15 June 1859

The next day [15th] an American brig passed very near to us, with the stars and stripes flag flying. She was answered with "the flag that's braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze", which was run up, down and up again, when down came the stars and stripes, quick as lightning.

Our Voyage to New Zealand Per the Tornado (by a Glasgow Emigrant) Glasgow Herald December 19, 1859

15th this morning we are said to be making good headway along the north Atlantic Ocean. A fine steady breeze all day. Today we had some regulations given by the purser about going to him for our stores. Now according to Act of Parliament they are bound to hand them out daily and in a cooked state but instead of this we were once a (..illegible) some(?) part on Monday and the rest on Tuesday. The (...illegible) our rations comes (?) next morning and might (...illegible). Dinners as follows: Monday Preserved beef and peas; Tuesday pork and peas soup; Wednesday beef and rice always boiled; (...illegible) meat and boiled flour pudding with suet and currants in (...illegible) and preserved potatoes. Saturday pork and peas soup and a (...illegible) our cold meat and a boiled flour pudding. The Bas(...illegible) if you ask where did we we get our Barm I can answer after making our bread a piece of the dough was (...illegible) Baking Day we put water to dissolve it and then (...illegible) sugar and carbonate soda. This was our substitute (...illegible).
There appeared on the cow house a manuscript newspaper called the Tornado Times and Midatlantic Advertizer. Edited by two or three fops who appeared as if desirous to convert into nonsense the sayings and doings of most around them but who evidently failed to display anything particular except their own want of manliness and good common sense. But as their was always torn down it soon ceased to be. Another called the Telegraph succeeded it with great personal pretensions but after two or three unsuccessful attempts it disappeared from the stage.
I should have said also that the purser put out a list of things for sale. Bacon (?) ham 1-6 per pound. Bottled ale 1s each. Porter 1s each. Gin 3-6 each. Whiskey 3-6 each.

Booth, Thomas. Papers, 1857 - 1859. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 2002/56.