Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1869-12-23

A' AOA NAoWASN Uh
der the bed, with a bullet in the
5 calf of his leg. Richards hid him
] self behind the opening door, in
mortal terror. He afterwards lied
: terribly about the affair, saying
: he stood calmly in the centre of
the room, warding off the bullets
with a consecrated wand.
} Joe Smith died bravely. he
} stood by the jamb of the door
, and fred four shots, shot an Irish.
: man named Wills, in the arm
Gallagher, Southerner from the
Mississippi Bottom, in the face
Voorhees,, a half-grown hobblede-
hoy from Bear Creek, in the shOul-
der; and another gentleman, whose
name will not mention, as he is
prepared to prove an alibi, and be-
sides stands six feet two in his
moccasins.
Smith had two loaded six-bar-
relied revolvers in his room. How
a man on trial for capital offences
came to be supplied with such lux
uries is mystery that perhaps on
Ily one man could fully have
solved /; and as General Deming,
the Jack Mormon sheriff, died
soon after, and left no explanation
of the matter, Investigation is eff
fectually baffled. But the four
shots which l have chronicled, and
two which had no billet, exhaust
ed one pistol, and the enemy gave
Smith no time to use the other.
Severely wounded as he was, he
ran to the window, which was o.
pen to receive the fresh June air,
and half leaped, half fell, into the
Jail yard below. With his last
dying energies he gathered him
self up, and leaned in a sitting
posture against the rude stone we'll
curb. His stricken condition, his
vague wandering glances, excited
no pity in the mob thirsting for
his life. They had not seen the
handsome fight he had made in
the Jail there was no appeal to
the border chivalry (there is chiv-
airy on the borders, as in all semi
barbarous regions A squad of
Missourians who were standing by
the fen ce levelled their pieces at
him, and, before they could see
him again for the smoke they made,
Joe Smith was dead.
The moment the work was done,
the calmness oftorror succeeded the
fever of fanatical rage. The assas.
sins hurried away from the Jail, and
took the road to Warsaw in ST! ence
and haste. They wen: home at a
killing pace over the wide dusty prai-
rie. Warsaw is eighteen miles from
Carthage; the Smiths we're killed at
half past five; at quarter before
eight the returning crowd began to
drag their weary limbs through the
main street Of Warsaw-at such an
astounding rate Of speed bad the
lash of their own thoughts driven
them. an
The town was instantly put in such
attitude of defence as its limited
means permitted. The women and
children were ferried across the riv.
er to village on the Missouri shore.
The men kept guard night and day
in the hazel tbickets around the
town. Every body expected sud-
den and exemplary vengeance from
the Mormons.
Nothing Of the kind took place.
The appalling disaster that had fall.
en- upon the church gave rise to no
spirit of revenge. Il was long be-
fore the Mormons recovered from
the stupor Of their terror and des-
pair. A delegation went to Car
thage to receive their dead. They
+, brought them home aud buried them
with honors becoming the generals
of the legion. The seceders, panic.
stricken, fed from Nauvoo and never
returned. a. ao fes ~
4 1t was impossible that the matter
:, should be allowed to pass entirely
unnoticed by the law. Besides,
), Governor Ford, who considered the
matter personal disrespect to him
self, was really anxious to bring the