ZION'S CAMP.
"When the Lord commands, do it." This is what the Prophet Joseph
declared to be his rule. Therefore, when the Lord, on the twenty-fourth
of February, 1834, commanded him to gather together the strength of
the Lord's house--the young and middle-aged men in The Church--for
the purpose of going to Missouri, to redeem Zion, two days later he
was seen leaving his home for the State of New York, to fulfill this
commandment.
He was accompanied by Parley P. Pratt on this mission. Other leading
Elders went in various directions on the same errand. They traveled
among the branches of The Church in the east pleading the cause of
Zion, asking the saints to assist in her redemption by contributing
of their substance to relieve the distresses of their brethren who
had been driven from their homes in Missouri, who now were exiles and
largely dependent upon the kindness of strangers for means of living.
They called upon the saints to send money to Missouri with which to
purchase inheritances for themselves; they also asked the young and the
middle-aged men to volunteer to go to Zion for the purpose of assisting
their brethren to maintain their possessions in Jackson County, when
the State authorities should reinstate them in their homes. We have
none of the speeches of these elders in print, we cannot tell how well
they told the story of Zion's wrongs; but surely the plain, unvarnished
statement of her woes would be sufficient to move adamantine hearts to
pity; while those who held the sufferers as brethren in a common cause
would weep over their affliction, and with resolution stronger than
the love of life, pledge their fortunes, and themselves to bring about
their restoration to their homes and secure to them the enjoyment of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It will become necessary,
however, in another place, for us to tell how unsympathetic, and what
a lack of faith there was among the eastern branches of The Church;
and how these things justly brought upon the saints in the east the
displeasure of God, and prevented, at that time, the redemption of Zion.
The village of New Portage, about fifty miles from Kirtland, Ohio,
was made the place of rendezvous for the young and middle-aged
brethren, who, in response to the call of the Lord and his Prophet,
had volunteered to go to the assistance of their brethren in Missouri;
and here, about the first of May, the volunteers began to assemble.
On the sixth they were joined by their youthful prophet-leader, who,
the next day, organized them as follows: F. G. Williams was appointed
treasurer and pay-master of the camp. All the money was collected
and given into his keeping. Zerubbabel Snow was appointed commissary
general. There were also other general officers that were appointed,
but what they were we have been unable to learn. The camp was divided
into small companies, twelve men in each. These companies elected their
own captains, who then assigned each man his duty in the respective
companies, thus: two cooks; two firemen; two tent makers; two watermen;
one runner, or messenger; two wagoners and horsemen; and one commissary.
In all, the company that collected at New Portage numbered one hundred
and fifty, which was increased by the time the camp reached Missouri to
about two hundred.
They purchased flour and baked their own bread, and cooked their
own provisions, which, at times, were scarce. Their baggage wagons,
about twenty in number, were so loaded with their provisions, arms,
ammunition and clothing for their distressed brethren in Missouri, that
nearly the whole company had to walk. Every night before retiring to
sleep, the blast of the evening trumpet called them to prayers in their
respective tents; and the morning trumpet summoned them to implore the
assistance of Divine Providence in the day's march. Thus they made the
journey, pitching their tents by the way-side, alike in the settled
country and in the wilderness; stopping occasionally for a few days,
to refresh their overworked teams; and always remaining in camp on
the Sabbath day to hold divine service, and partake of the sacrament.
On the occasion of their holding public worship, the people in the
vicinity of their encampment would often attend and wonder much at the
doctrines they heard, being puzzled to know what sect of men they were.
Such a company of men traveling in this manner through the country
did not fail to excite the curiosity of the people; and every effort
was made to learn the names of the leaders, the business, object,
and destination of the expedition; but in this they failed, as it
was Joseph's instructions to the members of the company not to make
these things known. There were several boys in the expedition, and at
times these were questioned by strangers, but with very unsatisfactory
results. Among the number of boys so questioned was Geo. A. Smith,
afterwards one of the counselors to President Brigham Young, in the
Presidency of The Church. The questions and answers were about as
follows:
"My boy, where are you from?"
"From the east."
"Where are you going?"
"To the west."
"What for?"
"To see where we can get land cheapest and best."
"Who leads the camp?"
"Sometimes one, sometimes another."
"What name?"
"Captain Wallace, Major Bruce, Orson Hyde, James Allred, etc." [A]
[Footnote A: Celebration Pioneers' Day, p. 18.]
The people not unfrequently, however, suspected they were "Mormons,"
and many times the little band was threatened with destruction, and
spies continually harassed them by trying to get into their camp. They
were foiled in these efforts though, by the vigilance of the guards,
who nightly patrolled their encampment. At various points through
Indiana and Illinois, they were told their passage would be resisted,
but these threats nothing daunted them. The opposition was overawed
more than once by the numbers in the camp being multiplied in the eyes
of their enemies. The brethren of Zion's Camp knew the object of the
expedition to be a noble one. They were conscious of God's approval,
and of the presence in their midst of his angels; and strengthened by
this knowledge, they fearlessly marched on to accomplish the work of
redeeming Zion.
Joseph says: "We know that the angels were our companions, for we saw
them." A circumstance in the experience of Parley P. Pratt furnishes
further testimony of the presence of angels with this expedition.
Elder Pratt was chiefly engaged as a recruiting officer, and on one
occasion, when he had traveled all night to overtake a small company he
was conducting to the main camp, he stopped at noon on a broad level
plain to let his horse feed. No habitation was near. Stillness and
repose reigned around him. "I sank down," he says, "overpowered with a
deep sleep, and might have lain in a state of oblivion till the shades
of night had gathered about me, so completely was I exhausted for the
want of sleep and rest; but I had only slept a few moments till the
horse had grazed sufficiently, when a voice, more loud and shrill than
I had ever before heard, fell upon my ear, and thrilled through every
part of my system; it said: _'Parley, it is time to be up and on your
journey.'_ In the twinkling of an eye I was perfectly aroused, I sprang
to my feet so suddenly that I could not at first recollect where I was,
or what was before me to perform. I afterwards related the circumstance
to Brother Joseph Smith, and he bore testimony that it was the angel of
the Lord who went before the camp, who found me overpowered with sleep,
and thus awoke me." [B]
[Footnote B: Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. 123.]
The line of march led the camp through Indiana and the central part of
Illinois. The journey was undertaken, too, at a time of year--May and
June--when nature appears in her most lovely attire--when the forests
were in full leaf, and filled with the resonance of birds, the hum of
bees and insects; when the great prairies, which quite bewilder one
with their vastness, are clothed in their variegated garments of grass
and wild flowers; at a time of year when in the upper deep there is a
deeper blue, when the rising sun seems to shed a brighter light upon
the earth beneath, and when his parting rays paint the evening skies in
splendors unsurpassed.[C]
[Footnote C: PEN-PICTURE OF THE CAMP.--In fancy I see them after a
hard day's march making their encampment. The sun has just sunk behind
the western horizon as Joseph and the standard bearer are choosing the
place for their night's encampment They have paused on the summit of
one of the gentle swells of prairie so common in their line of travel.
A short distance to the south is a small wooded stream. To the north
and east, as far as the eye can see, is nothing but the broad, rolling
prairie; looking west, the horizon is bounded by a view of the heavy
forests which marked the meandering course of the Illinois.
"Brother Joseph, would it not be better to make our camp further to
the south, down on the banks of the stream where wood and water will
be more convenient?" said he who bore the standard. "I think not,"
replies the Prophet. "You know we received word that the people intend
to prevent us crossing the Illinois River, which we will reach by ten
o'clock tomorrow; so that we are in the vicinity of our enemies. If we
camp in the woods, they could surround us, and we not be aware of it.
But by making this eminence our camp ground they can't approach without
being observed by our guards; and the brethren will be willing to carry
both wood and water this short distance in order to enjoy the security
of this position."
And now the main company has come in full view over a hill to the
east, and as they see the ensign planted they know the camp ground has
been chosen. Anxious to obtain food and rest, they urge their jaded
teams to make better speed, and soon the twenty wagons are arranged
in two curving lines, to make an oval enclosure with openings at each
end. Now is enacted a busy scene. Men are hurrying to and fro in all
directions; but there is no confusion. Each knows what is required
of him, and cheerfully performs his allotted part. The teamsters
have unhitched and stripped the harness from their sweating horses
that now quietly crop the rich grass; the firemen and watermen have
brought both fuel and water, and already the sombre twilight is made
cheerful by the light of the camp fire, around which the cooks are
busy preparing the evening meal. The tent makers are stretching the
tents within the space enclosed by the wagons. Orders are given in a
cheerful, half-jesting manner. All is peace--all is union. Now you
see the men quickly gathering around their respective fires, as their
several cooks announce supper ready. As they quietly seat themselves
around their food, heads are bared, and thanks returned to Him, who
had commanded them in everything to give thanks. Pleasant conversation
prevails in nearly every group. The trials of the day are turned into
merriment--anecdotes and jests provoke peals of laughter, and the
toils of the day are forgotten. Supper is over. Around a fire near the
center of the encampment have gathered a number of brethren, and their
prophet-leader is relating to them some of the visions of his early
youth, interspersing his narrative with maxims of incalculable value to
the hearers. As he warms under the glow of the Spirit of God, he tells
them of the future glory of Zion--of the temple to be overshadowed by
a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night--of her being a place of
refuge--a city of peace in which the saints of God shall safely dwell,
and how the wicked shall say, "let us not go up to battle against Zion,
for her inhabitants are terrible." But listen! In another part of the
camp a number of the brethren are singing; and as the melody floats out
on the calm stillness of the night, you recognize one of the familiar
songs of Zion:--
Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God
He, whose word can not be broken,
Chose thee for his own abode.
On the Rock of ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose!
With salvation's walls surrounded,
Thou may'st smile on all thy foes.
The song was scarcely concluded when the sharp, thrilling notes of the
bugle summon to prayer. All promptly retire to their tents and are
engaged in solemn devotion. Few leave the tents after prayers. The
guards have been notified to take their places, and their comrades
stretch out their tired limbs upon their rude pallets. As the bustle
in the camp ceases, and naught is heard but the whispered conversation
of the guards, or their footsteps as they move back and forth upon
their beats, you hear in the distance the plaintive notes of the
whip-poor-will. And now the pale moon slowly rises and bathes in her
soft light the sleeping camp.--_Roberts_.]