The Manuscript Mission Histories are, in fact, mainly collections of chronologically arranged newspaper clippings, with some typescript entries, concerning the work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Pacific Islands. The histories cover the following territories and periods: French Polynesia (1849-1959), Hawaii (1850-1959), Samoa (1871-1959), Tonga (1891-1959).

The papers are: 1. Documents concerning the appointment of a Danish Consul in Hawaii, 1846.

2. Printed reports of the Hawaiian Minister of the Interior, Attorney-General and Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Hawaiian Legislature, dated 21 May 1845. The Attorney-General's report is entitled On the Inferences of the Constitution (31pp.)
3. Official correspondence concerning the appointment of the First Danish Consul, E.A. Suwerkrop, and his successor Ludwig Holberg Anthon in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1849-50
4. A printed Order of the Privy Council defining the instructions to be given to the diplomatic agents and consuls of the Hawaiian Islands, 25 August 1848. (5pp.)
5. A printed Whalemens' Shipping List from Bush, Makee and Company, Lahaina, Maui, 1848 (list of whalers, date of arrival at Lahaina, name of master, where owned and details of cargo. Covers 103 ships in period 18 July - 25 November 1848)
6. Correspondence of Royal Danish Consulate, Papeete, Tahiti, 1872-94.

The corvette Galathea made a voyage to the Pacific in 1845-47. Bille, the commander, published a book on the subject Beretning om Corvette 'Galathea's' Reiseomkring Jorden 1845, 46, og 47, 3 vols (Copenhagen, 1849-51).

The papers largely concern the organisation and financing of the Galathea expedition. There are some letters by Bille to the Danish Admiralty and the Generaltoldkammer og Commerce Collegium concerning his visit to Hawaii. They also concern the treaty signed between Hawaii and Denmark on this occasion. All are in Danish. There are also some cuttings from The Polynesian and two printed copies of the Hawaiian-Danish Treaty.

Mason was born in New York City on May 8, 1848. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1864 and passed the examination for lieutenant on April 2, 1872. On September 1, 1872, he sailed from Philadelphia in the U.S.S. Omaha on a cruise to the Pacific. In Valparaiso, Chile, on February 14, 1873, he transferred to the U.S.S. Pensacola, a surveying vessel. In that ship, he visited other South American ports and arrived in Hawaii on February 13, 1875. After seven months in Hawaiian waters, he returned to the United States.

The journal gives a day-by-day account of Mason's cruise onboard the Omaha and Pensacola, prefaced by an outline of his previous career.