History draft; handwriting of , John L. Smith, Jonathan Grimshaw, Robert L. Campbell, , , and ; 101 numbered pages plus several inserted pages; CHL. This manuscript covers the period from 1 March 1843 to 31 December 1843.
by the officer— <(see 2a)> I was taken into Court & was asked by the <the> Judge <> if I had any Council, I told him I had none <not>, neither has he asked if I had any means to employ a Council, I answered I had none with me that I could control, he then said here are a number of Counsellors if I was acquainted with any of them I could take my choice, I told him if I was allowed my choice I would make choice of — who arose & made a speech saying he was crowded with business, but that here r [are] plenty of young Lawyers who could plead for me as well as he could, & the Judge heard his plea, & then told me <he did not consider that sufficient excuse &> I could consider my Counsel— I was then ordered back to Jail & ironed again in the same way—
My Counsel, asked for <& obtained> a change of venue to <which is> in another District— in a short time I was removed to when the officers came to Jail for me, they requested me to get ready in a hurry, as they feard the mob would kill me, I told them I wanted to put on a clean shirt if it cost me my life, as I had not been permitted to enjoy the luxury of a change of linen since I had boarded at the expence of — while I was changing my shirt, the officers came<in> several times, & told me to hurry, or the Mob would be on me & kill me— when I got ready to start the officers furnished me a very hard trotting horse, with a miserable poor saddle, tied my feet under the horse with ropes— & my hands behind my back, & when started off at a good round trot, in charge of <the> two officers— in a short time a strange gentleman fell into our Company <who was> also on horseback; it was 6 miles to the Ferry where we <could> crossed the — when we got there, <we saw> the Boat had just landed on the opposite side— when several men got off the boat & took a course to the woods, thro which the Road ran— <the Boat returned— this stranger asked> a question was asked “where are those men going” and was answered “they are going to the woods to hew timber”, the Boat returned— we then crossed, & took our way for — on going from <when we left> the Boat we saw no signs of people, nor heard any sound of axes— after travelling some two or three miles, the woods became dense & brushy <brushy>— we heard a crackling of brush & the noise of men travelling thro’ it— the officers & the Stranger appeared frightened, & urged speed, keeping close watch— we came to an opening in the woods, & <when> the noise of cracking of brush ceased— we travelled safely to , & there this Stranger told his friends, that he overheard the <several> men <in plan[n]ing> plotting to waylay me in the thick timber on the bottom, at the place where we heard the noises— but he was there to <his being in company> counteracted their plot— I was then lodged in — in a few days afterwards I learned, that the men who went into the brush, told it, that they went into the woods according to agreement, to waylay me, but when they saw this stranger, it frustrated their plans—
In about ten days, on pretext of informality in the papers, I was remanded back to Jail, it was rumored that I was again going to be waylaid, when the <two> officers <from > took me by a different road— and so I escaped the second time— when I was put in <> Jail I was again Ironed hand & foot <& put in the dungeon.> in which condition I remained between <about> two and three months, mostly alonewhen papers were made out drew <during this time <Sherif>a wealthy citizen of > [illegible] <the Sheriff> told me he was going to arrest Joseph Smith— <& they had received letters from , <saying which satisfied them that Joseph Smith had unlimited confidence in me,> that I was capable of tolling Joseph <him> in a carriage, or on horseback any where, that I pleased—> & if I could <only> toll him out by riding or any [p. 5]