With the utmost fury these human fiends proceeded to the office of the Evening and Morning Star and razed it to the ground. The office was a part of the dwelling occupied by William W. Phelps. Mrs. Phelps and her children, including a sick infant, were thrown out of doors amidst the furniture which was destroyed. They then proceeded to the store of Gilbert, Whitney and Co., bent on further destruction; but Elder Gilbert assuring them that the goods would be packed by the 23rd of that month, and no more would be sold, they left him and the store and turned their attention to personal violence. They took Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen, stripped them and applied a coat of tar which had been mixed with acid which burned into their flesh, and then coated them with feathers. Others of the brethren were scourged, amidst horrid yells and blasphemous oaths, while others in the excitement, for all their captors were intent upon the “sport,” were able to make their escape from similar treatment by the mob.
Second Gathering of the Mob
On the morning of July 23, 1833, the mob, to the number of about five hundred, again approached Independence, carrying a red flag —the emblem of lawlessness—and armed with all manner of weapons of war. They rode through the streets, giving vent to hideous yells and blasphemous oaths, searching for the presiding elders of the Church. They threatened to whip any “Mormon” whom they captured, with from fifty to five hundred lashes each, demolish their dwellings, and turn negroes loose to destroy their fields.
Offer of Ransom for the Church
Elders John Corrill, John Whitmer, William W. Phelps, Algernon S. Gilbert, Edward Partridge and Isaac Morley, the leading elders, made no resistance, but offered themselves a ransom for the Church. They were willing to be scourged and even die, if that would appease the wrath of the mob. The Missourians, with blasphemous oaths, assured them that every man, woman and child would be whipped and scourged even to death if they did not leave Jackson County. “The Mormons,” said the mobbers, “must leave the county, or they or the Mormons must die.” The brethren mentioned, knowing that resistance was useless and to save the Saints and avoid the shedding of blood, entered into an agreement with the mob to leave the county within a reasonable time.
The Forced Agreement of the Mob
The terms forced by the mob upon the Saints were as follows: Oliver Cowdery, William W. Phelps, William E. McLellin, Edward Partridge, Lyman Wight, Simeon Carter, Harvey Whitlock and the two Whitmers, Peter and John, were to remove their families from the county on or before the first day of January, 1834; they were to use all their influence to induce all other members of the Church to remove as soon as possible, one half by January first, and the rest by the first of April following; and to do all in their power to stop others of their brethren from moving into Jackson County; John Corrill and Algernon S. Gilbert were allowed to remain as general agents to wind up the business, Gilbert to sell the merchandise on hand but to buy no more; the Star was not to be published nor a press set up; Edward Partridge and William W. Phelps were to remove their families, but they would be permitted to come and go to wind up the affairs of the Church. The mob pledged themselves to use no violence so long as the brethren complied with the terms presented. To this the names of the elders and the members of the second committee appointed by the mob were subscribed.
The Contract Broken by the Mob
Since there is no honor among knaves, the mob failed to keep their agreement. Constantly they sallied forth, breaking windows in the homes of the members of the Church and offering abuse when occasion afforded. These attacks, however, did not pass unnoticed by the better class of citizens in the state. The Western Monitor , a paper published in Fayette, Missouri, first showed a friendly spirit toward the mob, but later censured them for their conduct and advised the “Mormons” to seek redress for their wrongs. Other papers adopted a similar view, whereupon the members of the mob declared that if any “Mormon” attempted “to seek redress by law or otherwise, for character, person, or property, they should die.”