“It is thought by some that our enemies would be satisfied by my destruction, but I tell you as soon as they have shed my blood, they will thirst for the blood of every man in whose heart dwells a single spark of the spirit of the fulness of the Gospel. The opposition of these men is moved by the spirit of the adversary of all righteousness. It is not only to destroy me, but every man and woman who dares believe the doctrines that God hath inspired me to teach to this generation.”
Appeal to the Governor for Protection
On June 16, Joseph wrote Governor Ford, calling his attention to the mob meetings at Carthage and Warsaw, and the threats made to exterminate the Saints. He requested the governor to come to Nauvoo to make further investigation, and to quell insurrection. Instead of going to Nauvoo, Governor Ford went to Carthage, and sent word to Nauvoo that he was there in the interest of peace, and asked that well-informed and discreet persons be sent to him. Elders John Taylor and Dr. John M. Bernhisel were immediately sent to Carthage; but to their surprise and disappointment they found the governor surrounded by some of the worst element in Illinois. The Laws, Fosters and Higbees, with Joseph H. Jackson, an adventurer and murderer, the publishers of the Expositor, had his ear. Elders Taylor and Bernhisel could not get an interview with the governor except in the presence of these vicious enemies who had pledged themselves to bring to pass the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. As they told their side of the story they were constantly interrupted by this rabble with, “that’s a — — lie,” and other unseemly epithets of like character. The governor treated them very rudely, showing that he was under the influence of the mob. He stated that Joseph Smith and the members of the city council should come to Carthage to be tried on the original writ as nothing short of that would satisfy the people. When the messengers protested because of the murderous spirit of the mob, the governor strenuously advised that they come without arms and pledged his faith that they should be protected. He also sent a written communication to Joseph Smith, in which he said the city council, in destroying the Expositor press, had committed a gross outrage upon the laws and liberty of the people. He ignored the trial before the municipal court and also that before Daniel H. Wells, justice of the peace, demanding that all who were accused should submit themselves “to be arrested by the same constable, by virtue of the same warrant, and be tried before the same magistrate whose authority has heretofore been resisted. Nothing short of this can vindicate the dignity of violated law and allay the just excitement of the people.” Governor Ford must have blushed with shame when he penned these lines, for he knew he was violating his oath of office and declaring an untruth, for the sake of finding favor with the mob. If his demand was not complied with he threatened to come with sufficient force to execute his order. “You know the excitement of the public mind,” he said. “Do not tempt it too far. A very little matter may do a very great injury; and if you are disposed to continue the causes of excitement and render a force necessary to coerce submission, I would say that your city was built, as it were, upon a keg of powder which a very little spark may explode.” “And I will,” he continued, “also guarantee the safety of all such persons as may thus be brought to this place from Nauvoo either for trial or as witnesses for the accused.”
The same day (June 22) the Prophet respectfully replied to this cravenly penned communication, defending his course and denying the false accusations contained in the governor’s letter. He called attention to the promises made in Missouri, but when witnesses came they were cast into prison, and since “a burnt child dreads the fire,” they were not to be blamed if they refused to place themselves in the hands of a blood-thirsty mob openly making threats to take their lives. The Prophet expressed a willingness to go before any other justice in the state, except at Carthage, or before the circuit court, but did not feel legally bound to go to Carthage to be butchered.
The governor’s letter to Joseph Smith caused no small surprise among the Saints. It was evident that they could not look to him for help, for he had joined himself entirely with their enemies. He had ignored the law; refused to recognize the legality of the courts, and the right of a fair and impartial trial before an unprejudiced judge and jury.
Hyrum Refuses to Leave his Brother
So serious had the matter become that a letter was sent to President Brigham Young and the apostles who were in the mission field, instructing them to return to Nauvoo at once. The Prophet had previously (June 20) advised his brother Hyrum to take his family and go at once by steamboat to Cincinnati. Hyrum replied: “Joseph, I can’t leave you,” whereupon Joseph remarked to his brethren, “I wish I could get Hyrum out of the way, so that he may live to avenge my blood, and I will stay with you and see it out.”
The Proposed Journey to the West
In the afternoon of June 22, Joseph was in consultation with Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, Willard Richards and Dr. John M. Bernhisel, when it was decided that he should go to Washington and lay the whole difficulty before President Tyler. At dusk another consultation was held, when the Prophet called these same brethren and William W. Phelps, Abraham C. Hodge, John L. Butler, Alpheus Cutler and William Marks, to his office in his upper room. The governor’s letter was read and the Prophet said, “There is no mercy—no mercy here.” Hyrum said, “No; just as sure as we fall into their hands we are dead men.” Joseph replied, “Yes: what shall we do, Brother Hyrum?” Hyrum replied, “I don’t know.” All at once the Prophet’s countenance brightened up and he said, “The way is open. It is clear to my mind what to do. All they want is Hyrum and myself; then tell everybody to go about their business, and not to collect in groups, but to scatter about. There is no doubt they will come here and search for us. Let them search; they will not harm you in person or property, and not even a hair of your head. We will cross the river tonight, and go away to the West.” On this date Joseph wrote: “I told Stephen Markham that if Hyrum and I were ever taken again we should be massacred, or I was not a prophet of God. I want Hyrum to live to avenge my blood, but he is determined not to leave me.”
Between nine and ten o’clock Hyrum Smith came out of the Mansion House and gave his hand to Reynolds Cahoon, saying, “A company of men are seeking to kill my brother Joseph, and the Lord has warned him to flee to the Rocky Mountains to save his life. Good-bye, Brother Cahoon, we shall see you again.” A few minutes later, as Joseph, Hyrum and Willard Richards were waiting on the river bank, William W. Phelps was instructed to take the families of the Prophet and Patriarch to Cincinnati. About midnight the three brethren were rowed across the river by Orrin P. Rockwell, who returned with instructions to obtain horses and pass them over the river the next night secretly, and be ready to start for the Great Basin in the Rocky Mountains.