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Show the Buckskin Mountains. January 8, it snowed all day and by night snow was eight inches deep. January 9, we traveled all day, still snowing and we got lost. We couldn't find the road. Snow was over two feet deep and our horses got tired out. I took the best horse and went in search of a place called Houserock. I soon found it and Bishop Farnsworth and quite a company of folks were there. Brother Farnsworth and two other men went back with me. They took fresh horses and soon we rolled into Houserock. Here we stayed until January 14, then started on. Snow was two and a half feet deep. We got to Jacobs Pool at 9 o'clock that night. January 19 we got to Lee's Ferry on the Big Colorado. We stopped at Lee's Ferry for about two weeks. January 25, 1884, we got to Forrest, started on again, February 20, and on March 14 we arrived on the Gila River, all healthy and strong. March 15, we moved across the river and on up the south side to Smith Hill. Why we left Smithville, called Pima, I will never know for that was where we intended to stop. But because we were out of flour and couldn't get any work, we started on up the river. As we were leaving the town Brother Alvin Kempton blessed us with 100 pounds of flour. We went on to Safford and I looked for work for a couple of days around Safford and Lay ton. I couldn't find a day's work. I met Brother Martin Allreas, a stranger to me entirely. He told me to go to Glasby's Store and get what I wanted on his account, I got about $7 worth and on the 23rd of March I started with Isaac, Jr. for Wilcox to get freight, but couldn't. We went on to Fort Grant and there we broke heavy sacation land for $2.50 per acre for Van Gussie. Sacaton is heavy grass used for hay in alkaline regions. Then we heard of some hauling in Sacaton. We went there and hauled posts for the amount of $74.57 and went home. This was 22 April 1884. Isaac had made $6.75 making adobes in Stockton. Lea had earned $13.50 working for Brother Crookstens. From then on until April 28 we looked for work and a farm to plant a garden. We cut lucerne on the Onele farm which we had taken to work. April 28 I bought five acres off Thurstain. It was Jannie Campabelos' lot at Safford and we paid him $60 for it and water rights from the mill tailings. May 3 we had done some grubbing on the lot as it was covered with mesquite stumps 151 |