"Gentlemen, you are charged with treason, murder, arson, burglary, larceny, theft, and stealing, and various other charges too tedious to mention at this time;" and he immediately left the room. In about twenty minutes, there came in a strong guard, together with the keeper of the penitentiary of the state, who brought with him three common trace chains, noozed together by putting the small end through the ring, and commenced chaining us up, one by one, and fastening us with padlocks about two feet apart.
In this uncomfortable situation the prisoners remained fifteen days, and in this situation General Clark delivered us to the professed civil authorities of the state, without any legal process being served on us at all during the whole time we were kept in chains, with nothing but ex parte evidence, and that given either by the vilest apostates or by the mob who had committed murder in the state of Missouri. Notwithstanding all this ex parte evidence, Judge King did inform our lawyer, ten days previous to the termination of the trial, whom he should commit and whom he should not; and I heard Judge King say on his bench, in the presence of hundreds of witnesses, that there was no law for the "Mormons," and they need not expect any. Said he, "If the Governor's exterminating order had been directed to me, I would have seen it fulfilled to the very letter ere this time."
After a tedious trial of fifteen days, with no other witnesses but ex parte ones, the witnesses for the prisoners were either kicked out of doors or put on trial themselves. The prisoners were now committed to Liberty jail, under the care and direction of Samuel Tillery, jailer. Here we were received with a shout of indignation and scorn by the prejudiced populace.
Prisoners were here thrust into jail without a regular mittimus, the jailer having to send for one some days after. The mercies of the jailer were intolerable, feeding us with a scanty allowance on the dregs of coffee and tea from his own table, and fetching the provisions in a basket, without being cleaned, on which the chickens had roosted the night before. Five days he fed the prisoners on human flesh, and from extreme hunger I was compelled to eat it. In this situation we were kept until about the month of April, when we were remanded to Daviess county for trial before the grand jury. We were kept under the most loathsome and despotic guard they could produce in that county of lawless mobs. After six or eight days, the grand jury (most of whom, by-the-bye, were so drunk that they had to be carried out and into their rooms as though they were lifeless,) formed a fictitious indictment, which was sanctioned by Judge Birch, who was the State's Attorney under Judge King at our ex parte trial, and who at that time stated that the "Mormons" ought to be hung without judge or jury. He, the said judge, made out a mittimus, without day or date, ordering the Sheriff to take us to Columbia. The Sheriff selected four men to guard five of us.
We then took a circuitous route, crossing prairies sixteen miles without houses; and after traveling three days, the Sheriff and I were together by ourselves five miles from any of the rest of the company for sixteen miles at a stretch. The Sheriff here observed to me that he wished to God he was at home, and your friends and you also. The Sheriff then showed me the mittimus, and he found it had neither day nor date to it, and said the inhabitants of Daviess county would be surprised that the prisoners had not left them sooner; and, said he, "By G——, I shall not go much further."
We were then near Yellow Creek, and there were no houses nearer than sixteen miles one way, and eleven another way, except right on the creek. Here a part of the guard took a spree, while the balance helped us to mount our horses, which we purchased of them, and for which they were paid. Here we took a change of venue, and went to Quincy without difficulty, where we found our families, who had been driven out of the State under the exterminating order of Governor Boggs. I never knew of Joseph Smith's holding any office, civil or military, or using any undue influence in religious matters during the whole time of which I have been speaking.
Lyman Wight.
VI.
Testimony of Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon sworn, says I arrived in Far West, Caldwell county, Missouri, on the 4th of April, 1838, and enjoyed peace and quietness, in common with the rest of the citizens, until the August following, when great excitement was created by the office-seekers. Attempts were made to prevent the citizens of Daviess from voting. Soon after the election, which took place in the early part of August, the citizens of Caldwell were threatened with violence from those of Daviess county and other counties adjacent to Caldwell.