I would like you to baptize us before you leave for Germany." Brother Secrist told his brother to unhitch the horse, that he wouldn't need him that day. That day father, mother and the two oldest children were baptized by Jacob Secrist and also confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They had to cut the ice on the water so they could baptize them. Father gave Brother Secrist a letter of introduction to his brother who still lived in Germany. He desired his brother to hear the Gospel, too. Soon after being baptized they talked of going to Utah and started saving their money. Father had a carpenter make him a savings box with a slit enough to slip a silver dollar through. When Father was out of work in the winter, he would make baskets out of white oak wood. He would take a small straight tree and cut it about six feet long and split these into strips of one quarter of an inch square. At night when we came home from school we would take knives and whittle the comers off and point one end so we could poke them in the holes of the iron that he had made with eight holes in it. The holes were sharp on one side so when we pulled the splits through the holes, it made them round and smooth like a wire. Each hole was a little smaller than the other so he could make them any size he wanted. He also made small sewing baskets and shipping baskets, with a handle so it could be carried on the arm and bushel baskets as well. When he had enough made, he would tie them together and put them over his shoulder and carry them to the farmers to sell them. I would go with him and carry the small baskets. April 21,1855,1 was baptized by my father and confirmed the same day by Jacob Secrist, who was returning home from his mission. The next year Father hired me out to William Wiles for a dollar and fifty cents a month. I stayed there eight months and during that time I didn't draw a cent of that money. Father collected the money which amounted to $12.00 and put it in the savings box to help bring us to Utah. The next year he hired me to his brother Jacob, for $2.25 a month. In 1858 he hired me to Soloman Sarbash for $3.25 per month. I attended school in Blue School house for three winters. James Burnes, James Snowberger and William Secrist were teachers. In the summer of 1859, Carl G. Maeser, a missionary from Salt Lake City, came to Pennsylvania. He said there was going to be a civil war and the brethren would be drafted into the war. He advised the Saints to go to Utah. Daniel Robinson said, "Here is Brother Heiner, he has a very large family and it will be very hard for him to make such a trip." But Brother Maeser said, "Brother Heiner will be the first one to go." Morgan Pioneer lli~!ory Binds Us 'together That spring we held a sale and sold everything we could not take with us, and on April 11th, 1859, we started for Utah. Father hired Joseph Mainser to haul us 175 miles to Pittsburgh. We had to cross the Allegheny Mountains, which took about three weeks. There we took passage on a steamboat which was a lumber craft and went down the Ohio River to Cincinnati. Father called on his sister and her husband who were living there and owned a hotel. They had no children of their own and wanted to keep four of our children, two boys and two girls. They thought Father had so many children that they could easily spare four of them. There were ten children. Our uncle said that he would provide for them as a father. But Father could not spare one. We continued to St. Louis, where we changed boats and came up the Missouri River to Florence. On coming up the river, the boat would stop and take on wood to heat the engines with. They would carry the wood to the boat across a plank. I would go with the men and help carry wood. They stopped and unloaded nail kegs which they rolled down the plank. I helped them to do that also. The boss said, "That kind of boy I would like to hire for deck hand." That made me feel quite proud as I was only thirteen at the time. We stayed in Florence several weeks before we were ready to start across the plains. Father bought one yoke of oxen, a yoke of cows and a new shuttler wagon. While in Florence, the immigrants bought wild steers, and when they hitched them up, they would run and bellow and turn the yokes upside down. It was like a wild west show. My oldest brother, John, got a job with the immigration agents and came across with them. I got a job driving Widow Kate Rock's team and she gave me my room and board, so that made two less for Father to keep. We then started on a perilous journey on June 20, taking us ninety days from Florence to Salt Lake City, Utah. I walked almost all of the entire distance as well as Father and Mother and the larger children. Our captain was Edward Stephenson. We had only one wagon in which to carry all our provisions and the small children who were not able to walk very much. We had some hard rain storms while on the plains. They would come at night and the wind would blow the tent down and everything would get wet. After we traveled about two weeks, one of our cows had a calf, so we milked her and worked her all the way across the plains. One day a lone buffalo came running by the train. Our captain rode out after him and shot him with his pistol and we all had some fresh meat. I think there were three buffaloes killed during the journey. When we got to