| 299 to look to us; with him we walked out of town and visited the desolate lands which belonged to our society, and the place which, seven years before, we had dedicated and consecrated for the building of a temple, it being a beautiful rise of ground about half a mile west of Independence. When we saw it last it was a wilderness, but now our enemies had robbed it of every stick of timber, and it presented a beautiful rolling field of pasture, being covered with grass. Oh, how many feelings did this spot awaken in our bosoms! Here we had often bowed the knee in prayer to Jehovah in bygone years; and here we had assembled with hundreds of happy saints, in the solemn meeting, and offered our prayers, and songs, and sacraments, in our humble dwellings; but now all was solemn and lonely desolation; not a vestige remained to mark the place where stood our former dwellings; they had long since been consumed by fire, or removed to the village and converted to the use of our enemies. While at Independence we were once or twice invited to dine with General Wilson, and others, which we did with much apparent politeness and attention on their part and much cheerfulness on our own.
"After about a week spent in this way, during which I was at one time alone in the wilderness more than a mile from town, we were at length (after repeated demands) sent to General Clark, at Richmond. This place was on the same side of Missouri that Far West was, and about thirty miles distant. Generals Lucas and Wilson had tried in vain to get a guard to accompany us; none would volunteer, and when drafted they would not obey orders; for, in truth, they wished us to go at liberty. At last a colonel and two or three officers started with us, with their swords and pistols, which was more to protect us than keep us from escaping. On this journey some of us rode in carriages and some on horseback. Sometimes we were sixty or eighty rods in front or rear of our guard, who, by the by, were three sheets in the wind in the whisky line, having a bottle in their pockets; but knowing that we were not guilty of any crime, we did not wish to escape by night. At night, having crossed the ferry, we put up at a private house. Here our guards all
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