"Since Mr. Morehead left Richmond, one of the company (Bogart's) has come in and reported that there were ten of his comrades killed, and the remainder were taken prisoners, after many of them had been severely wounded; he stated further that Richmond would be sacked and burned by the "Mormon" banditti tonight. Nothing can exceed the consternation which this news gave rise to. The women and children are flying from Richmond in every direction. . . . My impression is, that you had better send one of your number to Howard, Cooper and Boone counties, in order that volunteers may be getting ready. . . . They must make haste and put a stop to the devastation which is menaced by these infuriated fanatics, and they must go prepared and with the full determination to exterminate or expel them from the state _en masse_. Nothing but this can give tranquility to the public mind, and re-establish the supremacy of the laws. There must be no further delaying with this question anywhere. The 'Mormons' must leave the state, or we will, one and all, and to this complexion it must come at last" (_Documentary History of the Church_, vol. 3:172). The Saints had no thought of making any attack on Richmond or any other place. This Judge Ryland must have known; but he evidently had become drunken with the bitter spirit of the times. His very letter refutes the falsehoods contained therein. Atchison's False Report Even General David R. Atchison, who previously had shown a spirit of justice and fair play, was overcome by the lying spirits abroad in the land. He permitted himself, under date of October 28, 1838, after the battle of Crooked River, to join that evil genius, Samuel D. Lucas, in a false report to Governor Boggs, as follows: "Sir: From late outrages committed by the Mormons, civil war is inevitable. They have set the laws of the country at defiance, and are in open rebellion. We have about two thousand men under arms to keep them in check. The presence of the commander-in-chief is deemed absolutely necessary, and we most respectfully urge that your excellency be at the seat of war as soon as possible." "Your most obedient servants," "David R. Atchison, M. G. 3rd Div." "Samuel D. Lucas, M. G. 4th Div." The surprising thing is that General Atchison would permit his name to be attached to such a document as this, which both these officers knew perfectly well was not true. But good men are at times overcome. Apparently he could not stand the pressure of the consolidated effort against the Saints, who were seeking merely to defend themselves and their rights against the aggressions of mobocracy. Nevertheless it appeared to be a capital offense for a weak and practically defenseless people to resist such invasion. For doing so they were guilty of causing a state of civil war!