They sent petitions to President Andrew Jackson, asking that the United States troops might be stationed in Jackson county to protect them. The soldiers had to be placed along the frontier somewhere, and the Saints thought if placed there, the mob would not dare do any violence. The president would not interfere, saying he had no authority to act in this case. On other occasions President Jackson was not so particular about authority when he wanted to carry out his plans. What an exhibition of weakness in our government! The governor of Missouri and the president of the United States both seemed willing to do what the law would permit, and yet over one thousand people were driven from their homes and kept away, although they used all the lawful means to regain them. It was a terrible winter for the Saints in Missouri. All the comforts they had gathered about them were gone. They not only were without proper shelter from the storms but even lacked food. And while they were in this condition, across the Missouri river the mobs were tearing down and burning their empty houses and destroying their harvested crops. During one week in the spring of 1834, one hundred and fifty homes were consumed by fire. In the latter part of February a regular court of inquiry was held in Jackson county, and about a dozen of the brethren were called as witnesses. A company of state soldiers went out with them as a guard. No sooner had they reached Independence, however, than a strong mob gathered and they were hurried back to Clay county without going into court at all. Blood would certainly have been spilled if they had stayed. The court found Col. Pitcher guilty of calling out the militia to crush an uprising when there was no uprising to crush, and of making the Saints give up their arms when they were at peace. When Governor Dunklin received this report he ordered that the arms be returned. His orders were not regarded, and here is where his weakness was shown--a strong man would have enforced his own proper commands. Instead of being given back, the arms were divided among the mob, and the Saints never did obtain them. On the day following the entrance into Missouri of Zion's Camp, of which you are later to hear much, on the 5th of June, 1834, the brethren wrote to Governor Dunklin telling him that the Saints were ready to be taken back to their homes in Jackson county. You remember that he had promised to protect them until they were again settled but no longer. They had now obtained new arms, Zion's Camp was coming to help them, and they believed that they could now protect themselves if the mob should rise again to hurt them. In answering, the governor said that a clearer right did not exist than that of the "Mormon" people, who were exiled from their homes in Jackson county, to return and live on their lands. But instead of raising troops to go back with the Saints, he tried to persuade them to come to some terms with their enemies.