Search and Seizure in Utah: Recounting the Antipolygamy Raids

Unidentified polygamists' residence photographed by George Edward Andersen and U.S. Marshal Ireland's badge, both in USHS collections.

Search and Seizure in Utah: Recounting the Antipolygamy Raids

BY TRACEY E PANEK

IN RATIFYING THE FOURTH AMENDMENT OF THE Bill of Rights, the framers of the U.S. Constitution forbade general warrants and declared the right of all people "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." Early Americans, from their experiences as colonists under British rule, well understood the potential of a powerful central authority for such abuse. Before and during the American Revolution colonists frequently witnessed raids on their homes and communities by British soldiers searching for weapons or confiscating trade goods. Many Americans stood helplessly as British troops seized their living quarters, candles, vinegar, bedding, beer, salt, cider, or rum under terms of the Quartering Act of 1765. At sea in 1763 the First Lord of the Treasury ordered the British navy to patrol American waters and search for smugglers importing molasses from the French West Indies. In 1772 the Gaspee, a British naval vessel patrolling Narragansett Bay, inflicted daily outrages upon the inhabitants. The commander seized small boats, and the sailors cut orchards for firewood and helped themselves to livestock As a consequence of such experiences, when the framers of the U.S. Constitution delineated popular rights that the government must never invade they included freedom from unreasonable search and seizure among the first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.

Similarly, members of the 1895 Utah Constitutional Convention understood from first-hand experience the necessity of adopting safeguards against unreasonable search and seizure Utahns had experienced intrusions like the British raids upon the colonists. Mormons practicing polygamy, or plural marriage, in late nineteenth-century Utah Territory not only drew intense criticism but also stimulated rigorous legal opposition. In the decade prior to adopting the Utah State Constitution statutes outlawing polygamy—like the Quartering Act, Intolerable Acts, and other such measures in colonial times—paved the way for overzealous officials to disregard the fundamental rights of the citizens of the territory. Federal officers, hoping to capture violators of the antipolygamy Edmunds and Edmunds-Tucker acts, commonly invaded the privacy and sanctity of the home, ransacking dwellings and scouring properties, in contempt of Fourth Amendment guarantees.

In scope, the antipolygamy raids occurred over a shorter duration and within more confined geographic boundaries than colonial raids In frequency and magnitude, however, the antipolygamy raids proved comparable, if not more widespread, than the various combined raids on the colonies. From 1884 to 1889 the practice of raiding to find polygamists became so far reaching throughout the territory that it extended north to Idaho border towns, south as far as present-day Washington County and the Arizona border, east to the Green River, and west into Beaver, Millard, and other counties. The antipolygamy raids occurred in the heavily populated urban areas of Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, and Logan and also in isolated, rural towns such as Greenville, Deseret, Clarkston, Springdale, and the like. If Utahns during the period did not witness raids on their own homes or in their communities, they most certainly learned of them from neighbors, friends, family, or the press.

First-person and other accounts of the searches, found in the historiography of the "Raid" era, occur spottily and typically within a discussion of the "underground." Although many have studied the lives of those seeking refuge from the law, few have examined the experiences of the Mormons and federal officers in direct confrontation. What were the circumstances of a raid? What methods did federal officers employ as they raided? More important, what were the experiences of those involved in the raids and how did it affect their lives?

The raids shared common features and officers employed many common raiding tactics, but individual raids varied, depending upon location, personality, and other circumstances. Although it is impossible to determine the specific legal procedures officers followed in all cases, it is clear from recorded accounts that officers raided at all hours, with a significant number of raids taking place without search warrants and with unnecessary abuse On the whole, the accounts clearly demonstrate that officers raiding for polygamists violated the constitutional limits outlined in the Fourth Amendment, in spirit if not in law Much like the experiences of the framers of the U.S Constitution, the experiences of the antipolygamy raids most likely colored the perceptions of the members of the Utah Constitutional Convention, providing them with a unique sentiment regarding privacy, sanctity of the home, and protection of the home and person from governmental intrusion.

Viewed with slavery as the "twin relic of barbarism," the unpopular Mormon practice of polygamy faced its first statutory challenge in 1862 when the Morrill Antibigamy Act overwhelmingly passed both houses of Congress. The act prohibited plural marriage in the territories, disincorporated the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and restricted the church's ownership of property to $50,000. Enforcement of the act flagged, however, as the government focused its attention on the Civil War.

Following the war, reawakened outrage at the growing practice of polygamy prompted stricter federal measures The Poland Act of 1874 paved the way for polygamy convictions by eliminating the offices of territorial marshal and attorney general and expanding the powers of the U.S. marshal. It also directed the district court clerk and judicial district probate judge to draw up the jury lists.

By 1882 mounting national indignation at the practice of polygamy led to the passage of the Edmunds Act which declared polygamy a felony punishable by up to five years of imprisonment and/or a $500 fine. In addition, it made polygamous living, or unlawful cohabitation, a misdemeanor with penalties of six months imprisonment and/or a $300 fine. The Edmunds Act disfranchised polygamists and rendered them ineligible for public office. Practice of, or even the mere belief in, polygamy resulted in disqualification from jury duty.

In 1887 congressional Republicans, dissatisfied with the Edmunds Act, demanded stricter laws accompanied by vigorous enforcement. After heated debate, Congress adopted the Edmunds-Tucker Act. This statute included provisions mandating the attendance at trial of prosecution witnesses, permitting lawful wives to ignore questions of spousal immunity and testify against their husbands, and requiring all marriages to be publicly recorded.

With the arrival of Charles S. Zane in 1884, newly appointed as chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, the widespread hunt for polygamists began The U.S marshal and his deputies spearheaded the crusade, arresting and convicting hundreds. By 1885, U.S. attorney W. H. Dickson asserted that "within one year if the present pressure on the guilty is continued . . . the Church will command submission to the laws."1

Many federal officers shared Dickson's optimistic hope that through their efforts to enforce the law plural marriage could be eradicated Deputy Fred E Bennett affirmed, "My business as Deputy United States Marshal consisted largely in arresting Mormons guilty of the crime of polygamy and I found the greatest pleasure in attending strictly to that business." Hunting polygamists also offered pecuniary rewards. For serving any warrant, attachment summons, or other writ, the U.S. marshal received $2.00. Serving a subpoena netted only half a dollar, while summoning jurors drew $2.00. For each polygamist arrested, however, U.S. marshals claimed $20.00, almost one-tenth of their annual $200.00 salary.2

Not surprisingly, then, Mormon homes became the central target of the marshals' attack Lured by money and eager to enforce the law, officers searched the houses of suspected polygamists, their wives, friends, and families, hoping to capture polygamists in residence. For plural wives like Flora Snow Woolley, all homes seemed susceptible to attack. "[Four] deputies began their search for me in Salt Lake beginning in the evening of the day in which they arrested [Mr. Wooley]," Flora recorded, ". . . and continued their search for three days, until seven places had been searched."3 Although individual raids varied, all who endured the invasions suffered a violation of privacy and an intrusion into the sanctity of their homes. Few of those seeking refuge during the raids enjoyed the peace and security typically found at home.

Marshals scrutinized virtually all areas of a house during a search. Deputies inspected kitchens, attics, barns, and outhouses, checking in and under beds, laundry, carpets, and "every nook liable to be utilized as a hiding-place."4 One observer recalled a typical raid:

The deputies called at our place about daybreak and came to my window and rapped I asked who was there, but received no answer They then tried to raise the window, when I called again, they said they were officers I asked them to wait until I was dressed, but they said no, or they would break in the door I told them they had better let that out, and they went around to mother's door, which was opened, and father was summoned The deputies next went to the bed of Mrs Elliotts and subpoenaed her Gleason said, with a frightful oath, that he knew there was another woman in the house, and searched in boxes, trunks, etc. 5

In the same raid, another witness recounted:

Deputy Gleason came to my bed and pulled the clothing off me, asking if there was anyone in bed with me. He then went to the fireplace and pulled a sack of straw from there and looked up the chimney One of them next pulled up a piece of carpet, when Gleason asked Thompson if he thought there was anyone under there. Thompson said, "No," and Gleason exclaimed, "G d it, we will look any way!" They also looked in cupboards, boxes, trunks, etc. and a small tea chest, but threw nothing out.6

Two marshals suspecting foul play tore up an irregular place in the floor of another home. After ripping through the carpet, the officers attempted to punch through the boards beneath.7 The press outlined the details of a search in another raid:

[Deputy] Collins searched in and under the bed, out in the kitchen, in the washroom, looked inside of a large box in the room, and behind a washboard which was standing against the wall, but not even the signs of a mouse greeted this scrutiny Not being satisfied with this, he went outside and looked in outhouses and through some trees growing near by.8

Officers often had good reason to search for suspects relentlessly. Fugitives sometimes outfoxed the officers, slipping out back doors, climbing inside bins, or constructing elaborate hideaways. "The officers came to the place where he had been hiding in and ran pitchforks in the wheat bins and hay stacks to make sure he wasn't there," Margaret Ballard wrote of her husband's escape "When they found the hole where he had been hiding they cursed and swore to think he had gotten away from them."9 Detailing a fruitless search, a frustrated Deputy Bennett wrote:

[Wjhile Johnny, my partner for the time being, kept a close watch on the store, with orders to take a shot at any one leaving if they would not stop when called on, I went to the house across the street On going round to the back door I found it was admirably adapted to fastening on the outside I shoved a stick through it to prevent its being opened from the inside, and going round to the front I gained admittance, but after a thorough search failed to find the blood-thirsty Dixon. I then proceeded to the other house, and being assured by Johnny that no one had left it, I rapped on the door and was sleepily admitted by Mrs. Dixon No. 1,who protested. ... I searched the house thoroughly, however, and then adjourned to the store . . . [greeted by] about a half a dozen good Mormons who laughingly bid me goodmorning said Old Bill Marler "We expected you last night."10

With scrutinizing searches, however, officers uncovered unexpected hideouts. Deputies discovered suspects behind doors, and in drapes and foliage One deputy spotted Monroe Allred stowed in an old bedstead. "He seemed to be considerably suffocated when dug out; he had for barracks to the front of him two large chambers The deputy shoved his cane in between them and punched them until he concluded to come out. . . ."H Joseph Smith Black described the events leading to a capture:

[W]hile I was [outside] waiting there, my daughter went into the house out of breth and said, O! Pa! the marshals are coming up the lane, this was at my daughter Nancies, and she urged me to get out of the way. I went into a secretive place, and the marshals came on and surrounded the house. They searched everywhere, two had given up the search, but Norrell continued although being urged by the others to quit and come on, on several occations they came within 3 or 4 feet of me, while Norrell on his way to their carts, having give up the search, came right on to me, drawing a cocked revolver , 12

Spotting the marshals' notorious black-topped buggy, family members instinctively hid the wanted. Others sent immediate word for them to stay clear of the house "Right while the officers were searching Mother put Vivian out of the window and sent her to warn father," recalled one. Rushing for cover, residents frequently overlooked vital details:

One night when [father] was so sick the deputies knocked at the door. Mother put him into the trundle bed and put we children in bed on top of it, but the deputies were knocking so loud she could not quite finish the job One of father's feet was sticking out and he was too sick to move it and he could not tell her The deputies came in and searched the house andjust as they were going they saw the foot.13

Shortly after a polygamist's arrest, officers commonly raided to subpoena a spouse, family member, or other witnesses to testify against the accused On one occasion, one deputy marshal forced entrance into the home of First Presidency member George Q. Cannon. The deputy entered the room of the bedridden Amanda Cannon, informed her of her husband's recent arrest, and subpoenaed her as a witness. After leaving by the front door, the deputy then reentered through the rear, and served subpoenas on two more women. 14 Alice Dalton vividly recalled the time a deputy subpoenaed a friend:

One day a U.S.Deputy Marshal rode up in a one horse rig, tied his horse to the hitching post and started toward the house. The first wife asked me if I knew him and I told her who he was. She turned pale and asked me to find her husband and warn him to stay away, but before I could get out of the door the officer walked in and handed her a piece of paper, told her to give it to her husband and walked out She read it and said her husband would never see it, the paper was a subpoena , 15

Ellis Day Coombs remembered officers serving subpoenas on children and adults alike. She recorded of an evening visit at her childhood home, "They did not wait to be asked in, but came boldly into the room. They were U.S. Deputy Marshals and informed Mother that she and Estella, only nine years old, were subpoenaed to appear in court... to give testimony against father."16 In another incident marshals subpoenaed President Cannon's entire household:

Mr. . . . Sanders, the gentleman employed to teach Brother Cannon's children, was the only man on the place at the time, and at first objected to allowing the officers to enter. They claimed to have authority, however, and finally were allowed to come in. They served the subpoenas upon seven persons who were present, including Mr Sanders, the housekeeper, and several children, who were commanded to appear before the grandjury this morning at 10 o'clock.17

Deputies also raided homes to gather evidence and put witnesses under bond to testify at trial Officers entered homes and questioned residents about marital status and living arrangements Babies represented the undeniable proof of polygamy, leaving plural wives with small children in dread of the officers' searches Alma Felt remembered, "My baby wasn't quite two years old, but she was very large for her age, and when [the marshal] pulled the covers of her bed aside, I told him she was three years old and he believed me. But I had to go to court." Abraham H. Cannon returned home one day to discover that marshals raiding his home had arrested Mina Cannon, putting her under $2,000 bond to "appear when wanted."18 Inevitably, the raids evoked distress and fear. Children shied away from strangers, while plural wives separated from their spouses bore the anxieties of the searches alone. Fugitive husbands seldom felt secure under their own roof, visiting their families in disguise and by night "I recall the morning [father] was arrested," wrote one woman, "[S]ister Mary [was crying] ... It had something to do with the deputies. I had learned to fear them because they frightened us in the dark nights when they came to search for father." Afraid of discovery, Thomas Billington Nelson remained in a single room for forty days, "never daring even to part the shade to see the sunlight."19 For Hannah Cooper the experience proved fatal. After witnessing her husband's arrest, she prematurely delivered their baby The trauma led to her death a few days later.20

Although officers focused primarily on homes, deputies also raided trains, roads, offices, and businesses. Marshals questioned railroad conductors and inspected passengers and luggage. Traversing the countryside in pairs, officers monitored well-traveled roads and passageways, frequently arresting polygamists at the side of a road. Officials at church headquarters, including the Gardo House, Church Historian's Office, and tithing storehouses, endured constant intrusions. During one raid Deputy Bennett even searched the well-patronized Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution:

... I went through the building until I came to the room in which the trap door leading to the cellar was [The manager] objected to my going further without a search warrant, and as Iwas satisfied that he was at the end of his rope and I had the game treed, I called to an officer whom I had stationed at the back door, to keep his eye on the cellar until I could get a paper strong enough to satisfy Brother P The Commissioners' office was just across the street, and in a few moments I returned with a document calculated to suit even a man as fastidious as he was On opening the trap-door and descending the steps there, crouching in a corner behind some boxes, was my man. 21

Raids on churches also occurred commonly. Invading during meetings, officers could scrutinize virtually all members of the congregation and arrest and subpoena en masse. In a raid on an 1885 regional conference, one deputy marshal walked up to the podium and proceeded to arrest two polygamists and serve subpoenas on the county commissioners.22 U.S Marshal Elwin Ireland led a raid on another church, later reported in the Deseret News:

The raid on the Seventeenth Ward meeting house Tuesday night affords the Tribune much room for mirth It chuckles over the statement that one hundred or more gentlemen who attended the meeting "were met at the foot of the stairs by Marshal Ireland, who permitted them to pass out singly;" gloats over the actions of a fellow by the name of Mix who was "stationed at the rear with orders to stop and detain every man who came from the rear;" and gleefully related how Mix stopped and "collared" Bishop McRae, an old gentlemen of eighty years . . . 2 3

Raiding continually in both rural and urban areas, officers adopted a variety of methods to outwit their prey Typically, they targeted specific individuals or entire communities before a raid, searching several dwellings at a time. This method not only proved efficient but improved the odds of finding suspects. In one raid the deputy searched for a Brother Nelson at Nelson's city address and at the home of two of Nelson's wives before ultimately discovering the suspect at a neighbor's home. In a raid on Franklin, Idaho, Deputy Bennett took the residents "in rotation," searching one home after another. Bennett left town the next day, followed by a convoy of polygamists and witnesses.24

Although they usually traveled in twos and threes, officers raided in posses of as many as five or more when circumstances warranted. One officer typically searched a home while another officer guarded doors and windows At times, however, posses surrounded homes, demanding a polygamist's surrender When Joseph Thurber tried to escape during a raid, officers encircling his home seized him Laura Ann Keeler Thurber recalled:

[The officers] came in on us one morning the 2nd of November 1886 and found us all in bed we got up, and I went to the door and let one in, there were two more out side one at my north window, and one at the south door, Thompson came in, and ask for Joseph of cors I wouldn't tell so he asked to sirch the house an I ask him for his search warrant and he gave it to me, and while I was reading it, Joseph had gone out the window and Sargent stoped him so he came to the front door and Thompson read his paper charging him with living with more than one wife. . . . 25

Eight marshals surrounded the Seventeenth Ward meeting house in Salt Lake City during another raid The attempt failed, however, and all escaped safely. In a dramatic show of force, twenty deputy marshals raided the Gardo, Lion, and Beehive houses in addition to other church offices. With crowds gazing on the marshals searched futilely for church leaders.26

Anticipating that fugitives would gather with others for recreation or to carry out business or religious affairs, marshals raided homes during family celebrations, holidays, and other events.

Martha Cragun Cox remembered one raid during conference time when the house was full and "many women were finding beds on quilts on the floor." The marshals entered unannounced at eleven o'clock, marching boldly through the house "turning the flashlight into the faces of sleepers." Ellis Day Coombs recalled deputies serving subpoenas on Valentine's Day, "[We] were warming up by the fireplace ready to go to one more place, when there was a knock on the door. We rushed to open the door expecting to find more Valentines, but instead there stood two strange men." Expecting President John Taylor to attend his daughter's wedding, officers planned a raid on the family's reception With the church president warned away, however, the deputies searched in vain.27

Often, officers unsuccessful in an initial raid searched homes repeatedly. Marshals regularly searched the homes of church leaders and other high-profile members of the church. Marshals also repeatedly searched the homes of other elusive polygamists. For the family of Samuel Bateman, bodyguard to President Taylor, the raids occurred not "once or twice, but dozens and dozens of times" in the four years of their father's exile Officers searched the home of the elusive Thomas Billington Nelson over one hundred times, never finding him.28

To supplement their efforts, deputy marshals frequently hired outside assistants. These "special detectives" guided deputies through unfamiliar territory, identified suspects unknown to an officer, and supplied manpower during searches and arrests. Some hirelings impersonated officers and arrested on the pretense of authority, while others questioned children about their parents.29 Still others trespassed into homes searching for suspects Joseph Smith Black observed:

Another mode they had for capturing those they were hunting, was for a stranger to ride into town, looking like a miner or stock man, and they would call at a house and make inquiry about something, and would then serve their papers on those that happened to be there that the[y] wanted for witnesses

In addition to paid assistants, officers relied on outside information to aid them in their searches Gentiles, apostate Mormons, and paid informers apprised officers of the activities of certain polygamists. Informers also notified authorities of suspicious conditions. When advised that one polygamist in hiding returned to his home at daylight to water his animals, officers lay in wait for the suspect at dawn, arresting him in his corral. Flora Snow Woolley narrowly escaped a brush with the deputies after being spotted on the street with a baby. Luck ran out for Joseph Smith Black; officers raided his hideout and arrested him after learning that "a man had been seen at the place."31

To catch polygamists off guard deputy marshals frequently raided homes in the early morning or at night. Deputy Bennett noted of one raid before dawn, "We were in hopes that by arriving thus early we would find him either in bed in one of [his] two houses, or in the cellar."32 Alerting the inmates of their presence, officers rapped on windows or forced open doors. Inside, they arrested fathers in their nightclothes and subpoenaed family members at their bedsides.

Such intrusions proved terrifying to many families. Sleepers awoke and sprang from their beds, while children huddled behind parents Deputies crawled through windows in one morning raid:

The women were compelled to rise from their beds in their night clothes and stand before these men (?) and listen to the reading of subpoenas One young girl being very much abashed rose at their command from bed and fled to another, but again she was made to rise and stand before the law protected pirates until they had served the subpoena upon her It has developed that these outrages were carried out without even a warrant giving the perpetrators the authority. A search was instituted when it was known that Mr Easton was not at home Small drawers to bureaus, washstands, etc. were hauled out and their contents emptied upon the floor.33

Like early morning searches, night raids also presented the marshals with obvious advantages. Nocturnal searches offered both the element of surprise and the cover of dark Officers who hired assistants found night raids particularly valuable. The darkness ensured one's anonymity, guarding neighbors assisting in an arrest from provoked cattle poisonings, wire fence cuttings, and the like.34 Officers invading at all hours left homes in turmoil and families defenseless. Juliaetta Bateman Jensen recounted the scene:

Mother would hear faintly the buggy wheels in the lane, and then the sound came more clearly as they drove down the hill and around the house She would not know whether it was friend or foe until she heard them pound furiously on the front door and shout for her to open it quickly or they would break it down She would plead for time to get into her clothes, and she lingered long enough to warn the others When she did let them in they searched every nook and corner of the house while their companions stood outside watching. They would throw the quilts back from our bed, and feel between us children frightening us half to death.35

News of a raid spread quickly Friends and family rushed in almost immediately, while others watched for the marauders. Although emotions surged, surprisingly few reacted with violence.

[T]he word of alarm would soon spread and lights would glitter in all parts of the town, and perchance if the raid had been successful, the news would soon be conveied from house to house of the capture of some of the most respectable citizens On such occasions excitement would generally run high, and many would be the expressions of indignation, were it not for the wise counsels of more matured minds, many of there raids would ended in a scene of blood as it was hard to see fathers, relatives and friends taken away in such a manner. 36

Depending on the location of a raid, officers employed the methods most effective and best suited to an area When raiding small settlements, for example, officers encountered serious obstacles. Stationed at headquarters convenient to a courthouse, they travelled up to twenty-five miles to reach rural settlements. Additionally, rural Mormon communities resisted attacks, typically banding together to protect polygamists Residents monitored the marshals' activities and signalled at the approach of a buggy or the arrival of a stranger Neighbors also warned off or hid polygamists during raids. Teenagers in Clarkston, Utah, trailed the deputies around town In Sanpete County church members surrounded officers who walked into a Sunday meeting; two polygamists escaped through a window while the officers were blocked.37

Marshals countered the organized resistance in rural communities by capitalizing on larger numbers, mass raiding, and odd hours. Marshal Ireland reported that his best hope in rural areas was to strike at an unusual hour and round up residents "like a lot of wild cattle."38 Describing conditions for a common raid on a rural area, Joseph Smith Black noted:

[Officers] would designate a certain number of the brethren that they desired to capture, and three or four of them would come into town during the night and lie in wait at the home of some treator The people reposing in peaceful slumber not cautious of any danger being near, and perchance the husband and father being wearing by camping out, would have repared home for a good nights rest, [to] injoy the society of his loved ones , 39

Marshal Bennett rode all night before raiding the polygamy stronghold of Paris, Idaho When he finally reached the rural settlement, he stopped first at a Brother Budge's homestead. Bennett questioned Budge's wives and searched unsuccessfully for Budge himself He next searched the homes of Brother Stuckie and his wives and continued his search at the homes of other polygamists. By daylight Bennett had arrested four polygamists, before news of the raid had spread.40

Raiding in urban areas had advantages and disadvantages. In cities and towns marshals travelled shorter distances to search a home and enjoyed the benefits of an organized informant network But residents of urban regions profited from an active press notifying them of their rights and denouncing illegal intrusions. One Deseret News article advised:

No officer has the right to force his way into a house without a proper warrant If he attempts to do so he may be treated as a burglar or any other lawless person, and if he has a little sense knocked into him with a club, or what little he has blown out of him with a shotgun, the law will not protect him. . . . 41

Another article condemning an early morning raid cautioned, "We once more inform our readers in country places where raids of this kind are perpetrated—the ruffians do not attempt them in town— that they are under no obligations, human or divine, to submit to such outlawry."42 Instead of using the tactics successfully exploited in many country raids, officers in towns monitored polygamists, offered hefty rewards, and relied on outside information.

In addition to location, the personality of an officer played a major role in determining the type of raid. Roaming the countryside in constant pursuit of polygamists many marshals grew relentless in their cause. Mrs. Easton "asked [Deputy] Gleason why he pulled the bedding from the bed. He answered: 'By G-d, I found Watson in the same kind of place.' He then said he thought Easton was concealed in a small compass, and that he expected to find him in a similar place, and he was going to get him before he left." Similarly, Marshal Bennett remarked of one drawn-out search for a polygamist, "As Rufe had been seen only a couple of hours before I heard of his arrival, it was evident that he was stowed away somewhere in the town, and it was determined to leave no stone unturned to find him, and put a stop to the long-continued game of hide and seek."43

For some officers, overzealousness turned into flagrant violation of the law. Many marshals illegally entered homes, bursting into bedrooms, crawling through windows, or demanding admittance with cocked revolvers Many, without search warrants, ransacked property and tore up homes. Describing a poignant example of abuse, the press recorded:

The deputy U.S Marshals first appeared at the residence of Mr Goff, on the east side of the river. Mrs. Goff met them at the door, and to their queries replied that her husband was not at home They then demanded admittance to the house, and Mrs. Goff inquired whether they were authorized to do so To this DeputyJ W Franks replied insolently that the only search warrant he needed was an axe with which to break in the door. The deputies then searched the house. . . , 44

In extreme cases some marshals raiding homes brutalized residents. Officers threatened occupants, intimidated women and children, or turned physically violent. Recounting his third arrest, James Bywater wrote:

On the night of October 20, between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m., I was made aware, while in bed, that a deputy U.S marshal was seeking admittance I got up and, while dressing, John B McClellan rushed into the bedroom and struck me, he having burst open the front door He handled me roughly, He pulled the bed clothes off my son Alfred, who was also in bed. He dragged me into the next room and then into the room where my wife was He told my wife Hanna to get up, but she wept and said she could not leave her children He yelled, "If you had a thousand children, I would make you get up with him." She was much exercised and cried piteously. This aroused me and I felt like shedding his blood if he proceeded to drag her out of bed, but his partner, a Mr. Butcher, said "Hold on Mac, you are going too far. . . ,"45

While some federal officers employed brutality, others utilized deception On occasion marshals manufactured subpoenas, carrying blank documents to be completed as needed Others used warrants applicable at only one home, to search an entire neighborhood. On one occasion seven officers searched houses, barns, stables, and stack yards, producing only a printed circular offering $500 for the man pictured as their authority.46

Accepting bribes proved lucrative for other officers. Christian Kunz paid Deputy Watson $75, and the deputies "never bothered him again."47 John Larsen purchased a mock trial:

[T]he presidents of the stake came around and said they had made arrangements with the authorities to buy the rest of us off ifwe would surrender. . . . Finally they came down $200 and I went and borrowed the money of Moses Thatcher and gave myself up and paid it to Charley Godwin They took my first wive, a son, and a couple of other witnesses down to Ogden and had a mock trial I wasn't even there, and the witnesses told a couple of white lies and the case against me was dismissed.48

Where certain marshals overstepped the bounds of the law, others, however, moderated their approach. Joseph Smith Black admitted:

In the commencement of the raiding I felt very indignant, and was fully determined to shoot any man that would break into my house in the night But after Marshal Dyer came into office, a more humane cause was pursued, and I had laid my pistols by. . . , 49

Officers well acquainted with those they encountered often tempered their actions. Juliaetta Bateman Jensen remembered one officer who seldom looked "beyond the sugar can" during his visits. A friend of her father, the deputy apologized for the intrusions. Emma Larsen noted that her neighbor, another officer, could easily have caught her father, but "just let him go." On the whole, however, most officers proved unwavering in their resolve. As Anthon Skanchy observed of one, "The deputy could not arrest his [polygamous] fatherin-law, but was vigorous in his pursuit of others."50

The experiences of the antipolygamy raids reached far and wide. As varied among people as among places, the raids ranged from lawful detentions to violent encounters. In their expansive practice of raiding homes, federal officers inevitably drew on tried and true methods. Uncovering creative hideouts necessitated exhaustive and frequently excessive searches of a home Officers preparing for trial searched for witnesses at all hours, hired assistants to ease their workload, and utilized informers' tips. Others, seeking fugitives, searched homes repeatedly, raided during meetings and celebrations, or rode in posses demanding surrender. In rural areas officers raided at unusual hours, arresting en masse. In town they monitored a polygamist's activities, targeting specific homes and people before a search and arrest. For those who endured them the raids proved a haunting experience. "I think my earliest recollection is of the United States Marshals coming The name even has a dread for me now," admitted one. 51

The experiences of the raids were felt deeply by participants on both sides of the law. For deputies struggling to enforce federal rule, duty exacted certain costs "United States officials of all kinds were looked upon with especial disfavor," wrote one deputy, "Every move was watched, and we encountered vindictive looks on every side."52 More than one deputy met with the back of a stiff broom. Others never made it past the front door and a loaded rifle. Hoping to purchase food in an isolated area, U.S. Marshal Ireland was told that "his kind is not wanted here" and refused.53 Few officers could ignore such disdain. A frustrated Deputy Bennett remarked of one search:

On entering the house I talked to [the plural wife] on various topics, tickled [her husband's] thirty-third child under the chin, and finally told Sister Henderson I would be pleased to meet Sam. Not seeing him. . . .I gave the house a thorough search This visit was the primary cause of the vindictive attacks made upon me by the Logan Journal and other Mormon sheets, and from that time on I determined to show no quarter, for no matter how civilly and politely officers tried to perform their unpleasant duties, they had nothing to expect but the revilings of the whole dirty crew. 54

Expressing a unified sentiment, Mormon members denounced the raids in general as an invasion of their rights and an intrusion on the sanctity of their homes. In 1885 Mormons assembled in the Salt Lake Tabernacle addressed their concerns to President Cleveland. The formal Declaration and Protest inveighed against the tyranny of federal officials, claiming "values of every kind [were] unsettled, neighborhoods agitated and alarmed and property of the people generally jeopardized "55

Citing the U.S. Constitution, church members criticized the raids as violating their Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure The Deseret News concluded:

It may be claimed that the Constitution has reference to unreasonable searches only; and that such searches as [the marshals] have been making in some instances are not unreasonable; but they are nevertheless. As a question of logic: What security would there be in the house, of the person or thing, from search or seizure, if the time and place for so doing were left to the caprice, malice even deliberate judgement of an officer 5 6

As the First Presidency of the church observed during the 1886 General Conference:

What about the fourth amendment to the Constitution, which says "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated " These [raids] are no fiction but verifiable facts These errors have to be corrected, and it is our duty, so far as it lays in our power ... to sustain the Constitution thereof and to oppose in all legitimate ways any infringement of that instrument. 5 7

The same year over 2,000 women from throughout the territory decried the scurrilous conduct of federal officers:

We also direct your attention to the outrages by rough and brutal deputy marshals, who watch around our dooryards, peer into our bedroom windows, ply little children with questions about their parents, and when hunting their human prey, burst into people's domiciles and terrorize the innocent We solemnly protest against these desecrations of our homes and invasions of our rights.58

Reporting to the secretary of the interior in 1887, Utah's territorial governor, Caleb West, confirmed, "It is true, however, that a large majority of the people stoutly and stubbornly affirm publicly and privately, that the enforcement of certain laws is destructive of their rights as free men, an assault upon their religion, and an invasion of the sanctity of their homes."59

Like the American colonists, nineteenth-century Utahns saw themselves as the victims of an abusive central authority. Members of the Utah Constitutional Convention, just as the framers of the federal constitution, approached thejob of setting limits on the government for search and seizure, greatly influenced by their experiences. The constitutional framers saw British rule as tyrannical These early Americans declared their independence and guaranteed their freedom from unreasonable search and seizure in their own unique constitution Members of the Utah Constitutional Convention, however, opted to embrace their political system despite past abuses. Intent on securing future inhabitants from the experiences of the antipolygamy raids, the 1895 convention delegates borrowed the wording of the Fourth Amendment and included their own search and seizure provision in Article 1, Section 14, of the Utah Constitution. Unlike colonial America where governmental abuses led to a revolution, similar abuses in Utah led the inhabitants to cling more firmly to the very principles overrun by corrupt officials. Indeed, Utahns adopted these principles as the foundation for their own state's governmental framework that is now an inextricable part of the Union.

NOTES

Ms Panek is currently pursuing a master's degree in public history at California State University, Sacramento.

1 W. H. Dickson to Attorney General Brewster, February 8, 1885, Year Files, quoted in Stephen Cresswell, "The U.S Department of Justice in Utah Territory, 1870-1890," Utah Historical Quarterly 53 (1985): 218.

2 Fred E Bennett, The Mormon Detective (New York: J S Ogilvie Publishing, 1887), p 24, Utah State Historical Society Library, Salt Lake City, hereinafter cited as USHS; Vernal A Brown, "The United States Marshals in Utah Territory to 1896" (M.S thesis, Utah State University, 1970), pp 6-7, 144.

3 Florence Snow Woolley, "Memories of the 'Raid'," p 1, Florence Snow Woolley folder, box 1, Woolley-Snow Collection, Special Collections, Harold B Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, hereinafter cited as BYU Special Collections.

4 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, p. 74.

5 Deseret News, March 10, 1886.

6 Ibid.

7 John Brown, p 8, folder 3, box 1, Kimball Young Collection, BYU Special Collections.

8 Deseret News, June 3, 1885.

9 Margaret Ballard, Autobiography, pp 38-39, BYU Special Collections.

10 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, pp 139-40.

11 "Arrests in San Pete 1888," microfiche, LDS Church Library-Archives, Salt Lake City.

12 Joseph Smith Black, Autobiography, p 100, original spelling retained, LDS Church LibraryArchives.

13 Lorenzo Dow Watson Family, pp. 4-5, folder 5, box 3, Kimball Young Collection.

14 Gustive O Larson, The "Americanization" of Utah for Statehood (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1971), pp 115-16.

15 Alice Ann Langston Dalton, p 6, folder 6, box 1, Kimball Young Collection.

16 Ellis Day Coombs, Autobiography, p. 3, LDS Church Library-Archives.

17 Deseret News, March 25, 1885.

18 Alma Elizabeth Mineer Felt, folder 7, box 1, Kimball Young Collection; Abraham H. Cannon, Journal, 1859-1896, February 9, 1886, copy of holograph, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, hereinafter cited as U of U.

19 Juliaetta Bateman Jensen, Little Gold Pieces: The Story of My Mormon Mother's Life (Salt Lake City: Stanway Printing Company, 1948), p 56; Thomas Billington Nelson, Life History, p 2, LDS Church Library-Archives.

20 "Memorial of the Mormon Women of Utah," April 6, 1886, p 6, USHS.

21 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, p 39.

22 Deseret News, May 20, 1885.

23 Deseret News, February 3, 1886.

24 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, pp 219-22, 130, 135.

25 Laura Ann Keeler Thurber, Autobiography, pp 22-22A, original spelling retained, BYU Special Collections.

26 Frederick Kesler, Diary, January 20, 1886, U of U; Cannon Journal, February 7, 1886.

27 Martha Cragun Cox, Autobiography, p 183, LDS Church Library-Archives; Coombs Autobiography, p 3; John Mills Whitaker, Journal, February 8, 1886, U of U.

28 Jensen, Little Gold Pieces, p 106; Thomas Billington Nelson, p 2.

29 Deseret News, April 28, 1886.

30 Black Autobiography, p 9.

31 Mary J Bringhurst, folder 3, box 1, Kimball Young Collection; Flora Snow Woolley, "Memoirs," BYU Special Collections; Black Autobiography, pp. 100-101.

32 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, pp 138-39.

33 DeseretNews, March 10, 1886.

34 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, p 49.

35 Little Gold Pieces, p 106.

36 Black Autobiography, p 98.

37 John E Godfrey, folder 7, box 1, Kimball Young Collection; Coombs Autobiography, p 4.

38 "The U.S Department of Justice in Utah Territory," p 210.

39 Black Autobiography, p 98.

40 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, pp 197-202.

41 Deseret News, January 27, 1886.

42 Deseret News, March 10, 1886.

43 Ibid.; Bennett, The Mormon Detective, p 38.

44 DeseretNews, January 20, 1886.

45 James Bywater, "The Trio's Pilgrimage: Autobiography of James Bywater," pp 138-39, LDS Church Library-Archives.

46 Deseret News, April 18, 1886, June 3, 1885, February 17, 1886.

47 History of Bear Lake Pioneers, comp Edith Parker Haddock and Dorothy Hardy Matthews (Bear Lake County, Idaho: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1968), p 366.

48 John C Larson, folder 5, box 2, Kimball Young Collection.

49 Black Autobiography, p. 101.

50 Jensen, Little Gold Pieces, p 107; Niels Peter Larsen, p 7, folder 5, box 2, Kimball Young Collection; Anthon L Skanchy, p 5, folder 3, box 3, Kimball Young Collection.

51 Eli A Day, folder 6, box 1, Kimball Young Collection.

52 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, p 92.

53 "The U.S Department of Justice in Utah Territory," p 210.

54 Bennett, The Mormon Detective, p 58.

55 Joh n Irvine, An Appeal for Constitutional and Religious Liberty (Salt Lake City: Joseph Hyrum Parry & Co., 1885), p 23, USHS.

56 Deseret News, November 25, 1885.

57 Deseret News, April 14, 1885.

58 "Memorial of the Mormon Women of Utah," p 8.

59 Caleb W West, "Report of the Governor of Utah to the Secretary of the Interior, 1887," Reports of the Secretary of the Interior 1874-96, p 30, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City.