fasted and prayed. Dr. Green pronounced his case inflamation of the bowels. (Appendicitis was not heard of at that time.)
CATTLE TO CANADA
In the spring of 1901, Father and Ralph loaded all our range cattle on railroad cars and shipped them to Canada. The news came to me as quite a shock. My life’s earnings all gone to Canada. Maybe things will turn out well. I hope so. I must not worry about those things now. When I return home maybe, I can get some more cattle.
IN THE MISSION FIELD
To tell much of my missionary experience
would be too burdensome for this record, and yet I want to tell of a few things of special
interest.
I have before mentioned visiting my relatives
in Brooklyn, New York. It was July second, when I took train for Charlestown, West
Virginia. There I was met by Elder E.M. Orme at the Maryland Conference office. The next
morning, without much breakfast, I boarded the train to ride about ten miles to where I
would be met by my companion, Elder Broadhead. His companion, Elder Busby, having been
released from his mission, boarded the train as I got off from it. He was going home.
Before leaving the Mission Home in Brooklyn, my
traveling grip had been loaded with books to sell and tracts to distribute, clothing, etc.
until it would weigh about twenty-five pounds. With my load we left the railroad station
about ten a.m. on July 3, 1900.
It was a very hot sultry day. We were headed
toward Clark County, Va. By one o’clock, I was very thirsty, hungry and fatigued,
sweat was dripping off my chin, nose, ears and face. I asked my companion about dinner. He
replied we would get some soon. What about water? I must have a drink. I asked a kind lady
for water and she gave me a drink at a good well. We continued our journey until near
dark, when Elder Broadhead asked a gentleman if they would be kind enough to give us a bed
for the night. He had forgotten that I was hungry and we had traveled all day without
dinner. Maybe that is the way to initiate new elders who have just arrived in the mission.
I don’t know.
To our bed, we were sent up a ladder from the
outside of the house. We found at the top our bed over the kitchen stove and close to the
stove smoke pipe. Very little air ventilation. The bed consisted mostly of old torn rags.
I wondered if that was missionary life or just some new experience. I felt the family was
being kind to us and doing for us the best they could. How much better we were being
treated than thousands of others had been under similar circumstances. When I arose in the
morning, I did not have a dry rag on my body.
They gave us breakfast consisting of corn pone
and fat bacon. Oh, how good it was. That was the Fourth of July. My