Judith informs her sister and sister-in-law (Sally Burbank Blanchard, wife of Hazen) that she is safely arrived in Centerville. In an extended narrative, she describes her 11-day journey west across the state of New York. Included is a brief account of the newly completed Erie Canal (on which her party did not travel): [W]e stopt at Little falls to view the Canall which is north seeing what cost and labor there is in that little spot we crosed the canall 8 or 10 times saw boats filled with gentlemen and ladies some riding on the top some sitting in the fore part of the boat knitting and sewing . . . ." Judith goes on to give her impressions of the family, including her brothers, their wives, their children, and the new town in which they all live.