Transcript

We had a very pleasant passage to New York then went by Steamer to A[l]bany then took the Cars to the fitting out place with which this year was North Platt[e] Station about two hundred miles farther on from Omaha[;] here we had to wait one month for teams waggens & provisions While waiting here Br & Sister [Brigham] Young [Jr,] John W Young[,] Oscar Young & some others came up to us & journeyed with us to Utah & Br Warren was appointed to purchase the provisions & they were very bad & scant too the flour could not be used till passed through a sieve & then we would take maggots out on each bag of it[;] appeared to be some old flour that he had bought cheap such a man could not stand long & after we came to Utah he appostatised & was cut off the Church[.] Br Brigham did the best he could for us on the way buying us good provisions whenever he could get a chance at any Soldiers fort or Camp we passed on the Way. there was a number of poor Saints who had not Means to buy teames & waggons of their own & for them was purchased two Ox teams & two Waggons & Br Stephen Hale & I were called upon to drive them while David [Gibson] who was a good teamster though Deaf was called to drive one filled with merchandise for Brigham with he did for about 8 hundred Miles to Salt Lake City Thus I had the honour for it was one to drive I may say the last Ox team that ever crossed the Plains with the poor Saints. . .

I had a severe pain in my left side before I left England while attenting to & nursing Br Brigham Kimball & it was often very bad now but there was no use in grunting about it so I had just to grin & bear it. I had got Henrietta [McKay] a passage in a mule team belonging to the Company. She went on it about half of the way but not liking the familiarity that the owner wished to make with her she left it & traveled with the poor Saints in my ox team the rest of the way & then jeered at by him & some others that she <was> going to become the old mans wife when the[y] got to the Valley she told them that she was not a Mormon & did not believe in Polygamy that she Loved me as a Father but if she was going to Choose a Husband old as I was she would rather <choose> me than a Dozen of such things in points as she saw arrond [around] her I may say here that she joined the Church when she came to Utah & was married to a good young Man in the Church

We met with some snow storms before we got in & a brother in Wales waggon died from cold[.] I got in to Salt Lake City Saturday night at 10 oClock[.] I think Conference was next day & on the Second day of Conference I was called with quite a number of others to take another Mission to the Muddy in Arizona four hundred miles South of Salt Lake City[.] David came on with me but we were with much fatigued & my side was very bad