Jacobs noted the high maintenance required to meet passenger needs among the largely elderly or female crowd and said confusion started on ship from the boarding and never completely left. "About 11 p. m. the London Saints came aboard which added to the confusion. Finally, we got them into their bunks for the remainder of the night. Will have to change them in the morning. Oh dear, I'm about done out with the excitement, labor, way and head which is very great."17

In subsequent entries on board when the ship left Liverpool Jacobs noted the illness among passengers as well as the presence of fleas and other forms of discomfort.

"My time was pretty well occupied," he noted as they left Liverpool. "Brother Parry was ill most of the way. Brother Ezra Clark could hardly move round and it kept me moving from daylight in the morning until 11 or 12 at night before I could get all settled down to rest."

Thirty who were ill

Jacobs and his fellow leaders were as physically busy as they were physically able. Elder Jacobs carried a bottle of castor oil in one pocket and three or four boxes of pills in the other to give to sick passengers. One account claims there were at least 30 passengers who were ill on the voyage, not counting the sick elders.

There was a bit of merriment on board as well in the interaction with the saints on board. Jacobs notes in his journal the experience of getting an elderly woman named Ainsworth from her sick bed when she appeared unwilling to move a muscle well into the voyage. After several days of trying to be nice about getting her up and about he took a more coarse method and threatened to pull her ears. She called him a saucebox and told him to leave. He didn't and grabbed the bed sheets and commenced pulling. She threw a shoe. He dodged and she threw another, which he also dodged. Then she threw a tin cup and a plate and piece of a board. He managed to get her so mad that she started chasing after him, which drew screams of laughter from about 30 people. "She went back about as mad as

17 Reminiscences and Diary of Zebulon Jacobs page 113

17