text:
Ancient and Modern Michilimackinac is an
account of the "Strangite" settlement in northern Lake Michigan;
especially Beaver Island. "In it Strang surveys the
geography and history of Mackinac and the surrounding region, particularly the
islands of Lake Michigan, and after giving an account of the Mormon settlement
upon Big Beaver Island, addresses himself to the bitter controversies between
the people of Mackinac and the Mormons. Although dealing with controverted
matters and colored by Strang's indignation at the outrages he and his people
had to endure, the pamphlet is a responsible source on the events of which it
treats, and is also interesting for the considerable measure of learning it
reveals in Strang."
(Dale L. Morgan, Bibliography, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
(Strangite)." It was
also published in the first four numbers of Volume 4, of the Northern
Islander, under the title, "Beaver
(Dale L. Morgan, Bibliography, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
(Strangite)." It was
also published in the first four numbers of Volume 4, of the Northern
Islander, under the title, "Beaver
Page: Subject:
The name of the
This name, now confined to a county, a strait, an
island and a deserted village, was by the early settlers of
In 1608 Samuel Champlain laid the foundation of
Before the villages and the cities of the Lower lakes
WERE, Michilimackinac was--yes, more than one hundred and fifty years before
the populous cities of Utica, Rochester, Buffalo and Cleveland had a
geographical name--more than a century before they were known--even as
"God-forsaken places, inhabited by muskrats and visited only by straggling
trappers," Michilimackinac and her dependencies had their forts and chapels
and college, their priests and merchants and scientific explorers.
Yes, while Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore were all
unbroken wilderness, and the Indian in his light canoe had scarce been frightened
from his fishing in the Bay of New York by the broad sail and the [Page
2] high Dutch poop; Michilimackinac waked to matins, and kneeled at vespers,
at the call of the church bell; and her merchants were the princes of the
That region of
country bordering on the great upper lakes, which we now call new, and which we
recorded until quite recently an "undiscovered wilderness," has
long been known. The winding course of its rivers and its remotest forests were
explored long ago for mercantile and religious purposes, and the rich furs which
abounded in this unknown region have for two centuries and a half adorned the
robes of the monarchs of
At that date the
political geography of
The settlement of
There is no
regular history of the early settlements in this country to be found. The
country was explored and settled under the direction of the Jesuits, the
superior of whom reported annually, and these reports constitute the Jesuit
These are printed
in forty duodecimo volumes, under the title of "Relation de ce qui
s'est passe en la Nouvelle France es annees." Sometimes the title runs:
"Relation de ce qui s'est passe de plus remarquable aux Missions des
Peres de la Campagnie de Jesus en la Nouvelle
[Page 3]
In proportion to their great value is, at the same
time, their great scarcity. A complete set is not now to be found even in the
Royal Library at
So rare a work is accessible to very few, and when
found is incomplete, not only for want of a full set of the Relations, but more
especially because they only cover a period of forty years of the two hundred
which is the subject of antiquarian research. The neglected archives of some
Jesuit college may supply what is lacking, but until that is done we can but
look to what tradition and its monuments have preserved to us of this early
haunt of civilization, now ignored by reading men.
The seat of government and of trade of the
The original Michilimackinac was a quiet, rural
village, made up of a few traders, a
The Ojibewa and Ottowa Indians are not the earliest
known occupants of this region. The Ojibe was, from whom the
Before the conquest of this country by the Ojibewas,
this mission included some ten thousand Indians, settled within the present
limits of Emmett county, and probably twice that number in the rest of the
Southward of the straits were the principal
agricultural settlements of Michilimackinac. On the main land, from Little
Traverse Bay northward some twenty miles, and extending from the lake shore
inland eight or nine miles, was a vast region of farms, gardens and villages.
Further east, on the head waters of the Cheboygan river, were numerous large
tracts of land cleared and cultivated. Four of the largest in the Beaver group
and both the
These people were all converted Indians. They had
abandoned both the religion and the government which had prevailed among them before
the Jesuits visited them. The Jesuits exercised the sole power in civil matters,
as well as religions. When the place was furnished with a garrison of French
soldiers the commandment exercised a considerable control in public affairs.
But from 1612, when the first Frenchmen visited this
region, till 1681, when Marquetre erected the fort at the north point of the
As in most of the Jesuit missions, so in these, the
property was all held in common.--Each village had its priest, who directed all
affairs and [Page 4] business
matters, even to the cultivation of the crops. Though each family had its own
habitation, the fields of grain were all common. The Priest exacted of each such
amount of labor as he thought just, and in return furnished them the necessary
amount of grain from the common store.
The Jesuits
instructed the Indians in the French modes of fishing, and by their skill gave
value to lake fisheries, which mere savages could never make available;
furnishing all the flesh necessary for the consumption of the inhabitants. Small
supplies of fish and corn were sold to the fur traders in payment for such European
merchandise as could not be dispensed with. Such advances had been made in the
arts that horses and oxen were used to some extent in plowing the fields;
utensils of wood, iron and copper were manufactured; men and women were clothed
in cloth of their own fabric; and good wooden buildings were erected and their
boats navigated all the lakes.
The precise date
of the irruption of the Ojibewas cannot be ascertained. But when they conquered
the country these settlements were broken up. The inhabitants left the country
in a body and went under the direction and guidance of their Priests to the
The immense fields
cleared by them were all abandoned to the move barbarous conqueror. Their towns,
as well as their farms, grew up to forests. They are now distinguished from
the primeval forests by the less growth of the forest trees; by the great number
of apple trees growing wild among the other trees; by the calcined stone of
their chimneys and the charred wood on their hearths. Their villages are also
marked by large quantities of broken delf ware, manufactured in the settlement,
which seems to have been extensively used in culinary labors.
St. Ignace contains the remains of the Jesuit college,
said to have contained eleven professors, and from three to five hundred
students, most of whom, however, were engaged in merely elementary studies.
There is now there a small village of uneducated Frenchmen, partaking largely
of the Indian blood, possessed of no enterprise, and gaining a slender
subsistence by spring and fall fishing, and a rude and indolent system of
The want of education and enterprise is so great,
that with a population of three or four hundred, township organization is not
regularly kept up. There is neither a school district nor a legal highway in
the settlement. Frequently the town has afforded but one man who could read and
write. The
The lands at St. Ignace are commonly supposed to be
French grants. But they are not. The old French titles have been lost by the
conquest of the country, or forgotten or abandoned. The present titles are held
under an act of congress granting lands to such residents of Michilimackinac,
Sault Ste Marie and
The fields that were cleared and cultivated above two
centuries ago are grown up to forests. The location of the former town had
been lost and its existence forgotten, until it was recently discovered by the
fallen remains of the old chimneys, and the ruins of the fortress. The present
population are not descended front its original founders. Of them not a fragment
It would be a curious speculation what effect would
have been produced on the future destiny of the North [Page 5] American continent had they chosen to stand their ground
and been able to maintain their position. By going to the vicinity of
Their very
secluded situation, a thousand miles from other European colonies, in the midst
of savage tribes, would have placed them beyond the reach of any powerful
invasion, while the possession of the arts of civilization made them formidable
to the savages. After conquering the hatred of the savages and the stubbornness
of the wilderness, toiling through all the labors of raising men from the
wildest barbarism to the best ordered society, they have sacrificed an empire
to the love of ease, or the fear of a band of savages less numerous than
The labors of the
Jesuits in civilizing the Indians in all parts of
But there is a
radical defect in the civilization of the converted Indians. They are good
citizens and excellent christians. But there are no statesmen among them. They
never learn to be rulers. They do not even claim to guide their domestic
affairs. The Priests have the direction of all matters. After a mission has
been well established it is liable to fall into the hands of men of little
devotion and no enterprise, who, adhering to the established forms of public
worship, use their domain as so much private property, and the subjects as
slaves. The mission then changes suddenly from a populous and happy republic to
an unproductive province of an oppressive government, inhabited by a few
seditious subjects, and an unproductive multitude of slaves. Whenever the
Jesuits have been recalled from their missions, the people have relapsed to
barbarism. If others were sent to govern them, they had not the wisdom,
patience and forbearance. If left to govern themselves the want of enterprise
has been a fatal barrier. Had the Jesuits separated from the nations of
Before the Abandonment of Michilimackinac at St.
Ignace, the Jesuits settled there had learned of a great river to the westward
which flowed to the westward and southward, and conjectured that by it they
might reach the
This expedition passed over to the south side of the
straits, taking the Beaver Islands in its route, went up to the head of Green
Ray, and up Fox river, till they approached the Wisconsin, where crossing over
they descended the Wisconsin and the Mississippi as far as the mouth of the
Arkansas, where, having no provisions, and unacquainted with the language or
manners of the tribes below, they returned, convinced that the Mississippi
flowed to the Gulf of Mexico. Their return was by the
No use was made of their discoveries by the Canadians,
who lacked [Page 6] means to extend
themselves in that direction. Nineteen years later Lasalle, a Norman living in
The town at Point
Michilimackinac, in the North East corner of Emmet county, was founded in 1681
by the same Marquette who had discovered the Mississippi, who preferred it to
St. Ignace on account of its proximity to and land communication with the
principal agricultural settlements, and its affording access and anchorage for
large vessels; and possibly because he wished to separate the college and Indian
establishments by some brief distance from the traders and soldiers.
A fort and chapel
were built. It became the nucleus of an extensive fur trade, and was the
Mercantile depot of the traders, and headquarters of trappers, traders,
soldiers, missionaries, COURIER DES BOIS, and Indians of the far-reaching
The English, being
rivals of the French in the fur trade, because anxious to secure a share of the
traffic on the North Western lakes; and a trading expedition was therefore
fitted out, and by the aid of the Fox Indians, arrived at Michilimackinac from
From 1612 to 1760 the French held entire
dominion of the central settlement,
and of all the region "round about,"
and although they built forts,
chapels and a Jesuit college, and
their missionaries from the most learned
and polished order of the Church of Rome were abroad in this wilderness
region, still, during the period of a century
and a half, the paddles of the French
fur traders and their EMPLOYEES alone
disturbed the transparent waters of these inland
seas and rivers, and the joyous boat
songs of the COURIER DES Bois had no
hostile or belligerent response from
civilized man.
In 1760, after the surrender of
Massacre of Old Fort Michilimackinac, and
the demolition of the fort, took
place on
The third of June. 1763, was the birthday
of the British King, and the [Page 7]
Indians proposed to celebrate the event by a game of BAGGATIWAY, with bat
and ball, between the Ojibewas and Sauks, for a high wager. The game was
played by planting two posts in the ground, one mile apart; midway between the
posts the game commenced, and the party driving the ball beyond the post of his
adversary, obtained the victory. In this game the Indians had ingeniously and
secretly combined, and agreed to throw the ball over the pickets in the heat
of the sport, and then rush enmass after it, and thus gaining admission within
the enclosure, to slaughter the garrison indiscriminately.
The commandant,
Major Etherington, was present at the game, and bet on the side of the Ojibewas,
and most of the garrison came without the pickets to witness the sport. The game
commenced, and the interest and excitement of the spectators became intense--an
Indian yell was given--the ball was knocked over the pickets--the Indians rushed
in after it, and the salvage slaughter commenced. The English were cut down
and scalped indiscriminately; many were held between the knees of the Indians
and scalped while alive, and British blood was drank from the hollows of joined
hands. Many bodies of the slain were boiled and eaten. Seventy of the English
troops were killed and one trader, the rest were kept by the Ottowas until the
peace and then ransomed at
Only one white
person escaped. This was a boy by the Willie of Tanner, who was carried to the
Thus was the fort and the settlement of
Michilimackinac demolished, which for eighty-two years had been the seat of the
fur trade in the remote
Michilimackinac is
now uninhabited. Some small fields remain to grass, and the ruins of the
fortress are visible. It is a bold cape or promontory, making the most northern
point of the
The country
immediately around was not favorable to settlement and very little land was
cleared in its immediate vicinity. Considerable swamps lay between the town and
all the settlements around Little Traverse and on Cheboygan river, through which
roads were made with little difficulty. But as these swamps remained
uncultivated, a considerable space intervened between the settlement of the
traders and all the Indian establishments.--Thus the advantage of military
was nearly sacrificed, to avoid the corruption of traders and soldiers.
After the
abandonment of St. Ignace the Jesuits made their establishments farther
south, and commenced civilizing the victorious Ojibwas, as they had previously
the earlier inhabitants.
In the various cruelties of war, such as murdering
prisoners, the Indians were not a whit ahead of their more civilized
neighbors. A scene of this kind was enacted at Old Point Michilimackinac, in
which the French commandant practiced cruelty worthy of a savage, and the Huron
chief, Rat, a cunning worthy of civilized diplomacy.
Denonville, Governor of New France, was engaged in a
war with the Iroquois Indians, in the beginning of which he had been guilty of
the outrage of seizing the Iroquois ambassadors and making galley slaves of
them. The Hurons, ancient enemies of the Iroquois, were in alliance with the
French, in the hope of destroying the Iroquois; but the French governor
offered separately to treat with the Iroquois for peace. Rat arrived at
Frontenac with a powerful body of Huron warriors and was there astonished to
hear from the French commandant that negotiations were going on for peace, and
indignant when required by the French to desist from attacking the Iroquois.
Concealing his indignation, he went with a band to
ambush the Iroquois ambassadors on their way to
Rat forthwith hastened to Michilimackinac and
presented his prisoner to the French commandant, who, not knowing that the
French were treating with the Iroquois, put him to death. He then released an
old Iroquois, who had been for a short time a prisoner among the Hurons, who
returned to his nation and informed them that while the French were amusing them
with a treaty, they continued to take prisoners and murder them.
Cruelties of this kind were not uncommon, though few
of them were attended with consequences of so great importance. The Iroquois
the war with great vigor, and the English taking this as a favorable occasion
to destroy the French in
By a must singular forecast, worthy of the highest
order of political wisdom, the Iroquois concluded that if
After the destruction of the town at Old
Michilimackinac, the English fixed on the site of the present town of
By the treaty acknowledging the independence of the
Michael Dousman, of Mackinac, met them at the Cheneux,
and piloted them to a favorable landing at the backside of the island, where
with his own oxen he hauled their cannon up the hill. At break of day the
British were discovered so well posted that resistance was deemed useless and
the place was governed as a British province. Many of the inhabitants took the
oath of allegiance to the British king. Others, who refused to do so, were
retained as prisoners of war.
Dousman remained and became a member of the British
The fall of Mackinac gave the British the control of
all the Indian tribes above
The Indian
population of this section of country was at that time very great, and their
agriculture furnished considerable quantities of corn to Michilimackinac.
After the war
Mackinac became the principal station of the American Fur Company, and the
headquarters of their immense business. Fifty thousand dollars were expended in
the erection of their buildings. Three millions dollars worth of merchandise
were annually introduced and distributed through the Indian country to
exchange for furs. Not infrequently five hundred boats left Mackinac in a
fleet, and as many as three thousand were employed by the company.
About the same
time the
The Indians of
this region at an early period were strongly attached to the French, who
intermarried with them, and treated them as men, and in some respects as equals;
but they most cordially hated the English. After the extension of the authority
of the
The French, who, in this region are a mixed race,
partaking more of the Indian than the European; and in latter periods some few
adventuresome English in the employ of the Canadian fur traders, located among
the Indians. There were small settlements of French at Saint Ignace, Gros Cap
and Bois Blanc, partaking too much of the Indian character to be in serious
danger of Indian hostilities. Except these, no settlements were made off the
Mackinac having been fixed on by Government as the
principal military station of the Northwest, to which all other stations above
Saint Clair river were but outposts; and the headquarters of the Indian
for the same region; as well as the principal depot of the immense commerce of
the American Fur Company; there seemed to be every prospect of its becoming in
a short time a large and flourishing town.
The limited extent and bold bluffs of Mackinac were
favorable to military defense. The open road in front answered instead of a
harbor for the very few vessels which visited the place only in the summer, and
the immense fleet of boats in the fur trade could conveniently be hauled up on
the shingle beach. When the same vessels visited Sault Ste Marie,
The trade of Mackinac previous to1840 extended west as
far as the
Gen. Cass became
Governor of Michigan in 1815, and soon after, by proclamation, erected the
circumstances, and not natural advantages, made Mackinac. The island is
barren. Not above three or four farms have been made there, though every inch of
productive land has been put in requisition, and these make a small return
for the labor of the husbandman. [Page
11] Only
very high prices will justify their cultivation. There are better harbors on
both shores of the straits than that of the island, which, as the country
settles, must secure the local trade. Wood is obtained at great expense,
having to be hauled nine to fifteen miles on the ice, and provisions bear an
additional price, because brought from a distance.
Since the
necessity of military protection has ceased, all these inconveniences can be
avoided by settling at the points in the vicinity where better land bears a less
price, and the facilities of commerce are greater, with the opportunity of
agriculture and manufactures, which Mackinac never had. The attempt to make
Mackinac a fashionable resort, never very successful, must fail entirely on the
completion of the
The habits of the
people are equally unfavorable to improvement, with the physical surroundings.
Among the old settlers in former times money was obtained so easily, and success
in business depended so little upon either industry or integrity, that habits of
thrift and economical perseverance in business were scarcely possible. Among all
the old settlers Michael Dousman alone has preserved such habits as are
consistent with health or wealth; and a very large majority have shortened their
days by dissipation, and died poor.
The poorer classes
are excessively dissipated. Their only change is from dissipation to want, and
from want to dissipation. Ten times more liquor is drank in Mackinac, than any
other town of the same population.--Among the half breeds who formerly made most
of the population, the deaths are as two to one birth, and the class are
rapidly disappearing. The Irish, who are supplying their places, are running the
same race.
The business of the American Fur Company has ceased.
Their mansion is now the Grove House; the fur store is a warehouse, and the
other buildings are going to decay.--The Protestant Mission has been abandoned.
The county, shorn of its magnificent proportions, has lost its consequence by
the growing up of other settlements in its vicinity of more enterprise and
better prospects. The fishing business, which grew up at Mackinac, as its
other trade was failing, is being rapidly transferred to other points more
convenient to the fisheries.
The steamboats, which formerly stopped at no place in
the region except Mackinac, now stop more at other points than there, and thus
are gradually transferring local business to rival villages. The Indian payments
are reduced to a trifle and will soon cease, and the fortress is reduced from an
important military position to a mere hospital to recruit the health of soldiers
long employed in sickly climates.
The progress of decay by these causes is stayed a
little at present by the retail trade, and the very extensive sale of liquors.
But the retail trade is preserved there only by the convenience of docks and
storehouses, which will soon be supplied in rival places, and the sale of
liquor impoverishes rather than enriches any place.
A Protestant Mission was established at Mackinac a
few years after the war, at which the children of the traders and other
residents of Mackinac and a few Indian children were educated. Religious
services were had at the chapel of the
They fell into menial employments [Page
12] and
dissipation, and soon died. The girls, unable to obtain respectable civilized
husbands, and unfit for wives to the savages, were reduced to the necessity of
becoming mistresses to white adventurers, by whom they were soon cast off to
the chance of promiscuous prostitution or starvation. Disease and destitution
rapidly carried them off. The
The civilization of the Protestant Mission gave the
Indians all the white man's wants, with none of his means of gratifying
them.--It brought before them every temptation of vice, with none of the means
of resisting it. It cast upon the mere child of the
The fisheries of Michilimackinac were, to some extent,
a source of subsistence to the Indians before the country was visited by
Europeans. The Indians only fished on the shores, in the streams, and in the
shallow inland Lakes. The first Frenchmen in this country introduced the French
modes of fishing, by which the fish were pursued to the deep waters; and thus a
supply was obtained all the year.
As early as 1824 small quantities of whitefish and
trout began to be sent to
The fishermen, until within a few years, were all
Indians and Frenchmen, who lived in a state of barbarism and misery, and
were almost, and in some instances quite slaves to the traders. Their summers
were spent in wigwams of the worst kind on the
Gradually a few
Americans and Irish went on to the fisheries. Some of these took with them small
stocks for trade, and divided their time between trading and fishing. As these
received their outfits from and sold their fish at Mackinac, it did not
materially change the course of trade. But, taking the supply of intoxicating
liquors more among the Indians, made their use more common and fatal. But these
were men bred to civilization, who had gone among savages to get beyond the
restraints of the law. They were the worst class of men, scattered among the
most inoffensive and defenseless--and it is needless to say they let slip no
opportunity of plundering them.
Numbers of them
are known who boast of the amounts they have made by taking fish out of the open
barrels of the Indians from night to night, and placing them in their own. On a
fishery where a dozen Indians were engaged, they were often plundered in this
way to the amount of one hundred barrels in a season. Since the Sault and Fox
war the Indians did not dare resent these or greater outrages when discovered.
As a natural
consequence, a set of outlaws and felons were scattered through the country, and
found on all the fisheries, hated and feared, and living in security on plunder.
The control of the fishing business gradually fell into the hands of this
class of men, the merchants of Mackinac being their factors. These intermediates
were no less formidable by [Page13]
their crimes than their numbers, and their intimate connection with the
Indians and mixed French and Indian. Over them they obtained all the influence
of dependence and fear, strengthened by intimate association. In the hands of
such men, the most productive inland fisheries in the world afforded only a
miserable and uncertain subsistence to the fishermen, even through the summer.
In the winter the
Indian fishermen retired to the various Indian towns, and the French to
Mackinac. The Indians obtained a precarious subsistence by hunting, and the
French did such labor as they could get to do for their board. That failing,
they took what fish they could for food through the ice, and when reduced to
starvation, as more or less were every winter, they fell back on the traders for
support, who furnished them on credit. On these debts they were frequently
sold, of which mention is made hereafter.
Since 1843
merchants and traders have established themselves at other stations, more
convenient to the fisheries than Mackinac.--Most of the fishermen had their
outfits of provisions, barrels of salt, and many were in debt also for boats,
nets and the balances on their winter's support at Mackinac. But the interlopers
or traders at other stations, who made them no advances, carried on a trade
ruinous to the Mackinac merchants, by purchasing the fish put up in their
barrels and salt, and caught by men provisioned and furnished by them. Such
were the habits of dissipation prevailing on the fishing grounds, that these
frauds left the fishermen worse off at the close of every season; for they were
destitute of credit, and dare not return to Mackinac.
This threw them
more into the hands of the felons and outlaws, who infested the region. The
losses incurred by these means have ruined several wealthy traders at
Mackinac. With these losses, fishing trade is passing to other places, fast
growing up, more convenient to the fisheries.
The new class of
fishermen are persons of limited means, temperate habits, good morals, and
persevering industry, from the best sections of the
Traders cannot make as much profit off this class of
customers, but they take more fish with less labor, and, husbanding their means,
are accumulating property, and rapidly improving the country. By these means
more than half the trade of Mackinac has been transferred to Washington Harbor,
Saint James, Saint John, Saint Helena, Duncan, Detour, and divers other places;
and as every part of the fisheries is more accessible to some of these places
than to Mackinac, the trade of Mackinac in fish must soon cease.
During the French occupation of the country, prisoners
of war in the hands of the Indians were occasionally purchased by them, and
detained as bondsmen. This was practiced to but a very limited extent, and
never grew into a system.
After the country fell into the hands of the English,
a very few Africans were brought from
While this country was governed as a part of the North
West Territory, there was a law for selling into a bondage all vagrants and
persons guilty of petty crimes, by which there existed a kind of slavery similar
to the Peonage in Mexico. By a very liberal construction of the law, by the
authorities of Mackinac, all poor debtors were held to be vagrants, and sold for
the payment of their [Page
14] debts.
And to avoid increasing the debt by the addition of costs, creditors
frequently seized them without the interposition of Justice or Constable, and
sold them at auction to the person who would take them for the least period of
time and pay the debt.
Sales of this kind
continued until 1836.--Though never sanctioned by law, it is doubtful whether
the subjects of them could have obtained redress or escaped the
bondage.--There were no persons who knew anything about law, or held any
judicial authority within many hundred miles of them, except those who were interested
in keeping up the system.
The administration
of justice in such a place as Mackinac, could not but be lax and irregular. Not
tracing its history, the following incidents will show its character:--
Charles O'Malley,
not the Irish Dragoon, but the Irish Justice, was hearing a cause, in which
Michael Dousman was defendant.--Dousman, a little litigious, but shrewd, prudent
and persevering, prided himself on his ability to conduct a suit with success.
But in O'Malley's Court it was well understood that defendants stood no chance.
Dousman's dissatisfaction got the better of him for a moment, and he dropped
some remark which O'Malley construed as contempt, and admonished him sharply.
Dousman was silent and the matter passed by.
But a few months
after a dispute sprung up between them on Dousman's wharf and O'Malley went to
his office and made out a warrant for committing him to prison for a contempt on
this stale transaction. Dousman lay in prison several days, but was finally
brought up on a HABEAS CORPUS, and discharged.
In 1850 Mr.
Strang, the Mormon prophet, was before the same O'Malley, charged with driving a
prostitute off from Beaver Island by threatening her with personal
chastisement.--The witnesses for the prosecution failed to prove any threatening
words. O'Malley recalled one of them, and asked him if he understood Mr.
Strang to MEAN that she should be chastised, or rode on the back of a black ram,
if she would not leave the Island'?"--Mr. Strang said, "Please your
honor, I object;" and for this Mr. Strang was committed to prison FOR LIFE,
for a contempt of Court, without further parley, or even making out a mittimus.
He then proceeded with the trial in the absence of Mr.
Strang, and without bringing him up to hear judgment, adjudged that he be
imprisoned a year for want of sureties in the sum of ten thousand dollars to
keep the peace.--Whether this year was to run with the other term, or after
the expiration of it, the warrant did not show.
From both these commitments Mr. Strang was discharged,
on the return of a HABEAS CORPUS in the evening. But before
O'Malley had him again arrested, brought before him, and again COMMITTED FOR
LIFE, without swearing a witness. It is presumed that O'Malley did not in fact
intend to imprison Mr. Strang for life, but to detain him prisoner till he
thought proper to discharge him.
The old traders at Mackinac were in the regular
practice of seizing poor debtors without suit, and thrusting them into the
County jail, until the debt was paid or satisfactorily secured. In 1842 the
right of creditors thus to imprison their debtors on their own verbal process,
was seriously claimed and contested, on the return of a writ of HABEAS CORPUS.
But the discharge of the prisoner put an end to the practice.
The most profitable, and at the same time, the most
ruinous trade Mackinac ever had is that of Whiskey. Indian Whiskey is made by
putting two gallons of common Whiskey, or un-rectified spirits, to thirty gallons
of water, and adding red pepper enough to make it fiery, and tobacco enough to
make it intoxicating. Its cost is not above five cents per gallon.--Thousands
of barrels have been sold every year, the prices generally being fifty cents a
gallon by the cask, twenty-five [Page
15] cents
a quart by the bottle, and six cents a drink.
More than half the fish taken by the Indians for
thirty years have been paid for in this article, and more than half the
annuities they have received from the
The trade in spirituous liquors has lately met with a
severe check. In 1847 the
A great effort was made to prevent the enforcement of
the law, and as the officers of the
In 1853 the county
of Emmet was erected, extending over all the fisheries west of Old
Michilimackinac, and north of the Grand Traverse Light, as far as the Wisconsin
boundary; and in the spring before the traders came on with their supplies the
officers gave notice through the newspapers published at the County seat of
their intention to prosecute in every case of violation of the law within the
county. On the appearing of this notice in Mackinac a public meeting was
called on a notice signed by the Supervisor and Four Justices of the Peace of
the town, and the District Attorney of the
By their
influence, seventy misguided men fishing and trading at
The Missionaries
at Grand and Little Traverse had kept the whiskey trade away from the Indians
under their influence, by inducing the Indians to go in a body and spill all
liquor brought there for sale. At the time of the crusade against the Mormons of
Beaver Island in 1851, they joined in it; and on the result of that fray,
favorable to the Mormons,
The payment of Indian annuities at Mackinac began a
little subsequent to the war of 1812, and will continue until 1856, when the
last expires. They have sometimes amounted to as much as $100,000 a year, but
are now only $20 or $30,000.
The practice is to send word to the several bands some weeks before the payment is to take place, and call them in. While waiting for the arrival of the agent, they expend all their means, suffer much of hunger, and usually obtain considerable supplies on credit, for which they are charged two or three prices.--As soon as the payment is made, the Indians have a Saturnalia, out viewing the carnival in the darkest places of Paris or Naples, which usually lasts until their money is expended and their provisions either eaten up or exchanged for whiskey and drink; when, on the first favorable wind, they strike their encampment, launch their boats, and return home poorer than when they left.
Formerly the money was paid to each chief for his
band. Before going to get drunk the chiefs deposited most of the money,
uncounted, with some trusty white man, usually the trader with whom he dealt,
only keeping what amount he wished to drink up. The banker in these cases paid
himself whatever he had advanced to the Indians before receiving their
annuities, and such commission as he thought proper for the safe keeping of
the money. Allowing these bankers to tell their own story, the commission was
oftener above than below twenty-five per cent. The Indians were not able to
count the money, and at the end of the Saturnalia, ill qualified to judge
whether well or ill dealt by.
As a few large traders monopolized this business, and
acted in concert, they thus secured a settlement of all balances against the
Indians, in cash, once every year, and besides plunder outright, two or three
hundred per cent, profit on every article sold.
This state of things was unendurable to the class of
small traders, who had no share in it; and they procured such a change of the
law that the annuities were paid to the head of every family, instead of the
chiefs of the bands. By this means all had a chance at the plunder, and measures
still more scandalous were resorted to obtain it.
Some of the Indians, as soon as they receive their
annuities, hand the money to their wives for safe keeping. The squaw
immediately divides it into several sums, each of which is appropriated to a
particular use, and the last she gives to her husband to get drunk on. In these
cases, though the husband frequently returns for more money, and sometimes
beats his wife to compel her to give him his money, it is generally securely
guarded, and faithfully appropriated, according to the original intention.
Notwithstanding a considerable number of cases of
this kind, the annuities are a curse to the Indians. Take all the bands
together and they return home with less means than they set out with, and on an
average they are from home six weeks, at a season of the year when fishing is
good, and potatoes and corn require harvesting. Not a few have lost their lives
returning home in boisterous weather, and weakened by intoxication.
Notwithstanding this fact, when in 1840 the Lower
Peninsula was laid off into Counties, the two Counties of Emmet and Cheboygan
overlapped and covered Michilimackinac; and [Page
17] for
three years it continued in existence, not as an actual county, but as an
aggregation of unorganized counties, possessing temporary municipal authority
under that name.
In 1843, when the
The erection of the
The southern boundary of Michilimackinac leaving the
waters of that county within the body of the counties of Emmet and Cheboygan,
is, to say the least, manifestly improper. But the people of Mackinac should be
the last to complain of it; for the bill establishing it was drawn up and
introduced by their Representative, and since that time no complaint was ever
made of it till 1853, when, seeking a pretence to complain of the Legislature
for authorizing the organization of three new counties in their vicinity, they
ignorantly charged them with an error committed ten years before. By the same
species of blundering the Islands lying between Drummond and Saint Joseph
Island, twenty-four in number, and none more than two hundred acres in extent,
which, by the Act of 1840, were included in Cheboygan County, were left out of
Chippewa when its boundaries were determined in 1843, and remained a part of
Cheboygan till the act organizing the township of Drummond, declared them a part
of Chippewa.
And Manitue,
Huron, Granite and numerous other small
It is not
improbable that some most serious difficulty may yet grow out of this blundering
Legislation. But the fault lies entirely at the doors of the Representatives
from the upper country: for the members from below, conscious they could not
judge of the local wants of a country so remote, have voted for it such measures
as its Representatives introduced.
In 1851 an attempt
was made to erect the new County
Wyandot and
The County seat of Cheboygan is at the
The settlement of Cheboygan was begun by Alexander
McLeod, who built the water mill in 1847, and now extends in the interior to the
center of the county. But the most desirable locations remain government land.
The old Jesuit missions had a number of villages, with extensive and well
cultivated plantations, up the Cheboygan and its branches, and especially on the
banks of the Lakes. Some of these are now occupied by Indian villages, others
are grown up to forests. But a portion yet remains fields of grass, or covered
with small hushes.
These locations are all accessible by boats of thirty
or forty tons burthen, which can start from the saw mill, forty rods above where
small lake vessels land, or two miles from the steamboat wharf. The river, being
from fifteen to sixty rods in width, and very deep, affords one of the best and
cheapest navigation in the world.
The soil of the inland sections contains every
variety of lime, clay, sand, &c., and is generally overlaid with a rich deep
vegetable mold. It is naturally inexhaustible and much of it easily cleared and
The prevailing timber is white pine, white and black
oak, sugar maple, beech, elm, lynn, ash, &c, Norway pine, spruce, fir,
hemlock, black ash, ironwood and numerous other varieties are found. The pine is
not found in extensive forests, but in small groves, or scattered among hard
timber in the proportion of eight or ten trees to the acre. Beech, maple and oak
are found in vast forests, on very level plains, elevated twenty to fifty feet
above the streams. The various evergreens, except pine, grow in swampy land, and
along the slope banks of the streams.
Lumbering has heretofore been the principal business
The country around
At an early period the Jesuit missions made
considerable progress there. Both the apple and peach planted by them are now
found growing wild, and are flourishing. The fruit, though, inferior in quality
to the cultivated, is, nevertheless, of considerable value. Since the Indians
of Michigan have generally emigrated beyond the
At the present time there are a number of small Indian
villages around Grand Traverse, engaged part of the year in agriculture and part
in hunting. Their number is not increasing. Pulmonary diseases are very common
and fatal. At different villages are stationed school teachers, farmers and
mechanics, appointed by the Government of the
As often as a new administration comes in, these
appointments are changed. For twenty years past most of the incumbents have
become so much attached to the country as to remain there on going out of
office. Some few years since the then unorganized Counties of Leelanau, Omeena
and Antrim were organized as a township of the
About this time
two saw mills were built, and the business of manufacturing lumber for
Many of the
outlaws who had been engaged in the unsuccessful attempt to expel the Mormons
Occasionally their
trips were extended to the fisheries off Pointe Seul Choix, and they returned
to Hog and
Old settlers in the country understood the matter,
but they were interested in increasing the prejudice against the Mormons. New
comers, traders and fishers, and the people generally throughout the United
States were willingly deceived, and gladly; without evidence, believed the
Mormons the guilty parties, though at that time they were destitute of the
necessary boats for any such undertakings, and were in extreme want of quiet,
and to the last degree anxious to avoid further excitement.
At the same time the settlements near the head of the
Bay were receiving accessions of some industrious and enterprising emigrants.
In 1853 an Act passed the Legislature extending the boundary so as to make it
coincident with the original unorganized
The first visible effect of this Act is ridding the
place of a few of its most undesirable inhabitants, and a great increase of a
better class of emigrants. Improvements are rapidly progressing, and both
agriculture and the manufacture of lumber are being carried on with success.
The pineries around Grand Traverse are extensive.
There is also considerable white oak of an excellent quality. About half the
land, distributed in tracts of considerable extent, is of an excellent quality
for agriculture. The rest is pine plains and cedar swamps. These are covered
with valuable timber, which will not be exhausted in many years. As the timber
disappears, this land will also be found susceptible of a high state of
Grand Traverse is the most beautiful bay in
A road has been opened from the County Seat, at the
West head of the Bay to the
Grand Traverse is getting a good emigration by water.
But a strong tide of emigration is now settling to the north from
In 1840 the County of Tonedegana was laid off,
consisting of that part of the state north of township thirty-six north and
west of range four west, and the County of Kishkonko, consisting of that part of
the state between Tonedegana on the north, and township thirty-two on the south,
and west of range three west.
In 1843 these names were changed to Emmet and
Charlevoix: and Delta and Michilimackinac were cut off on the north, leaving
their northern boundary along the northern margin of
In 1847 the
At the time this Act was passed there were three white
families temporarily settled in the township, as well as four or five white
men with Indian wives, and several French half-breeds; and twenty or thirty
single men, and men who had families elsewhere, were spending the winter at
But township organization was not sought by them. It
was granted at the instance of Col. Fisk, of
These men
succeeded in monopolizing all the
offices, though they neglected to
attend to the public business until
1850, when the Mormons elected a
majority of the officers, and in 1851 they
elected all the officers, and have since
continued to do so.
In 1853 the
counties of Emmet and Charlevoix were
united in one, and organized under the name of Emmet. So
much of
It was understood
by every member of the Legislature
when the Act was passed for the organization of this County, that nearly its
entire population were Mormons, and
that the legal administration of all
its affairs would be in their hands. It was equally understood that they intended to emigrate to and settle the County,
with a view
to permanently occupy and control it.
Mr. Strang, the
Mormon prophet and leader, was a member
of the House, and introduced and
advocated the
bill, and so far did his preence
and personal acquaintance with him serve to allay prejudice, that the Act
passed by a vote almost unanimous.
Seven votes only were recorded
against it in the House.
The County was
divided into three townships. Its
organization was perfected in
May. All its affairs have been conducted in strict accordance with the law, and for order and regularity it is an example worthy the imitation of most of the old
There are in Emmet
five Indian villages--
The Garden Island
Indians formerly resided on the North end of
A Roman Catholic Priest visits them once a year. They
have a church, and are very devout. In the absence of the Priest, one of the
head men reads service. A few, however, remain Pagans.
Cross Village lies on the top of a high bluff, at the
bottom of the broad Bay South of Point Waugo-shance. A Roman Catholic Priest
resides there, who receives his support from the
Near the head of Little Traverse, and upon a splendid
harbor that makes up in the North side of the Bay, is Le Arbor Croche, the best
located and most thriving of all the Indian towns in the State. All the
Indians in the County have lands, which they have purchased of the
Mr. Strang, the leader of the Mormons at Voree, in
Alva Cable had a trading house on Whiskey Point, and
the Rochester North West Company, of which Col. Fisk was president, had one on
the back side of the harbor, They were not well received at these houses, and
went into the woods and made a camp of hemlock boughs, and commenced a
thorough exploration of the Island, living principally on leeks and beechnuts.
This perseverance, where men who would work at all
were obtained with difficulty, soon got them employment--a stock of provisions
and the use of a boat. After making a most thorough exploration of the group and
building a cabin, Strang, Savage and Wagner returned to Voree. Brown and Mills
remained and are the first Mormons settled on
In the course of that summer several families moved
to the
The lands were
brought into market in 1848. At the land sale was the first positive
demonstration of an intention by the other inhabitants to dispossess the
Mormons. They got notice of the land sale first. It being the season of
fishing they were quite numerous.--Each one marked his claim on the best quarter
section he could find. After this they proposed that every claim, whether
or not, should be respected at the sale, and no one buy another's claim, whether
the claimant was able to enter it or not. This was agreed to by all, when it was
ascertained by the Mormons that all the most desirable locations were covered
by claims, many of them merely fictitious, which, under the circumstances they
were not at liberty to disregard.
Very little land
was entered at the sale, few being able to spare the money, and all satisfied
that this arrangement would be faithfully regarded. But Thomas and Samuel
Bennett entered three lots of fine land; on which several Mormons had made
valuable improvements and built houses. They were without remedy and gave up the
land with the improvements, and without harvesting the crops.--The Mormons only
got one small lot at the harbor, by buying out a claim; when, by doing as they
were done by, they might with five hundred dollars; have purchased property
worth as many thousands.
There was another
robbery of this kind, equally scandalous. Randolph Densmore and E. J. Moore, the
resident agents of the North West Company, of Rochester, divided the possessions
of the company between themselves, and entered them in their own names, by which
the stockholders residing at Rochester were defrauded of their improvements,
worth at the time not less than ten thousand dollars. This broke up the company,
and the same men being in possession of considerable amounts of personal
property belonging to the stockholders, also converted that to their own use.
The shares in this
company were but twenty-five dollars, and, at that distance from the scene of
action, the facts were not within reach of the injured parties, and they
to the loss rather than to go to law. This having occurred at Beaver Island,
rendered famous by the numerous outrages charged to the Mormons, it has in some
way been attributed to them in the public mind, though done by violent enemies
of theirs.
During the summer
of 1849 the Mormon emigration to
This season the
Captains of steam boats were found generally using their influence in opposition
to the settlement. Emigrants ticketed for Beaver were persuaded by every
imaginable species of misrepresentation to go by into
Some of these
boats had contracted for their wood at the
A conference was held at Saint James in 1849, at which
most of the leading members were present, and a considerable delegation from
many of the distant churches, the effect of which was a more favorable
of the place, and confidence in its prospects.--Twelve Elders went on various
missions, with directions to return in the spring with their converts to Beaver.
The large emigration of this year was mostly of
persons of the poorer class. As winter approached, some misapprehension was felt
lest they should be unable to lay in a supply of provisions. The traders were A.
Cable and three associates, and Densnmore and Ward, at the Harbor, and J. Cable
at the head of the
Fortunately, Samuel Shaw went to
This made a sufficient supply; and the same traders
immediately offered to sell large amounts to the Mormons, at low prices, and
so sharply did they press the competition, that Mr. Shaw found it difficult to
make out his cargo.
In 1849 the Mormons commenced building a house of
worship, since known as the Tabernacle. During [Page 24] the winter of 1849-'50, while several men were engaged in
getting out timber from this building, a large company of men came from Whiskey
Point and drove them from their work. One of the Mormons, Spaulding Lewis, who
refused to quit work, was severely beaten.
During the same winter a debating school was
instituted by the Mormons, but others came in, and by rude and filthy conduct,
sometimes accompanied with threats of violence, broke it up. At a social party,
new years, a large number came in uninvited, but promising to conduct with
propriety, but before leaving they beat two of the Mormons, pretending to no
other reason than that they were "Damned Mormons."
A mail came in, in the course of the winter, and when
the Mormons called for their letters, they received every manner of insult. Some
were struck, and some had letters taken from them before they left the office.
Fishermen, pretending to be drunk, went to the houses of the Mormons when the
men were absent, and exposed their persons in a beastly manner, accompanied
with vile language and threats of violence.
Mr. Strang had left a cow on the
The effect of all these aggressions was a decided
animosity between the Mormons and their neighbors. The distinction of Mormon and
Gentile came into use, and a line of distinction in society became visible and
broad. However the Mormons neither resisted nor retaliated. Until the spring
of 1850 they adhered strictly to the rule of non-resistance to violence, and a
patient endurance of whatever injuries and persecutions were inflicted upon
The spring of 1850 brought a large emigration of
Mormons to Beaver. The various missionaries returned, generally accompanied with
a goodly number of followers. A large company came down from Voree, and the
leading men of the church removed with their families, intending to make Saint
James the permanent headquarters of the church.
These emigrants generally had to land at Whiskey
Point, then in possession of Peter McKinley, successor to Alva Cable. They
were frequently met with threats on the boat's deck, and always on the wharf. A
dozen men would generally surround a family of emigrants and order them back on
the boat, telling them that they were preparing to drive off and kill all the
Mormons, and had combined to prevent any more landing. There was a wharf on the
west side of the Harbor, where boats might have landed the emigrants in the
vicinity of the Mormon settlements, but most of them refused to do so. These
demonstrations were the means of keeping away many emigrants, notwithstanding
which they increased to between six and seven hundred.
At this time there was a marked change in the policy
of the Mormons. They publicly announced that they should submit to injury and
aggression no longer--that they would return blow for blow and stroke for
stroke, and would punish every man who insulted or intruded upon them.
On different occasions fishermen and sailors went to
their meetings for the avowed purpose of interrupting them in the course of
worship. All these attempts were suppressed with a strong hand. Guards attended
all the meetings. When strangers came in they were seated, so as to disperse
them through the congregation. As the guard walked up and down the aisles, with
heavy canes, the first show of disturbance was the signal for dragging out the
guilty party, without waiting for parley or apology. Not a word was heard in
extenuation. If any associate rose to aid or even speak for his companion in
mischief, it was but the signal to drag him out. Two or three exhibitions of
this resolution put an end to this mode of disturbing meetings. But as the
Mormons began at this time to keep [Page
25] Saturday as the Sabbath, the Gentile teamsters generally
found some opportunity
to work their oxen that one day of the week hauling past
the place of meeting. For this annoyance there was no legal remedy,
andthe Mormons were compelled to submit.
Mr. Strang went for his cow and the
Irish fishermen in Sullivan's neighborhood gathered with shelalas to
beat him and rescue the cow. They
were met by an equal number of Mormons,
standing in the edge of the woods ready
for an encounter, and desisted. He
drove the cow home, and Patrick
Sullivan went to Mackinac to prosecute
him before Justice O'Malley. But at
that time O'Malley was a candidate for
the office of Member of the Convention
to revise the Constitution; to which
he had no hope of being elected
without the votes of the Mormons, and
he sent Sullivan home without any process.
In May, 1850, a general invitation was
given on all the fishing grounds to come to Whiskey Point against the
4th of July, for a glorious and patriotic celebration of
On their part the Mormons gave notice
of a General Assembly, and by that
means called in a great number of their brethren from distant places,
some of whom brought arms. A cannon and a stock of powder and lead
was purchased; a regular guard enrolled,
who were on duty nightly, while others
were drilling. This was conducted with the utmost secrecy; all affecting to believe that no attack would be made. They also procured
a large schooner, from
the third of July, several boats arrived at Whiskey Point, from the fishing
grounds, filled with armed men, One vessel
from Mackinac arrived, and anchored
in the harbor. During the night they
had a carouse, in the course of which Mr. Strang, with
a select party, reconnoitered their quarters,
ascertained their plans, numbers, &c.,
poured some of their powder in the
Lake, and put tobacco in one of their
barrels of whiskey, by means of which
those who drank of it became
excessively drunk.
plan was to go to the meeting singly, and in small groups, with slung
shot, and other concealed weapons; but affecting good order and
propriety, and get seats nearly as possible in a body, in the region of
the speaker's stand and Clerks' tables. In the progress of the service they
were to commence talking, drinking, swearing, etc., and if any one
interfered, or
attempted to keep order, begin a fight; and falling suddenly on the unprepared congregation with pistols, bowie knives and slung shot, disperse them, and disable or kill all the leaders, before they had time to rally, arm or make a stand.
This was to be followed up by a general debauching of the women
and burning of houses.
the first dawn of the fourth, the Mormons commenced firing a national
salute, which was the first intimation to the Gentiles that they had
a cannon. They were not a little
alarmed when they discovered that at every
boom of the cannon the balls skipped
along the water, past Whiskey point, scarcely two rods from them, and
were regularly getting the range for their
buildings. Before their surprise had time to abate, McKinley, who was proprietor there, was waited on by a deputation of Mormons, with the notice that as he had made his place the headquarters of the mob, he
would be held responsible for any attack from
any quarter; and the first gun fired
would be the signal for destroying
his establishment, and every soul [Page
26] in it. Notice was also given
to all the Gentiles having property on
traders were fully aware of the plans against the Mormons, and of
the desperate character of the men engaged in them. Yet, without exceptions,
they took great pains to persuade the Mormons that no attempt
was to be made against them; and that all the fishermen and others
who were coming in, came merely to gratify a
laudable curiosity, and enjoy a
national holiday, among civilized people. Every effort that men could
make to lull into imagined security, neighbors who had some degree
of confidence in them, these men resorted
to, to persuade the Mormons that
they were in
Mormons met within the unfinished walls of the Tabernacle; eight
men mounted guard, with their guns shotted; the cannon unlimbered in
front, in charge of twelve artillerists, with a fire, in which heated balls
were continually ready; and two patrols, and a water guard, were
constantly on the lookout for the
the course of the day two vessels and sixteen boats arrived from the fisheries,
bringing men, munitions, &c., including one cannon; but no hostile
movements were made till afternoon, when a
company of Gentile women came into
the congregation unattended. Directly
one of them left and returned to the
boat which had carried her over, and
had a short conversation with NINE
men who were with it. They went
up and
were allowed to enter the congregation, but
as soon as they were seated, it was announced from the stand
that any interruption of the service or business would be instantly
punished by personal chastisement;
and the guard were charged in case any general disorder was attempted,
to cut down every person who joined in it. They sat uneasily a
few moments, and asked leave to withdraw,
and the guard conducted them out, and
compelled them to take their boat and
attempts were
made to reconnoiter the position
of the Mormons, but were not allowed to proceed. The Gentiles complained that they were not allowed to come and go as they pleased, as they had always done at all religious
meetings in other places.
following evening during their carouse at Whiskey Point, a select party
of the Mormons contrived to get
within hearing of them at their consultation, and learned that they had
been disappointed by the non-arrival
of the Gull Island, Seuil Choix and
East Shore fishermen; that part of
the resident traders were anxious to
postpone the attempt, in the fear
that it would be a failure and the
Mormons would take revenge on them for their part in the transaction;
that jealousies existed among them as to the
means by which the Mormons had obtained their plans; and the sober were
fearful that the Mormons were too well
prepared. Indecision and disorder
prevailed, and they were unable to agree upon their
leader.--The result of all these embarrassments
was, that they generally agreed
"to wait for recruits, and then
pay off the Damned Mormons for arming
and setting guards, before any body
meddled with them."
appeared also that they had generally come without provisions, expecting
to be supplied with what they would want,
till they used up the Mormons, and got
theirs. Some of the traders, believing
that the attempt would only provoke
the Mormons to retaliate, were
anxious to disconnect themselves with
the movement, and refused any
further aid.
a few fishermen having come only for a spree,
and having no prospect of one, except
at the risk of a bloody welcome to
hospitable graves, withdrew
unobserved or on pretence of some
urgent business. It soon became
evident that the spirit of the undertaking
had oozed out, and that the difficulty
would pass away without blood
The mob dispersed,
and the Mormons went on with their
Conference. Part of those engaged in it
tried to make friends with the Mormons, pretending that no hostile project had been seriously entertained. Others [Page
27] kept up a continual clamor
that the destruction of the Mormons
had been only postponed, not abandoned.
From time to time a new day was fixed
for the onslaught, and confidently
committed to some timid persons
among the Mormons, in the hope of
frightening them away.
George J, Adams, a somewhat distinguished
preacher among the Mormons, but more widely
known as a small player of great parts in
companies of strolling thespians, though next
to Mr. Strang, the leading preacher
among the Mormons, was about this time
subjected to discipline for having
abandoned his wife in the State of New Jersey,
and taken with
him to Beaver a woman of bad reputation, and introduced as his wife,
saying his former wife was dead and
he married again; the result of which
was, that he was degraded, and joined in the movement against the Mormons.
After trying in vain to raise a party of malcontents
among the Mormons,
he went to Mackinac, where he got aid to
commence a series of prosecutions against them. He seized property
of the value of more than $1,000, to
which he had not a shadow of claim, by
process of replevin, on which the
Sheriff, Tully O'Malley, took straw
The Mormons litigated these seizures,
in the County Court at Mackinac, and recovered; and the Sheriff became
liable on his official bonds. But the
Sheriff's bond was fraudulently
removed from the
grossly false statement of these proceedings
was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, in which it was
represented that the sheriff performed
a difficult and dangerous duty at
Beaver in arresting Mr. Strang, and
that the Mormons rushed to Mackinac
in force to rescue him; whereas, in
fact, Mr. Strang, on hearing that a
process was out against him, went voluntarily to Mackinac, accompanied
by four friends, and waited there five days, urging the consummation of the
proceedings, before he was arrested
at all; and except those four
friends, no Mormon from Beaver was
within forty miles of them. This
publication in the Plain Dealer laid the foundation of the
general public prejudice against the Beaver Island Mormons. But for this
publication, aid and sympathy would not
have been looked for from abroad in
transactions which the authors had not the hardihood to pretend to justify, and the difficulty would have ended without the shedding
of blood.
these proceedings were going on,
preparations were being made for the
State and County election. In
Against this movement another ticket
was put in nomination, headed by John D. Irvine for Representative, pledged to a
and equal administration of the law, and on this ticket
were the names of three Mormons, being a trifle less than their proportion
of the population.
Both the Whig and Democratic Parties
divided about equally on these tickets, but voted on the State ticket as
usual. The Anti-Mormon candidate for sheriff, Mr. Henry Granger, was
elected by means of fraudulent tickets, in which his name was inserted
so as not to be observed, in the law
and order ticket. The rest of the law and
order ticket were elected.
When the canvassers met, Michael Dousman, the Mackinac
canvasser, proposed
to reject the returns from Peaine township, (
The Board completed the canvass, certifying
the result, and Dousman held a
separate canvass, in which he rejected
the vote of Peaine, but received
that of Moran, where no canvass was
returned, but the result was reported ORE TENES by
a half breed sailor on a wood scow; and
on his certificate Mr. Guilbeault
unsuccessfully contested the seat of
John D. Irvine.
Of the ninety-two
persons on
On these facts the
Detroit Advertiser and Tribune
commenced a bitter warfare against
the Mormons, charging them with
selling themselves, neck and heels,
to the Democratic party, and receiving in return immunity
for criminal conduct. High judicial
officers in Mackinac were accused of
releasing Mr. Strang from imprisonment,
by the most outrageous violation of law, and
the most shameless prostitution of
judicial power, for party purposes.
So far as these
public men were concerned, this was
taken for political wrangling, and
they were not injured. But the rule,
ALL," was never applied.--What
was said against the Mormons was
believed; and added to the previous publications in the Plain
Dealer, fixed a deep conviction in the
public mind that the Mormons at
Beaver were a mere lawless banditti. These publications began just at the
close of navigation, and were six months old
and a hundred times repeated before
the Mormons heard of them.--The civil
war was waged against them, and for a long time it was impossible for them to reply to any of them. The replies, when made,
were a perfect refutation of the
charges, but were never published or
even mentioned in the papers which had given currency to the slander.
the winter of 1850 and '51, McKinley,
Cable, Ward, Dodge and other traders at Beaver engaged the Indians
to assume a hostile position towards the Mormons. Kimmeoue, Peaine,
Watanesa and Chenotin, influential
chiefs, accompanied by thirty braves,
thirteen white men and two
interpreters, called on Mr. Strang for
a talk. They carried guns and tomahawks,
had their faces painted with war
colors, and followed a red flag.--They
made long speeches about their
attachment to the traders who
supplied their wants, and the fishermen who intermarried with them,
and their bravery and cruelty in war.
In conclusion, Peaine, in behalf of the
Ottowas and Ojibwas, denounced war and annihilation against the Mormons,
in case any of them sued a Gentile at law, warned him out to work
a highway tax, attempted to arrest him, or CUT ANY STEAMBOAT WOOD,
BY McKINLEY.
It was evident that the Indians fully believing that the Gentiles
only were citizens, and that the
Mormons were merely intruders; thought
they were acting in fulfillment of
treaties, and in support of the
authority of the United States.
Mr. Strang replied at length to their
speeches. When he came to the denunciation
of war, he turned to the white men, first
took down their names, and from the
Revised Statutes read to them the law concerning inciting
Indians to commit crimes. Then turning
to Peaine, he said, "I am no child, and cannot understand you.
Your voice is like a scolding woman. I
will not hear you. March on." The
white men were already in motion, and
Peaine and his fellow chiefs and braves sullenly followed.
Not far from this time an attempt was
made by Constable Fields, of Beaver, to arrest Eri J. Moore, who was
As soon as navigation
opened Moore obtained warrants before Justice O'Malley, of Mackinac,
against thirty-nine men, charging them with being concerned in this transaction, and "putting him IN FEAR OF
DANGER." Sheriff Granger came to execute the warrants. Mr. Strang had
gone to
Granger raised a party of thirteen whites and
thirty-two Indians, well armed;
went to Hog Island, stole the boats the Mormons had gone in; chopped in pieces
the Patchin's yawl, and believing it impossible for any to get off from the
Island, a little past midnight fell upon the camp of the sleeping Mormons with
the Irish hurrah and the terrible Indian war whoop.
The hurrah was a moment too soon. The Mormons sprang
to their feet, and boldly rushed through the troops to secure their
boat.--Finding it gone, they again broke their lines and took to the woods.
Feeling their way in the darkness through a deep swamp, many of them without
their boots, they met on the opposite shore, where an old leaky fish boat lay
filled with ice and snow.
When they had this ready to launch, but one of their
company was lacking. This was the 11th April; a cold freezing morning, the lake
spotted with vast fields of drift ice. With a boat preserved from sinking only
by the ice frozen in it, without sails or oar locks, and with three unsuitable
oars, not half clothed, no provisions, without a line to tie their boat, nor an
ax to repair any accident, they set out on the broad blue waters for a place of
Having; made the circuit of the Islands at such
distances as to avoid being seen--after buffeting the waves for twenty-four
hours, they landed at Gull Island, then uninhabited, having suffered so much
with the cold, that when they had warmed and slept, they waked with their faces
so swollen that they could not recognize each other.
Here they remained five days, occupying the best
fish shanty, and for want of an ax to cut wood with, taking down the others for
fuel.--The fragments of provisions left in the various shanties supplied them
with food, such as starving men know best how to relish. With an ingenuity of
invention which necessity only produces, shaping timber with fire and knives,
saving nails from burnt shanties, and using pebbles for hammers, they put
their boat in good condition, and returned to learn the fate of their lost
companion, and the condition of affairs at Beaver.
Twelve days elapsed after leaving
Granger took the tools, provisions, blankets, cooling
utensils, etc., of the Mormons as spoils of war, and divided them among his
companions. A portion of them were afterwards given up, but the larger share
in the hands of the victors.
Among the spoil was a joiner's chest of tools, taken
along by Mr. [Page 30] Royal
Tucker to use in repairing the Patchin's yawl. Upon this Sheriff Granger made a
semi-official publication in the Tribune or Advertiser at
Granger took some fifteen or twenty prisoners to
Mackinac. O'Malley ordered all to prison. But when it was ascertained that all
were ready to give bail, two or three were let to bail, and the prosecution
against the rest abandoned, and they went home. Those let to bail were
discharged at the next session of the county court, no one appearing against
Granger returned to Beaver for Strang, and getting a
fund subscribed for the purpose, offered a reward for his head. The reward
offered at first was but twenty-five dollars, but in a short time it was raised
to $300.00. For this reward, Mr. Strang was hunted by bands of armed men,
Indians and Half Breeds, Irish, &c., varying from 75 to 350 in number, as
the prospect of success increased or diminished, for four weeks.
Most of those men doubtless fully believed that the
sheriff's advertisement would legally justify them in killing Mr. Strang. Many
who did not look for the reward, thought it a convenient season to get rid of a
man who was in the way of their plans.
And there is not the slightest doubt that had they
succeeded in killing him, the result would have verified these opinions. The
murderers would never have been prosecuted. Regular grand jury lists are not
usually kept in Michilimackinac, and Sheriff Granger had near two years to
in office, during which time he would have had their selection. And there is no
doubt that a majority of the influential men of that county would have been glad
to be rid of Mr. Strang, by any safe means, however unlawful. Of this they
have given numerous proofs, and the fact that some hundred Mormons have been
murdered in the last twenty years, and that no person has ever been punished for
it, gives ground for their enemies to hope the same result in any aggression
upon them.
While these proceedings were going on, President
Fillmore and his Cabinet were invited to
These complaints were contained in documents signed in
official form, though generally by persons not in office, and were backed by
letters from Michael Dousman, whose great wealth gave him weight with the
business men at Detroit, and with government.
The President ordered a vigorous and sweeping
prosecution, and put the armed steamer
The first intimation that the Mormons had of this
movement was the arrival of the
The steamer anchored in the harbor about . At the instance of Judge Greig, Mr. Bates went ashore, accompanied by no
officer, and inquired for Mr. Strang. A friend of Mr. Strang's arranged an
which took place in a few minutes.
Mr. Bates began the interview by an effort to convince
Mr. Strang that he could not escape from the force in his hands, nor avoid an
arrest, and would do best by giving himself up [Page 31]
promptly. Mr. Strang replied that he was satisfied with his present
opinion on that subject, and asked "on what charge do you wish to arrest
me?" Mr. Bates replied, "the papers are aboard, and if you will step
aboard a few minutes, I will show them to you."
It was immediately arranged that Mr. Strang should go
aboard the Steamer and have a consultation, where if he saw fit to do so he
should surrender himself to the officer charged with his arrest. But that if he
did not consent to so surrender himself, he should at the end of two hours be
landed on the beach, in front of his own house, and neither pursued or watched
for fifteen minutes.
Mr. Strang went aboard in the same boat that had
brought Mr. Bates ashore. No papers were exhibited, but Mr. Bates and Mr.
Knox, the Marshal, stated that Mr. Strang and thirty-eight others were charged
with trespass on the United States land, and a portion of them, including Mr.
Strang, with counterfeiting the coin, and that if they could see the men and
look into the matter, they would discharge such as appeared not to be guilty,
and take to Detroit for trial only such as the evidence against was conclusive.
Mr. Strang asked for a list of names of the accused,
promising that if it was furnished him, all the men named in it should come to
the wharf to be arrested within two hours. To this Mr. Bates finally agreed,
though Mr. Knox objected, saying it would advertise the Mormons, who should run
away. The list was sent ashore with a request from Mr. Strang that the men named
would come to the wharf, and wait for a boat to bring them aboard. Not
satisfied, Mr. Knox, with some of his Deputies, went and commenced arresting
them on their approach. He soon saw his error, and desisted, and within two
hours thirty-one men, all the persons named, who were on the
A young fellow named William Arnold had been taken
aboard at Mackinac, with the tale that the Mormons had an artificial cave in
He was brought along to point out the cavern, but on
arriving at Beaver acknowledged that his tale was false. It appeared that
Some of the civilians aboard the steamer determined to
believe the Mormons were guilty, though the testimony vanished. A company of
them went ashore, and inquiring of children the route, made their way to
An awning was prepared, and arrangements made to
hold a Commissioner's Court on the deck of the steamer, when McKinley, one of
the complainants, expressed his utter inability to produce his witnesses without
a delay of several days, representing that several of them were nearer
The prosecution continued before the District Court of
Thirteen persons were tried on the indictment for mail
robbing, and acquitted. It is well known that these men were prejudged and
foredoomed; and that nothing but a defense beyond doubt or caviling could have
produced their acquittal. The whole public expected their conviction.
The Advertiser and Tribune, daily papers in the city
of Detroit, belched forth morning and evening the most bitter calumnies against
them, and though the Free Press occasionally admitted a brief article, in their
defense, it was in no sense committed in their behalf, The reports of the
trial published in the Advertiser were so barefaced perversions of the truth as
to receive severe condemnation from the Hon. Ross Wilkins, District Judge. Under
the circumstances the acquittal of the defendants must be the most satisfactory
evidence of their innocence.
It is worthy of remembrance, too, that the defendants
were charged with going out in armed force, and in a military array at
on the 19th of February, and making an attack on a mail train only a few rods
from a large Indian village, and in the presence of a considerable number of
white men. They were not arrested for this offense till three months after.
William Wilkins, Clerk of the Court and United States Commissioner, was sent to
take testimony on the spot, and among three hundred witnesses attending before
him, over one hundred of whom were sworn and interrogated on this point, not one
man could be found who had ever heard of it till after the arrest.
Even the Assistant Post Master, Peter McKinley, though
he swore to the military attack and robbery, on his cross-examination said he
sent the SAME MAIL, after its recovery to Mackinac on the opening of navigation,
on a vessel owned and navigated by the same men he was prosecuting for
robbing it.
The truth became apparent before the conclusion of the
trial that there had not only been no attack and no armed force, but actually no
mail in the premises. That a portion of the defendants had been engaged only in
assisting in trying to arrest a man charged with crime, who was at that time in
company with a dog train, which did not carry a mail, and was not interrupted;
and, finally, that the whole story of mail and mail robbery was merely a false
tale, got up for the purpose of destroying Mr. Strang by the most unblushing
This conviction on the public mind, where the trial
took place, alone can account for the abandoning of other indictments. The
trial of the first indictment did not shed the slightest ray of light on the
merits of the other causes, except by showing that the whole batch were the
creation of conspiracy and perjury.
During the progress of these affairs more startling
events were going on at Beaver.--Two men, Richard O'Donnel and James Hoy, had
beaten Samuel Graham, a leading Mormon, with a cane, breaking his arm and
fracturing his skull. Warrants were issued for their arrest, but Sheriff Granger
would neither arrest them, or suffer it to be done. He took them in his personal
keeping, pretending to employ them as assistants, until the attempt to arrest
them was given over, when they returned to the fisheries.
Wm. N. McLeod, prosecuting attorney for
The Bennetts refused to surrender to the constable,
and as he drew back to call his posse to assist, fired upon him. At the second
shot he fell, seriously though not mortally wounded. The fire was returned.
There was a crash of arms one moment, and all was still. Thomas Bennett was
dead--shot through the heart. Samuel had one hand nearly shot away.
There were upwards of seventy fishermen within
three-fourths of a mile, who had a military organization and had been well
drilled. They were banded together to resist arrests, and had agreed on a signal
for a call to arms of three guns. But the rapid discharge of arms alarmed them,
and prevented the signal being understood. Some fled to the woods, and some took
to the
A coroner's inquest was held on the body, and a
verdict brought in according to the facts. This jury consisted of six Mormons
and six Gentiles, and their verdict was signed by nine of the jurors, the other
three declining to sign on the allegation that it was not IN PROOF that the
constable was a citizen; pretending that if he was not a citizen, the warrant
and his office would neither protect him nor his posse in the doing of their
duty. In fact he was a citizen, but it is doubtful whether another instance can
be found of the raising a question of that kind, for the purpose of charging
an officer criminally for obeying the mandate of his warrant.
Had the same resistance of the legal authority
occurred at any other place, and a public officer performed similar duties in
like manner, his conduct would have been applauded by the public voice
throughout the length and breadth of the country. But in this case it was spoken
of everywhere as a most atrocious murder. Statements were published in
nearly all the papers, representing that the Bennetts were unarmed, and only
standing upon their legal rights against "Mormon law;" that the
Mormons had long before doomed them to death; and on that occasion had killed
and cut in pieces one of them, and terribly mutilated the other, from mere
blood-thirstiness.--The chirurgical examination was garbled into a tale of
post mortem barbarities, such as cannibals would turn pale at the rehearsal of.
The account of
these transactions reached
A great effort was
made to produce the impression that these Bennetts were substantial farmers, and
respectable and liberal minded men. Nothing could be further from the truth.
They were ESCAPED FELONS from
Samuel Bennett
prosecuted nearly all the men on
The result justified his confidence in the peaceable
and law-abiding disposition of the Mormons. He went alone to Beaver, and gave
out notice that he had come to arrest the men concerned in killing Bennett,
and wished them to meet him at a designated place the next day to be arrested.
In the mean time two men, H. D. McCulloch and Samuel
Graham, had gone to Mackinac and been arrested and thrust into
jail.--Notwithstanding this, they met Mr. Sammons, according to his request,
and above twenty were taken into custody and remained there prisoners in his
hands till the United States steamer Michigan returned with Mr. Strang on board,
and a number of public officers charged with arresting divers other persons, and
taking the testimony of numerous witnesses to be read on his trial, when part
of them were transferred to the custody of the Marshal of the United States, and
Sammons chartered a vessel and took the rest to Mackinac.
At Mackinac he had the utmost difficulty in protecting
his prisoners from the mob. They were taken before O'Malley and ordered to
prison. The Mackinac jail is a log building, in a side hill, consisting of two
rooms, cold and damp, like an out door cellar, each only eleven feet square. One
room is a dungeon, and the other has two grated holes, twelve or fifteen inches
square, without glass. It is furnished with neither beds, chairs, benches or
tables. To such a place fourteen men were committed to remain ten weeks, until
the charge against them could be laid before a grand jury.
The intention evidently was that they should perish of
the confinement. But Granger's cupidity saved them. They arranged with him to
allow them to go out and work about town, they paying him for their board, which
he also charged to the county, thus giving him double pay for boarding them.
The excitement against them had passed off, and as
they were industrious men, they got plenty of work at a place where good
laborers can scarcely be got at any price. As steamboats came in almost daily,
covered with passengers, these men were pointed out to them as the Mormon
"prisoners for murder," and the idea of keeping men on such a charge,
in the public streets, at work about on docks, where steamboats were coming and
going at all times of day and night, was so perfectly ridiculous as to produce a
strong suspicion, even with those prejudiced against them, that the prosecution
was without any foundation.
The tragedy had sunk to a farce; but as if it needed
one more scene to mark it with its true character, Sheriff Granger, while he
held these men prisoners for murder, summoned them to serve him as a posse in
executing a writ of replevin, where he was resisted; two of them as appraisers
of replevined property, and finally a majority of them as Jurors on an inquest,
which was held before him. The Sheriff pocketed the fees, because they being his
prisoners HE WAS TITLED TO THEIR SERVICES. No bills were found against them, and
after eleven weeks detention they were discharged. But the Grand Jury, in
order to keep up some show of justification for the violence which Mackinac
had exhibited in the matter, indicted two persons who were not in custody, and
who were no more complicated in the matter than those they refused to indict.
Between the 11th April and
Besides prisoners, a great number were taken away
on compulsory process as witnesses. At one time but twenty-four men
were left.--The women cultivated the fields, and thus [Page 35] produced
the crops which the following winter saved the settlement from starvation.
In addition to prosecutions, the United States Marshal
seized large quantities of square timber, on the allegation that it was
wrongfully taken from public lands. Most of this was cut on lands belonging to
individuals. That cut on government lands was taken in accordance with
instructions of the Commissioner of public lands. And Mr. Strang held in his
hands a written official note from Geo. C. Bates, the District Attorney who
prosecuted him, advising him to cut the timber, and assuring him that he
should not be prosecuted.
These seizures were abandoned, but before the timber
was restored, Peter McKinley, whom the Marshal had left in charge of it, had
four thousand feet belonging to Mr. Strang thrown into the
But some of the Deputy Marshals engaged in the
seizures took quantities belonging to the Gentiles, who had engaged in these
prosecutions, most of which was sold--a single act of justice amid a long
train of wrongs--for they had no excuse. They were mere trespassers.
On its being ascertained at Beaver that Mr. Strang was
acquitted, and about to return, an effort was made to prevent his landing. Capt.
Whitaker, of the steamer
Mr. Strang had been elected a Justice of the Peace
the previous spring, and entered upon the duties of the office immediately on
returning from
As winter approached, those who had been most hostile
against the Mormons, attempted to get up a crowd to winter on Whiskey Point,
prepared for hostilities with the Mormons.--The proposition frightened off many
who would otherwise have stayed, and all who had been committed against the
Mormons followed.
Later in the fall the Propeller Illinois went ashore
The settlers on
In the spring he came with the
The winter of 1851-2 was very severe. A two horse
team went on the ice from Saint James to Mackinac; and for more than two months
it was good crossing to
Before the traders left, they obtained all the means
the Indians provided against winter, promising to furnish them with pork and
flour. But they furnished nothing, and when winter came on they were entirely
destitute; and no neighbors to resort to, but the Mormons, to whom they had been
hostile. With great efforts the Mormons obtained a supply, and furnished them
on credit. They paid promptly, and have been fast friends to the Mormons ever
In the spring of 1852 a large body of fishermen and
traders came on, prepared for hostilities. The Steamer Northern landed fifty
in a body at Whiskey Point, but the buildings were in a ruinous condition and
the prospects so unpromising that most of them left on the same boat.
A large schooner started from Mackinac a few hours
later, with a still greater number, well armed, and avowing the intention to
kill the Mormon men and take the women on the fishing grounds to cook and to do
the drudgery. Learning the failure of the other party, and that the Mormons were
prepared to welcome them, they abandoned the undertaking.
Among those that remained, two immediately commenced
selling whiskey to the Indians, and before a week passed around found themselves
charged with a penalty of twenty dollars for violating the Statute; and only
escaped further prosecution by shipping off their liquors, and promising reform.
They then went on the fishing ground, and went into
partnership with a Mormon in the fishing business, and after selling off their
stuff and getting a quantity of fish, one went with the fish, pretending to go
for supplies, and the other took the boat which belonged to the Mormon alone and
went to Mackinac, boasting there that he had stolen enough to make good his fine
for selling liquors. At Mackinac this was considered an excellent joke.
Transactions like the following were frequent through
the summer: A lantern, a piece of chain and some old irons were stolen from the
wharf at Presque Isle, one hundred and twenty miles east of Beaver, and several
respectable newspapers, issued many hundred miles away, published flaming
notices of the transaction, representing that the Mormons were the thieves; as
though anybody would go a hundred and twenty miles to steal a few shillings
worth of property, such as could be picked up nightly in any
neighborhood.--Among these the "Green Bay Spectator" took the lead.
Stories of this kind were so often repeated that their utter incredibility was
lost sight of.
As an extreme example of this may be mentioned the
"Buffalo Rough Notes," which gravely published a statement that the
Mormons habitually boarded the lake steamers and pirated what they pleased;
and they with one eminent exception, submitted to it.
Any one who had taken pains might have collected
during that summer fifty accounts of Mormon depredations on the property of
others, gravely and circumstantially asservated, in respectable newspapers, not
one of which would have been credited for a single moment, had it been asserted
on any other people; every one made up of improbabilities, and containing the
most glaring absurdities and impossibilities. Yet these were credited and
repeated from mouth to mouth undoubting by those who in other matters are not
over credulous. It is clear [Page
37] enough if any reliance can be placed on newspapers and legends,
that the Mormons have a most plenary power of miracles in mischief-making, and
if not preserved from destruction by the Almighty, are wonderfully and
supernaturally strengthened in villainy and protected from punishment by the
Numerous thefts
were committed upon various fishermen on
This system once
begun was overdone, and soon no fisherman on Beaver could get credit. At the
same time a general system of plundering the Mormons was carried on by the
fishermen. This was not a new practice. As early as 1850 Mr. Strang had landed
14,000 feet of lumber on Whiskey Point, where he owned a small piece of land,
and a few weeks after there was not 1,000 feet left. More than twenty shanties
were afterwards found on the remote and secluded fisheries, covered and floored
with this lumber, and not even the marks obliterated. But in 1852 the fishermen
supplied themselves regularly from the gardens of the Mormons, and some
considerable fields of potatoes and turnips remote from dwellings were quite
cleared out.
A few Mormons were
fishing, and their nets were lifted and stolen till they were quite broken up;
but while this was going on the guilty were detected and prosecutions commenced.
The Mormons recovered their damages. On the criminal prosecutions part of the
accused escaped, and the rest gave hail, and accused and bail left the country
together.--Among the latter was Henry VanAllen, keeper of the light on
VanAllen had not been suspected, but a short time
after the stealing of Wright's nets, a strong current, produced by long severe
winds, drew the buoys under where VanAllen had set twenty-four new nets. The
nets could not be found, and he, supposing them stolen, and suspecting some of
the Mormons of the theft, offered to restore Mr. Wright's if his were brought
While he was making to some of the leading Mormons
this proposition, his buoys raised and his workmen took in his nets, well
filled with fish. He was promptly prosecuted and escaped as before stated, since
which affairs on Beaver have been entirely in the control of the Mormons. The
Indians trade there and sometimes have fished there to the number of six
hundred. It is a significant fact that since then no case of stealing has been
heard of on Beaver, and many on the fisheries around the island, except what
were traced directly to a few fishers at
In 1851 there was a new apportionment of
Representatives among the counties of the state, and though Emmet and above
twenty other unorganized counties in the lower peninsula were attached to
Michilimackinac for judicial purposes, yet on this apportionment they were all
included with Newaygo, Oceana, Lake and Mason in a single Representative
District, and Michilimackinac became a district by itself. This apportionment
was probably made without much consideration, for it is very evident that not a
dozen persons in the state thought of the Mormon settlement being in Newaygo
Had the people of Peaine township voted as a part of
Mackinac district, they would have controlled the election, but their votes
would have been liable to be rejected, on the ground that the apportionment bill
38] placed them in Newaygo
district. But if they voted as part of Newaygo district, there was no mode
provided in law for the return and canvass of their votes.
A more serious difficulty was that, by the
constitution, all the state north of township twenty was included in the
district of the Upper Peninsula, and elected its representatives the last
Tuesday in September; but Newaygo was one of the Districts of the State at
large, and elected the Tuesday following the first Monday in November; and it
was questioned whether the Legislature had the power of detaching Emmet County
and legislating concerning it as part of the State at large.--Moreover it was
disputed whether the Beaver Islands were really in Emmet or Michilimackinac
County, the general but erroneous opinion being that they were in
The universal opinion was that the Mormon settlement
was in Michilimackinac District, and it was known that it could control the
election. But the Mormons concluded that legally they were in Newaygo District,
where the result was uncertain. Mr. Strang was put in nomination, but his name
not announced until election day. There were four other candidates in the
field, and he received more votes than any three of them.
The Canvassers met at Newaygo, seven hundred miles by
any traveled route from Beaver, and had
no intimation that Mr. Strang was in the field, or the Mormon settlement in
their district, till Mr. Chidester arrived there as canvasser for all the
unorganized counties attached to Michilimackinac. He succeeded in satisfying
them that the
This result was exceedingly mortifying to Mackinac,
and the more violent set about devising means to defeat it. At the town
meeting the spring previous Mr. Strang had been elected supervisor of Peaine,
and in the effort to prevent his sitting with the board the grand jury had
up an indictment against him, hoping to frighten him from the place, and L. A.
Franks, one of the jurors, mentioned the fact in his hearing, before the warrant
issued, but Mr. Strang would not leave, and on being arrested refused to give
bail and waited the result. After being in custody five days he was turned at
large, and continued to visit Mackinac both on official and private business,
as he had occasion, unmolested. But on its being ascertained that he was elected
to the House of Representatives, a warrant was issued on this old affair for his
arrest, and the plan laid to seize him on his way to the capitol. There was no
officer nearer than
This plan was defeated by Mr. Strang's going by way of
In the mean time the certificate of Mr. Strang's
election had been withdrawn from the files of the secretary of state and Mr.
James Barton, who stood next to Mr. Strang in the canvass, came on from
Newaygo to contest Mr. Strang's seat in his absence. This would have given Mr.
Barton a clear field, neither as opponent or a certificate of election against
him and the universal opinion in his favor.
The plan signally failed. Though charged with a breach
of the peace, so that he could not claim PRIVILEGE FROM ARREST under the
Constitution, Mr. Strang claimed PRIVILEGE AS TO THE MANNER OF THE ARREST, at
common law; insisting that he could be removed, only by permission of the House,
after they had examined the ground of the proceeding. As the officer charged
with his arrest determined to remove him forcibly, before the House assembled,
he prepared for defense, and notified him that he should treat any attempt to
remove him as an unprovoked assault; saying, significantly, when his [Page
39] claim of privilege was
disputed, "I will put my neck in a halter upon that."
When the House was called, he laid a duplicate of his
certificate of election on the Clerk's table and was sworn in. Informing the
house of the attempt to arrest him, after several propositions a committee was
appointed to investigate the matter, who reported the facts at length, coming to
the conclusion that the arrest was attempted, not for the furtherance of
justice, but from private malice and persecution, and a desire to deprive the
house of his services as a member. He was discharged from arrest by a
unanimous vote.
Mr. Barton's petition for leave to contest his seat
immediately came up, and being referred to the Committee on Elections, two
reports came in, the majority report being adverse to Mr. Strang. Leave was
granted to the parties to be heard at the bar of the house. Mr. Taylor,
ex-Secretary of State, appeared for Mr. Barton. Mr. Strang; defended himself in
person. His defense was spoken of in the press generally as marked with great
ability, and an extraordinary amount of legal learning and general information.
Mr. Strang maintained his seat by a vote of
, which, considering that both prejudice and legal opinions were against him in
the outset, was a fine tribute to his learning and ability. But what was still
more complimentary, some of the ablest members of the House stated in their
places that they were not only convinced by the arguments of Mr. Strang; but
that their prejudices were quite removed. Among these were the
Hon. E. Ransom, of
The effect of these proceedings was to give Mr. Strang
a high standing in the Legislature, and among the public men of the State. He
fully maintained that position through the session. At its close he had carried
all the measures which his district, consisting of twenty-six counties, asked,
and was universally acknowledged to have exerted more influence than any other
member, without having ever condescended to anything short of the most open and
manly means.
When he entered the House, Newaygo and Oceana
counties were organized and fully detached from all other counties, but had no
judiciary except Justices of the Peace and Judges of Probate. Consequently no
crime, however heinous, committed there, could be punished. Judgments recovered
before Justices of the Peace could be appealed, which laid them on the Clerk's
files, and operated as a perpetual stay of execution.
Grand Traverse had not so much as a county
organization legally existing, but was fully detached from all other counties,
and was, therefore, utterly without law. One-fourth of the state, extending
from township twenty to the straits, had only a single township organized in it,
and only a foreign judiciary. There were several portions of the territory of
the state not in any county, and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of
the judiciary, or of any local municipal authority, and it was in the most
serious dispute as to what counties some of the largest settlements in the
district belonged.
These and a hundred other wants growing out of the
blundering legislation of thirty years were remedied, leaving him abundance of
leisure to attend to all the general business of the session. The organization
The people of Mackinac were mortified at Mr. Strang's
success as a legislator. As he was on the steamer Morton in May, 1853, bound for
Buffalo, but stopping at Mackinac wharf a few minutes, an attempt was made to
kidnap him, with the avowed purpose of "serving him as they did old
This attempt was made by a gang of rowdies, without
any official authority, who had an old writ on which he had before been
arrested [Page 40] and
LEGALLY DISCHARGED. Mr. Strang defended himself, barricaded his stateroom door,
where he remained in a state of siege till the boat entered the Saint Clair,
when he broke down the door and jumped off on a wharf on
At the same time the people of Mackinac called a
meeting to devise means for destroying the Mormons, at which resolutions were
passed disapproving the conduct of the legislature in creating township and
county organizations within sixty miles of Mackinac, and denouncing war
against Emmet County, in case any person was arrested for violating the Liquor
law; and offering sympathy and assistance to the band of outlaws at Pine River
and Grand Traverse Bay, and some fishermen on Gull Island, in waging war upon
the Mormons.
Unfortunately the outlaws at
Before this crime was traced to them, the sheriff of
Emmet went to
This reasonable opinion was not realized.--The
criminal opposition to lawful authority there was greater than could have been
anticipated. Believing that the sheriff had come to arrest criminals, a large
force assembled to meet him at the place of landing, prepared for battle. He was
permitted to land, and immediately met with a demand, what he had come
for.--He stated the nature of his business, and showed his processes. While
this was going on they examined his boats, and ascertained that he was without
They then crowded up with such unmistakable signs of
hostilities that he returned to his boats. Thirty of the outlaws were strung
along the beach, within four rods of the boats; from thirty to fifty on the
bluff, immediately back, rising abruptly some twenty-five feet high.
As the sheriff's party were getting into the boats,
this crowd commenced a murderous fire upon them. The wind was on shore, and the
boats got off with difficulty. Before they had got beyond gun shot range, some
had fired four rounds. Six men were wounded, some of them very severely, but
none killed. More than fifty balls passed through the boats and rigging.
The outlaws took boats and pursued for twelve miles,
the latter four of which they kept up a running fire, but without effect.--The
sheriff finally took refuge on the Barque Morgan, where the wounds were bound
up, and the same night he returned to Beaver.
The intention of the outlaws was to kill the whole
party, and then report that they had been killed while engaged in committing
some crime, and thus set public indignation against the Mormons. The sheriff
escaping, they took alarm, lest some signal act of revenge should follow, and
all fled. The fishermen at
Scattering in such hot haste they failed to agree upon
any story to tell, for the purpose of charging the blame on the Mormons. At
an attempt was made to put afloat the story that the Mormons had shot first, and
wounded a boy. But the history of the matter was already before the public, and
they failed to successfully falsify it.
At the circuit court held at Saint James shortly
after, the guilty parties were indicted, but none have been arrested.
Since then there has been no attempt to interrupt
the due course of legal administration in Emmet. The population is rapidly
increasing. Though as yet it has no rich men, it has no paupers. There are
schools for all the children. No liquors are sold, and the population are
prosperous and happy. The Indian population are superior in moral and material
progress to any others in the state.
From the first opening of the controversy against
the Mormons, with a few honorable exceptions, the people of Mackinac have joined
in every project for their destruction with relentless hatred. Immense and
immeasurable as was the previous blackguardism, turpitude and rapacity of
Mackinac; infamous to a proverb, in her reeking corruption; her conduct
towards the Mormons has been more than ordinarily intemperate, indecent and
Mackinac, which was mostly built on public plunder,
and enlarged and beautified by stealing from the United States the town on
Drummond Island, surrendered by Great Britain, which gained all its wealth;
supported its luxury, and supplied the waste of its immense and unequalled
dissipation, by plundering the national treasury and robbing and stealing from
the Indians; has exhausted the vocabulary of the language, for words wherewith
to accuse the Mormons; who were six years in her exclusive jurisdiction
without her being able to convict one of an offence; though so shameless in her
proceedings that public officers BOAST OF STEALING FROM THE MORMONS BY THE
The people of Mackinac had stood at the public
treasury, like pigs at a trough, with nose and feet in, and received nothing
from the nation but favors; and upon the first sound of arms surrendered their
place, and took MONEY AND THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE at the hands of the British;
and now they find a poverty of words, and a marasmus of language to express
their horror of the treason of the Mormons, who after being robbed and plundered
of millions of property by the public authorities in two different states, and
exiled from their boundaries, have determined to flee no further; to die upon
their native soil, rather than flee from their country, for a home where they
can worship God.
Rhetoric is
exhausted in the vain effort to describe the morals of Mackinac and its
surrounding dependencies; where men raised to civilization have separated
themselves from the restraints of society, leaving families and character
behind, to give loose reins to lust and avarice; dreading no frown from the
powerless, illiterate and dependent Indians; no loss of caste among the fellows
whose errand is the same unrestrained saturnalia, in which actors and
victims alike perish; where Indian men are brutified by persuasions and
temptations, which a christian education and the experience of mature years in
civilized communities, would resist in vain; that their wives may be intoxicated
by compulsion, and prostituted by violence, before their eyes; where the
humanity of the Indian has been ignored, and his rights placed below those of
the dog, and thousands murdered by slow debasing processes of torture,
immeasurably more cruel than the Indian ever knew how to inflict; for no
greater temptation than the profits on adulterated whiskey; where men who are
ashamed to intermarry with the colored races, have taken not only marriageable
Indian women, but Indian wives, as prostitutes, and concubines during pleasure;
till the streets were filled with half bloods, whose fathers were ashamed to
acknowledge them; using their own daughters and grand-daughters as prostitutes
in the same polluted bed with their mothers, till incest with the mixed races
ceases to be despicable in their eyes.
Yet in this
Mackinac, whose tints no logomachy can make lifelike, are stalking about,
wretches with withered and tearless eyes, wilted cheeks, shrunken vitals, and
hearts where [Page 42] pulsation
is dying out, and whose consciences are in no trouble in the recollection of
robbery, rape and murder; asking assistance from christian men to exterminate
the Mormons; while in her mansions, late returned from loathing infamy to revel
in wealth and falsehood; amassing and destroying, and destroying and amassing;
living lives made up of the refuse of human depravity; her chief men invoke
the power of the mob, the stiletto of the assassins, the poisoned chalice, the
perjury of their creatures, the perversion of the law, the corruption of the
judiciary and the crushing weight of State and national government: to help
them steal a few farms made valuable by the labor of Mormons; and correct the
morals of a people among whom in seven years not one child had been born out of
wedlock, and the sole discovered case of fornication or adultery punished by
publicly whipping and banishing the guilty man from the settlement.
In Mackinac, where
at the Indian payments the most respectable men have heretofore considered
stealing from the Indian annuities honorable; where hundreds of inexperienced
whites, and thousands of Indians, have been victimized and their lives destroyed
for the sole purpose of obtaining their property; where gambling,
drunkenness and debauchery swallow up all things, and during one third of the
year are the sole employment of the population; where twenty cold blooded
murders have been committed within the memory of man, and not one punished;
where, till recently, poor men were imprisoned and sold without law and without
process: where law is scarcely resorted to, except to gull or destroy some one
by the perversion of it; and where the pubic officers, the sworn conservators of
the peace, openly and shamefully appeal to the mob power to override the
authority of the law, and publish their perjured infamy with their names signed
to it; there, in such a place, the men are found to complain of the Legislature
for giving a legal organization to Emmet County, the inhabitants of which have
never been guilty of an offence against the peace and good order of society.
Such conduct, out of the common order as it is, is not
incomprehensible. Equally with that of a Burke or a Thug, it belongs to
Pandemonium. But it is equally a matter of cause and effect.
When the Mormons were expelled from Missouri, the
public meeting at Independence, which determined their expulsion, published
their reasons for doing so, declaring that they did not proceed against them
at law, because they had violated no law; but that on account of difference in
religion, and in domestic institutions, (having no slaves,) the presence of the
Mormons was incompatible with the happiness of themselves; therefore they would
expel them peaceably if they could, and forcibly if they must.
Yet in spite of this public declaration, made by the
Missourians, it has for years been asserted, and is believed by ninety-nine in
a hundred, even in the free States, that the Mormons were banished from Missouri
for their crimes.
So readily was this falsehood credited, that when an
attempt was made to steal a country in
Though the Governor of the State, who was present
during most of their calamities, overawed and prevented from defending them; the
Senate Committee appointed to investigate and whitewash the cruelties practiced
on them, the Hon. S. A. Douglass, the distinguished Senator from Illinois, then
judge of the Criminal Courts in that district; and Col. Bane, of the United
States Army, who witnessed their expulsion; all agree that the patriotism,
morals and industry of the Mormons was far superior to that of their enemies;
yet christian men have labored successfully in convincing mankind that the
Mormons were guilty of all they were accused of, and that the half was not told.
Then why should not men, clothed with iniquity as with
a garment; [Page 43] reeking in
corruption like the sewer of a slaughter house; whose whole lives are a mystery
of iniquity; incomprehensible except by the deductions of Pandemonium; who
have for fifty years built up and dwelt in a Collossus of wickedness, at the
vastness of which human nature stands aghast; appeal to the same deepseated
prejudice; the same wicked credulity; to sanctify more deeds of blood; assist
them in destroying a successful rival to their trade; stealing a country
preferable to their own, and prolonging the decay of Mackinac, till they can
sell to victims able to pay for improvements which are rapidly becoming
The tide is now turned. Withering, blasting
condemnation has come on these outlaws, and their more influential compeers.
The tale of Mormon ignorance, cupidity and wickedness, has been resorted to,
till the well informed perceive its hollowness and falsehood.--The dignity and
manhood of the Mormons has been vindicated in the presence of the assembled
wisdom of the State, and their moderation and justice in its highest Courts. The
same prudence which characterizes their past acts will insure them a glorious
Besides numerous small and uninhabitable
Fox Islands
Fox Islands:
Martins, 2
½ 1 ¼
Saint James is the county seat of
It is scattered in groups amidst old forest trees, on
dry rising ground, having a landscape of matchless beauty spread to the north
and east, which the hand of improvement will rapidly develop.
The principal articles sold are fish and wood, and the
purchases are dry goods, flour, salt, cordage and hardware. Small quantities of
lumber are made, and a great number of fish barrels. Some attention has been
given to boat building, and a few small schooners have been constructed here.
There is one saw mill. Three large wharves are devoted to the wood business.
There is a post office at Saint James, the only one in
Emmet county. A printing press has been in operation there for four years,
and a weekly paper is issued.
At the southeast extremity of the island is the new
Most of the island is well adapted to agriculture, and
farms have been [Page 44] opened in
every part. It produces all the crops usually cultivated in
Stock of every kind usually raised in the northern
states have been introduced, and thrive. The climate is adapted to
grazing.--Pastures are green till Christmas. Wheat does not winter kill and corn
is never cut off with frost. In short, it has all the advantages of climate
Big River runs into
Font Lake, lying in the rear of Saint James, and
separated by a plain a quarter of a mile wide from Saint James Channel, at the
north end of Beaver, is the second lake in size, being a mile and a quarter
long, and half a mile wide. It is elevated thirty-five feet above
The other lakes are smaller, varying from fifty to
one hundred acres in extent. They are generally well stocked with fish, though
none of them have outlets. They have fine wooded shores, with handsome dry
beaches, and gives a wonderful charm to the scenery.
The face of the
Two principal roads have been opened through the
Nearly the whole island is laid out in farms, abutting
upon these two roads; the general form being from fifty to eighty rods wide, and
from one to two miles long, and usually from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred acres in extent. By this arrangement there is an important saving in the
amount of road making necessary to accommodate the country, and it will give the
country, when well improved, a wonderful appearance of wealth and thrift.
The French of Champlain's colony at Quebec
were at Beaver before the Puritans reached
But cultivated fields are generally several years
abandoned before they grow to timber. These were too extensive and show too
much signs of wealth and ease to have been the work of a few adventurers.
There is room at least to believe that of the numerous
European colonies which were planted in
In 1688 Baron LaHontan, Lord Lieut. of Placentia,
passed this way on a voyage to and up the Saint Peter's river, of Minnesota,
near the head of which he found captives from the country around a Salt Lake
beyond them, having beards, and the appearance of Europeans, whom he took to be
Spaniards; though they being slaves, and in the presence of their masters,
called themselves Indians.
These captives described their country as the abode of
civilization, (how could savages from the interior of the continent give such a
description unless there was such a nation in their country?) and since the
country has been better known, we find the other Indian tribes spoken of by
LaHontan, but none bearded and resembling Europeans. It can hardly be otherwise
than that some considerable settlements of Europeans came into the very heart of
the continent and brought with them the industrial arts; whose history is
unknown, and have been quite destroyed, or have melted away in the mass of
mankind, leaving but some faint and fast passing memorials.
Captain H. Stansbury makes the voyage of this Baron La
Hontan, to have been in the direction of the Utah Basin; but this is a most
mistake; for La Hontan went from the mouth of the Wisconsin, UP THE MISSISSIPPI,
to a River bearing the description of the Saint Peter's; then far up that,
though NOT TO THE LAKE IN WHICH IT RISES; and the Salt Lake was but one hundred
and fifty leagues (450 miles) beyond; which would only make the distance to the
salt region of Minnesota. (See Stansbury's Expedition to Salt Lake, p. 150 to
155, and map.)
La Hontan's map exhibits the Missouri River far to the
south of his final stopping place, and Lake Superior and Winnipeg to the
North-East; and the only difficulty in applying his location of the country,
and of these captive Europeans to the salt region of Minnesota, is, that he
makes it West instead of North of the head of the Saint Peter's, an error
founded only on an Indian map, marked on Elk skin, which he copied.
The Indian name of this
Tagoning is considered the best
The West side of the
Gull is the best of the fishing
The bluffs of
Big Summer is the largest and most valuable of the
Summer Island Group. It is partially surrounded and cut in different places by
steep ledges of limestone, but the soil is excellent for cultivation. It has
an excellent Harbor, which will naturally draw around it the business of the
group, and build up a pretty little town.
Little Summer
Isle Le Galet has a Light House upon it.
Wau-go-shance Light House is on an artificial
Point Wau-go-shance consists of a row of small
There is a beautiful
This is the site of the second ancient
Michilimackinac, but is now uninhabited. It is in the North-East corner of
The plan of a ferry, however, will not succeed;
because the ice forms in such quantities as to entirely prevent the passage of
boats long before sleighs can cross on it. If the road is located across the
Straits, it will necessarily cross on a bridge, in order to secure the winter
Traverse puts up deep into
The Indian settlements around Little Traverse are
extensive and prosperous. The soil is well adapted to agriculture, and the
country well watered. There are several streams furnishing good water power,
and considerable quantities of valuable timber around them.--But it is not
so abundant, as to tempt lumbermen to make lumber for export.
There is a winter road from the head of Little
Traverse to Duncan; another to Grand Traverse, and thence to the Muskegon; and
one from the head of Little Traverse to Cross Village, from which place the
passage is made on the ice, by way of Point Wau-go-shance and Hat, Hog and
Garden Islands to Saint James.
At the center of the promontory between Grand and
Little Traverse Bays, a small river enters
The country around
The mouth of the river is closed by a bar, with no
more than two feet of water. Inside this the depth is sufficient for
steamboats.--But, there is fall enough between
When the outlaws who had been engaged in the crusade
against the Mormons left Beaver, many of them went to
These men made an occasional descent upon Beaver to
steal from the Mormons. But as their object was to steal, they were not
particular who suffered by it, and were prowling about the lakes at all times,
and taking whatever was in their way, and charging their own thefts to the
Mormons. The breaking up of their settlement after the murderous assault on the
Sheriff of Emmet, gave security to property for fifty miles around.
This vast region of the ancient Michilimackinac, so
early visited by civilization, has but just started on the race of Empire.
Possessed of all the national elements in boundless extent, with a climate which
insures a hardy race, and natural facilities for the greatest enterprises of
this enterprising age, its growth must be as rapid as it is long delayed.
The important position which Mormonism has assumed in
the affairs of this continent, the marks of perpetuity which now surround it,
and its extraordinary character, give it an importance which a few years ago no
sane man, out of that faith, believed it would ever attain. From the past
experience, there is no probability that they will cease to gain large accession
for many years to come. Their missionaries are now found in nearly all the
countries of
We went into the House to hear the arguments upon the
contested seats from Newaygo county. "King Strang" plead his right in
a masterly and convincing manner. He is a talented man, equal to any other man
in debate and general information.--Jackson Citizen, February 10. 1853.
The case of James Barton, contesting the seat of Hon.
J. J. Strang, is yet undecided. Mr. Strang presents and argues his case in
person, with a force of reasoning, energy and eloquence which, whatever may be
the result, will leave a most favorable opinion of his personal qualifications
for the position be claims.--Mich. State Jour., Jan. 10, 1853.
The Mormon Prophet Strang, more familiarly known as
King Strang, was yesterday arrested by a
Mr. Strang is confessedly the most talented and ready
debater in the House. He seems equally ready on any subject, political,
commercial, financial, judicial, educational, or anything else within the range
of legislation. He is bold, decided, positive--and woe to him who provokes his
satire and sarcasm, for his wit is as unmerciful as it is ready in retort. He
is ardent, passionate and rapid in his oratory, even to a fault--but is clear
and forcible in argument, and never fails to make himself understood.--Temperance
Mr. Strang's course as a member of the present
legislature has disarmed much of the prejudice which had previously surrounded
him. Whatever may be said or thought of the peculiar sect of which he is the
local head, throughout this session he has conducted himself with a degree of
decorum and propriety which have been equaled by his industry, sagacity, good
temper, apparent regard for the true interests of the people, and the
obligations of his official oath.--Detroit Advertiser, Feb. 10, 1853.
There is no one of the advocates of a general law able
to measure swords with Strang in debate, and they all know it, so they fight him
out doors and in, by low insinuations about "Beaver Island." Such a
mode of dealing with one who ever treats every member like a gentleman, without
intruding upon them or the House his peculiar religious views, is not exactly
"on the square," but he is able and will take care of
himself.--Detroit Advertiser, Feb. 5, 1853.
The Beaver Island Mormons are defended in our columns
this morning by Mr. J. J. Strang, their leader. He writes ably and makes out a
strong case. If his representations are correct, no body of men were ever more
calumniated than he and his disciples. We have heard of them as deluded and
vicious persons, stirrers up of crime and disorder, and sure to receive prompt
and condign punishment.--These reports have, however, not been verified by the
subsequent chastisement of the alleged offenders, and now we are informed that
the reason is, that they have committed no offence at all. We cannot, of course,
judge whether Mr. Strang is right or his accusers, but we must say that the
statement is a very plausible one, and that if they do not presently overthrow
it by clear evidence, the public in this quarter will incline to give a verdict
in favor of the Beaver Island Mormons.--New York Daily Tribune, July 2, 1853.
THE BEAVER ISLAND TROUBLES.--The letter from J. J.
Strang, the Mormon leader on
King Strang's senatorial career has been an eloquent
and an honorable one.--Detroit Free Press,
Col. Deland, of the
Col. DeLand was clerk and reporter in the House of