AGAIN IN ARIZONA—SETTLING DIFFICULTIES AMONG THE PEOPLE—OUR RESERVOIR BURSTS—NEWS OF NOTABLE EVENTS—PREPARE TO REPEL AN INDIAN RAID—INDIANS QUARREL, AND THE TROUBLE PASSES OVER—FUNERAL AT MOENCOPPY—EXPLORING TRIP TO THE SOUTHEAST—A WHITE INDIAN CHILD—MEET THE HEAD CHIEF OF THE NAVAJOS—HIS ADDRESS, AND PROPOSITION TO ACCOMPANY ME TO SALT LAKE CITY—AGREE ON A DATE FOR THE JOURNEY—CONTINUE MY TRIP OYER INTO NEW MEXICO, THEN RETURN TO MOENCOPPY—ACCUSATION AGAINST ME DISPROVED—INDIANS GATHER TO GO TO SALT LAKE CITY—MAKE THE TRIP—AT PRESIDENT YOUNG'S DEATHBED—VISIT OF THE INDIANS—HONORABLE RELEASE FROM MY MISSION—RESUME HOME MISSIONARY LABORS—IN PRISON FOR CONSCIENCE SAKE.
MY stay at home was brief, and the 26th of January, 1877, found me again at Kanab, ready to proceed southward. Three days later the start was made, and on the morning of February 5th we reached Moencoppy. The people there were in poor spirits, and considerably dissatisfied. During my absence they had sowed about fourteen acres of fall grain and had built eight log rooms. On my arrival, A. S. Gibbons made complaint against S. B. Tanner, for they had had a disagreement. Tanner was found to be in error, and made the matter right.
This trouble settled, the work of plowing and planting and setting out trees, was proceeded with. Friendly Navajo and Oriba Indians visited us, and as the United Order was being preached to the Church at that time, I gave my views on the subject in an address at the Thursday evening meeting, March 8th. Again on Sunday, the 11th, I preached to the Saints, telling them plainly the wrong that was in their neglect of duty and disaffection. My remarks had quite a salutary effect, and matters moved more smoothly.
Shortly after midnight on the morning of March 23rd, the message was brought that our reservoir had given way. We hurried out, but had to wait till daylight before we could do effective work in repairing the dam. In the meantime the Indians were greatly excited because the water was injuring their crops, and we had to pacify the red men as best we could, and make good the damage. Two days after this my daughter, Mrs. Fullmer, became a mother, and I rendered her necessary care and attention.
On March 31st we received mail with the news of the result of the presidential election, when Hayes and Tilden were the candidates, also of Amasa M. Lyman's death, and of John D. Lee being sentenced to be shot. On April 4th we received tidings of Lee's execution.
Our time was well occupied now with the work around the settlement; I also engaged in studying the Navajo language, preparatory to an extended visit among those Indians. All went well till May 8th, when I learned that the Piute Indians intended to steal our animals. Chief Patnish was dead, and his people were angry. For the first time in the history of the mission, we called out a guard, gathered our animals and property, and provided against a raid on the part of the savages. We were assisted by some friendly Navajos. At our inspection we ascertained that we could fire eighty-five shots without stopping to reload. On the 17th, two Piute Indians came in and informed us that a council had been held to discuss the raid on us, but the vote was six to five against molesting us, and the council broke up in a fight. The five Indians who were in favor of attacking us started to seek the assistance of the Ute Indians, while the others came to our side. A week later we had a talk with some of the Piutes, and the threatened trouble was averted.
A funeral occurred in the settlement on May 27th—that of Minty, the little daughter of W. J. Johnston. I preached the funeral sermon. For some time previous to and after this occasion my health was quite poor. On June 1st we had another Indian scare, and made ready for attack, but the alarm was without sufficient cause.
Before this time several of our company had endeavored to learn the Navajo language, but met with little success; so I determined to study the Indian language and customs myself, that I might be able to talk freely with the red men. Accordingly, on June 4th, I went up the Moencoppy Wash to Chief Hustelso's camp, about twenty-five miles. It was arranged that I should be left there alone, except that Ira Hatch's eight-year old girl was to stay with and wait on me. The Indian camp was located two or three miles from where George A. Smith, Jr. was killed some years before, probably by the same Indians.
H. O. Fullmer and Ira Hatch went with me, and eight Navajos assisted in letting my wagon down into the Wash, where I was left. The bed of the stream was perhaps three thousand feet below the plain above on the north side, while the cliffs on the south towered up almost perpendicularly about five thousand feet. The Indian camp was in the deep recess, the descent into which was both difficult and dangerous. A wagon could not be drawn down or up by team, but for a thousand feet or so had to be lowered from one cliff to another with ropes. In one place the Indians had cut eighteen steps, to enable them to get their animals up and down; and then occasionally a horse would go over and be killed.
In this place the first night gave me a decidedly lonesome feeling. Chief Hustelso was friendly, but not so his people, except a few old men. The young men were very surly, and would not talk. Some of them were shooting arrows, and I tried to be friendly and proposed to shoot with them, but three of the young braves drew their bows on me, as if intending to kill me. I made no headway that night, and I realized the gloominess that had prevented my companions remaining there and learning to speak the Navajo tongue. The next day or two I was threatened and illtreated, the burrs taken off my wagon, and I was subjected to other annoyances. The little girl with me did fairly well, for, being a half-breed Indian herself, she affiliated with the Indian children without difficulty.
Then the Indians became less offensive in their conduct day by day, and I learned rapidly to converse with them, and began to experience kindness at their hands. Several strange Indians came from a considerable distance to see me, and on June 12th, about three hundred and fifty Navajos gathered around to hear me tell them of the Book of Mormon, its discovery and contents. Book in hand I related to them the story of the volume being the history of their forefathers. Some laughed at me and others asked most searching questions, which I was able to answer satisfactorily in their own dialect.
Then came the inquiry, "If it is our book, how did you get it? Did you steal it?" I was getting pretty well puzzled, owing to my imperfect acquaintance with the Navajo language. I told them that the book was obtained in the east, about so many days' journey off. But I could not explain to them that it was in a stone box in the Hill Cumorah, and that the writings were on gold plates, for I did not know what terms to use to convey my meaning. One Indian told me the book could not have lasted so long as I said, because paper would decay, he knew that. In order to learn what hill was, I made a small hill of sand, and by comparison with the mountains and much explanation I learned the word for hill.
I had noticed, almost up to the plateau above, some slate rock; and after great difficulty I managed to climb and get several pieces of slate down, being aided by the little girl. Then I improvised a stone box, set it in the sand hill, placed the book therein, and thus ascertained how to say stone box, in Navajo, and explained that the record was deposited therein. I was almost beaten to tell of gold plates, for I did not know the words to use. At last I bethought me of a brass suspender buckle, and pointed out that what I was referring to was like that, but was not that; and a little piece was worth several silver dollars. Then one Indian recognized what I wanted to say, and gave me the word for gold, on the coins of which he had seen small letters. I was thus able to explain that the record was on plates of gold; but the way I learned to do it was one of the marvelous experiences of my life, and illustrates the difficulties I had to meet in learning the Navajo language.
When I reached the point of telling how the Book of Mormon plates were preserved and obtained, my audience was quite in touch with me, and they rejoiced and wept while I told them further of its contents. From that time no friendship was too great for me, and before my departure I spent a day, by invitation, viewing Indian sports. By June 20, I was through at Hustelso's camp and ready for a journey of exploration which had been planned.
On June 21st our exploring party, consisting of six persons, including my son-in-law and his wife and child, started on a trip, the general direction of travel being a little south of east. Our journey led us through some good country, and some that was very rough. We went a short distance into New Mexico, and obtained considerable knowledge of the country and its inhabitants, there being many Indian villages, houses and farms on the route we traveled. As we were crossing over a broad mesa, on June 27, after passing the Fort Defiance road, we met with a strange person among the people. This was a fullblood Indian girl seven or eight years of age, with white hair, blue eyes, and sk............