Parley P. Pratt was president of the company.
We traveled as far as Cedar City in President Brigham Young's company, among whom were my brother Joseph W., and my Uncle Joseph, and my father. At Cedar City I was ordained a Seventy by my brother Joseph W. Before the company started westward, Uncle Brigham, in bidding me goodby said:
"Johnny, I will give you a little advice. Be humble. Live near the Lord. Keep yourself pure from sin. Do not tell the people that you are unlearned; it will only weaken their faith. Avoid public discussions. I have noticed that they engender feelings of bitterness and seldom do good. Never tell all that you know at once; keep back something to talk about the next time. Be careful to say nothing but what you can prove."
President Kimball said, "Your name is no longer Johnny, but Rooter; for you shall root up iniquity where-ever you find it." Uncle Joseph Young said, "Be of good cheer. Great trees from little acorns grow, and you will grow to be a man yet." My father and brother Joseph added their blessing; and with a swelling heart, I turned to face the world, as a Mormon missionary boy.
Cedar City was our southern frontier settlement. From there to San Bernardino the country was almost an unknown desert. At Rio Virgin, Muddy, Las Vegas Springs, and Mohave were small bands of hostile, thieving Indians; but a watchful pacific policy carried us safely through.
While walking on those deserts, I formed an attachment for Apostle Parley P. Pratt that has never died. In conversation he was pure and intelligent; and he excelled as a faith-promoting teacher, while as an orator he had, to me, no superior in the Church.
Upon arrival at San Bernardino, we were warmly welcomed by Presidents Amasa M. Lyman and Charles C. Rich, and also by the colony of Saints. We rested there for three weeks. I made my home with Elder Addison Pratt. Sister Pratt and her amiable daughters were very kind to me.
As soon as we had disposed of our outfits, we moved on; the Saints kindly furnishing teams to haul us eighty miles to San Pedro, where I first saw the blue ocean, and sensed for the first time the rotundity of the earth by looking upon that vast expanse of oval water. Here we took passage on a sailing vessel for San Francisco, entering the bay in the night. I remember, when I came on deck in the morning, how amazed I was at the sight of the great forest of masts, and city built along the beach on piles, or stretching sparsely over the sand ridges.
In a few days President Pratt called a council, and the missionaries gave all their money to help buy the ship Rosalind, with the understanding that she would carry us free to our fields of labor. The idea was, that she would be an "Order-of-Enoch" ship, devoted to Zion's cause. I was young and thoughtless, hence I can say but little about the matter. It was, however, an unfortunate investment, for the hired captain ran away with the ship, and we lost our passage money. After our hopes had thus winged their flight to lands unknown, we missionaries went out among the farmers hunting work to earn money to take us to the islands. As I was too small for a harvest hand, President Pratt set me to tracting the city. I went from house to house leaving tracts, and offering to sell Church books. At that time there was a bitter feeling towards our people, and I met with much ill treatment.
One day I met a man by the name of Crump, recently from Michigan. As he passed through Salt Lake valley enroute to the gold mines, he had rested a few days at father's; and now he was cook at a large hotel. He asked me to come in and rest until he had served dinner. I sat at a table in the kitchen by an open window, reading.