Independence, Oct. 30, 1833.
Gentlemen:—The first thing necessary to be done, under circumstances like ours, is to ascertain and fix upon the amount of fee to be paid, and to secure the payment thereof by the necessary papers: and then the responsibility of advising falls upon us. We are now laboring under all the disadvantages of an engagement without any of its advantages; it therefore becomes us to know whether we can agree as to the fee or not; and that we should be paid, too, according to the situation in which we place ourselves. We have been doing a practice here among these people, to a considerable extent, and by this engagement we must expect to lose the greatest part of it, which will be to all of us a considerable loss; besides that, the amount involved must be very considerable, and the amount involved must be generally the criterion of the fee. Taking all these matters into consideration we propose to you to bring all the suits you may want brought, and attend to them jointly throughout, for the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars each, making for all four of us, the sum of one thousand dollars.
This may seem to be a large sum for a fee for lawyers in this country, but the circumstances here involved make it necessary. This matter must be attended to in the first place, and then such advice, for the present, as may seem to be dictated by wisdom, and be necessary we will give you; and in the proper time we will bring the suits. If this proposal suits, you will please execute notes, and send them to us; and if not agreed to, apprise us by letter immediately, for we can be engaged on the opposite side in all probability. We prefer to bring your suits, as we have been threatened by the mob, we wish to show them we disregard their empty bravadoes.
(Signed)
Wood,
Reese,
Doniphan,
Atchison.
Counsel Employed.
As a dernier ressort, the brethren accepted the foregoing proposition, and Brothers Phelps and Partridge gave their note of one thousand dollars, endorsed by Gilbert & Whitney. No sooner had this news spread among the mob, than they began to congregate and prepare for battle.
Footnotes.
1. Freeman Nickerson was born in South Dennis, Barnstable county, Massachusetts, February 5, 1778. His Father's name was Eleazer Nickerson, his mother's Thankful Chase Nickerson. Her father was a seaman. In 1800 Freeman emigrated to Vermont, and settled in Windsor county; and here he married Huldah Chapman, daughter of Eliphalet and Abigail Chase Chapman, on January 10, 1801. He served in the war of 1812 and was commissioned a lieutenant. He received the Gospel at Dayton, Cattaraugus county, New York, in April, 1833, being baptized by Elder Zerubbabel Snow, and was soon after ordained a Deacon. Brother Nickerson performed a mission among the Saints in Kirtland and vicinity in the early fall of 1833, and on the 5th of October started for Canada in company with the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon, taking them on this journey with his own team and conveyance.—"Obituary Record," (Ms.), page 45.
2. Ashtabula is in Ashtabula county, Ohio, some forty miles northeast of Kirtland.
3. While on this journey to Canada the Prophet kept a daily journal, from which the narrative he gives in the text was evidently taken. This journal is in the Prophet's own handwriting, and is one of the interesting relics among the records of the Church. At various points in the Prophet's narrative of this mission, I shall quote whatever may be of interest in addition to the narrative given in the text. Of this meeting at Rudd's the Prophet says: "Had a great congregation—paid good attention. O God, seal our testimony to their hearts!"—(Page 6).
4. Springfield is in the western part of Erie county, Pennsylvania.
5. Westfield was in Chautauqua county, New York, near the shore of Lake Erie.
6. The Prophet in his Journal also says under this date (11th of October): "I feel very well in my mind. The Lord is with us, but have much anxiety about my family."—(Journal page 7).
7. This was Brother Freeman Nickerson who was conveying them to Canada, and this Perrysburg, Cattaraugus county, New York, was his place of residence.
8. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. c.
9. Waterford is immediately south of Brantford, in the adjoining county of Norfolk.
10. "The result is in the hands of God," adds the Prophet. (Journal, page 14.) I also add the Prophet's entry for the 25th, which is omitted in his narrative. Friday, 25th "This afternoon, at a Mr. Patrick's, expect to hold a meeting this evening. People very superstitious. O God, establish thy word among this people. Held a meeting this evening; had an attentive congregation; the spirit gave utterance." (Page 14.)
11. "May God carry on His work in this place," adds the Prophet, "till all shall know Him. Amen." (Page 16.)
12. "May God," adds the Prophet, "increase the gifts among them for His Son's sake." (Journal, page 17.) On the 29th the Prophet's party started for home. "May the Lord prosper our journey. Amen," he writes in his Journal, page 17.
These excerpts from the Prophet's Daily Journal omitted from the narrative made up from it, have been reproduced in these notes in order that the deeply religious and prayerful nature of the Prophet might be observed. They are indeed gems of expression, and exhibit the Prophet's profound reliance upon God and his blessings. "O God, seal our testimony to their hearts:" "I feel very well in my mind." "The Lord is with us;" "The Lord gave His spirit in a remarkable manner to some Saints, for which I am thankful to the God of Abraham," he exclaims. "Lord bless my family, and preserve them," is a frequent prayer. "This day we expect to start for Canada. Lord be with us on our journey. Amen." And thus in all things he remembers the Lord, seeks the guidance of His Spirit, trusts in Him, relies upon Him for success, and pleads for the presence of His protecting power.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County.
Attack on the Saints Settled on Big Blue.
Thursday night, the 31st of October, gave the Saints in Zion abundant proof that no pledge on the part of their enemies, written or verbal, was longer to be regarded; for on that night, between forty and fifty persons in number, many of whom were armed with guns, proceeded against a branch of the Church, west of the Big Blue, and unroofed and partly demolished ten dwelling houses; and amid the shrieks and screams of the women and children, whipped and beat in a savage and brutal manner, several of the men: while their horrid threats frightened women and children into the wilderness. Such of the men as could escape fled for their lives; for very few of them had arms, neither were they organized; and they were threatened with death if they made any resistance; such therefore as could not escape by flight, received a pelting with stones and a beating with guns and whips. On Friday, the first of November, women and children sallied forth from their gloomy retreats, to contemplate with heartrending anguish the ravages of a ruthless mob, in the lacerated and bruised bodies of their husbands, and in the destruction of their houses, and their furniture. Houseless and unprotected by the arm of the civil law in Jackson county, the dreary month of November staring them in the face and loudly proclaiming an inclement season at hand; the continual threats of the mob that they would drive every "Mormon" from the county; and the inability of many to move, because of their poverty, caused an anguish of heart indescribable.
The Saints at the