| OCR Text |
Show What Price Mormonism! 155 in this matter of dividing, and if she had not protested she would not have been human. But like the dutiful wife of her time, her com plaints were kept within the confines of her home, and her generous and dedicated husband explained that everyone else was in the same condition. They had covenanted to give their time and talents to the building of the Kingdom. After the mood passed, Elizabeth felt better and she braced herself for what might come next. The "next" was the move to Missouri, a distance of about a thousand miles. It may be that the pen of Elizabeth has given the first picture of this journey. Here is her story: In the of 1838 we started to Missouri, our outfit consisting broken down stage horse, a turnpike cart, twenty dollar'} in money and a keg of powder with which our family, ten in number, were transported a distance of one thousand miles, arriving in Far West in the month of July in good health except the fatigue of the of spring one journey." When Elizabeth dictated this statement she may have been to compensate for her critical statement about her austere life in Kirtland, or she may have just forgotten. The trip to Missouri was a most trying one, and it included the death of their little girl Philomelia, a delightful child and the sunshine of the family. She died May 28, 1838, near Indianapolis, Indiana, one of the tragedies of the trip. There would be others but this was the first of Elizabeth's trying children to die. The year in Missouri was such a nightmare that no one had any time to feel sorry for himself. Everyone felt fortunate just to remain alive. This was the time and place where more than fifty Saints were killed outright and as many more died from beatings and exposure. John Tanner narrowly missed being killed from a beating by the sadistic Captain O'Dell, and all the older boys Sidney, John Joshua, - had been in great peril. The family was Nathan, Henry fortunate not to have lost any of its members to the "Missouri War." and Martin - distressing experience during this reign of terror with regard to his wife and child. "My wife had a little girl about a year old," he says. "It lay sick and my wife expected it would die in her arms. She dug a little grave under the floor in case it died before they were compelled to run before the mob, and she still kept it wrapped in its mantle and hood in case they had to run before Nathan mentions it died." a |
