History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

TRIAL OF BURTON.
the sheriff and other members of the posse no proceedings
were taken at this date, though it was alleged by
the Morrisites that his course was severe, and that the
arrests might have been made without the loss of a
single life. In 1879, however, Burton, who in consideration
of his services had meanwhile been promoted
to offices of trust, holding among others the post of
collector of internal revenue for Utah, 38 was indicted
for the murder of one of the women. 39 He was acquitted
after a trial lasting several weeks, for he was
a good and responsible man in every respect, and
there was no evidence that he was guilty of the crime
alleged.
To Governor Harding and judges Waite and Drake
the law appeared to have been strained against the
Morrisites, even though they may have been guilty
of resisting a legal process, and petitions for their
pardon being signed by the federal officials, the officers
contains some details that do not appear elsewhere. He states, for instance,
that when the prisoners were first brought before Judge Kinney, only five of
them would sign bonds, and of the rest only a few could speak English, the
latter protesting against the entire proceedings, and declaring that they would
4
lie in jail till the devil's thousand years were out ' before they would admit
that they were legally dealt with. The account given in A Voice from the
West, San Francisco, 1879, is written by one of the sect, and is purely from
a Morrisite standpoint. In the Deseret News, March 12, 1879, it is stated
that Morris had been excommunicated for adultery, that his followers boasted
that they would soon occupy the houses and farms of the Mormons, and that
Burton took command of the posse with great reluctance, after the Morrisites
had frequently defied the officers of the law. ' The Morrisites,' says the
church organ, ' commenced to fire upon the posse with their long-range rifles,
and having torn up the floors of their log cabins and wickeups, dug up the
earth and threw it against the walls. They lay in these cellars firing through
port-holes at the posse. There were very close upon 200 men in these fortifications.'
After the arms were stacked, Burton, Stoddard, and some fifteen
others entered the camp, and Morris, being allowed at his own request to
speak to the people, cried out: ' All who are for me and my God in life or in
death follow me.' A rush was then made for the arms, whereupon the posse
opened fire, the sheriff firing two shots at Morris, Stoddard also firing two or
three shots, and two women being killed, though by whom is not stated.
38 Beadle states that when he visited Utah in 1868, Burton was also_ assessor
of S. L. co., a general in the Nauvoo legion, a prominent elder in the
church, and one of the chiefs of the secret police. Life in Utah, 398.
39 He was arrested in Aug. 1S76, and his bail fixed at $20,000. Deseret
News, March 12, 1879; in July 1877, with bail at $10,000. S. L. City Tribune,
July 28, 1877. A former indictment had been found in the Sept. term of
1870, but the constitution of the grand jury was declared illegal by the U.
S. sup. court.
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