Excerpts from Peter Burnett
Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer
Excerpts from Recollections and Opinions
CHAPTER II. ACT AS CLERK FOR A TIME -- THEN GO INTO THE MERCANTILE
BUSINESS WITH OTHERS.
When I arrived at the house of Mr. Rogers, in Clay County, in the month of April, 1832, I had only sixty-two and a half cents left, was some seven hundred
dollars in debt, had a wife and one child to support, and was out of employment.
I had studied law altogether about six months only, and was not then prepared to
make a living at the practice; and I therefore determined to obtain a position
in some store as a clerk. I visited Lexington, Missouri, where John Aull then
did a large mercantile business, and who was an intimate friend of my father;
but he had no vacancy to fill, having all the help he required. I returned to my
father-in-law's house at a loss what to do. In a few days thereafter Edward M.
Samuel, then in partnership with Samuel Moor in the mercantile business in
Liberty, returned from Philadelphia with a new assortment of goods, and sent me
word that he wished to see me. I had sent forward by water from Tennessee my
little household furniture, and my best clothes. I therefore dressed myself as
well as I could, and promptly went to see Messrs. Samuel and Moor. Mr. Samuel
was the active partner, and Mr. Moor the capitalist of the firm. Mr. Samuel [page 49] was pleased with me, and asked me what I would charge them per annum, and find myself. I replied that I had just arrived, and
did not know what I ought to ask; but that I had heard that Mr. Bird had a
salary of four hundred dollars per annum, he finding himself, and that I thought
I could do their business as well as Mr. Bird did that of Mr. Aull. He replied,
without hesitation, that they would give me the same salary, and let me have
such goods as I might want for myself and family at a price below the ordinary
retail price of the store. Mr. Bird had been a schoolmate of mine in old
Franklin in 1820.
I at once removed with my family to Liberty, rented a log-house for
twenty-five dollars a year, and set to work manfully. Expenses were then light
in Liberty. Pork was one dollar and fifty cents per hundred pounds, wood one
dollar a cord, flour very cheap, corn meal twenty-five cents a bushel, potatoes
twenty cents per bushel, chickens seventy-five cents per dozen, and eggs fifteen
cents a dozen.
I remained in the employment of Samuel & Moor fifteen months, and they
urged me to remain longer, offering to increase my salary; but, having pretty
well paid up my debts, I determined to go into the law. I obtained a license to
practice from Judge Tompkins, of the Supreme Court of Missouri, purchased a
house and lot in Richmond, Missouri, for the small sum of eighty dollars,
repaired the same, and was on the eve of going there to reside and practice my
profession, when I received a proposition from James M. and G. L. Hughes to
enter into partnership in the mercantile business with them, upon very
advantageous terms. [This did not work out very well]...
RETURN TO THE LAW -- EMPLOYED BY THE MORMON ELDERS -- PROCEEDINGS ON HABEAS CORPUS.
From the latter part of 1833 to the middle of 1838 I had not opened a
law-book, and had forgotten much of that which I had learned. In the spring and
summer of 1838 I had an attack of sickness, which prevented me from doing any
business for several months. After my recovery, foreseeing what might be the
result of my mercantile operations, I read the Statutes of Missouri, and studied
well the decisions of the Supreme Court of that State, in the fall and winter of
1838-1839.
In the beginning of 1839 I determined once more to [page 53] try the law, and to bid a final adieu to the
mercantile business. Circumstances were favorable. After my arrival in Liberty
in April, 1832, I was a member of a debating society, and in 1838 I engaged to
some extent in the political contests of that time, and made several stump
speeches. I also edited a weekly newspaper, "The Far West," published in
Liberty. My services were gratuitous, as I desired improvement, not salary. I
had therefore acquired some reputation as a speaker and writer. Besides, the
Mormon difficulties of 1838-'39, which led to their final expulsion from
Missouri, produced a heavy amount of litigation.
The lawyers with whom I came mainly in competition had been at the bar from
eight to fifteen years; and among them were D. R. Atchison, William T. Wood,
Amos Rees, A. W. Doniphan, John Gordon, Andrew S. Hughes, and William B. Almond.
Austin A. King was then our Circuit Judge. Atchison was a member of the
Legislature, and Doniphan had been sick, and was for some months unable to
attend to business. These combined circumstances threw into my hands a
considerable practice the first year. I remember that among the first suits I
brought were several for debt against some of the Mormons in Caldwell County,
some thirty miles from Liberty. I had to begin them at once, as the
circumstances would not admit of delay. I had no books to refer to, and had to
draw up the declarations from memory. I therefore stated the facts
substantially, but in a form most untechnical. These declarations caused
considerable amusement; but I amended them, and obtained my judgments.
In the beginning of 1839, Amos Rees, A. W. Doniphan, and myself were employed
as counsel by Joseph Smith, Jr., Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, and other [page 54] Mormon leaders, then in Liberty jail, they having been committed by Judge King for treason, arson, and robbery, alleged to
have been committed in Davis County. There was no jail in that county, and, as
Liberty jail was the nearest secure prison, they were confined there until the
meeting of the Circuit Court of Davis County, in March, 1839. An investigation
had been had in December, 1838, at Richmond, before Judge King as committing
officer, in which I had not participated, though present. The Mormons had been
driven from Jackson County in 1833, and had taken refuge in Clay; and, after
remaining there a year or two, they had moved to the new prairie county of
Caldwell, north of Clay, where they advanced rapidly with their improvements,
until interrupted by the difficulties of the fall of 1838.
We had the prisoners out upon a writ of habeas corpus, before the Hon. Joel
Turnham, the County Judge of Clay County. In conducting the proceedings before
him there was imminent peril. The people were not only incensed against the
Mormons, but they thought it was presumption in a County Judge to release a
prisoner committed by a Circuit Judge. The law, however, considered all
committing magistrates--judges of courts as well as justices of the peace--as
equals when acting simply in that inferior capacity. We apprehended that we
should be mobbed, the prisoners forcibly seized, and most probably hung.
Doniphan and myself argued the case before the County Judge--Mr. Rees, who
resided in Richmond, not being present. All of us were intensely opposed to
mobs, as destructive of all legitimate government, and as the worst form of
irresponsible tyranny. We therefore determined inflexibly to do our duty
to our clients at all hazards, and to sell our lives as dearly as possible if
necessary. We rose above all [page 55] fear, and felt impressed with the idea that we
had a sublime and perilous but sacred duty to perform. We armed ourselves, and
had a circle of brave and faithful friends armed around us; and, it being cold
weather, the proceedings were conducted in one of the smaller rooms in the
second story of the Court-House in Liberty, so that only a limited number, say a
hundred persons, could witness the proceedings.
Judge Turnham was not a lawyer, but had been in public life a good deal, and
was a man of most excellent sense, very just, fearless, firm, and unflinching in
the discharge of his duties. We knew well his moral nerve, and that he would do
whatever he determined to do in defiance of all opposition. While he was calm,
cool, and courteous, his noble countenance exhibited the highest traits of a
fearless and just judge.
I made the opening speech, and was replied to by the District Attorney; and
Doniphan made the closing argument. Before he rose to speak, or just as he rose,
I whispered to him: "Doniphan! let yourself out, my good fellow; and I will kill
the first man that attacks you." And he did let himself out, in one of the most
eloquent and withering speeches I ever heard. The maddened crowd foamed and
gnashed their teeth, but only to make him more and more intrepid. He faced the
terrible storm with the most noble courage. All the time I sat within six feet
of him, with my hand upon my pistol, calmly determined to do as I had promised
him.
The Judge decided to release Sidney Rigdon, against whom there was no
sufficient proof in the record of the evidence taken before Judge King. The
other prisoners were remanded to await the action of the grand jury of Davis
County. Rigdon was released from the jail at night to avoid the mob. [page 56]
ORATION BY SIDNEY RIGDON.
If I remember correctly, it was in the spring of
1838 that Smith and Rigdon came from Kirtland, Ohio, to Far West, the county
seat of Caldwell County, Missouri. Rigdon delivered an oration on the Fourth of
July, 1838, at Far West, in which he assumed some extraordinary positions in
reference to the relation the Mormons sustained to the State Government. This
discourse gave great offense to the people of the adjoining counties,
particularly to those of Ray and Davis. Serious difficulties were evidently
brewing.
... The Mormons extended their settlements into the adjoining county of Davis, at
a place called Adam on Diamon, the name being significant of some religious idea
which I have forgotten. The people of Davis (who were rather rude and
ungovernable, being mostly backwoodsmen) were very much opposed to this,
although the Mormons had paid for the lands they occupied. The Mormons insisted
on their legal rights as citizens of the State, while the people of Davis
determined that they should not vote in that county at the August election of
1838.
When the election came on, the men of Davis County made an effort to prevent
the Mormons from voting at that precinct. A fight ensued, in which the Mormons
had the best of it. Other difficulties followed, until Lyman Wight, at the head
of the Mormon forces, invaded Davis County, most of which he overran, driving
all before him. General D. R. Atchison, then commanding the militia in that part
of the State, ordered Captain Bogard, of Ray County, to call out his militia
company and occupy a position on or near the county line between Ray and
Caldwell, and preserve the peace [page 58] between the people of the two counties. [This led to the Battle of Crooked River]...
MILITIA ORDERED OUT -- SURRENDER OF THE MORMONS.
John Estes, one of Bogard's
men, who was in the fight [at Crooked River], escaped and came to Liberty the same day, and gave
information to General Atchison. The latter at once ordered the Liberty Blues to
march to the battleground, and there await further orders. I was a member of
this independent militia company.
After [moving into Caldwell County and] remaining a day or two in camp, so as to give time for others to join
us, we marched to within half a mile of Far West, around which the Mormons had
made a sort of barricade of timbers, not sufficient to [page 63] offer any serious resistance. Finding
themselves overpowered by numbers, the Mormon leaders, Smith, Rigdon, Wight, and
others, surrendered. As I understood at the time, a proposition was seriously
made and earnestly pressed in a council of officers, to try the prisoners by
court martial, and, if found guilty, to execute them. This proposition was
firmly and successfully opposed by Doniphan. These men had never belonged to any
lawful military organization, and could not, therefore, have violated military
law. The law of the soldier could not apply to them, as they had not been
soldiers in any legal sense. I remember that I went to Doniphan and assured him
that we of Clay County would stand by him. Had it not been for the efforts of
Doniphan and others from Clay, I think it most probable that the prisoners would
have been summarily tried, condemned, and executed.
PRISONERS BROUGHT BEFORE JUDGE KING -- JOSEPH SMITH, JR. -- LYMAN WIGHT -- SIDNEY RIGDON.
The prisoners were turned over to the civil authorities, and sent to
Richmond, where they were brought before Judge King, who acted as a committing
magistrate. The proceedings occupied some days, as a great number of witnesses
were examined, and their testimony was taken down in writing, as the statute
required. I witnessed a portion of the proceedings, and remember well that Dr.
Alvord (if I mistake not the name) was examined on the part of the prosecution.
He was a very eccentric genius, fluent, imaginative, sarcastic, and very quick
in replying to questions put by the prisoners' counsel. His testimony was very
important, if true; and, as he had lately been himself a Mormon, and was
regarded by them as a traitor from [page 64] selfish motives, his testimony labored under
some apparent suspicion. For these reasons he was cross-examined very rigidly.
After the doctor had been upon the witness stand some hours, General Andrew
S. Hughes (a great wit) came into the case, as counsel for the prisoners; but
the fact was unknown to Alvord. Hughes was seated among the prisoners, and wore
a blanket overcoat, and the doctor was wholly unacquainted with him. Other
counsel for the prisoners had cross-examined the witness, and he had refused to
answer a question put by them. General Hughes said to him, "I will let you know
that it is not for you, but for the Court, to determine whether you shall answer
the question." The witness turned quickly, looked the General full in the face,
and, with a most quizzical expression of mock surprise upon his countenance,
said, "Sir, I do not know what relation you sustain to this case. Are you one of
the prisoners?" This question produced quite a sensation among the attending
crowd, who were greatly amused at the situation of the counsel.
General Hughes was quizzed for the time; but he was not the man to remain
long in that unpleasant condition. In a short time he made a motion in the case,
and in support of that motion made a speech; and when he had finished his
argument he took his seat. The District Attorney rose to reply; and, just as he
commenced, General Hughes rose quickly from his seat, saying, in the most droll,
sarcastic manner, "If it please your Honor, I will save my friend the District
Attorney the trouble of making a speech. I have gained my point, and I withdraw
my motion. I only made a speech to influence public opinion," at the same
time waving his hand over the crowd.
[page 65]
When the March (1839) term of the District Court of Davis County came on, the
sheriff of Clay removed the prisoners, under a strong guard, from the jail in
Liberty to Davis County, to be present at the impaneling of the grand jury. It
was apprehended that the prisoners would be mobbed by the irritated people of
Davis, and the sheriff of Clay was determined to protect his prisoners if he
could. Mr. Rees and myself went to Davis County as their counsel. The courthouse
at the county seat having been burned the fall before by Lyman Wight's
expedition, the court was held in a rough log school-house, about twenty-five
feet square. This house was situated on the side of a lane about a quarter of a
mile long. It being immediately after the annual spring thaw, this lane was
knee-deep in mud, especially in the vicinity of the court-house.
The people of the county collected in crowds, and were so incensed that we
anticipated violence toward the prisoners. In the daytime the Court sat in this
house, the prisoners being seated upon a bench in one corner of the room; and
they were kept under guard there during the night. In the end of the room
farthest from the fireplace there was a bed in which the counsel for the
prisoners slept. The floor was almost covered with mud.
The prisoners arrived on Saturday evening, and the Court opened on the
following Monday. They were fully aware of their extreme danger. As I slept in
the room, I had an opportunity to see much of what passed. The prisoners did not
sleep any for several nights. Their situation was too perilous to admit of
repose. Smith and Wight talked almost incessantly. Smith would send some one for
a bottle of whisky; and, while he kept sober himself, Lyman Wight would
[page 66] become pretty well drunk, and would kindly
invite the guards of Davis County (into whose keeping the prisoners were then
committed) to drink with him, which invitation was cordially accepted. Some of
the guards had been in the combats between the Mormons and the people of Davis
County.
The subject of incessant conversation between Wight and these men was the
late difficulties, which they discussed with great good nature and frankness.
Wight would laughingly say, "At such a place" (mentioning it) "you rather
whipped us, but at such a place we licked you." Smith was not in any of the
combats, so far as I remember. The guard placed over the prisoners in Davis,
after the sheriff of Clay delivered them into the hands of the sheriff of that
county, did not abuse them, but protected them from the crowd. By consent of the
prisoners, many of the citizens of Davis came into the room, and conversed with
them hour after hour during most of the night. Among others, I remember two
preachers, who had theological arguments with Smith, and he invariably silenced
them sooner or later. They were men of but ordinary capacity, and, being
unacquainted with the grounds Smith would take, were not prepared to answer his
positions; while Smith himself foresaw the objections they would raise against
his theory, and was prepared accordingly.
Joseph Smith, Jr., was at least six feet high, well-formed, and weighed about
one hundred and eighty pounds. His appearance was not prepossessing, and his
conversational powers were but ordinary. You could see at a glance that his
education was very limited. He was an awkward but vehement speaker. In
conversation he was slow, and used too many words to express his ideas, and
would not generally go directly to a point.
[page 67] But, with all these drawbacks, he was much more
than an ordinary man. He possessed the most indomitable perseverance, was a good
judge of men, and deemed himself born to command, and he did command. His views
were so strange and striking, and his manner was so earnest, and apparently so
candid, that you could not but be interested. There was a kind, familiar look
about him, that pleased you. He was very courteous in discussion, readily
admitting what he did not intend to controvert, and would not oppose you
abruptly, but had due deference to your feelings. He had the capacity for
discussing a subject in different aspects, and for proposing many original
views, even of ordinary matters. His illustrations were his own. He had great
influence over others. As an evidence of this I will state that on Thursday,
just before I left to return to Liberty, I saw him out among the crowd,
conversing freely with every one, and seeming to be perfectly at ease. In the
short space of five days he had managed so to mollify his enemies that he could
go unprotected among them without the slightest danger. Among the Mormons he had
much greater influence than Sidney Rigdon. The latter was a man of superior
education, an eloquent speaker, of fine appearance and dignified manners; but he
did not possess the native intellect of Smith, and lacked his determined will.
Lyman Wight was the military man among them. There were several others of the
[page 68] of them proposed to Smith that he should
wrestle with one of their own men. He at first courteously objected, alleging
substantially that, though he was once in the habit of wrestling, he was now a
minister of the gospel, and did not wish to do anything contrary to his duty as
such, and that he hoped they would excuse him upon that ground. They kindly
replied that they did not desire him to do anything contrary to his calling;
that they would not bet anything; that it was nothing but a friendly trial of
skill and manhood, for the satifaction of others, and to pass away the time
pleasantly; and that they hoped he would, under all the circumstances, comply
with their request. He consented; they selected the best wrestler among them,
and Smith threw him several times in succession, to the great amusement of the
spectators. Though I did not witness this incident, I heard it stated as a
matter of fact at the time, and I have no doubt of its truth.
The grand jury having found true bills of indictment against the prisoners,
we applied to the Court for a change of venue to some county where the prisoners
could have a fair trial. Upon a hearing of the application, the Court changed
the venue to Boone County, and committed the prisoners to the sheriff of Davis,
with instructions to convey them to the proper county; but the prisoners escaped
on the way and safely arrived in the State of Illinois. Thus ended the Mormon
troubles in Missouri. [Peter H. Burnett, Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1880)]
BURNETT, Peter Hardeman, governor of California, born in Nashville, Tennessee, 15 November, 1807. In his youth Burnett was a trader and lawyer in Missouri and Tennessee. He went to Oregon, overland, in 1843, took a prominent part there in the organization of the territorial government, was member of the legislature in 1844 and 1848, and became a judge of the Supreme Court. The gold excitement attracted him to California in 1848, and he worked for a short time in the mines, and then became agent in managing the complicated affairs of the Sutter family and estate at New Helvetia. In 1849 he was one of the most active persons in urging the rights and necessities of the people of California as sufficient warrant for the formation of a state government in advance of congressional authority. During the agitation of that summer he was an outspoken opponent of the United States military government of the territory; but he cheerfully joined in accepting, at length, Governor Riley's action, whereby a constitutional convention was officially called. Under the new constitution he was at once elected governor, and assumed the office, although the state was not admitted by congress until September, 1850. He resigned the governorship in 1851, then practiced law, and was one of the supreme judges m 1857-'8. From 1863 till 1880 he was president of the corporation now known as the Pacific Bank in San Francisco. He has published " The Path which Led a Protestant Lawyer to the Catholic Church" (New York, 1860); "The American Theory of Government, considered with reference to the Present Crisis" (1861); "Recollections of an Old Pioneer" (1878), which is especially valuable in connection with the early political and constitutional history of the Pacific coast; and "Reasons why we should Believe in God, Love God, and Obey God" (1884). http://famousamericans.net/peterhardemanburnett/
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