--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Smith, Lucy collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 6 number: 1 published: 1902-11 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Lucy Smith, "Appendix to the History of the Prophet Joseph," *Improvement Era* 6, no. 1 (November 1902): 15–16.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0601unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0601unse start_page: 15 end_page: 16 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1902-11) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0601unse publication_year: 1902 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1902, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Appendix to the History of the Prophet Joseph Columbus, Hickman county, Kentucky. Here we put up with Cap- tain Robinson, formerly an officer in the army, who treated us very kindly, assuring us that we were welcome to stay at his house until a boat should come, if it were three months. While here a com- pany of thirteen hundred Cherokee Indians encamped on the bank of the river, to wait for ferry privileges. They felt deeply wounded at leaving their native country for the west. They said they were leaving a fine country, rich in mineral, but the whites knew very little of its value. They excited our sympathies very much; little did I think that my own wife and helpless babes were objects of greater sympathy than these. At length a boat came along, and we went on board. We had to pay all our money (five dollars) for fare, and eat and lie among negroes, as we took a deck passage. About ninety miles from St. Louis our boat got aground, where it lay for three days.- During this time we had nothing to eat but a little parched corn. They finally gave up the boat and left her. We went to the clerk and got two dollars of our money back, after which we went on board of a little boat that landed us in St. Louis the next morning. Here we found Elder Orson Pratt; he told us that Joseph was a prisoner with many others, and that David Patten was killed, giving us a long and sorrowful account of the sufferings of the Saints, which filled our hearts with sorrow. The next morning W3 started again on our journey. When we arrived at Huntsville, we stopped at the hous3 of George Lyman to rest, he being uncle to Cousin George, whose feet had now become very sore with traveling. Here we heard dreadful tales concerning our friends in Daviess county, that they were all murdered, and that my brothers, Joseph and Hyrum, were shot with a hundred balls. We had not been long in Huntsville till the mob made a rally to use us up with the rest of the Smiths, and, at the earnest request of our friends, we thought best to push on. The wind was in our faces, the ground was slippery, it was night, and very dark, never- theless we proceeded on our journey. Traveling twenty-two miles, we came to the Chariton river, which we found frozen over, but the ice too weak to bear us, and the boat on the west side of the river. We went to the next ferry. Finding that there was no boat here, and that in the next neighborhood a man's brains were beat out for being a "Mormon," we returned to the first ferry, and tried by hallooing to raise the ferryman on the opposite side of the river, but were not able to awaken him. We were almost benumbed with cold, and to warm ourselves we commenced scuffling and jump- ing, we then beat our feet upon the logs and stumps, in order to start a circulation of blood; but at last Cousin George became so cold and sleepy that he said he could not stand it any longer, and lay down. I told him he was freezing to death; I rolled him on the ground, pounded and thumped him; I then cut a stick and said I would thrash him. At this he got up and undertook to thrash me, this stirred his blood a little, but he soon lay down again; how- ever, the ferryman in a short time came over, and set us on our own side of the river. We then traveled on until about breakfast time, when we stopped at the house of a man, who, we afterwards learned, was Senator Ashby, that commanded the mob at Haun's Mill. That night we stayed at one of the bitterest of mobocrats, by the name of Fox, and started the next morning without break- fast. Oar route lay through a wild prairie, where there was but very little track, and only one house in forty miles. The north- west wind blew fiercely in our faces, and the ground was so slippery that we could scarcely keep our feet, and when the night came on, to add to our perplexity, we lost our way. Soon after which, I became so cold that it was with great difficulty I could keep from freezing. We also became extremely thirsty; however, we found a remedy for this, by cutting through ice three inches thick. While we were drinking we heard a cow bell, this caused our hearts to leap for joy, and we arose and steered our course towards the sound. We soon entered a grove, which sheltered us from the wind, and we felt more comfortable. In a short time we came to a house, where George was well acquainted; here we were made welcome and kindly entertained. We laid down to rest about two o'clock in the morning, after having traveled one hun- dred and ten miles in two days and two nights. After breakfast I set out for Far West, leaving George sick with our hospitable friend. When I arrived, I was fortunate enough to find my family alive and in tolerable health, which was more than I could have expected, considering the scenes of persecution through which they had passed. f To be continued.)