The name and background of the author of the journal is unknown, although from the journal one learns that he lives either near or in Charles City, Iowa. Before his occupation while writing the journal (which is unknown), he was in the cattle business for two years with his dog (Old Bull). The occupation of the author at the time of the journal and hunting trip was probably as a store owner or other supply or retail business. There are lists at the beginning and end of the journal listing people, amounts owed, and if they have paid these debts. There is a possibility that after the hunting trip the author and his traveling companions joined the army in northwest Iowa. Towards the end of the journal, the author describes how he and his companions met a group of soldiers from Wisconsin and enjoyed their company so much that they think about joining them after arranging their business in Charles City.

The collection (ca. 1871-1874) contains one handwritten journal, and includes a transcription of the journal. The bulk of the journal contains the author's description of his hunting trip from Charles City to Lost Island Lake, Iowa. There is a possibility that the narrative was written after the hunting trip, since the only date in the narrative portion (Wednesday, March 29) appears before the first entry. In addition, breaks in the narrative occur very infrequently. The dates 1871-1874 were chosen for the creation dates of the journal since there is an 1874 in the list portion of the journal, and a Wednesday, March 29 occurred in the year 1871. Although the descriptions are brief, and there is no explanation for the reason for the hunting trip, the author describes life on the Iowa prairie in the late nineteenth century.

The first pages of the journal contain notes and lists including the measurements of a pelican the author describes in the journal, supplies, and people (their names, amounts owed, and if they have paid). The last few pages also contain listings of supplies and their costs, a few lists of animals and birds along with numbers (presumably the total number they caught and/or killed), and again, as at the beginning, people and amounts owed. Most of the listings at the beginning of the journal are in a different handwriting than the narrative, so most likely these lists were created by his wife.

In the narrative portion of the journal, the author describes a trip from the author's home in or near Charles City, Iowa (often just C. C. in the journal) and a little past Emmetsburg (spelled Emmitsburg in the journal) to Lost Island Lake, Iowa. At the beginning of the narrative, the traveling group is camping outside in Iowa at the end of March. Since March 29 is the first and only date in the narrative, it is unclear how long the hunting trip lasts. It may have been just in the spring since the author mentions chilly weather throughout the narrative.