General Clark spent some time searching the laws to find some authority by which the Prophet and companions could be tried for treason by court martial. He even sent to Fort Leavenworth seeking such information, which could not be found. It caused him extreme annoyance that no law could be invoked to try private citizens by military code when there was no war. He knew some charges would have to be preferred against the accused, so he wrote the governor saying he had, on November 10, 1838, made out charges against the prisoners and had called Judge Austin A. King to try them as a committing court. He also suggested that they be tried by court martial, especially, said he, should Joseph Smith be so tried, but he could not discover authority for such procedure, and requested the opinion of the attorney general on that point. "There being no civil officers in Caldwell," he said, "I have to use the military to get witnesses from there, which I do without reserve." The civil officers in Caldwell, being "Mormons" had all been cast into jail, and of course were not available. He closed his epistle by saying the accused brethren were guilty of "treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, larceny, and perjury." The reply he received was to turn the prisoners over to the civil law, which order hurt him very much, for he hoped to have the pleasure of attending to their execution, after a military trial. In fact, he and Lucas had on several occasions set the date of execution, but the hand of the Lord was always over the afflicted brethren. The Trial