Protection of Missionary Company from Drunken Soldiers' Gunfire
Published October 11, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
During a journey across the plains, the author and his brother were camping near a military post. Two soldiers, intoxicated and seeking to enter a wagon, were driven out of the camp. They turned and fired six shots at the author and his brother, but despite standing between the soldiers and a covered wagon, the author felt and stated 'that they could not hit us.' The bullets struck the wagon, narrowly missing two sleeping ladies, but neither the author nor his brother were harmed.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 54, No. 14, 4 April 1892):
While camping near a military post, two drunken soldiers came to our wagon, and we had to drive them away. They turned and fired six shots at us, but I felt that they could not hit us. The bullets struck the wagon, narrowly missing two ladies who were sleeping inside, but neither my brother nor I were harmed.
In Their Own Words
“Being somewhat under the influence of liquor, their recklessness was thereby augmented, and when about ten rods distant they turned and fired six shots at us. My brother and I were standing at the time between the intruders and a covered wagon. The bullets passed quite close to our heads, some of them penetrating the wagon, barely missing two ladies sleeping therein. My brother raised his revolver to return the fire, but I restrained his arm, saying that they could not hit us. The miscreants then ran off and rejoined their comrades in their quarters. — Millennial Star 54:14”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 4 April 1892 (Vol. 54, No. 14). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1892-04-04_54_14 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 54, No. 14, 4 April 1892 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1892-04-04_54_14
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