Personally appeared before A notary Public within and for said the undersigned citizens of <​said​> county who being duly sworn first severally duly sworn according to law upon said oath depose and say that they said affiants were citizens and and residents of and the adjoining counties in the state of during the years A. D. 1837. 1838 and a part of A D. 1839. that said affiants were personally conversant with and sufferers in the scenes and troubles usually called denominated the <​Mormon​> war in — That the acting executive officer of said , togeather with and and also the authorities of the counties within which the Mormons resided, repeatedly by dirict and public orders and threats commanded every mormon in the , Joseph Smiths their leader included, to leave the on peril of being exterminated that the arrest of said smith in the month of November A. D. 1838, was made without authority Color or pretended sanction of law— said arrest having been made by a mob by which said smith among others was condemned to be shot but which said sentence was finally revoked by said mob resolving itself into a pretended court of Justice without the pretended sanction of law then and there made out the charges and procured the pretended conviction for the same which are mentioned in the indictment against the said Smith. by virtue of, which he said Smith on the requisition of the of has been recently arrested by the order of His Excellency Governor of the state of said affiants further state that they were imprisoned with the said Joseph Smith when they and the said Smith were delivered into the hands of a guard to be conducted out of State of and by said guard by <​the​> order and direction of the authorities of said counties where said Mormons were arrested and confined and by order of the of the state of were set at large with directions to leave the state without delay— That said Joseph Smith and said affiants were compelled to leave the for the reasons aboved mentioned and would not and did not leave said for any other cause [p. [1]]