has become a part of Mormon folklore. As related by Abraham O. Smoot after Patten's death, Patten says he encountered a very tall, hairy, dark-skinned man in Paris, Tennessee, who said that he was Cain. The account states that Cain, the son of Adam from the Bible, had earnestly sought death but was denied it, and that his mission was to destroy the souls of men. The recollection of Patten's story is quoted in Spencer W. Kimball's The Miracle of Forgiveness, a popular book within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the 1980s, Patten's story was used by some Latter-day Saints to explain Bigfoot sightings in South Weber, Utah. Battle of Crooked River Patten died due to wounds received in the Battle of Crooked River. This conflict was primarily caused by deteriorating conditions between Mormon settlers and other religious groups in Missouri. As tensions between Mormon and non-Mormon groups increased, a group of men from the state militia abducted three Mormon men on October 24, 1838. In response, Patten led a group of Mormon men to rescue the men. Before daybreak on the 25th, as the Mormon militia approached the ford where the state militia was camped, a non-Mormon guard, John Lockhart, called out, "Who goes there?" and immediately fired at the Mormons. The shot hit Patrick O'Bannion, one of Patten's guides, and mortally wounded him. Crying, "God and liberty," Patten ordered a charge and led the Mormon militia in the attack. Fighting in the resulting battle led to 16 casualties and four fatalities, among them Patten, who was serving as commander of the Mormon militia group and was shot in the bowels. The three men kidnapped by the state militia were rescued. The wounded Patten was carried from the battlefield to the home of Stephen Winchester, four miles distant. En route he was visited by Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and his wife. Patten reiterated his testimony of the church to his visitors. Upon seeing her husband dying, Ann Patten exclaimed, "Oh God! Oh my husband! How pale you look." His final words to his wife were, "Whatever you do else, O do not deny the faith," after which he addressed the others in the room saying, "I feel that I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which the Lord will give me." Moments after