A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the MormonsWilliams, Elizabeth Whitney
History
A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the Mormons
Williams, Elizabeth Whitney
Beaver Island (Mich.); Latter Day Saints -- Michigan; Strang, James Jesse, 1813-1856
Soon after father's return mother said to me, "Elizabeth I want you to
let all your other work alone and string beads for me." I was delighted,
for if there was anything I loved to do it was to string the pretty
colored beads. So I began at once, each color on a strong thread. After
stringing a great quantity in this way, then I made many strings in
different colors, mixing the beads. As much as I enjoyed it I got very
tired, and whenever I went to the camp the little Indian children were
stringing beads and their mother was sewing, making deerskin moccasins,
on which she sewed the beads, which were so pretty when finished. She
made many pairs of them. Sometimes the Indian woman came to our house,
helping mother and me to string the beads, which she did so fast, and
talked so pleasantly in her own language, mother speaking her language
as well as the other tribes' that lived around us. There were several
camps of Chippewa Indians that lived along the shore that helped the
fishermen clean their fish, and the women made oil from the fish refuse
which sold for one dollar a gallon or more, according to quality. Most
of these Indians came from Garden Island.
THE ROBBERS' DEN.
Our Mormon friends who used to come to our house did not come any more.
There were two who sometimes came in a few minutes, but never
remained long. Everybody was anxious to know what the king would do
about his people when he came back. Many of the Mormons believed Strang
would take no notice of the refusal of some of his elders to practice
polygamy, while others thought that the man who hoped to have Strang's
place would influence him to make them suffer the penalty, which the
Mormons themselves told us was death, this elder contending severe
measures was the only way to enforce obedience to the law.
[Illustration: THE KING'S HIGHWAY. BEAVER ISLAND.]
Having already organized a band of forty thieves, these men were being
trained to go out and do all the robbing from the Gentiles they saw fit
to do. The two men who headed the band were brothers and were large and
powerful men, Isaac and John Pierce. They were well suited to do such
work. The place they chose to secrete their stolen goods was a long
point at the lower end of Beaver Island, distant about three miles from
the harbor. This place was called by them "Rocky Mountain Point." Being
an out-of-the-way place they would not be seen secreting much of their
plunder.
WAKING AND SEEING INDIANS IN MY ROOM.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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