On the 2d of August Brother Markham arrived from the East with teams; and on the 19th we bade good-bye to Mount Pisgah. Brother M. was minus one teamster, and as Mrs. M. and I were to constitute the occupants of one wagon, with a gentle yoke of oxen, she proposed to drive. But, soon after we started, she was taken sick, and, of course, the driving fell to me. Had it been a horse-team I should have been amply qualified, but driving oxen was entirely a new business; however, I took the whip and very soon learned to 'haw and gee,' and acquitted myself, as teamster, quite honorably, driving most of the way to winter quarters. The cattle were so well trained that I could sit and drive. At best, however, it was fatiguing--the family being all sick by turns, and at times I had to cook, as well as nurse the sick; all of which I was thankful for strength to perform. "On the 27th we crossed the Missouri at Council Bluffs, and the next day came up with the general camp at winter quarters. From exposure and hardship I was taken sick soon after with a slow fever, that terminated in chills and fever, and as I lay sick in my wagon, where my bed was exposed to heavy autumnal rains, and sometimes wet nearly from head to foot, I realized that I was near the gate of death; but my trust was in God, and his power preserved me. Many were sick around us, and no one could be properly cared for under the circumstances. Although, as before stated, I was exposed to the heavy rains while in the wagon, worse was yet to come. "On the 28th a company, starting out for supplies, required the wagon that Sister M. and I had occupied; and the log house we moved into was but partly chinked and mudded, leaving large crevices for the wind--then cold and blustering. This hastily-erected hut was roofed on one side, with a tent-cloth thrown over the other, and, withal, was minus a chimney. A fire, which was built on one side, filled the house with smoke until it became unendurable. Sister Markham had partially recovered from her illness, but was quite feeble. I was not able to sit up much, and, under those circumstances, not at all, for the fire had to be dispensed with. Our cooking was done out of doors until after the middle of November, when a chimney was made, the house enclosed, and other improvements added, which we were prepared to appreciate. "About the last of December I received the sad news of the death of my mother. She had lived to a good age, and had been a patient participator in the scenes of suffering consequent on the persecutions of the saints. She sleeps in peace; and her grave, and that of my father, whose death preceded hers less than a year, are side by side, in Walnut Grove, Knox county, Ill.