| 767 If so, most likely an exterminating war would ensue, and the whole land would be covered with desolation.
"Acting upon this supposition it was my duty to provide as well as I could for the event. I therefore ordered the two messengers into custody, and to be returned with us to Carthage. This was done to get time to make such arrangement as could be made, and to prevent any sudden explosion of Mormon excitement before they could be written to, by their friends at Carthage. I also dispatched messengers to Warsaw to advise the citizens of the event. But the people there knew all about the matter before my messengers arrived. They, like myself, anticipated a general attack all over the country. The women and children were removed across the river and a committee was dispatched that night to Quincy for assistance. The next morning by daylight the ringing of all the bells in the city announced a public meeting. The people assembled in great numbers at an early hour. The Warsaw committee stated to the meeting that a party of Mormons had attempted to rescue the Smiths out of jail; that a party of Missourians and others had killed the prisoners to prevent their escape; that the Governor and his party were at Nauvoo at the time when intelligence of the fact was brought there; that they had been attacked by the Nauvoo Legion, and had retreated to a house, where they were then closely besieged; that the Governor had sent out word that he could maintain his position for two days, and would be certain to be massacred if assistance did not arrive by the end of that time. It is unnecessary to say that this entire story was a fabrication. It was of a piece with the other reports put into circulation by the Anti-Mormon party, to influence the public mind, and call the people to their assistance. The effect of it, however, was that by ten o'clock on the 28th of June, between two and three hundred men from Quincy, under the command of Major Flood, embarked on board of a steamboat for Nauvoo, to assist in raising the siege, as they honestly believed."-Governor Ford's Message of December 23, 1844.
By the foregoing it will be seen that according to Governor Ford's opinion the Smiths were not guilty of treason.
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