family in 1841. I found them highly interesting & also the present work it is a great proof of the truth of the Book of Mormon I read them with the highest degree of interest

19th This was one of the awful, fearful, dangerous, exciting, affecting, grand, sublime, and interesting, days Journey I ever took in my life. Our boat was drawn out of the canal on cars prepared to run on the railroad to convey us over the Allegany mountain which is a novel scene indeed to see a canal boat taken apart into 4 sections loaded with freight & passengers & hoisted on a rail road by inclin plains into the air 1500 feet over the highest mountains & then desend into the valley below in the same way & evry rod is attended with the greatest danger & what adds dread to the

is having carless men in attendance who seem indiferent bothe to their business & the lives of men, which was apparent during this days scene at least But to the detail. Horses was hiched to our cars drew us four miles & a half then we come to the first incline plaine which we had to rise two cars wer fassened at the top of the plain to the same rope that ours was fassened to at the bottom, the engine was stationed in a build- ing at the top of the plain that drew the cars up & down when all was ready the signal was given by raising a red flag the engine was put in operation & the cars started, this Plain was a half a mile long & raised 180 feet we went up in 2 minutes, & I was truly thankful to reach the top for had the rope broak or fastning untied we should have rolled back to the bottom with a tremen- dious crash, we were then carried on to Plaine No. 2, which raised 125 [feet] in half a mile our boat rocked badly while going up but No accident hapened. we then continued on a level untill we came to the incline plane No 3. this was one mile & a quartr long & raised 320 feet which we went up in 4 minutes before we reached the top the safty car that was attached to our boat was flung from the track which draged many rods & flung the roap of the wheels for 10 or 12 rods I made a signal to the engeneer who stoped & it was replaced, here again we were in danger of breaking the rope which would have sent us back down the mountain more than a mile or turned us

over into the yauning gulf below in eith[er] case we would have been dashed to atoms my hare rose on my head, but having got all things ready we proceded on to plane No 4. 3/4 of a mile long & assended 265 feet we rose this in 3 min but it looked awful to be thus suspended almost in the air with such a wait lives and freight depending upon an not, a twine, a rope a pin an engine, care of a man either of which should give way all would be dashed to atoms unless saved by miracle. we next continued onto plain No 5. 3/4 of a mile long 280 feet rise we were carried up this also in 3 minutes, which brought us on to the summit of the Allegany mountains. The whole 5 incline plains on our assending the mountain are four miles in length which raises us perpendicular 1,170 feet & I felt thankful to God that I was on the top of the mountain alive but we had got to desend in the same way that we assended, we run on the top of the mountain about 5 miles & then began to desend we found snow on the top of the mountain & it was exeeding cold we had 6 incline planes to desend to get to the bottom of the mountain, the whole of which was attended with equal danger and car[e]lessness as we came upon the brink of one of them the Cars being drawn by horses, the men had left the breakers the conductor seeing the cars coming & about to run onto the Horses He hollowed [hallooed] for the men to break but finding no one at the break ers & the cars approaching the incline plain the team- ster liberated his horses as soon as possible & they Just escaped being run over & the conductor sprung to the breaker himself & with great

exhertion merely saved it from runnind down the plain, which would have dashed it to attoms I was standing in the cars at the time I instantly flung my cloak from my sholdiers shoulders & prepared myself from leaping out of the cars in case it should start down the plain in either case it might have killed me but I knew it was certain death to go down the plain but through the mercy of God they were stoped before they began to desend the whole distance was a constant scene of danger, & I called upon God in my heart to preserve my life even while on a level we were running on the edge of precpices hundreds of feet deep which if a wheel should break or run off the track the cars would shurely be plunged down the precepices which would make an end of all flesh that was on board we passed through one tunnel in the mount ain & when we reached the bottom of the incline plaines I felt thankful to God & felt that we were mostly out of danger but they put the boat together & started it on the rail with all on board without horse or steem and the rail road being a little desending it increased in speed untill it run at a rapid rate & was still in danger of upsetting it run of itself 4 miles untill it came to the canal whare it was to take water & here again to finishe the day with danger a train of cars was left in our track & with all the power that could be exherted on the breaks we bearly mised of having a smashe up at last, we finally got rolled into the water alive with no bones broakin or lives lost & for one I had a glad heart

while conversing with the mate in the evening on the subject he remarked that we were not sensib- le of one half of the danger that we were in during the procedings of that day but I was sensible of a good deal at least we got into the canal about dark being 36 miles from canall to canal in crossing the mountains we travled all night in the canal which was one constant scene of locks