In addition to occasional anecdotes and details of regional excursions, Prendergast's diary contains weather observations and extracts from newspaper articles. Articles recorded in the journal range from a yellow fever outbreak in New York to "a free Negro man" working as a sailmaker who was attacked by a shark while bathing near Nantucket Wharf. Prendergast departs October 17th from Ballston Springs and his final dated journal entry is recorded on October 25th. The last page of the journal lists a dozen "Fellow boarders at David Corys Ballston Springs" and the town from which they hailed.