Transcript

Came back with immigrant train. George Hunter was called to go on a foreign mission and he went with my Father [James Bulloch] and me down to the Missouri River. My Father brought the first horse rake that ever came to Cedar and the second reaper and mower, William Walker having the first. William Walker brought his from California in the Spring. Father's came in the fall. My Father was first to run the rake. John Parry run the horse rake on the Cedar Meadows the first season. Previous to this the hay was raked by hand rake. Timothy Adams and Chris Mackelprang each got them a wife on that trip [Louisa Houchen and Lenora Bailey].

While camping on the banks of the Platte River on our way home with the Immigrants there was no wood, nothing but buffalo chips. There was an island in the middle of the river with wood on it. I took off my clothes and thought I could wade to the island and get some wood. I got out where it was too deep to wade and had to swim. I stopped to see if I could touch the bottom when the water took me below the island in the middle of the stream where the two rivers meet. I turned and swam back and after a big effort and almost exhausted I reached the shore where I grasped some bunches of grass and drew myself out. I had gone in away above camp and came out way below. I was alone so [if] I had of drowned no one would have known what happened unless they found my clothes. It was on an open prairie and to get my clothes I had to go way out around camp.

While I was on this trip I came near losing my life. Instead of passing one of the mailing stations the immigrants took a short cut off so I walked to the station to get our mail, then hurried to overtake the train. They were just pulling into camp when I got there and I was sweating and all heated up walking so fast, so I lay down underneath the wagon on the grass which was about two feet high. I lay there for sometime and the dampness gave me a cold. Next day my cold was worse and finally pneumonia set in. For about two weeks I was a very sick man. Morgan Richards, who was along, has often said since that he never expected me to get well. Lying in the wagon, traveling in the hot sun and dust, and jolting along with nothing to eat but bacon, molasses and bread. I shall never forget how I suffered. No doctors, no medicine. I don't know what saved my life, only the power of my Heavenly Father. I was just able to be up when we came to a bad place. My Father asked me if I thought I could drive over this place and I said I thought I could. I got on one of the mules and drove over and had just got over when I began to go blind. I said to some of the passengers, "tell my Father to come quick," and that was the last I knew. When I came to I was in the wagon. That was the only time I ever fainted in my life. After we got to the mountains where the sage brush was I gained very rapidly and by the time I got home had fully recovered.