N503 
 
BANCROFT 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 < 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 

THE MARTYRDOM 
 
 OF 
 
 JOSEPH STANDING; 
 
 OR, THE 
 
 Murder of a "Mormon" Missionary. 
 
 A TRUE STORY. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 AN APPENDIX, 
 
 GIVING A 
 
 SUCGINT DESCRIPTION OF THE UTAH PENITENTIARY 
 
 And some data regarding those who had, up to date 
 of this publication, suffered incarcera- 
 tion through the operations of the 
 anli-" Mormon" Crusade 
 begun in 1884. 
 
 WRITTEN IN PRISON 
 
 BY JOHN T^ICHDLSQN, / 8 *3 9 ~ I 
 
 'A Convict for Conscience Sake.' 
 
 cm, 
 
6-ot 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE narrative which forms the principal fea- 
 ture of this little volume was penned under pecu- 
 liar circumstances. Such a condition as privacy 
 has practically no existence in the Utah Peniten- 
 tiary. The writing was therefore done by snatches, 
 in the midst of varied and almost incessant noises, 
 in the eating room, bunk-house or yard, as occa- 
 sion presented or necessity demanded. This fact 
 should perhaps be a sufficient apology for any 
 defects it may contain. The story has one good 
 quality, however it is strictly true. On that 
 ground it is with pleasure presented to the 
 
 public by 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THE MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH STANDING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 How the Story was obtained. Rudger Clawson. His Na- 
 tivity, Appearance and Characteristic*. Conviction and 
 sentence. First Definition of "Unlawful Cohabitation." 
 Speech in Court. Punished for Belief. Prison Kxpe- 
 rience. Page 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Mission to Georgia. A Dream and its fulfilment. A 
 tramp in the dark. Entertained by Mr. Hol.ston. A 
 sense of approaching Danger. 12 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Captured by a howling Mob. Their brutal Threats and Con- 
 duct. Standing's Manner and Expostulations. lludger 
 receives a Blow. Honest Owensby and his Horse. A 
 heroic Girl. Scene of the Murder. "Shoot that Man." 
 Horrible Spectacle. " This is terrible. 1 ' 17 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A terror-incited Run. A cold-blooded Woodchopper. Rud- 
 ger starts for Catoosa. He confronts a startling Danger. 
 What was done at Catoosa. Significant Correspond- 
 ence. Holston visits the body. A fresh horror for 
 Rudger. The Inquest. 31 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A Friend in need. A sad Procession. Rndger's melan- 
 choly Task. Arrival of the Officers of the Law. Dif- 
 ficulties met in preparing the Body for transporta- 
 tion. The arrival Home. Page 45 
 
 CHA?TER VI. 
 
 Rudger returns to Georgia in the capacity of a Witness. 
 Holston's Peril. How the Murderers were captured. 
 The Trial. Attendant Circumstances. The Result. 
 Rudger returns Home. Memento of tim young 
 Martyr. 54 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Utah Penitentiary, Enclosure and Buildings. 79 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Officers. Prison Fare. Discipline. 93 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Those who have been Incarcerated for conscience' sake. 
 Their Offense*, Pleas, and Penalties. Brief Biographical 
 Notes and Personal References. 103 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Conclusion. 155 
 
THE 
 
 Martyrdom of Joseph Standing; 
 
 OR, THE 
 
 MURDER OF A "MORMON" MISSIONARY, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 How the Story was obtained. Rudger Clawson. His Na- 
 tivity, Appearance and Characteristics. Conviction and 
 sentence. First Definition of "Unlawful Cohabitation." 
 Speech in Court. Punished for Belief. Prison Expe- 
 rience. 
 
 'HE author was among the more early vic- 
 tims of the legal raid instituted against 
 the Latter-day Saints under the "Edmunds Act," 
 which prescribes penalties for polygamy and 
 ''unlawful cohabitation." 
 
 The rule in the courts has been, when a man 
 has been placed in jeopardy for the latter offense, 
 to inflict the full penalty, without reference to 
 the character of the plea or other mitigating cir- 
 cumstances, unless he made a pledge to the judge 
 in relation to his future conduct. 
 
D THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 This promise, reduced to a plain statement of 
 the situation, requires the person making it to 
 repudiate a principle of his religion and cast a 
 portion of his family adrift. 
 
 Such an agreement being at direct variance 
 with our conceptions of duty, honor and integ- 
 rity, we declined to be a party to it. 
 
 Having been previously convicted of "unlawful 
 cohabitation" (living with and supporting our 
 wives), we were, on the thirteenth day of October, 
 1885, sentenced byliis honor, Chief Justice Zane, 
 to imprisonment in the Utah Penitentiary for six 
 months and to pay a fine of $300 and costs of 
 the prosecution. We entered the penitentiary 
 the same day. 
 
 It is not the intention to present a relation of 
 personal experience while in prison, but the fore- 
 going brief preliminary statement is given simply 
 by way of explanation as to how we obtained the 
 particulars of the tragic story which constitutes 
 the chief feature of this volume. 
 
 While a prisoner we had an excellent oppor- 
 tunity of becoming intimately acquainted with 
 Rudger Clawson, whom we have learned to esteem 
 and respect, on account of some sterling qualities 
 he possesses. Added to a sound understanding 
 of the principles of the Gospel, he has an un- 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 7 
 
 usual degree of personal courage, both moral and 
 physical, and integrity from which, up to this 
 time, he has never swerved. 
 
 He was born in Salt Lake City, on the twelfth 
 of March, 1857, an issue of plural marriage, being 
 the son of Hiram B. Clawson and Margaret Gay 
 Judd Clawson. 
 
 Rudger is slightly under medium height, and 
 of stout build. His face is oval shaped' and in- 
 clined to be plump. He has clear grey eyes; the 
 nose is somewhat large, and has a tendency toward 
 the Roman type ; sufficiently so to give the impres- 
 sion of resoluteness. This feature gives a stronger 
 intimation of firmness than the mouth, which is 
 small, the lips being full and not usually closely 
 compressed. Although he is in his thirtieth 
 year, his appearance is more youthful than that 
 age would generally denote. 
 
 He has been a subject of considerable interest 
 in the community of Latter-day Saints and else- 
 where, on account of being conspicuously con- 
 nected with some circumstances of public promi- 
 nence. 
 
 The case which culminated in his being sent to 
 prison for a term of four years was the initiatory 
 one under the Edmunds Act, consequently he was 
 the first victim of the present anti-"Mormon" raid. 
 
8 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 He was convicted of polygamy and unlawful 
 cohabitation on the twenty-fifth day of October, 
 1884. On the first and more important count he 
 was sentenced to imprisonment for three years 
 and six months, and to pay a fine of $500, and on 
 the second to be incarcerated for six months and 
 to pay a fine of $300, the whole aggregating a 
 penalty of four years and $800. 
 
 In charging the jury, Judge Zane gave his first 
 definition of what constituted "unlawful cohabita- 
 tion." He stated that in order to justify a verdict 
 of guilty it was essential that the evidence should 
 show a reasonable probability that there had been 
 sexual commerce between the defendant and his 
 plural wife. The flagrant manner in which he 
 somersaulted from that position in order to insure 
 convictions in subsequent cases is a matter of 
 public notoriety. 
 
 When the judge asked the defendant on the 
 day appointed for the judgment November 3, 1884, 
 if he had anything to say why sentence should 
 not be passed upon him, Rudger responded thus : 
 "Your honor: Since the jury that recently sat 
 on my case have seen proper to find a verdict of 
 guilty, I have only this to say why judgment 
 should not be passed upon me : 
 
 "I very much regret that the laws of my 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 9 
 
 country should come in conflict with the laws of 
 God; but whenever they do, I shall invariably 
 choose to obey the latter. If I did not so ex- 
 press myself I should feel unworthy of the 
 cause I represent. The Constitution of the 
 United States expressly provides that Congress 
 shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
 religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. 
 It cannot be denied, I think, that marriage, when 
 attended and sanctioned by religious rites and 
 ceremonies, is an establishment of religion. The 
 anti-polygamy law of 1862 and the Edmunds law 
 of 1882 were expressly designed to operate against 
 marriage as believed in and practiced by the 
 Latter-day Saints. They are therefore unconsti- 
 tutional, and, of course, cannot command the 
 respect that constitutional laws would. That is 
 all I have to say, your honor." 
 
 In the subsequent remarks of Judge Zane that 
 official said that every man had the right to 
 worship according to the dictates of his con- 
 science, and to entertain any belief that his 
 reason and judgment might dictate. 
 
 This was followed by this flat contradiction of 
 his own theory : 
 
 " You violated it (the Edmunds Act), as you say, 
 with the understanding that you had a right to 
 
10 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 do so because there was a higher law by which 
 you govern your conduct. That being so, it 
 makes the case somewhat aggravated * 
 I confess that I should have felt inclined to 
 fix the punishment smaller than I shall were it 
 not for the fact that you openly declare that you 
 believe it is right to violate the law, in that you 
 believe you are right in doing it." 
 
 Thus was the proposition that belief and wor- 
 ship were exempt from legal punatory process, 
 practically controverted by the judgment of the 
 functionary who expounded it. The defendant 
 received a heavier punishment on account of his 
 belief; consequently all that part of the penalty 
 that was in excess of what would have been 
 inflicted in the absence of a certain belief was 
 imposed because of its presence in the mind of 
 the defendant. 
 
 It is no purpose of this sketch to describe the 
 disagreeable position in which Rudger Clawson 
 found himself during the first six months of his 
 incarceration, not only because of the ordinary 
 discomforts and inconveniencies of prison_life, but 
 as well on account of the deep-seated and un- 
 reasonable prejudice that existed in the minds of 
 his fellow-convicts in relation to himself and the 
 Church with which he was identified. Among 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 11 
 
 the latter, however, he found a few friends, who 
 stood by him in his isolation. 
 
 If any one wishes to witness the extremest 
 forms in which human prejudice can find expres- 
 sion, they can be amply satisfied by residing for a 
 time in this place of imprisonment. Then he 
 could form some idea of the position in which 
 Rudger was for a time placed, there being no soul 
 of his own faith within those walls except Brother 
 Joseph Evans, whose case was the next in order 
 of date to his own. Those feelings of antipathy 
 have gradually modified, however, until it has 
 been supplanted by a sentiment of respect, and in 
 many instances, even friendliness for most of the 
 " Mormon " inmates of the penitentiary. 
 
 But it is not upon this phase of Brother Claw- 
 son's career that the writer proposes to dwell. It 
 receives a merely incidental, or rather introduc- 
 tory mention. There is a thrilling chapter in his 
 experience, the story of which has never been 
 presented to the public in a connected and thor- 
 oughly intelligible form. It inculcates an event 
 of momentous historical importance, being none 
 other than the assassination, by a mob of religious 
 fanatics, of Elder Joseph Standing, near Varnell's 
 Station, Whitfield County, Georgia, on Sunday, 
 July 21st, 1879. The chief reason for the penning 
 
12 
 
 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 of this sketch is that the details of that tragedy 
 may be presented in a definite and consecutive 
 shape. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Mission to Georgia. A Dream and its fulfilment. A 
 tramp in the dark. Entertained by Mr. Holston. A 
 sense of approaching Danger. 
 
 'N 1879, Rudger was called to go on a preach- 
 ing mission to the Southern States, and pro- 
 ceeded to his field in the early part of that year. 
 He labored in the State of Georgia, associated with 
 Elder Joseph Standing. Before he reached that 
 part of the country the latter had accomplished a 
 good work in Whitfield County; particularly in 
 the neighborhood of VarnelPs Station, where he 
 had succeeded in raising up a branch of the 
 Church. 
 
 A short time before he was murdered, Brother 
 Standing had a dream which made a powerful 
 impression upon his mind, and caused him to 
 have forebodings of approaching trouble. He told 
 it to Rudger, and several times subsequently to 
 other persons in his presence. It was about as 
 
JOSEPH STANDING 13 
 
 follows, as near as his precise language can be 
 recollected : 
 
 " I thought I went to Varnell's Station, when 
 suddenly clouds of intense blackness gathered 
 overhead and all around me. I visited a family 
 who were connected with the Church. The mo- 
 ment I entered their house the most extreme con- 
 sternation seized them, and they made it clear 
 beyond any possibility of doubt that my presence 
 was objectionable. They appeared to be influenced 
 by a sense of great fearfulness. There was no 
 clearing away of the clouds nor abatement of the 
 restlessness of the people, when I suddenly awoke, 
 without my being shown the end of the trouble." 
 
 In the meantime a conference was appointed to 
 be held in Rome, Georgia, and Elders Standing 
 and Clawson received an invitation to be present 
 and participate in the proceedings. They accord- 
 ingly set out on a journey to that point. Stand- 
 ing decided that a call should be made, on the 
 way, at Varnell's Station, that they might visit 
 some of the Saints, most of whom were new 
 members of the Church. They reached that place 
 on the evening of Saturday, July 9th, and 
 
 proceeded to the residence of J . As 
 
 soon as they got to the house the inmates seemed 
 to be in a state of great excitement. They said 
 
14 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 that threats had been made against the brethren, 
 and the feeling toward them in the neighborhood 
 was bitter and murderous. They declined to allow 
 them to stop over night, because if anything hap- 
 pened they would have to share the trouble. 
 
 This reception chilled the feelings of the Elders, 
 and Eudger said to himself involuntarily : "This 
 is the fulfilment of Joseph's dream." 
 
 "What shall we do?" said the missionaries. "It 
 is now nine o'clock, and getting quite dark. Can 
 you tell us of a place where we can find shelter ?" 
 
 " Yes," said J , " you can go to Holston's, 
 
 a mile and a half further on. He will doubtless 
 entertain you." 
 
 There being no alternative, the two travelers 
 
 left the house of the J 's and set out for 
 
 that of Henry Holston, who was not a member of 
 the Church, but had shown a very friendly dis- 
 position toward the Elders. They trudged through 
 the thickly wooded country, about one half of 
 the way in pitchy darkness. 
 
 On reaching the Holston place, they discovered 
 that the family had retired. In response to a 
 knock, the voice of the proprietor was soon heard, 
 saying, "Who is there?" 
 
 "Standing and Clawson," was the reply. 
 
 "Well?" said Mr. Holston, in that peculiar in- 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 15 
 
 tonation that gave the impression that he was 
 slightly hesitating about extending his hospitality. 
 
 The situation was briefly explained, the relation 
 winding up with "We would like the privilege 
 of stopping over night." 
 
 The door instantly opened, and Mr. Holston 
 said, with that cordiality for which he was noted, 
 "Come in." 
 
 After the brethren entered he was very kind. 
 He explained to them, however, that there was 
 danger in the air. Threats of mobbing, whip- 
 ping and even killing the Elders had been freely 
 made, and he expected to get into trouble on 
 account of entertaining them. He said, however, 
 that he would take his chances on that head and 
 would defend them so long as they were under 
 his roof. 
 
 When the guests entered the room assigned them, 
 Standing appeared pale, anxious and determined. 
 It is not known whether his dream had occurred 
 to him on account of the situation, as no expres- 
 sion from him denoted that such was the case. 
 It was evident, however, that he was impressed 
 with a premonition of approaching danger. He 
 had always felt an intense horror of being 
 whipped and more than once had declared that 
 he would rather die than be subjected to such an 
 
16 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 indignity. Notwithstanding that he appeared to 
 be deeply impressed with a sense of the near 
 presence 'of danger, he was naturally a courageous 
 young man. 
 
 He carefully examined the windows and se- 
 curely fastened them. He then got hold of an 
 iron bar, which he placed in such a position as to 
 be within easy reach of his hand, in case of 
 necessity. 
 
 "What is the meaning of these precautions?" 
 said Rudger. 
 
 " I expect the mob to-night, and I want to be 
 ready to receive them," was the resolute response. 
 
 "I don't think we will be disturbed," said the 
 imperturbable Rudger, who forthwith fell into a 
 sound slumber, from which he did not awake till 
 broad daylight. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 17 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Captured by a howling Mob. Their brutal Threats and Con- 
 duct. Standing's Manner and Expostulations. Rudger 
 receives a Blow. Honest Owensby and his Horse. A 
 heroic Girl. Scene of the Murder. "Shoot that Man." 
 Horrible Spectacle. -"This is terrible. 1 ' 
 
 sEXT morning was the Sabbath, and the 
 weather was clear and beautiful, all nature 
 appearing to rest in peaceful serenity. The two 
 Elders set out to go to the house at which they 
 were received with such meagre hospitality the 
 night previous, for the purpose of getting their 
 satchels, etc., and bringing them on to Mr. Hol- 
 ston's place. They found the J s still fear- 
 ful because of the bitter feeling they knew existed 
 in the neighborhood toward the brethren, and the 
 stay of the latter was brief. 
 
 The road between J 's and Holston's was 
 
 densely wooded on both sides. On the way back 
 to the residence of the latter, turning a bend the 
 two young missionaries suddenly came in full 
 view of a posse of twelve men. Some were 
 mounted, the remainder were afoot and all were 
 armed. As soon as they caught sight of the 
 
 Elders they set up, unitedly, the most demoniacal 
 2 
 
18 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 yells of exultation, and came rushing toward 
 them like a pack of hungry wolves who had dis- 
 covered the prey they were about to tear to pieces 
 and devour. 
 
 The feelings that were inspired in Joseph 
 Standing at this appalling spectacle can only be 
 judged by his appearance. His face was pale as 
 death, his features rigid, while his eye betokened 
 the intensity of the subdued excitement under 
 which he labored. 
 
 The sensations that passed through Rudger's 
 mind and frame were entirely new to him, as he 
 was now facing a danger that had no parallel in 
 any former incident of his life, which he thought 
 he was about to be compelled to surrender. 
 
 The names of those who composed this blood- 
 thirsty band of murderous ruffians, whose cruel 
 and dastardly deed will cause them to be branded 
 with eternal infamy, are : 
 
 David D. Nations, Jasper N. Nations, A. S. Smith, 
 David Smith, Benjamin Clark, William Nations, 
 Andrew Bradley, James Faucett, Hugh Blair, Jos. 
 Nations, Jefferson Hunter and Mack McLure. 
 
 The expressions upon the faces of those fiends 
 incarnate were in unison with the vengeful 
 sounds which had just escaped from their throats. 
 They were laboring under the excitement of 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 19 
 
 passion to such an extent that their frames shook 
 and some of them foamed at the mouth. 
 
 As soon as they came up Joseph Standing, in a 
 clear voice, loud enough to be heard by all of 
 them, said: 
 
 "Gentlemen: By what authority are we thus 
 molested upon the public highway? If you have 
 a warrant of arrest or any other legal process to 
 serve upon us, we would like to examine, it, that 
 we may be satisfied as to your authority to inter- 
 fere with our movements." 
 
 " We'll show you by what authority we act," 
 some of them shouted. 
 
 One of the mounted mobbers then jumped from 
 his horse and approached Rudger with a cocked 
 revolver. He flourished this weapon, whirling it 
 menacingly in the face of the young man, who 
 looked down the muzzle of an implement of that 
 character for the first time. It is perhaps needless 
 to state that it looked exceedingly formidable to 
 him. The murderous fellow who performed this 
 part of the programme accompanied his threat- 
 ening antics with the most foul and blasphemous 
 abuse, while his companions were moving around 
 and indulging in vile and profane cursings. The 
 excitement of Bradley a large and powerful 
 man was singularly noticeable. He was on 
 
20 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 horseback and was holding a double barrelled 
 shotgun in front of him, across his animal, with 
 both hands. He shook so that the weapon bobbed 
 about as if he were about to drop it. 
 
 "Come with us," was the command from the 
 mob. 
 
 The singular procession then started back in 
 the same direction from which the Elders had 
 come. 
 
 Standing appeared to be laboring under a ter- 
 rible strain. His face continued overspread with 
 a deathly pallor; he walked rapidly, and with his 
 figure erect as an arrow. He moved so quickly 
 that he kept pace with the front line of the mob- 
 bers, with whom he constantly reasoned and ex- 
 postulated. " It is not our intention," said he " to 
 remain in this part of the State. If we had been 
 unmolested we would have been away in a very 
 short time. We use no inducements to persuade 
 people to join our Church. We preach what we 
 understand to be the truth and leave people to 
 embrace it or not, as they may choose," etc. 
 
 Such expostulations had not the slightest effect 
 in mollifying the lawless band, but rather exas- 
 perated them all the more. Indeed it was not 
 what the missionaries might do for which these 
 base fellows had resolved to punish them, but for 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 21 
 
 what had already been done, some of the best and 
 most respected people in that section having em- 
 braced the gospel through Elder Standing's min- 
 istrations. They said: "The government of the 
 the United States is against you, and there is no 
 law in Georgia for Mormons." 
 
 Rudger manifested no hurry in accompanying 
 the gang. His overwhelming sentiment on that 
 subject was one of reluctance. He could see no 
 developments ahead but those of a most appalling 
 character, and he was the reverse of anxious to 
 hasten their consummation. He expected he was 
 going to his death, and he had no desire to meet 
 the grim monster any sooner than might be com- 
 pulsory. He walked rather slowly, in order that 
 he might not get too far ahead of his inclinations. 
 
 One of the ruffians, becoming exasperated at 
 his tendency to lag, came up behind and struck 
 him a terrible blow on the back of the head. Be- 
 ing stunned for the moment, Rudger reeled and 
 fell forward, saving his body from the full shock 
 of the fall by extending his hands. Recovering 
 speedily, he was on his feet in an instant, his heart 
 fired with consuming rage. He turned for the 
 purpose of identifying his cowardly assailant, and 
 found him to be a young man probably the most 
 youthful person of .the party. Rudger knew that 
 
22 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 to resent the brutal outrage would be certain and 
 almost instant death. He looked at him, how- 
 ever, in such a mamier as to convey all the con- 
 tempt that could be indicated by facial expression. 
 
 This seemed to enrage the wretch almost as 
 much as if he had received "blow for blow." 
 Shortly after the helpless victim of his attack had 
 resumed the melancholy line of march, the fellow 
 assaulted him again. He raised a heavy club and 
 was about to bring it down upon Rudger's head 
 with all the force he was capable of using, when 
 another member of the band seized his arm and 
 told him to desist. 
 
 On proceeding a short distance further the party 
 beheld a spectacle that, notwithstanding the seri- 
 ous character of the situation, caused some to 
 show that they sensed its ludicrousness, by an in- 
 voluntary smile. They came suddenly upon an 
 old man, apparently about sixty years of age, 
 mounted upon an alleged horse. 
 
 The name of this person was Jonathan 
 Owensby. He was ponderous, even to hugeness, 
 but not from excess of adipose. He was tall, raw- 
 boned, loose-jointed and sinewy. As he sat, or 
 rather hung upon his horse, he reminded one of a 
 bundle of knotty slabs. His face and head were 
 large, and his complexion bordered upon the hue 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 23 
 
 of tanned leather, the skin having a harmonious 
 appearance of similar toughness. The features 
 were large, projecting and craggy, the forehead re- 
 ceding with marked abruptness, leaving a jutting 
 ledge, on the lower part, covered with a thick 
 growth of shaggy hair, in the form of eye-brows, 
 from under which peered a pair of poorly matched 
 grey eyes. While the right optic gazed at you 
 steadfastly the other seemed to be "taking in" the 
 landscape on the left. 
 
 The animal upon which this peculiar person 
 rode completed the picture. It looked as if 
 nature had begun the work of making a horse 
 and abandoned the job after having put the frame 
 together. 
 
 Notwithstanding the forbidding character of 
 Jonathan Owensby's personal appearance, his 
 reputation for truthfulness and general honesty 
 was' second to none in the section of the country 
 where he resided. A circumstance connected with 
 the tragedy, the particulars leading to which are 
 now being related, bore out the correctness of the 
 estimate popularly placed upon the good man's 
 character. 
 
 Addressing Jonathan, one of the mobbers said: 
 " Is there anything the matter with your horse? 
 If there is, these men are Elders of the ' Mormon ' 
 
24 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 Church, and will heal it by the laying on of 
 hands." 
 
 " I don't think there is anything the matter 
 with him," said the old man, as he smiled grimly 
 and passed on his way. 
 
 The party at this juncture turned out of the 
 main road and went deeper into the woods. They 
 had scarcely more than taken this change of 
 route when they met a young girl named Mary 
 Harnlin. It subsequently transpired that she and 
 her mother, who were friendly to the Elders, had 
 seen the mob and feared greatly that they might 
 meet the brethren and kill them. At the sugges- 
 tion of Mrs. Hamlin, her daughter set out to in- 
 tercept the missionaries, put them on their guard 
 and enable them to evade the mobbers. She 
 was just a little too late, but it was no fault 
 of this heroic girl, who had traveled with all the 
 speed she could command. 
 
 When she comprehended the situation her face 
 assumed a bleachy whiteness. 
 
 A terrible fear, combined with a determined 
 resolution seized upon Rudger. Doubtless the 
 mind of Brother Standing was similarly exercised. 
 Knowing the unscrupulous characters of those who 
 held the Elders in custody, an idea shot through 
 his mind that they might commit an outrage 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 25 
 
 upon the girl. In that event any attempt to pre- 
 vent them consummating such a purpose would 
 be certain death to himself and companion, 
 yet he resolved to make it. Unarmed and 
 helpless as he was, he purposed selling his life as 
 dearly as possible, if need be, in defending this 
 innocent young woman. 
 
 One of the men said : " You see we have got 
 your brethren. As soon as we dispose of their 
 case we purpose attending to you." 
 
 "The Lord is with them and my prayers are 
 forever for them," replied Mary, the tones of her 
 voice evincing deep emotion. She then went on 
 her way. 
 
 At this juncture three of the members of the 
 party who were on horseback left the main body 
 and made a detour, probably to reconnoitre or to 
 get others to join them in their villainous work. 
 
 The remainder, in charge of the two intended 
 victims of their satanic hate, proceeded a short 
 distance further, when they reached a lovely spot 
 a spring of clear water, overshadowed by a 
 huge, outspreading tree. Here a halt was made 
 and the party seated themselves around the mir- 
 ror-like pool. 
 
 From the time the Elders were captured by the 
 mob, Standing seemed to be affected with a burn- 
 
26 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 ing thirst, probably occasioned by the suppressed 
 excitement under which he was laboring. On the 
 way he several times appealed to his captors for 
 water, and now an opportunity was presented for 
 the first time for him to obtain it. 
 
 One of the men, pointing to the spring, told 
 him to drink. 
 
 The young man was furthest from the pool, and 
 in order to reach it w r ould have to pass close to 
 several of the mobbers, and while reclining to 
 reach the water would be an easy prey to any of 
 the blood-thirsty crew who might take advantage 
 of his prone position to do him violence. This 
 probability appeared to flash across his mind, and 
 he said: "I don't wish to drink now." 
 
 The man who told him to slake his thirst evi- 
 dently divined what was passing through his 
 mind, and said: "You needn't be afraid; you can 
 drink, as we will not hurt you while you do so." 
 
 Standing went to the spring and took a copious 
 draught. He was still very pale, his features 
 rigid, and overspread with an expression of deep 
 anxiety . 
 
 After he had returned to his place, James 
 Faucett, aged about sixty years, and who was 
 seated upon a horse, addressing the Elders, deliv- 
 ered himself as follows: 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 27 
 
 " I want you men to understand that I am the 
 captain of this party, and that if we ever again 
 find you in this part of the country we will hang 
 you by the neck like dogs." 
 
 A general desultory conversation ensued, in the 
 course of which the vilest accusations were laid 
 against the "Mormons," the beastly talk of the 
 mobbers merely serving to show the depravity 
 and corruption of their own hearts. They be- 
 trayed a deep-seated hatred of Elder John Morgan. 
 They were desirous of ascertaining his where- 
 abouts from the Elders, and appeared disap- 
 pointed on learning from them that he was at 
 that time in Utah. 
 
 The space of about one hour was consumed in 
 this way, when the three horsemen who had left 
 the party came in sight. As they rode up, one of 
 them exclaimed: "Follow us." 
 
 At this time Joseph Standing was sitting with 
 his back toward the horsemen, but no sooner had 
 the command embodied in the two words quoted 
 been uttered than he leaped to his feet with a 
 bound, instantly wheeled so as to face them, 
 brought his two hands together with a sudden 
 slap, and shouted in a loud, clear, resolute voice 
 "Surrender." 
 
 A man seated close to him pointed his pistol at 
 
28 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 him and fired. Young Standing whirled or spun 
 three times round upon his feet, fell heavily for- 
 ward upon the ground, turned once over, bring- 
 ing him face upward, and spread his arms widely 
 out, his form being in such a position as to be in 
 the shape of a cross. 
 
 As if moved by one impulse all those who had 
 been seated upon the ground arose to their feet. 
 Suddenly a member of the party, pointing to 
 Rudger, said to his companions, in an authorita- 
 tive tone " Shoot that man." 
 
 In an instant, every weapon was turned upon 
 the defenseless young missionary, who felt that 
 his last moment on earth had come and that in a 
 few seconds he would be launched into eternity. 
 He fully realized the situation, his feelings being 
 intensified by the expectation that a bullet was 
 about to crash through his brain, the very idea of 
 which had always been to him most horrible. 
 
 The murderous wretches paused a moment 
 with their weapons leveled upon their proposed 
 victim, who folded his arms showing an out- 
 ward calmness at the most extreme variance with 
 his inward feelings and said with apparent de- 
 liberation: "Shoot." 
 
 The suspense of a lifetime seemed to be thrown 
 into the next few seconds. A whirling sensation 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 29 
 
 passed over his brain and then all was dark. 
 This condition was but momentary, and when he 
 recovered the position was unaltered the mur- 
 derous ruffians still stood with their guns and 
 pistols pointed at him. The man who had 
 directed that the young Elder be murdered sud- 
 denly changed his mind and countermanded the 
 first order by shouting " Don't shoot." 
 
 The men at once lowered their arms. They 
 then appeared to sense the horrible character of 
 the deed that had been committed. As soon as 
 it flashed fully upon them, they were seized with 
 sudden consternation and instinctively rushed to- 
 gether in a compact group, as if seeking mutual 
 protection from each other, from the probable 
 consequences of the bloody act. 
 
 Rudger walked over to where young Standing 
 was lying, stooped and looked into his face. The 
 spectacle that met his gaze sent a shock through 
 his system that can never be erased from his 
 memory. There lay his companion, recently in 
 the full vigor of life and health bright, capable 
 and intelligent in the throes of death. There 
 was a large ghastly wound in the forehead, 
 directly above the nose, the right eye had been 
 torn out, the brain was oozing from the place 
 where the bullet entered, and the death-rattle was 
 
30 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 sounding in his throat. .Rudger gently raised 
 the dying man's head and placed his hat under 
 it to keep it out of the dust. He was then seized 
 with a deep sense of grief, succeeded by a feeling 
 of utter loneliness, which may well be imagined 
 from the appalling character of the situation. 
 Under the circumstances, he could but put his 
 trust in God, who, for a wise purpose, had per- 
 mitted one of His faithful servants to be brutally 
 murdered. 
 
 As Rudger stood gazing at his friend and com- 
 panion, he. was approached by one of the Nations 
 brothers, who said with a strong emphasis upon 
 the last word of each exclamation : " This is ter- 
 rible! This is terrible! This is terrible; that he 
 should have killed himself in such a manner." 
 
 The missionary perceived the intention to re- 
 sort to the suicide theory, and deeming it both 
 imprudent and unsafe to openly repudiate it, 
 replied: "Yes, it is terrible." 
 
 Then realizing the danger of giving the gang 
 any time to sense the fact that to permit him to 
 escape alive would be a menace to their safety, 
 he saw there was no time to be lost. 
 
 He exclaimed: "Gentleman, it is a burning 
 shame to leave a man to die in the woods in this 
 fashion. For heaven's sake either you go and 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 31 
 
 procure assistance that the body may be removed 
 and cared for, or allow me to do so." 
 
 He urged this point so earnestly and vehem- 
 ently that the gang consulted a moment and 
 then, turning to him, said : " You go." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A terror- incited Run. A cold-blooded Woodchopper. Rud- 
 ger starts for Catoosa. He confronts a startling Danger. 
 What was done at Catoosa. Significant Correspond- 
 ence. Holston visits the body. A fresh horror for 
 Rudger. The Inquest. 
 
 T need scarcely be said that he did not wait 
 upon the order of his going, but went at 
 once. He felt that he had urgent business at a 
 convenient distance from that mob, and that he 
 could not breathe unrestrainedly while within 
 range of the villainous crowd. 
 
 Before he could reach a wooded part of the 
 country it was necessary to cross an open space 
 extending a distance of about twenty rods. He 
 had an almost uncontrollable desire to run, but 
 he dared not do so lest that course might cause 
 the lawless fellows to change their minds. He 
 
32 THE MARTYKDOM OF 
 
 walked rapidly, however, yet it seemed to him 
 like a journey of fifty miles. Every moment he 
 was expecting to be shot in the back, and the 
 relief he experienced when he reached cover is 
 beyond the power of description. 
 
 As soon as he was out of the sight of the mur- 
 derers/Rudger almost flew through the air. Urged 
 on by a terrible desperation, his feet scarcely 
 touched the ground as he placed the greatest 
 practicable distance between himself and his 
 enemies in the least possible time. The house of 
 Mr. Holston, about two miles distant from the 
 scene of the tragedy, was the objective point of the 
 race he was running. When he had proceeded 
 about a mile he heard a sound of chopping in the 
 woods. It fell like sweet music upon his ear, as 
 he thought it probably indicated the near prox- 
 imity of some one who might prove "a friend in 
 need" a welcome change, in view of the experi- 
 ence of the last few hours. 
 
 He hailed the wood-chopper, by shouting 
 " Halloo." 
 
 " Halloo," responded the axe-wielder. - Rudger 
 located the source of the sound, but was on the 
 other side of a creek from the owner of the voice. 
 Without seeing him he called to him in entreat- 
 ing tones: "A man has just been murdered in 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 33 
 
 cold blood about a mile from here. Will you, 
 for heaven's sake, go with me to the spot and 
 assist in removing the body?" 
 
 After a pause came the heartless response : "No; 
 I haven't time." 
 
 Rudger resumed his run for Mr. Holston's 
 house, at which he soon afterwards arrived. 
 
 That gentleman had been informed by persons 
 who had seen the armed mob that the lives of 
 the Elders were in danger ; he was therefore par- 
 tially prepared for the tale of blood which was 
 hurriedly related to him. 
 
 Said Rudger: "Will you go and look after the 
 body while I go and obtain the services of a 
 coroner ? " 
 
 " Yes. I will go at once." 
 
 "Will you let me have the use of a horse?" 
 
 " Go to the stable and find an animal that will 
 suit your purpose." 
 
 Mr. Holston then left for the scene of the assas- 
 sination and Rudger started for Catoosa Springs, 
 where the coroner resided, on horseback. 
 
 The road to Catoosa was lonely, that part of the 
 country being but sparsely populated. Rudger 
 put the animal on which he rode upon its metal. 
 Doubtless it traveled at a speed that would have 
 satisfied any ordinary, and even some extraordi- 
 
34 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 nary demands. To the impatient and overstrained 
 mind of the rider it appeared like the progress of 
 a snail compared with the rapidity with which he 
 desired to go over the road. He reined up for a 
 moment, procured* a club and with this pummeled 
 the poor brute with it, in the desperate hope of 
 urging him to a quicker gallop. 
 
 By the direct route from Holston's to Catoosa, 
 the distance was about five miles, but owing to 
 his being misdirected he got out of his way, mak- 
 ing it seven miles by the route he took. 
 
 When about two miles from his destination, in 
 turning a curve in the road he beheld a group of 
 horsemen, numbering about six or seven approach- 
 ing him from a distance. They appeared to be in 
 a hurry, as they were traveling at a rapid rate. 
 
 When they came within about twenty rods of 
 Eudger, he was confronted with a new and unex- 
 pected terror he recognized them as members of 
 the gang who murdered Elder Standing. He 
 felt as if it would have been a relief for the earth 
 to suddenly open and swallow him. He antici- 
 pated neither more nor less than that the wretches 
 would assassinate him. 
 
 He could make a dash for cover, as the country 
 was wooded, and thus have a chance, meagre 
 though it might be, to escape. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 35 
 
 No sooner had this idea flashed upon his mind 
 than he abandoned it. He resolved to confront 
 the danger, although it appeared to involve cer- 
 tain death. The condition of his mind at meet- 
 ing, alone and defenseless, with those whose hands 
 were reeking with the blood of his late com- 
 panion, must be left to the imagination of the 
 reader. It cannot be adequately delineated by 
 the pen of mortal. The approaching party were 
 all armed. The courageous young man rode 
 forward. When he reached them, all reined up, 
 and he fully anticipated being shot down. He 
 expected no mercy. 
 
 "What have you done with Standing?" one of 
 them exclaimed. 
 
 "I have hot disturbed him, and I presume he 
 lies just where he fell." 
 
 "Where are you going?" 
 
 Rudger extended his arm westward and, point- 
 ing with his index finger, said : " I am going in 
 that direction." 
 
 Some of them smiled, and all rode on, their 
 departure lifting a load from Rudger's mind that 
 seemed like the removal of a mountain. It was 
 also like a rift in the clouds of a day of gloom 
 through which a cheering ray of light had 
 brightly glinted. 
 
36 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 The satisfaction of the mobbers at the answer 
 given by Rudger as to where he was going, is 
 easily explained. They imagined that he was 
 fleeing from the country and was traveling in hot 
 haste, in a terror-stricken state, for Utah. This 
 was precisely the impression he wished to make 
 upon them, and he misled them by pointing 
 toward Catoosa, which lay directly west from the 
 point where he encountered the party. 
 
 His meeting with them was a cause for astonish- 
 ment to him as well as terror. The reason for 
 their presence at that point was, however, quite 
 obvious. It was close to the line which separates 
 Georgia from Tennessee, and they were making 
 their way over the border into the latter State in 
 order to evade pursuit and arrest for murder by 
 the officers of the law. 
 
 Rudger pushed on to Catoosa, at which point 
 he shortly arrived. His first object was to find 
 the telegraph office, which was situated in the 
 large hall of a capacious hotel. 
 
 He was begrimed and dirty with travel from 
 head to foot, and his appearance upon the festive 
 scene that the spacious apartment presented was 
 extremely grotesque. The place was thronged 
 with pleasure-seekers, dressed in the gay habila- 
 ments of fashion. Strains of lively music floated 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 37 
 
 in the air while scores of people were whirling 
 merrily in the mazy meshes of the dance. 
 
 But the appearance of the sad traveler was no 
 more incompatible with the place and proceed- 
 ings than the latter were to the feelings that 
 possessed his soul. They seemed to him to be a 
 hollow mockery of his condition. Perhaps the 
 reader is more or less familiar with the sensation 
 created in the human breast oppressed by some 
 great grief occasioned by an irreparable loss, 
 when some thoughtless or unimformed individuals 
 break in upon his poignant reflections with bursts 
 of rude and boisterous jocularity. If so an 
 approximate idea may be formed as to the effect 
 produced upon the anxious traveler whose move- 
 ments are now being traced, by the new surround- 
 ings into which he was suddenly precipitated. 
 
 The following dispatch was at once forwarded 
 to the Governor of Georgia : 
 
 " CATOOSA SPRINGS, JULY 21sT, 1879. 
 
 "Governor Colquitt, Atlanta: 
 
 "Joseph Standing was shot and killed to-day, 
 near VarneH's, by a mob of ten or twelve men. 
 
 "RUDGER CLAWSON." 
 
 The annexed was also sent at the same time: 
 
38 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 "CATOOSA SPRINGS, GEORGIA, 
 
 " JULY 21sT, 1879. 
 
 " John Morgan, Salt Lake: 
 
 "Joseph Standing was shot and killed to-day , 
 near Varnell, by a mob of ten or twelve men. 
 Will leave for home with the body at once. Notify 
 
 his family. 
 
 "RuDGER CLAWSON." 
 
 It may appear to the reader that the dispatch 
 to Governor Colquitt was not sufficiently detailed,. 
 and that there might be, in consequence, some 
 danger of his misapprehending the character of 
 the tragedy, Any idea of that kind will be at 
 once dispelled by the following correspondence, 
 which explains that Mr. Colquitt was not only 
 familiar with Joseph Standing's identity, but also 
 with the situation as relating to anti-" Mormon " 
 sentiments and proceedings in Whitfield County: 
 
 "VAN ZANT STORE, 
 
 "FANNIN COUNTY, GA., 
 
 " JUNE 12TH, 1879. 
 
 "DEAR SIR: As an Elder of the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly 
 called "Mormons," I take this occasion to address 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 39 
 
 a few lines to you as the highest officer of the 
 State. 
 
 "I have recently received several letters from 
 members of our denomination residing at Varnell 
 Station, Whitfield County, informing me that 
 Elders of my profession have been obliged at 
 times to flee for their lives, as armed men to the 
 number of forty and fifty have come out against 
 them, and have also on various occasions entered 
 their houses in search of said Elders. 
 
 " I am fully aware, dear sir, that the popular 
 prejudice is very much against the " Mormons," 
 and that there are minor officers who have appar- 
 ently winked at the condition of affairs above 
 referred to. But I am also aware that the laws of 
 Georgia are strictly opposed to lawlessness and 
 extend to her citizens the right to worship God 
 according to the dictates of conscience. 
 
 " History, however, repeats itself, and the laws, 
 where prejudice exists, are not always executed 
 with impartiality. 
 
 " A word or line from the Governor would ^un- 
 doubtedly have the desired effect. Ministers of 
 the Gospel could then travel without fear]of being 
 stoned or shot and the houses of the Saints would 
 not be entered in defiance of all good law and 
 order. 
 
40 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 " Your kind attention to this matter will be duly 
 appreciated by 
 
 " Your humble and obedient servant, 
 
 "JOSEPH STANDING, 
 " Presiding Elder of the Georgia Conference. 
 
 "To His Excellency, Governor Colquitt, At- 
 lanta, Ga." 
 
 "ATLANTA, GA., JUNE 21sT, 1879. 
 
 "Mr. Jos. Standing, Van Zant Store, Ga.: 
 
 "DEAR SIR: In reply to your letter of the 12th 
 inst.. the Governor directs me to say that your 
 statement is entirely correct, that 'the laws of 
 Georgia are strictly opposed to all lawlessness,and 
 extend to her citizens the right of worshiping 
 God according to the dictates of conscience.' 
 
 "Under the provisions of our State constitu- 
 tion, the reformation of religious faith or of opin- 
 ion on any subject, cannot legitimately be the 
 object of legislation, and no human authority can 
 interfere with the right to worship God according 
 to the requirements of conscience. So long as 
 the conduct of men shall conform to the law, 
 they can not be molested and even for non-con- 
 formity thereto they can be interfered with only 
 as the law may direct. No individual or combin- 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 41 
 
 ation of individuals can assume to vindicate the 
 law. Courts and juries are instituted for that 
 purpose, and to them alone is committed the office 
 of legally ascertaining the perpetrations of crime, 
 and of awarding punishment therefor. 
 
 " The Governor regrets to hear the report you 
 give from Whitfield County. He will instruct 
 the State prosecuting attorney for that district to 
 inquire into the matter, and if the report be true, 
 to prosecute the offenders. I am, sir, 
 "Very respectfully yours, 
 
 " J. W. WARREN, 
 "Secretary Executive Department." 
 
 So far as known, the Governor, in the period 
 intervening between the date of his reply to 
 Elder Standing's letter and the tragedy, had 
 failed to fulfill his promise to take steps toward the 
 enforcement of the law against mobocracy in 
 Whitfield County. 
 
 After the coroner had been notified of what 
 had occurred, that official, his clerk and Rudger, 
 set out for Mr. Holston's place, where they 
 arrived at about five o'clock in the evening. 
 
 Mr. Holston then related to them the following 
 particulars : 
 
 "At the same time as Elder Clawson left for 
 
42 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 Catoosa, I set out for the scene of the assassina- 
 tion, and found Standing lying in his blood. I 
 examined the wound, and while doing so I dis- 
 covered that the young man was not yet dead. I 
 made another discovery that caused me to fear 
 every moment that I would be murdered myself, 
 as I was unarmed, and consequently not in a 
 position to defend myself. I saw armed men 
 members of the party who committed the mur- 
 der loitering about the edge of the adjacent 
 woods, closely watching my movements. Not- 
 withstanding the alarm I naturally felt under the 
 circumstances, I remained a sufficient length of 
 time to enable me to construct a shade of bows to 
 shelter the body from the scorching rays of the 
 sun, the weather being extremely hot. After 
 having performed that office, being about all I 
 could do under the circumstances, I returned 
 home." 
 
 A little party, consisting of the coroner and 
 clerk, Rudger, Mr ? Holston and four or five others 
 proceeded to the spot where the murder was com- 
 mitted. When they reached it the sun was 
 setting, and a group of awe-stricken and silent 
 people were standing around Brother Standing's 
 body. It was a solemn and impressive scene. 
 
 Eudger involuntarily approached the corpse 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 43 
 
 and discovered that some one had taken the hat 
 from under the head and placed it over the face 
 of the dead. He removed this temporary cover- 
 ing and looked into the now inanimate counte- 
 nance of his late companion and friend. His eyes 
 were saluted with a fresh horror. The fiends 
 incarnate who had slain an innocent and unof- 
 fending man in cold blood had not been satisfied 
 with inflicting a simple death wound. While he 
 lay there in his blood and the cold grasp of death, 
 they had approached their victim and shot into 
 one side of his face and neck until they were 
 fairly riddled with bullets. Those who discharged 
 the weapons used for this atrocious work must 
 have stood directly over the body, the parts in 
 which the leaden messengers were buried being 
 powder-burnt. 
 
 On first reflection the theory that suggests itself 
 as to the incentive that led to this barbarous 
 climax to a bloody outrage is that the perpetra- 
 tors were inspired with unmitigated satanic hate 
 that reached beyond this life and stepped into the 
 precincts of death. Bad and depraved as these 
 wretches were, such an explanation is probably 
 incorrect. The first mortal wound was inflicted 
 by one member of the party. Yet all were acces- 
 sory to, before and after the fact. It is not unusual 
 
44 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 for men who commit a common crime to enter 
 into compacts to stand by each other for mutual 
 protection against the just reward of their deeds. 
 It is likely therefore that those men agreed to 
 stand upon an undoubted common ground in 
 regard to the assassination of Joseph Standing, 
 and to make the obligation and understanding 
 -complete each actually fired into the person of 
 the victim. 
 
 A jury was empanelled on the spot and an 
 inquest held by the coroner. The testimony of 
 Rudger Clawson, Henry Holston and others was 
 taken. It was on information imparted by Mr. 
 Holston and some others who testified that the 
 names of the actual murderers were obtained. 
 This enabled the jury to return a clearly defined 
 verdict, which was to the effect that the deceased 
 came to his death by twenty gunshot wounds, 
 inflicted by means of weapons in the hands of 
 the twelve men whose names are given near the 
 beginning of this narrative. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A Friend in need. A sad Procession. Rudger's melan- 
 choly Task. Arrival of the Officers of the Law. Dif- 
 ficulties met in preparing the Body for transporta- 
 tion. The arrival Home. 
 
 | HEN the inquest was concluded, a momen- 
 tous question was broached by the coroner 
 he said: "What is to be done with the body?" 
 
 Not a soul responded, and an unbroken silence 
 pervaded the party for several minutes. No one 
 appeared willing to take the risk of becoming by 
 the performance of a humane and friendly act, a 
 probable victim of anti-" Mormon" hate and venge- 
 ance. It was a trying and critical moment for 
 poor Rudger, who stood apparently alone and 
 friendless in a strange country, under circum- 
 stances of a most perplexing as well as sorrowful 
 character. Of course he could say nothing. 
 
 There was one man who had stood by him 
 thus far. Had his friendship faded? As this 
 reflection passed through Rudger's mind that 
 same person the noble and generous-hearted 
 Holston broke the stillness and said : " Take the 
 body to my house." 
 
46 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 A large, wide plank was procured from an 
 adjacent deserted cabin. Upon this the corpse 
 was laid. Four pieces of wood were placed under 
 the board, so that eight men could carry the 
 inanimate burden. Rudger, the coroner and 
 Mr. Holston were among the pall-bearers who 
 carried this rude, extemporized bier. The others 
 were promiscuous persons who had gathered to 
 the spot from curiosity. 
 
 By the time the sad procession were ready to 
 march through the woods it was dark. They 
 had moved but a short distance until the gloom 
 was impenetrable. There was no symptom of a 
 breeze; not even enough to stir a leaf. Nothing 
 was heard but the dull tramp, tramp, tramp of the 
 bier-bearers, and the resounding echo of their foot- 
 falls, which were necessarily regular to maintain 
 the balance of the burden. The sombre nature 
 of the whole incident was painful in the extreme, 
 and especially so to him who was helping to bear 
 the body of his murdered friend, brother and 
 companion. 
 
 This monotonous gloom was suddenly relieved 
 by the human voice. The coroner addressed 
 Rudger: "What disposition do you propose to 
 make of the corpse?" 
 
 " I intend to take it home to Utah." 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 47 
 
 " I think such an idea is preposterous. I do 
 not believe you could find a railway company 
 who would give you transportation for it, and 
 even if you did they would probably throw it off 
 somewhere on the road. It appears to me that 
 the better way would be to bury the body here, 
 and then, in the course of two or three years, the 
 bones could be taken up and removed to any 
 point that might be desired." 
 
 " I view the matter quite differently," was the 
 resolute response. "I feel that the spirit of Elder 
 Standing would never be satisfied to have his 
 body buried where he was murdered. He would 
 prefer it to be laid away in the land where his 
 friends and kindred dwell. I should feel so if I 
 were in his place, and I intend doing in regard to 
 him as I would wish should be done by me under 
 similar circumstances." 
 
 This ended the conversation, and the bearers 
 of the body soon reached Mr. Holston's house. 
 
 A rude support was constructed in the front 
 yard of the premises, and on this the plank upon 
 which the body lay was placed. 
 
 At this juncture a new difficulty presented 
 itself no person present knew anything about 
 preparing a corpse for the casket. In this di- 
 lemma Rudger, who had never had the slightest 
 
48 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 experience in that line, was under the necessity 
 of undertaking the task. 
 
 A tallow candle was procured and placed near 
 the head of the body. A vessel of warm water 
 was brought and with these materials and some 
 cloths Rudger proceeded with the melancholy and 
 distressing work before him. It was a difficult 
 duty, as the blood that had flowed from the 
 wounds was spread over the* head, face and neck 
 of the corpse and had dried into a thick crust, 
 the hair being all clogged and matted. This labor 
 of love and friendship occupied a full hour, the 
 operator receiving no assistance or aid from the 
 group of curious on-lookers, who stood around 
 and gazed upon the weird spectacle. 
 
 The scene must be largely left to the imagina- 
 tion of the reader. Its constituents were unique 
 as well as solemn. The deepest silence prevailed, 
 the intense darkness was only relieved by the dull 
 rays of a tallow candle, whose dim flicker revealed 
 the ghastly face of the dead, and the sad and ear- 
 nest countenance and form of the young man who 
 was performing some of the last offices of affection 
 for his deceased friend. The awe-stricken spectators 
 who- were thrown into partial relief by the sub- 
 dued light of the sickly dip. The huge trees, 
 though scarcely perceptible, formed a fitting frame 
 
JOSEPH STANDING, 49 
 
 to the gloomy picture. Added to this were the 
 furtive and fearful glances cast by the people into 
 the dense darkness beyond, as if they anticipated 
 that at any moment the quiet of the place might 
 be suddenly interrupted by an incursion of blood- 
 thirsty anti-" Mormon " mobocrats. 
 
 Finally Rudger 's dreary task was finished, the 
 body being washed, and clothed in clean gar- 
 ments. A sheet was thrown over the corpse and 
 all retired into the house. 
 
 About this time the sheriff of Whitfield Coun- 
 ty, accompanied by a deputy and posse, arrived 
 from Dalton, a town of 9,000 inhabitants, dis- 
 tant about twelve miles. This officer was a tall, 
 sinewy man, of tawny complexion. His hair was 
 turning grey, and he had the appearance of a 
 person of about fifty years of age. He was ex- 
 ceedingly demonstrative and made strong pro- 
 fessions of interest in Rudger. To the latter this 
 was quite refreshing, because it was something 
 new, for even Mr. Holston was not loud in his 
 manifestations of friendliness. His friendship 
 was evinced by acts more than words. Alto- 
 gether Rudger thought the sheriff a pretty good 
 fellow, but was not favorably impressed by his- 
 deputy, a short, dumpy man, approaching middle 
 age, who was quite reserved. 
 
50 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 Said the sheriff: " Mr. Clawson, I very much 
 regret that such a cold-blooded murder should 
 have occurred in my county. I can assure you 
 that every possible effort will be made to capture 
 the perpetrators and bring them to justice." 
 
 The officer was informed of the fact that seven 
 of the assassins had been seen traveling with hot 
 haste toward the Tennessee border. 
 
 The posse then left, and, as it was approaching 
 midnight, Rudger retired to rest after passing 
 through an experience in one brief day that has 
 but few parallels in individual history. He slept 
 in undisturbed soundness until the blaze of the 
 following day had appeared in the full flush of 
 its brilliance. 
 
 A cursory examination revealed the fact that 
 Elder Standing's body had begun to decompose. 
 Rudger at once set out for Dalton to obtain a 
 metallic casket. He had on a former occasion 
 visited that place in c6mpany with his late de- 
 ceased companion, the news of whose assassina- 
 tion was now well known throughout the town. 
 It caused a profound sensation, and Rudger, be- 
 ing recognized, was a centre of attraction and 
 curiosity. He was plied with questions and ad- 
 vice on every hand. He was advised strongly 
 not to return to the vicinity of Varnell's to get 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 51 
 
 the body, as those who thus counseled him be- 
 lieved if he did his life would be taken. The 
 reply to all this was that he should go in any 
 event, no matter as to the risk he might run. 
 
 Rudger had no money, but the undertaker let 
 him have the casket, and forwarded it by con- 
 veyance to Holston's, he taking the young man's 
 word that he would obtain means for payment 
 within a few days. Accordingly he telegraphed 
 to Benedict, Hall & Co., of New York, for $200, 
 which was promptly furnished, with an assurance 
 from that firm that they could be commanded 
 for any further amount that might be needed. 
 
 Rudger, accompanied by an employe of the 
 undertaker's, followed the casket in a buggy. On 
 the way he related the circumstances of the mur- 
 der to his companion. He soon questioned his 
 own prudence in doing this, as the narrative so 
 excited that individual that he became almost 
 panic-stricken. Every now and then he would lean 
 out of the vehicle and peer into the woods and 
 along the road. He seemed to take every clump 
 for a group of anti-"Mormon" mobbers in am- 
 bush, and each bare and projecting limb of a 
 blighted tree seemed in his eyes to take the form 
 of a shotgun. His exclamations erstwhile were 
 in unison with his movements. 
 
52 THE MARTYRDOM OP 
 
 Holston's was reached at about five o'clock in 
 the evening. The body was soon enclosed, in the 
 metallic casket, and the undertaker's employe left 
 for the place from whence he came. 
 
 Next morning it was discovered that a fearful 
 stench emitted from the casket, not only showing 
 that decomposition was advancing rapidly, but 
 also that the case was not hermetically sealed. 
 This necessitated the conveyance of the body to 
 Dalton for re-enclosure. To accomplish this the 
 services of a team, wagon and driver and a couple 
 of scouts, were engaged. The latter were on foot 
 and walked about ten or fifteen rods ahead of the 
 wagon containing the corpse. Rudger rode on the 
 vehicle in company with the driver. 
 
 The employment of scouts was a precautionary 
 measure against a sudden surprise, as the road to 
 Dalton passed through VarnelPs Station, the 
 vicinity where Standing's murderers resided. 
 
 When within about half a mile of Varnell's, 
 Rudger said to the teamster : 
 
 "Are you armed?" 
 
 "Yes," was the meek response, the driver at 
 the same time producing from the pocket of his 
 coat a very innocent-looking weapon in the shape 
 of a pistol a few inches long, of the pepper-box 
 pattern, and of an antiquated appearance generally. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 53 
 
 The harmless aspect of this article, which was 
 barely entitled to be designated a firearm, caused 
 Rudger to smile. Being the most formidable 
 weapon within reach, however, he borrowed it, 
 got out of the wagon and tramped through the 
 woods, so as to give Yarn ell's as wide a berth as 
 practicable, while the team went straight on. 
 Notwithstanding the puny character of the pep- 
 per-box, in making that circuit he derived some 
 comfort from its temporary possession, and 
 marched along with it in his hand, cocked and 
 ready for action. 
 
 Dalton was reached in safety. The undertaker, 
 instead of removing the body from the case in 
 which it was enclosed, simply made a very large 
 one, placed the other in it and filled the interven- 
 ing space with cinders and dust from a locomo- 
 tive. This material being heavy, the combined 
 weight of the body and casing was thus increased 
 to nearly nine hundred pounds. 
 
 In this shape the corpse was conveyed by rail 
 to Utah, where Rudger arrived in charge of it on 
 the first day of August, 1879. The news of the 
 tragedy had created a deep sensation in the com- 
 munity of Latter-day Saints. At Ogden a brass 
 band, an organized body of members of the Young 
 Men's Improvement Associations, and a multi- 
 
54 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 tude of other people awaited the arrival at the 
 depot of that town. In Salt Lake also a con- 
 course of people had assembled at the Utah Cen- 
 tral railway station. By the time Rudger and his 
 sacred charge reached that point, however, night 
 had cast its sombre mantle over the city of the 
 Saints, and the body of the youthful martyr was 
 taken directly to the office of Sexton Taylor. 
 
 The obsequies were conducted in the Tabernacle 
 on Sunday, August 3d, in the presence of about 
 10,000 people. The speakers on the occasion were 
 President John Taylor and President George Q. 
 Cannon. 
 
 The body was interred, in the Salt Lake City 
 cemetery, the same day. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Rudger returns to Georgia in the capacity of a Witness. 
 Holstoii's Peril. How the Murderers were captured. 
 The Trial. Attendant Circumstances. The Result. 
 Rudger returns Home. Memento of the young Martyr, 
 
 Rudger had been at home about 
 eight months, he received a subpoena 
 issued by the Circuit Court of Whitfield County, 
 Georgia, requiring him to appear at Dalton the 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 55 
 
 following October (1880), and testify in the cases 
 of Jasper N. Nations, Andrew Bradley and Hugh 
 Blair, charged with the killing of Joseph Standing. 
 
 He consulted with President John Taylor, who 
 informed him that as he was the person who 
 would have to assume any personal risk that 
 might be involved in the matter, he desired him 
 to go or not, as he might elect. He decided to 
 respond to the subpoena, independent of any 
 regard for his personal safety. 
 
 Accordingly he made his appearance in Dalton 
 in September, 1880, where he was joined by Elder 
 John Morgan, the President of the Southern 
 States Mission. 
 
 He foun.d the feeling amongst the populace of 
 that place to be exceedingly bitter, there being 
 imminent danger of an outbreak of open hostility. 
 He had a duty to perform, however, and he was 
 determined to accomplish it, so that the people 
 of the State of Georgia might not have it to say 
 that the murderers of Elder Standing went uii- 
 whipped of justice because the prosecuting wit- 
 ness had failed to do his part in the premises. 
 
 At Dalton, Rudger met with his friend Henry 
 Holston. He had previously informed that gentle- 
 man that he would return and attend the trial. 
 He never forgot that declaration. Numbers of 
 
56 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 men, on account of the inimical feeling that had 
 been worked up against Rudger, declared he 
 would never come back. Holston always ex- 
 pressed his confidence that he would, however, 
 although one man offered to bet him fifty 
 dollars and another a horse that he was mis- 
 taken. As may be imagined, he was exceed- 
 ingly pleased to find his expectation vindicated. 
 
 In the meantime, Mr. Holston had passed 
 through a trying ordeal, which may as well be 
 told, as near as can be, in his own words. 
 
 He said to Rudger: 
 
 "After you left, the whole community where 
 I lived turned against me, so that it appeared as 
 if I had no friends. Those who may have been 
 kindly disposed were afraid to exhibit that feeling, 
 because of the danger of their incurring the same 
 hatred to which I was subjected. My life has 
 been threatened over and over again, and I know 
 that the friends of the men who murdered Stand- 
 ing thirst for my blood. 
 
 " I have been constantly on the watch, and one 
 of the first things I did was to increase my 
 weapons of defense. In addition to my gun, I 
 procured a brace of Colt's navy revolvers, because 
 I knew that the mobbers might attack my place 
 any night. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 57 
 
 "It was well that I took these precautions. 
 One very dark night I went to a window and 
 looked out. I saw, close to the gate that leads 
 into the yard, a man on horseback, silent and 
 motionless. I knew he was not alone, and was 
 well aware of the purpose of the visit. There is 
 no doubt in my mind that there were other noc- 
 turnal visitors, at a convenient distance, in am- 
 bush. I did not hesitate about the course I should 
 pursue. I placed my revolver at full cock, then 
 brought my watch-dog, a large, faithful animal, 
 to my side. Quick as a flash, I opened the door. 
 The dog bounded through the opening, flew down 
 the path and made a spring at the horseman. 
 The brute barely missed his aim. 
 
 " In the meantime, I was not idle. Following 
 close upon the heels of the dog I ran toward the 
 gate, firing rapidly at the retreating prowler, 
 who sped with all the fleetness possible until the 
 sound of his horse's hoofs ceased to fall upon the 
 ear. I knew that he and his companions who- 
 ever they were would trouble me no more that 
 night, as they were doubtless much more scared 
 than I was. 
 
 " If that dog had got a hold on that fellow he 
 never would have let go. He would have dragged 
 him to the earth and I would have done the rest. 
 
58 THE MARTYKDOM OF 
 
 I should certainly have killed him. I would have 
 been vindicated in doing so, as there is a law of 
 Georgia which protects a person who slays an- 
 other under circumstances of that character. 
 
 " I know that my life is in danger, and if any 
 of these men come upon my premises I shall shoot 
 them down like dogs." 
 
 No one who might hear his recital, see his 
 gleaming eyes as he spoke, and observe the man- 
 ner in which he according to his habit when 
 speaking resolutely pushed the fingers of his 
 right hand through his sandy hair, making it 
 stand erect and causing it to add to the fierceness 
 of his aspect, had any reason to doubt his asser- 
 tion. He was known to be courageous and deter- 
 mined, and doubtless his enemies were afraid of 
 him. Had it not been for those characteristics he 
 would probably not have been alive to tell of this 
 night adventure. He said, however, that his 
 position was so unsafe that he would be obliged 
 to leave that part of the country, and it is under- 
 stood that he subsequently did so. 
 
 It was stated in an earlier part of this narrative 
 that Rudger was favorably impressed with the 
 sheriff of Whitfield County, but felt otherwise 
 regarding his more undemonstrative deputy. 
 
 He met the latter at Dalton, and according to 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 50 
 
 a statement made by him the estimate of the rela- 
 tive character of the two men was incorrect. 
 
 It often occurs in life that men who boast the 
 most about their capabilities and intentions show 
 to the least advantage when it comes to actual 
 work. These loud individuals are, as a matter of 
 course, too frequently measured from the basis of 
 their pretentions. The consequence is that the 
 estimate is generally much more capacious than 
 the article to which it refers. On the other hand 
 those who are reticent about what they are capable 
 of and purpose doing are the men to act in an 
 emergency. Yet their modesty, exhibited ahead 
 of the attainment of any specified undertaking, 
 occasionally causes them to be placed below par 
 in comparative estimation. 
 
 The story told by the deputy regarding the 
 capture of the three murderers shortly to be put 
 on their trial was not only related with un- 
 equivocal directness, but no circumstance subse- 
 quently learned appeared in the least degree to 
 tarnish its truthfulness. It is herewith given, as 
 related by the officer: 
 
 " When the sheriff, myself and posse left Hols- 
 ton's on the night of the day that Standing was 
 murdered, we had gone but a short distance when 
 the chief officer of the party said to me : ' I guess 
 
60 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 Ave had better give up the idea of hunting the 
 men who killed Standing. The man they mur- 
 dered was only a ' Mormon/ and it doesn't matter 
 about the perpetrators being brought to justice/" 
 
 "I replied : ' On the contrary I think it matters 
 a great deal, and if you do not pursue those men 
 and do all in your power to arrest them I shall 
 report you to the court.' 
 
 "This had the effect of intimidating the sheriff. 
 We traveled all that night, going over the border 
 into Tennessee, and all the next day. In the 
 evening we came in sight of an isolated house, 
 and satisfied ourselves, by indisputable evidence, 
 that some of the men we wanted were within. 
 We took no immediate steps, but surrounded the 
 house and waited till next morning. 
 
 "At daylight a member of our posse was sent to 
 the door to demand the surrender of the men we 
 were after. A woman appeared, she denied that 
 they were there. She was told, however, that we 
 knew they were secreted in the house, and that if 
 they did not come out the posse would fire into 
 the building. 
 
 "This had the desired effect, for in a short time 
 Andrew Bradley, Jasper N. Nations and Hugh 
 Blair came out and surrendered. 
 
 " The news of the capture spread through the 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 61 
 
 neighborhood like wild-fire, and in a short time a 
 crowd collected, the people coming from every 
 direction. They were greatly excited, and threats 
 of a rescue were made. We were told that we 
 would never reach the jail with the prisoners. 
 
 "The sheriff was overawed and passive, and 
 the situation critical. I was forced, under the 
 circumstances, to assume the lead. 
 
 " ' You shall see whether we will take them to 
 jail,' I exclaimed. 
 
 "We placed the three prisoners on as many 
 horses. This done they were brought close to- 
 gether, abreast. We then took a chain and 
 fastened it around the neck of each, by means of 
 looping, secured by padlocks. 
 
 " Turning to the threatening crowd, I said : We 
 shall take these men to prison or they shall die. 
 The first movement toward their rescue shall be 
 the signal for us to shoot them down, and after 
 that we will fight for our lives. 
 
 " We then started for Dalton, and having neces- 
 sarily to travel slowly, were a considerable time 
 on the way. We reached there without being 
 molested*, however, although the chances appeared 
 strong when the capture was made that there 
 would be trouble and bloodshed. 
 
 " Shortly after they were placed in jail, the pris- 
 
62 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 oners were released on furnishing bail to the 
 amount of $5,000 each." 
 
 Rudger met the three murderers several times 
 on the streets. He recognized them at once as 
 members of the gang who committed the bloody 
 crime. Nations was about thirty-five years old, 
 tall, dark and swarthy, and wore a pointed black 
 beard. Bradley was aged about forty-eight years 
 and of heavy build. He had a broad face and 
 large nose, being altogether a coarse and brutal 
 appearing specimen of humanity. Blair was 
 aged about thirty years, and had a boyish, imma- 
 ture appearance. 
 
 Elder Clawson went before the grand jury and 
 told the story of the murder. Henry Holston, 
 Mary Hamlin and Jonathan Owensby also testi- 
 fied before the same body. The result was that 
 the three men accused were indicted on three 
 counts murder in the first degree, manslaughter, 
 and riot. The reason for this tripartite action 
 was that, in case the defendants should be acquited 
 on the most serious charge, they might be con- 
 victed of one of the others. 
 
 The finding of a true bill in the case caused 
 considerable surprise, as it was popularly expected 
 that the charges would be ignored. 
 
 Rudger and Elder Morgan had an interview 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 63 
 
 with Solicitor-General A. T. Hackett, in charge of 
 the prosecution. That officer seemed to be fair- 
 minded and expressed his purpose to use every 
 legitimate effort to bring the murderers to justice. 
 The brethren also secured the services in behalf 
 of the prosecution, of Col. W. R. Moore, an attor- 
 ney of established ability. 
 
 Five attorneys were engaged on the side of the 
 defense. 
 
 In a few days the trial of Jasper N. Nations was 
 begun, Judge McCutchen, a gentleman about sixty 
 years old, and somewhat similar in personal 
 appearance to Judge C. S. Zane, was on the bench. 
 
 Considerable time was consumed in procuring 
 a jury. About one hundred and fifty men were 
 examined before a full panel was obtained. The 
 difficulty arose from a general reluctance to serve 
 on the case. Notwithstanding the popular feeling 
 in favor of the accused, doubtless it was widely 
 believed they were guilty. The disinclination to 
 sit on the jury was evidently caused by the fact 
 that the position presented a probable dilemma, 
 neither horn of which was attractive. To decide 
 against the accused should the evidence warrant 
 it would subject the jury to a storm of popular 
 anger; to find, in that situation, in favor of the 
 defendants and thus act in opposition to the law 
 
64 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 and the facts would place a man in whom there 
 existed a scintilla of conscience, in an unpleas- 
 ant position. To avoid either contingency the 
 worming-out process on various subterfuges was 
 liberally resorted to. 
 
 When the panel of twelve men, supposed to be 
 "good and true," was filled, a glance sufficed to 
 create the impression that the box included a very 
 hard-looking set. 
 
 In cases involving the guilt of three or more 
 persons, the law of Georgia allows a separate trial 
 to each, should he so elect, and the introduction 
 of the other accused persons as witnesses. This 
 line of action was adopted by the defendants, and 
 Jasper N. Nations was first placed on trial on the 
 count of the indictment charging murder in the 
 first degree. 
 
 The interest in the case was so intense that it 
 was said to be unparalleled in that part of the 
 coantry. As a consequence the court-room was 
 crowded to excess during each session. 
 
 Among the five lawyers engaged on the defense 
 was a young attorney named Williamson. He 
 was unusually tall and slender. He was fair, 
 with light hair and a moustache of similar hue. 
 He seemed "to be as dotingly fond of the latter 
 article as the average maiden lady of uncertain 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 65 
 
 age is of a favorite cat, and as frequently caress- 
 ingly stroked it. 
 
 This was his first case, as he was just launch- 
 ing out into the troubled sea which opens up to 
 the ambitious youth who aspires to such legal 
 honors as were attained by a Blackstone, a Mar- 
 shall or a Blatik. He was evidently inflated at the 
 sudden prominence in which he found himself. 
 He assumed a look of solemn gravity, and made 
 himself what is vulgarly called "numerous," to 
 the no small amusement of some of the spectators 
 shrewd enough to penetrate the flimsy crust of 
 ostentation in which the deluded young man envel- 
 oped himself. 
 
 He was full of suggestions, and kept stretching 
 his neck, a la crane, to catch with nice accuracy 
 some statement that was being made. Then he 
 would lean over the table and whisper, with an 
 air of mystery, some supposed important hint to 
 associate counsel. Following up this line of ac- 
 tion he would express himself openly upon some 
 point with a manner which indicated that when 
 he ventured upon an elucidation it ought to be the 
 end of controversy. Then he would walk over to 
 where some member of the bar was seated and 
 make some facetious confidential remark, pro- 
 ducing a mechanical smile upon the face of his 
 
 5 
 
66 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 listener, who evidently supposed he was expected to 
 indicate that he had heard something which em- 
 bodied a vein of humor. Then the young fellow 
 would stride to and fro across the bar with his 
 hands deep down in his breeches pockets, except 
 when one was occasionally withdrawn in order to 
 pass it through his hair, to make it stand up and 
 give the person whose head it adorned a more 
 severely intellectual appearance, his eye-brows 
 being meanwhile knitted after the manner of 
 a man contemplating a difficult problem for 
 the purpose of clearing up its more mysterious 
 depths. 
 
 To the reader who has frequented the Third 
 Judicial District Court of Utah, this picture will 
 not appear to be over-drawn, for there occasion- 
 ally has its counter-part been presented. We 
 have seen it several times repeated. 
 
 While the trial was in progress the editor of the 
 Atlanta Constitution, one of the most influential 
 papers published in Georgia, paid a personal visit 
 to Dal ton, for the express purpose of getting a 
 clear statement of the facts. He secured the assist- 
 ance of Mr. Williamson, the young attorney, who 
 was not only willing but eager to write- an article 
 on the subject. He did so and placed it in the 
 hands of the editor. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 67 
 
 The latter called at the hotel where Rudger and 
 Elder Morgan were stopping and handed to them 
 Williamson's statement, at the same time -giving 
 them the privilege of correcting any inaccuracies 
 that it might embody and of making any adcfi- 
 tions that they might, from their knowledge of 
 the facts, deem necessary. 
 
 This offer was gladly accepted, as the statement 
 was discolored, distorted and altogether far from 
 being fair. It was specially penned so as to favor 
 the defendants. Misstatements'were corrected and 
 additions made, and by the time it passed into 
 the hands of the editor again it was pretty thor- 
 oughly metamorphised, and presented a fair and 
 just elucidation of the tragedy, and facts con- 
 nected with it. 
 
 Next day Mr. Williamson carried the indis- 
 putable appearance of a man laboring under an 
 attack of abstraction. His mind was evidently 
 not on the case in progress. He was restless and 
 anxious. There was something that he esteemed 
 to be weighty resting upon his mind. The fact 
 is he was impatiently looking for the arrival of 
 the latest issue of the Atlanta Constitution. He 
 cast occasional furtive glances toward the door, 
 and at last he was relieved by the appearance 
 thereat of the festive newsboy. He darted toward 
 
68 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 him, secured a copy, plunged into a chair and be- 
 gan the perusal of his alleged article. 
 
 These movements were watched with some 
 amusement by Eudger. The reader of the paper 
 appeared to get along well enough until he 
 reached a point below the first paragraph, when 
 his face became clouded. As he progressed the 
 facial darkness deepened. He cast a half-inquir- 
 ing, half-indignant glance at Eudger, but the latter 
 was looking innocently into space, as if oblivious 
 to any of his surroundings. He then put the 
 paper down a moment ; took it up again ; read a 
 little more; made a remark to a brother at- 
 torney, and finally gave up the perusal of the 
 sheet with a look of disgust, being the effect of 
 the conclusion he had by this time reached 
 that the editor of the Constitution evidently had 
 neither confidence in his veracity nor his literary 
 ability. 
 
 The reason why the editor submitted William- 
 son's article to Eudger and Elder Morgan for 
 revision and correction was ascertained by them. 
 Certain scandalous statements in reference to 
 Joseph Standing had appeared in the Constitution 
 some months before the murder. The editor 
 subsequently discovered that they were totally 
 untrue and he took this course for the purpose of 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 69 
 
 atoning in some degree for the injury he had 
 inadvertently done to an innocent man. 
 
 Returning to the trial, Rudger was the first and 
 principal witness and told a straight story of -the 
 tragedy, and the main facts connected with it. 
 
 When under examination by the attorneys for 
 the defense he was subjected to the most disgrace- 
 ful brow-beating. They forced him to repeat 
 different portions of his statement over and over 
 again, in the hope of entrapping him in a con- 
 tradiction. They attributed assertions to him 
 that he never made, and resorted to every subter- 
 fuge they could think of in order to find an 
 excuse for impeaching his testimony and finally 
 proceeding against him for perjury. They were 
 baffled, however, at every turn, as his original 
 statements were time and again repeated not only 
 in substance, but as near as possible in the same 
 language. 
 
 The judge throughout showed his bias in favor 
 of the defense, and failed to protect the witness. 
 He almost invariably decided in favor of that 
 side, in points of dispute where a judicial ruling 
 became necessary. There was one point, how- 
 ever, in which he took the opposite course. The 
 defendant's attorneys introduced a great deal of 
 irrelevant matter, especially with regard to the 
 
70 THE MAKTYRDOM OF 
 
 "Mormon" Church. The object of this was to 
 prejudice the jury against the prosecution and in 
 favor of their client. One question asked the 
 witness was "Are your parents living in the 
 practice of polygamy and are you a polygamous 
 child?" 
 
 The witness declined to answer, and, remark- 
 able to relate, the court overruled the interroga- 
 tion as improper. 
 
 When an attorney for the defendant was cross- 
 examining Rudger in reference to his original 
 statement, he asked him what was said at a cer- 
 tain stage of events preceding the killing. The 
 witness replied: "A member of the gang said: 
 'The government of the United States is against 
 you and their is no law in Georgia for Mormons.' 
 Judging from the manner in which this trial is 
 being conducted I see LO reason to question the 
 correctness of his assertion." 
 
 This retort produced a brief suspension in the 
 proceedings, which were, however, shortly re- 
 sumed without the " soft impeachment " meeting 
 with a rebuke. 
 
 Henry Holston and Mary Hamlin testified to 
 the facts connected with the case of which they 
 were cognizant, as heretofore related in this sketch, 
 each telling a direct and truthful story. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 71 
 
 Much importance was attached to whatever 
 might be obtained from Jonathan Owensby. It 
 was regarded, owing to the reputation for truth- 
 fulness of that worthy man, that whatever he 
 might say would be as good as gospel. So it was. 
 His evidence was in unison with his prominent 
 trait. The precision with which he narrated 
 every detail connected with his meeting the mob 
 with the Elders in charge, in the woods, the re- 
 marks made on the occasion, the identity of the 
 members of the gang, the manner in which they 
 were armed, etc., showed that in addition to a 
 clear conscience, the old man possessed a retentive 
 memory and fair powers of observation. 
 
 The prosecution being closed, Andrew Bradley 
 was placed on the stand for the defense. 
 
 He was asked to explain how it was that he 
 was found armed and in company with a number 
 of other men in the same condition, on the day 
 of the murder: 
 
 He said : "I concluded that I would go hunt- 
 ing turkeys, that being the business I was engaged 
 in on that occasion. I could not explain how it 
 was that I fell in with those other men." 
 
 This deep and lucid explanation doubtlesss had 
 great weight with the jury, judging from the 
 result of the trial. Its effect was perhaps height- 
 
72 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 ened by the fact that Bradley was traveling along 
 the main road, which wild turkeys have suf- 
 ficient sense of self-protection to carefully avoid. 
 
 Hugh Blair was also introduced and testified. 
 He was asked the same question. He said: "My 
 gun was out of order and I started from my 
 place to go to the premises of my brother-in- 
 law, a short distance away. He kept a black- 
 smith's shop and I was going to get him to 
 repair my gun. It was while I was on the way 
 that I met those men." 
 
 This statement was equally as satisfactory as 
 that given by Bradley, especially when it is taken 
 in connection with the fact that the murder was 
 committed on the sabbath, when all blacksmiths' 
 and other shops are closed and work in them 
 suspended. That part of Blair's proceeding in 
 changing his alleged original intention of having 
 his gun repaired on a certain Sunday, and accom- 
 panying a band of armed men and taking; part 
 in a cold-blooded murder was very prudently 
 ignored. 
 
 This comprised the testimony for the defense, 
 while that given for the prosecution was not only 
 direct but overwhelming. 
 
 Solicitor-General Hackett made an able, though 
 brief, opening argument for the prosecution. 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 73 
 
 The speaking of the attorneys on the other 
 side was lengthy and irrelevant. In it the kill- 
 ing was scarcely ever alluded to. Old worn-out 
 fabulous stories about "Mormon" atrocities were 
 dwelt upon, and the alleged vagaries of Joseph 
 Smith and Brigham Young were held up to the 
 jury, for the plain purpose of prejudicing them and 
 bringing about a verdict at variance with the 
 facts. Rudger was unsparingly berated. His 
 action in coming from Utah to Georgia as a wit- 
 ness in the case was characterized as an exhibi- 
 tion of unmitigated assurance. It was insinuated 
 that he doubtless expected to obtain his fees and 
 mileage and thus deplete the county treasury, 
 when he might consider himself fortunate should 
 he succeed in getting away from Daltoii alive. 
 This abuse intermingled with covert threats was 
 permitted to go unrebuked by the Court. 
 
 Colonel Moore made an elaborate and clear 
 argument for the prosecution, and the concluding 
 one was made by General Hackett. 
 
 The court delivered the charge. It was of 
 such a character that the jury could not very 
 well find a verdict of guilty and be in accord 
 with it. The honorable judge appeared to make 
 it a point to furnish a plausible excuse for them 
 to acquit the defendant. 
 
74 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 At the end of three days the time occupied 
 by the 'proceedings thus far the jury retired. 
 
 While they were absent and presumedly delib- 
 erating, a curious incident occurred. The sheriff 
 came into court dragging with him a negro, 
 whose eyes were rolling wildly in his head, his 
 grotesque contortions giving every indication of 
 his being in a state of mortal terror. 
 
 He was charged with stealing a gallon of 
 whisky. A jury was empanelled on the spot and 
 he was forthwith tried and found guilty. He plead 
 abjectly for mercy, on the ground that he had a 
 large family and was extremely poor. The judge 
 paid no attention to his pleadings, but arose, 
 gravely and severely commented upon the steal- 
 ing that was going on in Dalton, which must be 
 put down. He elaborated upon the heinous 
 character of the negro's offense, and sentenced 
 him to one year in the chain gang. The severity 
 of the strictures passed by the judge upon the 
 petty crime of this poor wretch were at such 
 variance with his mildness of demeanor in regard 
 to a brutal and inhuman murder, that the inci- 
 dent placed him in an extremely unenviable 
 light. 
 
 Finally the jury in the Standing case returned 
 into court with a verdict of "not guilty." The 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 75 
 
 announcement of this result was greeted with a 
 demonstration am;>ng the spectators, favorable to 
 the accused. It also greatly increased the popular 
 feeling against Rudger. 
 
 There being no probability of obtaining a ver- 
 dict against either of the other accused either for 
 murder or manslaughter, Bradley and Blair 
 were each tried under the count of the indict- 
 ment charging them with riot. The result was 
 the same as in the first Case both were ac- 
 quitted. 
 
 The current of popular animous against Rud- 
 ger, after the trials were concluded, increased in 
 intensity, and considering it unsafe to remain 
 any longer than necessary, he resolved to leave 
 for home as soon a practicable. This determina- 
 tion was confirmed on the evening of the day of 
 the last trial. A gentleman came to him and 
 said : "I hope you will excuse me, Mr. Clawson, 
 being an entire stranger, for addressing you. I 
 am, however, desirous for your safety. A scheme 
 has been developed to have you arrested on a 
 charge of perjury and placed in prison. I would 
 advise you to get away as soon as possible." 
 
 He thanked the stranger. He was up and 
 about next morning bright and early, and with 
 the first train he was being whirled toward his 
 
76 THE MARTYRDOM OF 
 
 home in the West, where he arrived in safety in 
 a few days. 
 
 Thus ends the story of one of the most inhu- 
 man and inexcusable murders on the record of 
 the State of Georgia. The character of the deed 
 could scarcely be exceeded in point of cowardice, 
 the victim being unarmed, defenseless and com- 
 pletely in the power of his assassins. The fact 
 that the perpetrators were allowed to go un- 
 whipped of justice, notwithstanding that their 
 guilt was clearly proved, is a black stain upon 
 the escutcheon of the State in which the tragedy 
 occurred. 
 
 Joseph Standing was twenty-six years of age, 
 of medium height and somewhat stout build, his 
 weight being probably one hundred and sixty 
 pounds. His hair was light and complexion fair. 
 He was noted for his agreeable manners, which 
 were so engaging that he made friends every- 
 where. He had fair ability as a public speaker, 
 and was an indefatigable minister of the Gospel. 
 
 At the time his life was taken he had already 
 served sixteen months of a second mission to the 
 Southern States, and had been for some time in 
 daily expectation of being notified of an honor- 
 able release to return home. He had been in- 
 dulging in gleeful anticipations of meeting soon 
 
JOSEPH STANDING. 77 
 
 with valued friends and loved ones, but these were 
 cruelly cut short of realization by the bullet of 
 the cowardly assassin. 
 
 In Salt Lake cemetery where the remains ol 
 the young martyr were interred, there stands 
 over the tomb a handsome monument, of Italian 
 marble, with data pertaining to the tragedy in- 
 scribed upon it. These, however, are all elabor- 
 ated in this sketch. Upon that memento which 
 was erected by subscriptions of members of the 
 Young Men's Improvement Associations of the 
 Salt Lake Stake of Zion and others appears the 
 following lines from the brilliant pen of Orson 
 F. Whitney: 
 
 Beneath this stone, by friendship's hand, is lain 
 The martyred form of one, untimely slain ; 
 A Servant of the Lord, whose works revealed 
 The love of Truth for which his doom was sealed. 
 
 Where foes beset when but a single friend 
 Stood true, nor shunned his comrade's cruel end 
 Deep in the shades of ill-starred Georgia's wood, 
 Fair freedom's soil was crimsoned with his blood. 
 
 Our brother rests beneath his native sod, 
 His murderers are in the hands of God. 
 Weep, weep for them, not him whose silent dust 
 Here waits the resurrection of the just. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Utah Penitentiary, Enclosure and Buildings. 
 
 IWING to the large number of well known, 
 good and true men who have suffered, are 
 suffering and others who are likely to suffer incar- 
 ceration in the Utah Penitentiary, for conscience 
 sake, that institution has a peculiar interest to 
 the community of Latter-day Saints. Its charac- 
 ter may also be a matter of concern to other 
 people as well. In future times it will doubtless 
 occupy a more or less conspicuous niche in the 
 history of this Territory and of the Church. On 
 this account a succint description of the prison 
 is appended, together with a concise statement in 
 relation to the brethren who have been confined 
 there up to date of publication for polygamy 
 and unlawful cohabitation under the cruel and 
 rigorous regime prescribed by the Edmund's law 
 of 1882, carried out and applied with merciless 
 rigor by those in whose hands its administration 
 has rested. 
 
80 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 The fact that one of the chief actors in the 
 story of the Georgia tragedy is an inmate of the 
 penitentiary, and that the details of the narrative 
 were there obtained from him by the author, 
 are additional reasons for the penning of this 
 appendix, as a fitting and probably more or less 
 useful conclusion to this volume. 
 
 The Utah Penitentiary occupies a somewhat 
 elevated site, a few miles south by east of Salt 
 Lake City. It fronts westward, and along that 
 line are the residence and office of the Warden, 
 the culinary department, the shops and stables. 
 Those are all ranged along the exterior of the 
 prison proper, the entrance to which is on the 
 same side. 
 
 The outer aspect of the place is of small inter- 
 est compared with that of its interior, and it is, 
 therefore, only the latter that we need to describe. 
 Perhaps this can best be done by taking the 
 reader into and through it on an imaginary visit. 
 
 We first go through the outer gateway into a 
 court formed on the west by the entrance through 
 which we have just passed ; on the north by the 
 Warden's house; on the south by a storehouse 
 and private cell ; and on the east by the wall of 
 the enclosure within which the convicts are con- 
 fined. In that part of the wall is the entrance, 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 81 
 
 which constitutes the only opening in it. Two 
 large heavy gates are set in the wall. The first 
 is constructed of stout timbers, which cross each 
 other diagonally. The second is the heavier, 
 also of wood, but built solid. When the turnkey 
 lets us through the first, which is not more than 
 four feet from the other, he at once closes it, and 
 we remain within the narrow space between 
 until, by an ingenious attachment, he opens the 
 second. We then step within the enclosure and 
 the ponderous gate closes behind us. 
 
 We are then in a large open yard, one acre in 
 extent. It is not exactly square, being somewhat 
 longer from east to west, than from north to 
 south. It is surrounded by an unbroken wall 
 twenty feet in height and four feet thick. It has 
 a foundation of sandstone, the rest of the material 
 being adobies. With the exception of the tips of 
 some of the highest of the adjacent mountains, 
 which can be seen from one or two points of the 
 yard, it effectively shuts out the surrounding 
 scenery from the view of the hapless inmate, who 
 thus has but small facility for relieving the eye, 
 and consequently the mind, by gazing upon the 
 beauties of nature. 
 
 Around the entire extent of the wall's exterior 
 is a platform, the floor of which is about three 
 
82 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 feet from the top. Along this the outside guards 
 on duty patrol each carrying a rifle when 
 they are not in the turrets, which are a species 
 of sentry-box, with windows so placed as to 
 enable the watcher to look outward to every point 
 of the compass. They are two in number, one 
 on the north-east corner and the other on the 
 south-west corner. The other two corners are so 
 constructed that one can be placed on each when 
 desirable. Up to the present two have been 
 deemed sufficient. 
 
 All the buildings within the enclosure are 
 constructed of wood. With the exception of the 
 eating room and bath house, they are built of 
 pine planks mostly two inches thick by eight 
 inches wide. The walls are formed by laying 
 those boards flat, one upon the other and fasten- 
 ing them together with large iron spikes, the 
 four corners being jointed. The ceiling is made 
 similarly, the edges of the plank forming the 
 surface. The floor is constructed after the same 
 pattern as the ceiling, the entire structure, both 
 on the exterior and on the inside, having a de- 
 cidedly ribby aspect. The whole is covered by 
 an ordinary shingle roof. 
 
 Near the north-west corner stands an insig- 
 nificant and squatty structure, as will be judged 
 
'UTAH PENITENTIARY. 83 
 
 by its interior dimensions, its width being about 
 ten and its length twelve feet. The height is 
 proportionate. Inside is a strong iron cage, 
 which monopolizes most of the space, as it is 
 about seven feet long and six wide, the height 
 being probably six feet six inches. This sad- 
 looking edifice is used for a variety of purposes. 
 The meagre facilities of this whole institution 
 renders this extensive utilization absolutely 
 necessary. Occasionally it does duty as a hos- 
 pital for the sick, the number of patients being 
 necessarily limited to one, and of attendants the 
 same. 
 
 It has occasionally also been utilized as a place 
 of solitary confinement for refractory convicts, 
 who have gone beyond the bounds prescribed by 
 sules of the prison. 
 
 Another capacity in which it has figured has 
 been that of an insane asylum on a small scale, 
 that being the place where the notorious Mike 
 Sullivan has spent a good many lonely hours, in 
 order that he might be prevented from doing 
 bodily harm to his fellow convicts, being a lunatic 
 of the desperate and dangerous type. A law 
 passed by the late Legislature provides for the 
 placing of insane convicts in the Territorial 
 Lunatic Asylum, so that the prison will in 
 
84 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 future be happily free from that class of unfor- 
 tunates. 
 
 Near the other corner the south-west to the 
 right of the entrance to the yard, is another 
 structure of the same character. Indeed it is 
 almost the counterpart of the one just described, 
 including the iron-cage interior attachment. 
 That is the cell in which Fred. Hopt, the oft- 
 convicted murderer of John F. Turner, passes 
 his hours of solitary confinement, pending the 
 final disposal of the case and himself. His only 
 relief from this forbidding loneliness is obtained 
 by him when he paces the few yards of open 
 space in the yard, in the immediate vicinity of 
 his lodging house. 
 
 Between, and a short distance from the two 
 structures already described, are two others. So far 
 as their appearance is concerned they are totally 
 unworthy of notice. In some respects, however, 
 they occupy a prominent position in this prison. 
 The use to which they are put renders them 
 objects of some curiosity to people who might 
 merely visit the penitentiary, while to some of 
 the convicts they are peculiarly repulsive. They 
 are each about five feet six inches long, by two 
 feet six inches wide, inside measurement, and 
 have but a solitary opening, in the shape of a 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 85 
 
 door about twenty inches wide and three and a 
 half feet long. These pigmy structures are 
 known by the suggestive title of " sweat boxes." 
 This was perhaps originally designed for summer 
 application, or maybe they were erected during 
 the heated term, and the first inmates very likely 
 were incarcerated while the thermometer in the 
 ordinary shade was in the nineties, and in their 
 interior climbed considerably higher. While 
 there is a striking adaptability about the title 
 under such warm conditions, in winter they 
 might, with equal propriety, be denominated the 
 "refrigerators." These little dens are used as 
 places of solitary confinement for the more con- 
 tumacious offenders against the discipline of the 
 prison. The victim who is consigned to that 
 species of punishment, even for a limited period, 
 is greatly to be pitied. There are few who en- 
 dure it long, being generally willing to come 
 to terms, and place themselves on their good 
 behavior on short notice. 
 
 Facing the gate in a line are the two most 
 pretentious buildings of the interior. They are 
 the bunk-houses or cells, where the prisoners are 
 locked up at nights. The first incorporates bunk- 
 houses, Numbers One and Two, the former being 
 the first reached as we advance eastward. At- 
 
86 . UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 tached to its front is a small room used as a 
 guard house, for the use of the officers on duty 
 inside the inclosure. 
 
 The dimensions of the interior are : thirty feet 
 long by twenty feet wide, the height from floor 
 to ceiling being twelve feet. The visitor is 
 instantly impressed with the comfortless appear- 
 ance of the room, and the rigid economy that 
 has been used in the utilization of a limited 
 space. The manner in which the sleeping acom- 
 modations are arranged reminds one forcibly of 
 the passenger steerage of a large ship. The 
 sleeping bunks extend entirely around three 
 walls, that which contains the entrance being 
 the only one exempt from those peculiar sleepers. 
 They are in three tiers, being one over another, 
 the space between being about three feet. Each 
 bunk is six feet six inches long, by four feet six 
 inches wide, and parallel with the wall length- 
 wise. The number of bunks in Number One is 
 thirty-two, and as each is intended for two in- 
 mates, there is sleeping accommodation in that 
 particular cell for sixty-four convicts, and it has 
 been of late generally almost if not quite full. 
 
 Around the room, in front of the lower tier of 
 bunks, is a rough board, placed on uprights 
 which does duty as a seat. 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 87 
 
 Inserted in the upper part of the walls almost 
 close up to the ceiling are four windows, each 
 about two feet square. These windows are pro- 
 tected on the outside by strong iron bars. As 
 they are set back, beyond the upper bunks, the 
 light from them is necessarily refracted, and is 
 consequently largely diminished by the time it 
 reaches the middle of the room; the general 
 aspect is, to say the least, somewhat sombre. 
 This effect suffers no diminution by the hanging 
 up in front of some of the bunks, upon strings 
 stretched from post to post, of various articles of 
 underwear, some of them by no means refresh- 
 ingly new. 
 
 Near the centre of the ceiling there is a square 
 aperture, crossed liberally with flat iron bars. 
 This contrivance, connected with a suitable open- 
 ing in the roof, serves the purpose of a ventilator, 
 a convenience that, it is scarcely requisite to 
 state, is highly necessary. 
 
 There is but one entrance to the cell a strong 
 door made of iron bars, crossing each other at 
 intervals of four inches, and fastened together 
 with rivets, or, considering their size, they might 
 as appropriately be called bolts. None of the 
 men convicted of polygamy or unlawful cohabit- 
 ation have thus far been confined in Number One. 
 
00 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 Bunk house Number Two is in the same 
 building, and is in general features similar to 
 that just described. It is considerably smaller, 
 however, being twenty by twenty feet, and has 
 only two, in place of three, tiers of bunks ; con- 
 sequently its sleeping accommodations are but 
 one-half that of the other. They have of late 
 been fully utilized. Quite a sprinkling of the 
 brethren have been quartered in that compart- 
 ment for some time. 
 
 Number Three is detached from the other 
 bunk houses, being situated a few feet further 
 eastward. It is a recent addition to the premises, 
 having been erected in the summer of 1885. It 
 is similar to the others. It is twenty-six feet 
 long and twenty feet wide. There are, as in 
 Number One, three tiers of bunks, of which there 
 are twenty-six, the room thus affording sleeping 
 conveniences for fifty-two convicts. There are 
 five small windows, protected by iron gratings, 
 of the same size as those heretofore described. 
 Thus far the sole occupants varying from forty 
 to fifty in number have been men convicted of 
 unlawful cohabitation, and prisoners who are 
 employed in various capacities on the outside 
 of the penitentiary proper. They are called 
 "trusties," the title being derived from the fact 
 
VTAH PENITENTIARY. 89 
 
 that their occupations give them opportunities to 
 escape, which it is not presumed they will take 
 advantage of, besides their being necessarily 
 trusted in other respects. 
 
 In warm weather these cells are infested with 
 vermin in the shape of bed bugs. The interstices 
 between the planks give them ample breeding 
 facilities, which they do not hesitate to take 
 advantage of. The consequence is, that they 
 make incursions in " shoals and nations," sub- 
 jecting the hapless convicts to annoyance that 
 falls but little, if anything, short of torture. 
 Different remedies have been employed upon 
 this plague of the prison, but thus far they have 
 only mitigated the evil without approaching its 
 abatement. 
 
 Before giving a description of what is, some- 
 what inaptly, called the dining hall, it may be 
 well to state that immediately west of it is a 
 small guard house, used as a sleeping apartment 
 by the guards detailed for inside duty. The 
 long, low building in which the eating room is 
 situated, runs from west to east, parallel with the 
 bunk houses, a short lane or street, about twenty- 
 two feet wide, being thus formed. 
 
 The word dining-hall is generally associated 
 with ideas of comfort, with concomitant surround- 
 
90 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 ings of an attractive character. This is why the 
 title, as applied to this apartment, may be justly 
 considered a misnomer. Its conveniences are, to 
 say the least, of a most primitive description, and 
 even at that are the reverse of profuse. Two 
 conditions have contributed to make it much 
 less repulsive to us than it was formerly. The 
 first is a very decided improvement made some 
 time since by Mr. G.N. Dow, the Warden a very 
 humane gentleman by the way in the shape of a 
 couple of large skylights, which give the place an 
 air of comparative cheerfulness by letting in the 
 sunlight of heaven. The second is familiarity, 
 which soon begins to dispel the more gloomy 
 aspect of the surroundings of a person who 
 philosophically determines to "make the best 
 of a bad job." 
 
 The feeling of repulsion with which we were 
 seized on our first entrance to the room is vividly 
 remembered. The pleasure of our debut, as a 
 partaker of the frugal repast provided by " Uncle 
 Sam," was not increased by the first sounds we 
 heard from the interior of the dining hall. As 
 Andrew Smith and ourself first entered the prison, 
 out of that particular room, where a large number 
 of convicts were crowded together, came " bow- 
 wows," whoops, shouts and yells of "hang him." 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 91 
 
 These threatening utterances were directed against 
 my companion, who, in his capacity of police 
 officer, appeared to have gained the ill-will of 
 some of the rougher prisoners. 
 
 Inappropriate as it may be, we will adhere 
 to the title by which the room is known. It is 
 fifty-four feet long by nineteen wide. The 
 material used in its construction is simply inch 
 weather boarding, nailed to a studding frame, 
 the timbers being set at unusually wide distances 
 apart. The height to the square is about seven 
 feet six inches. There is no ceiling, the bare 
 shingles being the only obstacle between the 
 inmates and the heavenly expanse. The cross 
 braces by which the frame of the roof is stayed 
 are generally adorned with shirts, stockings, and 
 articles of underwear generally, making the 
 place smack somewhat of " Rag Fair," London. 
 Occasionally from the same raised position a couple 
 of "exalted soles " hob-nailed attachments to a 
 dilapidated pair of boots look grimly down from 
 whence they are suspended. 
 
 No part of the interior is plastered, there being 
 but an inch board to the weather. Here and 
 there the thin walls are plastered over with 
 gaudy pictures clipped from periodicals of the 
 day, according to the taste or fancy of the convict 
 
92 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 whose seat happens to be near the particular spot 
 thus decorated. For convenience' sake, little 
 narrow shelves have heen nailed to the wall, and 
 on these are old fruit cans, the tin pint cup with 
 which each convict is furnished, and other 
 articles. 
 
 Against the wall, and skirting the entire room, 
 at the height of an ordinary table, is a rough 
 deal board, two feet wide. This serves for a table. 
 Each convict fortunate enough to secure a place 
 at this board is allotted a space of twenty-two 
 inches in width, giving barely enough elbow 
 room at meal times. The seating convenience 
 at this table consists of a rough plank, two inches 
 thick and eight inches wide, supported, a short 
 distance outward from the side-table, upon up- 
 rights consisting of pieces of the same material. 
 The seating space allotted to each is of the same 
 length as and parallel with the tabular appor- 
 tionment. 
 
 As over one hundred men sit down at each 
 meal, the room is, as may well be imagined, at such 
 times always crowded. Consequently the side- 
 tables are far from being sufficient, and there are 
 four or five large tables besides, ranged down the 
 centre of the room. But they are not so popular 
 with the convicts as the seats along the wall, 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 93 
 
 owing to the latter perhaps being slightly more 
 retired, if such a term could be appropriately 
 used in connection with so great a crowd. 
 
 Besides the two sky-lights lately added, the 
 room is lighted by means of nine windows, each 
 of which has nine squares of glass, measuring 
 eight by ten inches. 
 
 Upon the east end of the dining hall, being a 
 continuation of the same building, are the bath- 
 room and wash-house, where the convicts are 
 required to perform their ablutions. Thesa 
 apartments are among the most convenient and 
 attractive of any in the prison, being neatly 
 painted. They are kept in a condition of 
 scrupulous cleanliness by Robert Taylor, familiar- 
 ly called " Bob," the man in charge. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Officers. Prison Fare. Discipline.' 
 
 E officers of the prison consist of the 
 Warden, Turnkey, and eight Guards. 
 The will of the first named official is supreme 
 under the law and the United States Marshal, 
 
94 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 the supervisory oversight of the penitentiary 
 devolving upon the latter. 
 
 The duty of the Turnkey is to have personal 
 supervision of the ingress to and egress from the 
 prison of all persons, and to look after other 
 matters unnecessary to notice in this description. 
 Being the next official in rank to the Warden, 
 he usually has entire charge whenever that 
 officer happens to be absent. In case of the 
 absence of the Turnkey one of the guards is de- 
 tailed to attend to the duties of his office. 
 
 The labors of the guards are so arranged that 
 each one is alternately six hours on and off duty. 
 Two are constantly, night and day, on the walls, 
 being stationed in the sentry-boxes or turrets, or 
 patroling to and fro upon the platform, rifle in 
 hand. Their position enables them to have a 
 full view of the yard, so that, in case of a violent 
 outbreak or attempted escape, they can, in an 
 emergency, fire upon the offenders. 
 
 Two are always in the yard to attend to all mat- 
 ters within the prison proper. Formerly those 
 detailed for interior duty carried fire-arms ; this 
 practice has been discontinued, as it was dis- 
 covered to be attended by no small degree of 
 danger. Several plots, which were nipped in the 
 bud, were found to include an intention to disarm 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 95 
 
 the guards, who would, in case the schemes had 
 carried, have been at the mercy of the conspiring 
 convicts. 
 
 One or other of the officers on duty in the 
 interior are required to make the round of the 
 yard every fifteen minutes during the night, 
 to see that all is right and everything secure. 
 To neglect this duty renders the offender liable 
 to discharge. It is next to impossible for it 
 to be shirked or even omitted, from any cause, 
 without its being detected. In the guard-room 
 there is a " regulator " with a dial face. The 
 guard on duty must touch a point of this 
 contrivance with his finger every fifteen min- 
 utes. By this means a paper ribbon in the 
 interior of the " regulator" is pricked. There is 
 a similar instrument in each of the turrets, so 
 that the guards on the wall are subject to the 
 same mechanical surveillance. Each man is, 
 therefore, under the necessity of being sleeplessly 
 at his post. The regulators are examined every 
 morning by the Warden. 
 
 The safety of the prison is further maintained by 
 rendering any further dereliction otherwise dis- 
 coverable by the guards, those inside and those 
 upon the wall being checks on each other. When 
 the man in the interior first starts out upon each of 
 
06 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 his frequent night patrols, he signals with his 
 lantern to both of those upon the wall, and they 
 respond to him by elevating two lamps suspended 
 by wires from the turrets down the wall to within 
 a few feet of the ground. It is a part of the duty 
 of each guard to report any serious instance of 
 neglect on the part of any of the others. 
 
 For almost every species of general operation 
 in the yard, signals are given by the ringing of 
 bells by the guard stationed on the south-west 
 corner of the wall. 
 
 From a quarter past five to half-past six in the 
 evening, according to the season of the year, 
 earlier in winter and later in summer, three bells 
 are rung for the convicts to prepare to enter the 
 bunk houses. Those belonging to Number One 
 are attended to first. They form in line, from 
 the door outward, and as soon as the w r ord is 
 given they pass in, one at a time, and are counted 
 by the guards as they enter, to make sure that 
 none are missing. Then Number Two and Three 
 follow in respective order. 
 
 As soon as the prisoners are within, the heavy 
 iron door is closed and the ponderous bars are 
 adjusted. 
 
 The convicts spend the time intervening be- 
 tween the locking-up hour and the hour for 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 97 
 
 retiring as best they may. It is not the intention 
 to give, in these details, a pen-picture of the 
 generality of these evening proceedings. We 
 will probably do so on a future occasion. 
 
 The " trusties," to the number of fourteen, who 
 are lodged in Number Three, to which we be- 
 longed, are admitted subsequent to the locking-up 
 of the ordinary convicts, as their labors continue 
 for some time after the regular hour for entering 
 the cells. 
 
 Precisely at nine o'clock the guard appears at 
 the door, upon which he delivers a number of 
 raps, to attract attention. He then gives the 
 word for all to " turn in." According to the rule 
 all conversation must cease, and the prisoners 
 retire for the night. 
 
 At a quarter past five in the morning those 
 trusties employed in the cooking department are 
 awakened by the guard, and fifteen minutes after- 
 ward they are allowed to pass out to begin the 
 labors of the day. Shortly before seven the 
 clanking of the bars and the grating sound of 
 the iron door as it swings open are again heard. 
 All are then required to arise, dress, make up 
 their beds, and go out to the wash-house, and 
 perform their morning ablutions. 
 
 The floor of each bunk house is swept every 
 
98 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 morning, each man taking his turn in the per- 
 formance of this duty. It is carefully scrubbed 
 twice a week, five men being detailed for that 
 purpose, alternating so that the work is equally 
 divided among the prisoners. 
 
 In dry weather five men are appointed daily 
 to perform police duty in the yard, which is 
 simply to clean up and keep the premises in 
 order. 
 
 Eight men are detailed to act as waiters. They 
 have the general oversight of the dining hall, 
 keeping it clean, serving meals, etc. 
 
 At eight o'clock each morning one bell is rung. 
 This is the signal for the waiters to go to the gate 
 and bring in the food ; also for convicts to place 
 their tin pint cups to receive their ration of 
 coffee, on their allotted places at the tables. All 
 are then required to clear out of the room. 
 
 The morning meal consists of coffee without 
 sugar or milk, bread, meat, and a couple of 
 melancholy potatoes to each man. The sadness 
 of the tubers is caused by their being cooked the 
 night previous. Every other day the meat 
 portion of the programme is omitted, being sub- 
 stituted by a mysterious compound called hash. 
 The meat and coffee are brought to the dining 
 hall in huge vessels made of galvanized iron, 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 99 
 
 and the bread, cut in slices, in ordinary brown 
 wicker bushel baskets. The only table utensils 
 given for the use of the convicts are a tin pint 
 cup, an iron spoon, and a common tin plate to 
 each. Knives and forks are not allowed, owing 
 to the danger of having such utensils around 
 the place. 
 
 For dinner, which is served between twelve 
 and one o'clock, bread, meat and potatoes com- 
 pose the bill of fare one day, followed every 
 alternate day by an unsubstantial article of soup, 
 to which a couple of slices of bread constitute 
 the solitary accompaniment. 
 
 The evening meal, which is disposed of shortly 
 before five o'clock, is " without . shadow of turn- 
 ing," its components being bread and a tin cup- 
 ful of sugarless and milkless tea. 
 
 The manner of entering the dining hall for 
 meals is worth noting. At a given signal the 
 convicts form into two lines, extending eastward 
 from the door, where the guard stands for the 
 purpose of enforcing order. The signal is then 
 given to file in, and the prisoners enter two 
 abreast, and take their places at the tables. 
 
 Each prisoner must perform complete bodily 
 ablutions, by means of the bath, once a week in 
 summer, and once in two weeks in winter. 
 
100 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 The convicts generally wash their own clothing 
 in the yard. A few, however, send their washing 
 to town, the packages being searched both in 
 going and returning, to prevent breaches of the 
 rules in relation to correspondence with persons 
 on the outside, etc. 
 
 The hair of each convict is clipped close to the 
 scalp once a month, and the face is shaved clean 
 once a week. 
 
 All correspondence, outgoing and incoming, 
 is examined by the Warden. If, in his judgment, 
 any communication contains aught objectionable, 
 it is not permitted to go out. Letters, books, and 
 periodicals, excepting local newspapers, can be 
 received at any time The latter are not admitted 
 to the prison. Ordinarily convicts are permitted 
 to write to friends on the outside twice a month, 
 but oftener, by special permission, should some 
 unusual emergency demand. 
 
 The friends of convicts are allowed to see them 
 providing they first obtain a pass from the 
 U/ S. Marshal on the first Thursday of each 
 month. Those having passes are not allowed to 
 enter the prison proper, but are conducted to an 
 apartment used as a dining room by the guards. 
 The officer on the west wall, after the bell has 
 been rung once, calls out the name of the convict 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 101 
 
 on the permit. The visited prisoner is let out 
 at the gate, and goes to the room where the 
 visitors are in waiting. He sits on one side of a 
 long table and they on the other, and the con- 
 versation must be conducted in a tone sufficiently 
 loud to be heard by a guard, who is stationed at 
 the end of the table for the purpose of seeing 
 that no objectionable communication passes be- 
 tween the parties. The interview terminates at 
 the end of thirty minutes, when the convict re- 
 enters the yard, and the visitors take their leave. 
 
 Visitors are frequently allowed to stand upon 
 the platform which runs parallel with the 
 outside of the wall, and from that elevated 
 position obtain a view of the yard and buildings. 
 They are not permitted, however, to give any 
 sign of recognition to the prisoners. Neither are 
 the latter allowed to recognize their friends, but 
 the parties may gaze at each other. The position 
 is frequently, to say the least, exceedingly painful 
 on both sides. 
 
 Religious services are held every Sunday after- 
 noon. They are conducted by the clergymen of 
 the different sects excepting those of the Roman 
 Catholic Church alternately, the Episcopalians 
 officiating twice during the particular months in 
 which there happens to be five Sabbath days. 
 
102 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 The turn of the Latter-day Saints comes on the 
 first Sunday of each month. 
 
 Three bells are always a signal to the prisoners. 
 When that is heard they are on the alert to hear 
 some general order, which is occasionally for all 
 to go up to the north-east corner of the yard. 
 This signifies that some official or other more or 
 less distinguished visitor is about to enter. 
 
 A wire is stretched from north to south, about 
 
 + 
 
 twelve paces east of the west wall. It is called 
 the "dead line." A prisoner is not allowed to 
 cross ^t to the westward except for special pur- 
 poses. Before he does so he must signal the 
 guard on the wall by raising one hand. If he 
 receives the usual response he can proceed. If 
 not, he is not permitted to cross, or does so at his 
 peril. 
 
 Each convict is clothed in the usual zebraic 
 costume common in United States prisons 
 generally. 
 
 More minute details, involving the whole of 
 the discipline, might be given, but it appears to 
 be unnecessary. 
 
 Breaches of the rules are punishable in various 
 ways. The penalties are to some degree defined by 
 statute, but in a general way they are within the 
 discretion of the Warden, under the U. S. Marshal. 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 103 
 
 % CHAPTER III. 
 
 Those who have been Incarcerated for conscience' sake. 
 Their Offenses, Pleas, and Penalties. Brief Biographical 
 Notes and Personal References. 
 
 |UDGER CLAWSON; plea, not guilty; 
 sentenced November 3rd, 1884, by Judge 
 Zane, on conviction for polygamy, to imprison- 
 ment for three years and six months and to pay 
 a fine of $500 ; unlawful cohabitation, six months 
 and $300, being four years and $800 in all. The 
 case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the 
 Territory, which sustained the judgment of the 
 lower court. He was born in Salt Lake City, 
 March 12th, 1857, and has been in the Church 
 from childhood, his parents being connected with 
 it at the time of his birth. 
 
 JOSEPH H. EVANS ; plea, not guilty ; polygamy 
 and unlawful cohabitation ; sentenced, by Judge 
 Zane, November 8th, 1884; three years and six 
 months, and a fine of $500. He was born at 
 Llanelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales, August 12th, 
 1820; joined the Church in July, 1850, and came 
 to Utah in 1854. His height is about five feet 
 nine inches. He is of portly build, and has a 
 
104 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 Celtic face. He is outspoken, almost to bluntness, 
 and possesses a large degree of religious zeal. 
 He is a blacksmith and has resided in Salt Lake 
 City nearly the whole time he has been in Utah. 
 
 PARLEY P. PRATT; unlawful cohabitation; plea 
 of guilty; sentenced by Judge Zane, May 2nd, 
 1885; term, six months; fine, $300. He was born 
 at Kirtland, Ohio, March 25th, 1837, and is the 
 eldest son of the late Apostle Parley P. Pratt. 
 Ho has been with the Church from his birth to 
 the present, and in his childhood passed through 
 the stirring scenes of its early history. He came 
 to Utah in 1848, and has been on several missions 
 abroad. He has brown hair and a medium 
 complexion. His head is small, and face and 
 features round. His height is six feet, and build 
 slender. 
 
 ANGUS M. CANNON ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty ; sentenced May 9th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. The case was appealed to the Supreme 
 Court of the Territory, and taken on a writ of 
 error to the Supreme Court of the U. S., both of 
 which tribunals sustained the lower courts. 
 Pending the final adjudication by the U. S. 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 105 
 
 Supreme Court the defendant remained in jail 
 about two months over the term of sentence, the 
 chief object being to obtain an authoritative 
 definition of the legal scope of the term " unlaw- 
 ful cohabitation." On Monday, May 10th, 1880, 
 three cases of unlawful cohabitation against 
 Lorenzo Snow were disposed of by the U. S. 
 Supreme Court, to which they had been appealed. 
 The court decided it had no jurisdiction. To 
 show consistency it reconsidered its mandate in 
 Brother Cannon's appeal and dismissed that case 
 also. The court could not well continue the 
 position of having jurisdiction in the one case 
 and not in the others, all of them being of the same 
 class. Brother Cannon was born in Liverpool, 
 England, May 17th, 1834. His parents having 
 joined the Church under the administration of 
 President John Taylor in 1840, the family left 
 England for Nauvoo in 1842. His' mother died 
 during the voyage across the Atlantic. Brother 
 Angus was baptized in the Mississippi River, 
 near Nauvoo, in the fall of 1844. He was driven 
 out of that place with the body of the Saints. 
 After enduring many hardships, he came to Utah 
 in 1849. He was engaged in various occupations, 
 and spent some time in founding settlements 
 and building up southern Utah. In 1852 he 
 
106 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 engaged in the printing business, in the Deseret 
 News office, and in 1854 went on a mission to the 
 Eastern States with Apostle John Taylor, re- 
 turning home in 1858. He went to the Utah 
 " Dixie," and with Erastus Snow and Jacob Gates 
 located the city of St. George, of which he was 
 Mayor for four years. He came back to Salt 
 Lake, and in 1868 entered the Deseret News office 
 as its business manager, a position he occupied 
 six years, afterwards engaging in the business of 
 dealing in wagons and machinery. In the spring 
 of 1876 he was appointed President of Salt Lake 
 Stake, his present ecclesiastical position. He was 
 Recorder for Salt Lake County a number of 
 years. He is over medium height and propor- 
 tionate build ; complexion dark. His face is 
 round and somewhat full. 
 
 AMOS MILTON MUSSER ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty ; sentenced May 9th, 1885 ; 
 term, six months ; fine, $300 and costs. Appealed 
 to the Territorial Supreme Court, which sus- 
 tained the judgment of the court below. He was 
 born in Donegal Township, Lancaster County, 
 Pa. His father died when he was little more 
 than an infant, and a few years afterwards his 
 mother and eldest sister joined the Church. The 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 107 
 
 family removed to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846, and 
 were, the same year, driven out by mob violence 
 at the time of the general expulsion of the Saints. 
 Brother Musser joined the Church, by baptism, 
 in 1851, in Iowa, and came to Utah the same 
 year. He was sent on a mission in 1852 to 
 Hindostan, East Indies, and was absent five 
 years. While so engaged he learned to speak 
 the Hindostanee language with a fair degree of 
 fluency, and to read and write it readily in the 
 Arabic characters. He was employed for nineteen 
 years under Presidents B. Young, D. H. Wells, 
 Geo. A. Smith, and Bishop Hunter, as a Traveling 
 Bishop and Agent. He filled a brief mission to 
 the States in 1876. 
 
 JAMES C. WATSON ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of guilty; sentenced May 9th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300. He 
 was born at Newart Hill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, 
 September 4th, 1844, his father being then in the 
 Church. His mother was not then a member, 
 and insisted that James should be christened in 
 the Presbyterian Church. She accordingly took 
 him there and that ordinance was attended to. 
 On her way home she declared that the Lord 
 gave her a testimony of the truth of the Gospel 
 
108 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 as revealed through Joseph Smith, and she was 
 consequently baptized a short time afterwards. 
 James was baptized when eight years old, and 
 came with the family to America in 1848; re- 
 mained in St. Louis till 1850, when he came to 
 Salt Lake City, where he has resided ever since. 
 He is large and portly, being in height five feet 
 eleven inches, and turns the scale at two hundred 
 and thirty pounds. He has fair complexion and 
 blue eyes, and is noted for the hearty cordiality 
 of his manners, being the embodiment of good 
 nature. 
 
 WILLIAM FOTHEKINGHAM ; unlawful cohabita- 
 tion ; plea of not guilty ; sentenced May 20th, 
 1885, by Judge Boreman ; term, three months ; 
 fine, $300. He was born at Clackmannan, Clack- 
 mannanshire, Scotland, April oth, 1826; joined 
 the Church in 1847 ; came to America in 1848, 
 and stayed in the States till 1850, when he came 
 to Utah. Performed a mission to the East Indies 
 and another to the Cape of Good Hope, South 
 Africa. He is the senior member of the High 
 Council of Beaver Stake, Agent for the Presiding 
 Bishop, and has been Superintendent of Sunday 
 Schools in that part of the Territory from the 
 beginning of their organization. He was Clerk 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 109 
 
 of Beaver County seventeen years; Mayor of 
 Beaver City two years ; Justice of the Peace four 
 years; and has represented the counties of Beaver, 
 Iron and Piute, in the Council of the Territorial 
 Legislature. When the "move" south occurred 
 in anticipation of the entry of Albert Sidney 
 Johnston's army, Elder Fotheringham was one of 
 a number of men detailed to lay Salt Lake City 
 in ashes, should such a recourse be deemed 
 necessary. 
 
 FRANCIS A. BROWN ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty ; sentenced July llth, 1885, by 
 Judge Powers; term, six months; fine, $300. The 
 defendant made a speech in court in which he 
 asserted that he would rather have his head 
 severed from his body than prove recreant to his 
 religious obligations, which, he held, were in- 
 volved in the case. He was born in New York 
 State, November 14th, 1822. He joined the 
 Church and went to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1844, 
 and came to Utah in 1856. He settled in Ogden, 
 of which town he has been a resident ever since. 
 He is a little over medium height, has a strong, 
 honest face, characteristic of his nature, which is 
 ruggedly resolute. He performed a mission to 
 Holland. 
 
110 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 MORONI BROWN; unlawful cohabitation; plea 
 of not guilty; sentenced July llth, 1885, by 
 Judge Powers; term, six months; fine, $300. He 
 stated in court that he did not propose to renounce 
 his religious principles to conform to any law. He 
 was born in Adam's County, Illinois, September 
 25th, 1840, his parents being then connected with 
 the Church; shortly afterwards the family re- 
 moved to Nauvoo ; were driven out at the time of 
 the expulsion, and came to Utah in 1851. His 
 father purchased a large tract of land, including 
 the site on which Ogden now stands, from the 
 original settler, he being the founder of that city. 
 Moroni is over the over the average height, 
 heavily built ; his hair and complexion are dark. 
 He filled a mission to Europe. 
 
 JOB PINGREE ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 not guilty ; sentenced July 13th, 1885, by Judge 
 Powers ; term, five months ; fine, $300 and costs. 
 His case was one in which the court exhibited 
 the most heartless cruelty, combined with cant- 
 ing hypocrisy, as the author proposes, at some 
 future time, to show. He was born in Gloucester- 
 shire, England, November 21st, 1837; came to 
 Utah in 1857, and settled in Ogden, where he 
 has resided ever since. He is tall, slender, and 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. Ill 
 
 active. His head and features are small, and 
 complexion medium. He is intensely practical, 
 and has taken a prominent part in the public 
 affairs of the community among whom he lives. 
 
 JOHN LANG ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 guilty; sentenced September 29th, 1885, by Judge 
 Boreman ; term, three months ; fine, $200. He 
 was born in Devonshire, England, March loth, 
 1831. He joined the Church by baptism in 1840, 
 and came to Utah in 1855. He is a farmer, and 
 resided in Salt Lake City six years ; spent ten 
 years on the southern frontier, and finally settled 
 in Beaver his present place of residence in 
 1871. He is a man of exceptional simplicity and 
 honesty of character. 
 
 H. B. CLAWSON, Bishop of the Twelfth Ward, 
 Salt Lake City ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 guilty ; sentenced September 29th, 1885, by Judge 
 Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. 
 He was born in Utica, N. Y., November 7th, 1826; 
 was baptized in childhood, and removed in early 
 times to Nauvoo, with his mother and other 
 relatives. Was driven from that place at the 
 time of the expulsion of the Saints, and came to 
 Utah in 1848. 
 
112 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 EDWARD BRAIN ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of not guilty ; sentenced October 2nd, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Wick, Gloucestershire, 
 England, August 15th, 1821, and joined the 
 Church in August, 1844, at Bath. He came to 
 Utah in 1852. He is a builder by trade. 
 
 CHARLES SEAL ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of not guilty ; sentenced October 5th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was bom at Qounton, Gloucester- 
 shire, England, January 18th, 1834 ; joined the 
 Church in the winter of 1844, and came to Utah 
 in 1871. 
 
 CHARLES L. WHITE; unlawful cohabitation; 
 plea of guilty ; sentenced October 6th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. The plea of guilty was made by arrange- 
 ment with the Prosecuting Attorney upon an 
 agreement that a charge of polygamy be with- 
 drawn. His plural wife, Elizabeth Ann Starkey, 
 had been imprisoned in the penitentiary two 
 months and twenty-one days for refusing to 
 answer certain questions propounded by Com- 
 missioner McKay, examining magistrate, and the 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 113 
 
 grand jury ; the understanding with the prosecu- 
 tion alluded to resulting in her release. C. L. 
 White was bom at Forest Green, Gloucestershire, 
 England, June 26th, 1857. He was baptized at 
 the age of eight years, and came to Utah in 1874. 
 He is a resident of Salt Lake City, and follows 
 the trade of brush-maker. 
 
 JOHN CONNELLY; unlawful cohabitation; plea 
 of guilty ; sentenced October 5th, 1885, by Judge 
 Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. 
 He was born (of Irish parents) at Berwick-on- 
 Tweed, Scotland, February 12th, 1853. He joined 
 the Church in 1870, and came to Utah in 1871. 
 
 DAVID E. DAVIS ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of not guilty; sentenced October 5th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Rhymney, Monmouth- 
 shire, England, September, 1841; joined the 
 Church May 30th, 1865; came to Utah Nov- 
 ember 16th, 1863. He is a resident of Tooele 
 County, and is a farmer, stockraiser, and telegraph 
 operator, having been in the employ of the 
 Western Union Company several years in the 
 latter capacity. He is short of stature, round 
 faced, and has dark eyes and hair. 
 
114 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 ISAAC GROO ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 guilty; sentenced October 5th, 1885, by Judge 
 Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. 
 He was born in Sullivan County, N. Y., April 
 8th, 1827 ; joined the Church January 1st, 1852, 
 and came to Utah in 1854. He has occupied a 
 number of official positions connected with the 
 municipality of Salt Lake City notably Super- 
 visor of Streets, agent for the cit}^, Alderman 
 and Councilor. He was also Bishop's Counselor 
 in the Ninth Ward from 1856 to 1877, having 
 occupied that relation to three different Bishops 
 Seth Taft, John Woolley and Samuel A. 
 Woolley. His hair, eyes, and complexion are 
 dark, his height five feet ten inches, and his 
 build proportionate. He is a man of much over 
 the average intelligence, and has read exten- 
 sively. 
 
 ALFRED BEST; unlawful cohabitation; plea of 
 guilty; sentenced October 5th, 1885, by Judge 
 Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs, 
 He was born in Toddington, Gloucestershire. 
 England, June 19th, 1829 ; joined the Church in 
 Birmingham, in 1849; came to Utah in 1851. 
 He is a resident of Salt Lake City. He is short 
 of stature and spare build. His eyes and com- 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 115 
 
 plexion are dark, and his constitution by no 
 means robust. He is a tinner by trade, but re- 
 tired from that business several years ago. 
 
 ANDREW W. COOLEY; unlawful cohabitation; 
 plea of guilty ; sentenced October 5th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Bruce, McComb County, 
 Michigan, May 24th, 1837, and in 1863 came to 
 Utah, where he joined the Church in 1864. He 
 is a large framed man, with medium complexion 
 and blue eyes. He was Bishop of Brighton Ward 
 from 1865 to 1871, when he resigned. 
 
 WILLIAM A. ROSSITER ; .unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty ; sentenced October 10th, 1885, 
 by Judge Zane; term, six months and $300 and 
 costs. A conspicuous feature of the case was the 
 flimsy character of the evidence produced by 
 the prosecutor. Speaking of this feature of it, 
 a prominent lawyer remarked that he saw no use 
 of a "Mormon" making any legal fight; he being 
 convinced that to accuse was to convict. W. A. 
 Rossiter was born in London, England, February 
 26th, 1843 ; joined the Church, at Barnsley, in 
 1860, and started for Utah in 1862. A thrilling 
 incident in his experience occurred at Florence, 
 
116 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 Wyoming, the point of outfitting for crossing the 
 plains. He worked for the Church there, con- 
 veying the emigrants and their luggage from the 
 landing on the Missouri river to the camp, a 
 distance of about half a mile. He was leaving 
 the landing with his ox-teams and wagon, with 
 a load, when a terrible rain and thunderstorm 
 arose. He stopped a short distance from the 
 camp, and the fifteen people who accompanied 
 him crouched under the wagon considerably 
 terrified. Finding there was no abatement of 
 the storm, Brother Rossiter advised them to take 
 their luggage and seek better shelter. All had 
 gone except a man named Day, another named 
 Henry B. Whittall formerly assistant editor of 
 the Millennial Star and a young woman and a 
 boy. William was in the act of raising his whip, 
 and was about to say "gee" to the cattle, when he 
 felt a sensation as if he was whirling round like a 
 top, and then he became unconscious. When he 
 partially recovered he found himself lying upon 
 the ground, abount ten feet from where he had 
 been standing, with his head between the wheels, 
 When he rose to his feet he staggered about for 
 some time. He was shocked to discover Whittall 
 lying with his head under the wagon quite dead, 
 and Day a short distance away in a dying 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 117 
 
 condition, while the young woman and boy were 
 badly hurt, all having been struck by lightning. 
 His own escape was remarkable. He reached 
 Utah in the fall of the same year, 1862. He suc- 
 cessively worked at farming, teaming, and as 
 driver of President Young's carriage. Finally 
 he was employed as his agent, had charge of all 
 his outside business, and is still employed by 
 his estate. While in prison he showed himself 
 to be remarkably kind-hearted and obliging. His 
 height is five feet eight inches, he is of spare 
 build, dark complexion, and has pointed features. 
 
 GEORGE ROMNEY ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of guilty; sentenced October 10th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Dalton, Lancashire, Eng- 
 land, August 14th, 1831 ; was baptized when 
 eight years old, and emigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, 
 in 1841. Was driven from that place at the time 
 the Church was expelled; came to Utah in the 
 fall of 1850. He is a contractor, builder, etc. 
 He is five feet nine and a half inches in height, 
 has auburn hair, and blue eyes. His face is 
 large and carries upon it a reflective expression. 
 He is recognized as the possessor of excellent 
 business ability, which has enabled him to reach 
 
118 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 a considerable degree of financial prosperity. 
 He is a member of the well-known firm of 
 Taylor, Romney & Armstrong. 
 
 JOHN NICHOLSON ; unlawful cohabitation. He 
 declined to make any plea, and the court directed 
 that one of not guilty be entered. At the trial, 
 in order to save members of his family from being 
 compelled to testify against him, he took the 
 stand himself, and gave evidence for the prose- 
 cution sufficient to insure conviction, making it 
 unnecessary to use any other witness. This was 
 the first case in which this course was taken. He 
 was sentenced by Judge Zane, October 13th, 
 when he addressed the court, and declared his 
 intention to be true to his religion, his family, 
 and his conscientious views of his rights under 
 the Constitution. The term was six months ; 
 fine, $300 and costs. He was born at St. Boswells, 
 Roxburghshire, Scotland, July llth, 1839 ; joined 
 the Church in Edinburgh, April 8th, 1861, and 
 came to Utah in 1866. His height is five feet 
 eight inches; build, slender; hair, eyes, and com- 
 plexion dark ; profession, journalist. 
 
 EMIL OSCAR OLSEN; unlawful cohabitation; 
 plea of guilty; sentenced October 13th, 1885, by 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 119 
 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born in Christiania, Norway, 
 September 12th, 1849; joined the Church in 
 1863, and came to Utah in 1874. He resided in 
 Echo four years, where he was Counselor to 
 Bishop Asper a year and a half. He then re- 
 moved to Salt Lake City. He is a tailor by trade. 
 He is short and stout; is of fair complexion, and 
 has sandy hair. He is genial and pleasant to a 
 more than ordinary degree. 
 
 ANDREW SMITH; unlawful cohabitation; plea 
 of not guilty. He took the stand and testified 
 against himself. Before receiving sentence, which 
 was passed October 13th, 1885, by Judge Zane, 
 he briefly addressed the court, asserting that he 
 did not purpose under any circumstances to 
 renounce his religion. He was born at Linester, 
 Ayrshire, Scotland, February 28th, 1837; joined 
 the Church when he was fourteen years of age, 
 and came to Utah in 1856. On his way here he 
 crossed the plains with a handcart company 
 numbering about six hundred, over eighty of 
 whom perished on the journey. On account of 
 his extraordinary physical strength his cart was 
 so loaded with flour and other people's baggage, 
 that three of those vehicles drawn by him^broke 
 
120 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 down with their burdens. He has worked in the 
 Temple quarry, and at various kinds of canyon 
 work. He had charge of a large force of men 
 engaged on Bishop Sharp's contract in the build- 
 ing of the U. P. R. R.; was frequently a body 
 guard to President Brigham Young, and at his 
 office. He has been on the regular police force of 
 Salt Lake City fifteen years, besides having pre- 
 viously performed a great deal of special police 
 duty. His height is five feet ten inches, and he 
 iti of powerful build. His complexion is what is 
 generally denominated sandy. 
 
 AURELIUS MINER; unlawful cohabitation; plea 
 of not guilty ; sentenced October 17th, 1885, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Woodbury, Lichfield 
 County, Connecticut, January llth, 1832, and is 
 a nephew of the late Apostle Orson Hyde. He 
 came to Salt Lake City in 1854, arriving Septem- 
 ber lest of that year, the object of his trip being 
 to visit his uncle, by whom he was baptized in 
 February, 1858. He made the journey across the 
 plains in the merchant train of Kinney, Green 
 & Co. Judge Kinney, the then newly appointed 
 Chief Justice of Utah, George B. Styles, Associate 
 Justice, and Joseph Holraan, U. S. District 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 121 
 
 Attorney, traveled in the same company. Mr. 
 Miner is a graduate of the State National College 
 of New York, r and by virtue of his diploma, as 
 Bachelor of Laws, was entitled to practice in that 
 State. He was also member of the bar of 
 Columbus, Ohio, and of the State of Michigan. 
 He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme 
 Court of the U. S. in January, 1883, and up to a 
 recent date was the oldest practitioner in the courts 
 of Utah, having been admitted to the bar in 1854. 
 Shortly after his conviction he was disbarred by 
 Chief Justice Zane, the grounds stated being 
 moral turpitude, alleged to be involved in said 
 conviction, and because he reserved the, right of 
 opinion regarding the constitutionality of any 
 law, and would not promise to obey the Edmunds 
 law in the future. He is of medium height, 
 square build, fair complexion, and has a round 
 face and small features. 
 
 WILLIAM 1). NEWSOM ; polygamy and unlaw- 
 ful cohabitation; plea of not guilty; sentenced 
 October 17th, 1885, by Judge Zane; complete 
 term, three years and six months; fine, $800. 
 He was born in Arklow, County of Wicklow, 
 Ireland, February 21st, 1836. He was baptized 
 in September, 18G2, while engaged as a steamboat 
 
122 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 engineer, on Alago Bay, South Africa, and came 
 to Utah in 1865. He is short and square, has 
 light complexion, and prominent features. 
 
 LUCY DEVEREUX, his plural wife, was im- 
 prisoned six weeks, with her infant child, in 
 the penitentiary, for declining to answer Com- 
 missioner McKay and the grand jury certain 
 questions, one of which was: "Who is the father 
 of your child?" 
 
 ROBERT H. SWAIN ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of guilty; sentenced November 2nd, 1885, 
 by Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born March 19th, 1836, in the 
 County of Kent, England. He w r as baptized in 
 1854, in Dover, where he was at the time em- 
 ployed as a policeman. He came to Utah in 1865. 
 He is six feet two inches tall, and weighs one 
 hundred and eighty pounds. He has fair com- 
 plexion, blue eyes, and long features. 
 
 FRED. H. HANSEN ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty; sentenced November 5th, 
 1885, by Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born at Lolland, Den- 
 mark, April 13th, 1845. He was baptized in 
 1868, and came to Utah in 1878. He is short 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 123 
 
 and square, and has a round or broad face. His 
 complexion is fair. 
 
 THOMAS PORCHER ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty; sentenced November 21st, 
 1885, by Judge Zane; term,. six months; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born in Cambridge, 
 England, December 20th, 1839, his parents being 
 then in the Church. He came to Utah in 1861. 
 He was formerly a printer, but is now a tinner 
 and plumber. He is somewhat short of stature, 
 and unusually round in form and feature. 
 
 JOHN W. KEDDINGTON ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of guilty; sentenced, by Judge Zane, Nov- 
 ember 21st, 1885; term, six months; fine, $300 
 and costs. He was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, 
 England, May loth, 1850 ; came to Utah in 
 1853, having consequently been reared in the 
 Church. His principal employment is that of 
 teamster. He is also a musician, and has played 
 the cornet in the orchestra of the Salt Lake 
 Theatre for four years. His height is six feet 
 two inches, and his build is slender. 
 
 HENRY GALE ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 guilty ; sentenced, by Judge Boreman, December 
 
124 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 17th, 1885 ; term, six months and $300. He was 
 born in Box, Wiltshire, England, October 18th, 
 1818, and went to Australia in 1839, where he 
 joined the Church in 1843. He emigrated to 
 San Bernardino, California, in 1853, and came to 
 Utah in 1857. He settled in Beaver, and has 
 resided there ever since. At the time of sentence 
 he was a confirmed invalid, being unable to 
 dress or undress without aid, being disabled by 
 chronic rheumatism. He was also afflicted with 
 a severe rupture; had only partial control over 
 some of the common functions of the body, and 
 was almost toothless. Comment upon the bar- 1 
 barity of incarcerating him is unnecessary. 
 When asked by the court if he had anything to 
 say, he declared that he would not renounce his 
 religion on any condition. 
 
 CULBERT KING, Bishop of Marion Ward, Gar- 
 field County ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 guilty; sentenced December 22nd, 1885, by Judge 
 Borernan; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. 
 He was born in Oswego County, New York, 
 January 31st, 1836. He was baptized when ten 
 years old, his family being already in the Church, 
 when on the way from Nauvoo, with the exodus, 
 to Winter Quarters, in 1846. He came to Utah 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 125 
 
 in 1851 and settled in Fillmore. He is a farmer 
 and stockraiser. He is a large man, being over 
 six feet in height, and long featured. 
 
 JAMES E. TWICHEL ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty. He had two trials, the jury 
 having hung on the first, but were unanimous 
 for conviction on the second. He was sentenced, 
 by Judge Boreman, December 22nd, 1885; term, 
 six months; fine, $300 and costs. He was born 
 near Lacomb, Illinois, October 19th, 1854, and 
 came to Utah in 1848. He left the Territory and 
 went to California in 1849 and returned in 1858. 
 He settled on Indian Creek, near Beaver, and 
 has resided there ever since. 
 
 DAVID M. STUART ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of guilty; sentenced, by Judge O. W. Powers, 
 January 4th, 1885; term, six months; fine, $300 
 and costs. He was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, 
 Scotland, March 8th, 1826 ; baptized at Paisley, 
 May 5th, 1842; came to America in 1845, and 
 reached Utah in 1847. He has been on five 
 missions to the States, and one to Great Britain. 
 He is an old resident of Ogden. He is of medium 
 height, rather long face, and promineht features. 
 
126 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 JAMES H. NELSON ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of guilty ; sentenced, by Judge 0. W. Powers, 
 January 8th, 1886 ; term, six months ; fine, $300 
 and costs. He was born at Jacksonville, Morgan 
 County, Illinois, March 28th, 1839, his parents 
 being at that time in the Church. He was bap- 
 tized at the age of eight years, and was in Nauvoo 
 in his childhood, and left there at the time of the 
 general expulsion of the Saints. He came to 
 Utah in September, 1852, and has resided there 
 permanently. He is a real estate agent. He is 
 short of stature, round and stout. His com- 
 plexion is fair, and his face large. 
 
 WILLIAM WALLACE WILLEY ; unlawful co- 
 habitation ; plea of guilty ; sentenced February 
 10th, 1886, by Judge Zane ; term, five months ; 
 fine, $200 and costs. He was born in Hancock 
 County, Illinois, October 20th, 1841, his parents 
 being then in the Church. The family removed 
 to Nauvoo, and were expelled with the main 
 body of the Saints. They were very destitute 
 at Council' Bluffs, yet William's father was 
 drafted into the Mormon Battalion and accom- 
 panied it on its eventful expedition. William 
 came to Utah in 1851, and has ever since resided 
 at Bountiful. His case was the first of its class 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 127 
 
 from Davis County. His height is five feet nine 
 inches, and his build is heavy. His complexion 
 is medium, face, head, and features round. 
 
 JOHN PENMAN ; polygamy ; plea of not guilty ; 
 sentenced, by Judge Zane, February 10th, 1886 ; 
 term, two years; fine, $25 and costs. He was 
 born at Crossgates, near Dumfermline, Scotland, 
 February 1st, 1835. He was baptized in July, 
 1862. He came to Utah in 1863; is a resident of 
 Bountiful, Davis County, and follows the business 
 of market gardener and farmer. He is over the 
 medium height, bony and slender; has dark 
 eyes and complexion. 
 
 ROBERT MORRIS ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of guilty; sentenced, February loth, 1886, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $150 and 
 costs. He was born at Barrowden, Rutland, 
 England. His mother being already in the 
 Church, he was baptized November 28th, 1852. 
 He came to the United States in 1860, and re- 
 sided in Cincinnati one year, coming to Utah 
 in 1861. He is a resident of Salt Lake City, and 
 by trade a tanner, being a member of a thrifty 
 firm doing business in that line. He has been 
 Counselor to Bishop McRae, of the Eleventh 
 
128 tJTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 Ward, since August, 1877. He is of slender 
 build, but large of stature, his height being six 
 feet two inches. His complexion is fair, and 
 features unusually prominent, and his eyes are 
 full, kindly, and expressive. 
 
 JOHN BOWEN; unlawful cohabitation; plea of 
 not guilty; testified against himself; sentenced, 
 by Judge Zane, February 17th, 1886; term, six 
 months; fine, $300 and costs. He was born at 
 Abersychan, Wales, September 12th, 1841, and 
 joined the Church in 1853 ; came to Utah in 
 1862 ; resided in Salt Lake City four years and 
 in Tooele for the last twenty years. He is by 
 trade a gardener, besides being a musician, both 
 in the vocal and instrumental branches of the 
 art. His height is five feet eight inches; his 
 hair and eyes are dark and complexion sallow 
 He is of spare build, and his features are long. 
 He helped to lighten the hours of imprisonment 
 by teaching the divine art to a number of con- 
 victs organized into a choir, which occasionally 
 assisted, in a musical capacity, at the Sunday 
 religious services. 
 
 THOMAS BUKNINGHAM ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty ; sentenced, by Judge Zane, 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 February 17th, 1S8H ; term, six months ; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born at Farnham, 
 Surrey, England, September 18th, 1842 ; joined 
 the Church in 1857 ; came to Utah in 1860, and 
 settled in Bountiful, Davis County. He follows 
 the business of market gardener. 
 
 W. G. SAUXPERS; unlawful cohabitation; two 
 indictments ; arraigned on one ; plea of guilty ; 
 sentenced February 16th, 1886, by Judge 0. W. 
 Powers ; term, six months ; fine, $25 and costs. 
 He was born at Soham, Cambridgeshire, Eng- 
 land, January 10th, 1819 ; joined the Church in 
 1852; came to the United States, stayed in St. 
 Louis one year, and came to Utah in 1854. He 
 is a resident of Weber County. He is short of 
 stature and stout build. On Wednesday, May 
 19th, 1886, having been taken out of the peni- 
 tentiary to Ogden on purpose, he was arraigned 
 on the second indictment, and pleaded guilty. 
 Judge Powers imposed an additional penalty of 
 six months' imprisonment. 
 
 SAMUEL H. B. SMITH ; unlawful cohabitation : 
 plea of not guilty ; sentenced February 20th , 
 1886, by Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born at Shady Grove, 
 
 9 
 
130 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 Davis County, Missouri, in 1838, and is the son 
 of Samuel Smith and nephew of the Prophet 
 Joseph. A few days after his birth the family 
 were driven out of their home by a mob, the 
 consequence being that his mother, owing to the 
 exposure endured under such critical circum- 
 stances, contf acted a severe illness from which she 
 never recovered. Samuel spent his early Child- 
 hood in Nauvoo, Illinois, from whence he was 
 driven at the time of the general expulsion. He 
 came to Utah with the Church in 1848. He 
 is of prodigious size, being six feet two inches in 
 height, and turns the scales at two hundred 
 and fifty pounds. His physical strength is com- 
 mensurate to his bulk. His complexion is fair, 
 and his features are large. 
 
 JOSEPH McMuRRiN ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty. The defendant took the stand 
 and testified against himself. Sentenced, by 
 Judge Zane, February 23rd, 1886 ; term, six 
 months; fine, $300 and costs. He was born 
 July 14th, 1821, near Glasgow, Scotland, and 
 joined the Church in 1854. He came to Utah in 
 1856, and suffered considerable hardship on the 
 journey over the plains. His height is five feet 
 ten inches, and his build is square and heavy. 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 His features are broad, complexion fair, with 
 blue eyes. He is a cooper by trade, but has no^ 
 worked at that business for a good many years. 
 He is the embodiment of honesty and sincerity. 
 
 HENRY DINWOODEY; unlawful cohabitation; plea 
 of guilty ; sentenced, by Judge Zane, February 
 23rd, 1886; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Warrington, England, 
 September llth, 1825. He joined the Church 
 in 1847; emigrated to America in 1849. He 
 stopped six months at New Orleans, and after 
 that, until 1852, at St. Louis, when he came 
 to Utah. He has pursued the business of 
 manufacturing and dealing in furniture, and 
 has taken the lead in those lines, there being no 
 establishment in Utah to be compared to his in 
 extent. He is five feet ten inches in height, and 
 of full habit. His complexion is fair and eyes 
 blue. His head and face are large ; the features 
 being somewhat rounded, rather than sharp. 
 
 AMOS MAYCOCK; unlawful cohabitation; de- 
 fendant declined to plead; court entered a plea 
 of not guilty for him. He took the stand and 
 testified against himself. Sentenced, by Judge 
 Powers, February 25th, 1886 ; term, five months ; 
 
132 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 fine, $100 and costs. He was born at a hamlet, 
 called Ashorne, in Warwickshire, England, May 
 1st, 1836 ; joined the Church in 1848 ; emigrated 
 to Council Bluffs in 1849, and came to Utah in 
 1852. He lived at Springville six years, and the 
 remainder of the time of his residence in Utah, 
 at North Ogden. He is a farmer. He is con- 
 spicuous, because of his size, being six feet three 
 inches high, and of ponderous frame. His weight 
 is about two hundred pounds. He has a large 
 head, and an unusually long face, the features 
 tending, of course, in the same direction. His 
 hair and beard, when the latter is allowed to 
 appear, are red, or of that color sometimes 
 denominated sandy. On Wednesday, May 19th, 
 1886, while serving his term on the first convic- 
 tion, he was arraigned in the First District Court, 
 at Ogden, on the second indictment. The proceed- 
 ings resulted in the imposition of another sen- 
 tence to imprisonment for RX months, by Judge 
 Powers. 
 
 HELON H. TRACY ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 three indictments, tried on one; plea of not 
 guilty. He took the witness' stand and testified 
 against himself. He was sentenced February 
 25th, 1886, by Judge Powers, who said on the 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 133 
 
 occasion : " There is no power on, under, or above 
 the earth that can stop these prosecutions." Term, 
 six months ; fine, $300 and costs. He was born 
 at Council Bluffs, Iowa, February 25th, 1849, his 
 parents being in the Church at the time, and 
 among those who were expelled from Nauvoo. 
 He came to Utah in 1850, and has resided in 
 Weber County ever since, with the exception of 
 a few months. His height is five feet ten inches, 
 and build slender. His complexion is fair, and 
 featur.es small ; hair sandy. His trade is car- 
 penter. He was taken to Ogden on May 19th, 
 1886, while serving his term in the penitentiary, 
 arraigned on the second indictment, resulting in 
 Judge Powers inflicting another sentence of 
 imprisonment for six months. The inhumanity 
 of the proceeding is intensified by the fact that 
 Brother Tracy is an invalid, suffering from con- 
 sumption. 
 
 CHARLES H. GREENWELL; unlawful cohabita- 
 tion ; plea of not guilty ; testified against himself. 
 Sentenced, by Judge Powers, February 25th, 1880; 
 term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. His 
 parents were in the Church at the time of his birth, 
 which occurred at Philadelphia, Pennyslvania, 
 October 28th, 185(5. He 'came to Utah in 1859. 
 
134 UTAH PENITENTIARY. f 
 
 He has been engaged in the butcher business 
 with his father. He is six feet in height, and of 
 spare build ; his complexion is dark and features 
 sharp. 
 
 HUGH S. GOWANS ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of not guilty; he testified against himself; sen- 
 tenced February 26th, 1886, by Judge Zane; 
 term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. There 
 being three indictments, two were held over for 
 future use. He was born in Perth, Scotland, 
 in February, 1832, and joined the Church in 
 August, 1850; came to Utah in 1855, and has 
 ever since resided in Tooele County, being now 
 President of the Stake known by that name. 
 He has occupied at different times the position of 
 Probate Judge, Deputy County Clerk, Deputy 
 Recorder, and telegraph operator. He is of 
 medium height and proportionate build. His 
 hair and complexion are dark. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY LEE ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 plea of not guilty ; took the stand and testified 
 against himself; sentenced February 26th, 1886, 
 by Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 
 and costs. He was born of Latter-dav Saint 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 135 
 
 parents, at Liberty, Clay County, Missouri, August 
 9th, 1836, The family passed through all the 
 terrible persecutions in Missouri and in Nauvoo^ 
 which place they left at the time of the expulsion. 
 He came to Utah in 1850, and has been a con- 
 tinuous resident of Tooele County ever since. 
 He is a farmer; is six feet in height, and tips 
 the scales at two hundred and forty pounds, his 
 frame being unusually large, as are also his head 
 and face. His hair and complexion are dark. 
 He has been Sheriff of Tooele County. 
 
 HERBERT J. FOULGER ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 three indictments, but tried x>n one only, the two 
 others being held in reserve. Plea of not guilty ; 
 testified against himself; sentenced February 
 26th, 1886, by Judge Zane; term, six months; 
 fine, $300. He was born in London, England, 
 January 10th, 1848 ; joined the Church October 
 23rd, 1862, and came to Utah in 1863. He has 
 followed the trade of carpenter, book-keeper, and 
 has been more lately superintendent of a co- 
 operative store. He has been for a number of 
 years a Counselor in the Bishopric of the Twenty- 
 first Ward, Salt Lake City. He is short of 
 stature and stout build. His hair and complexion 
 are fair. 
 
JoG UTAH PENITENT! A II Y. 
 
 JOHN P. BALL ; unlawful cohabitation ; pica 
 of not guilty; supplied the testimony for self- 
 conviction ; sentenced, by Judge Zane, February 
 27th, 1886; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Claughton, Leicestershire, 
 England, October 4th, 1828 ; joined the Church 
 in 1860 ; came to Utah in 1862. He is somewhat 
 tall and spare, and complexion dark. He is a 
 resident of Salt Lake City. 
 
 THOMAS C. JONES ; unlawful cohabitation ; three 
 indictments, tried on one, the others being held 
 in reserve ; plea of" not guilty ; testified against 
 himself; sentenced, by Judge Zane, February 
 27th, 1886; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born in Birmingham, England, 
 February llth, 1825; joined the Church October 
 25th, 1848; came to Utah in 1868. He is a brush- 
 maker ; is short of stature, and fair complexion. 
 
 JOHN Y. SMITH ; unlawful cohabitation ; three 
 indictments, tried on one ; plea of not guilty ; 
 regular trial; sentenced February 27th, 1886, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born at Johnston, Renfrewshire, 
 Scotland, October 20th, 1833 ; joined the Church 
 in 1852, and came to Utah in 1857, in a hand 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 137 
 
 cart company, under the supervision of Captain 
 Raleigh, of American Fork. He has been a 
 member of the Salt Lake City police force since 
 1869. He has held the position of Counselor in 
 the Third Ward Bishopric since 1877. His 
 height is five feet ten inches, and his build is 
 square and heavy. Complexion sandy. 
 
 . JAMES MOYLE ; unlawful cohabitation ; three 
 indictments, tried on -one; plea of not guilty; 
 testified against himself; sentenced March 1st, 
 1886, by Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born at Rosemeln, 
 Cornwall, England, October 31st, 1835 ; joined 
 the Church in February, 1852, at Devonport, 
 England ; came to Utah in 1854. He is a mason, 
 and is foreman of the builders and stonecutters 
 on the Temple Block, Salt Lake City. His 
 height is five feet ten inches; complexion dark. 
 Before his incarceration his face was adorned 
 with a handsome flowing beard. 
 
 GEORGE H. TAYLOR ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 three indictments, tried on one ; supplied the 
 testimony to convict by going upon the witness 
 stand ; sentenced, by Judge Zane, March 1st, 
 1886; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. 
 
138 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 He was born at Bloomfield, Essex County, N. Y., 
 November 4th, 1829 ; joined the Church at 
 Haverstraw, Rockland County, N. Y., September 
 22nd, 1848; came to Utah in 1859. He 
 has been Counselor in the Bishopric of the 
 Fourteenth Ward for a number of years. He is 
 rather short of stature and spare build. His 
 complexion is dark. He is a lumber merchant, 
 wood- worker, etc., and has an excellent reputa- 
 tion for business energy and ability. He is 
 senior member of the firm of Taylor, Romney & 
 Armstrong. 
 
 O. F. DUE ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea of 
 guilty; sentenced March 1st, 1886, by Judge 
 Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. 
 He was born at Slemminge, Maribo County, 
 Denmark, September 15th, 1836 ; joined the 
 Church in 1869; came to Utah in 1872. His 
 height is medium and complexion fair. He is a 
 gardener. 
 
 JAMES 0. POULSON ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 three indictments, tried on one ; plea of guilty ; 
 sentenced, by Judge Zane, March 1st, 1886 ; 
 term, six months; fine, $300 and costs. He 
 was born at Malma, Sweden, July 7th, 1826 ; 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 139 
 
 joined the Church in 1871, and came to Utah tho 
 same year. He is a farmer ; height medium : 
 complexion dark ; build rather stout ; face and 
 features round ; resident of West Jordan. 
 
 SAMUEL F. BALL ; unlawful cohabitation ; three 
 indictments, tried on one ; plea of not guilty : 
 testified against himself; sentenced March 1st, 
 1886, by Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born at Stockcross, 
 Berks, England, April 14th, 1849; joined the 
 Church July 6th, 1877 ; came to Utah in 1881 ; 
 he is short and spare; complexion light; face 
 somewhat thin? He is by trade a confectioner. 
 
 HYRUM GOFF ; unlawful cohabitation ; three 
 indictments, tried on one ; plea of not guilty ; 
 supplied the testimony for his own conviction ; 
 sentenced by Judge Zane, March 3rd, 1886 ; 
 form, six months; fine, $300 and costs. He was 
 born at Longwhatton, Leicestershire, England, 
 July 29th, 1849, his parents being then 'in the 
 Church ; came to Utah in 1862. He is about 
 five feet seven inches in height, has brown hair, 
 brownish grey eyes, and florid complexion. He 
 is of rather slender build and genteel appearance. 
 He is a resident of West Jordan. 
 
140 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 WILLIAM JENKINS; unlawful cohabitation; frwo 
 indictments, tried on one ; plea of not guilty ; 
 supplied the testimony for the prosecution from 
 his own lips; sentenced March 3rd, 1886, by 
 Judge Zane; term, six months; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born in Nauvoo, Hancock County, 
 Illinois, September 1st, 1841, his parents being in 
 the Church ; driven out at the time of the general 
 expulsion ; came to Utah in 1863. His height is 
 about five feet eight inches ; hair, light brown ; 
 complexion, florid ; build strong and square ; 
 farmer ; resident of West Jordan. 
 
 FREDERICK A. COOPER; unlawM cohabitation; 
 three indictments, tried on one ; plea of not guilty ; 
 voluntarily supplied the testimony for the prose- 
 cution; sentenced March 8th, 1886, by Judge 
 Zane. He was born at Godmanchester, Hunt- 
 ingdonshire, England ; joined the Church in 
 1849, his parents being already connected with 
 it. He came to Utah in 1859 in a hand cart 
 company, and pulled one of those vehicles over 
 the plains. His height is five feet eight inches; 
 hair brown, complexion unusually florid; eyes, 
 grey. His-build is stout, inclining to corpulency. 
 He has followed the mercantile business, but the 
 prosecution breaks him up. 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 141 
 
 JOHN W. SNELL ; unlawful cohabitation ; three 
 indictments, tried on one; plea of not guilty; 
 regular trial ; sentenced March 9th, 1886, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. 
 
 [For declining to answer certain questions pro- 
 pounded by Commissioner McKay, examining 
 magistrate, and subsequently by the grand jury, 
 Eliza Shafer, Mr. SnelPs plural wife, was sent to 
 the penitentiary in September, 1885, and re- 
 mained there imprisoned over three months. At 
 the trial she signified her willingness to go to the 
 Detroit House of Correction for a term of years, 
 an alternative threatened by the court, for the 
 same reason. At the request of her husband, 
 however, she answered the questions.] 
 
 John W. Snell was born at La Harpe, Hancock 
 County, Illinois, March 2nd, 1842. His mother 
 being in the Church while he was in boyhood, 
 he became a member at an early age; came to 
 Utah in 1857, and has principally resided in 
 Salt Lake City. His height is five feet six inches; 
 heavy build, large face and features; blueish 
 grey eyes. In conversation his utterance is un- 
 usually rapid, and he has a notable faculty of 
 touching upon a good many branches of a subject 
 in a surprisingly brief space of time. He has the 
 
142 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 reputation of being greatly given to trading, that 
 being his principal occupation. 
 
 LORENZO SNOW, one of the Twelve Apostles of 
 the Church, entered the penitentiary March 12th, 
 1886. Three indictments having been found 
 against him by the grand jury of the First Dis- 
 trict Court, for unlawful cohabitation, he plead 
 not guilty to each. There were three regular 
 trials, conviction being the result in each case. 
 He was sentenced by Judge 0. W. Powers, January 
 16th, 1886, the judgment being the full penalty 
 of the law imprisonment for six months and a 
 fine of $300 and costs under each conviction. 
 The defendant took an appeal to the Territorial 
 Supreme Court and was in the meantime allowed 
 to remain at large under bonds. The decision of 
 the Territorial Supreme Court confirmed the 
 judgment of the lower court, Chief Justice Zane 
 concurring with Associate Justices Boreman and 
 Powers in the first case, but" dissenting from them 
 in the other two. The two Associate Justices held 
 that unlawful cohabitation was proved in the 
 absence of any other evidence when it was shown 
 that the defendant had lived with a plural wife 
 while he had a legal wife living and undivorced. 
 They held that the law presumed the living with 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 the legal wife. In this view Judge Zane did not 
 concur. The defendant took an appeal to the 
 Supreme Court of the United States. In order to 
 have the cases advanced upon the calendar of 
 the court of last resort, it was necessary that he 
 should be in durance. For the benefit of many 
 of his brethren who had been indicted and others 
 who were likely to be under the "segregating" 
 process, he elected to go to prison to have the 
 question of the right of the lower courts to so 
 construe and administer the law, and other points, 
 tested as early as practicable. The cases were 
 argued and submitted, and, on May 10th, 1886, 
 the U. S. Supreme Court dismissed the cases for 
 want of jurisdiction. To make a show of con- 
 sistency it reconsidered its own decision in the 
 case of Angus M. Cannon, formerly disposed of, 
 repealed its mandate therein, and treated it in 
 the same fashion, as it belonged to the same 
 class of cases as those of Lorenzo Snow. 
 
 Apostle Lorenzo Snow was born April 3rd, 
 1814, at Mantua, Portage County, Ohio, and was 
 consequently on the verge of seventy-two years 
 of age when he entered the prison. He joined 
 the Church in June, 1836, at Kirtland, Ohio, and 
 came to Utah in the fall of 1848. His place of 
 residence is Brigham City, Box Elder County. 
 
144 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 He is about five feet ten inches in height, and of 
 somewhat spare build, his normal weight being 
 one hundred and sixty pounds. His complexion 
 is unusually dark; his features exquisitely 
 modelled, his countenance beaming with in- 
 telligence. His manner is affable and refined, 
 those who come in contact with him being at 
 once impressed with the fact that he is a gentle- 
 man and a scholar. He has done a noble work 
 in connection with the Church. It is not in- 
 tended to give any of the details of it here. They 
 are published elsewhere. We, however, annex the 
 speech made by him in the District Court, when 
 he appeared before the judge to receive sentence. 
 On being asked whether he had anything to 
 say why sentence should not be passed, upon 
 him, Brother Snow read the following : 
 
 " Your honor, I wish to address this court 
 kindly, respectfully, and especially without giving 
 offense. During my trials, under three indict- 
 ments, the court has manifested courtesy and 
 patience, and I trust your honor has still a liberal 
 supply, from which your prisoner at the bar 
 indulges the hope that further exercise of those 
 happy qualities may be anticipated. In the first 
 place the court will please allow me to express my 
 thanks and gratitude to my learned attorneys for 
 their able and zealous efforts in conducting my 
 defense. 
 
UTAH I'KMTKNTIAKY. 14.") 
 
 "In reference to the prosecuting attorney, .Mr. 
 Bierbower, I pardon him for his ungenerous 
 expressions, his apparent false coloring, and 
 seeming abuse. The entire lack of evidence in 
 the case against me on which to argue, made that 
 line of speech the only alternative in which to 
 display his eloquence ; yet, in all his endeavors, 
 he failed to cast more obloquy on me than was 
 heaped upon our Savior. 
 
 " I stand in the presence of this court a loyal, 
 free-born American citizen ; now, as ever, a true* 
 advocate of justice and liberty. ' The land of 
 the free, and the home of the brave,' has been 
 the pride of my youth and the boast of my riper 
 years. When abroad in foreign lands, laboring 
 in the interest of humanity, I have pointed 
 proudly to the land of my- birth as an asylum 
 for the oppressed. 
 
 " I have ever felt to honor the laws and institu- 
 tions of my country, and, during the progress of 
 my trials, whatever evidence has been introduced, 
 has shown my innocence. But, like ancient 
 Apostles when arraigned in Pagan courts, and in 
 the presence of apostate Hebrew judges, though 
 innocent, they were pronounced guilty. So myself, 
 an Apostle who bears witness by virtue of his 
 calling and the revelations of God, that Jesus 
 lives that He is the Son of God ; though guilt- 
 less of crime, here in a Christian court I have 
 been convicted through the prejudice and popular 
 sentiment of a so-called Christian nation. 
 
 " In ancient times the Jewish nation and 
 the Roman empire stood versus the Apostles. 
 
 Now, under an apostate Christianity, the United 
 10 
 
146 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 States of America stands versus Apostle Lorenzo 
 Snow. 
 
 " Inasmuch as frequent reference has been 
 made to my Apostleship, by the prosecution, it 
 becomes proper for me to explain some essential 
 qualifications of an Apostle. 
 
 " First, an Apostle must possess a Divine 
 knowledge, by revelation from God, that Jesus 
 lives that He is the Son of the living God. 
 
 " Secondly, he must be divinely authorized to 
 promise the Holy Ghost ; a divine principle that 
 reveals the things of God, making known His 
 will and purposes, leading into all truth, and 
 showing things to come, as declared by the 
 Savior. 
 
 " Thirdly, he is commissioned by the power of 
 God to administer the sacred ordinances of the 
 Gospel, which are confirmed to each individual 
 .by a divine testimony. Thousands of people 
 now dwelling in these mountain vales, who re- 
 ceived these ordinances through my administra- 
 tions, are living witnesses of the truth of this 
 statement. 
 
 "As an Apostle, I have visited many nations 
 and kingdoms, bearing this testimony to all 
 classes of people to men in the highest official 
 stations, among whom may be mentioned a 
 President of the French republic. I have also 
 presented works embracing our faith and doctrine 
 to Queen Victoria and the late Prince Albert, of 
 England. 
 
 " .Respecting the doctrine of plural or celestial 
 marriage, to which the prosecution so often re- 
 ferred, it was revealed to me, and afterwards, in 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 1 17 
 
 1843, fully explained 'to me by Joseph Smith, 
 the Prophet. 
 
 "I married my wives because God commanded 
 it. The ceremony, which united us for time and 
 eternity, was performed by a servant of God 
 having authority. God being my helper, I would 
 prefer to die a thousand deaths than renounce 
 my wives and violate these sacred obligations. 
 
 " The prosecuting attorney was quite mistaken 
 in saying 'the defendant, Mr. Snow, was the most 
 scholarly and brightest light of the Apostles ;' 
 and equally wrong when pleading with the jury 
 to assist him and the 'United States of America,' 
 in convicting Apostte Snow, and he 'would pre- 
 dict that a new revelation would soon follow, 
 changing the Divine law of celestial marriage/' 
 Whatever fame Mr. Bierbower may have secured 
 as a lawyer, he certainly will fail as a prophet. 
 The severest prosecutions have never been fol- 
 lowed by revelations changing a divine law, 
 obedience to which brought imprisonment or 
 martyrdom. 
 
 " Though I go to prison, God will not change his 
 law of celestial marriage. But the man, the people, 
 the nation, that oppose and fight against this doc- 
 trine and the Church of God will be overthrown. 
 
 " Though the Presidency of the Church and 
 the Twelve Apostles should suffer martyrdom, 
 there will remain over four thousand Seventies, 
 all Apostles of the Son of God, and were these 
 to be slain there still would remain many thous- 
 ands of High Priests, and as many or more Elders, 
 all possessing the same authority to administer 
 Gospel ordinances. 
 
148 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 "In conclusion, I solemnly testify, in the name 
 of Jesus, the so-called 'Mormon Church' is the 
 Church of the living God; established on the 
 rock of revelation, against which 'the gates of 
 hell cannot prevail.' 
 
 " Thanking your honor for your indulgence, I 
 am now readv to receive my sentence." 
 
 A P.R AM H. CANNON; unlawful cohabitation: 
 plea, not guilty; testified against himself rather 
 than his family should be compelled to be 
 witnesses for the prosecution.^ He was sentenced 
 March 17th, 188H, by Judge C. S. Zane; term, 
 six months; fine, $300 and costs. He made a 
 speech in court, expressing his determination not 
 to make any agreement to cast away his family 
 or renounce a principle of his religion. He was 
 born March 12th, 1850, in Salt Lake City, where 
 he resides. His business is printer and publisher, 
 besides engaging to some extent in literature. 
 His height is five feet ten inches and proportion- 
 ate build. His face is large, intelligent, and 
 kindly, and complexion light. He is a son of 
 President George Q. Cannon, and one of the 
 Seven Presidents of Seventies. He filled a mission 
 to Europe, partly to England and the remainder 
 in the Swiss and German mission. While abroad 
 he acquired the German language. 
 
TTAH PENITENT! All V. 149 
 
 ROBERT MCKENDRICK ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 two indictments; plea of guilty to one indictment 
 and not guilty to the other. Sentenced March 
 18th, 1886, by Judge Zane, Third Judicial District; 
 term, six months ; fine, $300 and costs. He was 
 born August 26th, 1828, at Kinboo, Antrim 
 County, Ireland; joined the Church December 
 12th, 1852, and came to Utah in 1859. He is a 
 resident of Tooele, and is by trade a butcher. 
 His stature is five feet four inches, and his build 
 is heavy, his weight being two hundred and 
 fifteen pounds. His complexion is light. 
 
 LORENZO D. WATSON ; unlawful cohabitation : 
 three indictments, tried on one; plea of not 
 guilty. The defendant supplied the testimony 
 by going upon the stand himself for the prosecu- 
 tion, acknowledging his wives in that relation- 
 ship, and admitting that he had lived with 
 them. He was sentenced, by Judge J. S. Bore- 
 man, March 25th, 1886 ; term, six months ; fine, 
 $300 and costs. He was born in Limerick, 
 York County, Maine, September 17th, 1845 ; 
 joined the Church in July, 1868, and came 
 to Utah the same year. He is a resident of 
 Parowan, Iron County, and follows the legal 
 profession. His height is nearly six feet, and 
 
150 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 build spare, his normal weight being one hundred 
 and forty-five pounds. His complexion is light. 
 
 WILLIAM GRANT ; unlawful cohabitation ; two 
 indictments, tried on one; plea of not guilty; 
 took the stand for the prosecution against him- 
 self, acknowledging his wives and that he had 
 lived with them; sentenced April 13th, 1886, by 
 Judge 0. W. Powers; term, four months. He 
 was born at Willenhall, -Staffordshire, England 
 December 25th, 1838;'joined the Church in 1851, 
 and came to Utah in 1866. He is a resident of 
 American Fork, was trained in the trade of lock- 
 smith, and is a professional music teacher. He 
 is short of stature, being only five feet four inches 
 in height, and of spare build, his usual weight 
 being one hundred and twenty-five pounds. His 
 complexion is medium. 
 
 NEPHI J. BATES ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of not guilty ; took the stand for the prosecution 
 against himself; sentenced, by Judge 0. W. 
 Powers, April 13th, 1886; term, three months; 
 fine, one dollar and costs (the costs amount to 
 $293.70). He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, 
 November 18th,*1848 ; his parents being then in 
 the Church he was reared in the faith. He came 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 151 
 
 to Utah in 1852, and is a resident of Monroe, 
 Sevier County. His profession is telegraphing. 
 He is five feet nine inches in stature, and of 
 medium build, his weight being one hundred 
 and forty-eight pounds. His complexion is light. 
 
 JOHN BERGEN; unlawful cohabitation; two in- 
 dictments, one having four counts; plea of not 
 guilty; regular trials; convicted on both; sentence 
 on indictment with one count still pending. Sen- 
 tenced by Judge Zane, April 26th, 1886; term, 
 six months on each count (two years), and $300 
 and costs (aggregating $1,200 and costs). Is 
 also under indictment for polygamy. He was 
 born in Christianstad, Sweden, June 22nd, 1822; 
 joined the Church in June, 1855 ; a resident of 
 Salt Lake City, and by trade a tailor. 
 
 STANLEY TAYLOR; unlawful cohabitation; four 
 indictments, tried on one, the others pending; 
 plea of not guilty; testified against himself by 
 admitting the relationship between himself and 
 his wives, and his having lived with them in 
 that association. Sentenced May 10th, 1886, by 
 Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine, $300 and 
 costs. He was born January, 1838, at Bolton, 
 Lancashire, England ; joined the Church Nov- 
 
152 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 ember 21st, 1853 ; came to Utah September, 
 18*60. He is a resident of Salt Lake City, and 
 follows the business of hack proprietor and driver. 
 He 'is short of stature and heavy build. His 
 complexion is light. 
 
 GEORGE B. BAILEY ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 one indictment; plea of not guilty; regular trial ; 
 sentenced May 10th, 1886, by Judge Zane ; term, 
 six months; fine, $300 and costs. He was born 
 February 15th, 1833, in Bath, England; joined 
 the Church in May, 1851 ; came to Utah in 1853, 
 and resides at Mill Creek, Salt Lake County. He 
 is by trade a cabinet maker,' but does not follow 
 that pursuit, being employed in farming and 
 bee culture. He is in stature within one inch 
 of being six feet, and of spare build, his normal 
 weight being about one hundred and sixty 
 pounds. His complexion is light. 
 
 ANDREW JENSEN ; unlawful cohabitation ; plea 
 of not guilty ; had a regular trial ; sentenced 
 May 10th, 1886, by Judge Zane; term, six 
 months ; fine, $300 and costs. He was born 
 March 8th, 1841, in Raadved, Denmark ; joined 
 the Church in 1863 ; came to Utah in 1867 ; and 
 is a resident of Mill Creek, Salt Lake County. 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 1 5o 
 
 He is a farmer. His stature is five feet nine 
 inches, and his build medium; complexion light. 
 
 HENRY W. NAISBITT ; unlawful cohabitation ; 
 three indictments, tried on one (the first); plea of 
 not guilty ; regular trial. He requested to be 
 given some time between conviction and sentence, 
 to enable him to arrange his business so that his 
 family might not have to suffer during his 
 absence from them. Prosecuting Attorney Dick- 
 son opposed the granting of the request, saying 
 that he was tired of such delays. The court there- 
 upon used its discretion in declining to accede to 
 the solicitation of the defendant. The latter was 
 sentenced May llth, 1886, by Judge Zane; term, 
 six months; fine, $300 and costs. H. W. Xais- 
 bitt was born at Romanby, Yorkshire, England, 
 November 7th, 1827 ; joined the Church in 1851 ; 
 came to Utah in 1854. He is a resident of Salt 
 Lake City, and has had many ups and downs in 
 business, which has been chiefly in the mercan- 
 tile -line. Among other qualifications he pos- 
 sesses are those of being a facile writer and fluent 
 speaker. His complexion is light, his hair and 
 beard having been originally what is termed 
 sandy, but are now somewhat whitened by the 
 effects of time. His height is about five feet 
 
154 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 eight inches, and build slender. In the fall of 
 1878 he returned from a mission to England, on 
 which he was absent about two years. 
 
 GEORGE C. LAMBERT; unlawful cohabitation. 
 There was one indictment against him, but it con- 
 tained three counts, during the time covered by 
 two of which (1883 and 1884) the defendant was 
 in England on a mission. On this fact being repre- 
 sented to the prosecuting attorney he agreed to 
 prosecute only on the third count, and asked that 
 the jury return a verdict of not guilty on the other 
 two. This was accordingly done. The defendant 
 pleaded not guilty, and, rather than permit his 
 family to be brought into court, gave evidence 
 against himself, acknowledging his relationship 
 with his wives, and having lived with them in 
 that association. He was sentenced May llth, 
 1886, by Judge Zane ; term, six months ; fine 
 $300 and costs. Brother Lambert was born in 
 "Winter Quarters," April llth, 1848, and came, 
 or rather was brought to Utah in 1849, and is a 
 resident of this city. He is a printer and journal- 
 ist by profession, having been for a year and a 
 half prior to his incarceration upon 'the editorial 
 staff of the Deseret News. He is over medium 
 height and stouter than the average build. His 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 155 
 
 complexion is light, and his features what might 
 be termed round and full ; the forehead rather 
 high and broad. He is naturally resolute and 
 courageous. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 are some things in life that cannot 
 be learned otherwise than by experience. 
 Among these are the sensations produced by the 
 process of being placed in prison. They un- 
 doubtedly vary according to circumstances and 
 the constitution of the individual. In some of 
 its aspects with special reference to those in- 
 volved in the present legal and judicial persecu- 
 tions of the Latter-day Saints it provides a 
 graphic ' comparison to the passage through the 
 "dark valley of the shadow of death." 
 
 The conviction, involving the certainty of de- 
 parture from the outward world, stands side by 
 side with the impression upon the mind of the 
 stricken patient, who feels that his falling into 
 the hands of the grim-visaged monster is inevit- 
 
156 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 able. The departure of the victim for the prison 
 has also many concomitants in common with the 
 snuffing out of the lamp of life. There are weep- 
 ing loved ones, who mourn, with bursting hearts, 
 because of the temporary separation from him 
 who perhaps has been their chief earthly comfort, 
 reliance and source of strength. With him the 
 principal regret which overtops all others is 
 for those whom he leaves behind while he is 
 snatched from the presence of social and domestic 
 joys to suffer temporary death. There is the same 
 swelling of the heart and falling of the sym- 
 pathetic tear when the name of the absent one is 
 mentioned, and the vacanjt chair where he was 
 wont to sit is regarded with the same veneration 
 as if he had crossed the dark, deep river. There 
 is the same hope, in a less extended form, of a lov- 
 ing reunion when the prison doors shall open 
 and the captive be set free, that inspires the 
 deeply religious soul who looks, "as fond antici- 
 pation forward points the view," to the never fad- 
 ing glories of the resurrection and the renewal 
 in eternity of those sacred associations formed in 
 mortality, under the seal of divine recognition. 
 In the captive's mind, when he enters the por- 
 tals of the penitentiary, there is perhaps a corres- 
 ponding mental vagueness regarding the condi- 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. .157 
 
 tions into which he is about to be ushered, there 
 being an air of mystery in the minds of people in 
 the outer world in relation to prison life. There 
 is this difference: When the upright man whose 
 conscience is void of offense toward God or man, 
 is. about to pass to the spirit land, there are no 
 misgivings as to the betterment of the conditions, 
 while no matter how righteous he may be, he 
 steps upon the threshold of the prison with a 
 feeling of mingled repugnance and misgiving, no 
 matter how stout may be his heart, or resolute his 
 purpose. 
 
 To the independent spirit the deprivation of 
 liberty is bitter beyond expression. He can bear 
 it quietly, nay submissively, but while there is 
 the outward indication of calm subjection, who 
 can tell the occasional surging within the sensitive- 
 soul who prizes freedom and fully senses the 
 damning crime of those who unjustly placed him 
 within the hated precincts of a jail designed for 
 those alone who have outraged the laws of nature 
 and of nature's God and whose incarceration is 
 .properly demanded for the protection of their 
 fellow creatures ? Surely an inward protest against 
 such acts is not an offense against Omnipotence, 
 for he who is for conscience' sake confined with 
 felons and shut out from liberty says to himself: 
 
158 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 "Peace, troubled soul be still." And then: "Not 
 my will be done, God, but Thine." 
 
 But there are compensations for unjust punish- 
 ment and indignities heaped upon the victims of 
 a mistaken as well as cruel policy in the vain 
 attempt to crush religious convictions out of the 
 hearts of a devoted people. The thoughtful man, 
 imprisoned for religion's sake, is above and 
 beyond contamination by contact with the baser 
 class of mortals. His liberty is taken, but while 
 his body is held in bondage, no power can pre- 
 vent his soul from soaring. He is thrown into 
 close association with a phase of humanity of 
 whom he has known comparatively nothing. 
 No other condition could have brought about the 
 intermingling it had to be enforced. It never 
 could have been induced by voluntary action. 
 Yet who shall say that this intimacy with the 
 lower degrees of humanity is not necessary to 
 complete a fundamental experience requisite to 
 form, the basis of extensive sympathy, and a 
 broadened range of thought? It is learned that 
 many, if not all, unfortunate creatures have 
 various redeeming traits. Circumstances call 
 them out, when they shine like the broad Jight- 
 ning flashes that gleam over the horizon of a 
 midnight sky. It is found that, in many cases, 
 
UTAH PENITENTIARY. 151) 
 
 encouragement causes those bright scintillations 
 to become more frequent, then less evanescent, 
 until the conviction ensues that in most instances 
 the heretofore latent spark which shed the 
 transitory rays is susceptible of becoming, by 
 judicious fanning, a steady flame. 
 
 This fact impresses the thoughtful man with 
 the sublime truth that there is in every mortal, 
 however inflnitessimal it may be, a spark of 
 divinity. If he love God, he will love him whom 
 God so loves as to uphold him and maintain in 
 his soul some degree of the light that emanates 
 from Himself. A new lustre breaks in upon a 
 keenly perceptive mind. The grand truth that 
 God is the father and creator of all, has greater 
 potency, and a deeper desire to be useful to the 
 race is more firmly engendered. 
 
 He who gains this experience while in a sense 
 maintaining a position above and beyond that 
 which is most groveling, goes below it, in order 
 that, with an increased understanding, he may 
 soar more loftily above it. Heretofore he has 
 only been familiar with the topography of the 
 sphere of human life, now he digs deep, reaches 
 the lower strata, comprehends the geological 
 construction, and is thus better prepared to 
 ascend arid explore its astronomical or celestial 
 
1(50 UTAH PENITENTIARY. 
 
 aspects. With his new, deeper, and broader 
 understanding he emerges better prepared for the 
 battle of life, more fitted to take a firm, resolute 
 stand for truth, and to lend an abler hand in 
 bettering the condition of his fellow-creatures. 
 The prison picture is not all gloom, for out of the 
 darkness the light is seen in the great beyond, 
 shining with increasing splendor.