This letter was sent by Nathaniel G. Ingraham to an unidentified "Griffing" who is thought to be Dr. Joel L. Griffing, but could also be another family member. The letter is written as a cross-hatched document, with layers of text going in different directions. Cross-hatching was typically done to either save paper (and sometimes money), or to obscure the text of a letter. Ingraham recounts the stops on his voyage, along with people that he met. The letter appears to have been written following Ingraham's return to America.