Thursday, March 16, 1876

Mar. 16th, 1876.  Nine months from home.  I was married twenty years ago today.  I wrote to President Groo.  We packed our valises with underclothes, books and tracts; had prayer with the Chittenden family and administered to Brother Chittenden for his illness.

AUSTRALIAN BUSH ON FOOT

Then we started on a trip of several days in the Australian Bush on foot.  After a walk of ten miles and a drink of the best spring water I have tasted in this country, at 2:00 P.M. we called at the house of Mr. Robert A. Nielson and were invited in.  Water and milk were offered and I took freely of the latter.  He asked us our business. I replied, "We are Latter-day Saint Missionaries."  He said he thought we were ministers, had lunch served and engaged us in conversation.  He is Wesleyan and had read his Bible by rote eight times.  He had his wife and daughter come in and listen and, at 4:00 P.M., when we proposed to move on, we were invited to stay over night, which we gladly accepted.  At prayers, I was called to the big chair with the big Bible before me.  I read John 3 and prayed for the dissemination of truth, for all that labor in his cause and for the building up of God's Kingdom, etc.  He responded with groans and amens.  I must be serious but it was as good as theatre.  He asked me to discuss with his Catholic shepherd, which I did, to his satisfaction, using Daniel 2 and Nahum 2, etc.