JUDGE THOMAS' WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE THE PROPHET—VAIN EFFORTS TO SEE AND REPORT TO THE PROPHET—PERFIDY OF REYNOLDS CAHOON AND ALPHEUS CUTLER—PROPHET'S LAST SPEECH—NEWS OF THE MARTYRDOM—ITS EFFECT—ATROCITIES OF MOB.

The brethren protested strongly against the Prophet surrendering himself to be taken to Carthage, as they believed the officers would rather take his life than protect it. In vain they urged Judge Thomas to set a date when the Prophet could be brought before his court for the investigation of any charges that might be brought against him. He said he did not wish to interfere in any legal matters; neither did he consider the matter under his jurisdiction. In answer to what the brethren had said about the danger of his going to Carthage, the judge said "this is nothing but your imagination, and that will be better understood when tried." And then he offered a suggestion that convinced the brethren that he had already decided in his own mind that the Prophet should be sacrificed. He said "would it not be better for one or two men to be killed than for a whole community to be destroyed?" The response to this traitorous suggestion was, "No; we would all prefer to die in defense of innocent citizens rather than for one of our number to be massacred by a ruthless mob; and we will show you and all other men that we will protect one another in our rights."

The interview closed by the judge remarking that his visitors were very zealous, and they declaring that they were not more zealous than determined. They received the letter and made all possible haste to Nauvoo, arriving there at 10 o'clock on June 20, 1844.

On entering the Mansion House they were met by Alpheus Cutler and Reynolds Cahoon, who inquired as soon as they greeted them if they had a letter from Judge Thomas. When told that they had, they requested that it be given to them. To this the brethren demurred, and insisted upon seeing the Prophet personally.

Cahoon and Cutler argued against the proposition and used all the powers of persuasion they could command to get possession of the letter; then, finding it in vain, they suddenly left the room. Hardly had they done so when Emma Smith's nephew appeared and announced that Mrs. Smith wished to see Brothers Call and Evans, and led them to her room. As they approached she said "You have a letter from Judge Thomas, haven't you?" They replied "Yes, and we want to see Joseph." She declared positively that they could not see him, and was not moved from the decision when they rehearsed to her their reasons for wishing to see him. She did not tell them he was not at home, but her language rather implied that he was absent. She plead hard for them to give her the letter to deliver to him, and gave her solemn promise to so deliver it, and then to arrange for them to have an interview with him. They finally determined that if they could not see the Prophet and warn him personally against being taken to Carthage, the next most important thing was to get the letter into his hands, and they accordingly gave it to Emma and she opened it and read it aloud in their presence and also within the hearing of the doorkeepers, Reynolds Cahoon and Alpheus Cutler. The brethren repeated to all three what Judge Thomas had said to them, that they might be thoroughly impressed with the danger of the Prophet giving himself up to be taken to Carthage, and requested also that the Prophet be informed of all that they had heard. Had they known then what they afterwards learned—that Joseph and Hyrum Smith were at that very time out of the State, on the west side of the Mississippi river, with the intention of journeying westward and keeping out of the clutches of those who were seeking to deprive them of their liberty, and if possible of their lives also, they would have entered their solemn protest against their giving up that advantage and returning again to Illinois in the face of the murderous hatred that was so generally manifested towards them.

Anson was subsequently informed by Dr. Willard Richards that Reynolds Cahoon and Alpheus Cutler had crossed the river in a boat in the afternoon of the day that they had talked with Anson Call and David Evans, and while what General Thomas had said to them, as related by the brethren to them and to the Prophet's wife, must have been still fresh in their minds, and induced Joseph and Hyrum Smith to return to Nauvoo and give themselves up to the officers who had a warrant for them (the very thing that Brothers Call and Evans had plead with them to warn the Prophet against doing.) Anson also learned from Dr. Richards that the letter they had brought from Judge Thomas was not even delivered to the Prophet.

Anson never had the privilege of speaking to the Prophet again, but he saw him on the morning of the 24th of June, when he rode up to the Nauvoo Legion while on parade near the Nauvoo Mansion, and said, with all the feeling he could express, "Boys, I have come to bid you good by. I am going to leave you for awhile. You are my boys, and I bless you in the name of Israel's God. Be faithful and true, and you shall have your reward. Farewell."

Anson, in speaking of it later in life, said "I little thought, knowing his many deliverances from the hands of his enemies, that it was the last time I should see him alive. That night I went home to rest with my family, about one-fourth of a mile east of the Temple, on Brigham Street. On Thursday, the 25th, I as usual paraded with the Legion. Friday and Saturday, 26th and 27th, attended to the same routine of business. Saturday night I was one of the Temple guards. Sunday morning, the 28th, I saw O. P. Rockwell ride into the city at full speed, with the sweat dripping from his horse, shouting with his stentorious voice pitched in the highest notes of intensified sorrow and wrath: "Joseph is killed! Joseph is killed! They have killed him! They have killed him!"

The sorrow that overwhelmed the Saints as that awful news spread throughout Nauvoo, as it did in a remarkably short time, cannot be adequately described by tongue or pen. Even those who knew that he had been taken to Carthage and were also aware of the murderous spirit that animated those who had been seeking to apprehend him, and the threats they had indulged in, were unprepared for the news, for they had vainly hoped that he would be set free when an investigation of the charges brought against him had occurred, or be enabled to escape as he had in the past. They were all conscious of his innocence, and felt that the Lord would intercede in his behalf, and not suffer his enemies to take his life; and on learning that they had done so they were stunned—almost paralyzed. Few if any were more powerfully affected by the news than Anson Call. By a strong effort he controlled his feelings and suppressed the inclination to seek personal vengeance, but was deprived of the power to sleep, and lost all desire to eat; and besought the Lord in earnest prayer to restrain him from doing anything that would be unwise or that would add to the trouble that already enveloped the Saints. When the bodies of the martyrs were brought into Nauvoo he took his family to see them, and they were strongly affected by the sight. On the third night after the martyrdom Anson had a dream or a vision in which he saw the Prophet and heard him assure a congregation of Saints that, although dead, he should still lead the kingdom, the keys of which had been given to him, and would be held by him forever. This assurance proved a great comfort to Anson, and enabled him to comfort others. Very soon thereafter he went to Carthage and was piloted around by the jailer. He saw the blood from the Prophet's veins upon the well curb, and the hole through the panel door made by the bullet that killed Hyrum, as also the blood stain upon the floor where he fell, which stain the jailer assured him he had been unable to erase. Anson told him he hoped he never would be able to wash it away, but that it would remain as an everlasting testimony against his murderers. He saw a number of those who were implicated in the murder, most of whom he was personally acquainted with, especially Captain Robert Smith, of the Carthage Greys, the man who issued the writs against Joseph and Hyrum, and to whom long before, Anson had borne testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and who had apparently never been able to look him in the face afterwards.

Anson took an active and prominent part in the events that followed the martyrdom. He was detailed as one of the one hundred men who were selected to assist the mob from burning houses and committing other depredations against the Saints in the fall of 1845. He saw his father's house burn down, and also the man who applied the torch to it. He had obtained special permission from the sheriff to look after his father's property, as he was living in the region where the mob was unusually active in committing outrages. He arrived at his father's home about an hour after nightfall, and saw the house burning, and various articles of household goods scattered about, but could see none of the family. Surmising that they were not very far away, he went through a cornfield near the house, calling for his father. After awhile he heard a response "Anson, is that you?" and, following the direction of the voice met his father, who felt so outraged that he was rendered desperate and disposed to resist. On inquiring where his mother and sisters were, the father led him out into the middle of the corn field, where his aged mother was found resting upon a bed, her daughters being elsewhere in hiding. He learned that ten minutes before the torch was applied to the house the inmates were given a chance to flee therefrom, and take such articles of clothing and bedding as the could carry in away in their arms. While the mother and daughters were doing this the father was talking with Mr. Stevenson, the leader, who was master of the masonic lodge at Warsaw, of which Father Call was warden. The bigotry and malice that swayed the people were so strong that even the fraternity of the masonic order lost its power. Mr. Stevenson did not attempt to restrain the mob who were with him, nor even dismount from his horse; but, turning from Father Call, as if ashamed to look him in the face, he said "I have nothing against you as a man, but you are a "Mormon," and we must serve you all like." He then called out to those who were with him, "Gentlemen, do your duty." One man held a match, and another a bundle of hay, and at the expiration of the ten minutes the hay was placed in one corner of the house and set on fire. The same procedure was followed at the homes of Harvey Call, Chester Loveland and Jeremiah Willey, all located in the same region, the first mentioned being a brother and the latter two brothers-in-law of Anson Call. These inoffensive and despoiled Saints arrived in Nauvoo about noon the following day.