. . . March 22. The large forests continue to be seen. Many small houses and huts are seen; also some small towns; also bigger plantations with lines of little houses, in which Negroes that are doing the plantation work, live. At other places the small houses are in poor condition. The ship soon laid into a small town on the east shore of the river with high hills east of the city but the ship soon sailed forward again.

March 23. We see everyday different makes of steamships. Some have their "wheel" in the middle of the ship, others at the back, that operates similar to the waterwheel at a flour mill. We see several small towns and single houses in the fields. Today we sailed into the shore at two places where many pretty buildings were erected.

March 24. Today we have again sailed into two small cities. We see many forest fires and we saw a sunken steamship in the river. Seemingly some small ships without machinery are sailed into the borders and are occupied as dwelling houses.

March 25. LANGFREDAG - Friday before Easter Day. In the middle of the forenoon we passed a small town with may prettily built houses.

March 26. No Notations.

March 27. Easter Sunday. We passed several nicely built-up towns. I have not felt well during the last few days but I am now feeling better for which I am thankful to God.

March 28. We passed many pretty towns and in one of these we saw a pretty church building and several factories, and a saw-mill. At one place we could observe a mining terrain from which hard coal was mined. (The part of the working that could be seen is described). I saw at one place several little boats with flat bottom and with steam-worked wheels on each side. In the evening we sailed into a small town where they (sailors) took packed barrels and similar merchandise aboard. [p. 7]

March 29th. It is supposed that we today shall come up to St. Louis. We are sailing today passing many big rocky hills, and some are very high. I cannot tell what kind of rock it is, and likely other passengers do not know either. We have a chance to see many things and observe many different people from different nations. At about half an hour past eleven we are sailing out for St. Louis. The name of the ship that we have our lodging in since we left New Orleans is "Grand Tower." I saw a kind of steamships on which people that are riding in wagons can drive out on the ship without unhitching the horses or getting off the wagon, and thereafter be taken over to the opposite side of the river. Today, for the first time, I viewed to upper facilities of our ship that is so practical and beautifully constructed that I would be short of words to describe the same. The ship's deck is longer and wider than the deck on the greatest war ship. The ship we were first passengers in, the Forest Monarch, was one of the biggest frigate ships and was 80 skridt (paces) long and "Grand Tower," 130 skridt. [HOW MANY FEET LONG IS NOT STATED]. People working by the day receive high wages in New Orleans, 4 or 5 rigsdaler [DANISH MONEY, CORRESPONDING TO 8-10 DOLLAR
S]. There are always a shortage of working men, and many men look finer in their work-dress than many well-dressed people in Denmark do in their Sunday dress; and they work smoking their cigar, many of them. The meals that ordinary working men get are so good and fat that if the men and women that are working for big farm owners in Denmark should live that high, then the owner of the farm would soon have to give up his property. The sea-faring men that are doing the work on English ships are getting quite good meals, but everything is "weighed and measured;" but American sailors are often served more than they can eat and what there is left over is thrown overboard!

March 30. From the ship we were given lodging in a big four story house near the river. Each room is crowded with as many as can be placed in the room and our lodging is paid for one month. We have our lodging in the second story. [p. 8]

April 1st. No notation.

April 2nd. No notation.

April 3rd. Sunday. During the night there had been a fire in the city that we could see form our beds. A very old woman died (probably related to Christensen that had died before; the Christensen that in Denmark had worked in a soap factory. The record does not give definite statement). Three pairs of people were married (names not given) Sobesyder Christensen's youngest child had died. (That child's death had likely already been recorded, but without statement as to who the child's father was).

From the 3rd of April until April 8th are no records given.

April 8th A young man by the name of Beckström, who during our journey had lost his memory and power to realize anything, died at the hospital. He was not a baptized church member, but had selected to journey with us to America.

From the 8th of April and until April 15th are no notations made.

April 15. Many different nations' people live here in St. Louis. Many Germans live here as they here have more political liberty than in Europe and the same arguments are stated by people from other countries. Everybody are given the privilege to work at things that they are most interested in and can best make a "living" at. Seemingly every working man and working woman are doing real well here so we do not find any real poverty-struck people here, that cannot get any thing to eat and so forth. Many thousands of emigrants arrive here every year but the greater part of the emigrants are journeying from here further up the country, taking passage up the river or otherwise. The city is for the present 1 miles (6 Danish miles) in reach one way, and at some places mile reaching out form the city in width-span, but there are yet many open places in the city. There are found factories of many different kind. Many houses are built of wooden boards as people must build the way they can best, or the way they want to; but the wooden board houses more often cause fire then brick houses and several burned down houses are seen in the city. There are many beautiful parks in the city with artificial water springs, at which places the fire department can attach their long water hoses to the water pipes, in case of fire, and so forth. [p. 9]

[April 15 continued] Although the parks are well cared for, the streets are not kept clean at many places. Many streets are not paved at all, but are only kept passable as ordinary country roads. Outside of the more prominent buildings are the street fronts only paved with brick work that are kept clean by sweeping. At certain places in the street can people throw their dirt, together with dead dogs and cats, etc., to be cleaned up by public sanitary cars; and the streets are sprinkled, when needed, and it often necessary to sprinkle the streets as fine sand, similar to white ashes, are blowing in on the streets. If there is too much mud on the street, then the house owners throw a plank or two to walk on. The curve for the water to run in are sometimes several feet deep and the sanitary condition often is miserable so that it is no wonder that many of the citizens are attacked by "yellow fever" and other infectious diseases.

The population of St. Louis claim membership in many different religion, societies, or churches, Catholic or Protestant, or in any. There are many church buildings in St. Louis. As well known, the United States grants religious liberty to all and in political respect, liberty to all, if criminal acts are not committed.

The temperature is not very even here. It may be hot weather today, but with a biting cold wind tomorrow! People go dressed about as in Denmark, but workers are usually nicer dressed, and not so heavy dressed. Wooden shoes are not used by workers here. The foods, cooked or fried, are too fat for Danish people. The beer is too strong, but is not generally drunk by working men. Between houses are often big lots
, that could be cultivated and planted with fruit trees, or with vegetables. The fruit trees, that are planted here are in flowers now. The fields outside the city are not cultivated yet. Chickens and swine move about at pleasure; but work horses, mules and cattle are all kept in good condition. They have here often five or six pairs of oxen lined up to pull heavy loads that are directed by a driver with a long whip; but seemingly the driver can manage the oxen or horses by commanding words, instead of using the long whip much. (The writer gives a description in detail of the hitching to wagons of two, or more horses, and of the harnessing of horses and oxen). Although there often is a surplus of lumber planks that come swimming down the river to St. Louis from the lumber mills and lumber cutting places from many mills above the city, and people can get less good planks or good cuts gratis, most people would rather buy No.1 planks as they have the money to buy them with. [p. 10]

(April 15 continued) There is a great many steamships laying in the water here, so sail ships cannot get in here, and many thousands of men are working at the shores on the goods brought to the city, or on the goods to be taken to some steamer for other points of destination and every worker is busy! Similar conditions were prevalent in New Orleans, but possibly even in greater degree, as besides steamships, thousands of ships with "sail" laid into that city with different kind of goods, and took aboard other kinds of goods for shipment. (The writer describes next the great wickedness that existed among some of the sailors, and among some workers aboard ship, so that at one place, where the frigate ship laid to the Mormon emigrants hesitated to leave the ship, as a man could even risk to be killed by some drunkard.) Nearly all the sailors became intoxicated, after they had got inland; but one of the sailors and the captain were exceptions, and when the captain came back aboard, he got very angry to see the disorder in everything, and he punished the officer next to him, even corporally, for not keeping sober and see to that everything were in order aboard the ship while he had gone inland, which order he had received from the captain.

One of the sailors by the name of Philip, who had been nice and polite to our church members during our stay on the frigate ship, deserted the frigate when we left the ship, and he left us half a mile higher up the river, where he likely went to work on some other ship.

But now I shall explain some more points in relation to St. Louis. It is, as if the whole city of St. Louis and adjoining fields were placed atop one great rock with mine cuts and stone cuts at different places near the city. The interesting stone formation can be cut for different purposes; for building purposes; for street coverings, and for other industrial doings. The whole stone formation is formed of individual layers on top of each other, and the stone is easily chiseled.

There are no notations for the dates between the 15th and 19th of April.

April 19. A child was born (if male or female is not recorded.)

April 20. There is often a house fire in St. Louis, and there were two fires in the evening. The last one was at 11:30 o'clock, but I could not personally observe it.

April 21. The half part of our company are now on a steamship, laying farther north; and about eight days from now, we, who are still here, expect to be following after them. We are now more comfortably situated, and almost feel like we were in another world. [p. 11]

April 22. After the noon hour there was another fire in the city. I was at the place, where the fire was. It was house, built of boards, that burned down.

April 23. No notations.

April 24. Sunday. A woman died (perhaps Paul Christian's wife. His name is recorded in connection with her.) During the time we have been here, we have had meetings on Sundays, and since the 17th of April I have been in good feeling, and I have, God be thanked, had peace in mind, and otherwise felt well bodily.

April 25. No notations.

April 26. In the evening many big stables of lumber burned down. That was the biggest fire that I have seen here.

April 27. I will now write some more about the city. Generally speaking, the span of life for men is very short, and 80 years old is considered a very high age. There are but few that get that old. I have visited two cemeteries, graveyards, on the west side of the city where the same good order of arrangements is seen, and grave-monuments are of different fashions, and made of the kind of stone described in the notations for April 15th; and many of the metallic frames around the graves are very nice and artistically made; but one old graveyard is in very poor order as I shall briefly describe. One of these graveyards has been closed up for additional burials for the present, likely mainly for the reason, that the grave-space had been taken up and this cemetery is boarded in and with a lock on the gate; but on the side of the gate are steps build up for visitors to get over the fence. The ground has evidently not been leveled in any measurable degree anywhere in the cemetery lot, as there are several low places with stinking water and wild grass is growing up over most of the terrain. It looks like that when the dead have lain several years in their graves, they then are dug up again and their skeleton or bones used for some certain purpose. Many graves seemingly had been dug up, the coffins broken, and the body tipped out or taken away. One coffin was again lowered in the open grave and part of the coffin is reaching up over the surface of the ground. Pieces of rotten meat from the dead bodies were laying, stinking on the surface. One person had been buried in a low place where there now stood water, but the name marking reached up from the grave.
[p. 12]

(April 27 continued) Many roads from the West lead into St. Louis and they are well leveled and prepared for traffic. These roads are about the same width as corresponding roads in Denmark, but the water ditches on the sides of the road are not always so well fixed, and there are not any trees planted on the sides of the roads. The roads are not graveled, but planks at some places are used for road beds, when compellingly necessary, as planks can be had plentifully. We stayed in St. Louis 4 months and 4 days.

April 28 and 29. No notations.

April 30. About sundown we sailed from St. Louis on a steamer. We went in to several towns on our sailing up the river and took in hard coal from one of these towns.

May 1st. Sunday evening. We went in towards a town called Keokuk, at which place we took our things out from the steamer. Some brethren had before us gone to a "camping" place for emigrants at Keokuk and they came and took us to the place where, before our arrival, emigrants from England had found "quarters". We were to be taken to that good company of church members. At Keokuk "open air" quarters. In Iowa.

May 2. In the morning I went out to see our "open air" lodging place that looked well to me. We came first to the place where emigrants from England were placed, and thereafter to the spot where we Danish emigrants should have our quarters, which begins a little way north from the town and goes up along the river, until we came to a "downhill" area with a quite big forest growth and from which place we could help ourselves to all the wood we needed for making fire and for other purposes.

May 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. No notations.

May 8th. Sunday. Our "territory" for quarters gets wider day after day. Each day additional wagons loaded with emigrants come to our quarters, and tents are put up to be the abode for emigrants. Also today emigrants arrived.

May 9. No notations.

May 10. No notations. [p. 13]

May 11. There were appointed captains for the different companies, or camps, and each camp counted the emigrants in 10 wagons. 1 head captain and four other captains were appointed at that time, and the different companies were admonished to assist each other (seemingly there were appointed 4 captains for each 10 wagons). The recorder writes, that he was in the third company (No. 6 wagon) under Captain Justesen. (Keokuk seemingly was a central place, where Latter-day Saints from England and other European countries, and from the states in America, at that time generally camped during their forward journey to Zion (Utah), and likely also a place, where other emigrants journeying to California, Oregon or other territories camped. The recorder counted that day 250 wagons at that place but many wagons had already left the camping place. . . . [p. 14]

. . . September 30. . . . The houses in Salt Lake City looked like Beehives. The women in our company of wagon load of people had dressed in their nicest dresses, with decorative fineries attached. Already out five o'clock in the evening we could see down to the got small city Salt Lake City, and we could view part of the great Salt Lake; and it looked to us , like the city was built on a stretch of morassy ground. But we were eager to drive ahead. It was dark, before we came in to the city. We had thought, that we would have had a drive through mud on the least stretch of drive to the city, but we were pleased, that the road was dry and good. AT the outside of the city some man brought to us a big watermelon. I did not know what kind of fruit that was. Well it was cut up in small pie es for us , and those of us that had a chance to taste the fruit, thought it had a fine flavor and tasted good. [p. 55]

BIB: Nielsen, Christian. Diary. February 1853-April 1858. (Ms 1619) pp.7-14, 55; Acc. #202707 (CHL)
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