It is so with all who are faithful and who go upon missions. They may meet with trouble and be persecuted, but the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon them to such a degree, that they will rejoice in their afflictions, and be glad afterwards that they have passed through such trials.
The Lord has thus blessed thousands who have been sent upon missions, and He will so bless many thousands more, and even more abundantly as our works and faith increase.
CHAPTER IX.
VISIT FROM THE BRULES—FEAST ON DOG MEAT—SEAT OF HONOR ON THE PILLOW—RETURN JOURNEY—OPENING CACHES—SHOOTING FISH—CURIOUS MANNER OF COOKING FISH.
Soon after Christmas we had a visit from a party of Brules. The chief of this nation was a fine-looking man, about sixty years of age. He has died since then. His name was Wah-bah-hooter, or "long-mane" (long hair). Only a small portion of the nation came, the others being on a buffalo hunt. Their hunting ground adjoins that of the Poncas on the south, and continues as far as old Laramie Fort, which the Saints used to pass when traveling to Salt Lake Valley. Some nine of the chiefs accompanied this Sioux chief and his band. This visit was for business as well as for pleasure, and considerable trading was done on both sides in robes, skins, blankets, horses, and tobacco. While some were attending to business, others were visiting and feasting, and many of the young men and women were dancing.
Here I took my first meal of dog, this being the first great feast of the season (harvest feast, if you please).
All the visiting chiefs were invited as well as the ruling chiefs of the Poncas, twenty-two in number.
The old Frenchman came to me that morning and informed me of the grand "dog feast" in contemplation.
I told him I could not eat dog meat, and should go off from the village until all was over.