January 24, 1870 ~ Monday

Jan 24

I met with the Legislative Council & spent the forenoon I
called upon President Young while there I had an interview with
Mr John E. Cowles son of Egbert Cowles of Farmington Connecticut
He is the first man I have met with from my Native town for
the last 20 years. He gave me a great deal of information
concerning all the inhabitants of my Native town. I attended
the lecture delivered in the tabernacle in the Evening By Mr
Russell H Conwell He had travelled through Europe Asia &
America & was Now on his wasy to China & Jappan, his lectu-
re was vary interesting, giving an account of Ancient Baby-
lon Syria & Jerrusalem Of Abram offering up his son
Isaac & Jesus Praying in the garden of Gethsemane. He
gave an account of what had befalen him in his travels, while
walking on the shores of the dead sea A man wanted him to
buy a peace of Lots wife after paying him twice for it to get
red of him He flung it into the dead sead & the man went in
& got it out of the mud & slime & want him to buy it again
He was robed By two Frenchmen in pParis of his money &
watch & when they started to leave him he drew a pistol
& ordered to them to lay down what they had taken from him
& rather than be shot they laid down on the ground his
watch & money & then run away He reported them to the police
office they asked him why he did [not] shoot them He said because
his pistol was not loaded many other amusing anecdotes
He told He prophesied a good deal concerning these mountains
& the people who inhabit them He said the higher & more
rugged the mountains the stronger & more rugged the
people many other remarks were made of interest

January 25, 1870 ~ Tuesday

25 We had a hard storm this morning I went to the Legislative
Council Mr Cowles called upon me & spent an hour at my
desk I had an interesting time iwith him in conversing upon
[FIGURE] the affairs of Farmington He said Samuel dDeming was
dying with a cancer in the face I used to work for
him when I was a Boy Nearly all of the families of the
Cowles & dDemings were dead & their property gave into other Hands
I wrote a Letter to Samuel Demings of Farmington