1846-08-27-New York Tribune-Progress of the Mormon Emigrants from this City
Progress of the Mormon Emigrants from this City
New York Tribune, 27 August 1846, pg 1
Last Winter a company of Mormon families left this city in the ship Brooklyn, Capt. Richardson, for California. So far as morality, enterprise, intelligence and habits of industry are concerned, they presented fair specimens of the universal Yankees, and seemed well fitted to lay the foundations of a great nation. The following extracts from a letter by one of their number give a favorable account of their progress:
- ISLAND OF JUAN FERNANDEZ, May 8th, 1846.
The second day out we experienced a heavy sea, and on the following Tuesday laid to all day, in a heavy gale of wind, which occasioned a great deal of suffering among the passengers, from sea-sickness, and being rolled from one side of the ship to the other, owing to their weakness; but they bore it without a murmur, or being in any way terrified at the danger, which was not a little.
Capt. Richardson (God bless the man!) and myself stood watching those noble "sticks" that have since done us such good service, with our hearts lifted up to the God of nations to spare them in his mercy. He did so, and the next day the ship flew before a fair wind like a thing of magic. We had a quick passage to Cape Horn, and found that the terrors of the passage round it, which had been depicted previous to our sailing, were all imaginary. Our little children were every day on deck, attending their schools, jumping rope, and engaged in all the other amusements resorted to to pass off the time. We had no freezing weather, and at no time was the thermometer in our cabin below 50°. On the deck, at one time, it fell for about three hours as low as 36°, which was accounted for by Capt. R. by our passing near an iceberg. We ran up to the Cape with a fair wind down the Pacific, which lasted till a few days ago. All was then life, joy and gladness, in the expectation of soon going ashore at Valparaiso. We dealt out fresh water for all to wash themselves and their clothes in. Capt. R. also scoured up the ship, and anticipated the astonishment of the natives at such a likely load of Yankees; for they certainly look one hundred per cent. better than when they left New-York, and since we started every thing has gone on with harmony and peace. We experienced, however, a heavy gale from the South, and were unable to continue our course with safety; so we scud before the wind, until it hauled to the East, and we thought it best to land at this Island.
There are but two families living on the Island, and they are distant only 20 days' sail from Fuckywana on the coast above Valparaiso. We found excellent water, and very easy to be obtained, about two rods from the beach; and plenty of fire-wood on the east sie of the left hand mountain as you enter the harbor. Goats, hares and pigs about here. The first settlement on this Island was burnt by the Peruvians six years ago; the fort destroyed, the canoes sunk in the harbor, and the convicts carried away. The last settlement was abandoned four years ago, at the time of the earthquake at Valparaiso, when the Island sunk and rose about fifty feet. I have been informed that ships watering at Valparaiso have to pay one dollar for every thirty gallons from the water-boats. If that be the case, our ships had better water at this Island.
The harbor here is said to be much the safest in a gale from the North—it lying on the North-east side of the Island, which makes it easy for ships to put to sea, if they do not lie too near the shore. We took on board 18,000 gallons of water yesterday, and to-day we are getting our wood on board, and we expect to sail to-morrow. We came to anchor in the harbor on the 4th day of May, at 1 o'clock, P.M. The ship has proved herself to be better than she was represented, and our captain and first mate have been good and kind to our company. I believe every book in the little library has been read through.
