The inhabitants are principally foreigners, and mostly Englishmen from the coal districts of Great Britain. At the time of our visit, the place was crowded with the people of the surrounding country seeking refuge from the Indians, and its square was blocked up with wagons, furniture, tents, farming implements, etc., in the midst of which were men, women and children, together with every description of cattle, creating a scene of confusion difficult to describe.... Mounted men, well armed, patrolled the country, and expresses came in from different quarters, bringing accounts of attacks by Indians on small parties and unprotected farms and houses. In face of these reports, Walker sent a message to Colonel G. A. Smith, military commander at Parowan, telling him that the “Mormons were d—— fools for abandoning houses and towns, for he did not intend to molest them there, as it was his intention to confine his depredation to their cattle, and that he advised them to return and mind their crops, for if they neglected them, they would starve and be obliged to leave the country, which was not what he desired, for then there would be no cattle for him to take.”[30] The Indian war subsided in the spring of 1854 and the people were again free to attend to farming and mining, although, as a matter of fact, they maintained the military organization for many years thereafter, as long as the Indian menace persisted. Despite their precaution in maintaining a military organization, the Mormons actually preferred a policy of peaceful penetration and directed positive efforts toward that end. They sent missionaries among the Indians, established missions among them, cultivated friendship with those around the settlements and bestowed gifts and goods upon them. It was easier to penetrate by feeding and friendship than by fighting; moreover, this policy was in line with the teaching of the Book of Mormon that the Indians (there called Lamanites) would be converted and absorbed and would become “a white and delightsome people.” This Mormon policy of keeping peace with the Indians smoothed the course of settlement and improved opportunities for expansion.