Omaha daily bee., 1899-01-30
TALE OF EARLY MORMON DAYS
Leader Charles B. Thompson and His Town of
Preparation"
CORRUPT PROPHET DUPEs HIS FOLLOWERS
CompeIs Them to Surrender All Their
Goods and Money into His
Hands - The Worm
Finally Turns.

SIOUX CITY. Jan. 29.-(Special Jon the
banks OF the Soldier river in Iowa. amid
rolling ~prairies and about fifteen miles from
the present site Of the own OF Onawa. in
Monona county. stands the site of the old
Mormon town Of Preparation. About this
| place half a century ago were enacted many
strange scenes-scenes which few men now
living can remember. Preparation was
founded by Charles B. Thompson, a Mormon
prophet. as later developments showed, prin-
cipally for the benefit Of Thompson. His
rule lasted for several years and while 1t was
In progress he certainly made the best Of it.
It was in the year 1852 that Thompson left
St. Louis. where he had gone from Nauvoo,
where he had been In company of Joseph
Smith. Thompson for a while had conducted
a church in st. Louis. but he saw more
profit in a community Of his own. So, ac-
companied by about sixty families Of the
faithful. he left st. Louis to search in the
upper Missouri river valley for a good loca-
ton for a settlement. In Monona county they
found Just what they wanted. Here Thomp-
son founded his town and began his auto
cratic rule.
The story of his rule over this settlement
would fill volumes. At any rate, Thompson
began to have visions and communicated to
the people that they must convey all their
real and personal property to him. He had
taken care that they had pre-empted all the
lands and ere long Thompson found himself
the sole possessor Of 1000 acres Of the best
land in Iowa. all the cash Of the people. their
Jewels and In fact everything they had down
TO clothes. He even took their clothing and
made the people wear a garment all in one
piece-men could not be distinguished from
-o,.N. &. Al ~ n.1SIz .ar
to receive for this submission to the law
OF sacrifice was the teaching they received
from the prophet. or Father Ephraim.'' as
Thompson styled himself.
The Dupes Revolt.
This sort Of thing ran along for about Ave
years and then came trouble for the mon
arch of Preparation. His people grew sus-
picious and demanded that he give an ac-
counting OF all the money he had In his
hands, their lands and other property.
Thompson had made several trips to st.
Louis and had lived riotously and could not
put up the property or securities. So he
ran away to Onawa and remained there for
a while. The elders demanded a settlement
and Thompson, with one other man, Guy c.
Barnum, started back to Preparation.
Thompson was going to have Just one more
DIV " iuSh. DuI NC NdS uct Wy d WO-
man who told him he would be hanged If
caught. Then the once high priest and
Poo Bah of Preparation fled back to
Onawa, followed by angry members OF the
church of Zion. Thompson rushed to the
home Of Addison Oliver. where he was Sc
GREETED in the garnet. His wife came also
and she had with her a peck measure OF
Jewelry-all taken from the people OF Prep
aratlon. Men ca ne to the house with guns
and ropes and scared The present Judge, John
10 death. That night Addison Oliver. after
ward congressman and district Judge. drove
Thompson TO Fort Dodge.
After this Thompson wandered back to
st. Louis. where he tried to start I'D a new
religion. The courts divided the property
up among the people Of the Mormon settle
men and their once naughty leader left with
little or nothing. He soon wandered back
east and stayed in Philadelphia until some
time in 1867. when 1t Is said he died In
poverty.
Judge Addison Oliver IS still living in
Onawa. and he has in his possession the
large shell In which was fitted a mouth
piece. with which Thompson would call his
followers in. He also has files of the old
paper. "Zion's Harbinger and Weekly Mes
senger," which Thompson had published
and which was one of the earliest publlca-
tions In western Iowa. The papers make
strange reading and are now very val
liable. Few II any Of the original members
OF the strange colony still reside about
Monona county, but the memory of their
trials and tribulations still remain in the
minds Of the older members of the num-
cipality.