FRIGID TRIP ON LONELY ROAD—TEAM EXHAUSTED—AGONY OF FREEZING—PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE—FRIEND INSPIRED TO GO TO HIS RELIEF—SHEEP HERDER INSPIRED TO MOVE CAMP—EFFECTS OF FREEZING ON FEET.

Brother Jedediah M. Brown, of South Bountiful, is a man of great faith. He feels that he has inherited the gift of faith, for he does not remember the time when he did not possess it. When he is in need of anything it is just as natural for him to appeal to the Lord therefor as it is to work for it, and he is an industrious man, who never fails when possible to combine works with faith.

When he was twenty-three years old he was employed by a co-operative sheep company, as superintendent of its three large sheep herds, that ranged during the winter on the Western Utah desert. One part of his duty was to furnish supplies to the several sheep camps, and for this purpose he made occasional trips to the nearest settlements.

In the early part of January, 1888, he started, with a horse team, from one of the sheep camps, to drive to Grantsville, forty miles distant. His intention was to drive to the settlement the first day, buy his supplies and rest his team during the next day, and return to the sheep camp the third day, and so informed the men at the sheep camp before starting.

Having no load, he drove through the first day without trouble, and secured his load, and, fearing some change in the weather might occur that would hinder his return, if he delayed starting, he decided to start back the next morning.

The weather had been mild and thawing, but soon after he started it became terribly cold, and the wagon was so hard to pull, because of the wheels breaking through the frozen crust, that one of the horses gave out before the journey was half accomplished. He had no matches with which to light a fire, nor bedding with which to keep warm, so he did not dare to camp. His only hope was to keep on traveling. The cold was so intense that he suffered the utmost agony, even while trying to keep his blood in circulation by walking.

He realized that he was in danger of freezing to death, and plead with the Lord in earnest prayer to spare him from such a fate. After awhile his pain from freezing grew less, and a feeling of numbness and overpowering disposition to sleep took possession of him. His ideas became confused; he scarcely had will power enough left to urge his team along or exert himself to walk; he frequently stumbled and fell to the ground, and he had great difficulty in regaining his feet; his power to resist the feeling of utter exhaustion and desire to sleep were almost gone.

Just then a man on horseback appeared in sight, and as he drew near he was recognized as Charles A. Howard, one of the men from the sheep camp. It transpired that this man about the time in the morning when Brother Brown's situation became critical was very strongly impressed to start out to meet him, although he had no reason to suppose that he would be on the road. He tried to reason away the impression but could not, then failed to act upon it for several hours, until it became so strong that he could resist it no longer, when he mounted a horse and started towards Grantsville, protected to the utmost from the intense cold. His horse was fresh, and he rode as rapidly as possible. He had traveled almost if not quite fifteen miles without seeing a sign of a human being, and was beginning to doubt the wisdom of what seemed to be his fruitless trip, when he espied a team in the distance. As he approached nearer he saw that it was his friend, and that his movements were much like those of a drunken man, staggering as he walked. He hastened to him, and found him so far gone that he could scarcely speak. He realized that he would have to act quickly to save his life, and that his only hope lay in taking him to the sheep camp, for Grantsville was so much farther away it would be useless to try to take him back there. It was then almost sunset, and growing more severely cold every minute. He hastily unharnessed the exhausted horse, saddled it and helped the suffering man to mount it; then hitched his riding horse to the wagon in the place of it. Urging Brother Brown to ride as fast as possible, he started driving the team towards the sheep camp. The frozen man, however, couldn't even maintain his seat upon the horse and had to be placed in the wagon, where is was with difficulty he was kept awake by his friend as he almost frantically drove the team.

They had not proceeded more than a mile and a half when, to their surprise, they came upon a sheep camp, which had just located beside the road, and which was nowhere in sight when young Howard had passed the spot going eastward.

The herd belonged to Bishop J. W. Hess, of Farmington, and one of his sons was in charge of it. As he afterwards explained, his camp had been located some distance away and he had no intention of moving it until the afternoon of that day, when, without any reason that he could offer, and notwithstanding the cold weather, he took a sudden notion to do so, and acted upon it. It was providential for Brother Brown that he had done so, as he might not have survived the long ride to his own camp.

A good fire was burning in the stove in the camp wagon, and the frozen man was immediately helped in beside it, and with true western hospitality every comfort the camp afforded was placed at his disposal. Stimulants were immediately supplied him, his boots were cut from his feet, as they could not be otherwise removed, and a proposition was made that his feet be thawed out in the oven of the stove, but young Howard knew that would be unwise, so he sat up all night and kept them packed in snow.

In the afternoon of the following day Brother Brown was removed to his own camp, where he had to remain and be cared for during the ensuing two weeks before he could stand it to ride home. During all that time it was necessary to keep his feet elevated, as the pain in them when hanging down was unbearable.

He really never recovered the use of his feet until Spring, as the skin peeled off them from his ankles to the ends of his toes, and the nails also were shed.

He has always since regarded the help he received from Brothers Howard and Hess as a direct answer to his prayer.