The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-07-13
MORM0NIsM IN KENTUCKY.
The Apostles OF Lust at Work In the Quiet
Village OF Huntsville.

village OF Huntsville.
Huntsville. KY, is in q state of wilt
excitement. For weeks past not onl,
huntsville, but Butler county aud thu
neighboring counties of Muhlenber
ONO and Grayson, have been stirred ur
! as as they never have been since the war
Inc cause OF all the trouble is Mormon
ISM. For weeks the country has been
hlled with Mormon preachers and del
uged with Mormon tracts The resul
mas Deen to separate families to make
the husband forsake the wife and the son
!he Iather; to make lifetime friends last.
ing enemies; TO make brothers war
upon brothers to bring heart burninps
and Jealousies and bitterness between
men in every relation of life. Mormon.
Ism here began in murder; it is ending
in seduction. It's yotaries have sounded
every note in the scale between these two
crimes.
representative Of the Louisville
Commercial went to Huntsville to inycs.
tigate the matter aud found all the ru.
mors of the disturbance in that obscure
Kentucky village. fully verified. Hunts.
vile is u little remote from all inter.
course with the centres of civilization
and IS situated in one Of the poorest
counties in the State The people are
part and parcel of the place, kind hear
tea, hosspitable and simple. They have
lived there and their fathers and grand.
fathers before them. Every man knows
everything about his neighbo.s' affairs !;
how much land lie has, when he was
married, bis wife's pedigree, and his re.
lIgion aud politics for years back. A
stranger of fifteen years residence is
suspicious character, but may some day
hope to have his children admitted 20 the
full fellowship of the place. The village
grocery is the point of central interest,
and aside from current marriages and
deaths, and how the different neighbors
behaved before and after, it is n never
failing subject of interest. Newspapers
are almost unknown, save an occasional
weekly. Books are avoided save ono.
and that book they know from cover to
cover. From Genesis to Revelations the
Bible is at their fingers ends. They are
very kind to each other and pleasanter
and quieter little neighborhood cannot
be found in the State Of Kentucky. All
this was before that memorable April
nigh. in 1880, when two men, with words
of peace upon their lips, came to preach
Unlawful doctrines and to break up for
ever the peace of the quaint little village
of Huntsville, and this is how 1 learned
the history of its misfortunes.
Farmer Rowland, who is also the vii
lage postmaster, asturdy, square set man,
told the reporter how one fearful stormy
night in 1880, he disremembered whether
in April or May, two strange men came
among them and asked for shelter. They
were Mormon elders. A few days AFTER
ward they stirred around the neighbor-
hood, and after bit they began to preach
at Union Chapel. We didn't mind them
much at first, as they talked only about
being good and not drinking and swear
ing and things of that kind. Then we
found out that they were saying bad
things about our women folks, saying our
wives were not married to us and we
would have to be married again. We
put them out of Union Chapel, and thew
went around from house to house preach
ing in public what was good, but telling
the folks in private that they ought to
believe in polygamy and all that. They
have kept this up now for mighty near
two years and we are growing desperate.
They have brought all sorts of trouble
into our families and have ruined the
peace of this whole neigAborhood. Some
others can tell you mere than 1 can,"
and Mr.. Rowland leaned back in his
chair and relapsed into silence
Another old farmer the Squire told
about, DIR. Alex. Hunt, who was the first
convert, and who had done more than
any one else to spread Mormonism. He
studied medicine year at Louisville,
and then whenever he practiced he
preached Mormonism. and he also gath
cred crowds of the aost ignorant in
fence corners and preached the corrupt
gospel TO them. He argued with his
women patients and many of them were
soon ruined by his suasions, "The doc
trim he preached around 20 our young
men and women" said the squire. "that
they may live together loosely, and, as
they are saints, nothing bad will come Of
it, Our young girls are told that it
amounts to nothing in Utah, and should
not here. The result of this preaching is
frightfnl."
a Methodist preacher then told uf q
| strange tale ho heard when he was last at
Muhlenberg:
Zone evening after sunset two stran-
gers, Mormon elders, knocked at the door
of a widow and said they were Mormon
elders and wanted lodging. I am lone
widow she said, and have no man
about my promises. You will have to 60
elsewhere The Mormons looked again
and walked in, saying: we will enter,
for the spirit moves us to enter Then
they sat down. The woman fled out by
another door and ran over to neighbor' 8
and narrated to him what had happened.
He seized his shot gun and went back.
The Mormon elders were seated at the
fire, but they rose when he entered. he
pointed the gun at their heads and said {:
You chaps git But they said: The
spirit moves US to stay Then he said
And l tell you if you don't leave in two
minutes the spirit will move me to blow
your brains OUT"
"They got up and left"
ever since the Mormons have been
here they have brought trouble with our
women folks" said another. Alexander
Tompkin5 was a Mormon simpathizer
who came from Tennessee. He struck
up an intimacy ct once with .ae hand.
some wife of young farmer, George
Meffert. Soon Tompkins began to say
the spirit moved him to live with the
woman and he made threats to kill Mef-
fert if he did not give her UP to him
Meffert became excited and bloodshed
was looked for between the two men
They met once but were parted before
any blood was spilled. One evening
however, Tompkins full Of rum, started
towards Meffert to enforce his claim
George was chopping wood. They quar-
relied and Tompkins reached for his pis
tol. 1t was fatal move. Sfcficrt spranl
at him with the axe and made one swing
ing stroke for his right arm, another fo
his left, and Tompkins, armlcss, stagger
ed off. Meffert followed him, the axe
fell again aud again, and the Mormon wa