Transcript

We laid over here [Sacramento] until the first day of September when I was introduced to Captain Judson L. Stoddard who was Captain of a company of Mormon boys that came through with a herd of stock to pay for a rancho known as the San Bernardino. Mr. Stoddard asked me if I would like to drive a 4 mule team for him to Salt Lake. I told him yes. We left Sacramento September 1^st and arrived in Salt Lake City October 3^rd P.M.

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1863, I was called to go down to the States as teamster to help in the immigration. On the night of April 13th the field board passed a law that all who had not their proportion of field fencing up at a certain date that their land would be forfeited. This being the first intimation I had had of the fact, which I did not learn until the 14th. Just as I was picking up my whip to start, George Cardiner asked me what I was going to do about fencing my portion of the field, that he said that last night a lwa was passed that those having land in the field and was not fenced at a certain date would lose this land. I told him that another teamster would have to be sent in my place for I could not be in both places at the same time, and I considered it unfair in not notifying me before so that I could make arrangements for some one to put up my fence. The Bishop came up and found that I was pretty hot, asked what the matter was. I related the matter to him and told him that I would not go under existing circumstances. Well, said he, go on down and that he would see that my land should be secured safe to me against I got back. I told him all right then I would go. But I had 73 bushels of wheat locked up in my granary inside of my house which I wished he would look after until I came back, which he promised to do.

I went down to Florence, where we arrived on the 5th of July. And returned home 15th of October, and found that the Bishop had secured the land, that is to say one piece of the 2.20, but secured it to himself, and had the foundation of his house laid on the land and I could never get the land back.