God, no matter where we are or what company we are in. If Satan finds a wavering soul, he will strive all the more earnestly to lure him away from the paths of righteousness. Trust in God, and do right, and he will shield us from all the power of the enemy.

After I had worked at log running awhile, I went to a place called Mill Point, near Lake Michigan, where my brother Charles lived. Sawing lumber was the chief business, and my brother worked in one of the mills. I got work in a mill, but did not like it, and went up Grand River to work on a farm.

Move to Minnesota

In August, 1865, I started for Minnesota, where father lived. I landed at Minneiska, a small village situated at the mouth of Whitewater Valley, on the Mississippi River. It was about 4 p.m. when I landed. I wished to make Greenwood Prairie to work in harvest. I soon discovered that the only conveyance was to go on foot; so I started carrying a large carpetbag full of clothes and a heavy beaver cloth overcoat. The road up the valley was overflowed with water. Wild ducks were swimming in the road, and mud and water were over boot-top. The great bluffs towered hundreds of feet high on either side of the valley, and no house in sight. As the sun neared the horizon, the mosquitoes came at me in clouds, and they were so hungry, I said to myself, "This is the brave land of Minnesota."

After traveling six miles I came to a house. It was a log cabin, with the ends of the logs sticking out in every direction, some shorter and some longer. As I came to the door, I found a man and a boy with a gun. I shall never forget the scene. The man had an old felt hat on his head, partly covering a mass of reddish hair. His beard and mustache looked fierce enough to belong to a bushwhacker, while a great hole graced the knee of his pants. The youngster was about fifteen years of age, and did not look at all as fierce as his father. I meekly asked the privilege of a night's lodging. The gentleman replied, "Ask the women folks; I am not the boss here." and away he and the boy went to shoot a marauding owl, and left me to paddle my own canoe with the ladies as best I could. I timidly entered the house, and was surprised to note a great contrast. The wife and daughters were neatly dressed, and everything inside the house was in nice order. The old lady thought I could stay, so I got an old pail full of water, and soon I