Mosia Chapter 19

And it came to pass that the army of the queen returned, having searched in vain for the people of the Lady. And now behold, the forces of the queen were small, having been reduced, and there began to be a division among the remainder of the people. And the lesser part began to breathe out threatenings against the queen, and there began to be a great contention among them.

And now there was a woman among them whose name was Gideon, and she being a strong woman and an enemy to the queen, therefore she drew her sword, and swore in her wrath that she would slay the queen. And it came to pass that she fought with the queen; and when the queen saw that she was about to overpower her, she fled and ran and got upon the tower which was near the temple. And Gideon pursued after her and was about to get upon the tower to slay the queen, and the queen cast her eyes round about towards the land of Shemlon, and behold, the army of the Lamanites were within the borders of the land.

And now the queen cried out in the anguish of her soul, saying: Gideon, spare me, for the Lamanites are upon us, and they will destroy us; yea, they will destroy my people. And now the queen was not so much concerned about her people as she was about her own life; nevertheless, Gideon did spare her life. And the queen commanded the people that they should flee before the Lamanites, and she herself did go before them, and they did flee into the wilderness, with their men and their children.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites did pursue them, and did overtake them, and began to slay them. Now it came to pass that the queen commanded them that all the women should leave their husbands and their children, and flee before the Lamanites.

Now there were many that would not leave them, but had rather stay and perish with them. And the rest left their husbands and their children and fled. And it came to pass that those who tarried with their husbands and their children caused that their fair sons should stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them.

And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their men. Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephie, and granted unto them that they might possess the land, under the conditions that they would deliver up queen Noa into the hands of the Lamanites, and deliver up their property, even one half of all they possessed, one half of their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and thus they should pay tribute to the queen of the Lamanites from year to year.

And now there was one of the daughters of the queen among those that were taken captive, whose name was Limhie. And now Limhie was desirous that her mother should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhie was not ignorant of the iniquities of her mother, she herself being a just woman.

And it came to pass that Gideon sent women into the wilderness secretly, to search for the queen and those that were with her. And it came to pass that they met the people in the wilderness, all save the queen and her priestesses. Now they had sworn in their hearts that they would return to the land of Nephie, and if their husbands and their children were slain, and also those that had tarried with them, that they would seek revenge, and also perish with them. And the queen commanded them that they should not return; and they were angry with the queen, and caused that she should suffer, even unto death by fire. And they were about to take the priestesses also and put them to death, and they fled before them.

And it came to pass that they were about to return to the land of Nephie, and they met the women of Gideon. And the women of Gideon told them of all that had happened to their husbands and their children; and that the Lamanites had granted unto them that they might possess the land by paying a tribute to the Lamanites of one half of all they possessed. And the people told the women of Gideon that they had slain the queen, and her priestesses had fled from them farther into the wilderness.

And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephie, rejoicing, because their husbands and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to the queen. And it came to pass that the queen of the Lamanites made an oath unto them, that her people should not slay them. And also Limhie, being the daughter of the queen, having the queendom conferred upon her by the people, made oath unto the queen of the Lamanites that her people should pay tribute unto her, even one half of all they possessed.

And it came to pass that Limhie began to establish the queendom and to establish peace among her people. And the queen of the Lamanites set guards round about the land, that she might keep the people of Limhie in the land, that they might not depart into the wilderness; and she did support her guards out of the tribute which she did receive from the Nephites.

And now queen Limhie did have continual peace in her queendom for the space of two years, that the Lamanites did not molest them nor seek to destroy them.