gel pen on paper, 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches
On August 20, 1853, Celinda Hines wrote, “Saw a commet very plain in the SW.” And again, on the 23rd, “The commet shown very brilliantly in the evening.”
Three days later, Celinda Hines’ father died crossing the Snake River. He was thrown from his horse and drowned. His body was never recovered. In her journal, Celinda wrote, “I will not attempt to describe our distress & sorrow for our great Bereavement.” And indeed, she did not. She tells the story of his death almost matter-of-factly, but her grief is even more palpable for her terseness. The next day she wrote, “Our camp was in a very pretty place but all was sadness to me.”
[Excerpts taken from Shipley, Celinda Elvira Hines, 1826-1905, Diary of Celinda Elvira Hines Shipley, August, 1853, in Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, vol. 6: 1853-1854. Holmes, Kenneth L., ed. & comp. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1995, pages 113, 114, 116.]
red paper boat 