CHAPTER II.
MALIGNED BY SECTARIAN PRIESTS—INVITATION TO PREACH AT A DISTANT TOWN—MEANS PROVIDED BY A MYSTERIOUS PERSONAGE—BRANCH OF THE CHURCH ORGANIZED—APPLY TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE COLONY FOR, AND RECEIVE, LICENSE AND PROTECTION AS MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL—ARRESTED—MY COMPANION'S DEFENSE—HONORABLY RELEASED—GO TO WINDSOR—UNABLE TO OBTAIN LODGINGS—DIRECTED BY A STRANGER—KINDLY TREATED—AN ATTEMPT TO POISON ME—MY COMPANION SHOT AT BY A RUFFIAN.
The morning after the meeting alluded to in the last chapter we learned that the priests and parsons of the different denominations had met and decided to unite in preventing their people from coming to hear us preach, for they said that we were dangerous men, and we were of the class of false prophets of whom Jesus spoke, who should come in the last days to deceive the people. We had labored a few weeks in this city and had baptized a few into the Church, when we received a letter from Emue Plains, stating that the people would like to see and hear a "Mormon" Elder. Emue Plains was a distance of sixty miles from where we were, and when we started it had been raining about a week, and a great portion of the country was flooded with water. We had a large river to cross on the way, and we were informed that the bridge had been carried off and there was a ferry established across the river which charged five shillings each passenger. We did not have any money with which to pay this charge, and my companion was anxious to know what we should do for money to pay the ferriage with. We were then about three miles from the ferry, and were passing through timber. I told him that we would go into the woods and pray to God to open the heart of some one to give it to us. We did so, and we had traveled but a short distance through a lane between two fields, when we looked ahead of us a little way and saw an old man coming across the field. He came into the road ahead of us, and as he came to meet us he had a smile on his countenance. He reached out his hand to me, as if to shake hands, and left a crown, or five shilling piece, in my hand and went to my companion and did the same; but spoke not a word. I cannot describe the feeling that we had when the man took hold of our hands; we felt our hearts burn within us, and it did not seem that we had power to ask him his name or where he was from, as we usually did when a person gave us any article of clothing or money. He was a man about six feet high, well proportioned, and wore a suit of light gray clothes and a broad-brimmed hat, and his hair and beard were about eighteen inches long and as white as snow. We passed on and came to the ferry, and the money that we had was just enough to pay our ferriage.
We came to Emue Plains, labored and preached one month, baptized twenty-one persons and organized a branch of the Church. So you see that our Heavenly Father opened up our way to preach the gospel. We returned to Sidney and met in council with the American Elders. We came to the conclusion that we would like to have more influence with the people. We went before the parliament of New South Wales colony and applied to get our names registered as ministers of the gospel, in common with ministers of other denominations in that country. We spent two days answering the questions of the governor and of the members of parliament, and they decided that the doctrine that we taught was a scriptural doctrine, and therefore we should be protected in our rights as ministers of the gospel. They then furnished us with blank books and forms to solemnize marriages and register births and deaths in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Having procured our licenses we were encouraged with the idea that we could now do more good among the people. By this time a large amount of books had arrived from the Liverpool office, England, and we started again for the interior of the country, taking with us books and tracts.
Gamberriar was a mining town containing twenty thousand inhabitants. To this place we repaired. We commenced traveling through the city, talking to the people and selling our books and tracts; but, to begin with, could not get any place to preach in. Early one morning, before we started out on our labors for the day, an officer with six men came with a writ to take us before the judge of that district, to answer to five different complaints. We were charged with being guilty of treason against the government, with being horse thieves, with selling goods without a license, with preaching a blasphemous doctrine and with trying to cause a rebellion. The court was in session; we were brought before the judge and the trial came on. The charges were read and we were asked, "Are you guilty, or not guilty?" We answered, "Not guilty." The words of Jesus came to our minds:
"But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Our accusers were two merchants, two lawyers and one doctor. They commenced giving in their evidence one by one, and after the judge had heard it all he asked us if we had any defense to make, or if we wanted a lawyer. We told him we did not want a lawyer, but we had a defense to make; and as my companion was my senior in age, he arose to make our defense before the court. He commenced on the treaty between England and America. He had spoken but a few minutes when the Holy Spirit rested upon him in such a way as I had never seen before. His face was very white and he spoke with great power and authority. The judge looked amazed. The house and yard were full of men who were all silent for one hour. When he was through we presented our passports from the city of Washington, our recommendation from the First Presidency of the Church and our licenses from the parliament of New South Wales colony.
The judge then arose and said,
"Gentlemen, my decision in this case is that you, the accusers, who have brought these men before this court under the pretense of grave charges, have not proved anything against them. To the prisoners I say, you are honorably acquitted. You are strangers to us; but I believe you are gentlemen of honor, or our government would not have given you the document that you bear with you. Go your way in peace, and we are bound to protect you from the ruthless hands of degraded men. I am sorry that we have put you to so much trouble; but go in peace."
After court adjourned I heard the people say that if we did not leave the town we would find ourselves in a deep hole some night, so we concluded to leave; but not before we had sold one hundred volumes of our books. We left a testimony with them that they will never forget.
Leaving Gamberriar we traveled through the gold mine one week and sold our books and tracts to the miners and preached to them the gospel, and then came to a city called Windsor situated on the Penreth River. As we had been traveling several days in the rain, and had been wet through every day, we were desirous of getting a place to stay in the suburbs of this city and recruit ourselves and clean up before commencing our labors in the ministry. We tried twelve times to stay all night, but were refused very abruptly each time. We found that a parson of the church of England had gone before us, and had warned the people that the "Mormon" Elders were coming, and they must shut their doors against them. It was now nine o'clock at night, and was raining very hard. We walked up Main street in this city, and were so wet, tired and hungry that we could but just walk. We had traveled twenty-four miles that day with but very little food to eat, and our boots were worn out and our feet scalded with the water and blistered very badly. In those circumstances my companion said to me, with tears in his eyes,
"Is it possible that the Lord has forsaken us, and will suffer us to die in the streets of this city?"
I said to him, "Brother John Said," for that was his name, "this is a trial of our faith, and after the bitter then comes the sweet."
While we were thus conversing, I looked ahead some distance and saw a confectioner's shop with the door open. I said to my companion "we will try to stay there." As we drew near to the place we saw a man come out of the shop and walk into the middle of the street. He came down the street towards us. He and I met first, as I was in advance of my companion, and he said: "Good evening, friends. I have been waiting for you some time. What has made you so late?" As I answered his questions I drew close to him, and looked him in the face to see if I could recognize him; but I could not.
He asked: "Where are you going to stay to-night."
I said: "We do not know."
He then put his hand into his pocket and gave me some money, and went to my companion and did the same; and then said:
"Boys, do you see that large four-story house on the corner?"
We replied that we did.
"Well," said he, "you go there and tell the landlord that you have been sent there to occupy the green room to-night, and he will conduct you to it, and give you all the accommodations that he can afford."
After saying this the stranger left us, and passed on out of our sight, in the dark. We then proceeded to the house, and found all things as the stranger had represented. The landlord conducted us to the green room, it was in the fourth story of the house, and while going up the long stairs my companion said to me, "Stop;" I stopped and he said in a low voice, "I fear that this is a plan laid to destroy us." I told him not to fear, for we had suffered enough, and the Lord was about to bless us. Arriving at the room we found it a beautiful place, but we were not fit tenants for such a fine room, as our clothing was wet through and muddy. We found everything as the stranger who met us in the street had told us. There was dry clothing for us to put on, and a good bed to sleep in, and the landlord sent us up a warm supper. We then looked at the money that the man gave us in the street and found it to be English money of the denominations ranging from a crown down to the smallest coin in silver, and what seemed strange to us was that both of us had the same amount and pieces just alike; the man seemed to have a pocket nearly full of money, and it was dark when he gave it to us. After supper we went to bed and had a good night's rest and pleasant dreams. The next morning we got up and partook of the hospitalities of the house and asked the landlord our bill. He answered that "there was no charge," so we went on our way rejoicing.
We spent a few days in this city, and preached and sold our books and had a good time with the people. I baptized one man and his family; the man had been a Methodist preacher, and I ordained him an Elder, and he commenced preaching the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints. While traveling in this city I called at a public house to distribute our books. I found two American men there, and when they heard me say I was an American, they asked me if I was a "Mormon" preacher. I said, "Yes, sir." "Well," said one of them, "you must have something to drink with me as you are a fellow-countryman of mine." I told him that I did not drink spirituous liquors of any kind, but he insisted that I must take some wine with him. So he went into another room, as he said, to get some wine out of the cellar. I was showing my books to several in the room when he returned with the glasses of wine and presented one of them to me and requested me to drink with him. I could see by the man's countenance that he had done something wrong, so I told him that I should not drink the wine in the glass that he offered me, but if he would change glasses and give me the one that he was going to drink, I would drink it if he would drink the one he offered me. He then flew into a rage, for he knew that I had detected his design to try to poison me. I had overheard him say, while he was gone after the wine, that "the Mormon priests say that poison will not hurt them, but I will soon show you that I will make one of them ache." He also said that he was one of the party that shot Joseph Smith at Carthage jail. He took one of my books and said that I should not have it again if I did not drink the wine that he gave me. I stepped to the door and saw two policemen passing and called to them. They came to my assistance, and I told them my story. They hunted for the man, to take him, but he was not to be found. The next day my companion went to a farm house a few miles from the city to distribute some tracts and books and found one of those Americans there. When he left the house this stranger followed him with his Minnie rifle, and remarked that he had a killing contract to kill all of the "Mormon" Elders that he could find, and when he had said those words he drew his rifle to his face, and said "here goes for the first one!" and fired, the bullet passing within a few inches of my comrade's head. This vile murderer was so close to him that he did not take close sight on his gun. When he found that he had not hit him, he commenced loading his piece again, but by the time he had got his gun loaded my partner was nearly a quarter of a mile distant. The ruffian gave chase and when he came within about one hundred yards he took a rest on a stump and fired. But the bullet whistled near by and missed again. The assassin then gave up the chase and went back.