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DISCOVERY OF THE LAMANITE SKELETON.

with the Nephites. The journey occupied some time. On reaching the first settlement of the brethren, they were joined by Brother Hyrum Smith, with about one hundred armed men; and with this re-enforcement he visited the Saints, gave forth some consoling and reassuring revelations, worked some miracles, and, after reducing things to proper order, returned to Kirtland in July.

The principal object of the prophet's residence at Kirtland, as avowed by himself, was to make money,

for the purpose of facilitating which he set up a bank, in connection with a mill and store; and in this way he carried on business operations for a few years. But financial and commercial enterprises were altogether beyond his depth; his forte lay in another direction; the universal panacea of revelation could not ward off the blow; the celestial councils got into a decided fog; to make a long story short, the whole concern exploded in 1837. He had great difficulty in preventing the whole Mormon scheme from exploding with the bank. The sufferers grumbled. One Elder Boynton contumaciously complained that "he understood the bank was instituted by the will of God, and he had been told that it should never fail, let men do what they would." But Joseph adroitly threw the blame on the managers, claiming that a blessing had been promised only on the condition of its being conducted on proper principles. The following, from his autobiography, shows the straits to which he was reduced at this critical period :

"At this time the spirit of speculation in lands, and property of all kinds, which was so prevalent throughout the whole nation, was taking deep root in the Church; as the fruits of this spirit, evil surmisings, fault-finding, disunion, dissension, and apostacy followed in quick succession, and it seemed as though all the powers of earth and hell were combining their influence in an especial manner to overthrow the Church at once, and make a final end. Other banking institutions refused the 'Kirtland Safety Society's' notes. The enemy abroad and apostates in our midst united in their schemes; flour and provisions were turned to

ward other markets; and many became disaffected toward me, as though I were the sole cause of those very evils I was most strenuously striving against, and which were actually brought upon us by the brethren not giving heed to my counsel.

"No quorum in the Church was entirely exempt from the influence of those false spirits who were striving against me for the mastery; even some of the Twelve were so far lost to their high and responsible calling as to begin to take sides, secretly, with the enemy."

In addition to these troubles, the outside barbarians in and around Kirtland, who fancied themselves swindled by these banking operations, became excited, and procured legal process for the arrest of the prophet and Elder Rigdon. In the profane and vulgar language of the day, Joseph and his coadjutor "run away” in the night of January 12th, 1838. It is curious to see how differently the same thing is viewed by different minds. The following is the aspect of the case when viewed through Mormon spectacles :

"A new year dawned upon the Church in Kirtland in all the bitterness of the spirit of apostate mobocracy, which continued to rage, and grow hotter and hotter, until Elder Rigdon and myself were obliged to flee from its deadly influence, as did the apostles and prophets of old, and as Jesus said, 'When they persecute you in one city, flee to another;' and on the evening of the 12th of January, about ten o'clock, we left Kirtland, on horseback, to escape mob violence, which was about to burst upon us, under the color of legal process to cover their hellish designs, and save themselves from the just judgment of the law."

The people were thoroughly exasperated, and Joseph and his prime minister had to run for it:

"The weather was extremely cold, and we were obliged to secrete ourselves in our wagons sometimes, to elude the grasp of our pursuers, who continued their race more than two hundred miles from Kirtland, armed with pistols, &c., seeking our lives."

Once fairly beyond the risk of seizure by the persecuting Kirtlanders, the fugitive prophet took the matter more leisurely, and, after journeying about four weeks, arrived at Far West, which at this period must be regarded as the "Latter-day" metropolis. His presence here had become a necessity. The affairs of Zion, though prospering in point of numerical accession, were any thing but promising, and another collision with the Gentiles was evidently approaching.

Ever since their expulsion from Independence, the Mormons had made the most persevering efforts to return, and among the means contemplated was a resort to arms, in case milder means did not succeed. They had applied to the Governor for a military force to restore them to their lost Eden, and also for permission to organize companies among themselves, to be armed by the state. The Governor manifested his willingness to reinstate them in their former possessions, so far as lay in his power; but, as it was manifestly impossible to keep a standing army at Independence, there was no guarantee that the same troubles would not be renewed; and he advised them to continue their reliance on the courts for redress. The people of Jackson, however, were fully determined that none of the Saints should from henceforth settle in

their midst; and, to put the question at rest, they made a more than equitable proposition to purchase the lands and improvements of the Mormons, at a price to be fixed by three disinterested arbitrators, with one hundred per cent. in addition. Strange to say, this extremely favorable proposition was rejected. Zion had been distinctly located at Independence by a revelation, and the prophet could not bear to have the prediction falsified; and accordingly, under date of December 5th, 1833, from Kirtland, he had written: "You will recollect that the Lord has said that Zion should not be removed out of her place; therefore the land should not be sold, but be held by the Saints, until the Lord, in his wisdom, opens a way for your return."

They not only refused to sell their property at double its value, in obedience to the prophet's injunctions, but instituted civil and criminal proceedings against those who had been most active in ejecting them from their possessions.

In the mean time, precisely the same causes which made the Saints fugitives from Independence, were arousing against them the popular indignation in Caldwell and Davies counties. As numbers and prosperity gathered around them, they became arrogant, and soon acquired, whether founded or unfounded, their former reputation for licentiousness, thieving, and other kindred practices. Matters went on from bad to worse; one scene of violence led to another a little more flagrant— buildings were burned, and blood was shed; the executive of the state interfered and called out the militia, and something very much resembling civil war began

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