1852 - Jan. 10, Sat. I set sail from Liverpool with a large company of Saints [p.1] 333 on the sailing ship, Kennebec, bound for New Orleans.

March 11, Thur. I bound myself out to work for a company two years to pay my passage back to them.

March 14. Arrived at New Orleans after a long and dreary passage of about 10 weeks. I suffered with seasickness and sore throat for two weeks, which left me very weak. We left the same day going up the Mississippi River upon an old frail craft of a boat called the "Pride of the West," it might have been entitled to that name in an early day, but not then. It was chained together to keep it from falling to pieces and they kept her near the edge of the river all the way to St. Louis where we arrived the last of the month. We remained there about two days and our President Eli B. Kelsey in connection with David J. Ross (both since have apostatized) again chartered another old worn out steam boat, "Saluda" to take us up the Missouri River to Council Bluffs.

April 1. We started with about 75 or 80 Saints on board

April 4, Sun. We reached Lexington, and the captain and firemen did their best to make headway at this point, where it ran very swift, and after trying several hours they gave it up and crossed on the other side of the river, where there were no houses and tied up the boat for the night.

April 5. The river was floating full of ice, large block from two feet thick and two rods long and larger. So we could not move any for four days.

April 8, Thursday morning we crossed back to Lexington. The ice was not floating quite so bad. It broke the paddle wheels some and they repaired them for starting next day.

April 9, Fri. I was sleeping by the side of the boilers with a young man the name of James Molton and I had charge of a family by the name of May, whose father with his eldest son had left the boat with E.B. Kelsey a few days before coming to this place, to buy and drive stock to the Bluffs for our journey across the plains. Finding that they were getting ready to move, I got up and went ashore and bought some provisions for the family, and commenced eating breakfast [p.2] and while I was in the act of taking a drink of coffee the boilers burst, blowing away about half the boat, taking away the fore part of it. It killed and wounded about 50 of the Saints, the most part died and also about 25 of others which died. I was blown about two rods and under a bunk with a man with his brains out. I was stunned and made senseless for about half an hour with a hole cut in my head near the brain. The sensation which I had while in this position was that I thought I was floating down the river upon broken pieces of plank. I finally saw daylight through a door way, which proved to be the door by the paddle wheels. A man ran past me and I followed him and jumped off on the side next to the land, which did not sink with me, but I could not stand after getting off. I had to lie down upon some boards laying there while the blood was streaming down my face from the wound in my head. I learned that none of the family which I had charge of had been killed, but one somewhat wounded, which recovered. I went back into the boat after I had somewhat recovered to see if I could find any of my things, and I had two shepherd dogs on board from England, but they were blown away. I found the bread which I had in my hand, also my knife each covered with blood, and the tin cup that I had up to my mouth at the time mashed flat as a dollar. The people of the place were very kind to the wounded. The fine steam boat, "Isabel," which was waiting at St. Louis for a load, left several days after we did and came up the night before the accident happened. It lay just below us, and they saw the bodies flying in the air and endeavored to rescue what they could, but very few were saved that were blown in the river. Many were in their beds asleep at the time. It was thought best for all that were able to be moved to take the boat which was there and had made the noble offer of taking us free to the Bluffs. I lost one box of clothing entirely and one box in the hold of the vessel amidst mud and water which was taken out after and got a few of the things, but mostly spoiled, so I took the boat again very reluctantly with what I had upon my back, and another shirt and one sock with no hat on my head and no money to buy anything for myself or the family, but the Lord raised up kind friends that were strangers to me and gave me money to buy provisions for the family to last [p.3] till we got to the Bluffs, where we arrived and found kind friends, but our troubles were not at an end, for a few days after Brother May and his son with E.B. Kelsey and others that we with them came home. Brother George May, the father, soon took sick with the cholera and died June 23, and his youngest daughter also died with the same disease on the 27 in the morning. At this same our the oldest daughter, Elizabeth, took sick and although she was a strong, robust young woman, just past 20 years, yet about sundown she was reduced to a skeleton and died. We buried her about 10 o'clock that night with very sorrowful feelings. I also took the same disease but through the blessings of the Lord it passed off with no very bad effect upon me.

June 29. We moved in the direction of the Missouri River as the neighborhood was so much excited over it. So we had to take to our tents and wagons and move off.

July 1. We reached the river near the point where Winter Quarters once stood. While remaining on the banks under the large cottonwoods another one of the family died on the 2nd, William May, the youngest son. We finally crossed the river by a large ferry boat and camped on the north side of old Winter Quarters now Omaha. . . .

. . . Oct. 16, Sat. We arrived in Salt Lake City feeling very thankful that we had reached our home in safety. My father and mother had reached a month before me, they having crossed the plains up the South Platte River. [p.4]

BIB: Ballard, Henry. Reminiscences and diary (Ms 1699), pp. 1-4. (CHL)
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