| Show A VISIT TO FAR WEST TO TUE battlefield OF THE CROOKED RIVER eitor andrew Jense cs interesting lecture 1 on the evening of the ath dinst elder andrew jensen of tho historical record in salt lake city delivered the following lecture to the people of provo in the meeting house if I 1 should preach a sermon as long as our journey consisted it would bo a discourse miles long which w of course be inconsistent on tho present occasion on the ath of september Sp 1888 elders stevenson bishop black and myself loft salt lako city arriving at kansas city on the ath securing rooms in a private house in a quiet part of that large city the after calling on the loid in earnest prayer asking him for his aid protection and guidance iu pre forming our missions successfully we went by rail to independence with solemn feelings we bended wended our way to tho public square where a magnificent courthouse court house occupies tho site in on this same square we called to mind that a violent mob assembled with murderous intent bishop edward partridge and brother alien being cruelly stripped and tarred and fathered by them we bould hardly refrain aiom shedding tears especially when we remembered that this goodly land of zion is still in bossos olour enemies independence is a town of about inhabitants we bended wended our way to the reorganized church meeting abacut one fourth of a mil to the cast of the square here we had appointments for a 2 p m meeting and ono at 7 p m wo dined opposite tho temple lot and had a conversation with the leaders of the hedrick church which is built in the enclosure of the independence temple lot our interview resulted in an appointment for a meeting for our party the following evening in the afternoon we attended a josephite prayer and testimony meeting in which elder stevenson bore a powerful testimony to the divine mission of the prophet joseppi tha gifts and blessings of tha gospel etc otc the congregation listened with breathless attention and one of their leaders was not slow to inform the hearers bhat the speaker was from meeting the people flocked around us to enter into friendly conversation and hear of the progress we were making in tho valleys of tho mountains some who formerly had known elder stevenson and had hoard his boico in tennesse recognized the voice again the josephites number about souls in independence and hold public meetings three times every sunday they aro erecting a fine stone church immediately north of the temple lot there are many good and sons in their midst wo felt that we had mado a lasting impression on their minds before returning to our temporary home in kansas city in the soft mellow rays of tha moon we retired to the centre of the temple lot aad on that sacred spot bowed the knee and poured out the contents of our hearts in earnest prayer for the redemption of zion for the increased power of the priesthood of god upon the earth for our own success for our families that we had left at home etc otc our hearts were filled joy and the inspiration of heaven teemed to rest upon us until wo felt to prophecy in the name of the lord that not many years hence the way shall bo for the return of the saints te that and holy land where once stood the garden of Eden where the great prophet of the century communed with jehovah where the new jerusalem should be built and a temple erected sacred to tho name of the most high in this prayede pra yedO lord remember thy words and not lot zion buffer forever hasten her thy name be glorified in tho victory over truth an d righteousness of sin and iniquity confound the enemies of thy leopla and let zion be frae on the morning of monday september wo took a street car to the outskirts of the city and walked in a southeasterly south easterly direction to the big blue biver where tho Coles villo branch and other saints located ia and where on the ad of august of the year mentioned joseph smith the prophet and blaven other men in honor of the twelve tribes of israel carried and placed in position the first log for a house as a commence moat for tho building of zion in this dispensation the big blu is a large but sluggish stream which rises in johnson county kansas at a farm house near by wo learned freoa a missouri much valuable ini or mation aug many of alie old and most who figured in the expulsion of tha saints these had invariably cacao to a sad end colonel pitcher eaid this man used to live just up on that large plantation pointing out a beautiful location but he all of his wealth and died in a mass of filth deserted by all of his friends several others shared a similar fate the names of moses wilson and samuel owens bebb aly mentioned mr mason our informant said the mor mons used to have about louses in the vicinity but they were barned in tha beginning of the expulsion of the saints in 1833 this man said that on the ath of november 1833 a mormon andrew barboa wag killed and two of the mob in a skirmish when the mob was destroying mormon houses these said mr ma son were terrible times and al though I 1 was only a boy I 1 was able to level a atia and I 1 helped to drive the cormons mormons from the country he was rough in his manners using the name of the very often but he treated us kindly and on finding us to be democrats he remarked that that was a redeeming quality and said drink all the buttermilk you want we soon found a resting place at the home 0 brother geo P frisbey members of the church a faction that followed granvill hedrick numbering one hundred souls john E page once united with this faction after dinner our friend hitched up his carriage and took us to their meetinghouse meeting house where we found it fillad to its utmost capacity many wera outside unable to obtain admission there were present hed ric kites josephites Whit merites and ourselves so we had a variety meeting elders stevenson black and myself were listened to with marked attention and after the meeting many pleasant conversations took phaoe wo spent tha at the pacific hotel kept by J D barnhart and a silent partner J T dark who is blind who was once a kirtland lat ter day saint ho subsequently the josephites aad then the Hedric kites and lastly the whitmer ites he had many questions to ask but said last nights meeting had the goad old ring of tha gospel bell of lifty years ago wo thought he ought to be a gloo judge as he has tried a variety oa the of september feeling satisfied with our visit to the center stake of zion we took our departure from kansas city via the chicago sante fe and california railway to junction forty two miles and walked five miles through a splendid timber with rich fields of corn etc ahila at richmond we visited the house of david j whitmer mrs was keeping house for her brother david whit bacr jr we looked upon tha manuscript of the book of mormon and was satisfied that it was the real copy which had passed through the printers on account of certain marks on tho manuscript copy but the original copy from which this one in possession of david whitmer was copied was kept by joseph smith and deposited by him in the comer itono stono of the nauvoo house as witnessed by president A 0 smoot bishop john brown and bishop sixteenth ward salt lake city also the scrap of characters taken to new york city by martin harris is a relic onca kept sacred by david whitmer and now left ia the care of his son david we visited john C whitmar the loading his residence is one and half miles south of richmond john 0 is the only living son of J acob whitmer ho is a farmer about 53 years of age we were received kindly by him and edified with his family obtaining useful information regarding the eight witnesses etc he was with his father etc and bears a strong testimony of their integrity and faithful testimony oa their death we also visited mrs bisby a sister of john C we con tinned our visit to seo philander page son of the late hiram page and from him obtained como kalua blo information we concluded our I 1 visit of tho fina town of richmond with a population of about the grave yards both the new and the old ones were solemnly passed over hero rest the remains of the senior peter whitmer in whose house the church was organized and his wife together with their son jacob one of the eight witnesses and oliver cowdrey we offered a solemn prayer and with heavy hearts I 1 passed to our lodgings to reflect upon our days labor on the wo took train at a m on the st joseph st louis and sante fe railroad to lawson north from richmond here we changed cars and soon arrived within two miles of the crooked river that battle ground we procured a guide explored the grounds where apostle david patten was massacred in defense of the rights of his brethren and viewed tho spot where brother obanion fell by a shot from the picket guard mr john lockhard we passed oa to fort west sixteen miles over delightful prarie lands we were offered land hero from ten to fifty dollars per acre and strange to say ever so many desired to sell out far west is only now a plowed field jacob D whitmer owns the farm of his father john one of the eight this farm includes tho temple block the cellar and corner stones of which are just the same as when left by our people we dined with jacob D whitmer and was conveyed by him to kingston seven miles the county scat of caldwell county elder jensen referred to his visit to the acene of the hauns mill mas sa creto tho I 1 cumey to county and adan ondi ahman lib erty clay county missouri to palmyra N Y the house of joseph smiths father the hill cumorah kirtland ohio and nauvoo illinois the full house seemed interested and retired with many sentiments to reflect upon |
