May 17, 1886

Today we bid our friends farewell in Schaffhausen. We are leaving for Zion. What a happy day. I shall never forget the day.

We entrained in Neuhausen. Several members of the branch accompanied us to the station. We arrived in Basel early in the afternoon. Father said this---his journal---May the Lord bless those of our brethren and sisters remaining behind and bless us on our trip to Zion.

This afternoon we met Elder John Kunz the first time. His brother David and he met us on the Rhein Bridge in the city of Basel as we were going to the hotel in that city for the night.

A great many other Saints from other parts of Switzerland met there to continue our journey the following day up through Germany from here to Luxemburg and to Antwerp, where we embarked on the small ship "Arizona" up the North Sea or German Ocean to Hull, England. The voyage on the North Sea was rough.

We met the Ulrich Weilman family in Basel. Father had met this man before. He loaned father some money to emigrate which father paid back in due time after we got to Zion.

I remember the city of Liverpool with its cobble rock streets. We were 11 days on the ocean. We crossed on the steam ship Nevada. Landed in Castle Garden where the customs officers made inspections. We had supper in a Swiss hotel. The manager's name was [p.104] Alleman. Dear mother was quite sick on the water. The sea was rough at times.

We met many fine English Saints. They used to sing the songs of Zion and some of our Swiss Saints sang and yodeled.

Sister Maggie Berger (later became the wife of Brother John Eschler) was kind to father in helping him carry his heavy suit cases from hotel to station, also sister Lizzie Grosjean (later married Sam Wuthrich of Montpelier) was very helpful and kind.

Also German Saints joined us in Liverpool. And a lot of Swedish girls, and about 200 Russian Jews. Among the Swiss Saints there the Schwendimann family, Kohler of Midway, Karl Friedli of Logan, Brother Gilgen, the Weileman of Paris. Sam Berger, the Luthi family from Freedom or later moved to Freedom, Wyoming. (Robert Swan, T. E. Fremann brothers-in-law--an English convert) whom we met at Slug Creek years afterwards.

Our trip across the continent was interesting to me and to all of course but I was seeing things to be remembered by me all through life. While in Kansas City, Missouri. Sister Emma spent her 6th birthday anniversary. Father bought her a baloney (wurst) of which she never tired all through life (I mean of baloneys). In Kansas I saw the first American cheese, colored yellow! [Swiss cheese is white.]

I noted with great interest the western prairie land, prairie dogs and the Rocky Mountains, the ranch houses, the log cabins, everything looked good to me. We were nearing the Zion we longed to see.

The passenger coaches were crude things, nothing like the present ones.*

Somewhere in Missouri I saw the first mules I ever saw in my life.

We arrived in Montpelier June 9 about 3 p.m. Uncle Will Kunz and William J. Kunz met us at the station with team and wagon, and took us to Bern. I remember the great amount of water from the Parrey place (Tom Parrey) to Bern through the bottoms. The water came into the wagon boxes in many places along the route. We arrived in Bern in due time and there met dear sister Annie and in a day or so father brought Mary down from Paris. What a joy for us [to] meet our dear ones again. Mary could scarcely speak German any more . . .

*(This journal was transcribed and written in English by Robert Schmid many years after the events from his original notes and from his father's journal.[p.105])

BIB: Schmid, Robert. [Journal Extract] In the German-Speaking Immigration to Utah 1850- 1950, masters thesis by Douglas D. Alder at University of Utah, 1959, pp.104-5.
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