This only increased their distress for many thousands who were driven there had no habitations or houses to shelter them, and were huddled together some in tents and others under blankets, while others had no shelter from the inclemincy of the Weather. Nearly two months the people had been in this awful state of consternation, many of them had been killed, whilst others had been whipped until they had to swathe up their bowels to prevent them from falling out. About this time came out from Ray county, who was one of the commissioned officers who was sent out to and I myself and my brother Joseph Smith, Senior, went out at the same time. On the evening that arrived at , my brother, the late s came in to ’s about eleven o’clock at night, bringing her two children along with her, one about two years and a half old the other a babe in her arms. She came in on foot a distance of three miles and waded , and the water was then about waist deep and the snow about 3 inches deep. She stated that a party of the mob a gang of ruffians had turned her out of doors, had taken her household goods and had burned up her house and she had escaped with by the skin of her teeth.— Her at that time was in , and she was living alone. This cruel transaction excited the feeling of the people in especially and he asked in my hearing, how long we had to suffer such base violence <​treatment​>? said he did not know how long. then asked him what should be done? told him “he should take a company of men well armed and go and disperse the Mob wherever he should find them any collected together and take away their arms.” did so precisely according to the orders of . And my brother Joseph Smith, Senr made no words about it. And after had dispersed the mob and put a stop to their burning houses belonging to the Mormon people and turning women & children out of doors, which they had done up to that time to the amount of 8 or 10 houses which were consumed to ashes— after being cut short in their intended designs the Mob started up a new plan. They went to work and moved their families out of the and set fire to their houses and not being able to incense the Mormons to commit crimes; they had recourse to this stratagem to Set their houses on fire and send runners into all the counties ad [p. 64]