On this passage he turned down the leaf, and there it is, a silent witness that he, too, knew he was going "like a lamb to the slaughter."
The next morning--the 25th of June--the city authorities of Nauvoo and some persons who had assisted the marshal to remove the _Expositor_ press, appeared before Robert F. Smith, a justice of the peace, to answer again to the charge of riot. Owing to the excitement prevailing, the aforesaid parties consented to be bound over to appear before the circuit court at its next session; and became security for each other in $500 bonds each.
No sooner was this matter thus disposed of than one Henry O. Norton and Augustine Spencer--two worthless scoundrels whose words were utterly unreliable, went before the justice of the peace who had just dismissed the brethren, and charged Joseph and Hyrum Smith with having committed the crime of treason. The warrant for their arrest was placed in the hands of Constable Bettisworth, an over-bearing, insolent officer. He went to the Hamilton House, where the Messrs. Smith and their friends were staying: he arrested them and was for dragging them off to jail. They demanded to see the mittimus committing them to prison, a request which at first was denied, but finally the instrument was produced.
It recited that the parties under arrest had been before the justice for trial, but that said trial had been necessarily postponed because of the absence of material witnesses. That was an infamously false statement, unless the accused could have appeared before the justice without being present in person or by counsel. It afforded Constable Bettisworth an excuse, however, to drag these men off to jail, and this he was determined to do, their vigorous protest to the contrary notwithstanding.
Seeing his friends thus illegally and brutally dealt with aroused the righteous indignation of Elder Taylor. He sought out the governor, informed him of what was going on, and the character of the men who had made the charge. The governor regretted that the thing had occurred, he did not believe the charges, but thought the best thing to do was to let the law take its course. All this was unsatisfactory to Elder Taylor. He reminded the governor that they had all come to Carthage at his instance, not to satisfy the law, for that had no claim upon them; but to manifest a willingness to meet their action in relation to the _Expositor_ affair; that at his suggestion they had given bonds to appear before the circuit court; that they had come without arms at his request, and relied upon him to shield them from insult; that after his solemn pledge to Doctor Bernhisel and himself he thought they had a right to expect protection from him: but if in his very presence they were to be subject to mob rule, and, contrary to law, be dragged into prison at the instance of every infernal scoundrel whose oath could be bought for a dram of whiskey, his protection did not amount to much and they had miscalculated his promises.