CHAPTER VIII.
_A Revelation from the Lord and a Toast from Brigham_
From his little one-roomed cabin, dark, smoky, littered with hay, oldblankets, and skins, he heard excited voices outside, one early morningin January. He opened the door and found a group of men discussing amiracle that had been wrought overnight. The Lord had spoken to Brighamand word had come to Zion to move toward the west.
He hurried over to Brigham's house and by that good man was shown theword of the Lord as it had been written down from his lips. Withemotions of reverential awe he read the inspired document.
"The Word and Will of the Lord Concerning the Camp of Israel in itsJourneyings to the West." Such was its title.
"Let all the people," it began, "of the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints, be organised into companies with a covenant and apromise to keep all the statutes of the Lord our God.
"Let the companies be organised with captains of hundreds and captainsof fifties and captains of tens, with a President and Counsellor attheir head under the direction of the Twelve Apostles.
"Let each company provide itself with all the teams, wagons, provisions,and all other necessaries for the journey.
"Let every man use all of his influence and property to remove thispeople to the place where the Lord shall locate a stake of Zion, and letthem share equally in taking the poor, the widows, and the fatherless,so that their cries come not up into the ears of the Lord against Hispeople.
"And if ye do this with a pure heart, with all faithfulness, ye shall beblessed in your flocks and in your herds and in your fields and in yourfamilies. For I am the Lord your God, even the God of your fathers, theGod of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob. I am He who led the children ofIsrael out of the land of Egypt, and my arm is stretched out in theselast days to save my people of Israel.
"Fear not thine enemies, for they are in my hands, and I will do mypleasure with them.
"My people must be tried in all things, that they may be worthy toreceive the glory that I have in store for them, even the glory of Zion;and he that will not receive chastisement is not worthy of my Kingdom.So no more at present. Amen and Amen!"
This was what he had longed for each winter night when he had seen thesun go down,--the word of the Lord to follow that sun on over the riminto the pathless wilderness, infested by savage tribes and ravenousbeasts, abounding in terrors unknown. There was an adventure worth whilein the sight of God. It had never ceased to thrill him since he firstheard it broached,--the mad plan of a handful of persecuted believers,setting out from civilisation to found Zion in the wilderness,--to goforth a thousand miles from Christendom with nothing but stout arms anda very living faith in the God of Israel, and in Joseph Smith as hisprophet, meeting death in famine, plagues, and fevers, freezing in thesnows of the mountains, thirsting to death on the burning deserts, beingdevoured by ravening beasts or tortured to death by the sinfulLamanites; but persisting through it all with dauntless courage to afinal triumph so glorious that the very Gods would be compelled toapplaud the spectacle of their devoted heroism.
And now he was face to face with the awful, the glorious, the divinelyordained fact. It was like standing before the Throne of Grace itself.Out over that western skyline was a spot, now hidden and defended by allthe powers of Satan, where the Ten Tribes would be restored, where Zionwould be rebuilt, where Christ would reign personally on earth athousand years, and from whence the earth would be renewed and receiveagain its paradisiac glory. The thought overwhelmed.
"If we could only start at once!" he said to Bishop Wright, who hadread the revelation with him. But the canny Bishop's religious zeal washenceforth to be tempered by the wisdom of the children of darkness.
"No more travelling in this kind of a time for the Saints," the Bishopreplied. "We got our full of that when we first left Nauvoo. We had toscrape snow from the ground and set up tents when it was fifteen ortwenty below zero, and nine children born one night in that weather. Ofcourse it was better than staying at Nauvoo to be shot; but no one isgoing to shoot us here, so here we'll tarry till grass grows and waterruns."
"But there was a chance to show devotion, Brother Seth. Think howprecious it must have been in the sight of the Lord."
"Well, the Lord knows we're devoted now, so we'll wait till it fairs up.We'll have Zion built in good time and a good gospel fence built aroundit, elk-high and bull-tight, like we used to say in Missouri. But it's along ways over yender, and while I ain't ever had any revelationsmyself, I'm pretty sure the Lord means to have me toler'bly well fed,and my back kept bone-dry on the way. And we got to have fat horses andfat cattle, not these bony critters with no juice in 'em. Did you hearwhat Brother Heber got off the other day? He butchered a beef and wassawing it up when Brother Brigham passed by. 'Looks hard, BrotherHeber,' says Brother Brigham. 'Hard, Brother Brigham? Why, I've had togrease the saw to make it work!' Yes, sir, had to grease his saw tomake it work through that bony old heifer. Now we already passed throughenough pinches not to go out lookin' for 'em any more. Why, I tell you,young man, if I knew any place where the pinches was at, you'd see mecomin' the other way like a bat out of hell!"
And so the ardent young Elder was compelled to curb his spirit until thetime when grass should grow and water run. Yet he was not alone infeeling this impatience for the start. Through all the settlement hadthrilled a response to the Lord's word as revealed to his servantBrigham. The God of Israel was to be with them on the march, and old andyoung were alike impatient.
Early in April the life began to stir more briskly in the great campthat sprawled along either side of the swollen, muddy river. From dawnto dark each day the hills echoed with the noise of many works, thestreets were alive with men and women going and coming on endlesserrands, and with excited children playing at games inspired by theoccasion. Wagons were mended and loaded with provisions and tools, oxenshod, ox-bows renewed, guns put in order, bullets moulded, and thethousand details perfected of a migration so hazardous. They were busy,noisy, excited, happy days.
At last, in the middle of April, the signs were seen to be right. Grassgrew and water ran, and their part, allotted by the Lord, was to bravethe dangers of that forbidding land that lay under the western sun.Then came a day of farewells and merry-making. In the afternoon, the daybeing mild and sunny, there was a dance in the bowery,--a great arbourmade of poles and brush and wattling. Here, where the ground had beentrodden firm, the age and maturity as well as the youth and beauty ofIsrael gathered in such poor festal array as they had been able to savefrom their ravaged stores.
The Twelve Apostles led off in a double cotillion, to the moving strainsof a violin and horn, the lively jingle of a string of sleigh-bells, andthe genial snoring of a tambourine. Then came dextrous displays in thedances of our forbears, who followed the fiddle to the Fox-chase Inn orGarden of Gray's Ferry. There were French Fours, Copenhagen jigs,Virginia reels,--spirited figures blithely stepped. And the grave-faced,square-jawed Elders seemed as eager as the unthinking youths and maidensto throw off for the moment the burden of their cares.
From midday until the April sun dipped below the sharp skyline of theOmaha hills, the modest revel endured. Then silence was called by agrim-faced, hard-voiced Elder, who announced:
"The Lute of the Holy Ghost will now say a word of farewell from ourpioneers to those who must stay behind."
He stood before them erect, brave, confident; and the fire of his faithwarmed his voice into their hearts.
"Children of Israel, we are going into the wilderness to lay thefoundations of a temple to the most high God, so that when his Son, ourelder Brother, shall come on earth again, He may have a place where Hecan lay His head and spend, not only a night or a day, but rest until Hecan say, 'I am satisfied!'--a place, too, where you can obtain theordinances of salvation for yourselves, your living, and your dead. Letyour prayers go with us. We have been thrust out of Babylon, but to oureternal salvation. We care no more for persecution than for the whistleof the north
wind, the croaking of the crane that flies over our heads,or the crackling of thorns under a pot. True, some of our dearest, ourbest-loved, have dropped by the way; they have fallen asleep, but whatof that?--and who cares? It is as well to live as to die, or to die asto live--as well to sleep as to be awake. It is all one. They have onlygone a little before us; and we shall soon strike hands with them acrossthose poor, mean, empty graves back there on the forlorn prairies ofIowa. For you must let me clench this God's truth into your minds; thatyou stand now in your last lot, in the end of your days when the Son ofMan cometh again. Afflictions shall be sent to humble and to prove you,but oh! stand fast to your teachings so that not one of you may be lost.May sinners in Zion become afraid henceforth, and fearfulness surprisethe hypocrite from this hour! And now may the favour and blessing ofGod be manifest upon you while we are absent from one another!"
When the fervent amens had died away they sang the farewell hymn:--
"Thrones shall totter, Babel fall, Satan reign no more at all;
"Saints shall gain the victory, Truth prevail o'er land and sea;
"Gentile tyrants sink to hell; Now's the day of Israel."
The words of the young Elder were felt to be highly consoling; but atoast given by Brigham that night was longer talked of. It was at afarewell party at the house of Bishop Wright. On the hay-covered floorof the banquet-room, amid the lights of many candles hung from theceiling and about the walls in their candelabra of hollowed turnips, thegreat man had been pleased to prophesy blessings profusely upon theassembled guests.
"I am awful proud," he began, "of the way the Lord has favoured us. I amproud all the time of his Elders, his servants, and his handmaids. Andwhen they do well I am prouder still. I don't know but I'll get so proudthat I'll be four or five times prouder than I am now. As I once said toSidney Rigdon, our boat is an old snag boat and has never been out ofSnag-harbour. But it will root up the snags, run them down, split them,and scatter them to the four quarters. Our ship is the old ship ofZion; and nothing that runs foul of her can withstand her shock andfury."
Then had followed the toast, which was long remembered for its dauntlessspirit.
"Here's wishing that all the mobocrats of the nineteenth century were inthe middle of the sea, in a stone canoe, with an iron paddle; that ashark would swallow the canoe, and the shark be thrust into thenethermost part of hell, with the door locked, the key lost, and a blindman looking for it!"