| Show DEATH OF BISHOP ATWOOD BROTHER MILL MILLEN rN ATWOOD bishop of the thirteenth ward departed this life from a complication of byord by old age at his residence in this city at 1280 a na in december millen atwood was the son of dan atwood and polly Sawyer aDd was born at willington rolland co connecticut may 1817 his father was a farmer and had but poor health millens educational ad vantages were consequently but limited he remained rema inel with his parents until he was 21 years old when he went with his brother to learn the mason trade remaining with him till 1840 during the year last named he learned th that atthe the mormon elders were preaching in the house bouse of a neighbor he attended and listened for the first time to a discourse upon the principles of the gospel as revealed through the prophet joseph smith the name of the preacher was joseph T ball and millen at once became an ardent believer speaking of his conversion he said to the writer iu in his hill characteristic way 61 something got down into me that has never gone out since on april 1841 having the spirit of gathering he left his fathers family and went to nauvoo arriving there on the of may when be beheld the prophet for the first time when he saw his genial jocular frank openhearted manner all his former ideas of the solemn gravity and venerable appearance of a prophet vanished like smoke but instead of being disappointed he was intensely delighted he had bad no difficulty in feeling at home bome in the presence of a live prophet as he discovered when he conversed with him for the farst ff rot time two days after his arrival he as baptized in the mississippi river on 2nd and of august 1841 by whom he did not recollect and oon confirmed firmed on the river bank by elder joseph cole on april 1842 he was ordained an elder by willard richards soon after on an birer he was called to go on a preaching mission through the states of illinois new york and connecticut and started accordingly without purse or scrip he passed through many hardships and vicissitude but on the whole greatly enjoyed his bis labors I 1 jn n we course of his travels he reached chicago and 11 S was seized with an ardent desire to visit b bis Is fathers house hut but was totally without means he prayed hard bard for the lord to oon on up his hia way and started one morning P bright and early to perform the journey on foot going around the edge of like lake michigan on the way he be met a gentleman who asked him where he WAS going on being informed the stranger remarked that it was too long a journey to go on foot and him to take passage with him which he did going by boat to oswego brother atwood had heard board of some cemers me mem mers era of the church being in the latter town so he made diligent inquiry in the hope of discovering them and was sent by different people from one place to another each time to find that he had bad been hoaxed being directed to a particular house he called to inquire and finding nobody at home and being tired as well as ravenously hungry he sat down on a hitching rail to rest presently he saw a man approaching driving a span of horses brother atwood asked him if he was I 1 he be man he wis look ing for when he yelled no but im the devil ai discovering elder atwoods atwood Is calling he abused and threatened him shamefully ordering him to get of the hitching rail or he be would knock him off at the same time shaking his flat at him brother atwood mil mildly ily told him he was tired and wanted to rest and would not get off till be was ready suddenly the mans manner changed to one of the softest gentleness he took the elder into the house entertained him hospitably and procured the schoolhouse for him to preach in a large congregation being present including this erratic man whose name was le roy boy burt before brother atwood left he be begged his bis pardon scores of times for his bis rudeness and fully made amends for his rough conduct during the same hame mission elder atwood and a missionary companion applied for entertainment at the house of a baptist preacher who was very bitter against the saints he said he be would take them in not as servants of the lord but as vagabonds of the earth they stayed overnight and ana in the morning brother atwood said as they were leaving inasmuch as you have entertained us as servants of the lord you shall have the reward of a servant of owl god the old baptist shouted savagely that he had entertained them as vagabonds 12 then you shall have a vagabonds reward replied brother atwood and departed brother atwood arrived at his fathers house july 1844 and soon afterwards went to new york where he he ird for the first brat time of the martyrdom of the prophet joseph and the patriarch hyrum hirut smith he continued preaching until march lath 1845 when in response to a call upon all the elders eiders inthe mission filed he returned to nauvoo reaching there april ath three days after his arrival he be received his patriarchal bleeding bleeping ble under the hands of patriarch father john smith and about the same time was ordained a seventy and sot set apart a member of the tenth quorum on the of april 1845 he be commenced working on the temple continuing until august when he began laboring on the nauvoo house remaining at this occupation until with his fellow workmen he was driven off by the mob from hardships and exposure he was laid up with the ague and was very ill but before he had entirely regained his strength he went to work building wagons to enable the saints to move westi west as aa the people were constantly harrasser harr assed and mal treated by merciless mobs having been peremptorily ordered to leave he and others crossed the mississippi february 6 1846 remaining in encampment until march let when they started through rail mud and cold weather for the missouri river enduring untold hardships hard and distress in february 1847 brother at wood responded to a call to go to pisgah for charles C rich this thia being the hardest and most difficult trip he be had ever undertaken on his return from pisgah he be was appointed one of the pioneers togo to go into the great west and explore to fand a rest ag place and home for the saints with the other members of the advance guard of those who opened up this vast region to civilization cl be left winter quarters april seb 1847 and traveled 1031 1081 miles westward pawing passing through the many trying scenes incidental to A that mar journey one day while passing through a stretch of hostile indian country I 1 president young told the brethren to keep close to camp and not scatter out peed feed being scanty however the horses kept going out a considerable e distance d ista n ce I 1 a number num be r of 0 f the brethren accompanying them as an guards all at once a host of indians an s swept down upon them like a whirlwind greatly frightening the horses and causing much excitement in camp brother atwood held a lariat in his hand the other end being attached to a horse which ran at a pretty high rate of speed but he kept his hold and shouted whoa As the beast slackened his pace an indian would give it a whack and off it would go until brother atwoods atwood Is position was getting desperate as 4 he was flying over the sagebrush at a tremendous rate he relaxed his grip and went head over heels coming off without further injury than having the skin fi stripped tripped almost entirely from his face the indians got away with quite a num number berof of the horses but nobody was killed in the raid mid brother atwood was one of that noble band w who he arrived in salt bait lake valley on the of july 1847 by call in august of the same year he started back to winter quarters and arrived there on nov on the of jan 1848 he went to nauvoo and gathered up a quantity of goods and conveyed the load to winter quarters which he be reached in march he was there introduced by president brig ham young to miss belief cram whom he married april 1848 on the of way may he again started for utah and reached here september in nes president ident youngs company |
