Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1886-03-06

bought on time and never paid for,
and a few made for the purpose in the
Mormon blacksmith shops, They
marched down toward Summit County,
and on the second night encamped az
New Portage, forty miles from Kirt-
land and Just below Akron. Herethey
were Joined 10y more men. Smith or
gained them into bands Of fourteen
each, and assigned to each band a Cap
tain. bagguge-wagon and tent,
Smith was true to his old self. Be-
fore they left New Portage he said to
his men: Il have this to propose;
That YOU shall appoint a treasurer to
take charge Of whatever money You
NAV have with YOU, and to pay it out
as our general necessities shall re-
guire.' They agreed, Smith was, of
course. named Is treasurer, and
elected. He pocketed the cash and or
dered the army TO move on. Their
flag was Of white, with the word
peace" upon it in letters of red.
Smith made his men behave themselves
on the line of march and modest non
of the people Of the country through
which they travelled. They tramped
by day and camped at night. There
were twenty baggage wagons in all,
carrying food, clothing and goods for
the use of their destitute brethren in
the West. Each of the band above
mentioned had its own cook, two fire
men, two tent-makerS, two watermen,
one commis,ary and two wagoners.
Every night there was a blast on the
trumpet, at which sound worship was
held in every tent. In the morning
this order of exercises was repeated,
They crossed Ohio and Indiana and the
first halting-place of which special
mention is made was at Salt Greek,
Ill.,, where Hyrum Smith Joined them
with a reinforcement of twenty men,
Those who know anything of the
character of Smith need not be told
that he PLAYED" it, so to speak, on
his dupeS at every possible turn and
feature Of the campaign, While the
majority tramped through mud and
sand, he had four fine horses for his
special use, He carried an elegant
brace Of pistols that had been pur-
chased on credit, a rifle, and a sword,
in the use Of which he became quite
expert. He had the usual number Of
revelations. In speaking of his army,
he atterward said; Their enemies
were continually breathing threats OF
violence; the saints did not fear,
neither did they hesitate to prosecute
their Journey, for God was with them,
and His angels Were before them, and
the faith of the little band was unwa-
vering. We knew that the angels
were Il companions, for Ne san
Hem!" On reaching the borders of
Illinois a large mound or tumulus was
discovered, and Smith, who had al
WAYS been a searcher for buried money,
ordered it to be opened. About a foot
from the top the bones Of q human
skeleton were discovered and taken
ont and laid on a board,
This gave the theatrical Smith a
chance to "show himself so to speak.
He gathered his men about him and
made them a speech. He told them
all about the old settler who had been
thus brought to the light Of day.
He was said Joseph, "aLamanite,
a large, thick-set man, and Il man of
God. He was q warrior and chieftain
under the great prophet %Omandagus,
who was known from the hill Cumorah,
or Easter sea, to the Rocky mountains.
His name was Zclph. He was killed
in battle by the arrow found among his
ribs, during the last great struggle of
the LamaEltcs and Ncphites.'
One can not but admire the wonder
ful power Of Smith as 4 wholesale liar.
No season cvcr found him unprepared.
No circumstance was too large to take
advantage of him. No truth was so
mighty that it could unhorse him or
put his Imagination TO shame.
At Salt creek the army remained in
camp three days. The men were
drilled in the use of the gun and sword
Their arms were inspected and put in
repair. Lyman Wight was made Sec
ond in command, with the title of
Fighting general" Smith and Wight
each had an ''armOr-bearer'' who was
expected to be in constant attendance
on his chief, Two companies of rang
ers or sharp-shooters were organized,
who We're to act as scouts or tlankers
when they should arrive upon the field
Of battle. Ilyrum Smith was given
charge Of the battle flag, which he kept
constantly unfurled,
Smiths army did not 90 "up" Salt
creek, as subsequent events showed
would have been appropriate, but
marched ON toward Missouri. At the
end Of several days a halt was taken
and the soldiers ordered to 20 through
a sham battle in order to learn more
fully the art Of wal before engaging
the enemy. Four divisions were
formed and assigned to positions. The
battle opened on true scientific princi-
pies, but as the men came to close
quarters they began to do their work
on a personal plan, and each fought as
was the bent of his mind and his pre-
vlous training. Some lodged behind
trees and fought Indian fashion. Some
ran away. Some dropped their guns
and went back to the old-fashioned fist
fashion. Some noses were tapped and
Il or two men wounded, while 9
number of guns and swords were bro.
ken. Smith warmly complimentcd hi,
men on their courage and skill, and
everybody was full of happiness and
pride.
The Mississippi was reached, and
here some of 1.-THE enemy came in
sight. They were certain people OF
Missouri who wanted no more Nor.
monism over there. As the river wa.
a mile and a half wide and the army
possessed but one ferryboat it took two
days to get everybody across, Once
over, the army was placed on a wal
footing; spies on horseback kept a look.
out, several miles in advance. Smith
who knew how TO take care of himself
as well as any man alive, dressed in
disguise, changing his DISCUSSES fire.,
quentIy, riding a great deal of the time
In the baggage wagons, and, as one Of
his men has since said, Cooking a,
though he expected every moment tc
be his last" One night they APP
preached a large prairie on which
could be seen no sign of habitation
Smith insisted that they must NOV,
on, or the enemy would attack then