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.