fore, go ahead; you have my good good wishes. You know Mahomet had his 'right hand man."" This proposition was resented by Joseph Smith in a vigorous letter written November 13, becoming to him as a man, and with the dignity belonging to his calling and station. 12 Joseph's reply. with you would be against our mutual interest. It can be shown that a commission in the legion was a Herald hoax, coined for the fun of it by me, as it is not believed even now by the public. In short I expect to be yet, through your influence, Governor of the State of Illinois. My respects to Brother Young, Richards, Mrs. Emma, and all friends. Yours, most respectfully, Lieutenant-General Smith. JAMES ARLINGTON BENNETT. -Times and Seasons, vol. 4, p. 372. 12 The summit of your future fame seems to be hid in the political policy of a "mathematical problem" for the chief magistracy of this State, which I suppose, might be solved by "double position," where the errors of the supposition are used to produce a true answer. But, sir, when I leave the dignity and honor I received from heaven, to boost a man into power, through the aid of my friends, where the evil and designing, after the object has been accomplished, can lock up the clemency intended as a reciprocation for such favors; and where the wicked and unprincipled, as a matter of course, would sieze the opportunity, to flintify the hearts of the nation against me for dabbling at a sly game in politics; verily, I say, when I leave the dignity and honor of heaven, to gratify the ambition and vanity of man or men, may my power cease, like the strength of Samson, when he was shorn of his locks, while asleep in the lap of Delilah. Truly said the Savior, Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you. Shall I who have witnessed the visions of eternity, and beheld the glories of the mansions of bliss, and the regions and the misery of the damned, shall I turn to be a Judas? Shall I who have heard the voice of God, and communed with angels, and spake as moved by the Holy Ghost for the renewal of the everlasting covenant, and for the gathering of Israel in the last days,-shall I worm myself into a political hypocrite? Shall I who hold the keys of the last kingdom, in which is the dispensation of the fullness of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets, since the world began, under the sealing power of the Melchisedec priesthood,-shall I stoop from the sublime authority of Almighty God, to be handled as a monkey's cat's paw, and pettify myself into a clown to act the farce of political demagoguery? No, verily no! The whole earth shall bear me witness that I, like the towering rock in the midst of the ocean, which has withstood the mighty surges of the warring waves, for centuries, am impregnable, and am a faithful friend to virtue, and a fearless foe to vice; no odds, whether the former was sold as a pearl in Asia, or hid as a gem in America; and the latter dazzles in palaces, or glimmers among the tombs. I combat the errors of ages; I meet the violence of mobs; I cope with illegal proceedings from executive authority; I cut the Gordian knot of powers: and I solve mathematical problems of universities; WITH TRUTH, diamond truth, and God is my "right hand man." Citizens of Missouri, aided by some from Illinois, began during the closing weeks of the year a policy of kidnapping members of the church and taking them to MisKidnapping. souri without process, and this under pretense that they wanted to see the law executed and justice done. The Times and Seasons of November 1, 1843, published an editorial containing some strong language. Perhaps it might be called harsh language; but the provocation was so great as to furnish excuse for forcible criticism. 13 And to close, let me say in the name of Jesus Christ to you, and to presidents, emperors, kings, queens, governors, rulers, nobles, and men in authority everywhere, do the works of righteousness, execute justice and judgment in the earth that God may bless you, and her inhabitants; and The laurel that grows on the top of the mountain, Shall green for your fame while the sun sheds a ray; With due consideration and respect I have the honor to be, JOSEPH SMITH. 13 KIDNAPPING. Missouri has been playing one of her old pranks again, and not content with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property belonging to the saints, has been engaged again in stealing human beings. Two of our brethren, Daniel and Philander Avery, father and son, were decoyed into the neighborhood of Warsaw, about the 4th of December, and by a gang of desperadoes were forcibly taken across the Mississippi River into Missouri. Daniel Avery was taken by nine men, three of whom were Missourians, and six inhabitants of the State of Illinois. The ruffians were armed, and having forcibly seized Daniel Avery, the father, put him on a horse, and tied his feet underneath. Information was received at Nauvoo relative to this affair, by Mr. Sission Chase, who made affidavit before a magistrate relative to the affair, and a constable was immediately dispatched after a person by the name of John Elliott, one of the villains, who is a schoolmaster, and resides four and a half miles below Warsaw. Mr. Elliott was brought up to Nauvoo, was tried before Aaron Johnson, justice of the peace, proven guilty and committed to the Carthago jail, to wait his trial at the county court. In the examination facts were developed implicating others, who will in their own due time be brought to punishment. Testimony has since been received which shows that a clan of those villains are associated with the Missourians to assist in killing or kidnapping Joseph Smith and others. Since their names and whereabouts have been ascertained, some of them we are informed have fled, whilst officers are in pursuit of others. Colonel Williams, we are informed, is one of the parties engaged in this very honorable transaction Times and Seasons, vol. 4, p. 375. CHAPTER 30. 1843. JOSEPH'S ARREST NEAR DIXON-LUCY SMITH RELATES THE ÎNCIDENT -THE TRIAL-KINDNESS TO REYNOLDS AND WILSON-BRAYMAN'S LETTER-FORD AGREES. AS MENTIONED in the last chapter Joseph was arrested, or rather kidnapped, by Reynolds of Missouri and Wilson of Illinois, on June 23, 1843. Joseph's arrest near Dixon. In this chapter we give the account of this arrest, trial, and release, as published in the records of the time. The testimonies of some of the witnesses are quite lengthy, but the events of the Missouri troubles are given by them in a more consecutive manner than found elsewhere, and hence we think a careful reading would be profitable. Lucy Smith in her Joseph Smith the Prophet" briefly relates this incident, as follows: Lucy Smith relates the incident. "About the middle of June, 1843, Joseph went with his wife to visit Mrs. Wasson, (ten miles southeast of Dixon, Illinois,) who was his wife's sister. Whilst there an attempt was made to kidnap him and take him into Missouri, by J. H. Reynolds, from that State, and Harmon Wilson, of Carthage, Hancock County, Illinois, who was a Missourian in principle. You have read Hyrum's testimony, and can judge of the treatment which Joseph received at their hands. Suffice it to say, he was shamefully abused. Wilson had authority from the Governor of Illinois to take Joseph Smith, Jr., and deliver him into the hands of the before-named Reynolds; but as neither of them showed any authority save a brace of pistols, Joseph took them for false imprisonment. He then obtained a writ of habeas corpus of the Master in Chancery of Lee County, returnable before the nearest court authorized to determine upon such writs; and the Municipal Court of Nauvoo being the nearest one invested with this power, an examination was had before said court, when it was made to appear that the writ was defective and void; furthermore, that he was innocent of the charges therein alleged against him. It was in this case that Hyrum's testimony was given, which is rehearsed in a preceding chapter."- Joseph Smith the Prophet and His Progenitors, pp. 292, 293. The Times and Seasons gave the following account of the arrest and other incidents connected therewith: "Once more at peace, Mr. Smith flattered himself that his relentless persecutors must have satiated their rage and exhausted their ingenuity to find means to proseThe trial. cute; and he had favorably hoped that had they invented anything else, that the Executive of this State, alive to the injustice that Mr. Smith had already experi enced from the hands of Missouri, would not have countenanced or furthered any demands that might be made by that State upon the Executive of this for the person of Joseph Smith. This we believe he had reason to expect; he was in hopes that the time of his trials pertaining to the tyranny of that State was at an end, and that he would be allowed to enjoy the precious boon of liberty, and to dwell in peace in the bosom of his family and with his friends. Feeling perfectly secure, he set off with his family to Mr. Wasson's, to visit his wife's sister, Mrs. Wasson and family, who resided about twelve miles from Dixon, Lee County, in this State. While he was there a Mr. J. H. Reynolds, sheriff of Jackson County, Missouri (so he says), and Mr. Harmon Wilson, of Carthage, arrived at Dixon, professing to be Mormon preachers; from thence they proceeded to Mr. Wasson's, at whose house Mr. Smith was staying. They found Mr. Smith outside of the door, and accosted him in a very uncouth, ungentlemanly manner, quite in keeping however with the common practice of Missourians. [The language here is so profane that we omit as far as the narrative will permit.] They then hurried him off to a carriage that they had, and without serving process, were for hurrying him off without letting him see or bid farewell to his family or friends. Mr. Smith then said: 'Gentlemen, if you have any legal process I wish to obtain a writ of, habeas corpus,' and was answered, 'G-d d-n you, you shan't have one.' Mr. Smith saw a friend of his passing and said, 'These men are kidnapping me, and I wish a writ of habeas corpus to deliver myself out of their hands.' This friend immediately proceeded to Dixon, whence the sheriff also proceeded full speed. On arriving at the house of Mr. McKennie, tavern keeper, Mr. Smith was thrust into a room and guarded there without being allowed to see anybody, and horses were ordered in five minutes. Mr. Smith then stated to Reynolds: 'I wish to get counsel,' and was answered, 'G-dd-n you, you shan't have counsel, one word more, G-d d-n you, and I'll shoot you.' 'What is the use of this so often,' said Mr. Smith, I have often told you to shoot, and I now tell you again to shoot away;' and seeing a person passing he said, 'I am falsely imprisoned here, and I want a lawyer.' A lawyer came, and had the door banged in his face with the old threat of shooting if he came any nearer; another afterwards came and received the same treatment. Many of the citizens of Dixon, by this time being apprised of his situation, stepped forward and gave the sheriff to understand that if that was their mode of doing business in Missouri, they had another way of doing it here; that they were law-abiding people, and republicans; that Mr. Smith should have justice done him and have the oppor tunity of a fair trial; but that if they persisted in their course, they had a very summary way of dealing with such people;-and gave them to understand that Mr. Smith should not go without a fair and impartial trial. Mr. Reynolds finding further resistance to be useless, allowed one or two attorneys to come to Mr. Smith, who gave them to understand that he had been taken up without process; that they had insulted and abused him, and he wanted a writ of habeas corpus. Up to this time they had altogether refused to allow the counsel to have private conversation with him. "A writ was sued out by Mr. Smith against Harmon Wilson for a violation of the law in relation to writs of habeas cor· pus, the said violation consisting in said Wilson having transferred said Smith to the custody of Reynolds for the purpose |