Wee started off the next morning October 13^th 1861, drove into Salt Lake City the same day. I felt very much pleased to think that God had permitted me to reach my destination in safety. I was hasked the next morning if I whould help hitch up and go to the weler and bring in three loaded waggons wee had left out there because we had lost some of our cattel by death, others tender footed and so on. So that wee wer compelled to leave 3 of our loaded waggons out there. I yes I will go for one. James and Alfted wher the other two. October 13 we started back with nin yok of cattell and one light waggon to pack our bedding and cooking utentiels in. Wee had good luck and broug them in 3 days. October 18^th we corled the cattells and branded them with E.R. Wright on the horns. Oct 19^th we drove them out to Twowille [Tooele] for the whinter. Oct 20 James and myselfe came back to E.R. Wrights in the city and there I found Brother Slade wating for me to take me up to city Bounifull [Bountiful], ten miles north of Salt Lake City. This Bro. Slade was one of our teamsters. He and his wife, Bro. Jos. Stone and his wife and family came through in the same company with us.

"October the 20th in the halter noon myself and Bro. Slade started off on foot 10 miles to City Bountifull to see and old friend by the name of Thomas Fissher. After supper he said to me I am happey to make your aquaintence. I whould like to make a bargan with you for the whinter. I will give you ten dollars per month and your board for the winter if you wish to stay with us. I agreed to that bargan and started to work next morning. October 21st he set me to hall wood from the mountains with a yok of wild stears which he had borrowed from Bro. Betrell, an aquaintance of his and a shew maker by trade. I started off with the cattell and a two wheeled cart up the mountain. I could not make them climb up. They got the best of me and ran down the mountain up setting the cart. I concluded to cut sore green mapell. Load up and go home, which I did. 

"Bro. Fissher, my boss concluded he whould not send me again for a wile. So he sent me down on his sons farm to plow out potatoes. His son Thomases wife was living down on the farm. She was a daughter of Bro. Prescot. She was very kind to me. Whilst I was working down there I came up to the old folkes in the Fort again to do the chours around home, untill the winter set in and the stock fetched to the farm. And then I had to walk two miles night and morning to feed the stock untill his sons came home from Rubey Valley. But when they came hom they still wished me to keep on feeding for they still kept on working at their trad which was carpentering so I still continued walking up and down getting my dinner down on the farm and coming up in the evening to do some chours for the old folks. 

"I had been working for them several months when my pants got the worst for wearring and hasked him for some monney to buy some. He says "John I've not got aney monney for you. People don't work for monney in Utah. They pay us aney thing that they've got. But I shall whant you to drive a beef criter down to Salt Lake City to Bro. Hailstones in a few dayes and then you can call into Mrs. Livingstones store and get a pair of pants." And I ask him what he paying per busshell for wheat and he said he was paying nintey cents per bushell now. I fitted on a pair of pants and hasked the price. He, Mr. Livengton, said 5.00 dollars. I told him Bro. Fissher whould pay him when he came down from Seashens Settlement. He says all right and I whent off with the pants and was pleased to get them I thought. I whent back to my work again. Soon hafter I stood in nead of a pare of boots. And my boss told me to go and bask Brother Boterell if he whould take wheat for a pare. He said yes. At the going price I said yes meashur me. He did so and I soon got the boots. He charged me seven dollars for them, or 8 bushells of wheat. I still kept on with my work untill spring. I then hasked my boss if I could go down to the city to the Apriell Confrance. He sayed yes you can get the horse and ride down if you will come back to night. 

"I considered for a little while and said no. I whould like to go to the theater one night and then look around the next day to se if I can find some one that came from the old countery with me. He said I could not take the horse then. I told him that I could whalk their I had whalked down for him severall times during the whinter and to try and get my pay from E. R. Wright for driving his team acrosst the Plains. He whas due me about thirty dollars. But by whaiting for it he paid me the cash. 

"I was owing Bro. George King $10 that I had borrowed from him which he had paid into the P. E. Fund at vearious times. E. R. Wright finely paid me in gold. And I started off to the Presedant office to send it to Old England. Has I hentered the office Bro. Heber C. Kimbell saw me and hasked me if I had lately came crosst the plains. I said yes last fall. He said I thought so by the looks of you. And what part of the old countery did you come from, from the Hemlhepsted Branch, Hertfordshire. And what is your name. John Durrant. In whoes company did you cross the plains. With E. R. Wrights freight train has a teamster. I hired out to him for ten dollars per month. He has just paid me up and I am come to see about sending twenty dollars to England. I am owing Bro. George Kind ten, Sarah Wright 5 and the ballence I whant my mother to have. He said you have don well, the Lord has blessed you. You have moore gold in your hand then I saw the first ten years I was hear. And another thing you are doing more then halfe our peopell do. And that is you are paying depts and helping your aged mother. Have you aney work to do now, I replied yes I am working for Bro. Fisher at Secions Settlement north. He agreed to pay me ten dollars per month for the winter. You have don well if you get it. Some of our peopell do not think of paying their depts untill they themselves have become rich. But God will bless you for your honesty. I then thanked him. I then received a monney order and sent it back to the old countery and payed my just depts. I then started back to my work again feeling real good for the encouragement I had received from Bro. Heber C. Kimbell.

"The time rolled speadaly along, and the sixth of Apriell came and I started off to conference and was gon two days. I enjoyed myself very much while their, saw a great many folks that I knew. John Biggs was living at Salt Lake City at that time. I stoped with him whilst there. I also saw Grother George Palmer and William Paxman. Brother George Palmer drove a team acrost the plains with us and he tried to perswade me to come to American Fork with him. But I told him I must go back and get my clothes. Bros. Paxman and Palmore said they whould whate for me if I whould promise them to leave and go up to American Folk with them. I told them I whould do so. I started from confrance up north to see Brother Fisher and tell him I had agread to go to American Folk to live with Brother Palmer. Brother Fisher said it was the very worst place I could go to for the land was nothing but sand down that way. I sayed I could not help that but I would like for you to settel up with me. This made him very hangery and he said I would have kept you all winter and now spring come you want to leave me. "Yes," I sayes "you have kept me part of the time on two meals per day." "Well," says he, "I shall charge you 3 bushels of wheat per day for my son Thomas he has been doing your work whilst you have been down to confrance." Sayes I, "What do you mean by wheat? I agread to work for you for ten dollars a month. Their was nothing said about wheat. "I shall pay you in wheat at tithing office price which is two dollars per bushell and you have had one pair of pants five dollars that will be 5 bushell 50 lbs. One pair boots 7 dollars, 8 bushels. For my son Thomas. 2 days work 6 bushells. That will be 27 and half bushells you have recieved 19 bushells 50 lbs. Due you 7 bushell and 40 lbs. He says I shall not pay you that until next harvest. I let him know that I should be up there after it in the fall. I gathered up my clothes and started to pack them to Sale Lake City on foot. Hafter getting into the county road there was a team come a long and picked me up and took me to the city. There I found Bros. Palmore and Paxman looking for me. We aggread to stop in the city that night and start off hearly in the morning.

"Apriell 10, 1862 wee started on foot along the County Road for American Fork, the roads being very mudey. We got tired and was compeld to stop at Willowcreek all that night at Sister Slouches house. She says, "Bro. Paxman come in I am pleased to se you but I've got nothing to give you onely a little bread and butter." We said it was good enuff. We sat up to the tabell and ait som supper. Bro. Paxman and myself slept there that night. Bro. Palmore went to a neighbours house to sleep.

"It rained very fast in the night. It being a dirt roof it leaked in on the bed, but not to wet us much. We layed untill daylight the next morning and was looking up at the roof and on a beam that whent across the house we saw a nice chung of bacon. Bro. Paxman says, "Look up there, John. The old laidy said she had nothing but a peace of bread and butter in the house." We got up and the neighbours came in and hasked us to come to breakfast with them. The old laidy said, "No, Bro. Paxman, you must eat with us." To satisfy her we stoped to breakfast. Now Bro. Paxman had other aqaintences there. Bro. Stokes for instance whould have been pleased for us to have whent to his house. But we thought we whould stop and see if the old laidy whould reach down the bacon. 

"When breakfast was rady the old laidy says, "Come, Bro. Paxman, you must say prayers this morning." We knealed down and Bro. Paxman was mouth. Hafter prayers the old laidy says, "Come up to the tabell and get some bread and butter. I haven't a peace of meat in the house." The old gentellman looked very crost but the old laidy was boss. We concluded this whould be the last visitt to Sister Slouch. April 11^th we started off on foot to American Fork, this being Sunday morning and no teams on the road. We wer compelled to whalk all the say in the mud. We reached American Fork about ten o'clock very much fatiged. I whent to dine with Bro. Paxman, Bro. Palmore with Bro James Robbins.

"Apriell 12^th. Bro. Palmore, Robins and me whent to work grubing willows for Thomas Barett one and half dollars per day or one bushell of wheat per day. This I thought was a good whaige hafter working fro Bro. Fisher nearly a week for a bushell. I concluded I had bettered my conditions by mooving south. Bro. James Robinses wife boarded us for fiftey cents per day. We got plenty of work but we had to wait mostely a lonh time for our pay. We could get plenty of flowar for our work and som butter but very little meat. Hafter a little while Sister Robbins was not doing the squar thing with us and we moved down to John Ioets house. Palmer and myself worked, boarded and slept together untill July 4^th, 1862 when I started to mow for William Currey. Three dollars per acer or wheat 2 bushels per acer. I used to haverage one acer per day. I kept on mowing for different ones untill the latter hend of September when we heard that a company of emigrants was expected in Salt Lake City. George Palmore whas expecting his wife in that company and I was expecting my brother Edward and his wife. Bro. John Singelton was going down and said he would take us down. We started off the same day, was late before we reached the city that night. The next morning we found out that the company had arived the day before and Palmores wife was gone on to American Fork on the state road.

"We came along the country road and missed her. He made his way back the next day to American Fork and found her staying with Bro. Thomas Ovard. I soon found out that my brother Edward did not come in with that company.

"I stoped with Bro. John Biggs in the city and whent to work for Joseph Hellpen a bricklayer and stone mason. I worked for them severell weeks herning some crocks chairs and so forth to keep house with. Bro. Palmore and my selfe had bought a house and lot from John Crompton. We had also been making adobes for building another room for Edward and his wife. We had concluded for Palmore to have two rooms already built and I was to have the new one when built and he whould help to build it whist I was whaiting for Edwards comming in. He was halling the adobes ready for building when I came home.