surge be hurled with all their force into the births
of the men, women, & children which would endanger
the lives of all on seeing the foundation of this mass
give way Elder W. Richards & myself sprang to
this place of danger & braced ourselves against the
barrels & held them for a few moments untill it
was a little secured I then went on deck to the Captain & informed him of the situation of things
below & he sent the sailors with some ropes & secured
the pile which was endangering the lives of many
After this was done I again repaired to the Aft quarter
deck to behold the raging of the tempest & the wonders
of the deedp & the movements of the ship which was the
greatest scenery I ever beheld upon the water
Elde[r]s Young, Kimball, Richard's & Smith was with
me on deck for a time but all had now gone below
except Elder Richards & myself & the officers &
crew, we were shiping heavy seas it was now
about sun set I stood in the middle of the aft quarter
deck holding the Captains speaking trumpet in one
hand & holding to a fast bench with the other when
we shipped a tremendious sea on the windward
side of us which passed clear over the quarter deck
on which I stood. On seeing that we could not esca-
pe it Elder Richards flung himself close under the
Bulwarks & the body of the wave went clear over
him without wetting him but little but as I could
not take the same advantage I flung myself
upon the deck & held upon the fast seat whare I
remained untill the sea passed over me & left me
drenched in the surge I now thought it time for
me to leave my seat of observation for the day
& go below as I was thoroughly wet with salt water,
I went to bed but did not sleep but little for
the ship rocked at a dredful rate boxes, barrels,
& tines were tumbling from one end of the
cabin to the other. And in the steerage about 15
Births were flung down 9 at one surge with
all the men women & children flung into a pile in
the midst of the berths but no lives lost or bones
broken. This is the 8th day in succession that we
have had strong headwind
surge be hurled with all their force into the births
of the men, women, & children which would endanger
the lives of all on seeing the foundation of this mass
give way Elder W. Richards & myself sprang to
this place of danger & braced ourselves against the
barrels & held them for a few moments untill it
was a little secured I then went on deck to the
Captain & informed him of the situation of things
below & he sent the sailors with some ropes & secured
the pile which was endangering the lives of many
After this was done I again repaired to the Aft quarter
deck to behold the raging of the tempest & the wonders
of the deep & the movements of the ship which was the
greatest scenery I ever beheld upon the water
Elders Young, Kimball, Richards & Smith was with
me on deck for a time but all had now gone below
except Elder Richards & myself & the officers &
crew, we were shiping heavy seas it was now
about sun set I stood in the middle of the aft quarter
deck holding the Captains speaking trumpet in one
hand & holding to a fast bench with the other when
we shipped a tremendious sea on the windward
side of us which passed clear over the quarter deck
on which I stood. On seeing that we could not escape it Elder Richards flung himself close under the
Bulwarks & the body of the wave went clear over
him without wetting him but little but as I could
not take the same advantage I flung myself
upon the deck & held upon the fast seat whare I
remained untill the sea passed over me & left me
drenched in the surge I now thought it time for
me to leave my seat of observation for the day
& go below as I was thoroughly wet with salt water
I went to bed but did not sleep but little for
the ship rocked at a dredful rate boxes, barrels,
& tines were tumbling from one end of the
cabin to the other. And in the steerage about 15
Births were flung down 9 at one surge with
all the men women & children flung into a pile in
the midst of the berths but no lives lost or bones
broken. This is the 8th day in succession that we
have had strong headwind
"Journal (January 1, 1841 – December 31, 1842)," April 28, 1841, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, accessed November 28, 2024, https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/p/zpY