Knowing that everything that transpires in this place is of interest to the world at large, I take this method to relate the circumstances and evidence elicited in the progress of an examination which took place here on yesterday.

A person named had been lounging about our , for a time past, on pretence of legal business partaining to the sheriffality. His demeanor engendered suspicious feelings in the minds of the citizens towards him, which feelings were heightened by some knowledge of his previous conduct. At length he was recognized as being one of the characters in the lamented murder of Joseph and . He was arrested, upon affadavit being made by , a worthy citizen of this city.— The arrest took place on Tuesday morning, the 11th inst. Subpoenas for witnesses were immediately issued in behalf of the and Defence. At 7 o’clock Tuesday evening, the came into court and requested trial. Some of the witnesses for the , residing in the , and other distant points in this State, had not yet arrived; consequently the state was not prepared to join issue, and the examination was postponed until the following morning.

Wednesday morning, 8 o’clock.— Court met at the Masonic Hall.

The entered with his counsel, and was seated. He looked to be a man of some twenty six or eight years; near five feet eight inches tall; stoutly built, and athletic. He had on a jeans coat, with large pearl buttons, which was united at the upper part of his breast in a careless manner. The pants were taken for casinett and were considerably tattered. This dress was covered by an overcoat, cut from a green Mackinaw blanket.— When he doffed his white nutria hat, it disclosed a prominent forehead and a rather disordered head of black hair. His countenance was dark; his eyes were hazle and sunk to a considerable depth in his head, over which jutted out his heavy dark eyebrows, which a continual scowl knit closely together, giving him at once a savage and heartless look. During the progress of the examination, he flourished a pearl handled dirk knife, which he plied with considerable dexterity in the cavity of his ample mouth, which filled the office of a tooth-pick. Not to be tedious, he seemed the reality of some one of those desperate characters so often portrayed upon the pleasant page of romance; and we might have immagined in our midst the gloomy presance of one who helped make up the history of the bloody ‘Three Spaniards.’

The Court was called to order by , at whose request Esquires and took the Bench, as associate justices.

appeared as council for the State, and Esquires Sweatland and for the Defence.

The urged the postponement of the trial a short time for the procuring of important witnesses.

The defence objected and demanded immediate trial.

The court decided to proceed.

examined.

He knew nothing personally;but sufficient upon which to found an affidavit for arrest. Stood aside.

examined.

Question. , are you acquainted with the ?

Answer. I am.

Q. Did you ever hear him threaten the lives of Joseph and ?

A. I will relate. I became acquainted with on the 2nd of December, one year ago. He was one of the persons who assisted in kidnapping me, on that date. I was at Doty’s mill, in this . They there took me by force and tied my feet under the horse’s belly; when took the reins of the bridle, and they started; he forcing me through brush and over ravines, in a cruel and unfeeling manner. His treatment to me was anything but humane. They shunned the main road as much as possible, as I supposed, to prevent detection. The most that I counted in this company, at any time, were eighteen or twenty men. They were cursing and swearing continually about the Mormons, threatening their lives and the lives of Joseph and in particular. declared he was ready at any time, at a moment’s warning, to assist the Missourians, or any body else, to take their lives. He said Joe Smith, (as he called him,) was a d—d villain, and that he would take his life. If I -[witness]- know any thing of the nature of a covenant, they certainly entered into a covenant that night to take the lives of not only Joseph and , but of all the leading men of the church. Said they: We have got one d—d Mormon (meaning myself,) but this is just a commencement, for we will not cease our exertions until we have got them all. During our march they tried to ascertain from me where certain men lived (calling their names) who belonged to the Mormon church; but I thought that to be a time when the truth was not to be spoken in every instance, and I evaded their enquiries. Under the dark cover of night, they conveyed me to the shore of the , where they dislodged me from the horse, bound me and placed me in a skiff. I supposed their intention was to drown me—I had no other idea. I concluded my hour had come to die, and I made up my mind to meet my fate. But I was mistaken. They conveyed me across the river into the State of , where (no thanks to ) I was afterwards released.

Q. , how do you know was in that company?

A. I recognize him from his appearance, and I also heard one of the company accidentally call his name. Furthermore, he offered me his hand the other day (which I refused to accept,) wishing me to be reconciled, after what he had done.

Q. Did you know the name of any other person engaged in that transaction?

A. I heard them call the name of Col. .

Q. Do you know the date on which the murder of Joseph and was committed?

A. They were murdered on the 27th of June 1844, some six or seven months after they had covenanted to take their lives.

Benj. Brackenberry [Brackenbury] examined.

. I don’t know as I know much about this matter.

Q. Do you know anything about ’s being engaged in the murder of Joseph and ?

. I will answer as far as I know: I was at work for a man who hired his team to carry baggage for the troops, and I was sent to drive it. When we got to the crossing of the rail-road, the troops were disbanded. A company of volunteers were then raised to go to , and my team [p. [2]]