With his fathers help, Kane got U.S. government permission for the refugee (people who have lost or had to leave their homes) Mormons to occupy Pottawattamie and Omaha Indian lands along the Missouri. Kane carried letters to , and looked for Little in the Latter-day Saint camps on the . On July 17, 1846, Kane met with LDS leaders and Army Captain to make the Mormon Battalion. Kane met many leaders of the Church, and became a popular figure among Mormon emigrants (people who moved). Miller's Hollow, the main Iowa settlement (colony) of the LDS group at what is now , was renamed Kanesville to honor Kane for his help.