USA > Utah > History of Utah > Part 58
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him not to be squeamish, that the trains burned very nicely, I had seen them before, and that we hadn't time to be ceremonious. We then supplied ourselves with provisions, set the wagons afire and rode on about two miles from the stream to rest. I expected any moment to be overtaken by troops from the camp, and fired my pistol to call in our picket guard.
"They hurriedly came to the place where we were resting, a place that will always be remembered as the scene of the most distressing event which occurred on the expedition. While I was reloading my pistol, and as the guards came in from picket duty, one of the guns- a United States yauger-was discharged. The heavy ball passed through Orson P. Arnold's thigh, breaking the bone in a fearful manner, struck Philo Dibble in the side of the head, and went through Samuel Bateman's hat, just missing his head and pulling his hair. I sprang up and caught young Arnold, straightening him out, for he fell with his leg under him, the jagged points of the broken bone sticking out, while the blood streamed from the awful wound. It looked as though he would bleed to death in five minutes.
" I immediately sent two men to the Sandy for poles with which to make a litter. We calculated that the distance to a safe place on Green River was not less than thirty miles, and that we must carry our wounded comrade there as soon and as comfortably as possible. While engaged setting the broken bone, a picket guard came running into camp and reported two hundred cavalry close upon us. Under the circumstances nothing could have produced greater consternation. One of the men moved that we surrender. I told them that I would say when to do that. He then proposed that we run. I replied that I would kill the man that made that motion,
myself, if he dared to try it.
*
I was well repaid
for stiffening my knees, for poor Orson looked up and said he knew I wouldn't run away and leave him to die .* Poor boy ! The first
* Orson Arnold states that he requested his comrades to leave him and make good their escape. Major Smith's narrative was written mostly from memory, after a lapse of twenty-five years. Hence the slight discrepancy.
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words he spoke were: 'I shall always be a cripple, and will never be able to fight soldiers any more.'
"Then came the tug of war! We took up our wounded man and carried him on poles for thirty miles. Talk about mules with sore shoulders! Ours equalled anything of that kind ever heard of. Our way lay across a trackless desert the whole distance, with no water on the road but what we carried in our canteens, and a wounded man, burning with fever and inflammation, constantly wants water. *
"When we came upon the soldiers that our picket guard, who was a good man, but with eyes that would magnify, had reported, we found them to consist of Captain Haight and company, and were very glad to meet friends again instead of enemies."
Thus it was that Lot Smith burnt the Government trains .* It was a daring act in itself, but not more daring than the order which directed it. If the Mormons were accused of treason before they
* List of subsistence stores in supply trains (Russell and Waddell's) Nos. 5, 9 and 10 burned by the Mormons on Green River, Utah, in the night of October 4th, 1857 :
No. of rations.
2,720 pounds ham.
92,700 pounds bacon, -
- 115,875
167,900 pounds flour, 149,244
270 bushels beans, - - 108,000
8,580 pounds Rio coffee, -
143,000
330 pounds Java coffee.
1,400 pounds crushed sugar.
2,970 gallons vinegar,
297,000
800 pounds sperm candles,
80,000
13,333 pounds soap,
- 333,325
84 gallons of molasses.
134 bushels dried peaches.
68,832 rations dessicated vegetables. 705 pounds tea,
7,781 pounds hard bread, -
52,875 - 6 lanterns.
7,781
H. F. CLARK, Capt. and C. S., U. S. A.
Made from bills of lading, October 10, 1857.
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HISTORY OF UTAH.
had done anything affording the shadow of a basis for such a charge, and an army had been sent against them to suppress a rebellion which never existed, what would now be said and done in view of events that had actually taken place? But Brigham Young and his compeers were perfectly aware of the risk they were running. They had entered upon the campaign with their eyes wide open. An investigation, a hearing was what they desired. It had hitherto been denied them. That hearing they were determined to have, and a leaf from the book of Absalom versus Joab probably made clear to them the most effective course to pursue .* Singularly enough, the result in both cases was the same; for as Joab, having previously ignored the son of David, came promptly when his fields were all aflame, so President Buchanan, on finding that the Mormons were in earnest, and that in their efforts to maintain their rights they dared even burn Government property and paralyze for the time being the arm lifted to strike them, was finally constrained, after the first burst of indignation was over, to order an investigation into the Utah situation. But of that hereafter.
Lot Smith continued his operations against the Utah Expedition until the latter part of November, when he retired to Echo Canyon. He burned no more trains, but captured several herds of Govern- ment cattle, which were driven by Porter Rockwell and William H. Hickman into Salt Lake Valley.+
About the time that Lot Smith started upon his errand one similar though not so successful, was undertaken by Major Joseph Taylor, of Weber County, who had left Ogden on September 18th with one hundred men and reported at Echo Canyon on the 3rd of October. His instructions were contained in the following letter from General Wells:
* II. Samuel xiv., 29-33.
į By order of President Young, these cattle were returned to General Johnston at Camp Floyd after peace had been declared.
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HISTORY OF UTAH.
HEADQUARTERS EASTERN EXPEDITION,
Camp near Cache Cave, Oct. 4th, 1857.
You will proceed with all possible dispatch without injuring your animals, to the Oregon road, near the bend of Bear River, north by east of this place. Take close and correct observations of the country on your route. When you approach the road, send scouts ahead, to ascertain if the invading troops have passed that way. Should they have passed take a concealed route, and get ahead of them. Express to Colonel Burton, who is now on that road, and in the vicinity of the troops, and effect a junction with him, so as to operate in concert. On ascertaining the locality or route of the troops, proceed at once to annoy them in every possible way. Use every exertion to stampede their animals and set fire to their trains. Burn the whole country before them and on their flanks. Keep them from sleeping by night surprises ; blockade the roads by falling trees and destroying river fords where you can. Watch for opportunities to set fire to the grass on their windward, so as if possible to envelop their trains. Leave no grass before them that can be burned. Keep your men concealed as much as possible, and guard against sur- prise. Keep scouts out at all times, and communications open with Colonel Burton, Major McAllister, and O. P. Rockwell, who are operating the same way. Keep me advised daily of your movements, and every step the troops take, and in what direction. God bless you and give you success.
Your brother in Christ,
DANIEL H. WELLS.
P. S .- If the troops have not passed, or have turned in that direction, follow in their rear, and continue to annoy them, burning any trains they may leave. Take no life, but destroy their trains, and stampede or drive away their animals, at every opportunity.
D. H. W .*
Major Taylor, with forty or fifty men, at once set out to execute these orders, but . after traveling a day and a half and passing Fort Bridger, he was obliged to separate from his command and return to that post upon important business. His escort consisted of four men,-William Stowell, Wells Chase, George Rose and Joseph Orton. Coming unexpectedly upon a body of United States troops under
* This letter, found upon the person of Major Taylor when he was captured by United States troops, was subsequently endorsed as follows :
" HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF UTAH, BLACK'S FORK,
" Sixteen miles from Fort Bridger, en route to Salt Lake City,
"Nov. 7th, 1857.
" A true copy of instructions in the possession of Major Joseph Taylor when captured.
"F. J. PORTER,
" Assistant Adjutant General."
-
Truly yours Ahn D Billister.
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HISTORY OF UTAH.
Captain Marcy, Major Taylor and his adjutant, Stowell, were surrounded and captured. The remainder of the party escaped. Taylor and Stowell were held prisoners until after the arrival of General Johnston. By Colonel Alexander, Captain Marcy and others the captives seem to have been well enough treated, but a certain Sergeant Newman, who had the two Mormons in custody, manifested a degree of cruelty toward them that probably would not have been countenanced by his superiors had they been aware of it. He once gave them some poisoned soup, of which, being suspicious of foul play, they partook sparingly, pouring most of it upon the ground. But even the little they swallowed sufficed to make them deathly sick. On another occasion Newman built a fire of green willows in the tent where they were imprisoned and compelled them to keep the tent closed. They almost suffocated, and Major Taylor's eyes were so injured by the smoke that he was unable to read for ten years. Sergeant Newman was discharged, and died of a wasting disease while returning to the States. Major Taylor eventually escaped and rejoined his comrades, but Stowell and other Mormons captured at various times by the Federal troops, remained prisoners until after the issuance of President Buchanan's pardon.
Meanwhile other Mormon Colonels, Majors and Captains, with their various commands, were scouring the country along the route of the invading army-some detachments of which were still on the road-annoying them every hour by threatened or actual raids, burning the grass before and around them, stampeding their horses and cattle, and doing all in their power to harass and dishearten them. If they did not succeed in utterly dispiriting the troops, it is because the American soldier is hard to discourage, and not that these mountain rangers-"guerillas" their enemies styled them- were at all remiss in performing the tasks allotted them.
The situation and prospects of the Army of Utah were now far from enviable. With some of their supply trains burnt, most of their cattle gone, stolen by Indians or captured by Mormons, the country upon which they had depended for forage laid waste on all sides, and
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winter fast approaching, their plight was becoming pitiable. This was equally true of the main body encamped on Ham's Fork, and their comrades the belated detachments, caught in the early snows at South Pass and along the Sweetwater.
Colonel Alexander, as stated, had arrived upon the site of Camp Winfield on the 28th of September. With him came the eight com- panies of the Tenth Infantry. The Fifth Infantry, under the immediate command of Colonel Waite, and Phelps' and Reno's batteries arrived on different days during the week following. It was Colonel Waite's command that Lot Smith came so near encountering while arresting the progress of the supply trains on the 4th of October .* Colonel C. F. Smith, who had fallen behind with an escort of two hundred men, in charge of other trains, was still in the vicinity of South Pass, while Colonel Cooke and the Second Dragoons were still farther in the rear. As for General Johnston, he had not been heard from. Says Alexander: "No information of the position or intentions of the commanding officer has reached me, and I am in utter ignorance of the objects of the government in sending troops here, or the instructions given for their conduct after reaching here. I have had to decide upon the following points : First, the necessity of a speedy move to winter quarters; second, the selection of a point for wintering; third, the best method of con- ducting the troops and supplies to the point selected."
On the 10th of October a council was held, and it was debated whether it would be best to proceed to the Wind River Mountains, to camp on Henry's Fork of Green River, or, ascending Ham's Fork, make a detour northward to Soda Springs, and there await the advent of milder weather, prior to marching southward to Salt Lake Valley.
* Colonel Alexander states in his report that Colonel Waite, though not anticipating trouble, since assured by Captain Van Vliet that he would meet no armed resistance if he went no farther than Fort Bridger, was preparing to send a detachment to guard the trains when he heard of their destruction. General Harney's orders from the General- in-Chief, under which the Expedition was acting, warned him to " anticipate resistance, general, organized and formidable, at the threshold."
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HISTORY OF UTAH.
The last proposition met with most favor. The distance to be traversed was about a hundred and twenty miles. On the 11th the troops and trains set forward. The snow was falling, there was no grass along the route, and progress was slow and difficult. The Mormon "guerillas"-or suppose we call them Cossacks-still hung upon the flanks of the long and cumbersome column, keeping up their dispiriting tactics, and running off the cattle of the weary, straggling trains. This, having little cavalry, they were powerless to prevent. General Wells, on learning of Colonel Alexander's move northward, had despatched a heavy force of cavalry under Colonel Burton to Bear River, on the Fort Hall route, to further harass and intercept the troops on their march. Some of Burton's scouts, sent out to reconnoiter, came too near Alexander's vanguard, and were almost captured. They were pursued by a party of horsemen for about twelve miles, and only escaped by taking to the rugged hills of that vicinity. Others of Alexander's infantry were mounted upon mules and started out in pursuit of the mercurial and dashing rangers, who, on their high-spirited steeds, eluded at will or raided at pleasure what they laughingly termed "Uncle Sam's jackass cavalry."
At a certain point in the detour Colonel Alexander expected to be joined by Colonel Smith and his supply trains. But he did not come. In fact he had not yet left the |vicinity of South Pass, and with Colonel Cooke and his dragoons, still farther behind, was having a sad experience among the biting blasts and frost and snow of that pitiless region. Disappointed and almost disheartened, though refusing to admit it even to himself, Colonel Alexander called a general halt and convened another council of his officers. That it would be imprudent under the circumstances to proceed farther was generally admitted, and matters now came to a stand-still. Some of the officers, chagrined and exasperated, were in favor of a forward movement to Salt Lake Valley. This of course involved the desperate attempt to force a way through Echo Canyon, now blocked with ice and snow, barricaded and defended by men as brave and determined
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HISTORY OF UTAH.
as themselves. Prudence prevailed and the mad project was abandoned.
It was about this time that Colonel Alexander addressed a com- munication to Governor Young, which he sent by a young Mormon named Hickman, previously captured by the troops and released for the especial purpose of bearing this letter to its destination. It was dated on Ham's Fork, October 12th. The following is an excerpt :
I desire now, sir, to set before you the following facts: The forces under my com- mand are ordered by the President of the United States, to establish a military post at or near Salt Lake City. They set out on their long and arduous march, anticipating a reception similar to that which they would receive in any other State or Territory in the Union. They were met at the boundary of the Territory of which you are the Governor, and in which capacity alone I have any business with you, by a proclamation issued by yourself, forbidding them to come upon soil belonging to the United States, and calling upon the inhabitants to resist them with arms. You have ordered them to return, and have called upon them to give up their arms in default of obeying your mandate. You have resorted to open hostilities, and of a kind, permit me to say, far beneath the usages of civilized warfare, and only resorted to by those who are conscious of inability to resist by more honorable means, by authorizing persons under your control, some of the very citizens, doubtless, whom you have called to arms, to burn the grass, apparently with the intention of starving a few beasts, and hoping that men would starve after them. Citizens of Utah, acting, I am bound to believe, under your authority have destroyed trains containing public stores, with a similar humane purpose of starving the army. I infer also from your com- munications received day before yesterday, referring to "a dearth of news from the east and from home," that you have caused public and private letters to be diverted from their proper destination, and this, too, when carried by a public messenger on a public highway. It is unnecessary for me to adduce further instances to show that you have placed your- self, in your capacity of governor, and so many of the citizens of the Territory of Utah as have obeyed your decree, in a position of rebellion and hostility to the general govern- ment of the United States, It becomes you to look to the consequences, for you must be aware that so unequal a contest can never be successfully sustained by the people you govern.
It is my duty to inform you that I shall use the force under my control, and all hon- orable means in my power, to obey literally and strictly the orders under which I am act- ing. If you, or any acting under your orders, oppose me, I will use force, and I warn · you that the blood that is shed in this contest will be upon your head. My means I con- sider ample to overcome any obstacle; and 1 assure you that any idea you may have formed of forcing these troops back, or of preventing them from carrying out the views of the government, will result in unnecessary violence and utter failure. Should you reply to this in a spirit which our relative positions give me a right to demand, I will be pre- pared to propose an arrangement with you. I have also the honor to inform you that all
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persons found lurking around or in any of our camps, will be put under guard and held prisoners as long as circumstances may require.
To the Colonel's epistle Governor Young replied :
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE,
Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, October 16, 1857.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant, at 8:30 this morning, and embrace the earliest opportunity to reply, out of courtesy to your position, at this late season of the year.
As you officially allege it, I acknowledge that you and the forces have been sent to the Territory by the President of the United States, but we shall treat you as though you were open enemies, because I have so many times seen armies in our country, under color of law, drive this people, commonly styled Mormons, from their homes, while mobs have followed and plundered at their pleasure, which is now most obviously the design of the government, as all candid, thinking men know full well. Were not such the fact, why did not the government send an army to protect us against the savages when we first settled here, and were poor and few in number ? So contrary to this was their course, that they sent an infor- mal requisition for five hundred of our most efficient men (while we were in an Indian country and striving to leave the borders of the United States, from which its civilization(?) had expelled us), with a preconcerted view to cripple and destroy us. And do you fancy for a moment that we do not fully understand the tender (?) mercies and designs of our government against us ? Again, if an army was ordered here for peaceful purposes, to protect and preserve the rights and lives of the innocent, why did government send here troops that were withdrawn from Minnesota, where the Indians were slaughtering men, women and children, and were banding in large numbers, threatening to lay waste the . country ?
You mention that it is alone in my gubernatorial capacity that you have any business with me, though your commanding officer, Brevet-Brigadier General Harney, addressed his letter by Captain Van Vliet to "President Brigham Young, of the society of Mor- mons."
You acknowledge the receipt of my official proclamation, forbidding your entrance into the Territory of Utah, and upon that point 1 have only to again inform you that the matter set forth in that document is true, and the orders therein contained will be most strictly carried out.
If you came here for peaceful purposes, you have no use for weapons of war. We wish, and ever have wished for peace, and have ever sued for it all the day long, as our bitterest enemies know full well; and though the wicked, with the administration now at their head, have determined that we shall have no peace, except it be to lie down in death, in the name of Israel's God we will have peace, even though we be compelled by our ene- mies to fight for it.
We have as yet studiously avoided the shedding of blood, though we have resorted to measures to resist our enemies, and through the operations of those mild measures, you can easily perceive that you and your troops are now at the mercy of the elements, and
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that we live in the mountains, and our men are all mountaineers. This the government should know, and also give us our rights and then let us alone.
As to the style of those measures, past, present or future, persons acting in self-defense have of right a wide scope for choice, and that, too, without being very careful as to what name their enemies may see fit to term that choice; for both we and the Kingdom of God will be free from all hellish oppressors, the Lord being our helper. Threatenings to waste and exterminate this people have been sounded in our ears for more than a score of years, and we yet live. The Zion of the Lord is here, and wicked men and devils cannot destroy it.
If you persist in your attempt to permanently locate an army in this Territory, con- trary to the wishes and constitutional rights of the people therein, and with a view to aid the administration in their unhallowed efforts to palm their corrupt officials upon us, and to protect them and blacklegs, black-hearted scoundrels, whore-masters and murderers, as was the sole intention in sending you and your troops here, you will have to meet a mode of warfare against which your tactics furnish you no information.
As to your inference concerning " public and private letters," it contains an ungentle- manly and false insinuation ; for, so far as I have any knowledge, the only stopping or detaining of the character you mention has alone been done by the Post Office Department in Washington ; they having, as you must have known, stopped our mail from Indepen- dence, Missouri, by which it was but fair to presume that you, as well as we, were meas- urably curtailed in mail facilities.
In regard to myself and certain others, having placed ourselves "in a position of rebel- lion and hostility to the general government of the United States," I am perfectly aware that we understand our true and most loyal position far better than our enemies can inform us. We, of all people, are endeavoring to preserve and perpetuate the genius of the Con- stitution and constitutional laws, while the administration and the troops they have ordered to Utah are, in fact, themselves the rebels, and in hostility to the general govern- ment. And if George Washington were now living, and at the helm of our government, he would hang the administration as high as he did Andre, and that, too, with a far better grace and to a much greater subserving the best interests of our country.
You write : " It becomes you to look to the consequences, for you must be aware that so unequal a contest can never be successfully sustained by the people you govern." We have counted the cost it may be to us ; we look for the United States to endeavor to swallow us up, and we are prepared for the contest, if they wish to forego the Constitution in their insane efforts to crush out all human rights. But the cost of so suicidal a course to our enemies we have not wasted our time considering, rightly deeming it more particu- larly their business to figure out and arrive at the amount of so immense a sum. It is now the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. If God is for us we will prosper, but if He is for you and against us, you will prosper, and we will say amen ; let the Lord be God, and Him alone we will serve.
As to your obeying "orders," my official counsel to you would be for you to stop and reflect until you know wherein are the just and right, and then, David Crocket like, go ahead. But if you undertake to come in here and build forts, rest assured that you will be opposed, and that you will need all the force now under your command, and much more. And, in regard to your warning, I have to inform you that my head has been
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