AN EXCITING EVENT IN MORMON LIFE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1520, 27 October 1883, Page 4

AN EXCITING EVENT IN MORMON LIFE.

Not long previous to the death of Brigham Young, ono of the most effective leaders of the early Mormon Church preceded him to tho world beyond tho grave. In 1833 this early apostle was known as John Mills, but SOOn after that period, for certain reasons he had assumed another namo. He wasone of the twelve apostles originally appointed by Joseph Smith, and had been designated to lead a colony westward from tho main body at Kirtland, Ohio, With them, in the year named he had made a settlement at Independence, in Jackson County, Missouri. John Mills was then quite a, young man, full of enthusiasm in tho Mormon faith, and ono of the most popular' preachers of the Latter Day Saints. So great was his fame that whenever ho addressed an audience he attracted crowds of Gentiles as well as of his Mormon brethren. The influence he was beginning to wield led to_ violent opposition amongst the Missouri people against tho strange religionists who had settled among thera, A band of lynchers was there fore organised to put them down, and the chosen leader of this mob was Richard Turk, one of the most dangerous and desperate men that the Missouri borders had ever produced. Under his leadership the Mormons were tarred and feathered, somo were scourged with long and knotted hickories, others were driven from their homes and deprived of their property, while others were ruthlessly shot down o.! : he prairies, At last Turk determined to strike at the centre of the luted colony, and he gave notice to his men to be prepared for a general and decisive attack upon them. It was in the midwinter of 1833, on " night of bitter cold. Tho moon was ■:('• the full, and the sky was cloudless ; the earth was covered with a mantle of snow, which gleamed radiant, but chill and drear, in the silent moonlight ; the winds howled over land and stream, and the Missouri Eivor was frozen from shore- to shore. Yet on that terrible night, in the powor of their faith, more than 100 Mormons had assembled to hold a mooting for worship. They were fanatics to a new idea flaming in their hearts and nerving them to face the icy blast and persecution. Tho place of meeting was in a large log cabin which stood within a quarter of a mile of the river bank. Men, women, and children were gathered there, They were aware that peril threatened them all the time, and with the sense of some im-mediately-pending danger, the men had :ome there armed, grasping their rifles even while they bowed in prayer. The preacher of the evening was the enthusiast, Mills, Never before had he been so animated or eloquent. In glowing words he pictured the bitter persecutions which had ever followed the path of great reforms. His blue ejfes gleamed like stars, his voico pealed with the thrill of a trumpet, his beardless lips overflowed with a magnetism that stirred every heart. Acclamations, groans, and tears arose from his excited auditors as he reached the full height of oratory, SudJenly the sharp report of a riflo was heard from the outside of the cabin, and the sentinels who had been placed on guard rushed terror stricken into tho room, crying "The mob! the mob I save yourselves." In the dismay and confusion which followed, the women shrieked in despair, and even some of the men sprang out of the windows, Most of the congregation, however, remained in their seats, asifstnpified and powerless for either escape or resistance, In a moment more they became aware that a mob of hundreds had surrounded the buildings with wild shouts and cries. The barrels of cocked guns and pistols TOO thrust through the doors and windows j and yet, strange to say, not a soul within made a sign of defence. The Latter Day saints had not yet been awakened to the point of battle. The next moment the doors were thronged by the entering mob, Headed by the gigantic Turk they rushed in and began to assail the helpless worshippers with tho iron ramrods of their muskets, without regard to age or sox, The wail of the sufferers mingled with tho blasts of the winter wind, until at length the ferocious leader shouted: "Turn out the women -•seize the men and give them the hickories." The frenzied mob yellpd a reply and rushed forward to obey his commands. All this time the young orator, Mills, had remained standing on his rude platform with tho unfinished sentence on his lips, and the Book of Mormon still in his uplifted hand, Pale with excitement, his teeth set with defiance, and his eyes gleaming with angry light there, for a_ moment alone, he confronted the infuriated crowd, Then, with a charge like a flash, he suddenly made a bound for the nearest window. He dashed through it, and though a dozen arms were outstretched to seize him he made good his escape from the house, '.'.After him, boys. Take him alive or dead. Shoot him 1" cried the enraged leader, as he sprang forward in pursuit. The flight of Mills was directed straight towards the river. He was strong and swift of foot, and tho slight start he hnd gained placed him some distance ahead of the mob. They fired at him as he fled, but without effeot. With a forethought begotten of expected danger the young preacher had some days before provided himself with skates, which he carried on his person, and now as he reached the river bank he stooped down and hastily fastened them on his feet. Then, dashing forward on the ice, he skimmed over the frozed surface of the Missouri with the swiftness of a bird. "Skatesl skates! who will hand mo 6 pair of skates V cried Turk, as he reached the river and saw tho lessening form of Mills, still unharmed by the rife-balls sent after him. «I have skates here," cried one of the mob, " but no one could live on the ico such a night like this," "Quick, give them tome," exclaimed Turk, with a fiery impatience, snatching them from the Other's hand. In a few moments he i had them' buckled on, and then, raising' m hand, he swore aloud to his follow- • till to would bring baskthe

preaoher's scalp or lose his own. So Turk began his perilous chase, Mean- ' while Mills was rapidly approaohing \ the farther shore, when he was startled by the sudden gleam of" weapons and the appearance'of anhed men on' ( the banks, At a glance he compre- \ bended that the mob had taken care to \ station a guard, thore. Instantly.he- I changed his course down the river, and ( put fovth all his speed to reach an unguarded spot, where he might safely- , land. As ho flow along in the cold moonlight. his. quick ear caught the, \ ringing, but still faint, sound of iron j on the ice behind him, He became l conscious that somcono was following '' him. . j Gradually slackening his speed, he at .1 length wheeled about to take a viewof J his pursuer. Tho distant dark form ' approaching was, however, too remote for accurate observation. Then a quick ' thought flashed upon the Mormon, ■ " Can this be Turk?" he cried aloud, j " God grant it I and then lam will- , ing to die." Onward -came the' pursuer, and onward fled the Mormon, The sharp ringing of their skates echoed on the wind, and then the giant ' form of the leader loomed nearer and I nearer. The young preacher smiled grimly as with a quick .side-glance he r recognised the arch-persecutor.' In another minuto he caught the glitter'of . the colonel's knife as he i drew it from ■ the sheath. Mills immediately grasped ' his own weapon, and started off more rapidly to,avoid: the coming shock. Tho chase, had now reached a point where a series; of swift and cunning evolutions became. necessary by both parties in order to secure, the advantage of position. Inwidocirclingsand • sharp angles, backward, forward, ad- ' vancing, eluding, one could not 'find ) the other at fault or take; him unpre- \ pared; They passed each other repeatedly, and by degrees drawing ! nearer and closer, they made quick \ thrusts, cuts, and parries, with frequent c slashes piercing to the bone. The cold f was still intense, and the winds howled around them, as for a half-hour their • flights and manoeuvres carried them c unconsciously ofl the river. At length ono wide sweep toward * the farther shore brought them to a \ spot where the ice grew thinner, and n where it cracked perilously beneath t their feet. Finally, the Mormon re- ! solved to terminate the fight, if by giv- J ing up his life he could end that of the foe of himself and his faith, When J next they sped towards each other Mills : made straight and boldly for his enemy. " They met at full speed. The shock ' brought them both down, and tho quaking ice split beneath them with a 1 dull roar. The great solid frozen masses crashed and heaved around their , bleeding forms ; and in the solemn silence of the winter night the wild waters of the Missouri swept weapons . and foes down into their avenging depths. Turk was never seen again, j Nor was John Mills ever afterwards ] known on earth by that name. "Never- i theless the young preacher still survived, and still labored for the Saints, The family of tho dead man were as desperate and vongeful as their parent f and Mills thought it wisest to assume j another name. Under that assumed name he wis afterwards sent by Brig- ( ham Young to explore the unsettled ] region of tho Great Salt Lake. Thither J ho accompanied the first Mormon i settlers, and there he lived and died.— ' Prize Story fron" Tit bits," '