Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-12-24
To
= RAVENNA OHIO 1o a. s

John aIills ilse IorlssI acller.--liis
Fight Witl 0el Tlrks
When the aof.ne'ii i ssiiled ID fissourii
/ ID 1888, an shlhasiac INC young n an named
1 Mills was heir most arsand adpaired
]1preachAr Indeed soS gfeat was bis fame
i iethat When be held meetings i cioWd Of The
Saints Wefe zl,Fs % be presents
/ A strong and violent mob OF .lyncbera
was about this Time Or rgnnized 10 ppts down
THE Mormons, sander lie command Of Col.
onel Turkone of the most desperately
dangerous men that the Missouri, or in
truth, any other country ever produced.
Some of the sMerinens were tarred and
Iteathered. some were, secured with. long,
knoty hsckoriess fTTf they IaInisd from re
excess Of torturennd the loss of blood
others were forcibly deprived Of their prop
Ferty, and reduced in a day 10 tie condition
lof beggars-while others still shared a
doom OF more mercy and was shot down on
the prairie like so many wolves. Al last
Turk resloved to takei some Of the c. nceit
out of the young preacher, Mills, and he
gave notice to his men accordingly.
| 1t wos a dreadfully cold night in mid
winter, 1888, and although The sky was
cloudless, and the full moon shone out in
all her splendor, the earth lay In that pear
ly radiance, chill and drearv as frozen
tomb; for thick sheet of snow crusted its
surface, and the north wind howled over it
dismal dirge. Ii was night TO drive
even thieves and outlaws into barns and
stables for shelter, and to keep honest peo-
pie by the blaze Of their own roaring
hearlhs.
And yet strange 10 say, in large log
cabin, within ebree hundred yards of the
| Missou.i River, then frozen from shore to
shore, at least one hundred people had as.
sembled to hold religious meeting. They
were Mormons, you may be sure. No fa-
natic of an old faith would have turned out
on such q night; they must be fresh zealots,
with some new idea but at It's birth in their
hearts, and flaming like metior in their
ina ginotions, or they never could have
ventured to face such an ice blast as that.
The he.congregation included men and wo-
men in about equal numbers, and many of
| the former carried rifles, which they
grasped with one hand, even when kneel-
ing down in prayer, such was the eminence
| Of peril, either real or imagined, as they
deemed pending over them.
The preacher--tha enthusias,ist, Mills
had advanced to thrilling bend Of his
eloquent, discourse, and WIS painting in
terrible fre-language, the bitter persecu.
tion which has ever followed the footsteps
Of allgreal reforfners since the beginning of
time. Never before had he been half so
animated or half so affecting. His blue
eye CLEANED like slar-his voice pealed
like trumpet, shrill os the wind which
whistled over the house top; and his beard
| Jess lip seemed literally londed with music.
Groans, tears, and wild shrieks from the
audience, proved the despolic power Of his
utterance.
Suddenly, three rifles exploded in quick
succession before the door, and three senti-
Lels, shaking with terror, rushed into the
room, crying out; the mob! lhe mob! Save
yourselves from Col. Turks mobp
No person can depictthe scene Of dismay
and confusion that ensued. The females
screamed aloud, as if all hope had deparied.
Several Of the men sprnng out ofthe win
dows and fled, as ifpursued by legion of
devils, while the most of those who re-
manned appeared stupefied and totally pow
erless, either to escape or make ready for
resistance. Indeed there was little space
allowed for preparation. In a few mo.
ments mob amounting TO hundreds had
surrounded the building, and the muzzles
of fifty cooked guns an6 pistols were thrust
| in through the doors and windows. Still
none within lifted finger for defence
Persecution had not yet hardened the f'Lat
ter Day Saints" into veterans, and the al.
terwards famous mormon Legion" existed
then only in the ina ogination OF the prophet.
| Presently the lynchers, headed by the
a!l-dreaded and gigantic Colonel Turk,
rushed in, and began to beat the people iu-
riously with the iron ramrods of their RI
fes, with very little distinction Of mercy as
to the age or sex. The cries and vain en-.
treatise Of the poor sufferers swelled 10 a
wall wilder than the howling of the wind
without. At length Colonel Turk ronred
out -.
| Turn out the women and seize the men,
and let US have the hickory switches and
lhe tar and feathesP'
And the drunken mob shouted, and. has.
tened to execute the brutal mandate. -
Up to this time young Mills had contin-
ued standing with the Bible oftheir prophet
in his hand, but unearthly pale and strange
ly excited, his lip wrilhing, his teeth
clenched, and his bright eyes swimming
in halo of fire. Suddenly he made a
bound for an adjacentwindow, and notwith.
standing more than twenty endeayored to
seize him, he effected his escape frem the
house.
s.Chase hiln--shoot him-take him,
alive or deadp' cried Turk, in a transport
of rage, setting the example by comnenc
ing the pursuit himself.
}, The flight Of Mills was directed in q
}, straight line for the river, and his marvel
GUS agility, added TO the start he had frs
got, soon placed him at some distance
ahead. They fired both rifles. and shot
guns at him as he ran, and happily without
: effect. When he came to the river side
he stopped down, and hastily fastened on {
: pair Of skates, which he had carried in hi!
pocket for the last few days TO be ready fo
: any extraordinary emergency: and ther