We left Copenhagen in the fall of 1854 on the ship "Simplede", with 400 Danish Saints. We had hardly got to sea when a terrible storm arose which buffeled us around terribly and compelled us to put back to port.

We waited several days and put to sea again. Another storm came, worse than the first and we certainly expected to go to the bottom.

The captain gave up hope. We lost our bearings and were driven up the coast of Norway, where the captain recognized the coast and worked his way into Fredrickstad Harbor. We stayed there for eleven days and put the ship in shape, and went to sea again. Another storm came on but we made out to get across to Hull, England where we took train for Liverpool.

We were in Liverpool a week when we took the ship James Nesmith for New Orleans.

We were six weeks on the voyage. The first mate was from Missouri, and hated the Mormons, so made it very unpleasant for us, the entire voyage. The first Sunday when we were holding a meeting he came and stopped us; but we appealed to the captain and he gave us permission. The mate then got even with us by giving us poor food and not enough of that. At New Orleans we took boat [p.3] for St. Louis, where we arrived without incident. There we were met by Erastus Snow and Milo Andrus, who took us in charge, and aided us in buying supplies for the journey across the plains. We then took boat for Atchison, Kansas. It was March and the weather was very cold.

We had not tents or shelter and were dumped off the boat into a grove of wood, where we had a hard time until we got tents made, after which we were quite comfortable.

Cholera broke out in camp. We got work for the men preparing ground for a ware house. We were there ten weeks. Brother Andrus was away buying cattle and we were busy making tents, wagon covers etc. for the journey across the plains. We were not familiar with driving cattle and we had a terrible time for a few days.

It took four of us to one yoke of cattle. The cattle did not understand Danish.

We reached Salt Lake in the fall of 1855, having been nearly a year on the road. . . . [p.4]

BIB: Larsen, Hans Peter. Autobiography. (Ms 8237, reel 4, item #71), pp. 3-4. Acc. #33439. (CHL)
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