Docket Entry, 1–circa 6 July 1843 [Extradition of JS for Treason]
Source Note
Docket Entry, [, Hancock Co., IL, 1–ca. 6 July 1843], Extradition of JS for Treason (Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court 1843); Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 55–87, 116–150; handwriting of and ; CHL.
the house with some chains & handcuffs, he said his orders were from the to handcuff us, & chain us together, he informed us that the had made out a & sentenced us to jail for treason, he also said the had done this that we might not get bail, he also said the stated his intention to keep us in jail until all the Mormons were driven out of the ; he also said that the had farther stated that if he let us out before the Mormons had left the , that we would not let them leave & there would be another damned fuss kicked up; I also heard the say myselfwhile <whilst> he was sitting in his pretended court, that there was no law for us nor <for> the Mormons in the State of ; that he had sworn to see them exterminated & to see the s order executed to the very letter & that he would do so; however, the blacksmith proceeded & put the irons upon us & we were ordered into the wagon & they drove off, for Clay county and as we journ[ey]ed along one the road, we were exhibited to the inhabitants & this course was adopted all the way, thus making a public exhibition of us, until we arrived at , Clay county. There we were thrust into prison again & locked up— and were held in close confinement, for the space of six months & our place of lodging was the square side of a white oak log— & our food was any thing but good & decent; poison was administered to us three or four times, the effect it had upon our system was, that it vomited us always <almost> to death & there we would lay some two or three days in a torpid stupid state not even eating or wishing for life. The poison being administered in too large doses or it would inevitably have proved fatal, had not the power of Jehovah interposed in our behalf, to save us from their wicked purposes. We were also subjected to the necessity of eating human flesh, for the space of five days or go without food exept a little coffee or Corn bread the latter I chose to the former. We none of us partook of the flesh except , we also heard the guard which was placed over us making sport of us saying that they had fed us upon “Mormon beef” I have described this <the> appearance of this flesh to several experienced physicians & they have decided that it was human flesh. We learned afterwards by one of the guard that it was <supposed> that that act of savage cannibalism in feeding us with human flesh would be considered a popular deed of notoriety; but the people on learning that it would not take, tried to keep it secret, but the fact was noised abroad before they took that precaution. Whilst we were incarcerated in prison we petitioned the Supreme Court of the State of for , twice, but were refused both times by who [p. 75]