| 203 armed men under the command of Dr. Austin, 2 encamped near De Witt, besieging that place, to the number of two or three hundred, with a piece of artillery ready to attack the town of De Witt. On the other side Hinkle has in that place three or four hundred Mormons to defend it, and says he will die before he is driven from thence.
"On the 4th instant they had a skirmish-fifteen or thirty guns fired on both sides, one man from Saline wounded in the hip.
"The Mormons are at this time too strong, and no attack is expected before Wednesday or Thursday next, at which time Dr. Austin hopes his forces will amount to five hundred men, when he will make a second attempt on the town of De Witt, with small arms and cannon. In this posture of affairs I can do nothing but negotiate between the parties until further aid is sent me.
"I received your friendly letter on the 5th instant, by Mr. Warder, authorizing me to call on General Doniphan, which call I have made on him for five companies from Platte, Clay, and Clinton, with two companies I ordered from Livingston, of which I doubt whether these last will come; if they do, I think I will have a force sufficient to manage these belligerents. Should these troops arrive here in time, I hope to be able to prevent bloodshed. Nothing seems so much in demand here (to hear the Carroll County men talk) as Mormon scalps; as yet they are scarce. I believe Hinkle with the present force and position will beat Austin with five hundred of his troops. The Mormons say they will die before they will be driven out, etc. As yet they have acted on the defensive as far as I can learn. It is my settled opinion the Mormons will have no rest until they leave; whether they will or not, time only can tell.
"H. G. PARKS."
-Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 375.
Joseph's account of the surrender of De Witt and the suffering there is as follows:-
"Under the same date, from the camp near De Witt,
2 The same who led the mob in Daviess County.
(page 203) |
