1880-04-22-Wyoming
James Lovett Bunting Diary
Bunting, James Lovett. Diary (Ms 1945 2), fd. 2, vol. 3, pp. 152-53,155-73.
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Tuesday 20th: During the night the wind ceased and the ocean this morning was quite calm. All hands on deck and feeling well. Accompanied by my counselors and Elder George Emery, our clerk, I went among the passengers of our company and collected all their vouchers. Placing them in separate envelopes to hand over to our agent W.[William] C. Staines for our railway tickets. During our voyage I have made several friends among the saloon passengers, one of whom "Herr Bartok, Transylvania via Hungarian. A [p.163] gentleman bearing letters of a business character from prominent persons in Europe and showing he was engaged in buying horses and shipping them to England. He desired letters of introduction to some of our people in Salt Lake City. I therefore gave him a note addressed to Honorable Faremory [Feramorz] Little, mayor and Honorable. G. [George] Q. Cannon, representative of Utah at Washington D. C. I also gave him my photo as he desired it. I am under the impression the Lord will open the way for someone to go and preach the gospel in Transylvania via Hungary before long and I have felt it my duty to make a friend in the person of Herr Francz Bartok, who I believe is an honest man and although that is a Catholic country and he has been trained in that religion yet as he told me, that was a humbug and a delusion. He expressed very liberal views. This evening we enjoyed an entertainment of songs, recitations & such amongst our passengers. [p.164]
Wednesday 21st . Very fine morning. The fine S. S. "Arizona" was sighted off to the south of us on her return to Liverpool, having left New York yesterday. At 8 o'clock a pilot boat was in sight and which was soon alongside of us. We took a pilot on board and then proceeded shortly after breakfast Captain Rigby took me to his cabin and gave me two copies of the company's tract chart showing the distances made each day from Liverpool to New York which was i.e. after leaving Queenstown Monday at noon 12th to Wednesday 21st respectfully 12th-220, 13th-330, 14th-316, 15th-214, 16th-200, 17th-178, 18th-290, 19th-256, 20th-330, 21st-334 & 140 miles remaining for Wednesday p.m. which will make 3108 miles the distance between New York & Liverpool. By the aid of our clerk, Elder [George R.] Emery I wrote to President Budge an account of our journey for publication in the "Star." [MILLENNIAL STAR] At prayer this morning I gave advice and counsel to the Saints to be and have all things ready for disembarkation tomorrow [p.165] morning and to keep a strict look out for the safety of themselves & their luggage. I wrote letters to my niece M. A. and to my daughter Ellen E.
Thursday 22nd . Fine, beautiful morning. We had to cast anchor last evening about 9 p.m. as the tide was too low to cross the bar at Sandy Hook. All on board were delighted with the scenery of Staten Island, Long Island, and Jersey City. Quarantine officers came on board and we passed on to the Guion Docks and were met there by Elder [William C.] Staines & Mr. Gibson. I accompanied the former to his office, 8 Battery Place. He gave me instruction for the management of our company and arranged for our railroad tickets. I had quite a hard time passing my luggage at custom house as I had so much goods belonging to Brother Budge, Rider & others all of which [p.166] was taxed. About 8 o'clock p.m. we were all comfortably seated in the cars and shortly after that hour the signal was given and we started on our overland journey. This was a very hard day's work for me and for many of the Saints. Our accommodation in the cars for sleeping was rather limited but all the passengers felt glad to get off the sea and enjoy the cushioning seats of the railway cars.
Friday 23rd . We enjoyed the scenery of the Allegheny Mountains very much. I wrote to Brother W. [William] C. Staines and sent him three surplus tickets I discovered I had got. �
