Bogart's men suddenly opened fire. Three or four of the brethren fell. Captain Patten gave the order to shoot and then charge down upon the enemy. For a few minutes they fought hand to hand with swords, and then the mob, though larger in numbers, wheeled about and fled. As they ran, one turned and shot Captain Patten, giving him a mortal wound. That night he died, surrounded by the Prophet and his true friends. His last words to his wife were: "Whatever else you do, do not deny the faith!" Thus passed away Apostle David W. Patten, who had rescued friends and given up his life in doing so, and greater love than this no man hath. This battle gave an excuse for the wild and terrible stories that set all Missouri in an uproar. Many good citizens were really afraid that the Mormons were about to march upon and destroy them. But surely Governor Boggs could not have been deceived, and yet he ordered out two thousand men with the command to kill off all the Mormons or drive them from the state. This extermination, as it was called, began at Haun's Mill, in Caldwell county, on the 30th of October. The little settlement of Saints was at peace when suddenly two hundred and forty men rode up on horseback and began shooting without a moment's warning. They showed no pity, but killed men, wounded women, blew out the brains of children that were pleading for their lives, and even robbed the dead. Seventeen were killed that afternoon, but there was no time to dig their graves. Amid the groans and tears of widows and fatherless children, their bodies were thrown into an old well and there they lay, a foul blot upon the land of liberty. Little Alma Smith, who was only eight years old, after seeing his father and brother shot, fell to the ground with his hip joint and all the flesh about it torn away He knew that if he cried out or asked for mercy, as his brother had done, the bad men would kill him. So he lay pretending to be dead until after dark, when he heard his mother call him. She placed him beside his dead father and brother and prayed that she might know what to do for her little boy. Our Father in heaven heard and answered her prayer. A voice told her to wash the wound clean with water in which the wood ashes from the fire had been soaked. She obeyed, although the cloth brought out each time mashed bone and flesh. After it was clean the voice told her to gather the roots of a slippery elm tree, make a poultice with them and fill the great hole in her boy's hip. Willard Smith, another son, who had escaped, gathered the roots and his mother made the poultice. Their prayers and faith were rewarded. Alma was healed and grew once more well and strong. CHAPTER XXIX. 1838. HINKLE BETRAYS JOSEPH AND BRETHREN TO MOB-MILITIA--COURT-MARTIAL ORDERS THEM TO BE SHOT--SOLDIERS SACK FAR WEST--JOSEPH PREACHES IN INDEPENDENCE--BRETHREN TAKEN TO RICHMOND FOR TRIAL--CLARK FINISHES TERRIBLE WORK AT FAR WEST AND ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN--MOCK TRIAL AND IMPRISONMENT.