JAMES S. BROWN'S EXPERIENCE PREVIOUS TO BEING SENT AS A MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY ISLANDS—REMARKABLE PREDICTION BY PRESIDENTS BRIGHAM YOUNG AND WILLARD RICHARDS—PERILOUS JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA—TRAGIC FATE OF MOST OF THE COMPANY—ARRIVAL IN SAN FRANCISCO—LANDING IN TAHITI—OPPOSITION FROM PRIESTS AND MINISTERS—GOVERNOR OF FRENCH PROTECTORATE ARRAYED AGAINST HIM—ELDERS SCATTER OUT—LEWD WOMEN, INSTIGATED BY MINISTERS, TRY TO ENTRAP HIM—HIS FIRST CONVERT—RECOGNIZED BY A NATIVE WHO HAD SEEN HIM IN A DREAM.

The late Elder James S. Brown, who for many years was a resident of the 17th Ward of this city, (and who died in 1902) had a most interesting and eventful life, and a few incidents therefrom, in which a special providence was manifest, are here given, the facts being mainly culled from his autobiography published under the title of "Life of a Pioneer."

Elder Brown was a member of the famous Mormon Battalion, and on being mustered out of service in California in July, 1847, he journeyed to Sutter's Fort on the Sacramento river, and became one of the original discoverers of gold in California. After working in California for an outfit, he with others made a hazardous journey eastward in search of their friends the Pioneers, who, under the leadership of Brigham Young, had located, as they understood, somewhere in the rocky mountains, but just where they were uncertain. He arrived in Salt Lake valley on the 28th of September, 1848, and found the pioneers living in a fort on what is now Pioneer Square. There he was warmly welcomed by relatives and friends and settled down to help develop the country.

In the summer of 1849 he witnessed the threatened destruction of the whole of the crops being raised in the valley by the onslaught of crickets, and the miraculous saving of the crops by swarms of seagulls coming from the west and devouring the crickets.

Then he was called to go upon a mission to the Society Islands. President Brigham Young said to him "I promise you in the name of the Lord, God of Israel that if you go you will be blessed, and do good, and be an honor to yourself and to the Church and Kingdom of God. Although men will seek your life, you shall be spared and return to the bosom of the Church in safety." President Willard Richards also said to him "Brother James, when you are upon yonder distant islands, called to preside over a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, men will seek your life, and to all human appearance there will be no possible escape; then look unto God, and His angels shall drawn near unto you, and you shall be delivered to return home unto this people."

In company with Elder Addison Pratt, who had previously filled a mission to the Society Islands, he set out, first proceeding to California by the southern route. They had occasion to feel that they were providentially preserved on the journey, as, through a disagreement as to the road they should travel, the majority of the company (including about 500 emigrants bound for California from somewhere in the east) and who persisted in going contrary to the advice of Apostle Charles C. Rich, got lost and nearly all of them perished from thirst and starvation in Death Valley. The missionaries were content to follow the advice of Apostle Rich, and, after a somewhat perilous journey arrived safely in San Francisco. There they secured passage on the brig "Frederick" and sailed away to the southwest for Tahiti April 20, 1850.

They landed at Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, the largest island of the Society group, May 24, 1850, where they were met and welcomed by a few natives whom Addison Pratt had converted while on a previous mission.

They soon learned that they would have to meet the combined opposition of Protestant ministers and Catholic priests, who were determined, if possible, to prevent them from becoming established there. These opponents had great influence with the representatives of the French government that maintained a protectorate over the greater part of the Society Islands.

They called upon the governor of the French protectorate and tried to obtain permission to visit Tubuai, a distant island, to which place they had a chance of obtaining free passage, but were refused permission, as the governor expressed fear of the effect of their preaching. He required that they furnish him a detailed statement of the principles they taught and the methods and policy they pursued in their missionary work, all of which, however, failed to satisfy the governor that he could safely trust them. The governor then prepared a list of questions for the Elders to answer and pledges for them to subscribe to, all of which they complied with, but all to no avail, for the governor had evidently determined not to allow them to do any proselyting.

Elder Brown made the acquaintance of many ministers and missionaries of other creeds, some of whom professed to have a feeling of friendship for him and his work, but who secretly exerted all their powers and influence to oppose him and instigate the government to curtail his liberties and prevent the spread of the Gospel. Upon one occasion he was visited by two very pretty young native women who were attractively dressed and highly perfumed, and who expressed a desire to investigate "Mormonism." He received them cordially and offered to afford them any information he could, but was blessed with the spirit of discernment and impressed with the fact that they were not sincere in their profession, but had, in fact, come for the purpose of seducing him. He surprised them by telling them of his suspicion as to the purpose of their visit, and that certain rival ministers had induced them to come to him, suggesting to them that Elder Brown was hypocritical in his profession of religion, and in reality a licentious man who would readily succumb to the cunning wiles of lewd women and, by being caught in the trap devised by them, have his reputation blasted and his missionary work effectually stopped by the exposure that would follow. The women acknowledged that he had correctly discerned and described the cause and purpose of their visit and the identity of its instigators, and on being warned to repent and assured that "Mormon" missionaries were not such characters as they had been led to suppose, the women abandoned the scheme to which they had lent themselves, and left him.

The first baptism in which Elder Brown officiated on the islands was that of a highly educated and influential young native woman who had become convinced of the truth of the principles he taught and applied to him to baptize her. She was so ill that she had to be carried into the water, but when she was baptized she was immediately healed and walked out of the water without help. The ministers raised a great outcry about his endangering her life by immersing her, and soon had the police searching for him for the purpose of placing him under arrest. The officers failed to find him, although he made no effort to evade them, and the excitement over the baptism of the young woman gradually subsided.

Failing to get the consent of the governor or other officials for them to engage in missionary labor, and tiring of the restraint of remaining in comparative idleness in the region of Papeete, the Elders decided to scatter out and do missionary work as they might find opportunity.

While Elder Brown was on his way to Tubuai, where he was appointed to preside, the boat upon which he was making the voyage had to put into the harbor of the island of Laivavai to seek refuge from a storm. He mentions that the island was only four miles in length and two in width, and had a population of three hundred and eighty-three people. He described them as having the wildest and fiercest look of any that he had ever met. However, he had no cause to complain of their treatment at the time. His next stop was on the island of Tubuai, which is only twelve or fifteen miles in length, and had a population of four hundred. It was upon this island that the gospel was first introduced. That was in July, 1844, the missionaries being Addison Pratt, Noah Rogers and B. F. Grouard, who were sent on a mission from Nauvoo by the Prophet Joseph Smith, in 1843. Knowlton F. Hanks was also one of the party called to fill this mission, but he died during the voyage to his field of labor. While attempting to effect a landing, the boat had the narrowest possible escape from being wrecked upon a coral reef. As it was, the passengers were spilled into the raging billows among crags and rocks, but were fortunate in escaping serious injury.

After laboring for awhile on the island of Tubuai, he proceeded to Anaa, in the Tuamotu group. A somewhat unusual incident occured when Elder Brown and a number of other passengers were about to land at Tuuhora on the island of Auaa. As they neared the shore a native came bounding through the water until he reached the stern of the boat where Elder Brown was seated. Then he reached out his hand which had in it five pearls wrapped in a small rag, saying at the same time: "Here, I have seen you before. You have come to be our president, for you have been shown to me in a dream. Welcome, welcome to our land!" He then turned his broad, muscular back towards Elder Brown and invited the missionary to mount and be carried ashore. The Elder gladly did so, and notwithstanding he was an unusually large man, he was carried with ease to the shore, where he was joyfully greeted by a goodly number of church members who soon prepared a feast of welcome for him.