The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-06-01
The United states Omcers and the M0rmons
OF Beaver Island.


ARREST OF KING sTRASa AND Ills PROPHETS
From the Detroit lMich Advertiser May e7l
On the 10Th Of April last. criminal warrants were
and about thirty ofhs associates, for arson burgla
ry robbery and ttempts TO robth u. s. mail its
way from Beaver to Mackinac. On arriving there,
:Strang and his followers had fed to Hog Island.
He was pursued by the Sheriff and twenty y-fye men,
some Of whom were Indians. With reference to the
charge that the Indians were drunk, Granger says
9 Ss Of aop not hs his s su s THAT sd %
not NED were arrested, and five OF them fully COM
mitied for, arson, robbery, and burglary. They
subsequently escaped, through some informality in
the proceedings. q. j. Adams, Latter Day saint,
has made an affidavit in which he discloses the fact
that Strang bad set up government claiming to
se sovereign, and acknowledging no fealty to the
.on Beaver Island Lake Michigan, from the 9th of
April, 1850, to the 10th of October of the same
year. Except about four weeks that he away
on business , during his residence there he did re-
pcatedly hear James J. Strang teach that il was
morally right to steal from the Gentiles, burn their
houses, and take their lives if could be done
without being found out. This deponent further
saith, that he did see James j. Strang seated on a
throne, clothed in royal robes, with sceptre in his
hand, take a crown (made after the fashion Of the
crown Of England,) and place said crown his own
head; said Strang then arose and said 10 the con-
grcgaicn lover two hundred in number,) that he
on that day had "crowned himself King by the
command of God; and that all the kingdoms Of the
earth should be oyerthrown ard utterly destroyed"
that an ensign or flag that he had previously pre-
pared should be hoisted and guns fired, which com
fnand Of Strang was obeyed Said flag had
il the figure of a man, with a crown on his
head and seeptre in his hand, surrounded with
twelve stars Said Strang declared that said
banner was raised in defiance Of the "stripes
While said Strang was seated on said throne, he
did call a number of men forward, and cause them
to hnee ut his feet, and with his sceptre their
heads in the name of God, pronounced them princes
ND fthl af htg Ila r,x~Ah tIx-A
Beaver and the surrounding islands should, from
that day forward, be governed by no laws but his
laws, and that they should hold their land indie
tber SAYS that said Jas J. Strane did write a CO.
venant, called the Covenant of the Kingdom; and
said Strsng administered said yenant to many Of
his followers in the presence Of said deponent Said
Strans often urged said deponent to take said CO.
venant, which said deponent always avoided. Said
Strang often gave said covenant to said deponent
and requested him to administer il to Others which
and Tor policy, if said deponent had refused his
life would have been in danger) he did, and on one
occ aston, at the house of r. J. Moore, Esq, adj
munster i to eight in number The reason said
Adams would not take said covenant he believed
At contained treason against the United States.
said covenant is called the 'Illuminati 1t istaken
with the right hand on the cross, the cross lying
on the holy Bible. The following paragraph this
deponcnt quotes word for word from said covenant,
as written and administered by sad Strang:
u do N the presence Of God and these prin ,cs
ofthe Illuminate solemnly promise, covenant and
swear by the true, ever living and sefeAistng God,
that hereby rcnounce all allegiance to every king,
prince, IOtentate, president governor, and ruler
ga earth. j furthermore promise, covenant and
swear, tina, will obey James j. ~trsng as the i'm
periai primate and actual king earth; and the
laws and decrces that he shall make, as above ard
suierscding all other laws of all other power on
Garth whatsoever: further promise, covenant and
swear, that will maintain, uphold and enforce
said la~s and DEGREES, against all other laws, so
long as life shall last Eut should /
be wicked, ungodly and unholy as to break this,
my covenant, may God, the eternal father, turn
from me and remember his loving kindness no more;
may Jesus Christ the Redeemer turn from me and
close the gates OF heaven forever against me; with
desires insatate. may behold bliss and foel per
This deponent furthersays, that the above i not
oIc hall Of the covenant, but only extracts from
ssid covenant.
the United States steamer Michigan arrived at our
dock, having on board United States Marshal Knox
and his posse, United states District Attorney
IatsS, and Adjutant General SchwarE, having re-
turned from Beaver Island. whence they went last
week in pursuit Of the celebrated Jamt j. Strang,
the seif-constituted King Of all the Earth" and
Icaver Island in particular, and three of his sub
jccts, named Joseph kctchum. Finley Page and
William Townsend. They we're arrested. being
charged with obstructing the United States mail,
and sssaulting with the mail carrier counter
fcsing nited States coin, and depreciation upon
government lands, &c The Sheriff Of Mackinac
county i also here, with several warrants sgaiast
them fer various offences. They we're conveyed to
the United States court room and placed in tho Gus
tpdy Of Deputy Marshal Beardsey, and VIC presume
the case viii be submitted to the Grand Jury
during It's sttings. Strang was formerly from
Ghautauquc county, New York. The officers had
but little difficulty in making the arrest. Thcy
first secured the District Circuit Judge for the
"upper Pcninsular,'' at MackinGc, who "a also u
Mormon. On satisfying him that they we're pre-
pared t. accomplish their object in the arrest of
Strsng, and that opposition would be futile, the
Judge wrote Strang "A letter, informing him Of the
existing state Of facts. and the king and court of
leayer Isand were soon in the hands of the Of
fcers, without oppositon--by voluntary surrender.
Tho reTuted career Of this self-crowned AMI self
constituted "king" aud his foil ,wcrs, on Beaver
Island, i known to the public. VIC wait the de-
velOYemcnts Of the facts in the before the pro-
per tribunals Of the country. The chief prophet"
was arrested, but was subsequently released. with
the Judge ard others Who were arrested Strang.
who II acknowledged 10 be the "bead and 'front.'
~ az authority in the kingdom, il a tall vol
pr0pcrtioncd person, weighing about one hundrel
and seycfy pounds, some forty years old, with m
cpen counttnance, indicating some cunning and
.shrcwdrc =. but should not Judge n very mali
~iOus character. The officers represent that the
appearance a the island docs not indicate either
thfiit industry. Those arressed solcmnly pro-
test Their innocence OF all the offences with which
they nrc charged, either against the people of the
.'lngdom, Foreign powers, or the crest Of man
kId