The Governor from this time did everything in his power for the preservation of peace, but this momentary check was only a temporary lull in the storm. Human efforts were now ineffectual to stem the tide of trouble which rolled in upon the Saints.
At the October term of the Hancock Circuit Court indictments were found by the Grand Jury against Levi Williams, Thos. C. Sharpe, M. Aldrich, Jacob C. Davis, Wm. N. Grover, John Allyer, Wm. Davis, John Willis, and Wm. Gallagher, for the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The Governor, aware of the unenviable position that he occupied in respect to the alleged charges of complicity with the mob, resolved that the prosecution should be ably and fairly conducted, and, in addition to the District Attorney, called in the aid of the Attorney-General for the State.
Out of three hundred persons summoned, and after three days' challenging, a jury was at last empanelled. Of the indicted, four only were arrested Sharpe, Grover, Davis, and Williams. The trial lasted nine days, when the jury retired, and, after an absence of three hours, returned a verdict of "Not Guilty;" a conclusion which surprised no one.
