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History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

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TRIAL OF BURTON.<br />

the sheriff and other members <strong>of</strong> the posse no proceedings<br />

were taken at this date, though it was alleged by<br />

the Morrisites that his course was severe, and that the<br />

arrests might have been made without the loss <strong>of</strong> a<br />

single life. In 1879, however, Burton, who in consideration<br />

<strong>of</strong> his services had meanwhile been promoted<br />

to <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>of</strong> trust, holding among others the post <strong>of</strong><br />

collector <strong>of</strong> internal revenue for <strong>Utah</strong>, 38 was indicted<br />

for the murder <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the women. 39 He was acquitted<br />

after a trial lasting several weeks, for he was<br />

a good and responsible man in every respect, and<br />

there was no evidence that he was guilty <strong>of</strong> the crime<br />

alleged.<br />

To Governor Harding and judges Waite and Drake<br />

the law appeared to have been strained against the<br />

Morrisites, even though they may have been guilty<br />

<strong>of</strong> resisting a legal process, and petitions for their<br />

pardon being signed by the federal <strong>of</strong>ficials, the <strong>of</strong>ficers<br />

contains some details that do not appear elsewhere. He states, for instance,<br />

that when the prisoners were first brought before Judge Kinney, only five <strong>of</strong><br />

them would sign bonds, and <strong>of</strong> the rest only a few could speak English, the<br />

latter protesting against the entire proceedings, and declaring that they would<br />

4<br />

lie in jail till the devil's thousand years were out ' before they would admit<br />

that they were legally dealt with. The account given in A Voice from the<br />

West, San Francisco, 1879, is written by one <strong>of</strong> the sect, and is purely from<br />

a Morrisite standpoint. In the Deseret News, March 12, 1879, it is stated<br />

that Morris had been excommunicated for adultery, that his followers boasted<br />

that they would soon occupy the houses and farms <strong>of</strong> the Mormons, and that<br />

Burton took command <strong>of</strong> the posse with great reluctance, after the Morrisites<br />

had frequently defied the <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> the law. ' The Morrisites,' says the<br />

church organ, ' commenced to fire upon the posse with their long-range rifles,<br />

and having torn up the floors <strong>of</strong> their log cabins and wickeups, dug up the<br />

earth and threw it against the walls. They lay in these cellars firing through<br />

port-holes at the posse. There were very close upon 200 men in these fortifications.'<br />

After the arms were stacked, Burton, Stoddard, and some fifteen<br />

others entered the camp, and Morris, being allowed at his own request to<br />

speak to the people, cried out: ' All who are for me and my God in life or in<br />

death follow me.' A rush was then made for the arms, whereupon the posse<br />

opened fire, the sheriff firing two shots at Morris, Stoddard also firing two or<br />

three shots, and two women being killed, though by whom is not stated.<br />

38 Beadle states that when he visited <strong>Utah</strong> in 1868, Burton was also_ assessor<br />

<strong>of</strong> S. L. co., a general in the Nauvoo legion, a prominent elder in the<br />

church, and one <strong>of</strong> the chiefs <strong>of</strong> the secret police. Life in <strong>Utah</strong>, 398.<br />

39 He was arrested in Aug. 1S76, and his bail fixed at $20,000. Deseret<br />

News, March 12, 1879; in July 1877, with bail at $10,000. S. L. City Tribune,<br />

July 28, 1877. A former indictment had been found in the Sept. term <strong>of</strong><br />

1870, but the constitution <strong>of</strong> the grand jury was declared illegal by the U.<br />

S. sup. court.<br />

619

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