Pages prior to entry for 4 March 1849 contain information on preparation for voyage from New Bedford to California on the ship Charlotte. Record of voyage around the Horn, with names of passengers included and description of stop-over at Valparaiso; arrival in San Francisco September 16; description of the city; purchase of provisions and equipment for mining; experiences mining, using quicksilver machine; return to San Francisco to seek employment. Last journal entry 16 April 1850 records decision to return to the mines. The rest of the volume is a summary of events from July 1850 when he decided to leave California, including the return to the east via the Isthmus in 1851 and life in Pittsfield to 1878.
