Mormonism abroad, then, was supremely an apostolic spiritual work. Paul's famous epistle to the Corinthians, upon spiritual gifts, presents an exact view of what Mormonism has been; and as it was a chapter often read to the saints—the subject of a thousand sermons—it may here be fitly quoted to illustrate the view. The apostle says:
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. * * * *"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit."And there are differences of administration, but the same Lord."And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all."But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal."For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit;"To another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit;"To another the working of miracles; to another prophesy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues;"But all these worketh that one and the self-same spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ."For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit. * * * *"And God hath set some in the church, first, apostles; secondarily, prophets; thirdly, teachers; after that miracles; then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?"Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?"But covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. * * * *
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit.
"And there are differences of administration, but the same Lord.
"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
"But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
"For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit;
"To another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit;
"To another the working of miracles; to another prophesy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues;
"But all these worketh that one and the self-same spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
"For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit. * * * *
"And God hath set some in the church, first, apostles; secondarily, prophets; thirdly, teachers; after that miracles; then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
"Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
"Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
"But covet earnestly the best gifts; and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."
In another chapter of Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, he presents another famous spiritual view:
"How is it, then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying."If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret."But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God."Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge."If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace."For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted."And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets."For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
"How is it, then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
"If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
"But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
"Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
"If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
"For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
"And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."
This is a very exact picture of the Latter-day Saints' testimony meetings. It is indeed a striking illustration of the gospel and its manifestations, as familiar to them as their own faces.
It was this spiritual gospel that the sisters promulgated in Great Britain, and it was this that made the tens of thousands of converts. Had not Mormonism been of this kind, and had not such been its manifestations, woman never would have received it and become its apostle; nor would it have made such a stir in the world.
The sisters also missioned the land by the distribution of tracts. This made them to be preachers, in a way; and they carried their sermons to the homes of rich and poor, to be read at the fireside by those who, but for this, never would have gone to hear an elder preach.
In all the towns and cities of her Majesty's kingdom the saints organized tract societies. In London, where many branches flourished, these tract organizations were numerous; the same was measurably the case with Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, and the principal cities of Scotland and Wales. These tract distributers were numbered by the thousand. They held their monthly meetings, mapped out their districts and brought in their regular reports. At one time, as before stated, they had in circulation half a million of Orson Pratt's tracts. It is scarcely necessary to say that the sisters principally did this work, to which should be added that they were assisted by the young men of each branch. In short, the sisters, in the work abroad, were a great missionary power.
And here it may be observed that all evangelical history proves that woman is ever the most potent evangelist. She permeates society with the influence of her church, makes converts in the homes of her neighbors, where her pastor could never reach without her help, and inspires the very faith by which miracles are wrought.
Woman has many striking examples of her influence and acts in the history of religious empire-founding. Miriam charmed the congregation of Israel with her songs, and strengthened her brother Moses' power by her prophesies; Esther rendered the captivity of her people lighter by her mediation; Judith delivered her nation from the Assyrian captain; the two Marys and Martha seemed to have understood Jesus better than did his apostles even, and they saw first their risen Lord; St. Helena did much to make her son, Constantine, the imperial champion of Christianity; perchance had there been no Cadijah the world would never have known a Mohammed; the Catholic Church has been more potent through the sisters of its various orders; and the examples which the Mormon sisterhood have given are almost as striking as those of the sisters of that church.
These are some of the views which may be presented of the sisters in their great missionary work abroad, and they are also fit illustrations of the spiritual movement, which they represent, in the age.
MORMONISM AND THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND—PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON TO THE QUEEN AND PRINCE ALBERT—ELIZA R. SNOW'S POEM ON THAT EVENT—"ZION'S NURSING MOTHER"—HEBER C. KIMBALL BLESSES VICTORIA.
Here an interesting story is to be told of Mormonism and the Queen of England.
It will be remembered that Victoria ascended the throne of Great Britain just three days before Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde and Willard Richards arrived in her realm to preach the gospel of Messiah's coming.
There was something poetic in this. Victoria became connected in some way with the new dispensation. She alone of all the monarchs of the earth was prophetically cast in itsdramatis personae. Poetry and prophesy both were pregnant with much of subject and promise that concerned Victoria of England. She may not be aware of it, but there is quite a romance of the British Queen in Mormon history, to which the presentation of the Book of Mormon to herself and the late Prince consort gives pictorial display.
Before leaving England, President Brigham Young, who had succeeded in raising means to publish the Book of Mormon, gave directions for copies to be specially prepared and richly bound for presentation to her Majesty and the Prince consort. The honor of this devolved on Lorenzo Snow, who was at that period President of the London Conference. The presentation was made in 1842, through the politeness of Sir Henry Wheatley; and it is said her Majesty condescended to be pleased, with the gift. Whether she ever read the Book of Mormon is not known, although, if the presentation has not altogether faded from her memory, Mormonism has been since that date sensational enough to provoke even a monarch to read the book, if for nothing better than curiosity; so, not unlikely Queen Victoria has read some portions at least of the Book of Mormon. The unique circumstance called forth from the pen of Eliza R. Snow the following poem, entitled "Queen Victoria:"
"Of all the monarchs of the earthThat wear the robes of royalty,She has inherited by birthThe broadest wreath of majesty.From her wide territorial wingThe sun does not withdraw its light,While earth's diurnal motions bringTo other nations day and night.All earthly thrones are tott'ring things,Where lights and shadows intervene;And regal honor often bringsThe scaffold or the guillotine.But still her sceptre is approved—All nations deck the wreath she wears;Yet, like the youth whom Jesus loved,One thing is lacking even there.But lo! a prize possessing moreOf worth than gems with honor rife—A herald of salvation boreTo her the words of endless life.That gift, however fools deride,Is worthy of her royal care;She'd better lay her crown asideThan spurn the light reflected there,O would she now her influence lend—The influence of royalty,Messiah's kingdom to extend,And Zion's 'nursing Mother' be;She, with the glory of her nameInscribed on Zion's lofty spire,Would win a wreath of endless fame,To last when other wreaths expire.Though over millions called to reign—Herself a powerful nation's boast,'Twould be her everlasting gainTo serve the King, the Lord of Hosts.For there are crowns and thrones on high,And kingdoms there to be conferred;There honors wait that never die,There fame's immortal trump is heard.Truth speaks—it is Jehovah's word;Let kings and queens and princes hear:In distant isles the sound is heard—Ye heavens, rejoice; O earth, give ear.The time, the time is now at handTo give a glorious period birth—The Son of God will take command,And rule the nations of the earth."
"Of all the monarchs of the earthThat wear the robes of royalty,She has inherited by birthThe broadest wreath of majesty.
From her wide territorial wingThe sun does not withdraw its light,While earth's diurnal motions bringTo other nations day and night.
All earthly thrones are tott'ring things,Where lights and shadows intervene;And regal honor often bringsThe scaffold or the guillotine.
But still her sceptre is approved—All nations deck the wreath she wears;Yet, like the youth whom Jesus loved,One thing is lacking even there.
But lo! a prize possessing moreOf worth than gems with honor rife—A herald of salvation boreTo her the words of endless life.
That gift, however fools deride,Is worthy of her royal care;She'd better lay her crown asideThan spurn the light reflected there,
O would she now her influence lend—The influence of royalty,Messiah's kingdom to extend,And Zion's 'nursing Mother' be;
She, with the glory of her nameInscribed on Zion's lofty spire,Would win a wreath of endless fame,To last when other wreaths expire.
Though over millions called to reign—Herself a powerful nation's boast,'Twould be her everlasting gainTo serve the King, the Lord of Hosts.
For there are crowns and thrones on high,And kingdoms there to be conferred;There honors wait that never die,There fame's immortal trump is heard.
Truth speaks—it is Jehovah's word;Let kings and queens and princes hear:In distant isles the sound is heard—Ye heavens, rejoice; O earth, give ear.
The time, the time is now at handTo give a glorious period birth—The Son of God will take command,And rule the nations of the earth."
It will be seen that our Hebraic poetess has suggested for Victoria of England the title of "Zion's Nursing Mother." The reference is to Isaiah's glorious song of Zion. He, according to the universally accepted interpretation, foresaw the rise of Messiah's kingdom on the earth in the last days.
"And they shall call thee the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel."And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising."And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers."Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God."Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him and his work before him."
"And they shall call thee the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
"And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
"And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers.
"Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
"Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him and his work before him."
This is the subject of which the gorgeous Isaiah sang; and the prophesy of Joseph and the poetry of Eliza have applied it principally to America as Zion, and conditionally, to Queen Victoria as her "Nursing Mother."
Many earthly thrones were about to totter. Soon France—from the days of Charlemagne styled "The Eldest Daughter of the Church"—saw her crown trampled in the very gutter, by the rabble of Paris, and a few years later the scepter of Rome was wrested from the hands of the "successor of St Peter" by Victor Emanuel; yet of Victoria of England, Zion's poetess sings:
"But stillhersceptre is approved."
"But stillhersceptre is approved."
Mark the poetic and prophetic significance between America as Zion, and Great Britain, represented in Victoria. A new age is born. Victoria is its imperial star; while from America—the land that owns no earthly sovereign—come these apostles to her realm just three days after the sceptre is placed in her hands. The prophet of America sends them to proclaim to Great Britain the rising of a star superior to her own. It is the star of Messiah's kingdom. She is called to her mission as its Nursing Mother.
Seeing that Joseph was the prophet of America, and that the British mission has given to the Mormon Zion over a hundred thousand of her children already gathered to build up her cities and rear her temples, it is not strange that the burden of this prophesy should have been claimed and shared between the two great English speaking nations.
But there is a personal romance as well, which centres in Victoria. At the time Sister Eliza wrote the poem to her name, Victoria of England was quite a theme in the Mormon Church. Not only in her own realm, among her own subjects, but in Zion also she was preached about, prophesied about, dreamed about, and seen in visions. Brigham, as we have seen, caused special copies of the Book of Mormon to be prepared for her and Prince Albert; Lorenzo Snow presented them through the courtesy of a state personage, and his sister immortalized the circumstance in verse. The story is told, also, that Heber C. Kimball, while in London, blessed Victoria, as she passed, by the power and authority of his apostleship; and what Heber did was done with the spirit and with the understanding also. Queen Victoria has been remarkably successful, and unrivalled in the glory of her reign.
LITERAL APPLICATION OF CHRIST'S COMMAND—THE SAINTS LEAVE FATHER AND MOTHER, HOME AND FRIENDS, TO GATHER TO ZION—MRS. WILLIAM STAINES—HER EARLY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE—A MIDNIGHT BAPTISM IN MIDWINTER—FAREWELL TO HOME AND EVERY FRIEND—INCIDENTS OF THE JOURNEY TO NAUVOO.
How characteristic the following gospel passages! How well and literally have they been applied in the history and experience of the Latter-day Saints:
"He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me."And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it."And every one that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life."
"He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.
"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
"He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it.
"And every one that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life."
This gospel was preached by the Mormon elders with nothing of the "spiritual" sense so acceptable to fashionable churches. Nothing of the idealistic glamour was given to it. Most literal, indeed almost cruelly Christian, was Mormonism here.
But it was not until the "gathering" was preached to the disciples in Great Britain, that the full significance of such a gospel was realized. True it was made as severe to the saints in America, through their persecutions; especially when at length they were driven from the borders of civilization. To the British mission, however, in the early days, we must go for striking illustrations. A "gathering dispensation" preached to Europe before the age of emigration had set in! At first it startled, aye, almost appalled the disciples in Great Britain. In those days the common people of England scarcely ever strayed ten miles from the churchyards where had slept their kindred from generation to generation. True the mechanic traveled in search of employment from one manufacturing city to another, passed along by the helping hand of trade societies; but families, as a rule, never moved. Migration was to them an incomprehensible law, to be wondered at even in the example of the birds who were forced by climate to migrate as the season changed. Migrating peoples could only be understood in the examples of the Jews or Gipseys, both of whom were looked upon as being "under the curse." "Going to London" was the crowning event of a lifetime to even the well-to-do townsman, a hundred miles distant from the metropolis; going to America was like an imagined flight to the moon. At best emigration was transportation from fatherland, and the emigration of tens of thousands of England-loving saints was a transportation to the common people without parallel for cruelty.
It was long before English society forgave the American elders for preaching emigration in England. It looked upon them absolutely as the betrayers of a confiding religious people who had already been too much betrayed by an American delusion.
And as observed, the doctrine of emigration from native land to America—the new world; another world in seeming—and that, too, as a necessity to salvation, or at least to the obedience of heaven's commands, appalled at first the very "elect." Nothing but the Holy Ghost could dissipate the terrors of emigration.
Sister Staines shall be first chosen to personally illustrate this subject, because of the peculiarity of her experience, and for the reason that she is the wife of William C. Staines, himself an early Mormon emigrant to Nauvoo, and to-day the general emigration agent of the Church, and who, during the past fifteen years, has emigrated, under the direction of President Young, about fifty thousand souls from Europe. Others of the sisters will follow in this peculiar line of Mormon history.
Priscilla Mogridge Staines was born in Widbrook, Wiltshire, England, March 11th, 1823.
"My parents," she says, "were both English. My father's name was John Mogridge, and my mother's maiden name was Mary Crook.
"I was brought up in the Episcopal faith from my earliest childhood, my parents being members of the Episcopal Church. But as my mind became matured, and I thought more about religion, I became dissatisfied with the doctrines taught by that Church, and I prayed to God my Heavenly Father to direct me aright, that I might know the true religion.
"Shortly after being thus concerned about my salvation, I heard Mormonism and believed it God had sent the true gospel to me in answer to my prayer.
"It was a great trial for a young maiden (I was only nineteen years of age) to forsake all for the gospel—father, mother, brothers and sisters—and to leave my childhood's home and native land, never expecting to see it again. This was the prospect before me. The saints were already leaving fatherland, in obedience to the doctrine of gathering, which was preached at this time with great plainness by the elders as an imperative command of God. We looked upon the gathering as necessary to our salvation. Nothing of our duty in this respect was concealed, and we were called upon to emigrate to America as soon as the way should open, to share the fate of the saints, whatever might come. Young as I was and alone of all my family in the faith, I was called to take up my cross and lay my earthly all upon the altar; yet so well satisfied was I with my new religion that I was willing to make every sacrifice for it in order to gain my salvation and prove myself not unworthy of the saints' reward.
"Having determined to be baptized, I resolved to at once obey the gospel, although it was mid-winter, and the weather bitterly cold.
"It is proper to here state that baptism was a trial to the converts in England in those days. They had to steal away, even unknown to their friends oftentimes, and scarcely daring to tell the saints themselves that they were about to take up the cross; and not until the ordinance had been administered, and the Holy Ghost gave them boldness, could they bring themselves to proclaim openly that they had cast in their lot with the despised Mormons. Nor was this all, for generally the elders had to administer baptism when the village was wrapt in sleep, lest persecutors should gather a mob to disturb the solemn scene with gibes and curses, accompanied with stones or clods of earth torn from the river bank and hurled at the disciple and minister during the performance of the ceremony.
"On the evening of a bitterly cold day in mid-winter, as before stated, I walked four miles to the house of a local elder for baptism. Arriving at his house, we waited until midnight, in order that the neighbors might not disturb us, and then repaired to a stream of water a quarter of a mile away. Here we found the water, as we anticipated, frozen over, and the elder had to chop a hole in the ice large enough for the purpose of baptism. It was a scene and an occasion I shall never forget. Memory to-day brings back the emotions and sweet awe of that moment. None but God and his angels, and the few witnesses who stood on the bank with us, heard my covenant; but in the solemnity of that midnight hour it seemed as though all nature were listening, and the recording angel writing our words in the book of the Lord. Is it strange that such a scene, occurring in the life of a latter-day saint, should make an everlasting impression, as this did on mine?
"Having been thus baptized, I returned to the house in my wet and freezing garments.
"Up to this hour, as intimated, my heart's best affection had been centred on home, and my greatest mental struggle in obeying the gospel had been over the thought of soon leaving that home; but no sooner had I emerged from the water, on that night of baptism, and received my confirmation at the water's edge, than I became filled with an irresistible desire to join the saints who were gathering to America. The usual confirmation words, pronounced upon my head, 'Receive ye the gift of the Holy Ghost,' were, indeed, potent. They changed the current of my life. This remarkable and sudden change of mind and the now all-absorbing desire to emigrate with the saints was my first testimony to the truth and power of the gospel.
"Shortly thereafter (December 27th, 1843), I left the home of my birth to gather to Nauvoo. I was alone. It was a dreary winter day on which I went to Liverpool. The company with which I was to sail were all strangers to me. When I arrived at Liverpool and saw the ocean that would soon roll between me and all I loved, my heart almost failed me. But I had laid my idols all upon the altar. There was no turning back. I remembered the words of the Saviour: 'He that leaveth not father and mother, brother and sister, for my sake, is not worthy of me,' and I believed his promise to those who forsook all for his sake; so I thus alone set out for the reward of everlasting life, trusting in God.
"In company with two hundred and fifty saints I embarked on the sailing vesselFanny, and after a tedious passage of six weeks' duration, we arrived in New Orleans. There an unexpected difficulty met us. The steamerMaid of Iowa, belonging to the prophet Joseph, and on which the company of saints had expected to ascend the Mississippi to Nauvoo, was embargoed and lashed to the wharf. But Providence came to our aid. A lady of fortune was in the company—a Mrs. Bennett—and out of her private purse she not only lifted the embargo, but also fitted out the steamer with all necessary provisions, fuel, etc., and soon the company were again on their way.
"The journey up the river was a tedious and eventful one, consuming five weeks of time. At nearly every stopping place the emigrants were shamefully insulted and persecuted by the citizens. At Memphis some villain placed a half consumed cigar under a straw mattress and other bedding that had been laid out, aft of the ladies' cabin, to air. When we steamed out into the river the draft, created by the motion of the boat, soon fanned the fire into a quick flame. Fortunately I myself discovered the fire and gave the alarm in time to have it extinguished before it had consumed more than a portion of the adjoining woodwork. Perhaps one minute more of delay in its discovery, and that company of two hundred and fifty souls would have been subjected to all the horrors and perils incident to a panic and fire on shipboard.
"At another place the pilot decided to tie up the boat at a landing and wait for the subsiding of a furious gale that was blowing. This he accordingly did, and let off steam, thinking to remain there over night. In the meantime a mob gathered. We were Mormons. Too often had mobs shown that the property of Mormons might be destroyed with impunity, in the most lawless manner, and their lives taken by the most horrible means. Had that boat been consumed by fire, 'twould, have been but a pleasing sensation, seeing that it belonged to the Mormon prophet; and the two hundred and fifty men, women and children, if consumed, would have been, in the eyes of their persecutors, only so many Mormons well disposed of. Thus, doubtless, would have thought the mob who gathered at that landing-place and cut the boat adriftThe Maid of Iowawas now submitted to the triple peril of being adrift without steam, at the mercy of a treacherous current, and in the midst of a hurricane. The captain, however, succeeded in raising the steam, and the boat was brought under sufficient control to enable her to be brought to, under shelter of a heavy forest, where she was tied up to the trees and weathered the gale.
"At another landing a mob collected and began throwing stones through the cabin windows, smashing the glass and sash, and jeopardizing the lives of the passengers. This was a little too much for human forbearance. The boat was in command of the famous Mormon captain, Dan Jones; his Welsh blood was now thoroughly warm; he knew what mobs meant. Mustering the brethren, with determined wrath he ordered them to parade with loaded muskets on the side of the boat assailed. Then he informed the mob that if they did not instantly desist, he would shoot them down like so many dogs; and like so many dogs they slunk away.
"As theMaid of Iowahad made slow progress, and had been frequently passed by more swift-going steamers, her progress was well known by the friends of Nauvoo. So on the day of our arrival the saints were outen masseto welcome us. I had never before seen any of those assembled, yet I felt certain, as the boat drew near, that I should be able to pick out the prophet Joseph at first sight. This belief I communicated to Mrs. Bennett, whose acquaintance I had made on the voyage. She wondered at it; but I felt impressed by the spirit that I should know him. As we neared the pier the prophet was standing among the crowd. At the moment, however, I recognized him according to the impression, and pointed him out to Mrs. Bennett, with whom I was standing alone on the hurricane deck.
"Scarcely had the boat touched the pier when, singularly enough, Joseph sprang on board, and, without speaking with any one, made his way direct to where we were standing, and addressing Mrs. Bennett by name, thanked her kindly for lifting the embargo from his boat, and blessed her for so materially aiding the saints."
RISE OF NAUVOO—INTRODUCTION OF POLYGAMY—MARTYRDOM OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM—CONTINUATION OF ELIZA R. SNOW'S NARRATIVE—HER ACCEPTANCE OF POLYGAMY, AND MARRIAGE TO THE PROPHET—GOVERNOR CARLIN'S TREACHERY—HER SCATHING REVIEW OF THE MARTYRDOM—MOTHER LUCY'S STORY OF HER MURDERED SONS.
Meanwhile, since the reader has been called to drop the historical thread of the saints in America for a view of the rise of Mormonism in foreign lands, Nauvoo, whose name signifies "the beautiful city," has grown into an importance worthy her romantic name and character as the second Zion. Nauvoo was bidding fair to become the queen of the West; and had she been allowed to continue her career for a quarter of a century, inspired by the gorgeous genius of her prophet, although she would not have rivaled Chicago or St. Louis as a commercial city, yet would she have become the veritable New Jerusalem of America—in the eyes of the "Gentiles" scarcely less than in the faith of our modern Israel.
Polygamy, also, by this time has been introduced into the Church, and the examples of the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, and of kings David and Solomon, have begun to prevail. That the "peculiar institution" was the cross of the sisterhood in those days, it would be heartless to attempt to conceal, for, as already seen, the first wives of the founders of Mormondom were nearly all daughters of New England, whose monogamic training was of the severest kind, and whose monogamic conceptions were of the most exacting nature.
Polygamy was undoubtedly introduced by Joseph himself, at Nauvoo, between 1840 and 1844. Years afterwards, however, a monogamic rival church, under the leadership of young Joseph Smith, the first born of the prophet, arose, denying that the founder of Mormondom was the author of polygamy, and affirming that its origin was in Brigham Young, subsequent to the martyrdom of the prophet and his brother Hyrum. This, with the fact that nearly the whole historic weight of polygamy rests with Utah, renders it expedient that we should barely touch the subject at Nauvoo, and wait for its stupendous sensation after its publication to the world by Brigham Young—a sensation that Congress has swelled into a national noise, and that General Grant has made the hobgoblin of his dreams.
Nor can we deal largely with the history of Nauvoo. It is not the representative period of the sisters. They only come in with dramatic force in their awful lamentation over the martyrdom, which was not equaled in Jerusalem at the crucifixion. The great historic period of the women of Mormondom is during the exodus of the Church and its removal to the Rocky Mountains, when they figured quite as strongly as did the women of ancient Israel in the exodus from Egypt. We can scarcely hope to do full justice to that period, but hasten to some of its salient views. And here the historic thread shall be principally continued by Eliza R. Snow. She, touching the city of the saints, and then slightly on the introduction of polygamy, says:
"The location of the city of Nauvoo was beautiful, but the climate was so unhealthy that none but Latter-day Saints, full of faith, and trusting in the power of God, could have established that city. Chills and fever was the prevailing disease. Notwithstanding we had this to contend with, through the blessing of God on the indefatigable exertions of the saints, it was not long before Nauvoo prompted the envy and jealousy of many of the adjacent inhabitants, and, as the 'accuser of the brethren' never sleeps, we had many difficulties to meet, which ultimately culminated in the most bitter persecutions.
"To narrate what transpired within the seven years in which we built and occupied Nauvoo, the beautiful, would fill many volumes. That is a history that never will, and never can, repeat itself. Some of the most important events of my life transpired within that brief term, in which I was married, and in which my husband, Joseph Smith, the prophet of God, sealed his testimony with his blood.
"Although in my youth I had considered marriage to have been ordained of God, I had remained single; and to-day I acknowledge the kind overruling providences of God in that circumstance as fully as in any other of my life; for I have not known of one of my former suitors having received the truth; by which it is manifest that I was singularly preserved from the bondage of a marriage tie which would, in all probability, have prevented my receiving, or enjoying the free exercise of, that religion which has been, and is now, dearer to me than life.
"In Nauvoo I had the first intimation, or at least the first understanding, that the practice of a plurality of wives would be introduced into the Church. The thought was very repugnant to my feelings, and in direct opposition to my educational prepossessions; but when I reflected that this was the dispensation of the fullness of times, embracing all other dispensations, it was plain that plural marriage must be included; and I consoled myself with the idea that it was a long way in the distance, beyond the period of my mortal existence, and that, of course, I should not have it to meet. However, it was announced to me that the 'set time' had come—that God had commanded his servants to establish the order, by taking additional wives.
"It seemed for awhile as though all the traditions, prejudices, and superstitions of my ancestry, for many generations, accumulated before me in one immense mass; but God, who had kept silence for centuries, was speaking; I knew it, and had covenanted in the waters of baptism to live by every word of his, and my heart was still firmly set to do his bidding.
"I was sealed to the prophet, Joseph Smith, for time and eternity, in accordance with the celestial law of marriage which God had revealed, the ceremony being performed by a servant of the Most High—authorized to officiate in sacred ordinances. This, one of the most important events of my life, I have never had cause to regret. The more I comprehend the pure and ennobling principle of plural marriage, the more I appreciate it. It is a necessity in the salvation of the human family—a necessity in redeeming woman from the curse, and the world from its corruptions.
"When I entered into it, my knowledge of what it was designed to accomplish was very limited; had I then understood what I now understand, I think I should have hailed its introduction with joy, in consideration of the great good to be accomplished. As it was, I received it because I knew that God required it.
"When in March, 1842, the prophet, Joseph Smith, assisted by some of the leading elders in the church, organized the Female Relief Society (now the great female organization of Utah), I was present, and was appointed secretary of that society, of which I shall say more hereafter. In the summer of 1842 I accompanied Mrs. Emma Smith, the president of the society, to Quincy, Ill., with a petition signed by several hundred members of the society, praying his Excellency, Governor Carlin, for protection from illegal suits then pending against Joseph Smith. We met with a very cordial reception, and presented the petition, whereupon the governor pledged his word and honor that he would use his influence to protect Mr. Smith, whose innocence he acknowledged. But, soon after our return, we learned that at the time of our visit and while making protestations of friendship, Governor Carlin was secretly conniving with the basest of men to destroy our leader. He was even combining with minions of the great adversary of truth in the State of Missouri, who were vigilant in stirring up their colleagues in Illinois, to bring about the terrible crisis.
"The awful tragedy of the 27th of June, 1844, is a livid, burning, scathing stain on our national escutcheon. To look upon the noble, lifeless forms of those brothers, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, as they lay side by side in their burial clothes, having been brought home from Carthage, where they had been slaughtered in their manhood and in their innocence, was a sight that might well appal the heart of a true American citizen; but what it was for loving wives and children, the heart may feel, but the tongue can never tell.
"This scene occurred in America, 'the land of the free and the home of the brave,' to which our ancestors fled for religious freedom—where the 'dear old flag yet waves,' and under which not one effort has been made to bring to justice the perpetrators of that foul deed."
To the aged mother of the prophet and patriarch of the Mormon Church shall be given the personal presentation of the subject of the martyrdom; for although the mother's heartrending description cannot be considered as a sufficiently great historical word-picture of the scene, yet there is much of tragic force in it. She says:
"On the morning of the 24th of June, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum were arrested for treason, by a warrant founded upon the oaths of A. O. Norton and Augustine Spencer.
"I will not dwell upon the awful scene which succeeded. My heart is thrilled with grief and indignation, and my blood curdles in my veins whenever I speak of it.
"My sons were thrown into jail, where they remained three days, in company with Brothers Richards, Taylor, and Markham. At the end of this time, the governor disbanded most of the men, but left a guard of eight of our bitterest enemies over the jail, and sixty more of the same character about a hundred yards distant. He then came into Nauvoo with a guard of fifty or sixty men, made a short speech, and returned immediately. During his absence from Carthage, the guard rushed Brother Markham out of the place at the point of the bayonet. Soon after this, two hundred of those discharged in the morning rushed into Carthage, armed, and painted black, red and yellow, and in ten minutes fled again, leaving my sons murdered and mangled corpses!
"In leaving the place, a few of them found Samuel coming into Carthage alone, on horseback, and finding that he was one of our family, they attempted to shoot him, but he escaped out of their hands, although they pursued him at the top of their speed for more than two hours. He succeeded the next day in getting to Nauvoo in season to go out and meet the procession with the bodies of Hyrum and Joseph, as the mob had the kindness to allow us the privilege of bringing them home, and burying them in Nauvoo, notwithstanding the immense reward which was offered by the Missourians for Joseph's head.
"Their bodies were attended home by only two persons, save those who went from this place. These were Brother Willard Richards, and a Mr. Hamilton; Brother John Taylor having been shot in prison, and nearly killed, he could not be moved until sometime afterwards.
"After the corpses were washed, and dressed in their burial clothes, we were allowed to see them. I had for a long time braced every nerve, roused every energy of my soul, and called upon God to strengthen me; but when I entered the room, and saw my murdered sons extended both at once before my eyes, and heard the sobs and groans of my family, and the cries of 'Father! husband! brothers!' from the lips of their wives, children, brother, and sisters, it was too much; I sank back, crying to the Lord, in the agony of my soul, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken this family!' A voice replied, 'I have taken them to myself, that they might have rest.' Emma was carried back to her room almost in a state of insensibility. Her oldest son approached the corpse, and dropped upon his knees, and laying his cheek against his father's and kissing him, exclaimed, 'Oh! my father! my father!' As for myself, I was swallowed up in the depth of my afflictions; and though my soul was filled with horror past imagination, yet I was dumb, until I arose again to contemplate the spectacle before me. Oh! at that moment how my mind flew through every scene of sorrow and distress which we had passed together, in which they had shown the innocence and sympathy which filled their guileless hearts. As I looked upon their peaceful, smiling countenances, I seemed almost to hear them say, 'Mother, weep not for us, we have overcome the world by love; we carried to them the gospel, that their souls might be saved; they slew us for our testimony, and thus placed us beyond their power; their ascendency is for a moment, ours is an eternal triumph.'
"I then thought upon the promise which I had received in Missouri, that in five years Joseph should have power over all his enemies. The time had elapsed, and the promise was fulfilled.
"I left the scene and returned to my room, to ponder upon the calamities of my family. Soon after this Samuel said: 'Mother, I have had a dreadful distress in my side ever since I was chased by the mob, and I think I have received some injury which is going to make me sick.' And indeed he was then not able to sit up, as he had been broken of his rest, besides being dreadfully fatigued in the chase, which, joined to the shock occasioned by the death of his brothers, brought on a disease that never was removed.
"On the following day the funeral rites of the murdered ones were attended to, in the midst of terror and alarm, for the mob had made their arrangements to burn the city that night, but by the diligence of the brethren, they were kept at bay until they became discouraged, and returned to their homes.
"In a short time Samuel, who continued unwell, was confined to his bed, and lingering till the 30th of July, his spirit forsook its earthly tabernacle, and went to join his brothers, and the ancient martyrs, in the paradise of God."
THE EXODUS—TO YOUR TENTS, O ISRAEL—SETTING OUT FROM THE BORDERS OF CIVILIZATION—MOVEMENTS OF THE CAMP OF ISRAEL—FIRST NIGHT AT SUGAR CREEK—PRAISING GOD IN THE SONG AND DANCE—DEATH BY THE WAYSIDE.
The heroism of the Mormon women rose to more than tragic splendor in the exodus. Only two circumstances after the martyrdom connect them strongly with their beloved city. These attach to their consecrations in, and adieus to, the temple, and the defence of Nauvoo by the remnant of the saints in a three days' battle with the enemy. Then came the evacuation of the city several months after the majority of the twelve, with the body of the Church, had taken up their march towards the Rocky Mountains.
Early in February, 1846, the saints began to cross the Mississippi in flat-boats, old lighters, and a number of skiffs, forming quite a fleet, which was at work night and day under the direction of the police.
On the 15th of the same month, Brigham Young, with his family, and others, crossed the Mississippi from Nauvoo, and proceeded to the "Camps of Israel," as they were styled by the saints, which waited on the west side of the river, a few miles on the way, for the coming of their leader. These were to form the vanguard of the migrating saints, who were to follow from the various States where they were located, or had organized themselves into flourishing branches and conferences; and soon after this period also began to pour across the Atlantic that tide of emigration from Europe, which has since swelled to the number of about one hundred thousand souls.
In Nauvoo the saints had heard the magic cry, "To your tents, O Israel!" And in sublime faith and trust, such as history scarcely gives an example of, they had obeyed, ready to follow their leader whithersoever he might direct their pilgrim feet.
The Mormons were setting out, under their leader, from the borders of civilization, with their wives and their children, in broad daylight, before the eyes of ten thousand of their enemies, who would have preferred their utter destruction to their "flight," notwithstanding they had enforced it by treaties outrageous beyond description, inasmuch as the exiles were nearly all American born, many of them tracing their ancestors to the very founders of the nation. They had to make a journey of fifteen hundred miles over trackless prairies, sandy deserts and rocky mountains, through bands of war-like Indians, who had been driven, exasperated, towards the West; and at last to seek out and build up their Zion in valleys then unfruitful, in a solitary region where the foot of the white man had scarcely trod. These, too, were to be followed by the aged, the halt, the sick and the blind, the poor, who were to be helped by their little less destitute brethren, and the delicate young mother with her new-born babe at her breast, and still worse, for they were not only threatened with the extermination of the poor remnant at Nauvoo, but news had arrived that the parent government designed to pursue their pioneers with troops, take from them their arms, and scatter them, that they might perish by the way, and leave their bones bleaching in the wilderness.
At about noon, on the 1st of March, 1846, the "Camp of Israel" began to move, and at four o'clock nearly four hundred wagons were on the way, traveling in a north-westerly direction. At night they camped again on Sugar Creek, having advanced five miles. Scraping away the snow they pitched their tents upon the frozen ground; and, after building large fires in front, they made themselves as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. Indeed, it is questionable whether any other people in the world could have cozened themselves into a happy state of mind amid such surroundings, with such a past fresh and bleeding in their memories, and with such a prospect as was before both themselves and the remnant of their brethren left in Nauvoo to the tender mercies of the mob. In his diary, Apostle Orson Pratt wrote that night: "Notwithstanding our sufferings, hardships and privations, we are cheerful, and rejoice that we have the privilege of passing through tribulation for the truth's sake."
These Mormon pilgrims, who took much consolation on their journey in likening themselves to the Pilgrim fathers and mothers of this nation, whose descendants many of them, as we have seen, actually were, that night made their beds upon the frozen earth. "After bowing before our great Creator," wrote Apostle Pratt, "and offering up praise and thanksgiving to him, and imploring his protection, we resigned ourselves to the slumbers of the night."
But the weather was more moderate that night than it had been for several weeks previous. At their first encampment the thermometer at one time fell twenty degrees below zero, freezing over the great Mississippi. The survivors of that journey will tell you they never suffered so much from the cold in their lives as they did on Sugar Creek.
And what of the Mormon women? Around them circles almost a tragic romance. Fancy may find abundant subject for graphic story of the devotion, the suffering, the matchless heroism of the sisters, in the telling incident that nine children were born to them the first night they camped out on Sugar Creek, February 5th, 1846. That day they wept their farewells over their beloved city, or in the sanctuary of the temple, in which they had hoped to worship till the end of life, but which they left never to see again; that night suffering nature administered to them the mixed cup of woman's supremest joy and pain.
But it was not prayer alone that sustained these pilgrims. The practical philosophy of their great leader, daily and hourly applied to the exigencies of their case, did almost as much as their own matchless faith to sustain them from the commencement to the end of their journey. With that leader had very properly come to the "Camp of Israel" several of the twelve and the chief bishops of the Church, but he also brought with him a quorum, humble in pretensions, yet useful as high priests to the saints in those spirit-saddening days. It was Captain Pitt's brass band. That night the president had the brethren and sisters out in the dance, and the music was as glad as at a merry-making. Several gentlemen from Iowa gathered to witness the strange, interesting scene. They could scarcely believe their own senses when they were told that these were Mormons in their "flight from civilization," bound they knew not whither, except where God should lead them "by the hand of his servant."
Thus in the song and the dance the saints praised the Lord. When the night was fine, and supper, which consisted of the most primitive fare, was over, some of the men would clear away the snow, while others bore large logs to the camp-fires in anticipation of the jubilee of the evening. Soon, in a sheltered place, the blazing fires would roar, and fifty couples, old and young, would join, in the merriest spirit, to the music of the band, or the rival revelry of the solitary fiddle. As they journeyed along, too, strangers constantly visited their camps, and great was their wonderment to see the order, unity and good feeling that prevailed in the midst of the people. By the camp-fires they would linger, listening to the music and song; and they fain had taken part in the merriment had not those scenes been as sacred worship in the exodus of a God-fearing people. To fully understand the incidents here narrated, the reader must couple in his mind the idea of an exodus with the idea of an Israelitish jubilee; for it was a jubilee to the Mormons to be delivered from their enemies at any price.
At one point on their journey the citizens of a town near by came over to camp to invite the "Nauvoo Band," under Captain Pitt, to come to their village for a concert. There was some music left in the brethren. They had not forgotten how to sing the "songs of Zion," so they made the good folks of the village merry, and for a time forgot their own sorrows.
These incidents of travel were varied by an occasional birth in camp. There was also the death of a lamented lady early on the journey. She was a gentle wife of a famous Mormon missionary, Orson Spencer, once a Baptist minister of excellent standing. She had requested the brethren to take her with them. She would not be left behind. Life was too far exhausted by the persecutions to survive the exodus, but she could yet have the honor of dying in that immortal circumstance of her people. Several others of the sisters also died at the very starting. Ah, who shall fitly picture the lofty heroism of the Mormon women!
CONTINUATION OF ELIZA R. SNOW'S NARRATIVE—ADVENT OF A LITTLE STRANGER UNDER ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES—DORMITORY, SITTING-ROOM, OFFICE, ETC., IN A BUGGY—"THE CAMP"—INTERESTING EPISODES OF THE JOURNEY—GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD OF PROCEDURE—MOUNT PISGAH—WINTER QUARTERS.
The subject and action of the exodus thus opened, we shall let the sisters chiefly tell their own stories of that extraordinary historic period. Eliza R. Snow, continuing her narrative, says:
"We had been preceded by thousands, and I was informed that on the first night of the encampment nine children were born into the world, and from that time, as we journeyed onward, mothers gave birth to offspring under almost every variety of circumstances imaginable, except those to which they had been accustomed; some in tents, others in wagons—in rain-storms and in snow-storms. I heard of one birth which occurred under the rude shelter of a hut, the sides of which were formed of blankets fastened to poles stuck in the ground, with a bark roof through which the rain was dripping. Kind sisters stood holding dishes to catch the water as it fell, thus protecting the new-comer and its mother from a shower-bath as the little innocent first entered on the stage of human life; and through faith in the great ruler of events, no harm resulted to either.
"Let it be remembered that the mothers of these wilderness-born babes were not savages, accustomed to roam the forest and brave the storm and tempest—those who had never known the comforts and delicacies of civilization and refinement. They were not those who, in the wilds of nature, nursed their offspring amid reeds and rushes, or in the recesses of rocky caverns; most of them were born and educated in the Eastern States—had there embraced the gospel as taught by Jesus and his apostles, and, for the sake of their religion, had gathered with the saints, and under trying circumstances had assisted, by their faith, patience and energies, in making Nauvoo what its name indicates, 'the beautiful.' There they had lovely homes, decorated with flowers and enriched with choice fruit trees, just beginning to yield plentifully.
"To these homes, without lease or sale, they had just bade a final adieu, and with what little of their substance could be packed into one, two, and in some instances, three wagons, had started out, desertward, for—where? To this question the only response at that time was, God knows.
"From the 13th to the 18th we had several snowstorms and very freezing weather, which bridged the Mississippi sufficiently for crossing heavily loaded wagons on the ice. We were on timbered land, had plenty of wood for fuel, and the men rolled heavy logs together, and kept large fires burning, around the bright blaze of which, when not necessarily otherwise engaged, they warmed themselves. The women, when the duties of cooking and itset ceterasdid not prompt them out, huddled with their children into wagons and carriages for protection from the chilling breezes.
"My dormitory, sitting-room, writing-office, and frequently dining-room, was the buggy in which Sister Markham, her little son David, and I, rode. One of my brother's wives had one of the old-fashioned foot-stoves, which proved very useful. She frequently brought it to me, filled with live coals from one of those mammoth fires—a kindness which I remember with gratitude; but withal, I frosted my feet enough to occasion inconvenience for weeks afterwards.
"When all who designed traveling in one camp, which numbered about five thousand, had crossed the river, the organization of the whole into hundreds, fifties, and tens, commenced, and afterwards was completed for the order of traveling; with pioneers, commissaries, and superintendents to each hundred, and captains over fifties and tens. It was impossible for us to move in a body; and one company filed off after another; and, on the first of March we broke camp and moved out four or five miles and put up for the night, where at first view the prospect was dreary enough. It was nearly sunset—very cold, and the ground covered with snow to the depth of four or five inches; but with brave hearts and strong hands, and a supply of spades and shovels, the men removed the snow, and suddenly transformed the bleak desert scene into a living town, with cloth houses, log-heap fires, and a multitude of cheerful inhabitants. The next day, with weather moderated, the remainder of the original camp arrived with the Nauvoo band, and tented on the bluff, which overlooked our cozy dell, and at night stirring strains of music filled the atmosphere, on which they were wafted abroad, and re-echoed on the responsive breezes.
"Lo! a mighty host of people,Tented on the western shoreOf the noble Mississippi,They, for weeks, were crossing o'er.At the last day's dawn of winter,Bound with frost and wrapped with snow,Hark! the sound is, 'Up, and onward!Camp of Zion, rise and go.'"All, at once, is life and motion—Trunks and beds and baggage fly;Oxen yoked and horses harnessed—Tents, rolled up, are passing by.Soon the carriage wheels are rollingOnward to a woodland dell,Where, at sunset, all are quartered—Camp of Israel, all is well."Soon the tents are thickly clustered—Neighboring smokes together blend—Supper served—the hymns are chanted,And the evening prayers ascend.Last of all, the guards are stationed;Heavens! must guards be serving here?Who would harm the homeless exiles?Camp of Zion, never fear."Where is freedom? Where is justice?Both have from the nation fled,And the blood of martyred prophetsMust be answered on its head.Therefore, 'To your tents, O, Israel,'Like your Father Abram dwell;God will execute his purpose—Camp of Zion, all is well.
"Lo! a mighty host of people,Tented on the western shoreOf the noble Mississippi,They, for weeks, were crossing o'er.At the last day's dawn of winter,Bound with frost and wrapped with snow,Hark! the sound is, 'Up, and onward!Camp of Zion, rise and go.'
"All, at once, is life and motion—Trunks and beds and baggage fly;Oxen yoked and horses harnessed—Tents, rolled up, are passing by.Soon the carriage wheels are rollingOnward to a woodland dell,Where, at sunset, all are quartered—Camp of Israel, all is well.
"Soon the tents are thickly clustered—Neighboring smokes together blend—Supper served—the hymns are chanted,And the evening prayers ascend.Last of all, the guards are stationed;Heavens! must guards be serving here?Who would harm the homeless exiles?Camp of Zion, never fear.
"Where is freedom? Where is justice?Both have from the nation fled,And the blood of martyred prophetsMust be answered on its head.Therefore, 'To your tents, O, Israel,'Like your Father Abram dwell;God will execute his purpose—Camp of Zion, all is well.
"From time to time, companies of men either volunteered or were detailed from the journeying camps, and, by going off the route, obtained jobs of work for which they received food in payment, to meet the necessities of those who were only partially supplied, and also grain for the teams.
"As we passed through a town on the Des Moines river, the inhabitants manifested as much curiosity as though they were viewing a traveling menagerie of wild animals. Their levity and apparent heartlessness was, to me, proof of profound ignorance. How little did those people comprehend our movement, and the results the Almighty had in view.
"On the 2d of March we again moved forward—and here I will transcribe from my journal: 'March 3d—Our encampment this night may truly be recorded as a miracle, performed on natural, and yet peculiar principles—a city reared in a few hours, and everything in operation that actual living required, and many additional things, which, if not extravagancies, were certainly convenient. The next day, great numbers of the people of the adjacent country were to be seen patrolling the nameless streets of our anonymous city, with astonishment visible in their countenances. In the evening, Sister Markham and I took a stroll abroad, and in the absence of names to the streets, and numbers to the tents, we lost our way, and had to procure a guide to pilot us home.'
"At this point Brother Markham exchanged our buggy for a lumber wagon, and in performing an act of generosity to others, so filled it as to give Sister M. and me barely room to sit in front. And when we started again, Sister M. and I were seated on a chest with brass-kettle and soap-box for our footstools, and were happy in being as comfortably situated as we were; and well we might be, for many of our sisters walked all day, rain or shine, and at night prepared suppers for their families, with no sheltering tents; and then made their beds in and under wagons that contained their earthly all. How frequently, with intense sympathy and admiration, I watched the mother, when, forgetful of her own fatigue and destitution, she took unwearied pains to fix up, in the most palatable form, the allotted portion of food, and as she dealt it out was cheering the hearts of her homeless children, while, as I truly believed, her own was lifted to God in fervent prayer that their lives might be preserved, and, above all, that they might honor him in the religion for which she was an exile from the home once sacred to her, for the sake of those precious ones that God had committed to her care. We were living on rations—our leaders having counseled that arrangement, to prevent an improvident use of provision that would result in extreme destitution.
"We were traveling in the season significantly termed 'between hay and grass,' and the teams, feeding mostly on browse, wasted in flesh, and had but little strength; and it was painful, at times, to see the poor creatures straining every joint and ligature, doing their utmost, and looking the very picture of discouragement. When crossing the low lands, where spring rains had soaked the mellow soil, they frequently stalled on level ground, and we could move only by coupling teams, which made very slow progress. From the effects of chills and fever, I had not strength to walk much, or I should not have been guilty of riding after those half-famished animals. It would require a painter's pencil and skill to represent our encampment when we stopped, as we frequently did, to give the jaded teams a chance to recuperate, and us a chance to straighten up matters and things generally. Here is a bit from my journal:
"'Our town of yesterday has grown to a city. It is laid out in a half hollow square, fronting east and south on a beautiful level—with, on one side, an almost perpendicular, and on the other, a gradual descent into a deep ravine, which defines it on the west and north. At nine o'clock this morning I noticed a blacksmith's shop in operation, and everything, everywhere, indicating real life and local industry. Only the sick are idle; not a stove or cooking utensil but is called into requisition; while tubs, washboards, etc., are one-half mile distant, where washing is being done by the side of a stream of water beneath the shade of waving branches. I join Sister M. in the washing department, and get a buggy ride to the scene of action, where the boys have the fire in waiting—while others of our mess stop in the city and do the general work of housekeeping; and for our dinner send us a generous portion of their immense pot-pie, designed to satisfy the hunger of about thirty stomachs. It is made of rabbits, squirrels, quails, prairie chickens, etc., trophies of the success of our hunters, of whom each division has its quota. Thus from time to time we are supplied with fresh meat, which does much in lengthening out our flour. Occasionally our jobbers take bacon in payment, but what I have seen of that article is so rancid that nothing short of prospective starvation would tempt me to eat it.'
"On the 20th of April we arrived at the head waters of the Grand River, where it was decided to make a farming establishment, to be a resting and recruiting place for the saints who should follow us. Elders Bent, Benson and Fullmer were appointed to preside over it.
"The first of June found us in a small grove on the middle fork of Grand River. This place, over which Elders Rich and Huntington were called to preside, was named Pisgah; and from this point most of the divisions filed off, one after another. Colonel Markham appropriated all of his teams and one wagon to assist the twelve and others to pursue the journey westward, while he returned to the States for a fresh supply. Before he left, we were in a house made of logs laid up 'cob fashion,' with from three to eight inches open space between them—roofed by stretching a tent cloth over the ridgepole and fastening it at the bottom, on the outside, which, with blankets and carpets put up on the north end, as a shield from the cold wind, made us as comfortable as possible.
"Companies were constantly arriving and others departing; while those who intended stopping till the next spring were busily engaged in making gardens, and otherwise preparing for winter—sheltering themselves in rude log huts for temporary residence.
"The camps were strung along several hundred miles in length from front to rear, when, about the last of June, one of the most remarkably unreasonable requisitions came officially to President Young, from the United States government, demanding five hundred efficient men to be drawn from our traveling camps, to enter the United States military service, and march immediately to California and assist in the war with Mexico. Upon the receipt of this demand, President Young and Heber C. Kimball, with due loyalty to an unprotective government, under which we had been exiled from our homes, started immediately from their respective divisions, on horseback, calling for volunteers, from one extremity of our line to the other; and in an almost incredibly short time the five hundred men, who constituted the celebrated 'Mormon Battalion,' were under marching orders, commanded by Col. Allen, of the United States Infantry. It was our 'country's call,' and the question, 'Can we spare five hundred of our most able-bodied men?' was not asked. But it was a heavy tax—a cruel draft—one which imposed accumulated burdens on those who remained, especially our women, who were under the necessity of driving their own teams from the several points from which their husbands and sons left, to the Salt Lake Valley; and some of them walked the whole of that tedious distance.
On the 2d of August Brother Markham arrived from the East with teams; and on the 19th we bade good-bye to Mount Pisgah. Brother M. was minus one teamster, and as Mrs. M. and I were to constitute the occupants of one wagon, with a gentle yoke of oxen, she proposed to drive. But, soon after we started, she was taken sick, and, of course, the driving fell to me. Had it been a horse-team I should have been amply qualified, but driving oxen was entirely a new business; however, I took the whip and very soon learned to 'haw and gee,' and acquitted myself, as teamster, quite honorably, driving most of the way to winter quarters. The cattle were so well trained that I could sit and drive. At best, however, it was fatiguing—the family being all sick by turns, and at times I had to cook, as well as nurse the sick; all of which I was thankful for strength to perform.
"On the 27th we crossed the Missouri at Council Bluffs, and the next day came up with the general camp at winter quarters. From exposure and hardship I was taken sick soon after with a slow fever, that terminated in chills and fever, and as I lay sick in my wagon, where my bed was exposed to heavy autumnal rains, and sometimes wet nearly from head to foot, I realized that I was near the gate of death; but my trust was in God, and his power preserved me. Many were sick around us, and no one could be properly cared for under the circumstances. Although, as before stated, I was exposed to the heavy rains while in the wagon, worse was yet to come.
"On the 28th a company, starting out for supplies, required the wagon that Sister M. and I had occupied; and the log house we moved into was but partly chinked and mudded, leaving large crevices for the wind—then cold and blustering. This hastily-erected hut was roofed on one side, with a tent-cloth thrown over the other, and, withal, was minus a chimney. A fire, which was built on one side, filled the house with smoke until it became unendurable. Sister Markham had partially recovered from her illness, but was quite feeble. I was not able to sit up much, and, under those circumstances, not at all, for the fire had to be dispensed with. Our cooking was done out of doors until after the middle of November, when a chimney was made, the house enclosed, and other improvements added, which we were prepared to appreciate.
"About the last of December I received the sad news of the death of my mother. She had lived to a good age, and had been a patient participator in the scenes of suffering consequent on the persecutions of the saints. She sleeps in peace; and her grave, and that of my father, whose death preceded hers less than a year, are side by side, in Walnut Grove, Knox county, Ill.
"At winter quarters our extensive encampment was divided into wards, and so organized that meetings for worship were attended in the several wards. A general order was established and cheerfully carried out, that each able-bodied man should either give the labor of each tenth day, or contribute an equivalent, for the support of the destitute, and to aid those families whose men were in the battalion, and those who were widows indeed.
"Our exposures and privations caused much sickness, and sickness increased destitution; but in the midst of all this, we enjoyed a great portion of the spirit of God, and many seasons of refreshing from his presence, with rich manifestations of the gifts and power of the gospel. My life, as well as the lives of many others, was preserved by the power of God, through faith in him, and not on natural principles as comprehended by man."