| 621 he was shot; he fell from it exclaiming, "my God! my God!" and died upon reaching the ground. He was afterwards stabbed in the breast by apparently a young man, who as he stabbed, said with a demoniac [demonic] fury, "take that."
The Inquirer, after contributing its efforts to bring about these appalling murders by publishing every lie that has been promulgated against the Mormons, cries out "Horrible! we can scarce credit the account," but in the next paper published on the 9th, the editor has evidently got rid of his horror, and with about as much complacency and self-satisfaction as an anaconda exhibits by licking its chops after breakfast on a tiger, he says: "We presume the Mormons will now find another prophet, who will assume Joe Smith's functions."
It is not for the writer of these remarks to predict what the Mormons will do under their present circumstances. But a very little acquaintance with the history of past ages, will bear him out in his assertion, that since the time of the Arabian Mahomet, there never were circumstances in the history of a religious sect, so propitious to the establishment and wide spread increase of its votaries, as there are now exhibited in the history of the Mormon sect. The manner and circumstances of Mr. Smith's death, have invested his cause with a dignity, and have infused an element of success, greater than its most devoted friends could have anticipated.
There wants nothing but a deep conviction of the TRUTH of the Mormon doctrine to animate a dozen of Smith's adherents to set out on a mission from the scene of their prophet's martyrdom, and effects of the most astounding character in the religious world must necessarily follow.
Nauvoo and Carthage will become the Mecca and Medina of the Mormon Prophet, and thousands of devotees may be drawn to make holy pilgrimages to the scenes of the prophet's labors and of his death.
`But what shall be said of the Saturday Courier? of this city, a paper which has to its motto, in staring capitals, "neutral in Politics and Religion." Can any of the numerous readers of the courier have failed to notice the undying enmity of the editor of that paper towards the Mormons or Latter Day Saints? The Courier's strange kind of neutrality has been exhibited towards this sect, "which is every where spoken against," for the last seven years. The next number of that paper will most likely, with much grimace in humble imitation of the Inquirer, head a paragraph respecting Joseph Smith's murder, with the words, "Horrible!! we can scarce credit the account," but before this is done, I would recommend the editor to re-peruse the pleasant article in the courier of the 19th of June, headed "peppering a Mormon," in which with such evident malignant satisfaction and delight he describes an attempt by a mob to murder by strangulation a Mormon preacher in Hagerstown, which attempt failed by the timely escape of the Preacher, and not by any effort on the part of the authorities; or of the citizens present to prevent it.
The Courier should for the sake of truth and consistency, strike its flag of neutrality in RELIGION, while it wages a war of extermination against the Mormons; the only sect in christendom, who in this nineteenth century can exhibit the irresistable [irresistible] evidence of martyrdom in support of its cause.
The newspapers throughout our land, with very few exceptions, and these, to their honor be it said, not professing neutrality in religion, have given their tacit consent for the adoption of Lynch Law; if they have not openly advocated it, so far as the Mormons are concerned; now, when they find the seeds they have sown are beginning to spring up in a plentiful harvest of blood, affect to be astonished, and cry out, "horrible!! we can scarce credit the account."
The writer of these remarks regrets his inability to give a biographical sketch of Joseph Smith, the Mayor of Nauvoo. But the world will not long wait for the biography of a man whose actions in life have ranked him among the truly great; and whose death of martyrdom for the religion he taught will consecrate his character and prolong the effect of his labors to succeeding generations.
Not long after the massacre of the Mormons in Missouri, the writer of this sketch had the pleasure of seeing and becoming acquainted with Joseph Smith, while he was on a visit to this city. Although he then endured bodily affliction, and great mental suffering, owing to the great privations he had undergone, and the slaughter of many of his friends, yet he appeared calm and dignified in his deportment, and perfectly resigned to the calamitous events which had befallen him. In person Mr. Smith was taller than the ordinary size of men, well formed and with commanding aspect. His countenance was free, open and prepossessing, no one could discover anything in his face but love and kindness and charity towards all his fellow creatures. He was easy of access to all that sought his acquaintance, and in a remarkable degree unassuming. A short acquaintance with Mr. Smith was sufficient to convince the most skeptical of his inability to do any dishonorable of immoral act, much less to
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