. . . when after receiving many kind wishes for my welfare and a promise of their prayers I took a kind leave of them & left them in tears. Brother William Taffingder having spent the eve with us, now very kindly accompanied me to the ship and conducted me to that part of it that was destined to be my future home or rather my abode for a time, all was dark and gloomy. My friends also seemed sorrowful and dejected on inquiring the cause, I was told that Brother Rhodes had been out in town and had got robbed of all the money he had--this brought a change upon our future prospects. He was the only one among us that possessed means & he had promised to defray our expenses from New York to Nauvoo but now our hopes were plighted.

Sister Bleasdale says, Mary the ship will sail in the morning what shall we do. I replied our passage is paid, our provisions are on board, let us go to New York, the Lord is just as able to sustain us there as he is if we should remain here, and so long as we walk uprightly before him we shall have no cause to fear, for he has promised that he will never forsake those who put their trust in him.

On the 23rd [December] about 10 o'clock we drew anchor and set sail. We were towed out by a steamboat about 2 miles which then left us.

It was with feelings of no ordinary kind that I took a last look upon my native shore which was now fast fading away in the distance, and launched out upon the broad Atlantic Ocean. We had a fair wind and our Gallant Ship bore us on majestically at the rate of 8 knots per hour. Six o'clock eve about this time most of the passengers were sick, myself among the rest. Nevertheless I rested tolerable good through the 24th. Sister Bleasdale and myself both sick, nevertheless we made out to prepare our food and Brothers Rhoads and Bleasdale took it on deck to the fire and tended it while it was cooking, but 'twas little food I eat.

25 Christmas day, pies & puddings were made and eat in all quarters of the ship. But Mary cared nothing about them for she was too sick to eat.

The next berth to mine was occupied by two young ladies who were following their intended husbands to America, one of them was proud and haughty, the other was pleasant and amiable, the latter became my companion during the voyage, and was always very kind to me when sick. She always accompanied me on deck and when there remained by my side & assisted me to walk from one place to another, her name was Ann.

Our captain was an American and was very kind to us. He would often bring a couple of chairs out of the cabin for Ann and me to sat on, in the porch of the cabin door, and would then give each of us a rope from the mast which stood in from of us to balance ourselves by and would then ask us if we ever enjoyed a nicer rocking than we was then taking.

I used to ask him then if he did wish his . . .[manuscript ends abruptly] [p.61]

BIB: Richards, Mary Haskin Parker, [Memorandum], IN Winter Quarters: The 1846-1848 Life Writings of Mary Haskin Parker Richards, ed. By Maurine Carr Ward (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1996) p. 61. (CHL)
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