OCR Text |
Show Personal Experience- At the close of the October Conference, Con-ference, in Salt Lake City, Utah 1849, a messenger from father John Smith, the patriarch, entered mv domicil and said that father Smith desired to soo mo on very important import-ant buisness. I immediately obeyed the summons. Ho told me that "President Young had advised him to fit out some person and send him to the gold mines in California Cali-fornia to get some of the treasures of the earth and make himself comfortable in his declining years, as he had been kicked and cuffed about in this kingdom, and driven from the states. And, continued the Patriarch "I want you, brother Henry, to go." To me, this was an unlooked .for request, and one, too, that did not agree with my feelings. I had just built a house and had made up my mind to settle set-tle down. However, I at last consented con-sented to go. Brother Charles C. Rich was on the eve of leaving with a company under hi3 direction. His business was to look after the scattered saints in California Cali-fornia to organise and set in order the churoh on the Pacific Coast, etc. His intention was to go tho South route, following the old Spanish trail, and so on through the Cajon Pass in the Sierra Nevada Ne-vada Mountains. Thursday, Oct. 11, Before I loft for California, father John Smith blessed me and also my companion, compan-ion, brother James Keeler. Calling at the tin shop to get a canteen, I wa3 called and accused of being "A Jack Mormon." by the tinner This accusation was an insult in-sult to me. We left the city at 2 p. m. and on tho 22nd of October we arrived at Beaver River. . Here our odometer odom-eter marked 208 miles from Salt Lake City. With the odometor wagon were three elders who were on their way to the South Pacific Islands to preach the gospel. Near thi3 place we overtook a company of Non-Mormons having 113 wagons and about 25 pack animals. ani-mals. The 25 with packs had a Captain by the name of Smith. His company and that of brother Rich's agreed to travel together in case of being attacked by Indians. Ind-ians. The train of wagons had Captain Hunt to pilot them through to California. They had what 'they called a High Council composed of lawyers, doctors and priests, and they had got a notion into their heads that Captain Hunt could make a big cut oil from the fact that he had said a better road and a shorter route conld bo made, so he had been informed by some Mountaineers, buthadnovvr trav-lod trav-lod it. He said if they were determined de-termined to go that way, they must do so on their own responsibility. responsi-bility. They finally gave it up and continued on tho old Spanish t trail. A wagon or two was cached at this place and some fitted up packsaddles so that the company of packers now numbered about fifty, Mormons and Gentiles about equally divided, as to numbers. H. W. B. |