petition to the supreme judges, and went to Jefferson City.
The governor was absent. The secretary of state treated them very kindly; and when he saw the papers, could hardly believe those were all the documents by which the prisoners were held in custody, for they were illegal.
The Faulty Mittimus.
Lawyer Doniphan had also deceived them in his papers and sent them off with such documents, that a change of venue could not be effected in time. The secretary was astonished at Judge King acting as he did, but said he could do nothing in the premises, and if the governor were present, he could do nothing. But the secretary wrote a letter to Judge King.
The brethren then started to find the supreme judges, and get writs of habeas corpus; and after riding hundreds of miles to effect this object, returned to Liberty on the 30th of March, having seen Matthias McGirk, George Thompkins and John C. Edwards, the supreme judges, but did not obtain the writ of habeas corpus in consequence of a lack in the order of commitment, although the judges seemed to be friendly.
We were informed that Judge King said, that there was nothing against my brother Hyrum, only that he was a friend to the Prophet. He also said there was nothing against Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae.