[ Full-text transcription of: Witness James C. Owens, a Mormon dissenter who was present at Far West, October 30, 1838 ]
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James G Owens, a
witness produced Sworn and exam
-ined on behalf of
the State, doposeth and saith
In this morning of
the day that the militia arri
-ved at
a speach to the
Mormons troops say, that he did
not care any thing
about the coming of the troops
nor about the laws,
that he had tried to please
them_ If they lived
together it wouldn’t please
them if they
scattered it wouldn’t please them
& that he did
not intend to try to keep the [ ]
to please then any
longer. that they were so
damned set, and God
should damn them, so
help him Jesus
Christ.—That he meant to
go on them as he
had begun, and take his own
course, and kill
& destroy-and told the men
to fight like
angles that heretofore he had
told them to fight
like devils, but now told them
to fight like
angles. that angles could whip de
-vils_ I think in
this speach it was that he
said that what they
lacked in numbers the Lord
would makeup by
sending angles and send
two angles where
they lacked one man. He
swore considerably
and observed that they
might think that he
was swearing, but that
God Almighty would
not take notice of him
in cursing such a
dammed set as they were. He
further stated that
they pretended to come out as
militia, but that
they were all a damned set of
mobs.- He stated at
that or some other time that
as they had
commenced consecrating in Daviess
county that he
intended to have the surroun
-ding counties
consecrated to him, that the time
had come when the
riches of the Gentiles should
be consecrated to
the saints-(“after prisoners” crossed out)
while the last of
expedition was in progress in Da
-viess county_a
portion of the troops returned to
Far west to whom & to the people assembled
I understood Sidney
Rigdon had read a letter
from Jos Smith Jr_
I asked him to read it
to me which he did
and it was as near as I
can recollect as
follows That the enemy was
delivered into
their hands, and that they need not
not fear, that this
had been given to him by
the spirit of
prophecy in the name of Jesus
Christ. Sidney
Rigdon appeared to rejoice at
the information,
and gaive unto the thing-
A few days before
the Militia got to Far
west Jos Smith Jr
observed that he did not in
-tend to obey the
laws any longer, that he had
had a great may
(“law suits” crossed out) writs served
on him, & that
he was of age, and did not intend
to have another
served on him- And further
this deponent saith
not-
James C. Owens
Nathaniel Carr. a
witness produced, sworn
and examined in
behalf of the State deposeth
and saith- While
the last expedition was
going on in Daviess
county a portion of the
troops returned to
-ded before Mr
Rigdons door- A letter was
produced by him.
Recd as he said from Jos
Smith Jr &
Lyman Wight, and perhaps Hiram
Smith, and I think
Elias Higby- The letter
was read, which
stated something like this
that all things
were going on well in Daviess
that they had
nothing to fear, and that the enemy was
in their hands,- I
understood from what was
said in the letter
that they knew this from
revelation. The letter was read to about 200
men most of them
under arm- The town
appeared under
military rule, picket guards
were sent out
morning & evening_ this state
of things was
continued for three or four weeks
& until the
mormons surrendered their
arms. When the forces that went out to
attack Bogart were
collecting about
I heard them say
that a mob was collecting near
Fields who had
taken some of the brethran prison
-ers, and that they
were collecting a company
to release them-
and further this deponent
saith not, Nathaniel Carr