The journal describes an 1849 voyage from Boston to San Francisco via Cape Horn on the Brig Colorado with lenghty stops at St. Catherines, Bermuda and Valparaíso, Chile. True comments daily on the weather, living conditions, and the passenger's amusements, which included producing and reading aloud a weekly paper, The Boston and California Pioneer. True often discourses on religion and describes the characters of passengers and crew. The journal includes a passenger list and notes ships met or sited. True's diary ends before the ship reaches San Francisco.
