SALT LAKE AND THE MORMONS 63 



It is hard to account for the horrible cruelties 

 that were perpetrated upon these people every- 

 where. They were moral, law-abiding, good 

 citizens. Until about 1845, there was absolutely 

 nothing in their doctrines or observances that 

 could offend the conscience of any Christian. 

 They were mostly of New England stock — as good 

 blood as America holds — and the ancestors of 

 three-fifths of them had fought in the Revolution. 

 But, driven by persecution from New York and 

 Ohio, they founded a settlement in Jackson 

 County, Missouri. As everywhere, they pros- 

 pered, accumulated wealth, but they remained a 

 peculiar people. They did not mingle much or 

 intermarry with their neighbors. They were 

 viewed with suspicion and finally driven out by 

 armed ruffians, their property taken, their homes 

 despoiled, and nameless outrages committed upon 

 their women. They settled again in Clay County 

 under an express promise of protection from the 

 governor. Again they were driven out under the 

 same circumstances of outrage and cruelty. Many 

 were killed, and many more died of sickness and 

 privation. 



