The rising of the stacks seemed to be a signal for the Indians to make raids upon our stock. Joseph F. Smith, then a lad of nine years, and two companions by the name of Aldrich were herding milk cows. At about three o'clock in the afternoon the Indians raided the herd, the herders barely escaping with their lives. Fortunately Captain Davis with his mounted scouts were nearby and recovered the cattle. From that time on our stock was closely guarded.
Trouble next began with the government Indian agent who lived at Sarpees Point. He ordered our people to move off from the Otoes' lands, and threatened to eject them by force. He even went so far as to refuse to let our people go down to the frontier settlements in Missouri without permits from him. As teams would return he would stop them by force and search the wagons under the pretext of looking for firearms, ammunition, and whiskey. As a matter of fact we needed all these things; especially arms and ammunition for defense and self protection, and as the summer passed on, many of the Saints were afflicted with malarial fevers, and alcohol was needed for medical purposes.
But Mitchell refused to allow anything of the kind to pass his post on its way to our camps. Several barrels of alcohol bought openly from merchants at St. Joseph were knocked in the head and spilt by Mitchell's orders. These oppressive acts were very humiliating-; and it required constant vigilance on the part of our leaders to keep some of our boys from resenting these open insults.
Fortunately for us, Colonel Kane was still at our camps. He wrote to his father at Philadelphia, and the judge visiting Washington ably represented our true condition to President Polk and his cabinet. The result was, Mr. Indian agent was called down and the Mormons were allowed to winter on the west bank of the Missouri river.
Many years ago I visited Hilo, a beautiful city on the Island of Hawaii. I noticed when gentlemen walked out that they always carried umbrellas with them; and when I asked them why, the reply was, that you never can tell here when it's going to rain. That's a good representation of Mormon life. We never know when a storm is brewing from the outside, nor from what quarter the wind will blow.
When the main body of the Church left Nauvoo, it was understood with the mob that the poor and destitute would be allowed to remain in peace, in the possession of their homes, until our leaders should find a place for our permanent settlement. But in this promise we were disappointed. Those who thrust us out, were not only desirous of being rid of our presence, but they sought our utter destruction, as the history of all their aggressive operations, when taken collectively, plainly shows.
See how thoughtfully they waited until the strength of our camps, the battalion was gone; till our main camps were encroaching on the Red Man's domain, so that wicked men might stir up the Indians to hostilities against us. Then our enemies, for I cannot call them else, marshaled all their strength, fifteen hundred or two thousand men, and with a battery of artillery on the 16th of September, set upon the remnants of our people, who were still in Nauvoo, and after three days' battle took possession of the city and drove the inhabitants across the Mississippi to perish of hunger and exposure.
Chapter 4.
Thomas L. Kane's Description of the City of Nauvoo, and the Exiled Mormons.