[ Full-text transcription of: Letter from Daniel Ashby, James Keyte, and Sterling Price, of Brunswick, MO to Governor Boggs in Jefferson City, MO ]
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His Excellency
Honl Lilburn W. Boggz..
Dear Sir- Our Country is in
a complete ferment, & our families are rendered
daily unhappy, in consequence of the reports, which
are constantly coming in concerning the hostile
intentions of the Mormons and their allies as
it is currently reported & believed that they have
ingratiated themselves with the Indians (and in:
:deed they say so) to assist them in their diabolical
[career].
The fears of the people are greatly excited,
& nothing is now talked of but the contemplated
struggle, and plans seem to be divising all
around us for the most efficient protection
against their encroachments- A deadly hostility
is kept constantly alive on their borders, & our
old neighbors & friends are petitioning help from
abroad to relieve them in their present dif:
:ficulties. Being remote from the immediate
vicinity of the Mormon troubles, we can give
but a little of authentic data on which to act-
but we are strongly of the opinion, that there is
a deeply laid scheme existing among these
fanatics, that will be highly destructive in charac:
:ter, & at once subversive the rights & liberties of the
people. We have the best authority for believing
that in their public teachings, their people are
taught to believe & expect that immense num:
:bers of Indians of various tribes are only waiting
the signal for a general rise, when, as they state it,
the flying or destroying Angel will go through
the land, & work the general destruction of all that
are not mormons. It is not our object at the
present to trouble you with a detail of all the
reports in reference to this affair, but we will
state a case within our own knowledge, coming
from a man, who left this neighborhood to
join the Mormons, & who has had the reputation
among the citizens of
number of years, as being a man of strict veracity.
He has returned perfectly satisfied, that their object
is every thing the opposite of Christian feeling and
principle. The following statement, which he makes,
is given at his own request, & under his own hand –
“I have resided among the people called Mor:
:mons about five months during which time
I have had frequent opportunities of meeting with
them, both in their public & in their private associations,
& have sought every possible opportunity of
acquiring information –
I distinctly recollect hearing
Joseph Smith, the prophet, state, in a public
discourse, that he had fourteen thousand men,
not belonging to the Church, ready, at a moment’s warn:
:ing (which was generally understood to mean Indians)~
It was a very common source of rejoicing among
all classes, even the women and children participating,
that the time had arrived, when all the wicked
should be destroyed from the face of the earth, &
that the Indians would be the principal means
by which this object would be accomplished—
There is a common feeling amongst them,
amounting to a conspiracy, to protect one another ag:
:ainst the Civil officers of the County, even if it
should be attended with death—
The public teachers have recently
been very urgent in soliciting the people to fly
to their towns for protection, as the time had ar:
:rived, when the flying Angel should pass through
the land accompanied by the Indians, to accomplish
the work of destruction—and furthermore stating
that they will have enough to do, to protect themselves
whilst this work is going on”—
Nathan Marsh
From the above facts added to the general reports, we
have, with all due consideration, thought proper to sug:
:gest to your Excellency, the propriety of issuing orders
to the militia, so that in case of necessity they may
be called on according to the exigency of circumstances—
Your obt. Servts:
Daniel Ashby
James Keyte
Sterling Price
D. Ashby
J. Keyte
S. Price
to
Govr Sept. 1, 1838
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