meeting was held in Liberty where some mobbers from Jackson county tried to
arouse the people against the Saints. Nothing being done at this meeting, a
party of fifteen men started for Independence to raise an army large enough
to destroy Joseph and the camp.

One of the leaders of this band was James Campbell. As he pushed his
pistols into the holsters before starting, he said with an oath: "The
eagles and turkey buzzards shall eat my flesh if I do not fix Joe Smith and
his army so that their skins will not hold shucks before two days are
passed!" As he and his companions were crossing the Missouri river their
boat sank. Seven of them were drowned and among them was Campbell. What was
left of his body was found three weeks after lodged on a pile of drift
wood. The "eagles and turkey buzzards" had eaten the flesh from his bones.

On the 19th the camp passed through Richmond. They expected to reach Clay
county that night, but were so greatly hindered by accidents that they
camped for the night between two forks of Fishing river. A large mob had
gathered, bent on destroying the camp. A boat containing forty mobbers had
been sent over the river, when a storm arose. The rain fell in torrents,
the lightning flashed, the thunder shook the earth. Great hail stones
destroyed the corn in the fields and stripped the trees of leaves. The mob
scattered in confusion. The river rose nearly forty feet, which made it
impossible for anyone to cross. The brethren took shelter in a schoolhouse
and escaped the storm. Thus again the Lord preserved his people from their
enemies.

The next day the camp moved five miles out on the prairie. While here, some
of the leading men of Ray county called on the brethren to learn what their
intentions were. Joseph told them how the Saints had been persecuted in
Jackson county; and that they had come one thousand miles with clothing and