s their final home, but as a resting-place; they only intend to
remain there till they have gathered a force sufficient to enable them
to conquer Independence (Missouri), which, according to them, _is one of
the most fertile, pleasant, and desirable countries on the face of the
earth, possessing a soil unsurpassed by any region_. Independence they
consider their Zion, and they there intend to rear their great temple,
the corner stone of which is already laid. There is to be the great
gathering-place for all the saints, and, in that delightful and healthy
country, they expect to find their Eden, and build their New Jerusalem.

What passed between Joe Smith and myself I feel not at liberty to
disclose; in fact, publicity would interfere with any future plans. I
will only say, that the prophet received me with the greatest
cordiality, and confirmed the offers which his agents had made to me
when I was among the Comanches. When, however, I came to the point, and
wished to ascertain whether the Mormons would act up to the promises of
their leaders, I perceived, to my great disappointment, that the "means"
at least for the present--the operative means--were not yet ready to be
put in motion. According to him, the Foxes, Osages, Winnebegoes, Sioux,
and Mennonionie Indians would act for him at a moment's notice; and, on
my visiting the Foxes to ascertain the truth of these assertions, I
discovered that they had indeed promised to do so, provided that,
previously, the Mormons should have fulfilled certain promises to them,
the performance of which I knew was not yet in the power of the Mormons.

In the meanwhile, I heard from Joe Smith himself how God had selected
him to obtain and be the keeper of the divine bible; and the reader will
form his own idea of Joe Smith by the narrative. The day appointed was
the 22nd of September, and Joe told me that on that day--

"He arose early in the morning, took a one-horse waggon of some one that
had stayed overnight at his house, and, accompanied by his wife,
repaired to the hill which contained the book. He left his wife in the
waggon by the road, and went alone to the hill, a distance of thirty or
forty rods. He then took the book out of the ground, hid it in a tree
top, and returned home. The next day he went to work for some time in
the town of Macedon, but about ten days afterwards, it having been
suggested that some one had got his book, his wife gave him notice of
it; upon which, h