Logan, Cache County, Utah,
Sept. 14, 1897

Dear Cousin: I will continue my narrative. The ship was named International. There were 419 passengers on board, English and Scotch - the latter were near the main hatchway, and always had onion soup for breakfast, and that was about the time I was doing my work on the steps. So I used to get the full benefit of the aroma, and that has lasted me so far that I have never wanted any onion soup until this time as yet. In about a week after leaving the River Mersey we were in nice warm weather. For five weeks we had headwinds and at this time we were only 10 days sail from Liverpool. The captain declared that with the same wind he could turn the ship and reach Liverpool in that time. Our president, Mr. Arthur, from Wales (I forgot we had quite a number of Welsh families on board) called a meeting and explained the situation to us. We then agreed to fast and pray for a fair wind. We did son the following day, and the wind changed that afternoon at 4 p.m. We made New Orleans in three weeks from this time and the captain declared that he had never sailed the same distance faster. During these three weeks we held many meetings and had quite a time of rejoicing. New Orleans is quite a distance up a river. We saw many slaves and their houses were close to the River. Their places looked very nice from the ship from what I could see. I thought slavery was far preferable to the poverty I had seen in Liverpool, but I could see only part of it. When we arrived at the dock in New Orleans there were the worst looking lot of men I ever saw ready to jump on board, but they were kept off, and they soon found out we were not going to land there. In about four days we were transferred to a large river steamer and continued our journey up the Mississippi River. Keokuk, Iowa was our outfitting point where we received our oxen, cows, and wagons. Here is where our camp life commenced. We were on the frontier of civilization; we remained here some time waiting for our oxen Here we were put in companies, twelve persons to a wagon. There were, I think, four families in our wagon; my family and that of an old man's was small. There was a captain over each ten wagons and a captain of the company of fifty wagons when we started from here. And when the wagon I belonged to was just pulling out a man comes to me and says, "You have been selected to remain here in company with three others to bring along a herd of cows when they come." I had never been one day away from my wife before since we [p.2] were married. The company went some distance to a place called Montrose, and by this time they found out that they were too heavily loaded for a journey of 1,300 miles. . . .

. . . I was so hungry the latter part of our journey that I had made up my mind that as soon as I got in the valley of Salt Lake I would commence to beg, but as usual, the last day I was a long way behind the [p.3] company. And as soon as I got out of the mountains I could see the city in the distance. I left two oxen that had hindered my progress all day, and traveled a little faster. When I reached camp my wife informed me that the people commenced to beg at every house they passed. When I learned that, it took al the courage out of me and one of our company, seeing we had nothing, gave us enough to make us a supper. Thus ended our journey, on the 30th of Sept., 1853. . . . [p.4]

BIB: Greaves, Joseph. [Letters], (Ms 3915), pp. 2- 4 Acc. #29829. (CHL)
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