Thinking it was my duty to report the fact of my being a pioneer to Salt Lake Valley, I take the present opportunity of briefly stating a few incidents in regards to my starting out, and final safe arrival in Salt Lake Valley.  I started with my parents in the old ship Brooklyn in the company of Saints under the charge of Samuel Brannan, on the 4th day of February 1846, and after a tedious and somewhat stormy passage, arrived at the little town of Yerba Buena (now the great metropolis of San Francisco), on the 6th day of July the same year; being six months on the water.  Soon after we had landed, Samuel Brannan concluded to form a joint stock company, and locate the Saints on a piece of land he had selected, and form a colony from which, as he said, would spring up and form a large and flourishing city.  My parents not seeing the point withdrew, or more properly speaking, did not agree to his proposition, but concluded to paddle their own canoe.  We took passage on the Brooklyn as far as Monterey, and there I engaged with Dr. Semple to work on his newspaper, The Californian, the first paper published in California by an American.  The paper was printed half in Spanish and half in English, to suit the mixed population.  It was finally moved to San Francisco, and I still worked on it till the spring of 1847, when the Saints were counseled to gather to the mountains.My parents obeyed the call, by getting an outfit, sending for me to come home, and starting some time about the first of August.  We traveled as far as Pleasant Valley, where our teamster left us to dig gold; and as we could not get another, the folks concluded to stop and try their hand at digging the precious stuff.  But with all their persuasions and entreaties it seemed to me that I could not be satisfied to stop with them, and finally they gave me an outfit and I came to the mountains with James Ferguson and a company of Mormon Battalion.We arrived in Salt Lake in the month of October 1847.  The Saints were then living in a fort, that is the greater part of them.  It was quite a trial to one so young as I was, being but 14 years of age, to be deprived of bread and other necessaries of life, and subsist mostly on segos and thistle roots, which I was forced to do while tending the crops the next spring, and fighting the crickets.  But our trouble was greatly reduced on the arrival of the sea gulls, who made short work of the crickets, and saved us a small crop.  I did not realize at that time the hand of an overruling Providence in sending the gulls, but I now know that nothing but the intervention of the Lord could have saved this people at that time, and I feel thankful that I was permitted to pass through what I did, as that experience is worth more to me than all the gold of California.  I said I would be brief, but I believe I have overreached the limit and will close.  John S. Hyatt