Claim: On Saturday 2 March 1833, Watson (husband of Ann) recorded the following in his journal, "Our men attempted to plow, but broke the coulter immediately owing to the ground being so dry and hard; we have had very little rain for a long time".
Evidence: A coulter or colter (Latin 'culter' = 'knife') is a vertically mounted component of many plows that cuts an edge about 7 inches (18 cm) deep ahead of a plowshare. On Saturday 2 March 1833 Watson recorded the following in his journal. "Our men attempted to plow [sic], but broke the coulter [blade] immediately owing to the ground being so dry and hard. We have had very little rain for a long time. The mission was originally attended by two couples Rev William Watson and his wife Ann, who were the first appointed to this position by the London-based office, and Rev Johann Handt, a German missionary with experience in Liberia, and his wife Mary Crook, eldest daughter of the renown South Seas missionary, William Pascoe Cook.