This diary takes modern readers to the first few months of Lawrence’s settlement. The first-hand account offers up detailed descriptions of the settlers’ religious motivations, their long journey to Kansas which included stops in Kansas City and Westport, the author’s first view of the future town site on the Kansas or “Kaw” River, disputes with Missouri “border ruffians,” the materials and methods the settlers used to construct buildings, and a few surprises along the way.
