{42} The people of Richmond, Missouri, declared the Camp should not pass through that city; but on the morning of the 19th, before the people were up, the brethren passed through unmolested. "We intended to enter Clay County that day, but the Lord knew best what was for our good," says Wilford, "and so began to hinder our progress. One wheel broke down, another ran off, and one thing after another hindered us so that we had to camp between two forks of Fishing River. Five armed men soon rode up, and told us that large companies of men from Jackson and Clay Counties, and other parts, would be upon us before morning, and were sworn to encompass our destruction. "Shortly after these five men left us, a small cloud arose, and spread with great rapidity, until the whole heavens gathered blackness, and a mighty storm burst forth with fury upon our enemies. If the Camp had not been hindered, they would have crossed into Clay County, and would have been at the mercy of the mob. Thus the Lord, in a marvelous manner, preserved the lives of His servants. Colonel Sconce, who came into the Camp the next day, with several leading men, said that surely Jehovah fought the battles of Joseph and his followers." The Prophet addressed the visitors at some length, and recounted the wrongs heaped upon the Saints in Missouri. His address touched the hearts of the visitors, bringing tears to their eyes. They promised to do all they could to allay the prejudice of the people. It appears from Wilford Woodruff's journal that they kept their word, and rode through the country endeavoring to allay the excitement. "Previous to this event," says Wilford, "Elders Hyrum Smith and Lyman Wight had joined the Camp with a company of volunteers from Michigan. The Camp now consisted of two hundred and five men and twenty-five baggage wagons. Lyman Wight was made commander-in-chief. Joseph appointed twenty men to be his body-guard; Hyrum Smith was captain, and George A. Smith armor-bearer. "The Camp of Zion arrived at Brother Burk's, in Clay County, Missouri on the 24th of June, 1834. We pitched our tents on his premises. He told some of the brethren of my company that he had a spare room which some of us might occupy if we would clean it. Our company accepted the offer; and, fearing {43} that some other company would get it first, we left all other business and went to work, cleaned out the room, and immediately spread down our blankets, so as to hold a right to the room. It was but a short time afterwards that our brethren who were attacked by cholera were brought in and laid upon our beds. None of us ever used those blankets again, for they were buried with the dead; so we gained nothing but experience by our selfishness, and we lost our bedding.