CHAPTER III.
REMOVAL TO NAUVOO--SICKNESS--MIRACULOUSLY HEALED--ACQUIRE CONSIDERABLE PROPERTY--ACQUAINTANCE WITH JOSEPH SMITH--MISSIONS TO ALBANY, AND THE EASTERN STATES; ALSO, WITH ELDER J. W. CROSBY, TO NOVA SCOTIA--PREACH IN JEFFERSON CO., N. Y., AND ORGANIZE SIX BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH--TRAVEL TO NEW BRUNSWICK--INVITED TO PREACH--BAPTISMS--PERSECUTION--THE AUTHOR WAYLAID BY A MOB, BEATEN, AND LEFT FOR DEAD--ATTACK ON THE HOUSE WHERE HE AND ELDER CROSBY WERE IN BED--THE MOB DISPERSED BY MRS. SHELTON--THEY RETURN AND RE-ATTACK THE HOUSE--ARE DISPERSED BY MR. SHELTON--TWO BRANCHES ORGANIZED.
The doctrine of the gathering had been taught the Saints, at Pomphret, and, in common with the others, I felt a great desire to gather up and live with the body of the Church. With this idea I endeavored to dispose of my farm, but failure in my efforts to do this was the only thing that saved me from a share in the Missouri persecutions.
The winter previous to the poisoning case I sold my farm, and the time for me to vacate expired just before this took place.
For several months I was preparing to remove, getting teams, wagons, etc. When the time arrived, with my wife and children, and part of the branch, including the woman who had been poisoned and her husband, I started to find the Church, thinking it was still in Missouri, though we had heard that it had been mobbed and broken up.
We journeyed until we came to Springfield, about a hundred miles from Nauvoo, where we met with some brethren who had been driven out of Missouri, and who told us that the Church was collecting in Nauvoo, then called Commerce. We turned our course in that direction, and arrived there in June, the weather being very warm at the time.
We found brothers Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon there, with a few others. The rest were coming in daily, in a most distressed condition. Many of them were sick, and they had no house to enter when they arrived. The nature of the climate, combined with the hardships they had endured, soon made those ill who were not so previously.
Numbers of the sick and dying had to lie on the ground, with only a blanket over them. No springs or wells were handy, and the Mississippi water was unfit to drink, so that many had to go miles for water to give to the afflicted. Sometimes one would go on horseback with a jug, and fetch a little for the sick, and take it round to them. It was frequently declared that the persecutions in Missouri were small matters compared to the miseries endured at this period in Nauvoo.
My family, with myself, were also taken sick, and I laid so for two or three weeks. I was so far gone that I was quite senseless, and all thought I was dying. Doubtless I should have died, but one day Joseph Smith was passing by my door (for I had managed to procure a house) and was called in, and, as I was afterwards informed, laid his hands upon me, and commanded me to arise and walk, in the name of the Lord. The first thing I knew was that I found myself walking on the floor, perfectly well, and within ten minutes afterwards I was out of the house visiting my daughter, whom I had not seen for nearly a month. I felt so full of joy and happiness, that I was greatly surprised that every one else was not as full of praise as myself.
This was the second time that I had been healed instantly by the power of God, through His servants.
Attempts had been made to build a city on the site of Nauvoo, previous to the entrance of the Saints, but all the inhabitants, with the exception of three or four families, had died, and the Saints used the deserted houses as far as they would go.
It was a common saying among the inhabitants of the surrounding country that, if the "Mormons" could live here, they could live anywhere. It truly was a most unhealthy spot, filled with ponds and stagnant water, left by the overflowing of the Mississippi river, afflicting all the neighborhood with fever and ague.
From this condition I saw the city become, through the industry of the Saints, a healthy and prosperous place, being drained of these swamps, etc.
I lived there until I had accumulated considerable property. During this time, about seven years, I had frequent opportunities of continuing my acquaintance with Joseph Smith, seeing him nearly every day.
From my actual knowledge, I can testify to the purity and uprightness of his life, and I know that he was a man of God. I had every opportunity to acquire this information, for, when escaping from his enemies, he has lived sometimes for a week at a time at my residence.
During this period several missions were appointed me, one to the north of Albany, where I succeeded in baptizing a goodly number; another to the Eastern States.
About a year previous to the death of Joseph, with Jesse W. Crosby, who had friends in that part, I was assigned a mission to Nova Scotia.
Our route lay through Chicago, a distance of two hundred miles, which we walked. We then, by steamer, passed down the northern lakes to Buffalo, a journey of at least a thousand miles, and again took steamer on Lake Ontario, about four hundred miles further, and arrived at Sackett's Harbor.
As we were destitute of means to prosecute our journey further, and, as I had some relatives living at hand, we concluded to stop and preach awhile, until we could procure means to go on, but the weather coming on very cold, the rivers froze over, and we were compelled to spend the winter in this place.
This brought me into the region of country where I had lived for ten years when a young man. The first place we commenced at was in the town of Lime, Jefferson Co., New York.
Here we procured a school-house. Two ministers, who usually occupied the room, greatly opposed us at the close of our preaching, and endeavored to set the people against us, but they displayed such a weak, mean spirit, that their congregation left them. One minister, who had a regular salary with a small farm, for his preaching, had them taken from him, and many of his followers became members of the Church.
We confined our labors chiefly to Jefferson Co., where we found a few scattered members, and managed to raise up some six branches, consisting of about two hundred members. These were abundantly blessed with the gifts of tongues, prophecy, healings, etc., and the branches became very strong in the faith.
While we were here, I felt very anxious to know of the position of affairs at head quarters, and besought the Lord to enlighten me on the subject. He did so, revealing unto me, through the gift of tongues, the interpretation of which was given to myself, many things concerning the Church, the temple ordinances at Nauvoo, and several other things, that I found, on my return to that place, to be strictly true.
Just at this time the spring was coming on, and the St. Lawrence river began to clear from ice, so that we were able to continue our journey to Nova Scotia.
Previous to our departure we had a farewell meeting with the Saints. It was a delightful meeting, and they rejoiced much, for the Spirit of the Lord was greatly poured out. During the meeting, a little boy stood up and spoke in tongues, the tears rolling down his face all the time. The interpretation stated that, after leaving that place, I should go to another, where I should be mobbed and left for dead, and that the blood should run down from my head on my clothes and on the ground.
I took this for a timely warning, and thought that, by prudence, I might escape. Accordingly, by great caution, I kept clear of much that I might have suffered.
We passed down the St. Lawrence river, and, after preaching a few times at Montreal, passed on to Quebec, where we distributed a few books, but the priests would not allow us to preach.
At this place we wished to take the steamboat to Nova Scotia, but our means were inadequate, and the captain refused to lower the fare. Again we were frustrated in our purpose to proceed on our mission.
This was our position when, one day, as Elder Crosby and I were walking about Quebec, wondering what we should do to accomplish our purpose, we came in contact with a gentleman who told us a plan by which we might fulfill our mission--going on a sailing vessel to the mouth of the river Delieu, then by land to the head waters of St. Johns river, New Brunswick; then to buy a canoe, and paddle down that river to the mouth, where we could, for a small sum, take ship any day for Nova Scotia.
This advice we concluded to act upon, but before we left Quebec, as our journey seemed to be diverted from its original purpose, I prayed the Lord to show us, in vision, those people among whom he wished us to stop and confine our efforts, for our mission to Nova Scotia had been assigned to us at the request of Brother Crosby, whose friends lived in that part, and was more to comply with his desire than from any prior intention the Presidency had with regard to the place.
Descending St. John's river in the canoe, we overtook a man on a raft, who asked us several questions, and finally we told him that we were preachers of the gospel.
After hearing this he invited us to stop at his house, about twenty miles farther down the river, and preach there on the Sunday. This we