[1]Cannon originally wrote the month as October but corrected it.

[2]In early February 1846, a company of approximately 230 Latter-day Saints under the direction of Samuel Brannan left New York on the ship Brooklyn for California via Cape Horn. After a brief stop at Honolulu, the Brooklyn arrived at Yerba Buena (later renamed San Francisco) on July 31, 1846. Instead of taking his company to meet with the main body of Saints in Utah, Brannan traveled east in 1847 to persuade Brigham Young to have the Latter-day Saints settle in California. Unsuccessful in this endeavor, Brannan returned to California, where he made his home, along with a number of others who had traveled on the Brooklyn. For additional information on the Brooklyn and its passengers, see Bullock, Ship Brooklyn Saints; Hansen, “Voyage of the Brooklyn”; Crockett, “Voyage of the Brooklyn”; “Ship Brooklyn Saints,” in Carter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 3:473–587.

[3]In October 1819 the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and affiliated with the Congregational Church, sent a company of missionaries to the Sandwich Islands, where they arrived the following spring. Between 1822 and 1847 the ABCFM sent eleven additional companies to the Sandwich Islands. These were supplemented by other Protestant missionaries, mostly Congregationalists, and included ministers with the American Seamen’s Friend Society of New York, who were stationed in Honolulu and Lahaina. While Christianity had been introduced to the islands by the many visitors who frequented the islands’ ports, the vast majority of Hawaiians still adhered to the ancient Hawaiian religion. Within a few years of the missionaries’ arrival, however, Christianity was the predominant religion in Hawai‘i. The influence of these missionaries upon the educational, political, and social aspects of Hawaiian life was also great. In addition to establishing schools, several ABCFM missionaries left the mission to accept high-level government positions. Following the adoption of religious tolerance by the Hawaiian government in 1839, Catholic priests began extensive work in Hawai‘i. By 1850 Catholics had congregations and schools throughout the islands. For overviews of the Christian missions in the Hawaiian Islands before 1850, see Missionary Album; Phillips, Protestant America and the Pagan World; Wagner-Wright, Structure of the Missionary Call to the Sandwich Islands; Grimshaw, Paths of Duty; Zwiep, Pilgrim Path; Schoofs, Pioneers of the Faith; Yzendoorn, History of the Catholic Mission in the Hawaiian Islands.

[4]Cholera, a food- or waterborne gastrointestinal disorder marked by severe diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps, was a dreaded scourge of the mid-nineteenth century because of its high mortality rate. The 1850 California epidemic began on October 7 when a contaminated steamer, already carrying fourteen dead, was not quarantined at San Francisco. While in Sacramento on October 23, Bigler noted, “The Collery [cholera] is rageing in the City” (Bigler diary, “Book B,” Oct. 23, 1850). A conservative estimate placed the number of deaths between three hundred to four hundred within a month of the disease reaching Sacramento (Holliday, World Rushed In, 407n*). For discussions of nineteenth-century cholera epidemics, see Powers and Younger, “Cholera on the Overland Trails”; Milikien, “Dead of the Bloody Flux”; Blair, “Doctor Gets Some Practice.” Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for this day, November 5, 1850, are almost identical to this point.

[5]Joseph Smith, founding prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered his last public discourse on June 18, 1844. The quoted phrase, which can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 1:35, does not appear in the small portion of the hour-and-a-half speech later compiled from memory and recorded in History of the Church, June 18, 1844, vol. F1, 118–19. Cannon, however, was not the only one to recall Joseph Smith proclaiming “that Peace should be taken from the Earth” (see Hale, “Diary of Aroet Lucious Hale,” 9).

[6]“The indignation be overpast” is a quotation from Isaiah 26:20.

[7]Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for this day are nearly identical.

[8]During the nineteenth century, Church leaders followed the instructions in Doctrine and Covenants 29:8, which stated that the early Latter-day Saints were to “be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land,” and prominently preached the concept of gathering. Regarding the purpose of the gathering, Joseph Smith taught, “In any age of the world, the main object was to build unto the Lord an house whereby he could reveal unto his people the ordinances of his house and glories of his kingdom & teach the people the ways of salvation for their are certain ordinances & principles that when they are taught and practized, must be done in a place or house [temple] built for that purpose” (Woodruff journal, June 11, 1843). In the 1830s, the Saints gathered first to Kirtland, Ohio, then to western Missouri. During the early 1840s, Nauvoo, Illinois, was the appointed location. Beginning in 1847, the Salt Lake Valley and the surrounding area was the designated gathering place. At each of these locations, temples were either built or sites for them dedicated. Throughout the 1800s, tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints from around the world joined with other Saints at the appointed gathering places. During the 1890s, Church leaders began encouraging members to build up the Church where they lived rather than gathering to a central location (see Ronald D. Dennis, “Gathering,” and Richard L. Jensen and William G. Hartley, “Immigration and Emigration,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:536–37, 673–76).

[9]Clark’s and Blackwell’s arrival prompted Bigler to write, “Our joy was full they Cum as Bro. Cannon dreamed they did” (Bigler diary, “Book B,” Nov. 8, 1850).

[10]Cannon originally wrote the month as October but corrected it.

[11]Officially known as Great Salt Lake City, it was more popularly referred to as Salt Lake City.

[12]Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for this day are nearly identical.

[13]Sailing vessels of this time often featured two types of passenger accommodations: cabin, the most expensive, where passengers had private or semiprivate quarters; and steerage, which featured dormitory-like lodgings in the hold or “between decks.” Concerning his ship’s accommodations, Cannon recalled: “[Our food] was to be the same as they had in the cabin. Either this part of the contract was not fulfilled, or they lived poorly in the cabin; for our fare was not very inviting. But we thought we were fortunate in not having to pay more than $40 in gold for the passage and these privileges. . . . [Our vessel] was low between decks, and then it was so dark there, that for a few minutes after descending, we could see nothing. We had had some rough experience, however, since leaving our homes, and we were not disposed to find fault with our ship or her accommodations” (Cannon, My First Mission, 4–5).

[14]The Imaum of Muscat, constructed in 1840 in Stockton, England, is identified in contemporary records as a ship (Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping; Polynesian, Dec. 14, 1850; “Marine Journal,” Honolulu Friend, Jan. 1851). Ships differed from other sailing vessels—classified as barks, brigs, schooners, brigantines, and barkentines—in terms of masts and rigging. A ship had three or more masts, all featuring square sails that hung perpendicular to the length of the vessel. Measuring 104’ 24’ 19,’ the Imaum was relatively small compared with many other sailing vessels (Sonne, Ships, Saints, and Mariners, 104).

[15]Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for this day are nearly identical.

[16]Cannon later recounted this meeting in greater detail:

“The first time the writer was called upon to speak to a mixed congregation of Saints and inquirers he was in the company of nine Elders. There were only two or three of them who had ever spoken in public; but as he was the youngest of the party, and felt that he was but a boy, he thought they would all be called upon before him. To his surprise, however, the Elder who was presiding called first upon him. True to his resolve, he arose and commenced. For two or three, or probably five minutes, he did pretty well. Then he got confused, his ideas were in a jumble, and he forgot all he ever knew. If the bottom had dropped out of his memory, it could not have been worse. He sat down, feeling a little ashamed; but not discouraged. He was on a mission, and he was determined not to back down and fail” (Cannon, My First Mission, 2).

[17]Erysipelas, also known as St. Anthony’s Fire, is a contagious, infectious skin disease marked by redness and swelling of the affected areas, fever, chills, increased heart rate, vomiting, and diarrhea.

[18]Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for this day are identical to this point.

[19]Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for this day are identical to this point.

[20]Bigler recorded additional details regarding Dixon’s illness in his November 13 diary entry: “I feel doubtful a bout his going with us or rather the Captain will refuse to take him on board. Br. Cannon got some oile, we Consecrated it and anointed him in the name of the Lord and laid hands on him and prayed for his relief that the Lord would have mercy on his servant and restore him his health that he might be able to go a long with us and fill his mission, we then moved him into Br Mowry’s whare he will stay until he gets better.” Two days later Bigler wrote, “Br. Dixon is Recovering fast from his illness some hopes yet of his going with us” (Bigler diary, “Book B,” Nov. 13, 15, 1850).

[21]Beginning with this November 17 entry and continuing through November 28, Cannon’s and Farrer’s entries for each day are either wholly or partially identical. The identical entries occur on November 17–19, 21, and 26–27. The entries on November 20, 23–25, and 27 differ only in describing Cannon’s and Farrer’s own seasickness or that of others. The November 22 entries vary in terms of Cannon’s reference to his dream and Cannon’s and Farrer’s descriptions of their own and others’ seasickness.

[22]A pilot is a person knowledgeable about a specific harbor who assists vessels in or out of port for a fee.

[23]The flying jibboom is a forward-extending spar on a sailing ship used to secure the bottom of two triangular sails set in front of the vessel. The sail nearest the vessel is known as the jib, while the outer sail is called the flying jib.

[24]The wind that trapped the Imaum in the harbor grew in fury. The Daily Alta reported some of the damage done both on land and to vessels stranded in the harbor: “During the high gale on Tuesday night, the frame of the First Presbyterian Church, on Stockton Street, was blown down, entirely destroying the fabric. Many of the heaviest timbers were broken.” “The British bark Gloucester . . . careened over with the force of the wind, filled and sunk. . . . The bark Harriet, of Boston, parted from her mooring shackle and drove on to the ship Ilzaide and Amazon” (“The Effects of the Gale” and “Memoranda,” San Francisco Daily Alta, Nov. 21, 1850).

[25]The windlass is a winch system used to raise the anchor, in which the hoisting rope is wound around one or more drums supported on horizontal axles—thus distinguishing it from a capstan, which employs a vertical axle.

[26]The forecastle is a short raised deck at the front of a sailing vessel. The bowsprit is a spar extending forward from the bow; it serves as the support base for the flying jibboom.

[27]Recounting his dream years later, Cannon publicly reflected on its impact:

“The impression it made upon my mind has been a lasting one; I have never forgotten it; and through taking that lesson to heart I feel that I have been exceedingly prospered in my life. . . .

“I would like to impress this . . . upon the minds of . . . this congregation if they choose to take it; great is the power of prayer when properly offered to the Lord. Whatever success I have had upon my missions . . . has been due to faith and prayer. I have remembered this always; I have endeavored to exercise faith in God, through prayer, which has been heard by the Almighty. . . .

“My brethren and sisters . . . remember this lesson. Cultivate the Spirit of God; keep it with you. Remember always, there is power in prayer greater than anything man can do. There is no power in monarchs, there is no power in armies, there is no power in legislation, nor in anybody nor anything else upon the earth that equals the power of God in prayer” (Cannon, remarks, June 27, 1881, in Journal of Discourses, 22:289–90).

[28]An 1855 history of San Francisco described the passageway to the sea as approximately five miles long, averaging between one and a half and two miles in width, but being only a mile at its narrowest point. The history further noted:

“A few small rocks, at all times quite visible, lie about the entrance, and along the coast of the strait. . . . A bar lies nearly across the mouth of the strait, upon which occasionally there is a heavy swell. Formerly this bar ran right across and within the actual limits of the strait, but during the last thirty years it has gradually shifted two miles farther to seaward, so that it now forms a kind of arch, altogether outside of the entrance, spanning from point to point of the strait. In the same period, a bank has likewise advanced from the south shore. . . .

“. . . The shores are bold and rocky, and in some parts precipitous, swelling on the north side into mountains of upwards of two thousand feet in height. The hills on the southern side are more of a sandy nature, and may be only three hundred or four hundred feet high” (Soulé, Gihon, and Nisbet, Annals of San Francisco, 149, 150).

[29]A pilot boat is a craft used to take the pilot to and from vessels wanting assistance in or out of a harbor.

[30]Cannon afterward noted: “We were all suffering severely from the effects of sea-sickness; and notwithstanding the dangers of our situation, the sense of the ridiculous, in my case—only one bucket among us for every purpose—overcame fear, and I could not help laughing. . . . My levity, however, under circumstances so inconvenient and perplexing, offended one of the Elders so much that he reprimanded me for it” (Cannon, My First Mission, 6).

[31]The Malay hands Cannon mentioned were crew members from the Malay Peninsula—the southernmost part of the Southeast Asia mainland—or the Malay Archipelago, located between Asia and Australia, which includes the country of Malaysia.Cannon afterward explained that “the noise on deck was very great. . . . [The captain’s] orders to the mate, and the latter’s cries to the hands, and their chattering to one another, made a clamor that sounded loud above the noise of the storm” (Cannon, My First Mission, 6).

[32]Cannon later described their peril in greater detail:

“My recollections of passing out of the Golden Gate, as the mouth of San Francisco harbor is called, are not very pleasant. We had to beat out, that is, tack from side to side, and the swell came in from the ocean in large, heavy, rolling waves. . . .

“. . . The sky was angry-looking and threatening, giving every indication of a storm. We were outside the heads, and before us stretched the great Pacific; but there were islands around, of which the captain knew but little. He did not like the idea of the pilot leaving him in such a position with darkness approaching and every prospect of a storm. If the captain was anxious to have the pilot remain, the latter was equally desirous of getting away from the ship before nightfall. He had no wish to remain through the storm and to run the risk of being carried out to sea; so when a pilot boat hove in sight, he hailed it, and descended into the little yawl which came from it for him in such haste that he forgot his water-proof coat. It was very natural, I suppose, for him after piloting the ship out of the harbor, to be eager to get back before the storm broke upon us; but I believe we all should have felt better if he had remained with us. The captain, especially, felt the responsibility of his position. Here he was, outside of a strange harbor, on a dangerous coast, with a strong wind blowing directly on shore, and darkness upon him and he ignorant of his surroundings!” (Cannon, My First Mission, 5–6).

[33]Wheel ropes connect the helm (wheel) to the rudder, thus allowing the vessel to be steered.

[34]Bigler afterward reflected upon their passage to open sea: “It seemed to me the vessel would capsize, and when night set in it was cloudy and very dark. We were among breakers and the waves running high. All at once the tiller rope broke and we were left to the mercy of the rocks and waves of the sea. . . . When daylight came we found we were not more than ten miles from land, but everything was all right” (Bigler, “Personal Experience,” Mar. 19, 1896). Cannon’s retrospective writing evoked his feelings of gratitude regarding their narrow escape: “We felt to give the glory of our deliverance to God. We were His servants, and on His business, and He had preserved us. That night was one of great anxiety to the captain, officers and crew. Notwithstanding our sickness we also realized that we were in a critical position, and exerted all the faith we could. The captain had his wife with him, and so little hope did he have at one time of saving the vessel, that he told her to prepare for eternity, for he did not think we would ever see daylight in this world again. At last the morning dawned, the storm died away, and we were enabled to take our course. Oh, the blessed daylight! How joyfully it was hailed on board that vessel!” (Cannon, My First Mission, 6–7).

[35]Studding sail booms are spars used to support the studding sails, which are set out beyond the edge of the main sails during a fair wind.

[36]The last date for this entry originally read December 12 but was later changed in pencil.

While Cannon left only a summary of this portion of the voyage, Farrer kept a daily log:

“Friday, Nov. 29, 1850 Rather foggy and rains a little. We are all getting over our seasickness and feel tolerably well. Wind fair.

“Saturday, Nov. 30, 1850 We have a fair wind today; the weather is geting warmer an[d] more pleasant; sailing at about the rate of 5 miles an hour.

“Sunday, Dec. 1, 1850 A very pleasant morning we had a meeting on board this morning; after singing a Hymn Bro Clark opened the meeting by prayer; he then spoke on the first principles of the Gospel &c. and then called on Bro Whittle to close the meeting, we had a fair wind to-day.

“Monday, Dec. 2, 1850 We have a pleasant morning Wind fair Bro’s Whittle and Hawkins feel unwell today we struck the trade Winds today and changed our course of sailing more West. we are going about 8 knots an hour.

“Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1850 The wind continues about the same the weather is very pleasant; we are in Latitude 22.27. Longitude 136.

“Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1850 Last night we had a prety stiff breeze which made the Vessel pitch considerable I felt rather unwell today.

“Thursday, Dec. 5, 1850 A very fine morning. wind fair and sailing nearly West. this is the warmest day we have had the Thermometer stood at 76 in the middle of the day.

“Friday, Dec. 6, 1850 The day pleasant; we are going along tolerably well. Bro. Whittle quite sick.

“Saturday, Dec. 7, 1850 A pleasant morning; not much wind today sailing about 4 knots an hour.

“Sunday, Dec. 8, 1850 A very pleasant morning. We had a meeting on board this morning. Bro Clark opened by prayer and then made some remarks on the restoration of the fulness of the Gospel by the Angel as recorded in the Revelations of John [Revelation 14:6–7]; and of the gifts and blessings of the same. Bro Hawkins and Bigler followed and bore their testimony to the truth of the work. Bro Bigler said he believed that it required the same ordinancess an[d] blessings to save a person now that it did eighteen hundred years ago. Bro Whittle is still very sick.

“Monday, Dec. 9, 1850 We have a pleasant day wind favorable but not very strong.

“Tuesday, Dec. 10, 1850 A pleasant day but not much wind some of the passengers who had been at the Islands before thought they saw land to the South about noon. Bro Whittle is getting some better.

“Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1850 This morning at daylight we came in sight of Maui to the south West; there is a high mountain on this Island rising (13,000) thirteen thousand feet above the level of the sea; about noon we came opposite the Island, we also saw the Island of Hawaii [Hawai‘i] which we had passed the night before, we also saw the Island [blank] ahead. In the evening we came in sight of Oahu to the West” (Farrer diary, Nov. 29–Dec. 11, 1850).

[37]Keeler provided additional details regarding the December 1 and 8 meetings: “Brother Clark said if some one would speak to the Captain he would preach to them if he had know objections Brother Blackwell spoke to the Capt he gave his consent and said that he should like to hear Brother Clark spake to them about one hour and a half mrs Riches was very mutch pleased with the doctrine that he taut” (Keeler journal, Dec. 1, 1850). “Brother Clark gave them a short discourse on the first principale of the gospel of Christ to which Mrs Richeys was very atentive” (Keeler journal, Dec. 8, 1850). Prior to these meetings, the cabin passengers had requested that the missionaries favor them with some Latter-day Saint hymns. Bigler recalled that “Elders Cannon and Hawkins being the only singers in our company, went and sang” (Bigler, “Personal Experience,” Mar. 19, 1896).

[38]Cannon recalled that “it was with positive delight that we learned, after being nearly four weeks on board, that we would soon be at the end of our voyage. The sight of land is most welcome to those who have been weeks at sea, especially if they suffered from sea-sickness. To our eyes, therefore, the rough, mountainous isles of the Hawaiian group were very beautiful. We longed to tread upon them” (Cannon, My First Mission, 7).