BATHSHEBA W. SMITH'S STORY OF THE LAST DAYS OF NAUVOO--SHE RECEIVES
CELESTIAL MARRIAGE AND GIVES HER HUSBAND FIVE "HONORABLE YOUNG
WOMEN" AS WIVES--HER DESCRIPTION OF THE EXODUS AND JOURNEY TO WINTER
QUARTERS--DEATH OF ONE OF THE WIVES--SISTER HORNE AGAIN.
Sister Bathsheba W. Smith's story of the last days of Nauvoo, and the
introduction of polygamy, and also her graphic detail of the exodus,
will be of interest at this point. She says:
"Immediately after my marriage, my husband, as one of the apostles of
the Church, started on a mission to some of the Eastern States.
"In the year 1840 he was in England, and again went East on mission
in 1843, going as far as Boston, Mass., preaching and attending
conferences by the way. He returned in the fall; soon after which, we
were blessed by receiving our endowments, and were sealed under the
holy law of celestial marriage. I heard the prophet Joseph charge the
twelve with the duty and responsibility of administering the ordinances
of endowments and sealing for the living and the dead. I met many times
with Brother Joseph and others who had received their endowments, in
company with my husband, in an upper room dedicated for that purpose,
and prayed with them repeatedly in those meetings. I heard the prophet
give instructions concerning plural marriage; he counseled the sisters
not to trouble themselves in consequence of it, that all would be
right, and the result would be for their glory and exaltation.
"On the 5th of May, 1844, my husband again started on mission, and,
after he left, a terrible persecution was commenced in the city of
Nauvoo, which brought about the barbarous murder of our beloved
prophet, and his brother, the patriarch. The death of these men of
God caused a general mourning which I cannot describe. My husband
returned about the first of August, and soon the rest of the twelve
returned. The times were very exciting, but under the wise counsels of
the twelve, and others, the excitement abated. The temple was so far
finished in the fall of 1845, that thousands received their endowments.
I officiated for some time as priestess.
"Being thoroughly convinced, as well as my husband, that the doctrine
of plurality of wives was from God, and having a fixed determination
to attain to celestial glory, I felt to embrace the whole gospel,
and believing that it was for my husband's exaltation that he should
obey the revelation on celestial marriage, that he might attain to
kingdoms, thrones, principalities and powers, firmly believing that
I should participate with him in all his blessings, glory and honor;
accordingly, within the last year, like Sarah of old, I had given to my
husband five wives, good, virtuous, honorable young women. They all had
their home with us; I being proud of my husband, and loving him very
much, knowing him to be a man of God, and believing he would not love
them less because he loved me more for doing this. I had joy in having
a testimony that what I had done was acceptable to my Father in Heaven.
"The fall of 1845 found Nauvoo, as it were, one vast mechanic shop, as
nearly every family was engaged in making wagons. Our parlor was used
as a paint-shop in which to paint wagons. All were making preparations
to leave the ensuing winter. On the 9th of February, 1846, in company
with many others, my husband took me and my two children, and some
of the other members of his family (the remainder to follow as soon
as the weather would permit), and we crossed the Mississippi, to
seek a home in the wilderness. Thus we left a comfortable home, the
accumulation and labor of four years, taking with us but a few things,
such as clothing, bedding and provisions, leaving everything else for
our enemies. We were obliged to stay in camp for a few weeks, on Sugar
Creek, because of the weather being very cold. The Mississippi froze
over so that hundreds of families crossed on the ice. As soon as the
weather permitted, we moved on West. I will not try to describe how we
traveled through storms of snow, wind and rain--how roads had to be
made, bridges built, and rafts constructed--how our poor animals had to
drag on, day after day, with scanty feed--nor how our camps suffered
from poverty, sickness and death. We were consoled in the midst of
these hardships by seeing the power of God manifested through the
laying on of the hands of the elders, causing the sick to be healed and
the lame to walk. The Lord was with us, and his power was made manifest
daily. At the head of a slough where we camped several days, we were
visited by the Mus-Quaw-ke band of Indians, headed by Pow-Sheek, a
stately looking man, wearing a necklace of bear's claws. They were
fierce looking men, decorated as they were for war; but they manifested
a friendly spirit, and traded with us. The next move of our camp was to
the Missouri river bank. The cattle were made to swim, and our wagons
were taken over on a flat-boat that our people had built. We made two
encampments after we crossed the river, when we found it too late to
proceed farther that year. The last encampment was named Cutler's Park.
The camps contained about one thousand wagons. Our men went to work
cutting and stacking the coarse prairie grass for hay. The site for
our winter quarters was selected and surveyed, and during the fall and
winter some seven hundred log-cabins were built; also about one hundred
and fifty dugouts or caves, which are cabins half under ground. This
was on the Missouri river, about six miles above the present city of
Omaha. My husband built four cabins and a dug-out. Our chimnies were
made of sod, cut with a spade in the form of a brick; clay was pounded
in to make our fireplaces and hearths. In our travels the winds had
literally blown our tent to pieces, so that we were glad to get into
cabins. The most of the roofs were made of timber, covered with clay.
The floors were split and hewed puncheon; the doors were generally made
of the same material, of cottonwood and linn. Many houses were covered
with oak-shakes, fastened on with weight-poles. A few were covered with
shingles. A log meeting-house was built, about twenty-four by forty
feet, and the hewn floor was frequently used for dancing. A grist-mill
was built and run by water-power, and in addition to this, several
horse-mills and hand-mills were used to grind corn.
"Our scanty and only supply of bread, consisting generally of corn, was
mostly brought from Missouri, a distance of some one hundred and fifty
miles, where it fortunately was plentiful and cheap. The camp having
been deprived of vegetable food the past year, many were attacked with
scurvy. The exposure, together with the want of necessary comforts,
caused fevers and ague, and affections of the lungs. Our own family
were not exempt. Nancy Clement, one of my husband's wives, died; also
her child. She was a woman of excellent disposition, and died in full
faith in the gospel."
An incident or two of Sister Horne's story may very properly accompany
the foregoing. She says:
"I took my last look, on earth, of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. May I never
experience another day similar to that! I do not wish to recall the
scene but for a moment. That terrible martyrdom deeply scarred the
hearts and bewildered the senses of all our people. We could scarcely
realize the awful event, except in the agony of our feelings; nor
comprehend the dark hour, beyond the solemn loneliness which pervaded
the city and made the void in our stricken hearts still more terrible
to bear. For the moment the sun of our life had set. The majority of
the apostles were far from home, and we could do no more than wake the
indignation of heaven against the murderers by our lamentations, and
weep and pray for divine support in that awful hour.
"Two years had not passed away after the martyrdom, before the saints
were forced by their enemies to hasten in their flight from Nauvoo."
With the Camp of Israel, Sister Horne and family journeyed to winter
quarters, sharing the common experience of the saints, so well
described by those who have preceded her.