CHAPTER III.
A CHAT WITH A CATHOLIC—CHASED BY DOGS—AN IRISHMAN'S DESIGN TO MURDER ME—REMARKABLE ESCAPE—ADVENTURE WITH A WILD BULL—"HAS HE GOT YOU?"—MY RELEASE FROM MY MISSION—INCIDENTS OF THE HOME JOURNEY—A PROPHECY AND ITS FULFILLMENT—A VISIT TO A SICK LADY—CONCLUSION.
My companion was called to Sidney on business, and I being left to travel alone for a few weeks, started on a tour through the country to sell our books. While traveling I met with an adventure at a large tavern called the Half-way House, kept by a Roman Catholic. This house was situated half way between Penrith and Bathurst cities. When I called at this house the landlord was away from home, but his wife was there and I showed her my books, some of which she purchased; and as dinner was nearly ready I was invited to stay and get dinner. While I was having a good discussion on the scriptures, the master of the house came home, and brought with him a Catholic priest. The woman showed the priest the books that she had bought, and he gave her a severe reprimand for taking them, and then turned to me and said that I was an infernal heretic and ought to be burned at the stake and killed. The master of the house partook of the same murderous spirit, and remarked that he would set his dogs on me and tear me to pieces; while he was whipping his wife, I stepped out and started. This was in a very heavy timbered country, and I did not follow the road, for I knew that he would follow me, and if he found me that he would do something desperate if he could. I had been traveling about half an hour when I heard the sound of the large hounds and bull dogs on my track. A thousand thoughts passed through my mind in a short time, and I imagined that perhaps I should never see my aged mother again; but then the thought came to me that President Heber C. Kimball had prophesied on my head that I should live to fill my mission and return again to the bosom of the Church. I then tried to climb up a tree, but the bark was so smooth that I could not climb it, and by this time the dogs had come in sight and I could hear a man's voice urging them on. While in this situation I called on the Lord for help, and my prayer was heard; for as the dogs came near me a large kangaroo crossed my track in full speed, and the dogs, seeing it, turned square about and went after the animal and did not see me at all. I then turned and went to the road, but my troubles were not yet ended. The dogs had gone out of hearing, but the man had discovered that the dogs were after the animal and tried to call them back, but could not; so he came into the road to hunt for me. I heard a rough voice calling after me, and I looked back in the road and saw an Irishman coming on a run carrying a large club in his hand. He swore bitterly, and said as he had caught me now he would use me up with that club. I could see that he was possessed of a spirit to kill, so I walked up to him and offered him my hand, with the remark that I wanted to talk with him a short time before he carried his threat into execution. I said, "Sir, I am an American, and I have come here thousands of miles to do you and others good," and then, to draw his attention, I told him that there were many Irish people in America and some of them were very wealthy, and they built our railroads, and made the best soldiers, and more than that, when the famine was raging in Ireland the Americans sent several ship loads of flour and bread stuff to them, and did not charge them one cent for them. By this time he dropped his club and we walked along together until we came on the hill within sight of the city Paramatta. He stopped and we talked a short time, and he confessed to me that he intended when he came up to me, to have killed me with the club, but he was glad now that he did not strike me with it. He shook hands with me and started back home. Little did he think that it was an overruling Providence that stayed his hand that he was not permitted to strike with the club. Here I joined my companion again and we started on a tour through the country.
The island of Australia abounds in many parts with wild cattle. As we were traveling one day through the woods on an old road not much used, all at once we heard a thundering sound behind us, and my partner who was about one rod behind me cried, "Look out for wild cattle!" There was some fallen timber near by, and I ran, got up on a tree top and then looked back to see where my companion was. I saw that he was in danger and I ran to his assistance, but before I could reach him a wild bull had caught him and thrown him on his horns; but he had no sooner struck the ground than he sprang to his feet again. The bull came the second time and my companion caught him by the horns, and was thrown again, this time alighting in a tree top, where the animal did not attempt to follow him, but turned around at me as I was belaboring him with a club. When I saw that he had turned on me, I felt my first fear of being hurt. There was a tree about three rods distant from me, I thought if I could get to it I could save myself by dodging the bull, so I started to run to the tree, the bull close after me with his head down, ready to hook on the first touch of his horns. Quite faint I succeeded in reaching the tree and whirled myself around it. The bull threw up his head and snorted and passed on. About this time my companion rose up out of the tree-top, where the bull had thrown him, and called to me, "Has he got you?" I answered, "No, sir, it takes a smarter bull than that to catch me on a fair race." I then went to see if my partner was hurt, and found that all the bruise or hurt that he had received was in the palms of his hands, caused by taking hold of the bull's horns to save himself.
On the 15th day of July, 1858, we received a letter from President Brigham Young, stating that we were all of us released from our mission and called home to help protect the homes of the Saints. We therefore settled our business in Sidney, made a short visit to the country branches of the Church, appointed local Elders as presidents over them, bade them all farewell and returned again to Sidney. In a few days we all went on board a fine ship. The names of the American Elders besides myself that were returning were, A. J. Stewart, G. S. Clark, S. R. Chappin and J. H. Said. The night before the ship was to start nearly all the sailors took a boat and deserted, leaving the captain with only four seamen on board. When morning came the captain went on shore and succeeded in capturing and bringing back in irons three of the runaways. He then went among the passengers to see if he could hire hands to man the ship. I agreed to work for him as steward and had the direction of all the store of provision on board. This proved to be a great blessing to the Saints who were with us, as many of them were sick on the trip and I could administer to their wants.
Previous to starting the captain loaded the ship with eleven hundred tons of New Castle coal, and this great weight caused the ship to draw twenty-four feet of water. As our captain was not much acquainted with the South Pacific seas, he concluded to sail south of the Society Islands.
The first ten days of our voyage passed in peace and safety. Nothing happened to us or our good ship only that some of us were very sea-sick, but that soon left us. We had now traveled fifteen hundred miles and were passing the coast of New Zealand when a terrific storm came upon us from the north. During the whole night we drifted towards the land and next morning we could plainly see it. The wind was blowing a gale and the captain ordered the ship to be tacked many times, but it seemed that every tack brought us nearer the shore. The water could be seen flying upon the rocks a distance of many feet. The anchor was lowered, but it was useless as the ground could not be reached. The next order was to throw overboard the loading. All hands therefore went to work and we had soon emptied a hundred tons of our cargo into the sea. This made the ship ride the waves more safely.
About this time the first mate asked us if we would not pray to God that the winds might be stayed or changed to another course. We told him that we had done our praying before starting from shore and now in times of peril we should watch and work. We did, however, ask our Father in heaven to change the winds and they immediately changed from the north to the south and just in time to save our good ship from striking that terrible rock called the King's Head, which towers four thousand feet above the sea. By evening we were out of sight of land and sailing along nicely towards our destination.
I shall never forget the day when we struck the trade-winds. On that day the captain ordered me to get all on board a fresh chicken dinner, the first cabin at eleven, the second at twelve and the steerage at one o'clock. I worked accordingly and while carrying a large china platter full of fresh chickens on my head the man at the wheel let the ship swing into the track of the waves and a large wave struck the ship on the broad side, broke in about eight feet of the bulwarks and covered the deck with about two feet of water. I was thrown to the deck; platter was smashed and the chickens were taken into the sea; but worse than all, I was dashed from side to side and almost drowned; I came near being washed overboard into the sea, the galley was filled with water and the fire was extinguished, so we did not get any fresh dinner that day.
After arriving in San Francisco, the captain went on shore and was offered an advanced price for his load; he asked our counsel and we told him to retain his load for one week; he did so and then sold for six thousand dollars more than he had been previously offered. He made us a nice present in cash which helped us on our way home.
Brother Chappin was impressed to tell the captain that his ship never would cross the ocean again, but would sink to the bottom of the sea and that he should barely escape with his life. One month later the captain freighted his ship with a valuable cargo bound for Melbourne, Australia, but in passing out of the heads at San Francisco without a tug-boat his ship was driven on the sands and in three hours after was a total wreck. Had it not been that a steamer was passing out of the bay at the time and went to the rescue all on board would have been lost, but as it was they were saved. The captain was the owner of the ship and as it was not insured he lost all his fortune in a few dreadful hours; he returned home to Boston, Mass., a poor man. Thus the prophecy of one of the servants of God to him was fulfilled.
Five of us Elders went to Sacramento and then went to other places to get employment in order to procure means for our journey home. I worked a short time at cutting wood, and while at that business I had the following dream: A messenger came to me and said, "You may cease this labor and work in the ministry. You are wanted at one Mr. Green's now." I had been to that man's place and had preached to him and his family. The daughter believed and wanted to be baptized, but could not be at that time.
The next morning while I was settling with the man for whom I had worked, a messenger came on horse-back with the news that this young Miss Green was not expected to live an hour. She had a putrid sore throat and had been asking for me all night. I had a few miles to go before reaching the house and on my way I purchased a bottle of sweet oil and went on a hill in the woods and there consecrated it for the anointing of the sick. About eleven o'clock I arrived at the house and found it full of strangers, most of whom were Irish Catholics. When it was announced that I had come the young lady aroused from her stupor which all pronounced as death. She reached out her hand to me and in a whisper said, "Thank God I have seen you before I die." She tried to speak further, but could not. I then told all in the house to sit down. They did so, and I then knelt by the side of the bed and asked the Lord to spare her a short time. I then anointed her with oil to her burial. At this she sat up in bed and said, "Give me some water." After drinking a little water she conversed on the gospel for half an hour, to the amazement of all in the house. She said she had hoped to live to gather with the Saints, but now she was going home to her God. I had taught these people the principle of baptism for the dead, and her last words were, "Remember me in the day that you are baptized for the dead;" thus saying she sank down again and her noble spirit fled to the paradise of God.
The next day I filled my valise with books and started for the mines, stopping frequently by the way to talk to the people. I experienced much opposition from the people and was about to return without doing much good when I was impressed to go in another direction. I came to a small settlement where I traveled a few days and sold some books. One family by the name of Millgate made me welcome at their house. I stayed there one week and the last night I stayed with them I took the family at midnight and baptized them in a reservoir near at hand. The time had now arrived for us to start home, and having purchased a spring wagon and a pair of horses three of us started for home. Three and a half years had now past since I received my blessing under the hands of President H. C. Kimball and all that had been predicted was fulfilled when I arrived home in safety.