We went to Mataura on November 7th, to see a man possessed of a devil. The evil spirit was dumb, and for three years the man had not spoken to anyone, but sat or laid around. We also visited the school where there were about thirty students, and the teacher called one pupil to the blackboard, where the exercise in writing required of her was well done. Then we called on Tetuatehiapa, the oldest woman on the island. She was one hundred and twenty years of age, and had been blind for eight years. The people said she had insisted that she would live till the servants of God came from Salt Lake City. When told who we were she rejoiced greatly, and exclaimed, "I always said you would come again! The Lord has brought you, and has prolonged my life till you came. I rejoice exceedingly at the mercies of the Lord!" On November 8th, we baptized her with seven others, and on the 10th administered to her for her blindness by laying hands on her head and blessing her. When we had attended to the ordinance she stated that she could see a little, which was more than she had done for eight years. "God be praised for His mercies," she said.
Sunday, November 13th, I preached twice to large congregations at Mahu, where we arrived on the 11th. We also had a number of applicants for baptism, and on the 14th eight members were added to the Church by the ordinance, and we blessed two children. A Catholic priest called on us, and I had a pointed discussion with him on authority in the Church, and the true Gospel. We parted good friends, he promising to come again next day, but he did not do so; although he passed by the house, but never looked towards us. On the 16th we added five more souls to the Church by baptism.
Our missionary labors continued in different villages, and on November 23 Elder Seegmiller baptized the school teacher at Mataura, also two of the governor's daughters. On the 21st the captain of a schooner that had called at the island told us we could go to Tahiti on his vessel, starting on the 24th. Elder Seegmiller aided me in preparing for the voyage, and I bade farewell to the people, who were very much attached to us. I shook hands with the governor, when his eyes filled with tears, he kissed me, and was so full of emotion that it was difficult for him to speak. In due time the vessel sailed, Elder Seegmiller going on it to Mataura, three miles down the coast, where he went ashore, as we had agreed, and I was alone so far as a missionary companion was concerned.
At Mataura the French police justice and his wife, a Marquesas woman, came aboard, and at 6 p.m. we weighed anchor. The schooner was very much crowded, the cargo including four women, two children, fourteen men, three horses, twenty hogs, one goat, one dog, about one hundred chickens, eight or ten turkeys, eleven thousand cocoanuts, and a lot of other things. The most comfortable place I could find was on the companion-way, where I sat, as I was not able to use my crutches on the vessel. The first night out I found I could not sleep in my berth, as it was too cramped and the tobacco smoke and foul air were too much for me, so I camped on the companion-way with my blanket, and was very seasick. The next night I fared about the same, and it was pretty hard on me; but the third night, Saturday, I went below before the others did, and obtained a fairly good night's rest.
Sunday, November 27, we sighted Tahiti, but a heavy rain and calm held us back over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On the last-named day the crew caught a shark, and we had some of it boiled for supper. Thursday, December 1st, we landed at Papeete in a heavy rainstorm, and quite exhausted. I was met by my son Elando, and once on shore I was refreshed with palatable food and good news from my family. We spent our time the next fourteen days in missionary labors in Papeete, to the best advantage, and on the sixth baptized eight persons into the Church. My health was decidedly poor at this time.
We had arranged with Mr. Henry Marvin for passage on the schooner Avaroa to the Tuamotu islands, sailing on December 15th. We left on the date named and though we had some headwinds and calms, we had a good voyage; for the captain (a Hawaiian) and crew were agreeable, the vessel was kept clean and in perfect order, and the table was well supplied with a good variety of food. We sighted several islands, and on the 20th stopped at Niau, which has a population of one hundred, all members of the Josephite Church. Their presiding officer and a number of his people came on board and gave us six chickens and six baskets of cocoanuts as a token of friendship. I talked to them on the Gospel message I had to deliver as a missionary.
We went ashore on the island of Apatai on the 23rd, as Mr. Marvin had some business there. The people were rather indifferent to us as missionaries. I visited the governor, who said he had been my servant on the island of Anaa when I was there forty years before. He was very much afflicted with a carbuncle on the back of his head and neck, and could move about only by crawling on his hands and knees. I lanced his carbuncle, and he recovered.
Christmas Day, 1892, was spent on the schooner Avaroa, and we sought the coolest place we could find and ate watermelons, thinking of our mountain home and the loved ones in Utah. Next day we sailed into port at Taroa, and were met by Elder Joseph W. Damron and some native Saints. I was welcomed to the home of Mr. Mapuhi, a seven-roomed frame house, built on pillars of coral stone and beautifully furnished in American fashion. The place seemed perfectly lovely, and a surprise for us in the way of a spring mattress to sleep on was doubly welcome. The following day was the 27th, and I had the privilege of preaching to a good audience.
The 28th of December was Wednesday, and the morning was marked by the receipt of an invitation to a triple wedding and feast to be held that afternoon at the government building. I attended and by request performed the marriage ceremony for the three couples. I also availed myself of the opportunity to address the assemblage briefly on the subjects of marriage and baptism for the dead. This day I had the unusual experience of standing in the door of the house where we were lodging and viewing a large school of whales pass by.
New Year's day, 1893, was the time for a conference of the Saints to be held on the island of Faiti, so preparations were made on December 29th for us to leave Taroa. On this date I met a native Chilean, who said he came from San Antonio, about thirty miles south of Valparaiso. When I heard this, it called to my mind a statement of Dr. J. M. Bernhisel, that he had learned from the Prophet Joseph Smith that that was near the place where Lehi and his colony, told of in the Book of Mormon, landed in America, on their journey from Jerusalem. In the afternoon we started, on Mapuhi's schooner, for Faiti, six boatloads of the Saints going along. Our vessel had twenty persons aboard. The wind was fair, and on Saturday, December 31st, we reached Faiti, landing about 9:30 a.m. Our reception was rather cool, as we were ushered into a large room, almost bare save a long table and a few chairs, and were left alone much of the time. However, we had good beds at night. In the morning, Sunday, January 1st, we held meeting, and I called for those who had known me on my former mission to stand up. Seventeen persons arose to their feet, and stated that they remembered and recognized me. Our meetings at conference were well attended. The presiding officer of the Church in the Tuamotu islands was a blind man, and he asked me a number of questions to satisfy himself that I was the same one who had been there forty years before with Elders Pratt and Grouard. I baptized him at that time. When he was fully convinced he remarked that if I had not come he would not have received the young missionaries, referring to Elders Damron, Jones, and my son Elando.