START UPON OUR JOURNEY—A HAZARDOUS UNDERTAKING—SICKNESS—-SEVERE WEATHER—MY WIFE CONTINUES TO FAIL—HER SPIRIT LEAVES HER BODY—RESTORED BY THE POWER OF GOD—HER SPIRIT'S EXPERIENCE WHILE SEPARATED FROM THE BODY—DEATH OF MY BROTHER—ARRIVAL AT ROCHESTER—REMOVAL TO QUINCY.
On the afternoon of the 9th of October, we took leave of Father Carter and family, and started upon our journey of 2,000 miles at this late season of the year, taking my wife with a suckling babe at her breast with me, to lead a company of fifty-three souls from Maine to Illinois, and to spend nearly three months in traveling in wagons, through rain, mud, snow and frost. It was such a trial as I never before had attempted during my experience as a minister of the gospel.
On our arrival at Georgetown we were joined by Elder Milton Holmes. We traveled each day as far as we could go, and camped wherever night overtook us.
On the 13th of October, while crossing the Green Mountains, I was attacked with something resembling the cholera. I was very sick. I stopped at a house for about two hours, but the Elders administered to me, and I revived.
On the 24th I was again taken sick, and my wife and child were also stricken down. We also had several others sick in the company, through the exposure of the journey.
On the 31st we had our first snow storm, and the horses dragged our wagons all day through mud, snow and water.
On the 2nd of November Elder Milton Holmes left us, and took steamer for Fairport; and two days afterwards a little boy of Nathaniel Holmes', about six years of age, died, and we had to bury him at Westfield.
The roads finally became so bad and the cold so severe that Nathaniel Thomas and James Townsend concluded to stop for the winter. We parted with them on the 21st of November, near New Portage, Ohio.
On the 23rd of November my wife, Phoebe, was attacked with a severe headache, which terminated in brain fever. She grew more and more distressed daily as we continued our journey. It was a terrible ordeal for a woman to travel in a wagon over rough roads, afflicted as she was. At the same time our child was also very sick.
The 1st of December, was a trying day to my soul. My wife continued to fail, and in the afternoon, about 4 o'clock, she appeared to be struck with death. I stopped my team, and it seemed as though she would breath her last lying in the wagon. Two of the sisters sat beside her, to see if they could do anything for her in her last moments.