Saturday, 3.—In the morning at home, in company with John F. Boynton. [B]
[Footnote B: John F. Boynton, as will be remembered, was at one time a member of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Kirtland period of Church history; see Vol. II, pp. 187 and 191.]
[Under this date, the Prophet's secretary wrote the following:]
An Attempt to Arrest the Prophet.
A letter was received from Brother Hollister to the effect that the Missourians were again on the move, and that two requisitions were issued, one on the governor of this state, and the other on the governor of Iowa. Their movements were represented as being very secret and resolute. Soon after 12 o'clock, Pitman, the deputy sheriff, and two other men came into the house. It appears that they had come up the riverside, and hitched their horses below the Nauvoo House, and then proceeded on foot undiscovered, until they got into the house. When they arrived, President Joseph Smith was in another apartment of the house, eating dinner with his family. John Boynton happened to be the first person discovered by the sheriffs, and they began to ask him where Mr. Smith was. He answered that he saw him early in the morning; but did not say that he had seen him since.
While this conversation was going on, President Joseph Smith passed out of the back door, and through the corn in his garden to Brother Newel K. Whitney's. He went up stairs undiscovered. Meantime Sister Emma went and conversed with the sheriffs. Pitman said he wanted to search the house for Mr. Smith. In answer to a question by Sister Emma, he said he had no warrant authorizing him to search, but insisted upon searching the house. She did not refuse, and accordingly they searched through, but to no effect.
This is another testimony and evidence of the mean, corrupt, illegal proceedings of our enemies, notwithstanding the Constitution of the United States says, Article 4th, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."
Yet these men audaciously, impudently and altogether illegally searched the house of President Joseph Smith even without any warrant or authority whatever. Being satisfied that he was not in the house, they departed. They appeared to be well armed, and no doubt intended to take him either dead or alive; which we afterwards heard they had said they would do; but the Almighty again delivered His servant from their bloodthirsty grasp.
It is rumored that there are fifteen men in the city along with the sheriffs, and that they dined together today at Amos Davis's. Soon after sundown, Thomas King and another person arrived at the house and demanded to search, which they immediately did; but, finding nothing they also went towards Davis's. Some of them were seen about afterwards; but at about ten o'clock all was quiet.
It is said that they started from Quincy yesterday, expecting and fully determined to reach Nauvoo in the night, and fall upon the house unawares; but report says they lost the road, and got scattered away one from another, and could not get along until daylight. This, in all probability, is true, as they appeared much fatigued, and complained of being weary and sore from riding.
President Smith, accompanied by Brother Erastus Derby, left Brother Whitney's about nine o'clock, and went to Brother Edward Hunter's, where he was welcomed, and made comfortable by the family, and where he can be kept safe from the hands of his enemies.
Sunday, 4.—Hyrum Smith and William Law left for the Eastern States.
Monday, 5.—The sisters wrote as follows:
Petition of the Female Relief Society to Governor Carlin.
To his Excellency Thomas Carlin, Governor of the State of Illinois:
We, the undersigned members of the Nauvoo Relief Society, and Ladies of Nauvoo, hearing many reports concerning mobs, threats of extermination, and other excitement, set on foot by John C. Bennett, calculated to disturb the peace, happiness and well-being of this community, have taken the liberty to petition your Excellency for protection.
It may be considered irrelevant for ladies to petition your Excellency on the above-named subject, and may be thought by you, Sir, to be officious, and that it would be more becoming for our husbands, fathers, brothers and sons to engage in this work, and in our defense. This, Sir, we will admit, in ordinary cases is right, and that it would be more consistent with the delicacy of the female character to be silent; but on occasions like the present, our desires for the peace of society, the happiness of our friends, the desire to save the lives of our husbands, our fathers, our brothers, our children, and our own lives, will be a sufficient palliation, in the estimation of your Excellency, for the step we have taken in presenting this petition, in support of the one already sent your Excellency by the male inhabitants of this city.
We would respectfully represent to your Excellency that we have not yet forgotten the scenes of grief, misery and woe that we had to experience from the hands of ruthless and bloodthirsty mobs in the state of Missouri. The cup of misery was prepared by lying, slander and misrepresentation. It was wrung out and filled by tyranny and oppression, and by a ruthless, inhuman mob. We had to drink it to the dregs.
Your Excellency will bear with us if we remind you of the cold-blooded atrocities that we witnessed in that state. Our bosoms heave with horror, our eyes are dim, our knees tremble, our hearts are faint, when we think of their horrid deeds; and if the petitions of our husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons will not answer with your Excellency, we beseech you to remember that of their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. Let the voice of injured innocence in Missouri speak; let the blood of our fathers, our brothers, our sons and our daughters speak; let the tears of the widows and orphans, the maimed and impoverished speak; and let the injuries sustained by fifteen thousand innocent, robbed, spoiled, persecuted, and injured people speak; let the tale of woe be told; let it be told without embellishment, prejudice or color; and we are persuaded there is no heart but will be softened, no feelings but will be affected, and no person, but will flee to our relief.
Far be it from us to accuse your Excellency of obduracy or injustice. We believe you to be a humane, feeling, benevolent and patriotic man; and therefore we appeal to you.
Concerning John C. Bennett who is trying with other political demagogues, to disturb our peace, we believe him to be an unvirtuous man and a most consummate scoundrel, a stirrer up of sedition, and a vile wretch unworthy the attention or notice of any virtuous man; and his published statements concerning Joseph Smith are bare-faced, unblushing falsehoods.
We would further recommend to your Excellency, concerning Joseph Smith, that we have the utmost confidence in him, as being a man of integrity, honesty, truth, and patriotism. We have never, either in public or private, heard him teach any principles but the principles of virtue and righteousness. And so we have knowledge, and we know him to be a pure, chaste, virtuous and godly man.
Under these circumstances, we would petition your Excellency to exert your privilege in an official capacity, and not to suffer him (should he be demanded) to go into the state of Missouri; for we know that, if he should, it would be the delivering up the innocent to be murdered. We would represent to your Excellency that we are a law-abiding people, a virtuous people, and we would respectfully refer your Excellency to the official documents of the state during our three years' residence in it, in proof of this. If we transgress laws, we are willing to be tried by those laws, but we dread mobs, we dread illegal process; we dread fermentation, calumny and lies, knowing that our difficulties in Missouri first commenced with these things.
We pray that we may not be delivered into the hands of mobs, or subjected to illegal proceedings of the militia, but that we may have the privilege of self-defense, in case of attack, without having to contend with legalized mobs as in Missouri; and we therefore appeal to the honor, philanthropy, justice, benevolence and patriotism of your Excellency, to afford us all legal protection and to grant us our request; and we, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
Tuesday, September 6, 1842.—I wrote as follows: