It was a common saying among the inhabitants of the surrounding country that, if the "Mormons" could live here, they could live anywhere. It truly was a most unhealthy spot, filled with ponds and stagnant water, left by the overflowing of the Mississippi river, afflicting all the neighborhood with fever and ague. From this condition I saw the city become, through the industry of the Saints, a healthy and prosperous place, being drained of these swamps, etc. I lived there until I had accumulated considerable property. During this time, about seven years, I had frequent opportunities of continuing my acquaintance with Joseph Smith, seeing him nearly every day. From my actual knowledge, I can testify to the purity and uprightness of his life, and I know that he was a man of God. I had every opportunity to acquire this information, for, when escaping from his enemies, he has lived sometimes for a week at a time at my residence. During this period several missions were appointed me, one to the north of Albany, where I succeeded in baptizing a goodly number; another to the Eastern States. About a year previous to the death of Joseph, with Jesse W. Crosby, who had friends in that part, I was assigned a mission to Nova Scotia. Our route lay through Chicago, a distance of two hundred miles, which we walked. We then, by steamer, passed down the northern lakes to Buffalo, a journey of at least a thousand miles, and again took steamer on Lake Ontario, about four hundred miles further, and arrived at Sackett's Harbor. As we were destitute of means to prosecute our journey further, and, as I had some relatives living at hand, we concluded to stop and preach awhile, until we could procure means to go on, but the weather coming on very cold, the rivers froze over, and we were compelled to spend the winter in this place. This brought me into the region of country where I had lived for ten years when a young man. The first place we commenced at was in the town of Lime, Jefferson Co., New York. Here we procured a school-house. Two ministers, who usually occupied the room, greatly opposed us at the close of our preaching, and endeavored to set the people against us, but they displayed such a weak, mean spirit, that their congregation left them. One minister, who had a regular salary with a small farm, for his preaching, had them taken from him, and many of his followers became members of the Church. We confined our labors chiefly to Jefferson Co., where we found a few scattered members, and managed to raise up some six branches, consisting of about two hundred members. These were abundantly blessed with the gifts of tongues, prophecy, healings, etc., and the branches became very strong in the faith.