While this military movement was taking place the mob continued to seize prisoners and to send threatening messages, hoping to incite the Saints to some overt act that the whole power of the mob and militia combined might be brought against them to annihilate them. Several times word was brought to the encampment of the Saints that prisoners taken by the mob were being tortured. This was done in the hope to provoke a spirit of retaliation. It seems strange that this situation could have continued for more than a day with such a military force at hand. A little prompt and vigorous action would have dispersed the mob and taught them to respect the power of the law. It would not have been necessary to shed blood, only to let constitutional majesty be asserted; and the Saints might have remained in peace. But this was not the purpose. The troops really had been called out, not to protect the "Mormons," but to answer the lying call of a justice of the peace. This mighty power of war was brought into operation to apprehend two or three men, charged with a petty offense, and who had not resisted any attempt to serve legal papers upon them.
On the 20th of September General Atchison wrote to the Governor that the insurrection was practically ended; all the leading offenders against the law had been arrested and bound over to appear at court. It is noticeable that the people were called offenders, the plundering rabble going scot free. All of the troops, except two companies of the Ray militia under command of Brigadier General Parks, were discharged. In this same letter General Atchison said:
They [the Mormons] appear to be acting on the defensive, and I must further add, gave up the offenders with a good deal of promptness. The arms and prisoners taken by the Mormons were also given up upon demand with seeming cheerfulness.
This candid opinion was re-enforced a few days later by a letter from General Parks to the Governor, in which he uses the following expressions:
Whatever may have been the disposition of the people called "Mormons" before our arrival here, since we have made our appearance they have shown no disposition to resist the laws, or of hostile intentions. There has been so much prejudice and exaggeration concerned in this matter that I found things entirely different from what I was prepared to expect. When we arrived here we found a large body of men from the counties adjoining, armed and in the field, for the purpose, as I learned, of assisting the people of this county against the "Mormons," without being called out by the proper authorities.
P.S.—Since writing the above, I have received information that if the committee do not agree, the determination of the Daviess County men is to drive the "Mormons" with powder and lead.
Near the same time, General Atchison wrote to Governor Boggs as follows:
Things are not so bad in this county [Daviess] as represented by rumor, and, in fact, from affidavits I have no doubt your Excellency has been deceived by the exaggerated statements of designing or half-crazy men. I have found there is no cause of alarm on account of the "Mormons;" they are not to be feared; they are very much alarmed.
About the 26th day of September, 1838, a committee from the mob met some of the leading brethren at Adam-ondi-Ahman and entered into an agreement whereby the Saints were to purchase lands and possessions of all who desired to sell; but this resulted in nothing, for the mob had other purposes in view.
About fifteen or twenty of the Saints with Lyman Wight were pledged to appear before the court at Gallatin for trial on the 29th of September.
Hundreds of men drawn into the militia service of Generals Atchison, Doniphan, Parks, and Lucas were in personal affiliation with the mob. When the greater part of the forces were disbanded in Daviess County a general movement took place toward De Witt, in Carroll County. On their way the bandits breathed their murderous intent against the Saints; and before the onslaught, the brethren addressed a humble petition to Lilburn W. Boggs, imploring him to send succor, but he was deaf to the appeal. His ears were always open to the voice of the murderer; never to that of the victim. The mob could not ask him in vain for help; the injured Saints supplicated again and again without a reply. With the opening of October, the mob pressed hard upon the Saints in De Witt, threatening death to men, captivity to children and outrage to women.