On the 14th day of May, 1838, I started with a company of Saints, made up of men, women and their children, for the state of Missouri, where we landed with a company occupying thirty wagons, in the first week of October, at a place called De Witt, some six miles above the outlet of Grand river, on the north side of the Missouri river, where we were attacked by an armed mob, and by them barbarously treated for nearly two weeks. We then went to Far West, Caldwell county, where we united with the general body of the Church, and with them participated in all the grievous persecutions practiced on the Church by means of a furious mob, by which means I buried one wife and two children as martyrs to our holy religion, since they died through extreme suffering for the want of the common comforts of life--which I was not allowed to provide even with my money. On the 19th of December, 1838, at Far West, Elder John Taylor and myself were ordained as Apostles under the hands of Elders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, in the quorum of the Twelve, to fill some vacancies in the quorum, which had occurred by apostasies. In two year's time I had baptized upwards of six hundred persons, and traveled more than five thousand miles, principally on foot and under the most extreme poverty, relative to earthly means, being sustained alone by the power of God and not of man, or the wisdom of the world.--John E. Page. 5. David H. Redfield, it will be remembered, was the messenger from the citizens of Caldwell county to the Missouri state legislature, bearing with him the petition of the 10th of December, and it is, of course, from his report of the manner in which the petition was received and the report of the debate thereon that the Prophet makes up his account of that affair. 6. The bill providing for an investigation of the "Mormon" difficulties was finally laid upon the table until the 4th of July in the house by a vote of 48 in favor of such action and 37 against such procedure. Seven members were absent. The matter was not again taken up until the legislature of 1840, of which more later. 7. Of this matter of distributing the legislature's appropriation the late President John Taylor in his discussion with Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States, 1870, says: "The legislature of Missouri, to cover their infamy, appropriated the munificent (?) sum of $2,000 to help the suffering 'Mormons.' Their agent took a few miserable traps, the sweepings of an old store; for the balance of the patrimony he sent into Daviess county and killed our hogs, which we were then prevented from doing, and brought them to feed the poor 'Mormons' as part of the legislative appropriation. This I saw." {245} CHAPTER XVII. Preparations For Leaving Missouri--Action Of The State Legislature. [Sidenote: Reflections on the Opening Year.]