Transcript

I was eleven years old when we sailed from England on the John J. Boyd. It took a little over six weeks. This was during the war of the South. On account of the war, we were able to buy eggs for three cents a dozen. We could not come straight across the country on account of the war, so we passed into Canada at Niagara Falls and crossed back into the United States to Chicago. There we waited for a boat that the Church had chartered. We then went up the Missouri River to Winter Quarters.

I have two vivid recollections of my stay at Winter Quarters. The first is of the worst storm I have ever seen. It destroyed many crops and considerable property, adding to the hardships of the Saints.

My second recollection was of a hotheaded Englishman who knocked an Indian down. Captain Homer C. Duncan, who was armed, arrived on the scene, and sensing the seriousness of the situation, he pulled out his gun and told the Englishman to get down on his knees and apologize to the Indian. The Englishman not only apologized, but also made the Indian a present of beads. As a result of the foresight and the honesty of Captain Duncan, we were not molested by the Indians throughout our long trek across the plains. Many times Indians camped beside us, but they were never troublesome and through little things, showed their great friendship.

Our company, led by Captain Duncan, arrived in Salt Lake City just before the October conference in 1862.