Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-20

2Tth of June. Colonel Lcvi William
startee from Warsaw with his regi
ment They went out In dgh gleo
Meeting to march TO Nauvoo and tal'
part in the work of destroying anc
Iooting that city. The whole male
population, practically. was In Colone
Williams regiment. Some OF the cap
tains are named. They were william
y. Grover Thomas c. Sharp. and
Jacob C. Davis. When they came to
n point seven miles from Warsaw they
we're met by David Matthews who
came with an order from tho Governor
to disband. This was obeyed. but AID
rich and Sharp gathered a squad OF
volunteers. and some OF the members
OF Davis company rallied under the
leadership OF Grover. Davis got into
wagon belonging to Calvin Cole and
followed the others al distance. Their
stated purpose WAS to proceed 10 car
thage and ''seo. the boys and talk
things over"
| They had not left the place where
! the courier with the Governors order
| to dIsbnnd met them. when a message
from the Carthage Greys arrived. The
nature OF the message has not been
divulged. but Immediately the COM
mandcrs started for Carthage and the
men followed their leaders. 1t Is gem
orally supposed that the Carthage
Greys assured the leaders of the War
saw mob that they would find no
real resistance by the guard. And 40
they trudged along singing. We quote
Colonel Hay again:
"The farther they walked the more
the idea impressed itself upon them
that now was tho time to finish tho
matter totally. Tho unavowed design
OF the leaders communicated Itself
magnetically to the men. until the en-
tire company became fused into one
mass OF bloodthlrsty energy. BY an eN-
cess OF precaution. they did not go
directly into the town, but made
long detour, so as to como in by the
road leading from Nauvoo
THE jail where the Smiths were con-
fined Is situated at the cXtrcme north
western edge OF the dismal village, at
the end of a long. il-kept street whose
middle Is a dusty road, and whose
sides are gay with stramonium and
dog fennel AS the avengers came in
sight OF the mean-looking building
that hid their prey. the sleeping tiger
that turks In every human heart |
sprang up in theirs, and they qulckened |
their pace to a run. There WAS no need
of ordcrs-no possibility OF checking
them now. The guards were hustled
away from the door, od-naturcdly
resisting until they were carefully dis
armed"
Mr.. Hay then tells Of the tragedy, and
the perjury committed by the COM
mander of the guard, to screen the
murderers. and adds that "the assas
sins" after their awful work, "hur
ried away from the Jail, and took the
road to Warsaw in silence and haste. |
They went home at a killing pace over |
tho wide, dusty prairie" This is his |
tory.
We are in a position to add to tho |
discussion, the following letter from
Horace n. Fish. of Los Angeles He |
writes under date of Jan. 10:
Editor Dcserct News-Anent the re-
cent discussion In your columns with |
regard to who were the murderers of |
Tue LoStPli ouhlll, IL may hch
be unntcresting to say that L happen
to be living next door to Mr.. +. A ]
Shaffer, who says he was personally
acquainted. while a young man, with
six of the men who actually did the
shooting Three OF them he named as
J. b. LowTy, ]. B. Madden. and Mike
Burns, who were living In Crooked
Creek Valley. Hancock County, Illinois,
when he know them.
He gives the statement In substance |
as follows, of ]. B. Lowry, who related
to him the affair while in conversation
on the subject:
"'I know that there are six men now
living Tin the seyenties1. including my
self, who actually took part In the
shooting that killed Joseph Smith, as
he stood at the window of Carthage
Jail. I'll have to admit that I was
in the fray. but I wish that could say
that had not been. OF course, can't
say positively that the balls fired by US
six men all entered the body Of Smith,
but some of them probably did IL not
all
II asked Mr.. Shaffcr very particular
ly II no could say whether or not these
men had been in any way connected
with the Mormon Church He replied
that they had not been. Ono of them,
]. b. Madden, he recollected as having
been n Catholic and bitterly opposed to
the Mormon people"
There is no doubt that the apostates
were bitter enough and possessed of
an evil spirit in sufficient measure to
render them capable of taking the lives
OF Gods messengers. But there Is no
evidence that they were the actual in
stiumcnts in the hands of Luclfer. at
Carthage, And oven II It could be
proved that there were some apostates
In the mob of murderers. that would
be very far from proving that Church
as alleged. were the murder
ers Apostates are not Church mem-
bers. nor are they who are cast out Of
the Church for transg,cssion.