The Mormon leaders were arrested and put in jail, and at a court-martial it was decided to have them shot; but that act would have been so grossly unlawful that, on the protest of one of the generals, the court rescinded its orders.
With their leaders in jail, the Mormons submitted to the conditions of peace offered them, and prepared to withdraw from the State into Illinois, where Joseph Smith and his fellow-captives joined them after breaking from prison while their guard was in a drunken slumber.
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF MORMONISM (continued).
The Third Hegira—Sufferings of the Mormons during their journey into Illinois—An account of the murder of Mormons—Influence of this persecution on the minds of Mormons at the present time—Nauvoo—Its location—Its growth—The second Mormon Temple begun—Other public buildings—Laziness whittled out of Nauvoo—Internal dissensions among the Mormons—Political troubles—Smith nominated for President of the United States—Warrants issued against the Mormon leaders—Constable driven out of Nauvoo—Civil war threatened—Smith asked to submit to trial—Murder of Joseph Smith and his brother—Rigdon excommunicated and Brigham Young made leader—Consecration of the “Pride of the Valley.”
The Third Hegira or exodus of the Mormons was far more tragical than either of the previous ones. Twelve thousand Mormons arrived on the banks of the Mississippi River late in the autumn of 1838 in the most unhappy plight. Their houses had been burned, their fields laid waste, and they were nearly or quite destitute of every personal comfort. Every indignity which had been offered to the Missourians by the Mormons was returned with usury; and so terrible were their sufferings that the hearts of the Illinois citizens were so touched by their distress that they received with hospitality those who had travelled over the bleak prairies and storms of wind and rain and snow. The aged, the young, and the sick had been alike houseless and homeless in the most inclement season of the year. Many who left homes of abundance died from exposure to the pitiless elements.
A Mormon poet wrote concerning these times:
“Missouri,
Like a whirlwind in her fury,
Drove the Saints and spilled their blood.”