The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-06-23

short shrift Occasionally the deputies shot
their victims without ceremony when found.
Two fishermen named Sullivan were known
TO have been disposed OF I'm this manner
When the Mormon fishermen visited their
nets they made it q point to rob any Others
that might bc set in the vicinity. The fish
were always stolen and generally the nets
In time St James Island came TO be refuge
for all sorts Of rascals. who could there dis
pose of thcr plumber
A Kentuckan making a midsummer trip
up the lakes was one day leaning over the
guards of the propeller rs She lay moored to
the dock. 4 team came up with load Of
wood Both horses were recognized by the
kentuckian rs having been stolen from him
a year before Those two horses belong 10
me- he said To an officer standing beside
him For Gods sake, don't say 50 on
shore" was the quick reply, The horseman
had no intention Of placing his head in
lions mouth, and wisely kept silent.
The first attempt To arret the Mormon
prophet failed. Strang received notification,
and when the government cruiser arrived at
st. James he was floating in small boat out
in the fog There he remained some days,
sleeping at nights in remote parts OF the
island, until the cruiser departed. The sec
ond attempt was more successful Strang
was arrested and taken 10 Detroit, but was
acquitted. These incidents only served 10 ad-
vertise tho colony, and drew 10 him many
entmentalists, especially women, among the
latter being a lady Of good family, high
breeiing and great intellectual attachments
An attempt was made 10 show she had been
abducted by Strang's followers, but she went
on the wi:rcsS sand aud testified " Strang's
behalf Her testimony, beauty and elegance
secured the release of her adored prophet.
At this time he was on the shady side OF
20, Of medium height, thin and wiry and
very dark, and his spare face was framed
with a heavy beard which he wore long, Civ
ing him patriarchal appearance. His up
per lip was always kept clean shaven, which
gave his sensual mouth undue prominence.
Very few fishermen got out OF Strang's
clutches whole in body, to say nothing Of be
longings, after war was declared, and Nor
mon boat was their greatest terror. Among
the one who escaped alive from the Mormon
king is James NJ, an old fisherman, still
living on the Beaver. He says:
at was early in the spring Of 1855, as near
as can recolect, when my partner and
started from Mackinac for Gull Island with
800 worth Of supplies. 1t was storming
when we started and we were glad enough
70 make the shank local jargon for Wanso-
shance light that night We started early
the next morning, but lost our course in the
"a. al, oil Iayy 10
Beaver Island. Hardly hal we landed be-
fore we were surrounded by Mormons who
made us wall; up the beach. In n short time
King Straug came down, issued few orders,
and twelve men separated from the rest
Six Of them began to examine their guns in
a manner that sent the cold chills gallop
ing up and down my back. They
had been appointed to kill us The others
were to bury us Then Strang placed
double barreled shot gun to my breast, asked
me more questions IN regard to our inten
tons, issued new orders which proved to be
to clear away the boat, remove all the sails
and oars and cast us adrift. We did not
wait for tho expiration of the ten minutes
which We were allowed to get away in.
Luckily for us one OF the crowd, more
humane than the rest, had secretly thrown
in some oars, but the boat was aground on a
rock and We couldn't bulge it. | then went
back TO the group and asked some of them to
help us Off One whispered in my ear to get
away ms soon as possible. There was no
use, besides storm had come up and |
didn't believe any boat could live in the sea.
went to Strans and begged to be allowed to
stay He told me co!dly that unless we