Various

“ I had the best food the nation afforded to eat, and was treated by the chiefs, soldiers, braves and people, both old and young, as though I was their king. I always found they wished to be friendly with the white men if they would treat them aright; but the Indians had been deceived by them in trade and treaty, and for this they had rebelled at times.
The old chiefs always taught their young men to be good, and be at peace if others wished peace, and only fight when others were determined to fight with them. ”

“ With this dancing by the young folks, and the smoking by the old men, (women never smoke) and the multitude looking at the dancers, it was a happy time for all.
After enjoying these pleasures about three hours the whole company, except the guard, retired to their lodges, many, no doubt, to dream of the good time coming—of killing buffaloes and eating fresh meat.
At day-break a chief notified the camp to prepare to move. No sooner was the word given, than the people commenced to pack up, and take down lodges, and in one hour we were again on the move. ”

“ When a chief prepares a feast for some of his friends, an Indian is sent around to inform the party invited. This is sometimes done before the food is prepared, so that they may have a smoke and a talk first. The Indian who goes to invite the guests does not go into their lodges to do so, but calls out their names, and tells what they will have to eat, as he passes their lodges. These are the words they would use if they were inviting me: "Ah-how Whadee-shipper, moningahow munga war-rattah Wayger-sippeys teah!" ”

“ As the defense closed and rested the case, he arose to his feet, and with a look of indignation on his face, turned full upon judge and jury; he raised aloft an immense walking stick, and in a voice of almost superhuman force, he exclaimed:
"If the Lord Almighty will turn this stick into a sword, I will cut heads off faster than He ever rained quails on Israel in times of old." ”

“ It was a very interesting sight to me, to see some eight or ten circles of young men and women, dancing in the same way, and to the same music, that I have described before, as a "war dance." And let me here say that women join the men in a real, genuine war dance, (when they have a scalp of some unfortunate Indian who has crossed their path,) and seem to enjoy it quite as well as the men; for they jump as high, and as often, and do a great deal of horrible yelling. ”

“ How little the outside world know of these things, or of the faith of the Latter-day Saints! It is these testimonies that give strength and faith to us when away from our friends on missions. Had I not been with those Indians as I was, alone and sorely afflicted, I might never have had this testimony.
It is so with all who are faithful and who go upon missions. They may meet with trouble and be persecuted, but the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon them to such a degree, that they will rejoice in their afflictions, and be glad afterwards that they have passed through such trials. ”

“ THE LORD'S PROMISES SURE—AN ELDER IN WANT OF A PAIR OF SHOES—HE PRAYS FOR THEM—THE PRAYER ANSWERED—CASE OF HEALING.
The people of the world generally have no faith in the promises made to the Saints, on condition of their obedience to God's commandments, and when they witness the fulfillment of those promises they prefer to attribute it to some other than the real cause. The Latter-day Saints, however, like saints of former days, have been placed in positions to test the truth of these promises, and know that they are indebted to the Almighty, and to no one else, for their fulfillment. ”

“ The Ponca Indians bury their dead in a shallow hole, packing a mound of sward over the body. The ground was so deeply frozen that if I died and the Indians tried to give me a decent burial, they could not possibly dig up much sod to put over me, not enough to protect me from the wolves, which were very numerous around the camp. ”

“ Baldwin was described to me, as a man who was overbearing in his manner—a regular brow-beater.
When the time came for the discussion, the house was densely crowded.
Umpires were chosen, and everything was ready to proceed, when Brother Grant arose and said, "Mr. Baldwin, I would like to ask you a question before we proceed any further."
"Certainly so," said Baldwin.
"Who stands at the head of your church in South-West Virginia?"
Mr. Baldwin very quickly and austerely replied, "I do, sir; I do."
"All right," said Brother Grant; "I wished to know that I had a worthy foe." ”

“ Two hours before the Indians left for their winter hunting ground a few of the chiefs came to Bishop Miller to smoke the pipe of peace with him and our camp. This pipe of peace had been smoked with us many times before; and, as it may be a question how this is done, I will explain it to my young readers. When there is a sufficient number to form a circle, they always do so. The chief who invites the party fills his large pipe with tobacco (more than one pipe is used when the company is large) . ”

“ After we got every corner in our wagons filled with eatables we left a great many bushels of grain and vegetables upon the land to waste, literally fulfilling a prophecy uttered by Bishop Miller, a few days before we started. When speaking to the camp, he said he hoped all who were going in that company were "true Latter-day Saints, full of faith and good works," and added:
"All of you who have been with us have seen the power of God manifested in behalf of the traveling camps of Israel, in protecting our leaders from our enemies, and providing food for the Saints, who number thousands. ”

“ Soon after we had partaken of our evening meal, two Indians came riding into camp, bringing good news, that buffaloes were a few miles west of us.
This filled the Indians with joy, so much so that bonfires were built outside the lodges to give light, so that the young folks could dance, and the old men might smoke and talk over things of the past. ”

“ Scores of similar manifestations occur in the travels of the Elders abroad in answer to the humble prayer of faith. Such instances, and the remarkable way in which God preserves and provides for His messengers who are sent to proclaim the everlasting gospel to the nations, confirm the faith and increase evidence to the testimony of the Elders of Israel, and when studied with honest and prayerful hearts by the youth of Zion, tend to promote faith in their minds and prepare them to assist in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth. ”

“ All foreign war parties are looked upon as enemies, and whenever the Indians see them they shoot them and bring their scalps to camp, for the young folks to dance around at their evening entertainments. ”

“ The meat of some was dried, but all the prime pieces were eaten.
On the eleventh day we camped within two miles of their village, and three miles from where we located for the winter. No sooner had we unyoked our cattle than we were visited by nearly all the nation, old and young. All wanted to see us. Many of them had never seen an ox before, and but few had seen many white men.
A council of the chiefs and braves, or warriors, was called, to meet with our brethren. The chief told his people that he had invited us to stay on their land during the winter. ”

“ At this time we had an abundance of buffalo, deer and elk meat, killing from five to forty buffaloes in one day, and as I have witnessed several of these buffalo hunts, I will tell my young readers how the Indians proceed in hunting and killing them.
In the first place, there is a chief or president over every company starting out to hunt, so that good order may be kept; otherwise the buffaloes would be frightened away, and perhaps only one or two of a large herd be killed. ”

“ I commenced by stating to the audience that I wished to correct some mistakes made by Mr. Mourning, relative to the name of the Church to which I belonged. We were called the "Mormon" Church, which was a nickname given us by our enemies, the true and legal name being, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; also that there could be no other appropriate name for Christ's church. Churches that are not His, should always be called by some other name than His, illustrating to them that the church of Christ was never called by any man's name. ”

“ GREAT ASSEMBLY OF INDIANS—BAPTIZING THEM—THE SICK INSTANTLY HEALED—CURIOUS ACTIONS OF INDIANS AFFECTED WITH EVIL SPIRITS—THE OLD CHIEF'S FAITH—CHILD CURED OF FEVER—THE DEAD REVIVED.
I have witnessed a great deal more of the power of God in my administration with the Indians then I ever experienced with any other people. In quite a number of cases I have seen Indians who were sick healed instantly, when the ordinance for the healing of the sick was performed in their behalf by the Elders. ”

“ In advance could be seen the chiefs and some of their braves on horseback. Next came the squaws, leading horses packed with their lodges and camp-equipage. Next came the old men and old women, with their lodges packed and drawn by dogs with poles strapped on their backs. With these were young men and maidens, all on foot. Those who had babies strapped them upon a board, and carried them as the Utah Indians do.
All the young men and boys had bows and arrows; and when traveling they had a good time, testing their skill by shooting rabbits and small birds. ”

“ The Elders having returned to that neighborhood from a tour in another County, this lady sent for them to come to administer to her the ordinance of the gospel for the healing of the sick. She had heard them allude to such an ordinance in their preaching, and found that what they taught agreed with the pattern given in the New Testament. They laid their hands upon her, at her earnest request, and after repeating the ordinance several times, with prayer and supplication, she arose from her bed of sickness to which she had been confined for ten months. ”

“ The prime pieces, when broiled or raw, are very good eating; the coarse pieces are pounded fine on a rock prepared for the purpose, and eaten with the marrow taken from the bones of buffalo and elk. This marrow, with the dry pounded meat, is very palatable.
From the middle of the month the weather was fine and dry, and very good for hunting and the dressing of robes and small skins, although game of all kinds was scarce.
When traveling near the river, the young braves, who were very expert with the bow and arrow, could frequently be seen shooting fish. ”