Jacob Hamblin, a narrative of his personal experience, as a frontiersman, missionary to the Indians and explorer, [microform] disclosing interpositions of Providence, severe privations, perilous situations and remarkable escapes. Fifth book of the faith-promoting series, by James A. Little. Designed for the instruction and encouragement of young Latter-Day Saints

Jacob Hamblin, a narrative of his personal experience, as a frontiersman, missionary to the Indians and explorer, [microform] disclosing interpositions of Providence, severe privations, perilous situations and remarkable escapes. Fifth book of the faith-p - Page 52

50 SAVED FROM DEATH THROUGH PRAYER. safety, as is the custom of the Indians when preparing for battle. I had matters in a much better shape on the arrival of the company than I found them. I was careful to listen to all the talk of the Indians, and spent the evening and also the night with the largest collection of them, so that they could not make any general move without my knowledge. We continued our journey across the fifty- six mile desert to Los Vegas springs. There we met Brothers Ira Hatch and Dudley Leavitt, on their return from a mission to the Mohave Indians. Those Indians, on the arrival of these brethren among them, took their horses, and then held a council to decide whether they should kill the brethren or not. The chief called a vote of his people, and it was decided that the breth-ren should die. A Piute friend who had accompanied the Elders from Los Vegas, began to mourn over their fate, and said to them, ' ' I told you that the Mohaves would kill you if you came here, and now they are going to do it. ' ' Brother Hatch told their Piute friend, who acted as inter-preter, to tell the Mohave chief, Chanawanse, to let him pray before he was killed. The chief consented, and Brother Hatch knelt down among the bloodthirsty savages, and asked the Lord to soften their hearts, that they might not shed their blood. He also said more that was appropriate to the occasion. The prayer was repeated in measured sentences by the interpreter. It had the desired effect. The heart of the chief was softened. He took the brethren to his lodge, and put them at the farther end of it, in a secure place. There he guarded them until nearly morning, then told them to go as fast as they could to Los Vegas, eighty miles distant. They traveled this distance on foot, and with but little food. When I met them they were living on muskeet bread. This is an article of food manufactured from a pod resembling that of a bean, which grows on the muskeet tree. These cir-cumstances were related to me by the Elders when we met.