[Joseph Smith Diary] With my family reading Hebrew with [Alexander] Neibaur ...
1 P.M. Held council with the Indians Sac and Fox &c. in my back kitchen. They told me (Joseph) "You are a big chief. We are sons of /2 as/ big men /and Priests/ as ever inhabited this land. You preach a great deal so say great Spirit, you be as great and good as our fathers that will do. Our worship is different, but we are good as any other men. .... We are very poor. Whites cheat us. But no difference not long to live. We wanted to let you know we were a Christian people."
I replied "We know you have been wronged, but we bought this land and paid our money for it. Advise you not to sell any more land. Cultivate peace with all men with the different tribes. Great spirit wants you to be united and live in peace. Found a book (presenting the Book of Mormon) which told me about your fathers and Great spirit told me. You must send to all the tribes you can and tell them to live in peace and when any of our people come to see you treat them as we treat you."
3 P.M. Indians commenced a war dance in front of my old house. Our people commencing with music and firing cannon. After the dance which lasted about 2 hours firing of cannon closed the exercise. With our music marched back to office. Before they commenced dancing the Saints collected $9.45 cents for to get them food....
Hyrum was in this evening and cautioned me about speaking so freely about my enemies and in such a manner they could make it actionable. I told him 6 months would not roll over his head before they would swear 12 as palpable lies about him as they had about me.
[Source: Faulring, Scott (ed.), An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith Diary, 1844, http://amzn.to/jsdiaries]
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