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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST ...............................................................................................................1

Richard Henry Dana................................................................................................................................1

The fourteenth of August was the day fixed upon for the sailing of the brig Pilgrim on her voyage from

Boston round Cape Horn to the western coast of North America. As she was to get under weigh early in the

afternoon, I made my appearance on board at twelve o'clock, in full searig, and with my chest, containing an

outfit for a two or three years' voyage, which I had undertaken from a determination to cure, if possible, by an

entire change of life, and by a long absence from books and study, a weakness of the eyes, which had obliged

The change from the tight dress coat, silk cap and kid gloves of an undergraduate at Cambridge, to the loose

duck trowsers, checked shirt and tarpaulin hat of a sailor, though somewhat of a transformation, was soon

made, and I supposed that I should pass very well for a jack tar. But it is impossible to deceive the practised

eye in these matters; and while I supposed myself to be looking as salt as Neptune himself, I was, no doubt,

known for a landsman by every one on board as soon as I hove in sight. A sailor has a peculiar cut to his

clothes, and a way of wearing them which a green hand can never get. The trowsers, tight round the hips, and

thence hanging long and loose round the feet, a superabundance of checked shirt, a lowcrowned, well

varnished black hat, worn on the back of the head, with half a fathom of black ribbon hanging over the left

eye, and a peculiar tie to the black silk neckerchief, with sundry other minutiae, are signs, the want of which

betray the beginner, at once. Besides the points in my dress which were out of the way, doubtless my

complexion and hands were enough to distinguish me from the regular salt, who, with a sunburnt cheek, wide

step, and rolling gait, swings his bronzed and toughened hands athwartships, half open, as though just ready

"With all my imperfections on my head," I joined the crew, and we hauled out into the stream, and came to

anchor for the night. The next day we were employed in preparations for sea, reeving studdingsail gear,

crossing royal yards, putting on chafing gear, and taking on board our powder. On the following night, I

stood my first watch. I remained awake nearly all the first part of the night from fear that I might not hear

when I was called; and when I went on deck, so great were my ideas of the importance of my trust, that I

walked regularly fore and aft the whole length of the vessel, looking out over the bows and taffrail at each

turn, and was not a little surprised at the coolness of the old salt whom I called to take my place, in stowing

himself snugly away under the long boat, for a nap. That was a sufficient lookout, he thought, for a fine

The next morning was Saturday, and a breeze having sprung up from the southward, we took a pilot on

board, hove up our anchor, and began beating down the bay. I took leave of those of my friends who came to

see me off, and had barely opportunity to take a last look at the city, and wellknown objects, as no time is

allowed on board ship for sentiment. As we drew down into the lower harbor, we found the wind ahead in the

bay, and were obliged to come to anchor in the roads. We remained there through the day and a part of the

night. My watch began at eleven o'clock at night, and I received orders to call the captain if the wind came

out from the westward. About midnight the wind became fair, and having called the captain, I was ordered to

call all hands. How I accomplished this I do not know, but I am quite sure that I did not give the true hoarse,

boatswain call of "Aall haaands! up anchor, ahooy!" In a short time every one was in motion, the

sails loosed, the yards braced, and we began to heave up the anchor, which was our last hold upon Yankee

land. I could take but little part in all these preparations. My little knowledge of a vessel was all at fault.

Unintelligible orders were so rapidly given and so immediately executed; there was such a hurrying about,

and such an intermingling of strange cries and stranger actions, that I was completely bewildered. There is

not so helpless and pitiable an object in the world as a landsman beginning a sailor's life. At length those

peculiar, longdrawn sounds, which denote that the crew are heaving at the windlass, began, and in a few

moments we were under weigh. The noise of the water thrown from the bows began to be heard, the vessel

leaned over from the damp night breeze, and rolled with the heavy ground swell, and we had actually begun

our long, long journey. This was literally bidding "good night" to my native land.

The first day we passed at sea was the Sabbath. As we were just from port, and there was a great deal to be

done on board, we were kept at work all day, and at night the watches were set, and everything put into sea

order. When we were called aft to be divided into watches, I had a good specimen of the manner of a sea

captain. After the division had been made, he gave a short characteristic speech, walking the quarter deck

"Now, my men, we have begun a long voyage. If we get along well together, we shall have a comfortable

time; if we don't, we shall have hell afloat. All you've got to do is to obey your orders and do your duty like

men, then you'll fare well enough; if you don't, you'll fare hard enough, I can tell you. If we pull together,

you'll find me a clever fellow; if we don't, you'll find me a bloody rascal. That's all I've got to say. Go

I being in the starboard, or second mate's watch, had the opportunity of keeping the first watch at sea. S,

a young man, making, like myself, his first voyage, was in the same watch, and as he was the son of a

professional man, and had been in a countingroom in Boston, we found that we had many friends and topics

in common. We talked these matters over, Boston, what our friends were probably doing, our voyage, etc.,

until he went to take his turn at the lookout, and left me to myself. I had now a fine time for reflection. I felt

for the first time the perfect silence of the sea. The officer was walking the quarter deck, where I had no right

to go, one or two men were talking on the forecastle, whom I had little inclination to join, so that I was left

open to the full impression of everything about me. However much I was affected by the beauty of the sea,

the bright stars, and the clouds driven swiftly over them, I could not but remember that I was separating

myself from all the social and intellectual enjoyments of life. Yet, strange as it may seem, I did then and

afterwards take pleasure in these reflections, hoping by them to prevent my becoming insensible to the value

But all my dreams were soon put to flight by an order from the officer to trim the yards, as the wind was

getting ahead; and I could plainly see by the looks the sailors occasionally cast to windward, and by the dark

clouds that were fast coming up, that we had bad weather to prepare for, and had heard the captain say that he

expected to be in the Gulf Stream by twelve o'clock. In a few minutes eight bells were struck, the watch

called, and we went below. I now began to feel the first discomforts of a sailor's life. The steerage in which I

lived was filled with coils of rigging, spare sails, old junk and ship stores, which had not been stowed away.

Moreover, there had been no berths built for us to sleep in, and we were not allowed to drive nails to hang our

clothes upon. The sea, too, had risen, the vessel was rolling heavily, and everything was pitched about in

grand confusion. There was a complete "hurrah's nest," as the sailors say, "everything on top and nothing at

hand." A large hawser had been coiled away upon my chest; my hats, boots, mattress and blankets had all

fetched away and gone over to leeward, and were jammed and broken under the boxes and coils of rigging.

To crown all, we were allowed no light to find anything with, and I was just beginning to feel strong

symptoms of seasickness, and that listlessness and inactivity which accompany it. Giving up all attempts to

collect my things together, I lay down upon the sails, expecting every moment to hear the cry of "all hands

ahoy," which the approaching storm would soon make necessary. I shortly heard the raindrops falling on

deck, thick and fast, and the watch evidently had their hands full of work, for I could hear the loud and

repeated orders of the mate, the trampling of feet, the creaking of blocks, and all the accompaniments of a

coming storm. In a few minutes the slide of the hatch was thrown back, which let down the noise and tumult

of the deck still louder, the loud cry of "All hands, ahoy! tumble up here and take in sail," saluted our ears,

and the hatch was quickly shut again. When I got upon deck, a new scene and a new experience was before

me. The little brig was close hauled upon the wind, and lying over, as it then seemed to me, nearly upon her

beam ends. The heavy head sea was beating against her bows with the noise and force almost of a sledge

hammer, and flying over the deck, drenching us completely through. The topsail halyards had been let go,

and the great sails were filling out topsoil and backing against the masts with a noise like thunder. The wind

was whistling through the rigging, loose ropes flying about; loud and, to me, unintelligible orders constantly

given and rapidly executed, and the sailors "singing out" at the ropes in their hoarse and peculiar strains. In

addition to all this, I this, I had not got my "sea legs on," was dreadfully sick, with hardly strength enough to

hold on to anything, and it was "pitch dark." This was my state when I was ordered aloft, for the first time, to

How I got along, I cannot now remember. I "laid out" on the yards and held on with all my strength. I could

not have been of much service, for I remember having been sick several times before I left the topsail yard.

Soon all was snug aloft, and we were again allowed to go below. This I did not consider much of a favor, for

the confusion of everything below, and that inexpressible sickening smell, caused by the shaking up of the

bilgewater in the hold, made the steerage but an indifferent refuge from the cold, wet decks. I had often read

of the nautical experiences of others, but I felt as though there could be none worse than mine; for in addition

to every other evil, I could not but remember that this was only the first night of a two years' voyage. When

we were on deck we were not much better off, for we were continually ordered about by the officer, who said

that it was good for us to be in motion. Yet anything was better than the horrible state of things below. I

remember very well going to the hatchway and putting my head down, when I was oppressed by nausea, and

Wednesday, Aug. 20th. We had the watch on deck from four till eight, this morning. When we came on deck

at four o'clock, we found things much changed for the better. The sea and wind had gone down, and the stars

were out bright. I experienced a corresponding change in my feelings; yet continued extremely weak from my

sickness. I stood in the waist on the weather side, watching the gradual breaking of the day, and the first

streaks of the early light. Much has been said of the sunrise at sea; but it will not compare with the sunrise

on shore. It wants the accompaniments of the songs of birds, the awakening hum of men, and the glancing of

the first beams upon trees, hills, spires, and housetops, to give it life and spirit. But though the actual rise of

the sun at sea is not so beautiful, yet nothing will compare with the early breaking of day upon the wide

There is something in the first grey streaks stretching along the eastern horizon and throwing an indistinct

light upon the face of the deep, which combines with the boundlessness and unknown depth of the sea around

you, and gives one a feeling of loneliness, of dread, and of melancholy foreboding, which nothing else in

nature can give. This gradually passes away as the light grows brighter, and when the sun comes up, the

From such reflections as these, I was aroused by the order from the officer, "Forward there! rig the

headpump!" I found that no time was allowed for daydreaming, but that we must "turn to" at the first light.

Having called up the "idlers," namely, carpenter, cook, steward, etc., and rigged the pump, we commenced

washing down the decks. This operation, which is performed every morning at sea, takes nearly two hours;

and I had hardly strength enough to get through it. After we had finished, swabbed down, and coiled up the

rigging, I sat down on the spars, waiting for seven bells, which was the sign for breakfast. The officer, seeing

my lazy posture, ordered me to slush the mainmast from the royalmasthead, down. The vessel was then

rolling a little, and I had taken no sustenance for three days, so that I felt tempted to tell him that I had rather

wait till after breakfast; but I knew that I must "take the bull by the horns," and that if I showed any sign of

want of spirit or of backwardness, that I should be ruined at once. So I took my bucket of grease and climbed

up to the royalmasthead. Here the rocking of the vessel, which increases the higher you go from the foot of

the mast, which is the fulcrum of the lever, and the smell of the grease, which offended my fastidious senses,

upset my stomach again, and I was not a little rejoiced when I got upon the comparative terra firma of the

deck. In a few minutes seven bells were struck, the log hove, the watch called, and we went to breakfast. Here

I cannot but remember the advice of the cook, a simplehearted African. "Now," says he, "my lad, you are

well cleaned out; you haven't got a drop of your 'longshore swash aboard of you. You must begin on a new

tack, pitch all your sweetmeats overboard, and turnto upon good hearty salt beef and sea bread, and I'll

promise you, you'll have your ribs well sheathed, and be as hearty as any of 'em, afore you are up to the

Horn." This would be good advice to give to passengers, when they speak of the little niceties which they

I cannot describe the change which half a pound of cold salt beef and a biscuit or two produced in me. I was a

new being. We had a watch below until noon, so that I had some time to myself; and getting a huge piece of

strong, cold, salt beef from the cook, I kept gnawing upon it until twelve o'clock. When we went on deck I

felt somewhat like a man, and could begin to learn my sea duty with considerable spirit. At about two o'clock

we heard the loud cry of "Sail ho!" from aloft, and soon saw two sails to windward, going directly athwart

our hawse. This was the first time that I had seen a sail at sea. I thought then, and have always since, that it

exceeds every other sight in interest and beauty. They passed to leeward of us, and out of hailing distance; but

the captain could read the names on their sterns with the glass. They were the ship Helen Mar, of New York,

and the brig Mermaid, of Boston. They were both steering westward, and were bound in for our "dear native

Thursday, Aug. 21st. This day the sun rose clear, we had a fine wind, and everything was bright and cheerful.

I had now got my sea legs on, and was beginning to enter upon the regular duties of a sealife. About six

bells, that is, three o'clock P. M., we saw a sail on our larboard bow. I was very anxious, like every new

sailor, to speak her. She came down to us, backed her maintopsail, and the two vessels stood "head on,"

bowing and curvetting at each other like a couple of warhorses reined in by their riders. It was the first

vessel that I had seen near, and I was surprised to find out how much she rolled and pitched in so quiet a sea.

She plunged her head into the sea, and then, her stern settling gradually down, her huge bows rose up,

showing the bright copper, and her stern, and breasthooks dripping, like old Neptune's locks, with the brine.

Her decks were filled with passengers who had come up at the cry of "sail ho," and who by their dress and

features appeared to be Swiss and French emigrants. She hailed us at first in French, but receiving no answer,

she tried us in English. She was the ship La Carolina, from Havre, for New York. We desired her to report the

brig Pilgrim, from Boston, for the northwest coast of America, five days out. She then filled away and left

us to plough on through our waste of waters. This day ended pleasantly; we had got into regular and

comfortable weather, and into that routine of sealife which is only broken by a storm, a sail, or the sight of

As we had now a long "spell" of fine weather, without any incident to break the monotony of our lives, there

can be no better place to describe the duties, regulations, and customs of an American merchantman, of

The captain, in the first place, is lord paramount. He stands no watch, comes and goes when he pleases, and is

accountable to no one, and must be obeyed in everything, without a question, even from his chief officer. He

has the power to turn his officers off duty, and even to break them and make them do duty as sailors in the

forecastle. Where there are no passengers and no supercargo, as in our vessel, he has no companion but his

own dignity, and no pleasures, unless he differs from most of his kind, but the consciousness of possessing

The prime minister, the official organ, and the active and superintending officer, is the chief mate. He is first

lieutenant, boatswain, sailingmaster, and quartermaster. The captain tells him what he wishes to have

done, and leaves to him the care of overseeing, of allotting the work, and also the responsibility of its being

well done. The mate (as he is always called, par excellence) also keeps the logbook, for which he is

responsible to the owners and insurers, and has the charge of the stowage, safe keeping, and delivery of the

cargo. He is also, exofficio, the wit of the crew; for the captain does not condescend to joke with the men,

and the second mate no one cares for; so that when "the mate" thinks fit to entertain "the people" with a

The second mate's is proverbially a dog's berth. He is neither officer nor man. The men do not respect him as

an officer, and he is obliged to go aloft to reef and furl the topsails, and to put his hands into the tar and slush,

with the rest. The crew call him the "sailors' waiter," as he has to furnish them with spunyarn, marline, and

all other stuffs that they need in their work, and has charge of the boatswain's locker, which includes

servingboards, marlinespikes, etc., etc. He is expected by the captain to maintain his dignity and to enforce

obedience, and still is kept at a great distance from the mate, and obliged to work with the crew. He is one to

whom little is given and of whom much is required. His wages are usually double those of a common sailor,

and he eats and sleeps in the cabin; but he is obliged to be on deck nearly all his time, and eats at the second

The steward is the captain's servant, and has charge of the pantry, from which every one, even the mate

himself, is excluded. These distinctions usually find him an enemy in the mate, who does not like to have any

one on board who is not entirely under his control; the crew do not consider him as one of their number, so he

The cook is the patron of the crew, and those who are in his favor can get their wet mittens and stockings

dried, or light their pipes at the galley on the night watch. These two worthies, together with the carpenter and

sailmaker, if there be one, stand no watch, but, being employed all day, are allowed to "sleep in" at night,

The crew are divided into two divisions, as equally as may be, called the watches. Of these the chief mate

commands the larboard, and the second mate the starboard. They divide the time between them, being on and

off duty, or, as it is called, on deck and below, every other four hours. If, for instance, the chief mate with the

larboard watch have the first nightwatch from eight to twelve; at the end of the four hours, the starboard

watch is called, and the second mate takes the deck, while the larboard watch and the first mate go below

until four in the morning, when they come on deck again and remain until eight; having what is called the

morning watch. As they will have been on deck eight hours out of twelve, while those who had the middle

watch from twelve to four, will only have been up four hours, they have what is called a "forenoon watch

below," that is, from eight, A.M., till twelve, P.M. In a manofwar, and in some merchantmen, this

alternation of watches is kept up throughout the twentyfour hours; but our ship, like most merchantmen, had

"all hands" from twelve o'clock till dark, except in bad weather, when we had "watch and watch."

An explanation of the "dog watches" may, perhaps, be of use to one who has never been at sea. They are to

shift the watches each night, so that the same watch need not be on deck at the same hours. In order to effect

this, the watch from four to eight, P. M., is divided into two half, or do, watches, one from four to six, and the

other from six to eight. By this means they divide the twentyfour hours into seven watches instead of six,

and thus shift the hours every night. As the dog watches come during twilight after the day's work is done,

and before the night watch is set, they are the watches in which everybody is on deck. The captain is up,

walking on the weather side of the quarterdeck, the chief mate on the leeside, and the second mate about the

weather gangway. The steward has finished his work in the cabin, and has come up to smoke his pipe with

the cook in the galley. The crew are sitting on the windlass or lying on the forecastle, smoking or telling long

yarns. At eight o'clock, eight bells are struck, the log is hove, the watch set, the wheel relieved, the galley

The morning commences with the watch on deck's "turningto" at daybreak and washing down, scrubbing

and swabbing the decks. This, together with filling the "scuttled butt" with fresh water, and coiling up the

rigging, usually occupies the time until seven bells, (half after seven,) when all hands get breakfast. At eight,

the day's work begins, and lasts until sundown, with the exception of an hour for dinner.

Before I end my explanations, it may be well to define a day's work, and to correct a mistake prevalent

among landsmen about a sailor's life. Nothing is more common than to hear people say "Are not sailors very

idle at sea? what can they find to do?" This is a very natural mistake, and being very frequently made, it is

one which every sailor feels interested in having corrected. In the first place, then, the discipline of the ship

requires every man to be at work upon something when he is on deck, except at night and on Sundays. Except

at these times, you will never see a man, on board a wellordered vessel, standing idle on deck, sitting down

or leaning over the side. It is the officers' duty to keep every one at work, even if there is nothing to be done

but to scrape the rust from the chain cables. In no state prison are the convicts more regularly set to work, and

more closely watched. No conversation is allowed among the crew at their duty, and though they frequently

do talk when aloft, or when near one another, yet they always stop when an officer is nigh.

With regard to the work upon which the men are put, it is a matter which probably would not be understood

by one who has not been at sea. When I first left port, and found that we were kept regularly employed for a

week or two, I supposed that we were getting the vessel into sea trim, and that it would soon be over, and we

should have nothing to do but to sail the ship but I found that it continued so for two years, and at the end of

the two years there was as much to be done as ever. As has often been said, a ship is like a lady's watch,

always out of repair. When first leaving port, studdingsail gear is to be rove, all the running rigging to be

examined, that which is unfit for use to be got down, and new rigging rove in its place: then the standing

rigging is to be overhauled, replaced, and repaired, in a thousand different ways; and wherever any of the

numberless ropes or the yards are chafing or wearing upon it, there "chafing gear," as it is called, must be put

on. This chafing gear consists of worming, parcelling, rounding, battens, and service of all kinds both

ropeyarns, spunyarn, marline and seizingstuffs. Taking off, putting on, and mending the chafing gear

alone, upon a vessel, would find constant employment for two or three men, during working hours, for a

The next point to be considered is, that all the "small stuffs" which are used on board a ship such as

spunyarn, marline, seizingstuff, etc., etc. are made on board. The owners of a vessel buy up incredible

quantities of "old junk," which the sailors unlay, after drawing out the yarns, knot them together, and roll

them up in balls. These "ropeyarns" are constantly used for various purposes, but the greater part is

manufactured into spunyarn. For this purpose every vessel is furnished with a "spunyarn winch"; which is

very simple, consisting of a wheel and spindle. This may be heard constantly going on deck in pleasant

weather; and we had employment, during a great part of the time, for three hands in drawing and knotting

Another method of employing the crew is, "setting up" rigging. Whenever any of the standing rigging

becomes slack, (which is continually happening,) the seizing and coverings must be taken off, tackles got up,

and after the rigging is bowsed well taught, the seizings and coverings replaced; coverings which is a very

nice piece of work. There is also such a connection between different parts of a vessel, that one rope can

seldom be touched without altering another. You cannot stay a mast aft by the back stays, without slacking up

the head stays, etc., etc. If we add to this all the tarring, greasing, oiling, varnishing, painting, scraping, and

scrubbing which is required in the course of a long voyage, and also remember this is all to be done in

addition to watching at night, steering, reefing, furling, bracing, making and setting sail, and pulling, hauling

and climbing in every direction, one will hardly ask, "What can a sailor find to do at sea?"

If, after all this labor after exposing their lives and limbs in storms, wet and cold,

Keep their furs dry;" the merchants and captains think that they have not earned their twelve dollars a

month, (out of which they clothe themselves,) and their salt beef and hard bread, they keep them picking

oakum ad infinitum. This is the usual resource upon a rainy day, for then it will not do to work upon

rigging; and when it is pouring down in floods, instead of letting the sailors stand about in sheltered places,

and talk, and keep themselves comfortable, they are separated to different parts of the ship and kept at work

picking oakum. I have seen oakum stuff placed about in different parts of the ship, so that the sailors might

not be idle in the snatches between the frequent squalls upon crossing the equator. Some officers have been

so driven to find work for the crew in a ship ready for sea, that they have set them to pounding the anchors

This kind of work, of course, is not kept up off Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, and in extreme north and

south latitudes; but I have seen the decks washed down and scrubbed, when the water would have frozen if it

had been fresh; and all hands kept at work upon the rigging, when we had on our peajackets, and our hands

I have here gone out of my narrative course in order that any who may read this may form as correct an idea

of a sailor's life and duty as possible. I have done it in this place because, for some time, our life was nothing

but the unvarying repetition of these duties, which can be better described together. Before leaving this

description, however, I would state, in order to show landsmen how little they know of the nature of a ship,

that a shipcarpenter is kept in constant employ during good weather on board vessels which are in, what is

After speaking the Carolina, on the 21st August, nothing occurred to break the monotony of our life until

Friday, September 5th, when we saw a sail on our weather (starboard) beam. She proved to be a brig under

English colors, and passing under our stern, reported herself as fortynine days from Buenos Ayres, bound to

Liverpool. Before she had passed us, sail ho!" was cried again, and we made another sail, far on our weather

bow, and steering athwart our hawse. She passed out of hail, but we made her out to be an hermaphrodite

brig, with Brazilian colors in her main rigging. By her course, she must have been bound from Brazil to the

Sunday, September 7th. Fell in with the northeast tradewinds. This morning we caught our first dolphin,

which I was very eager to see. I was disappointed in the colors of this fish when dying. They were certainly

very beautiful, but not equal to what had been said of them. They are too indistinct. To do the fish justice,

there is nothing more beautiful than the dolphin when swimming a few feet below the surface, on a bright

day. It is the most elegantly formed, and also the quickest fish, in salt water; and the rays of the sun striking

upon it, in its rapid and changing motions, reflected from the water, make it look like a stray beam from a

This day was spent like all pleasant Sabbaths at sea. The decks are washed down, the rigging coiled up, and

everything put in order; and throughout the day only one watch is kept on deck at a time. The men are all

dressed in their best white duck trowsers, and red or checked shirts, and have nothing to do but to make the

necessary changes in the sails. They employ themselves in reading, talking, smoking, and mending their

clothes. If the weather is pleasant, they bring their work and their books upon deck, and sit down upon the

forecastle and windlass. This is the only day on which these privileges are allowed them. When Monday

comes, they put on their tarry trowsers again, and prepare for six days of labor.

To enhance the value of the Sabbath to the crew, they are allowed on that day a pudding, or, as it is called, a

"duff." This is nothing more than flour boiled with water, and eaten with molasses. It is very heavy, dark, and

clammy, yet it is looked upon as a luxury, and really forms an agreeable variety with salt beef and pork.

Many a rascally captain has made friends of his crew by allowing them duff twice a week on the passage

On board some vessels this is made a day of instruction and of religious exercises; but we had a crew of

swearers, from the captain to the smallest boy; and a day of rest and of something like quiet, social

We continued running large before the northeast trade winds for several days, until Monday

September 22d, when, upon coming on deck at seven bells in the morning, we found the other watch aloft,

throwing water upon the sails; and looking astern, we saw a small clipperbuilt brig with a black hull heading

directly after us. We went to work immediately, and put all the canvas upon the brig which we could get upon

her, rigging out oars for studdingsail yards; and continued wetting down the sails by buckets of water

whipped up to the masthead, until about nine o'clock, when there came on a drizzling rain. The vessel

continued in pursuit, changing her course as we changed ours to keep before the wind. The captain, who

watched her with his glass, said that she was armed, and full of men, and showed no colors. We continued

running dead before the wind, knowing that we sailed better so, and that clippers are fastest on the wind. We

had also another advantage. The wind was light, and we spread more canvas than she did, having royals and

skysails fore and aft, and ten studdingsails; while she, being an hermaphrodite brig, had only a gaff

topsail, aft. Early in the morning she was overhauling us a little, but after the rain came on and the wind

grew lighter, we began to leave her astern. All hands remained on deck throughout the day, and we got our

arms in order; but we were too few to have done anything with her, if she had proved to be what we feared.

Fortunately there was no moon, and the night which followed was exceedingly dark, so that by putting out all

the lights on board and altering our course four points, we hoped to get out of her reach. We had no light in

the binnacle, but steered by the stars, and kept perfect silence through the night. At daybreak there was no

Wednesday, October 1st. Crossed the equator in long. 24 deg. 24' W. I now, for the first time, felt at liberty,

according to the old usage, to call myself a son of Neptune, and was very glad to be able to claim the title

without the disagreeable initiation which so many have to go through. After once crossing the line you can

never be subjected to the process, but are considered as a son of Neptune, with full powers to play tricks upon

others. This ancient custom is now seldom allowed, unless there are passengers on board, in which case there

It had been obvious to all hands for some time that the second mate, whose name was F, was an idle,

careless fellow, and not much of a sailor, and that the captain was exceedingly dissatisfied with him. The

power of the captain in these cases was well known, and we all anticipated a difficulty. F (called Mr. by

virtue of his office) was but half a sailor, having always been short voyages and remained at home a long

time between them. His father was a man of some property, and intended to have given his son a liberal

education; but he, being idle and worthless, was sent off to sea, and succeeded no better there; for, unlike

many scamps, he had none of the qualities of a sailor he was "not of the stuff that they make 'lors of." He

was one of that class of officers who are disliked by their captain and despised by the crew. He used to hold

long yarns with the crew, and talk about the captain, and play with the boys, and relax discipline in every

way. This kind of conduct always makes the captain suspicious, and is never pleasant, in the end, to the men;

they preferring to have an officer active, vigilant, and distant as may be, with kindness. Among other bad

practices, he frequently slept on his watch, and having been discovered asleep by the captain, he was told that

he would be turned off duty if he did it again. To prevent it in every way possible the hencoops were

ordered to be knocked up, for the captain never sat down on deck himself, and never permitted an officer to

The second night after crossing the equator, we had the watch from eight till twelve, and it was "my helm"

for the last two hours. There had been light squalls through the night, and the captain told Mr. F, who

commanded our watch, to keep a bright lookout. Soon after I came to the helm, I found that he was quite

drowsy, and at last he stretched himself on the companion and went fast asleep. Soon afterwards, the captain

came very quietly on deck, and stood by me for some time looking at the compass. The officer at length

became aware of the captain's presence, but pretending not to know it, began humming and whistling to

himself, to show that he was not asleep, and went forward, without looking behind him, and ordered the main

royal to be loosed. On turning round to come aft, he pretended surprise at seeing the master on deck. This

would not do. The captain was too "wide awake" for him, and beginning upon him at once, gave him a grand

blowup, in true nautical style "You're a lazy, goodfornothing rascal; you're neither man, boy, soger, nor

sailor! you're no more than a thing aboard a vessel! you don't earn your salt; you're worse than a Mahon

soger!" and other still more choice extracts from the sailor's vocabulary. After the poor fellow had taken this

harangue, he was sent into his stateroom, and the captain stood the rest of the watch himself.

At seven bells in the morning, all hands were called aft and told that F was no longer an officer on board,

and that we might choose one of our own number for second mate. It is usual for the captain to make this

offer, and it is very good policy, for the crew think themselves the choosers and are flattered by it, but have to

obey, nevertheless. Our crew, as is usual, refused to take the responsibility of choosing a man of whom we

would never be able to complain, and left it to the captain. He picked out an active and intelligent young

sailor, born near the Kennebec, who had been several Canton voyages, and proclaimed him in the following

manner: "I choose Jim Hall he's your second mate. All you've got to do is to obey him as you would me;

and remember that he is Mr. Hall." F went forward into the forecastle as a common sailor, and lost the

handle to his name, while young foremast Jim became Mr. Hall, and took up his quarters in the land of knives

Sunday, October 5th. It was our morning watch; when, soon after the day began to break, a man on the

forecastle called out, "Land ho!" I had never heard the cry before, and did not know what it meant, (and few

would suspect what the words were, when hearing the strange sound for the first time,) but I soon found, by

the direction of all eyes, that there was land stretching along on our weather beam. We immediately took in

studdingsails and hauled our wind, running in for the land. This was done to determine our longitude; for by

the captain's chronometer we were in 25 deg. W., but by his observations we were much farther, and he had

been for some time in doubt whether it was his chronometer or his sextant which was out of order. This

landfall settled the matter, and the former instrument was condemned, and, becoming still worse, was never

As we ran in towards the coast, we found that we were directly off the port of Pernambuco, and could see

with the telescope the roofs of the houses, and one large church, and the town of Olinda. We ran along by the

mouth of the harbor, and saw a fullrigged brig going in. At two, P. M., we again kept off before the wind,

leaving the land on our quarter, and at sundown, it was out of sight. It was here that I first saw one of those

singular things called catamarans. They are composed of logs lashed together upon the water; have one large

sail, are quite fast, and, strange as it may seem, are trusted as good sea boats. We saw several, with from one

to three men in each, boldly putting out to sea, after it had become almost dark. The Indians go out in them

after fish, and as the weather is regular in certain seasons, they have no fear. After taking a new departure

We met with nothing remarkable until we were in the latitude of the river La Plata. Here there are violent

gales from the southwest, called Pamperos, which are very destructive to the shipping in the river, and are felt

for many leagues at sea. They are usually preceded by lightning. The captain told the mates to keep a bright

lookout, and if they saw lightning at the southwest, to take in sail at once. We got the first touch of one

during my watch on deck. I was walking in the lee gangway, and thought that I saw lightning on the lee bow.

I told the second mate, who came over and looked out for some time. It was very black in the southwest,

and in about ten minutes we saw a distinct flash. The wind, which had been southeast, had now left us, and

it was dead calm. We sprang aloft immediately and furled the royals and topgallantsails, and took in the

flying jib, hauled up the mainsail and trysail, squared the after yards, and awaited the attack. A huge mist

capped with black clouds came driving towards us, extending over that quarter of the horizon, and covering

the stars, which shone brightly in the other part of the heavens. It came upon us at once with a blast, and a

shower of hail and rain, which almost took our breath from us. The hardiest was obliged to turn his back. We

let the halyards run, and fortunately were not taken aback. The little vessel "paid off" from the wind, and ran

for some time directly before it, tearing through the water with everything flying. Having called all hands, we

closereefed the topsails and trysail, furled the courses and jib, set the foretopmast staysail, and brought her

up nearly to her course, with the weather braces hauled in a little, to ease her.

This was the first blow, that I had seen, which could really be called a gale. We had reefed our topsails in the

Gulf Stream, and I thought it something serious, but an older sailor would have thought nothing of it. As I

had now become used to the vessel and to my duty, I was of some service on a yard, and could knot my

reefpoint as well as anybody. I obeyed the order to lay* aloft with the rest, and found the reefing a very

exciting scene; for one watch reefed the foretopsail, and the other the main, and every one did his utmost to

get his topsail hoisted first. We had a great advantage over the larboard watch, because the chief mate never

goes aloft, while our new second mate used to jump into the rigging as soon as we began to haul out the

reeftackle, and have the weather earing passed before there was a man upon the yard. In this way we were

almost always able to raise the cry of "Haul out to leeward" before them, and having knotted our points,

would slide down the shrouds and backstays, and sing out at the topsail halyards to let it be known that we

were ahead of them. Reefing is the most exciting part of a sailor's duty. All hands are engaged upon it, and

after the halyards are let go, there is no time to be lost no "sogering," or hanging back, then. If one is not

quick enough, another runs over him. The first on the yard goes to the weather earing, the second to the lee,

and the next two to the "dog's ears;" while the others lay along into the bunt, just giving each other

elbowroom. In reefing, the yardarms (the extremes of the yards) are the posts of honor; but in furling, the

strongest and most experienced stand in the slings, (or, middle of the yard,) to make up the bunt. If the second

mate is a smart fellow, he will never let any one take either of these posts from him; but if he is wanting

either in seamanship, strength, or activity, some better man will get the bunt and earings from him; which

immediately brings him into disrepute. *This word "lay," which is in such general use on board ship, being

used in giving orders instead of "go;" as, "Lay forward!" "Lay aft!" "Lay aloft!" etc., I do not understand to

be the neuter verb lie, mispronounced, but to be the active verb lay, with the objective case understood; as,

We remained for the rest of the night, and throughout the next day, under the same close sail, for it continued

to blow very fresh; and though we had no more hail, yet there was a soaking rain, and it was quite cold and

uncomfortable; the more so because we were not prepared for cold weather, but had on our thin clothes. We

were glad to get a watch below, and put on our thick clothing, boots, and southwesters. Towards sundown

the gale moderated a little and it began to clear off in the southwest. We shook our reefs out, one by one,

We had now made up our minds for Cape Horn and cold weather, and entered upon every necessary

Tuesday, Nov. 4th. At daybreak saw land upon our larboard quarter. There were two islands, of different

size but of the same shape; rather high, beginning low at the water's edge, and running with a curved ascent to

the middle. They were so far off as to be of a deep blue color, and in a few hours we sank them in the

northeast. These were the Falkland Islands. We had run between them and the main land of Patagonia. At

sunset the second mate, who was at the masthead, said that he saw land on the starboard bow. This must

have been the island of Staten Land; and we were now in the region of Cape Horn, with a fine breeze from

the northward, topmast and topgallant studdingsails set, and every prospect of a speedy and pleasant

Wednesday, Nov. 5th. The weather was fine during the previous night, and we had a clear view of the

Magellan Clouds, and of the Southern Cross. The Magellan Clouds consist of three small nebulae in the

southern part of the heavens, two bright, like the milkyway, and one dark. These are first seen, just above

the horizon, soon after crossing the southern tropic. When off Cape Horn, they are nearly over head. The

cross is composed of four stars in that form, and is said to be the brightest constellation in the heavens.

During the first part of this day (Wednesday) the wind was light, but after noon it came on fresh, and we

furled the royals. We still kept the studdingsails out, and the captain said he should go round with them, if

he could. Just before eight o'clock (then about sundown, in that latitude) the cry of "All hands ahoy!" was

sounded down the fore scuttle and the after hatchway, and hurrying upon deck, we found a large black cloud

rolling on toward us from the southwest, and blackening the whole heavens. "Here comes Cape Horn!" said

the chief mate; and we had hardly time to haul down and clew up, before it was upon us. In a few moments, a

heavier sea was raised than I had ever seen before, and as it was directly ahead, the little brig, which was no

better than a bathing machine, plunged into it, and all the forward part of her was under water; the sea

pouring in through the bowports and hawsehole and over the knightheads, threatening to wash everything

overboard. In the lee scuppers it was up to a man's waist. We sprang aloft and double reefed the topsails, and

furled all the other sails, and made all snug. But this would not do; the brig was laboring and straining against

the head sea, and the gale was growing worse and worse. At the same time sleet and hail were driving with all

fury against us. We clewed down, and hauled out the reeftackles again, and closereefed the foretopsail,

and furled the main, and hove her to on the starboard tack. Here was an end to our fine prospects. We made

up our minds to head winds and cold weather; sent down the royal yards, and unrove the gear; but all the rest

of the top hamper remained aloft, even to the skysail masts and studdingsail booms.

Throughout the night it stormed violently rain, hail, snow, and sleet beating upon the vessel the wind

continuing ahead, and the sea running high. At daybreak (about three, A.M.) the deck was covered with

snow. The captain sent up the steward with a glass of grog to each of the watch; and all the time that we were

off the Cape, grog was given to the morning watch, and to all hands whenever we reefed topsails. The clouds

cleared away at sunrise, and the wind becoming more fair, we again made sail and stood nearly up to our

Thursday, Nov. 6th. It continued more pleasant through the first part of the day, but at night we had the same

scene over again. This time, we did not heave to, as on the night before, but endeavored to beat to windward

under closereefed topsails, balancereefed trysail, and foretopmast staysail. This night it was my turn to

steer, or, as the sailors say, my trick at the helm, for two hours. Inexperienced as I was, I made out to steer to

the satisfaction of the officer, and neither S nor myself gave up our tricks, all the time that we were off

the Cape. This was something to boast of, for it requires a good deal of skill and watchfulness to steer a

vessel close hauled, in a gale of wind, against a heavy head sea. "Ease her when she pitches," is the word; and

a little carelessness in letting her ship a heavy sea, might sweep the decks, or knock the masts out of her.

Friday, Nov. 7th. Towards morning the wind went down, and during the whole forenoon we lay tossing about

in a dead calm, and in the midst of a thick fog. The calms here are unlike those in most parts of the world, for

there is always a high sea running, and the periods of calm are so short, that it has no time to go down; and

vessels, being under no command of sails or rudder, lie like logs upon the water. We were obliged to steady

the booms and yards by guys and braces, and to lash everything well below. We now found our top hamper

of some use, for though it is liable to be carried away or sprung by the sudden "bringing up" of a vessel when

pitching in a chopping sea, yet it is a great help in steadying a vessel when rolling in a long swell; giving

The calm of the morning reminds me of a scene which I forgot to describe at the time of its occurrence, but

which I remember from its being the first time that I had heard the near breathing of whales. It was on the

night that we passed between the Falkland Islands and Staten Land. We had the watch from twelve to four,

and coming upon deck, found the little brig lying perfectly still, surrounded by a thick fog, and the sea as

smooth as though oil had been poured upon it; yet now and then a long, low swell rolling under its surface,

slightly lifting the vessel, but without breaking the glassy smoothness of the water. We were surrounded far

and near by shoals of sluggish whales and grampuses, which the fog prevented our seeing, rising slowly to

the surface, or perhaps lying out at length, heaving out those peculiar lazy, deep, and longdrawn breathings

which give such an impression of supineness and strength. Some of the watch were asleep, and the others

were perfectly still, so that there was nothing to break the illusion, and I stood leaning over the bulwarks,

listening to the slow breathings of the mighty creatures now one breaking the water just alongside, whose

black body I almost fancied that I could see through the fog; and again another, which I could just hear in the

distance until the low and regular swell seemed like the heaving of the ocean's mighty bosom to the sound

Towards the evening of this day, (Friday, 7th,) the fog cleared off, and we had every appearance of a cold

blow; and soon after sundown it came on. Again it was a clew up and haul down, reef and furl, until we had

got her down to closereefed topsoils, doublereefed trysail, and reefed forespenser. Snow, hail, and sleet

were driving upon us most of the night, and the sea breaking over the bows and covering the forward part of

the little vessel; but as she would lay her course the captain refused to heave her to.

Saturday, Nov. 8th. This day commenced with calm and thick fog, and ended with hail, snow, a violent wind,

Sunday, Nov. 9th. Today the sun rose clear, and continued so until twelve o'clock, when the captain got an

observation. This was very well for Cape Horn, and we thought it a little remarkable that, as we had not had

one unpleasant Sunday during the whole voyage, the only tolerable day here should be a Sunday. We got

time to clear up the steerage and forecastle, and set things to rights, and to overhaul our wet clothes a little.

But this did not last very long. Between five and six the sun was then nearly three hours high the cry of

"All starbowlines ahoy!" summoned our watch on deck; and immediately all hands were called. A true

specimen of Cape Horn was coming upon us. A great cloud of a dark slate color was driving on us from the

southwest; and we did our best to take in sail ( for the light sails had been set during the first part of the day)

before we were in the midst of it. We had got the light sails furled, the courses hauled up, and the topsail

reeftackles hauled out, and were just mounting the forerigging, when the storm struck us. In an instant the

sea, which had been comparatively quiet, was running higher and higher; and it became almost as dark as

night. The hail and sleet were harder than I had yet felt them; seeming almost to pin us down to the rigging.

We were longer taking in sail than ever before; for the sails were stiff and wet, the ropes and rigging covered

with snow and sleet, and we ourselves cold and nearly blinded with the violence of the storm. By the time we

had got down upon deck again, the little brig was plunging madly into a tremendous head sea, which at every

drive rushed in through the bowports and over the bows, and buried all the forward part of the vessel. At

this instant the chief mate, who was standing on the top of the windlass, at the foot of the spenser mast, called

out, "Lay out there and furl the jib!" This was no agreeable or safe duty, yet it must be done. An old Swede,

(the best sailor on board,) who belonged on the forecastle, sprang out upon the bowsprit. Another one must

go: I was near the mate, and sprang forward, threw the downhaul over the windlass, and jumped between the

knightheads out upon the bowsprit. The crew stood abaft the windlass and hauled the jib down while we got

out upon the weather side of the jibboom, our feet on the footropes, holding on by the spar, the great jib

flying off to leeward and slatting so as almost to throw us off of the boom. For some time we could do

nothing but hold on, and the vessel diving into two huge seas, one after the other, plunged us twice into the

water up to our chins. We hardly knew whether we were on or off; when coming up, dripping from the water,

we were raised high into the air. John (that was the sailor's name) thought the boom would go, every moment,

and called out to the mate to keep the vessel off, and haul down the staysail; but the fury of the wind and the

breaking of the seas against the bows defied every attempt to make ourselves heard, and we were obliged to

do the best we could in our situation. Fortunately, no other seas so heavy struck her, and we succeeded in

furling the jib "after a fashion;" and, coming in over the staysail nettings, were not a little pleased to find that

all was snug, and the watch gone below; for we were soaked through, and it was very cold. The weather

Monday, Nov. 10th. During a part of this day we were hove to, but the rest of the time were driving on, under

closereefed sails, with a heavy sea, a strong gale, and frequent squalls of hail and snow.

We had now got hardened to Cape weather, the vessel was under reduced sail, and everything secured on

deck and below, so that we had little to do but to steer and to stand our watch. Our clothes were all wet

through, and the only change was from wet to more wet. It was in vain to think of reading or working below,

for we were too tired, the hatchways were closed down, and everything was wet and uncomfortable, black

and dirty, heaving and pitching. We had only to come below when the watch was out, wring out our wet

clothes, hang them up, and turn in and sleep as soundly as we could, until the watch was called again. A

sailor can sleep anywhere no sound of wind, water, wood or iron can keep him awake and we were always

fast asleep when three blows on the hatchway, and the unwelcome cry of "All starbowlines ahoy! Eight bells

there below' do you hear the news?" (the usual formula of calling the watch,) roused us up from our berths

upon the cold, wet decks. The only time when we could be said to take any pleasure was at night and

morning, when we were allowed a tin pot full of hot tea, (or, as the sailors significantly call it "water

bewitched,") sweetened with molasses. This, bad as it was, was still warm and comforting, and, together with

our sea biscuit and cold salt beef, made quite a meal. Yet even this meal was attended with some uncertainty.

We had to go ourselves to the galley and take our kid of beef and tin pots of tea, and run the risk of losing

them before we could get below. Many a kid of beef have I seen rolling in the scuppers, and the bearer lying

at his length on the decks. I remember an English lad who was always the life of the crew, but whom we

afterwards lost overboard, standing for nearly ten minutes at the galley, with his pot of tea in his hand,

waiting for a chance to get down into the forecastle; and seeing what he thought was a "smooth spell," started

to go forward. He had just got to the end of the windlass, when a great sea broke over the bows, and for a

moment I saw nothing of him but his head and shoulders; and at the next instant, being taken off his legs, he

was carried aft with the sea, until her stern lifting up and sending the water forward, he was left high and dry

at the side of the longboat, still holding on to his tin pot, which had now nothing in it but salt water. But

nothing could ever daunt him, or overcome, for a moment, his habitual good humor. Regaining his legs, and

shaking his fist at the man at the wheel, he rolled below, saying, as he passed, "A man's no sailor, if he can't

take a joke." The ducking was not the worst of such an affair, for, as there was an allowance of tea, you could

get no more from the galley; and though the sailors would never suffer a man to go without, but would

always turn in a little from their own pots to fill up his, yet this was at best but dividing the loss among all

Something of the same kind befell me a few days after. The cook had just made for us a mess of hot

"scouse" that is, biscuit pounded fine, salt beef cut into small pieces, and a few potatoes, boiled up together

and seasoned with pepper. This was a rare treat, and I, being the last at the galley, had it put in my charge to

carry down for the mess. I got along very well as far as the hatchway, and was just getting down the steps,

when a heavy sea, lifting the stern out of water, and passing forward, dropping it down again, threw the steps

from their place, and I came down into the steerage a little faster than I meant to, with the kid on top of me,

and the whole precious mess scattered over the floor. Whatever your feelings may be, you must make a joke

of everything at sea; and if you were to fall from aloft and be caught in the belly of a sail, and thus saved

from instant death, it would not do to look at all disturbed, or to make a serious matter of it.

Friday, Nov. 14th. We were now well to the westward of the Cape, and were changing our course to the

northward as much as we dared, since the strong southwest winds, which prevailed then, carried us in

towards Patagonia. At two, P. M., we saw a sail on our larboard beam, and at four we made it out to be a

large ship steering our course, under singlereefed topsails. We at that time had shaken the reefs out of our

topsails, as the wind was lighter, and set the main topgallant sail. As soon as our captain saw what sail she

was under, he set the fore topgallant sail and flying jib; and the old whaler for such, his boats and short sail

showed him to be felt a little ashamed, and shook the reefs out of his topsoils, but could do no more, for he

had sent down his topgallant masts off the Cape. He ran down for us, and answered our hail as the

whaleship, New England, of Poughkeepsie, one hundred and twenty days from New York. Our captain gave

our name, and added ninetytwo days from Boston. They then had a little conversation about longitude, in

which they found that they could not agree. The ship fell astern, and continued in sight during the night.

Toward morning, the wind having become light, we crossed our royal and skysail yards, and at daylight, we

were seen under a cloud of sail, having royals and skysails fore and aft. The "spouter," as the sailors call a

whaleman, had sent out his main topgallant mast and set the sail, and made signal for us to heave to. About

halfpast seven their whaleboat came alongside, and Captain Job Terry sprang on board, a man known in

every port and by every vessel in the Pacific ocean. "Don't you know Job Terry? I thought everybody knew

Job Terry," said a greenhand, who came in the boat, to me, when I asked him about his captain. He was

indeed a singular man. He was six feet high, wore thick cowhide boots, and brown coat and trowsers, and,

except a sunburnt complexion, had not the slightest appearance of a sailor; yet he had been forty years in the

whale trade, and, as he said himself, had owned ships, built ships, and sailed ships. His boat's crew were a

pretty raw set, just set out of the bush, and, as the sailor's phrase is, "hadn't got the hayseed out of their hair."

Captain Terry convinced our captain that our reckoning was a little out, and, having spent the day on board,

put off in his boat at sunset for his ship, which was now six or eight miles astern. He began a "yarn" when he

came aboard, which lasted, with but little intermission, for four hours. It was all about himself, and the

Peruvian government, and the Dublin frigate, and Lord James Townshend, and President Jackson, and the

ship Ann M'Kim of Baltimore. It would probably never have come to an end, had not a good breeze sprung

up, which sent him off to his own vessel. One of the lads who came in his boat, a thoroughly

countrifiedlooking fellow, seemed to care very little about the vessel, rigging, or anything else, but went

round looking at the live stock, and leaned over the pigsty, and said he wished he was back again tending

At eight o'clock we altered our course to the northward, bound for Juan Fernandez.

This day we saw the last of the albatrosses, which had been our companions a great part of the time off the

Cape. I had been interested in the bird from descriptions which I had read of it, and was not at all

disappointed. We caught one or two with a baited hook which we floated astern upon a shingle. Their long,

flapping wings, long legs, and large staring eyes, give them a very peculiar appearance. They look well on the

wing; but one of the finest sights that I have ever seen, was an albatross asleep upon the water, during a calm,

off Cape Horn, when a heavy sea was running. There being no breeze, the surface of the water was unbroken,

but a long, heavy swell was rolling, and we saw the fellow, all white, directly ahead of us, asleep upon the

waves, with his head under his wing; now rising on the top of a huge billow, and then falling slowly until he

was lost in the hollow between. He was undisturbed for some time, until the noise of our bows, gradually

approaching, roused him, when, lifting his head, he stared upon us for a moment, and then spread his wide

Monday, Nov. 19th. This was a black day in our calendar. At seven o'clock in the morning, it being our watch

below, we were aroused from a sound sleep by the cry of "All hands ahoy! a man overboard!" This unwonted

cry sent a thrill through the heart of every one, and hurrying on deck, we found the vessel hove flat aback,

with all her studdingsails set; for the boy who was at the helm left it to throw something overboard, and the

carpenter, who was an old sailor, knowing that the wind was light, put the helm down and hove her aback.

The watch on deck were lowering away the quarterboat, and I got on deck just in time to heave myself into

her as she was leaving the side; but it was not until out upon the wide Pacific, in our little boat, that I knew

whom we had lost. It was George Ballmer, a young English sailor, who was prized by the officers as an

active and willing seaman, and by the crew as a lively, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate. He was going

aloft to fit a strap round the main topmasthead, for ringtail halyards, and had the strap and block, a coil of

halyards, and a marlinespike about his neck. He fell from the starboard futtock shrouds, and not knowing

how to swim, and being heavily dressed, with all those things round his neck, he probably sank immediately.

We pulled astern, in the direction in which he fell, and though we knew that there was no hope of saving him,

yet no one wished to speak of returning, and we rowed about for nearly an hour, without the hope of doing

anything, but unwilling to acknowledge to ourselves that we must give him up. At length we turned the boat's

Death is at all times solemn, but never so much so as at sea. A man dies on shore; his body remains with his

friends, and "the mourners go about the streets;" but when a man falls overboard at sea and is lost, there is a

suddenness in the event, and a difficulty in realizing it, which give to it an air of awful mystery. A man dies

on shore you follow his body to the grave, and a stone marks the spot. You are often prepared for the event.

There is always something which helps you to realize it when it happens, and to recall it when it has passed.

A man is shot down by your side in battle, and the mangled body remains an object, and a real evidence; but

at sea, the man is near you at your side you hear his voice, and in an instant he is gone, and nothing but a

vacancy shows his loss. Then, too, at sea to use a homely but expressive phrase you miss a man so much.

A dozen men are shut up together in a little bark, upon the wide, wide sea, and for months and months see no

forms and hear no voices but their own and one is taken suddenly from among them, and they miss him at

every turn. It is like losing a limb. There are no new faces or new scenes to fill up the gap. There is always an

empty berth in the forecastle, and one man wanting when the small night watch is mustered. There is one less

to take the wheel and one less to lay out with you upon the yard. You miss his form, and the sound of his

voice, for habit had made them almost necessary to you, and each of your senses feels the loss.

All these things make such a death peculiarly solemn, and the effect of it remains upon the crew for some

time. There is more kindness shown by the officers to the crew, and by the crew to one another. There is

more quietness and seriousness. The oath and the loud laugh are gone. The officers are more watchful, and

the crew go more carefully aloft. The lost man is seldom mentioned, or is dismissed with a sailor's rude

eulogy "Well, poor George is gone! His cruise is up soon! He knew his work, and did his duty, and was a

good shipmate." Then usually follows some allusion to another world, for sailors are almost all believers; but

their notions and opinions are unfixed and at loose ends. They says "God won't be hard upon the poor

fellow," and seldom get beyond the common phrase which seems to imply that their sufferings and hard

treatment here will excuse them hereafter, "To work hard, live hard, die hard, and go to hell after all, would

be hard indeed!" Our cook, a simplehearted old African, who had been through a good deal in his day, and

was rather seriously inclined, always going to church twice a day when on shore, and reading his Bible on a

Sunday in the galley, talked to the crew about spending their Sabbaths badly, and told them that they might

Yet a sailor's life is at best but a mixture of a little good with much evil, and a little pleasure with much pain.

The beautiful is linked with the revolting, the sublime with the commonplace, and the solemn with the

We had hardly returned on board with our sad report, before an auction was held of the poor man's clothes.

The captain had first, however, called all hands aft and asked them if they were satisfied that everything had

been done to save the man, and if they thought there was any use in remaining there longer. The crew all said

that it was in vain, for the man did not know how to swim, and was very heavily dressed. So we then filed

The laws regulating navigation make the captain answerable for the effects of a sailor who dies during the

voyage, and it is either a law or a universal custom, established for convenience, that the captain should

immediately hold an auction of his things, in which they are bid off by the sailors, and the sums which they

give are deducted from their wages at the end of the voyage. In this way the trouble and risk of keeping his

things through the voyage are avoided, and the clothes are usually sold for more than they would be worth on

shore. Accordingly, we had no sooner got the ship before the wind, than his chest was brought up upon the

forecastle, and the sale began. The jackets and trowsers in which we had seen him dressed but a few days

before, were exposed and bid off while the life was hardly out of his body, and his chest was taken aft and

used as a storechest, so that there was nothing left which could be called his. Sailors have an unwillingness

to wear a dead man's clothes during the same voyage, and they seldom do so unless they are in absolute want.

As is usual after a death, many stories were told about George. Some had heard him say that he repented

never having learned to swim, and that he knew that he should meet his death by drowning. Another said that

he never knew any good to come of a voyage made against the will, and the deceased man shipped and spent

his advance, and was afterwards very unwilling to go, but not being able to refund, was obliged to sail with

us. A boy, too, who had become quite attached to him, said that George talked to him during most of the

watch on the night before about his mother and family at home, and this was the first time that he had

The night after this event, when I went to the galley to get a light, I found the cook inclined to be talkative, so

I sat down on the spars, and gave him an opportunity to hold a yarn. I was the more inclined to do so, as I

found that he was full of the superstitions once more common among seamen, and which the recent death had

waked up in his mind. He talked about George's having spoken of his friends, and said he believed few men

died without having a warning of it, which he supported by a great many stories of dreams, and the unusual

behavior of men before death. From this he went on to other superstitions, the Flying Dutchman, etc., and

talked rather mysteriously, having something evidently on his mind. At length he put his head out of the

galley and looked carefully about to see if any one was within hearing, and being satisfied on that point,

I satisfied him on that point by saying that he could speak no language but the German and English.

"I'm plaguy glad o' dat," said the cook. "I was mighty 'fraid he was a Fin. I tell you what, I been plaguy civil

I asked him the reason of this, and found that he was fully possessed with the notion that Fins are wizards,

and especially have power over winds and storms. I tried to reason with him about it, but he had the best of

all arguments, that from experience, at hand, and was not to be moved. He had been in a vessel to the

Sandwich Islands, in which the sailmaker was a Fin, and could do anything he was of a mind to. This

sailmaker kept a junk bottle in his berth, which was always just half full of rum, though he got drunk upon it

nearly every day. He had seen him sit for hours together, talking to this bottle, which he stood up before him

on the table. The same man cut his throat in his berth, and everybody said he was possessed.

He had heard of ships, too, beating up the gulf of Finland against a head wind and having a ship heave in

sight astern, overhaul and pass them, with as fair a wind as could blow, and all studdingsails out, and find

"Oh, no!" said he; "I've seen too much of them men to want to see 'board a ship. If they can't have their own

As I still doubted, he said he would leave it to John, who was the oldest seaman aboard, and would know, if

anybody did. John, to be sure, was the oldest, and at the same time the most ignorant, man in the ship; but I

consented to have him called. The cook stated the matter to him, and John, as I anticipated, sided with the

cook, and said that he himself had been in a ship where they had a head wind for a fortnight, and the captain

found out at last that one of the men, whom he had had some hard words with a short time before, was a Fin,

and immediately told him if he didn't stop the head wind he would shut him down in the fore peak. The Fin

would not give in, and the captain shut him down in the fore peak, and would not give him anything to eat.

The Fin held out for a day and a half, when he could not stand it any longer, and did something or other

I told him I had no doubt it was true, and that it would have been odd if the wind had not changed in fifteen

"Oh," says he, "go 'way! You think, 'cause you been to college, you know better than anybody. You know

better than them as has seen it with their own eyes. You wait till you've been to sea as long as I have, and

Tuesday, Nov. 25th, when at daylight we saw the island of Juan Fernandez, directly ahead, rising like a deep

blue cloud out of the sea. We were then probably nearly seventy miles from it; and so high and so blue did it

appear, that I mistook it for a cloud, resting over the island, and looked for the island under it, until it

gradually turned to a deader and greener color, and I could mark the inequalities upon its surface. At length

we could distinguish trees and rocks; and by the afternoon, this beautiful island lay fairly before us, and we

directed our course to the only harbor. Arriving at the entrance soon after sundown, we found a Chilian

manofwar brig, the only vessel, coming out. She hailed us, and an officer on board, whom we supposed to

be an American, advised us to run in before night, and said that they were bound to Valparaiso. We ran

immediately for the anchorage, but, owing to the winds which drew about the mountains and came to us in

flaws from every point of the compass, we did not come to an anchor until nearly midnight. We had a boat

ahead all the time that we were working in, and those aboard were continually bracing the yards about for

every puff that struck us, until about 12 o'clock, when we cameto in 40 fathoms water, and our anchor

struck bottom for the first time since we left Boston one hundred and three days. We were then divided into

I was called on deck to stand my watch at about three in the morning, and I shall never forget the peculiar

sensation which I experienced on finding myself once more surrounded by land, feeling the night breeze

coming from off shore, and hearing the frogs and crickets. The mountains seemed almost to hang over us, and

apparently from the very heart of them there came out, at regular intervals, a loud echoing sound, which

affected me as hardly human. We saw no lights, and could hardly account for the sound, until the mate, who

had been there before, told us that it was the "Alerta" of the Chilian who were soldiers, who were stationed

over some convicts confined in caves nearly half way up the mountain. At the expiration of my watch I went

below, feeling not a little anxious for the day, that I might see more nearly, and perhaps tread upon, this

When all hands were called it was nearly sunrise, and between that time and breakfast, although quite busy

on board in getting up watercasks, etc., I had a good view of the objects about me. The harbor was nearly

landlocked, and at the head of it was a landing place, protected by a small breakwater of stones, upon which

two large boats were hauled up, with a sentry standing over them. Near this was a variety of huts or cottages,

nearly an hundred in number, the best of them built of mud and whitewashed, but the greater part only

Robinson Crusoe like of posts and branches of trees. The governor's house, as it is called, was the most

conspicuous, being large, with grated windows, plastered walls, and roof of red tiles; yet, like all the rest,

only of one story. Near it was a small chapel, distinguished by a cross; and a long, low brownlooking

building, surrounded by something like a palisade, from which an old and dingylooking Chilian flag was

flying. This, of course, was dignified by the title of Presidio. A sentinel was stationed at the chapel, another at

the governor's house, and a few soldiers armed with bayonets, looking rather ragged, with shoes out at the

toes, were strolling about among the houses, or waiting at the landing place for our boat to come ashore.

The mountains were high, but not so overhanging as they appeared to be by starlight. They seemed to bear off

towards the centre of the island, and were green and well wooded, with some large, and, I am told,

exceedingly fertile valleys, with muletracks leading to different parts of the island.

I cannot here forget how my friend S and myself got the laugh of the crew upon us by our eagerness to

get on shore. The captain having ordered the quarterboat to be lowered, we both sprang down into the

forecastle, filled our jacket pockets with tobacco to barter with the people ashore, and when the officer called

for "four hands in the boat," nearly broke our necks in our haste to be first over the side, and had the pleasure

of pulling ahead of the brig with a towline for a half an hour, and coming on board again to be laughed at by

After breakfast the second mate was ordered ashore with five hands to fill the watercasks, and to my joy I

was among the number. We pulled ashore with the empty casks; and here again fortune favored me, for the

water was too thick and muddy to be put into the casks, and the governor had sent men up to the head of the

stream to clear it out for us, which gave us nearly two hours of leisure. This leisure we employed in

wandering about among the houses, and eating a little fruit which was offered to us. Ground apples, melons,

grapes, strawberries of an enormous size, and cherries, abound here. The latter are said to have been planted

by Lord Anson. The soldiers were miserably clad, and asked with some interest whether we had shoes to sell

on board. I doubt very much if they had the means of buying them. They were very eager to get tobacco, for

which they gave shells, fruit, etc. Knives also were in demand, but we were forbidden by the governor to let

any one have them, as he told us that all the people there, except the soldiers and a few officers, were

convicts sent from Valparaiso, and that it was necessary to keep all weapons from their hands. The island, it

seems, belongs to Chili, and had been used by the government as a sort of Botany Bay for nearly two years;

and the governor an Englishman who had entered the Chilian navy with a priest, half a dozen

taskmasters, and a body of soldiers, were stationed there to keep them in order. This was no easy task; and

only a few months before our arrival, a few of them had stolen a boat at night, boarded a brig lying in the

harbor, sent the captain and crew ashore in their boat, and gone off to sea. We were informed of this, and

loaded our arms and kept strict watch on board through the night, and were careful not to let the convicts get

our knives from us when on shore. The worst part of the convicts, I found, were locked up under sentry in

caves dug into the side of the mountain, nearly half way up, with muletracks leading to them, whence they

were taken by day and set to work under taskmasters upon building an aqueduct, a wharf, and other public

works; while the rest lived in the houses which they put up for themselves, had their families with them, and

seemed to me to be the laziest people on the face of the earth. They did nothing but take a paseo into the

woods, a paseo among the houses, a the houses, a paseo at the landingplace, looking at us and our vessel,

and too lazy to speak fast; while the others were driving or rather, driven about, at a rapid trot, in single

file, with burdens on their shoulders, and followed up by their taskmasters, with long rods in their hands,

and broadbrimmed straw hats upon their heads. Upon what precise grounds this great distinction was made,

I do not know, and I could not very well know, for the governor was the only man who spoke English upon

Having filled our casks, we returned on board, and soon after, the governor, dressed in a uniform like that of

an American militia officer, the Padre, in the dress of the grey friars, with hood and all complete, and the

Capitan, with big whiskers and dirty regimentals, came on board to dine. While at dinner, a large ship

appeared in the offing, and soon afterwards we saw a light whaleboat pulling into the harbor. The ship lay

off and on, and a boat came alongside of us, and put on board the captain, a plain young Quaker, dressed all

in brown. The ship was the Cortes, whaleman, of New Bedford, and had put in to see if there were any

vessels from round the Horn, and to hear the latest news from America. They remained aboard a short time

and had a little talk with the crew, when they left us and pulled off to their ship, which, having filled away,

A small boat which came from the shore to take away the governor and suite as they styled themselves

brought, as a present to the crew, a large pail of milk, a few shells, and a block of sandal wood. The milk,

which was the first we had tasted since leaving Boston, we soon despatched; a piece of the sandal wood I

obtained, and learned that it grew on the hills in the centre of the island. I have always regretted that I did not

bring away other specimens of the products of the island, having afterwards lost all that I had with me the

piece of sandal wood, and a small flower which I plucked and brought on board in the crown of my tarpaulin,

About an hour before sundown, having stowed our watercasks, we commenced getting under weigh, and

were not a little while about it; for we were in thirty fathoms water, and in one of the gusts which came from

off shore had let go our other bow anchor; and as the southerly wind draws round the mountains and comes

off in uncertain flaws, we were continually swinging round, and had thus got a very foul hawse. We hove in

upon our chain, and after stoppering and unshackling it again and again, and hoisting and hauling down sail,

we at length tipped our anchor and stood out to sea. It was bright starlight when we were clear of the bay, and

the lofty island lay behind us, in its still beauty, and I gave a parting look, and bid farewell, to the most

romantic spot of earth that my eyes had ever seen. I did then, and have ever since, felt an attachment for that

island, altogether peculiar. It was partly, no doubt, from its having been the first land that I had seen since

leaving home, and still more from the associations which every one has connected with it in their childhood

from reading Robinson Crusoe. To this I may add the height and romantic outlines of its mountains, the

beauty and freshness of its verdure, and the extreme fertility of its soil, and its solitary position in the midst of

the wide expanse of the South Pacific, as all concurring to give it its peculiar charm.

When thoughts of this place have occurred to me at different times, I have endeavored to recall more

particulars with regard to it. It is situated in about 33 deg. 30' S., and is distant a little more than three

hundred miles from Valparaiso, on the coast of Chili, which is in the same latitude. It is about fifteen miles in

length and five in breadth. The harbor in which we anchored (called by Lord Anson, Cumberland bay) is the

only one in the island; two small hights of land on each side of the main bay (sometimes dignified by the

name of bays) being little more than landingplaces for boats. The best anchorage is at the western side of the

bay, where we lay at about three cables' lengths from the shore, in a little more than thirty fathoms water.

This harbor is open to the N. N. E., and in fact nearly from N. to E., but the only dangerous winds being the

southwest, on which side are the highest mountains, it is considered very safe. The most remarkable thing

perhaps about it is the fish with which it abounds. Two of our crew, who remained on board, caught in a few

minutes enough to last us for several days, and one of the men, who was a Marblehead man, said that he

never saw or heard of such an abundance. There were cod, breams, silverfish, and other kinds whose names

There is an abundance of the best of water upon the island, small streams running through every valley, and

leaping down from the sides of the hills. One stream of considerable size flows through the centre of the lawn

upon which the houses are built, and furnishes an easy and abundant supply to the inhabitants. This, by

means of a short wooden aqueduct, was brought quite down to our boats. The convicts had also built

something in the way of a breakwater, and were to build a landingplace for boats and goods, after which the

Of the wood I can only say, that it appeared to be abundant; the island in the month of November, when we

were there, being in all the freshness and beauty of spring, appeared covered with trees. These were chiefly

aromatic, and the largest was the myrtle. The soil is very loose and rich, and wherever it is broken up, there

spring up presently radishes, turnips, ground apples, and other garden fruits. Goats, we were told, were not

abundant, and we saw none, though it was said we might if we had gone into the interior. We saw a few

bullocks winding about in the narrow tracks upon the sides of the mountains, and the settlement was

completely overrun with dogs of every nation, kindred, and degree. Hens and chickens were also abundant,

and seemed to be taken good care of by the women. The men appeared to be the laziest people upon the face

of the earth; and indeed, as far as my observation goes, there are no people to whom the newly invented

Yankee word of "loafer" is more applicable than to the Spanish Americans. These men stood about doing

nothing, with their cloaks, little better in texture than an Indian's blanket, but of rich colors, thrown over their

shoulders with an air which it is said that a Spanish beggar can always give to his rags; and with great

politeness and courtesy in their address, though with holes in their shoes and without a sou in their pockets.

The only interruption to the monotony of their day seemed to be when a gust of wind drew round between the

mountains and blew off the boughs which they had placed for roofs to their houses, and gave them a few

minutes' occupation in running about after them. One of these gusts occurred while we were ashore, and

afforded us no little amusement at seeing the men look round, and if they found that their roofs had stood,

conclude that they might stand too, while those who saw theirs blown off, after uttering a few Spanish oaths,

gathered their cloaks over their shoulders, and started off after them. However, they were not gone long, but

It is perhaps needless to say that we saw nothing of the interior; but all who have seen it, give very glowing

accounts of it. Our captain went with the governor and a few servants upon mules over the mountains, and

upon their return, I heard the governor request him to stop at the island on his passage home, and offer him a

handsome sum to bring a few deer with him from California, for he said that there were none upon the island,

A steady, though light southwesterly wind carried us well off from the island, and when I came on deck for

the middle watch I could just distinguish it from its hiding a few low stars in the southern horizon, though my

unpractised eye would hardly have known it for land. At the close of the watch a few tradewind clouds

which had arisen, though we were hardly yet in their latitude, shut it out from our view, and the next day,

Thursday, Nov. 27th, upon coming on deck in the morning, we were again upon the wide Pacific, and saw no

more land until we arrived upon the western coast of the great continent of America.

As we saw neither land nor sail from the time of leaving Juan Fernandez until our arrival in California,

nothing of interest occurred except our own doings on board. We caught the southeast trades, and ran before

them for nearly three weeks, without so much as altering a sail or bracing a yard. The captain took advantage

of this fine weather to get the vessel in order for coming upon the coast. The carpenter was employed in

fitting up a part of the steerage into a traderoom; for our cargo, we now learned, was not to be landed, but to

be sold by retail from on board; and this traderoom was built for the samples and the lighter goods to be

kept in, and as a place for the general business. In the mean time we were employed in working upon the

rigging. Everything was set up taut, the lower rigging rattled down, or rather rattled up, (according to the

modern fashion,) an abundance of spunyarn and seizingstuff made, and finally, the whole standing rigging,

fore and aft, was tarred down. This was my first essay at this latter business, and I had enough of it; for nearly

all of it came upon my friend S and myself. The men were needed at the other work, and M, the other

young man who came out with us, was laid up with the rheumatism in his feet, and the boy Sam was rather

too young and small for the business; and as the winds were light and regular, he was kept during most of the

daytime at the helm; so that nearly all the tarring came upon us. We put on short duck frocks, and taking a

small bucket of tar and a bunch of oakum in our hands, went aloft, one at the main royalmasthead and the

other at the fore, and began tarring down. This is an important operation, and is usually done about once in

six months in vessels upon a long voyage. It was done in our vessel several times afterwards, but by the

whole crew at once, and finished off in a day; but at this time, as most of it came upon two of us, and we

were new at the business, it took us several days. In this operation they always begin at the masthead and

work down, tarring the shrouds, backstays, standing parts of the lifts, the ties, runners, etc., and go out to the

yardarms, and come in, tarring, as they come, the lifts and footropes. Tarring the stays is more difficult, and

is done by an operation which the sailors call "riding down." A long piece of rope topgallantstuddingsail

halyards, or something of the kind is taken up to the masthead from which the stay leads, and rove through a

block for a girtline, or, as the sailors usually call it, a gantline; with the end of this a bowline is taken round

the stay, into which the man gets with his bucket of tar and a bunch of oakum, and the other end being fast on

deck, with some one to tend it, he is lowered down gradually, and tars the stay carefully as he goes. There he

"swings aloft 'twixt heaven and earth," and if the rope slips, breaks, or is let go, or if the bowline slips, he

falls overboard or breaks his neck. This, however, is a thing which never enters into a sailor's calculation. He

only thinks of leaving no holydays, (places not tarred,) for in case he should, he would have to go over the

whole again; or of dropping no tar upon the deck, for then there would be a soft word in his ear from the

mate. In this manner I tarred down all the headstays, but found the rigging about the jibbooms, martingale,

and spritsail yard, upon which I was afterwards put, the hardest. Here you have to hang on with your eyelids

This dirty work could not last forever, and on Saturday night we finished it, scraped all the spots from the

deck and rails, and, what was of more importance to us, cleaned ourselves thoroughly, rolled up our tarry

frocks and trowsers and laid them away for the next occasion, and put on our clean duck clothes, and had a

good comfortable sailor's Saturday night. The next day was pleasant, and indeed we had but one unpleasant

Sunday during the whole voyage, and that was off Cape Horn, where we could expect nothing better. On

Monday we commenced painting, and getting the vessel ready for port. This work, too, is done by the crew,

and every sailor who has been on long voyages is a little of a painter, in addition to his other

accomplishments. We painted her, both inside and out, from the truck to the water's edge. The outside is

painted by lowering stages over the side by ropes, and on those we sat, with our brushes and paintpots by

us, and our feet half the time in the water. This must be done, of course, on a smooth day when the vessel

does not roll much. I remember very well being over the side painting in this way, one fine afternoon, our

vessel going quietly along at the rate of four or five knots, and a pilotfish, the sure precursor of a shark,

swimming alongside of us. The captain was leaning over the rail watching him, and we went quietly on with

Friday, Dec. 19th, we crossed the equator for the second time. I had the feeling which all have when, for the

first time, they find themselves living under an entire change of seasons; as, crossing the line under a burning

sun in the midst of December, and, as I afterwards was, beating about among ice and snow on the Fourth of

Thursday, Dec. 25th. This day was Christmas, but it brought us no holiday. The only change was that we had

a "plum duff" for dinner, and the crew quarrelled with the steward because he did not give us our usual

allowance of molasses to eat with it. He thought the plums would be a substitute for the molasses, but we

Such are the trifles which produce quarrels on shipboard. In fact, we had been too long from port. We were

getting tired of one another, and were in an irritable state, both forward and aft. Our fresh provisions were, of

course, gone, and the captain had stopped our rice, so that we had nothing but salt beef and salt pork

throughout the week, with the exception of a very small duff on Sunday. This added to the discontent; and a

thousand little things, daily and almost hourly occurring, which no one who has not himself been on a long

and tedious voyage can conceive of or properly appreciate little wars and rumors of wars, reports of things

said in the cabin, misunderstanding of words and looks apparent abuses, brought us into a state in which

everything seemed to go wrong. Every encroachment upon the time allowed for rest, appeared unnecessary.

*Haze is a word of frequent use on board ship, and never, I believe, used elsewhere. It is very expressive to a

sailor, and means to punish by hard work. Let an officer once say, "I'll haze you," and your fate is fixed. You

In the midst of this state of things, my messmate S and myself petitioned the captain for leave to shift our

berths from the steerage, where we had previously lived, into the forecastle. This, to our delight, was granted,

and we turned in to bunk and mess with the crew forward. We now began to feel like sailors, which we never

fully did when we were in the steerage. While there, however useful and active you may be, you are but a

mongrel, a sort of afterguard and "ship's cousin." You are immediately under the eye of the officers, cannot

dance, sing, play, smoke, make a noise, or growl, (i.e. complain,) or take any other sailor's pleasure; and you

live with the steward, who is usually a gobetween; and the crew never feel as though you were one of them.

But if you live in the forecastle, you are "as independent as a woodsawyer's clerk," (nautice,) and are a

sailor. You hear sailors' talk, learn their ways, their peculiarities of feeling as well as speaking and acting; and

moreover pick up a great deal of curious and useful information in seamanship, ship's customs, foreign

countries, etc., from their long yarns and equally long disputes. No man can be a sailor, or know what sailors

are, unless he has lived the forecastle with them turned in and out with them, eaten of their dish and drank

of their cup. After I had been a week there, nothing would have tempted me to go back to my old berth, and

never afterwards, even in the worst of weather, when in a close and leaking forecastle off Cape Horn, did I

for a moment wish myself in the steerage. Another thing which you learn better in the forecastle than you can

anywhere else, is to make and mend clothes, and this is indispensable to sailors. A large part of their watches

below they spend at this work, and here I learned that art which stood me in so good stead afterwards.

But to return to the state of the crew. Upon our coming into the forecastle, there was some difficulty about the

uniting of the allowances of bread, by which we thought we were to lose a few pounds. This set us into a

ferment. The captain would not condescend to explain, and we went aft in a body, with a Swede, the oldest

and best sailor of the crew, for spokesman. The recollection of the scene that followed always brings up a

smile, especially the quarterdeck dignity and eloquence of the captain. He was walking the weather side of

the quarterdeck, and seeing us coming aft, stopped short in his walk, and with a voice and look intended to

annihilate us, called out, "Well, what the dl do you want now?" Whereupon we stated our grievances as

respectfully as we could, but he broke in upon us, saying that we were getting fat and lazy, didn't have

enough to do, and that made us find fault. This provoked us, and we began to give word for word. This would

never answer. He clenched his fist, stamped and swore, and sent us all forward, saying, with oaths enough

interspersed to send the words home, "Away with you! go forward every one of you! I'll haze you! I'll work

you up! You don't have enough to do! If you a'n't careful I'll make a hell of the ship!.... You've mistaken your

man! I'm F T, all the way from 'down east.' I've been through the mill, ground, and bolted, and come

out a regularbuilt downeast johnnycake, good when it's hot, but when it's cold, sour and indigestible;

and you'll find me so! The latter part of this harangue I remember well, for it made a strong impression, and

the "downeast johnnycake" became a byword for the rest of the voyage. So much for our petition for the

redress of grievances. The matter was however set right, for the mate, after allowing the captain due time to

cool off, explained it to him, and at night we were all called aft to hear another harangue, in which, of course,

the whole blame of the misunderstanding was thrown upon us. We ventured to hint that he would not give us

time to explain; but it wouldn't do. We were driven back discomfited. Thus the affair blew over, but the

irritation caused by it remained; and we never had peace or a good understanding again so long as the captain

We continued sailing along in the beautiful temperate climate of the Pacific. The Pacific well deserves its

name, for except in the southern part, at Cape Horn, and in the western parts, near the China and Indian

oceans, it has few storms, and is never either extremely hot or cold. Between the tropics there is a slight

haziness, like a thin gauze, drawn over the sun, which, without obstructing or obscuring the light, tempers the

heat which comes down with perpendicular fierceness in the Atlantic and Indian tropics. We sailed well to

the westward to have the full advantage of the northeast trades, and when we had reached the latitude of Point

Conception, where it is usual to make the land, we were several hundred miles to the westward of it. We

immediately changed our course due east, and sailed in that direction for a number of days. At length we

began to heaveto after dark, for fear of making the land at night on a coast where there are no lighthouses

Tuesday, Jan. 13th, 1835, we made the land at Point Conception, lat. 34 deg. 32' N., long. 120 deg. 06' W.

The port of Santa Barbara, to which we were bound, lying about fifty miles to the southward of this point, we

continued sailing down the coast during the day and following night, and on the next morning,

Jan. 14th, 1835, we came to anchor in the spacious bay of Santa Barbara, after a voyage of one hundred and

California extends along nearly the whole of the western coast of Mexico, between the gulf of California in

the south and the bay of Sir Francis Drake on the north, or between the 22d and 38th degrees of north

latitude. It is subdivided into two provinces Lower or Old California, lying between the gulf and the 32d

degree of latitude, or near it; (the division line running, I believe, between the bay of Todos Santos and the

port of San Diego;) and New or Upper California, the southernmost port of which is San Diego, in lat. 32

deg. 39', and the northernmost, San Francisco, situated in the large bay discovered by Sir Francis Drake, in

lat. 37 deg. 58', and called after him by the English, though the Mexicans call it Yerba Buena. Upper

California has the seat of its government at Monterey, where is also the customhouse, the only one on the

coast, and at which every vessel intending to trade on the coast must enter its cargo before it can commence

its traffic. We were to trade upon this coast exclusively, and therefore expected to go to Monterey at first; but

the captain's orders from home were to put in at Santa Barbara, which is the central port of the coast, and wait

there for the agent who lives there, and transacts all the business for the firm to which our vessel belonged.

The bay, or, as it was commonly called, the canal of Santa Barbara, is very large, being formed by the main

land on one side, (between Point Conception on the north and Point St. Buena Ventura on the south,) which

here bends in like a crescent, and three large islands opposite to it and at the distance of twenty miles. This is

just sufficient to give it the name of a bay, while at the same time it is so large and so much exposed to the

southeast and northwest winds, that it is little better than an open roadstead; and the whole swell of the

Pacific ocean rolls in here before a southeaster, and breaks with so heavy a surf in the shallow waters, that it

is highly dangerous to lie near in to the shore during the southeaster season, that is, between the months of

This wind (the southeaster) is the bane of the coast of California. Between the months of November and

April, (including a part of each,) which is the rainy season in this latitude, you are never safe from it, and

accordingly in the ports which are open to it, vessels are obliged, during these months, to lie at anchor at a

distance of three miles from the shore, with slipropes on their cables, ready to slip and go to sea at a

moment's warning. The only ports which are safe from this wind are San Francisco and Monterey in the

As it was January when we arrived, and the middle of the southeaster season, we accordingly came to anchor

at the distance of three miles from the shore, in eleven fathoms water, and bent a sliprope and buoys to our

cables, cast off the yardarm gaskets from the sails, and stopped them all with ropeyarns. After we had done

this, the boat went ashore with the captain, and returned with orders to the mate to send a boat ashore for him

at sundown. I did not go in the first boat, and was glad to find that there was another going before night; for

after so long a voyage as ours had been, a few hours is long to pass in sight and out of reach of land. We

spent the day on board in the usual avocations; but as this was the first time we had been without the captain,

we felt a little more freedom, and looked about us to see what sort of a country we had got into, and were to

In the first place, it was a beautiful day, and so warm that we had on straw hats, duck trowsers, and all the

summer gear; and as this was midwinter it spoke well for the climate; and we afterwards found that the

thermometer never fell to the freezing point throughout the winter, and that there was very little difference

between the seasons, except that during a long period of rainy and southeasterly weather, thick clothes were

The large bay lay about us, nearly smooth, as there was hardly a breath of wind stirring, though the boat's

crew who went ashore told us that the long ground swell broke into a heavy surf on the beach. There was

only one vessel in the port a long, sharp brig of about 300 tons, with raking masts and very square yards,

and English colors at her peak. We afterwards learned that she was built at Guayaquil, and named the

Ayacucho, after the place where the battle was fought that gave Peru her independence, and was now owned

by a Scotchman named Wilson, who commanded her, and was engaged in the trade between Callao, the

Sandwich Islands, and California. She was a fast sailer, as we frequently afterwards perceived, and had a

crew of Sandwich Islanders on board. Beside this vessel there was no object to break the surface of the bay.

Two points ran out as the horns of the crescent, one of which the one to the westward was low and sandy,

and is that to which vessels are obliged to give a wide berth when running out for a southeaster; the other is

high, bold, and well wooded, and, we were told, has a mission upon it, called St. Buenaventura, from which

the point is named. In the middle of this crescent, directly opposite the anchoring ground, lie the mission and

town of Santa Barbara, on a low, flat plain, but little above the level of the sea, covered with grass, though

entirely without trees, and surrounded on three sides by an amphitheatre of mountains, which slant off to the

distance of fifteen or twenty miles. The mission stands a little back of the town, and is a large building, or

rather collection of buildings, in the center of which is a high tower, with a belfry of five bells; and the whole,

being plastered, makes quite a show at a distance, and is the mark by which vessels come to anchor. The town

lies a little nearer to the beach about half a mile from it and is composed of onestory houses built of

brown clay some of them plastered with red tiles on the roofs. I should judge that there were about an

hundred of them; and in the midst of them stands the Presidio, or fort, built of the same materials, and

apparently but little stronger. The town is certainly finely situated, with a bay in front, and an amphitheatre of

hills behind. The only thing which diminishes its beauty is, that the hills have no large trees upon them, they

having been all burnt by a great fire which swept them off about a dozen years before, and they had not yet

grown up again. The fire was described to me by an inhabitant, as having been a very terrible and magnificent

sight. The air of the whole valley was so heated that the people were obliged to leave the town and take up

Just before sundown the mate ordered a boat's crew ashore, and I went as one of the number. We passed

under the stern of the English brig, and had a long pull ashore. I shall never forget the impression which our

first landing on the beach of California made upon me. The sun had just gone down; it was getting dusky; the

damp night wind was beginning to blow, and the heavy swell of the Pacific was setting in, and breaking in

loud and high "combers" upon the beach. We lay on our oars in the swell, just outside of the surf, waiting for

a good chance to run in, when a boat, which had put off from the Ayacucho just after us, came alongside of

us, with a crew of dusky Sandwich Islanders, talking and hallooing in their outlandish tongue. They knew

that we were novices in this kind of boating, and waited to see us go in. The second mate, however, who

steered our boat, determined to have the advantage of their experience, and would not go in first. Finding, at

length, how matters stood, they gave a shout, and taking advantage of a great comber which came swelling

in, rearing its head, and lifting up the stern of our boat nearly perpendicular, and again dropping it in the

trough, they gave three or four long and strong pulls, and went in on top of the great wave, throwing their

oars overboard, and as far from the boat as they could throw them, and jumping out the instant that the boat

touched the beach, and then seizing hold of her and running her up high and dry upon the sand. We saw, at

once, how it was to be done, and also the necessity of keeping the boat "stern on" to the sea; for the instant

the sea should strike upon her broadside or quarter, she would be driven up broadside on, and capsized.

We pulled strongly in, and as soon as we felt that the sea had got hold of us and was carrying us in with the

speed of a racehorse, we threw the oars as far from the boat as we could, and took hold of the gunwale, ready

to spring out and seize her when she struck, the officer using his utmost strength to keep her stern on. We

were shot up upon the beach like an arrow from a bow, and seizing the boat, ran her up high and dry, and

Finding that the captain did not come immediately, we put our oars in the boat, and leaving one to watch it,

walked about the beach to see what we could, of the place. The beach is nearly a mile in length between the

two points, and of smooth sand. We had taken the only good landingplace, which is in the middle; it being

more stony toward the ends. It is about twenty yards in width from highwater mark to a slight bank at which

the soil begins, and so hard that it is a favorite place for running horses. It was growing dark, so that we could

just distinguish the dim outlines of the two vessels in the offing; and the great seas were rolling in, in regular

lines, growing larger and larger as they approached the shore, and hanging over the beach upon which they

were to break, when their tops would curl over and turn white with foam, and, beginning at one extreme of

the line, break rapidly to the other, as a long cardhouse falls when the children knock down the cards at one

end. The Sandwich Islanders, in the mean time, had turned their boat round, and ran her down into the water,

and were loading her with hides and tallow. As this was the work in which we were soon to be engaged, we

looked on with some curiosity. They ran the boat into the water so far that every large sea might float her, and

two of them, with their trowsers rolled up, stood by the bows, one on each side, keeping her in her right

position. This was hard work; for beside the force they had to use upon the boat, the large seas nearly took

them off their legs. The others were running from the boat to the bank, upon which, out of the reach of the

water, was a pile of dry bullocks' hides, doubled lengthwise in the middle, and nearly as stiff as boards. These

they took upon their heads, one or two at a time, and carried down to the boat, where one of their number,

stowed them away. They were obliged to carry them on their heads, to keep them out of the water, and we

observed that they had on thick woolen caps. "Look here, Bill, and see what you're coming to!" said one of

our men to another who stood by the boat. "Well, D," said the second mate to me, "this does not look

much like Cambridge college, does it? This is what I call 'head work.'" To tell the truth it did not look very

After they had got through with the hides, they laid hold of the bags of tallow, (the bags are made of hide, and

are about the size of a common meal bag,) and lifting each upon the shoulders of two men, one at each end,

walked off with them to the boat, and prepared to go aboard. Here, too, was something for us to learn. The

man who steered, shipped his oar and stood up in the stern, and those that pulled the after oars sat upon their

benches, with their oars shipped, ready to strike out as soon as she was afloat. The two men at the bows kept

their places; and when, at length, a large sea came in and floated her, seized hold of the gunwales, and ran out

with her till they were up to their armpits, and then tumbled over the gunwale into the bows, dripping with

water. The men at the oars struck out, but it wouldn't do; the sea swept back and left them nearly high and

dry. The two fellows jumped out again; and the next time they succeeded better, and, with the help of a deal

of outlandish hallooing and bawling, got her well off. We watched them till they were out of the breakers,

The sand of the beach began to be cold to our bare feet; the frogs set up their croaking in the marshes, and

one solitary owl, from the end of the distant point, gave out his melancholy note, mellowed by the distance,

and we began to think that it was high time for "the old man," as the captain is generally called, to come

down. In a few minutes we heard something coming towards us. It was a man on horseback. He came up on

the full gallop, reined up near us, addressed a few words to us, and receiving no answer, wheeled round and

galloped off again. He was nearly as dark as an Indian, with a large Spanish hat, blanket cloak or serapa, and

leather leggins, with a long knife stuck in them. "This is the seventh city that ever I was in, and no Christian

one neither," said Bill Brown. "Stand by!" said Tom, "you haven't seen the worst of it yet." In the midst of

this conversation the captain appeared; and we winded the boat round, shoved her down, and prepared to go

off. The captain, who had been on the coast before and "knew the ropes," took the steering oar, and we went

off in the same way as the other boat. I, being the youngest, had the pleasure of standing at the bow, and

getting wet through. We went off well, though the seas were high. Some of them lifted us up, and sliding

from under us, seemed to let us drop through the air like a flat plank upon the body of the water. In a few

minutes we were in the low, regular swell, and pulled for a light, which, as we came up, we found had been

Coming aboard, we hoisted up all the boats, and diving down into the forecastle, changed our wet clothes,

and got our supper. After supper the sailors lighted their pipes, (cigars, those of us who had them,) and we

had to tell all we had seen ashore. Then followed conjectures about the people ashore, the length of the

voyage, carrying hides, etc., etc., until eight bells, when all hands were called aft, and the "anchor watch" set.

We were to stand two in a watch, and as the nights were pretty long, two hours were to make a watch. The

second mate was to keep the deck until eight o'clock, and all hands were to be called at daybreak, and the

word was passed to keep a bright lookout, and to call the mate if it should come on to blow from the

southeast. We had also orders to strike the bells every half hour through the night, as at sea. My watchmate

was John, the Swedish sailor, and we stood from twelve to two, he walking the larboard side, and I the

starboard. At daylight all hands were called, and we went through the usual process of washing down,

swabbing, etc., and got breakfast at eight o'clock. In the course of the forenoon, a boat went aboard of the

Ayacucho and brought off a quarter of beef, which made us a fresh bite for dinner. This we were glad enough

to have, and the mate told us that we should live upon fresh beef while we were on the coast, as it was

cheaper here than the salt. While at dinner, the cook called, "Sail ho!" and coming on deck, we saw two sails

coming round the point. One was a large ship under topgallant sails, and the other a small hermaphrodite

brig. They both backed their top sails and sent boats aboard of us. The ship's colors had puzzled us, and we

found that she was from Genoa, with an assorted cargo, and was trading on the coast. She filled away again,

and stood out; being bound up the coast to San Francisco. The crew of the brig's boat were Sandwich

Islanders, but one of them, who spoke a little English, told us that she was the Loriotte, Captain Nye, from

Oahu, and was engaged in this trade. She was a lump of a thing what the sailors call a butterbox. This

vessel, as well as the Ayacucho, and others which we afterwards saw engaged in the same trade, have English

or Americans for officers, and two or three before the mast to do the work upon the rigging, and to rely upon

for seamanship, while the rest of the crew are Sandwich Islanders, who are active, and very useful in boating.

The three captains went ashore after dinner, and came off again at night. When in port, everything is attended

to by the chief mate; the captain, unless he is also supercargo, has little to do, and is usually ashore much of

his time. This we thought would be pleasanter for us, as the mate was a goodnatured man and not very

strict. So it was for a time, but we were worse off in the end; for wherever the captain is a severe, energetic

man, and the mate is wanting in both these qualities, there will always be trouble. And trouble we had already

begun to anticipate. The captain had several times found fault with the mate, in presence of the crew; and

hints had been dropped that all was not right between them. When this is the case, and the captain suspects

that his chief officer is too easy and familiar with the crew, then he begins to interfere in all the duties, and to

This night, after sundown, it looked black at the southward and eastward, and we were told to keep a bright

lookout. Expecting to be called up, we turned in early. Waking up about midnight, I found a man who had

just come down from his watch striking a light. He said that it was beginning to puff up from the southeast,

and that the sea was rolling in, and he had called the captain; and as he threw himself down on his chest with

all his clothes on, I knew that he expected to be called. I felt the vessel pitching at her anchor, and the chain

surging and snapping, and lay awake, expecting an instant summons. In a few minutes it came three knocks

on the scuttle, and "All hands ahoy! bearahand up and make sail." We sprang up for our clothes, and were

about half way dressed, when the mate called out, down the scuttle, "Tumble up here, men! tumble up! before

she drags her anchor." We were on deck in an instant. "Lay aloft and loose the topsails!" shouted the captain,

as soon as the first man showed himself. Springing into the rigging, I saw that the Ayacucho's topsails were

loosed, and heard her crew singingout at the sheets as they were hauling them home. This had probably

started our captain; as "old Wilson" (the captain of the Ayacucho) had been many years on the coast, and

knew the signs of the weather. We soon had the topsails loosed; and one hand remaining, as usual, in each

top, to overhaul the rigging and light the sail out, the rest of us came down to man the sheets. While sheeting

home, we saw the Ayacucho standing athwart our hawse, sharp upon the wind, cutting through the head seas

like a knife, with her raking masts and sharp bows running up like the head of a greyhound. It was a beautiful

sight. She was like a bird which had been frightened and had spread her wings in flight. After the topsails had

been sheeted home, the head yards braced aback, the foretopmast staysail hoisted, and the buoys streamed,

and all ready forward, for slipping, we went aft and manned the sliprope which came through the stern port

with a turn round the timberheads. "All ready forward?" asked the captain. "Aye, aye, sir; all ready,"

answered the mate. "Let go!" "All gone, sir;" and the iron cable grated over the windlass and through the

hawsehole, and the little vessel's head swinging off from the wind under the force of her backed head sails,

brought the strain upon the sliprope. "Let go aft!" Instantly all was gone, and we were under weigh. As soon

as she was well off from the wind, we filled away the head yards, braced all up sharp, set the foresail and

trysail, and left our anchorage well astern, giving the point a good berth. "Nye's off too," said the captain to

the mate; and looking astern we could just see the little hermaphrodite brig under sail standing after us.

It now began to blow fresh; the rain fell fast, and it grew very black; but the captain would not take in sail

until we were well clear of the point. As soon as we left this on our quarter, and were standing out to sea, the

order was given, and we sprang aloft, double reefed each topsail, furled the foresail, and double reefed the

trysail, and were soon under easy sail. In these cases of slipping for southeasters, there is nothing to be

done, after you have got clear of the coast, but to lieto under easy sail, and wait for the gale to be over,

which seldom lasts more than two days, and is often over in twelve hours; but the wind never comes back to

the southward until there has a good deal of rain fallen. "Go below the watch," said the mate; but here was a

dispute which watch it should be, which the mate soon however settled by sending his watch below, saying

that we should have our turn the next time we got under weigh. We remained on deck till the expiration of the

watch, the wind blowing very fresh and the rain coming down in torrents. When the watch came up, we wore

ship, and stood on the other tack, in towards land. When we came up again, which was at four in the morning,

it was very dark, and there was not much wind, but it was raining as I thought I had never seen it rain before.

We had on oilcloth suits and southwester caps, and had nothing to do but to stand bolt upright and let it pour

While we were standing about on deck, we saw the little brig drifting by us, hove to under her fore topsoil

double reefed; and she glided by like a phantom. Not a word was spoken, and we saw no one on deck but the

man at the wheel. Toward morning the captain put his head out of the companionway and told the second

mate, who commanded our watch, to look out for a change of wind, which usually followed a calm and heavy

rain; and it was well that he did; for in a few minutes it fell dead calm, the vessel lost her steerageway, and

the rain ceased. We hauled up the trysail and courses, squared the after yards, and waited for the change,

which came in a few minutes, with a vengeance, from the northwest, the opposite point of the compass.

Owing to our precautions, we were not taken aback, but ran before the wind with square yards. The captain

coming on deck, we braced up a little and stood back for our anchorage. With the change of wind came a

change of weather, and in two hours the wind moderated into the light steady breeze, which blows down the

coast the greater part of the year, and, from its regularity, might be called a tradewind. The sun came up

bright, and we set royals, skysails, and studdingsails, and were under fair way for Santa Barbara. The little

Loriotte was astern of us, nearly out of sight; but we saw nothing of the Ayacucho. In a short time she

appeared, standing out from Santa Rosa Island, under the lee of which she had been hove to, all night. Our

captain was anxious to get in before her, for it would be a great credit to us, on the coast, to beat the

Ayacucho, which had been called the best sailer in the North Pacific, in which she had been known as a

trader for six years or more. We had an advantage over her in light winds, from our royals and skysails which

we carried both at the fore and main, and also in our studdingsails; for Captain Wilson carried nothing

above topgallantsails, and always unbent his studdingsails when on the coast. As the wind was light and

fair, we held our own, for some time, when we were both obliged to brace up and come upon a taught

bowline, after rounding the point; and here he had us on fair ground, and walked away from us, as you would

haul in a line. He afterwards said that we sailed well enough with the wind free, but that give him a taught

The Ayacucho got to the anchoring ground about half an hour before us, and was furling her sails when we

came up to it. This picking up your cables is a very nice piece of work. It requires some seamanship to do it,

and come to at your former moorings, without letting go another anchor. Captain Wilson was remarkable,

among the sailors on the coast, for his skill in doing this; and our captain never let go a second anchor during

all the time that I was with him. Coming a little to the windward of our buoy, we clewed up the light sails,

backed our main topsail, and lowered a boat, which pulled off, and made fast a spare hawser to the buoy on

the end of the sliprope. We brought the other end to the capstan, and hove in upon it until we came to the

sliprope, which we took to the windlass, and walked her up to her chain, the captain helping her by backing

and filling the sails. The chain is then passed through the hawsehole and round the windlass, and bitted, the

sliprope taken round outside and brought into the stern port, and she is safe in her old berth. After we had

got through, the mate told us that this was a small touch of California, the like of which we must expect to

After we had furled the sails and got dinner, we saw the Loriotte nearing, and she had her anchor before

night. At sundown we went ashore again, and found the Loriotte's boat waiting on the beach. The Sandwich

Islander, who could speak English, told us that he had been up to the town; that our agent, Mr. R, and

some other passengers, were going to Monterey with us, and that we were to sail the same night. In a few

minutes Captain T, with two gentlemen and a lady, came down, and we got ready to go off. They had a

good deal of baggage, which we put into the bows of the boat, and then two of us took the senora in our arms,

and waded with her through the water, and put her down safely in the stern. She appeared much amused with

the transaction, and her husband was perfectly satisfied, thinking any arrangement good which saved his

wetting his feet. I pulled the after oar, so that I heard the conversation, and learned that one of the men, who,

as well as I could see in the darkness, was a younglooking man, in the European dress, and covered up in a

large cloak, was the agent of the firm to which our vessel belonged; and the other, who was dressed in the

Spanish dress of the country, was a brother of our captain, who had been many years a trader on the coast,

and had married the lady who was in the boat. She was a delicate, dark complexioned young woman, and of

one of the best families in California. I also found that we were to sail the same night. As soon as we got on

board, the boats were hoisted up, the sails loosed, the windlass manned, the slipropes and gear cast off; and

after about twenty minutes of heaving at the windlass, making sail, and bracing yards, we were well under

weigh, and going with a fair wind up the coast to Monterey. The Loriotte got under weigh at the same time,

and was also bound up to Monterey, but as she took a different course from us, keeping the land aboard,

while we kept well out to sea, we soon lost sight of her. We had a fair wind, which is something unusual

when coming up, as the prevailing wind is the north, which blows directly down the coast; whence the

We got clear of the island before sunrise the next morning, and by twelve o'clock were out of the canal, and

off Point Conception, the place where we first made the land upon our arrival. This is the largest point on the

coast, and is uninhabited headland, stretching out into the Pacific, and has the reputation of being very windy.

Any vessel does well which gets by it without a gale, especially in the winter season. We were going along

with studdingsails set on both sides, when, as we came round the point, we had to haul our wind, and take in

the lee studdingsails. As the brig came more upon the wind, she felt it more, and we doused the skysails,

but kept the weather studdingsails on her, bracing the yards forward so that the swingingboom nearly

touched the spritsail yard. She now lay over to it, the wind was freshening, and the captain was evidently

"dragging on to her." His brother and Mr. R, looking a little squally, said something to him, but he only

answered that he knew the vessel and what she would carry. He was evidently showing off his vessel, and

letting them know how he could carry sail. He stood up to windward, holding on by the backstays, and

looking up at the sticks, to see how much they would bear; when a puff came which settled the matter. Then

it was "haul down," and "clew up," royals, flyingjib, and studdingsails, all at once. There was what the

sailors call a "mess" everything let go, nothing hauled in, and everything flying. The poor Spanish woman

came to the companionway, looking as pale as a ghost, and nearly frightened to death. The mate and some

men forward were trying to haul in the lower studdingsail, which had blown over the spritsail yardarm and

round the guys; while the topmaststuddingsail boom, after buckling up and springing out again like a piece

of whalebone, broke off at the boomiron. I sprang aloft to take in the main topgallant studdingsail, but

before I got into the top, the tack parted, and away went the sail, swinging forward of the topgallantsail,

and tearing and slatting itself to pieces. The halyards were at this moment let go by the run; and such a piece

of work I never had before, in taking in a sail. After great exertions I got it, or the remains of it, into the top,

and was making it fast, when the captain, looking up, called out to me, "Lay aloft there, D, and furl that

main royal." Leaving the studdingsail, I went up to the cross trees; and here it looked rather squally. The

foot of the topgallantmast was working between the cross and trussel trees, and the royalmast lay over at

a fearful angle with the mast below, while everything was working, and cracking, strained to the utmost.

There's nothing for Jack to do but to obey orders, and I went up upon the yard and there was a worse "mess,"

if possible, than I had left below. The braces had been let go, and the yard was swinging about like a

turnpikeate, and the whole sail having blown over to leeward, the lee leach was over the yardarm, and the

skysail was all adrift and flying over my head. I looked down, but it in vain to attempt to make myself heard,

for every one was busy below, and the wind roared, and sails were flapping in every direction. Fortunately, it

was noon and broad daylight, and the man at the wheel, who had his eyes aloft, soon saw my difficulty, and

after numberless signs and gestures, got some one to haul the necessary ropes taught. During this interval I

took a look below. Everything was in confusion on deck; the little vessel was tearing through the water if she

were mad, the seas flying over her, and the masts leaning over at an angle of fortyfive degrees from the

vertical. At the other royalmasthead was S, working away at the sail, which was blowing from him as

fast as he could gather it in. The topgallantsail below me was soon clewed up, which relieved the mast, and

in a short time I got my sail furled, and went below; but I lost overboard a new tarpaulin hat, which troubled

me more than anything else. We worked for about half an hour with might and main; and in an hour from the

time the squall struck us, from having all our flying kites abroad, we came down to doublereefed topsails

The wind had hauled ahead during the squall, and we were standing directly in for the point. So, as soon as

we had got all snug, we wore round and stood off again, and had the pleasant prospect of beating up to

Monterey, a distance of an hundred miles, against a violent head wind. Before night it began to rain; and we

had five days of rainy, stormy weather, under close sail all the time, and were blown several hundred miles

off the coast. In the midst of this, we discovered that our fore topmast was sprung, (which no doubt happened

in the squall,) and were obliged to send down the fore topgallantmast and carry as little sail as possible

forward. Our four passengers were dreadfully sick, so that we saw little or nothing of them during the five

days. On the sixth day it cleared off, and the sun came out bright, but the wind and sea were still very high. It

was quite like being at sea again: no land for hundreds of miles, and the captain taking the sun every day at

noon. Our passengers now made their appearance, and I had for the first time the opportunity of seeing what a

miserable and forlorn creature a seasick passenger is. Since I had got over my own sickness, the third day

from Boston, I had seen nothing but hale, hearty men, with their sea legs on, and able to go anywhere, (for we

had no passengers;) and I will own there was a pleasant feeling of superiority in being able to walk the deck,

and eat, and go about, and comparing one's self with two poor, miserable, pale creatures, staggering and

shuffling about decks, or holding on and looking up with giddy heads, to see us climbing to the mastheads,

or sitting quietly at work on the ends of the lofty yards. A well man at sea has little sympathy with one who is

seasick; he is too apt to be conscious of a comparison favorable to his own manhood. After a few days we

made the land at Point Pinos, (pines,) which is the headland at the entrance of the bay of Monterey. As we

drew in, and ran down the shore, we could distinguish well the face of the country, and found it better

wooded than that to the southward of Point Conception. In fact, as I afterwards discovered, Point Conception

may be made the dividing line between two different faces of the country. As you go to the northward of the

point, the country becomes more wooded, has a richer appearance, and is better supplied with water. This is

the case with Monterey, and still more so with San Francisco; while to the southward of the point, as at Santa

Barbara, San Pedro, and particularly San Diego, there is very little wood, and the country has a naked, level

The bay of Monterey is very wide at the entrance, being about twentyfour miles between the two points,

Ano Nuevo at the north, and Pinos at the south, but narrows gradually as you approach the town, which is

situated in a bend, or large cove, at the southeastern extremity, and about eighteen miles from the points,

which makes the whole depth of the bay. The shores are extremely well wooded, (the pine abounding upon

them,) and as it was now the rainy season, everything was as green as nature could make it, the grass, the

leaves, and all; the birds were singing in the woods, and great numbers of wildfowl were flying over our

heads. Here we could lie safe from the southeasters. We came to anchor within two cable lengths of the

shore, and the town lay directly before us, making a very pretty appearance; its houses being plastered, which

gives a much better effect than those of Santa Barbara, which are of a mudcolor. The red tiles, too, on the

roofs, contrasted well with the white plastered sides and with the extreme greenness of the lawn upon which

the houses about an hundred in number were dotted about, here and there, irregularly. There are in this

place, and in every other town which I saw in California, no streets, or fences, (except here and there a small

patch was fenced in for a garden,) so that the houses are placed at random upon the green, which, as they are

of one story and of the cottage form, gives them a pretty effect when seen from a little distance.

It was a fine Saturday afternoon when we came to anchor, the sun about an hour high, and everything looking

pleasantly. The Mexican flag was flying from the little square Presidio, and the drums and trumpets of the

soldiers, who were out on parade, sounded over the water, and gave great life to the scene. Every one was

delighted with the appearance of things. We felt as though we had got into a Christian (which in the sailor's

vocabulary means civilized) country. The first impression which California had made upon us was very

disagreeable: the open roadstead of Santa Barbara; anchoring three miles from the shore; running out to sea

before every southeaster; landing in a high surf; with a little darklooking town, a mile from the beach; and

not a sound to be heard, or anything to be seen, but Sandwich Islanders, hides, and tallowbags. Add to this

the gale off Point Conception, and no one can be at a loss to account for our agreeable disappointment in

Monterey. Beside all this, we soon learned, which was of no small importance to us, that there was little or no

We landed the agent and passengers, and found several persons waiting for them on the beach, among whom

were some, who, though dressed in the costume of the country, spoke English; and who, we afterwards

I also connected with our arrival here another circumstance which more nearly concerns myself; viz., my first

act of what the sailors will allow to be seamanship sending down a royalyard. I had seen it done once or

twice at sea, and an old sailor, whose favor I had taken some pains to gain, had taught me carefully

everything which was necessary to be done, and in its proper order, and advised me to take the first

opportunity when we were in port, and try it. I told the second mate, with whom I had been pretty thick when

he was before the mast, that I would do it, and got him to ask the mate to send me up the first time they were

struck. Accordingly I was called upon, and went up, repeating the operations over in my mind, taking care to

get everything in its order, for the slightest mistake spoils the whole. Fortunately, I got through without any

word from the officer, and heard the "well done" of the mate, when the yard reached the deck, with as much

satisfaction as I ever felt at Cambridge on seeing a "bene" at the foot of a Latin exercise.

The next day being Sunday, which is the libertyday among merchantmen, when it is usual to let a part of the

crew go ashore, the sailors had depended upon a day on land, and were already disputing who should ask to

go, when, upon being called in the morning, we were turnedto upon the rigging, and found that the topmast,

which had been sprung, was to come down, and a new one to go up, and topgallant and royalmasts, and the

rigging to be set up. This was too bad. If there is anything that irritates sailors and makes them feel hardly

used, it is being deprived of their Sabbath. Not that they would always, or indeed generally, spend it

religiously, but it is their only day of rest. Then, too, they are often necessarily deprived of it by storms, and

unavoidable duties of all kinds, that to take it from them when lying quietly and safely in port, without any

urgent reason, bears the more hardly. The only reason in this case was, that the captain had determined to

have the customhouse officers on board on Monday, and wished to have his brig in order. Jack is a slave

aboard ship; but still he has many opportunities of thwarting and balking his master. When there is danger, or

necessity, or when he is well used, no one can work faster than he; but the instant he feels that he is kept at

work for nothing, no sloth could make less headway. He must not refuse his duty, or be in any way

disobedient, but all the work that an officer gets out of him, he may be welcome to. Every man who has been

three months at sea knows how to "work Tom Cox's traverse" "three turns round the longboat, and a pull at

the scuttledbutt." This morning everything went in this way. "Sogering" was the order of the day. Send a

man below to get a block, and he would capsize everything before finding it, then not bring it up till an

officer had called him twice, and take as much time to put things in order again. Marlinespikes were not to

be found; knives wanted a prodigious deal of sharpening, and, generally, three or four were waiting round the

grindstone at a time. When a man got to the masthead, he would come slowly down again to get something

which he had forgotten; and after the tackles were got up, six men would pull less than three who pulled

"with a will." When the mate was out of sight, nothing was done. It was all uphill work; and at eight o'clock,

During our short meal, the matter was discussed. One proposed refusing to work; but that was mutiny, and of

course was rejected at once. I remember, too, that one of the men quoted "Father Taylor," (as they call the

seamen's preacher at Boston,) who told them that if they were ordered to work on Sunday, they must not

refuse their duty, and the blame would not come upon them. After breakfast, it leaked out, through the

officers, that if we would get through our work soon, we might have a boat in the afternoon and go fishing.

This bait was well thrown, and took with several who were fond of fishing; and all began to find that as we

had one thing to do, and were not to be kept at work for the day, the sooner we did it, the better.

Accordingly, things took a new aspect; and before two o'clock this work, which was in a fair way to last two

days, was done; and five of us went a fishing in the jollyboat, in the direction of Point Pinos; but leave to go

ashore was refused. Here we saw the Loriotte, which sailed with us from Santa Barbara, coming slowly in

with a light seabreeze, which sets in towards afternoon, having been becalmed off the point all the first part

of the day. We took several fish of various kinds, among which cod and perch abounded, and F (the

cidevant second mate,) who was of our number, brought up with his hook a large and beautiful pearloyster

shell. We afterwards learned that this place was celebrated for shells, and that a small schooner had made a

We returned by sundown, and found the Loriotte at anchor, within a cable's length of the Pilgrim. The next

day we were "turnedto" early, and began taking off the hatches, overhauling the cargo, and getting

everything ready for inspection. At eight, the officers of the customs, five in number, came on board, and

The Mexican revenue laws are very strict, and require the whole cargo to be landed, examined, and taken on

board again; but our agent, Mr. R, had succeeded in compounding with them for the two last vessels, and

saving the trouble of taking the cargo ashore. The officers were dressed in the costume which we found

prevailed through the country. A broadbrimmed hat, usually of a black or darkbrown color, with a gilt or

figured band round the crown, and lined inside with silk; a short jacket of silk or figured calico, (the

European skirted bodycoat is never worn;) the shirt open in the neck; rich waistcoat, if any; pantaloons

wide, straight, and long, usually of velvet, velveteen, or broadcloth; or else short breeches and white

stockings. They wear the deerskin shoe, which is of a darkbrown color, and, (being made by Indians,)

usually a good deal ornamented. They have no suspenders, but always wear a sash round the waist, which is

generally red, and varying in quality with the means of the wearer. Add to this the neverfailing cloak, and

you have the dress of the Californian. This last garment, the cloak, is always a mark of the rank and wealth of

the owner. The "gente de razon," or aristocracy, wear cloaks of black or dark blue broadcloth, with as much

velvet and trimmings as may be; and from this they go down to the blanket of the Indian; the middle classes

wearing something like a large tablecloth, with a hole in the middle for the head to go through. This is often

as coarse as a blanket, but being beautifully woven with various colors, is quite showy at a distance. Among

the Mexicans there is no working class; (the Indians being slaves and doing all the hard work;) and every rich

man looks like a grandee, and every poor scamp like a brokendown gentleman. I have often seen a man with

a fine figure, and courteous manners, dressed in broadcloth and velvet, with a noble horse completely covered

with trappings; without a real in his pocket, and absolutely suffering for something to eat.

The next day, the cargo having been entered in due form, we began trading. The traderoom was fitted up in

the steerage, and furnished out with the lighter goods, and with specimens of the rest of the cargo; and M,

a young man who came out from Boston with us, before the mast, was taken out of the forecastle, and made

supercargo's clerk. He was well qualified for the business, having been clerk in a countinghouse in Boston.

He had been troubled for some time with the rheumatism, which unfitted him for the wet and exposed duty of

a sailor on the coast. For a week or ten days all was life on board. The people came off to look and to buy

men, women, and children; and we were continually going in the boats, carrying goods and passengers, for

they have no boats of their own. Everything must dress itself and come aboard and see the new vessel, if it

were only to buy a paper of pins. The agent and his clerk managed the sales, while we were busy in the hold

or in the boats. Our cargo was an assorted one; that is, it consisted of everything under the sun. We had spirits

of all kinds, (sold by the cask,) teas, coffee, sugars, spices, raisins, molasses, hardware, crockeryware,

tinware, cutlery, clothing of all kinds, boots and shoes from Lynn, calicoes and cottons from Lowell, crepes,

silks; also shawls, scarfs, necklaces, jewelry, and combs for the ladies; furniture; and in fact, everything that

can be imagined, from Chinese fireworks to English cartwheels of which we had a dozen pairs with their

The Californians are an idle, thriftless people, and can make nothing for themselves. The country abounds in

grapes, yet they buy bad wines made in Boston and brought round by us, at an immense price, and retail it

among themselves at a real (12 1/2 cents) by the small wineglass. Their hides, too, which they value at two

dollars in money, they give for something which costs seventyfive cents in Boston; and buy shoes (like as

not, made of their own hides, and which have been carried twice around Cape Horn) at three or four dollars,

and "chickenskin" boots at fifteen dollars apiece. Things sell, on an average, at an advance of nearly three

hundred per cent upon the Boston prices. This is partly owing to the heavy duties which the government, in

their wisdom, with the intent, no doubt, of keeping the silver in the country, has laid upon imports. These

duties, and the enormous expenses of so long a voyage, keep all merchants, but those of heavy capital, from

engaging in the trade. Nearly twothirds of all the articles imported into the country from round Cape Horn,

for the last six years, have been by the single house of Bryant, Sturgis Co., to whom our vessel belonged, and

This kind of business was new to us, and we liked it very well for a few days, though we were hard at work

By being thus continually engaged in transporting passengers with their goods, to and fro, we gained

considerable knowledge of the character, dress, and language of the people. The dress of the men was as I

have before described it. The women wore gowns of various texture silks, crape, calicoes, etc., made after

the European style, except that the sleeves were short, leaving the arm bare, and that they were loose about

the waist, having no corsets. They wore shoes of kid, or satin; sashes or belts of bright colors; and almost

always a necklace and earrings. Bonnets they had none. I only saw one on the coast, and that belonged to

the wife of an American seacaptain who had settled in San Diego, and had imported the chaotic mass of

straw and ribbon, as a choice present to his new wife. They wear their hair (which is almost invariably black,

or a very dark brown) long in their necks, sometimes loose, and sometimes in long braids; though the married

women often do it up on a high comb. Their only protection against the sun and weather is a large mantle

which they put over their heads, drawing it close round their faces, when they go out of doors, which is

generally only in pleasant weather. When in the house, or sitting out in front of it, which they often do in fine

weather, they usually wear a small scarf or neckerchief of a rich pattern. A band, also, about the top of the

head, with a cross, star, or other ornament in front, is common. Their complexions are various, depending as

well as their dress and manner upon their rank; or, in other words, upon the amount of Spanish blood they

can lay claim to. Those who are of pure Spanish blood, having never intermarried with the aborigines, have

clear brunette complexions, and sometimes, even as fair as those of English women. There are but few of

these families in California; being mostly those in official stations, or who, on the expiration of their offices,

have settled here upon property which they have acquired; and others who have been banished for state

offences. These form the aristocracy; intermarrying, and keeping up an exclusive system in every respect.

They can be told by their complexions, dress, manner, and also by their speech; for, calling themselves

Castilians, they are very ambitious of speaking the pure Castilian language, which is spoken in a somewhat

corrupted dialect by the lower classes. From this upper class, they go down by regular shades, growing more

and more dark and muddy, until you come to the pure Indian, who runs about with nothing upon him but a

small piece of cloth, kept up by a wide leather strap drawn round his waist. Generally speaking, each person's

caste is decided by the quality of the blood, which shows itself, too plainly to be concealed, at first sight. Yet

the least drop of Spanish blood, if it be only of quadroon or octoroon, is sufficient to raise them from the rank

of slaves, and entitle them to a suit of cloathes boots, hat, cloak, spurs, long knife, and all complete, though

coarse and dirty as may be, and to call themselves Espanolos, and to hold property, if they can get any.

The fondness for dress among the women is excessive, and is often the ruin of many of them. A present of a

fine mantle, or of a necklace or pair of earrings, gains the favor of the greater part of them. Nothing is more

common than to see a woman living in a house of only two rooms, and the ground for a floor, dressed in

spangled satin shoes, silk gown, high comb, and gilt, if not gold, earrings and necklace. If their husbands do

not dress them well enough, they will soon receive presents from others. They used to spend whole days on

board our vessels, examining the fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently made purchases at a rate which

Next to the love of dress, I was most struck with the fineness of the voices and beauty of the intonations of

both sexes. Every common ruffianlooking fellow, with a slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty underdress, and

soiled leather leggins, appeared to me to be speaking elegant Spanish. It was a pleasure, simply to listen to

the sound of the language, before I could attach any meaning to it. They have a good deal of the Creole

drawl, but it is varied with an occasional extreme rapidity of utterance, in which they seem to skip from

consonant to consonant, until, lighting upon a broad, open vowel, they rest upon that to restore the balance of

sound. The women carry this peculiarity of speaking to a much greater extreme than the men, who have more

evenness and stateliness of utterance. A common bullockdriver, on horseback, delivering a message,

seemed to speak like an ambassador at an audience. In fact, they sometimes appeared to me to be a people on

whom a curse had fallen, and stripped them of everything but their pride, their manners, and their voices.

Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of silver that was in circulation. I certainly never saw so

much silver at one time in my life, as during the week that we were at Monterey. The truth is, they have no

credit system, no banks, and no way of investing way of investing money but in cattle. They have no

circulating medium but silver and hides which the sailors call "California bank notes." Everything that they

buy they must pay for in one or the other of these things. The hides they bring down dried and doubled, in

clumsy oxcarts, or upon mules' backs, and the money they carry tied up in a handkerchief; fifty, eighty, or

I had never studied Spanish while at college, and could not speak a word, when at Juan Fernandez; but during

the latter part of the passage out, I borrowed a grammar and dictionary from the cabin, and by a continual use

of these, and a careful attention to every word that I heard spoken, I soon got a vocabulary together, and

began talking for myself. As I soon knew more Spanish than any of the crew, (who indeed knew none at all,)

and had been at college and knew Latin, I got the name of a great linguist, and was always sent for by the

captain and officers to get provisions, or to carry letters and messages to different parts of the town. I was

often sent to get something which I could not tell the name of to save my life; but I liked the business, and

accordingly never pleaded ignorance. Sometimes I managed to jump below and take a look at my dictionary

before going ashore; or else I overhauled some English resident on my way, and got the word from him; and

then, by signs, and the help of my Latin and French, contrived to get along. This was a good exercise for me,

and no doubt taught me more than I should have learned by months of study and reading; it also gave me

opportunities of seeing the customs, characters, and domestic arrangements of the people; beside being a

Monterey, as far as my observation goes, is decidedly the pleasantest and most civilizedlooking place in

California. In the centre of it is an open square, surrounded by four lines of onestory plastered buildings,

with half a dozen cannon in the centre; some mounted, and others not. This is the "Presidio," or fort. Every

town has a presidio in its centre; or rather, every presidio has a town built around it; for the forts were first

built by the Mexican government, and then the people built near them for protection. The presidio here was

entirely open and unfortified. There were several officers with long titles, and about eighty soldiers, but they

were poorly paid, fed, clothed, and disciplined. The governorgeneral, or, as he is commonly called, the

"general," lives here; which makes it the seat of government. He is appointed by the central government at

Mexico, and is the chief civil and military officer. In addition to him, each town has a commandant, who is

the chief military officer, and has charge of the fort, and of all transactions with foreigners and foreign

vessels; and two or three alcaldes and corregidores, elected by the inhabitants, who are the civil officers.

Courts and jurisprudence they have no knowledge of. Small municipal matters are regulated by the alcaldes

and corregidores; and everything relating to the general government, to the military, and to foreigners, by the

commandants, acting under the governorgeneral. Capital cases are decided by him, upon personal

inspection, if he is near; or upon minutes sent by the proper officers, if the offender is at a distant place. No

Protestant has any civil rights, nor can he hold any property, or, indeed, remain more than a few weeks on

shore, unless he belong to some vessel. Consequently, the Americans and English who intend to remain here

become Catholics, to a man; the current phrase among them beings "A man must leave his conscience at

But to return to Monterey. The houses here, as everywhere else in California, are of one story, built of clay

made into large bricks, about a foot and a half square and three or four inches thick, and hardened in the sun.

These are cemented together by mortar of the same material, and the whole are of a common dirtcolor. The

floors are generally of earth, the windows grated and without glass; and the doors, which are seldom shut,

open directly into the common room; there being no entries. Some of the more wealthy inhabitants have glass

to their windows and board floors; and in Monterey nearly all the houses are plastered on the outside. The

better houses, too, have red tiles upon the roofs. The common ones have two or three rooms which open into

each other, and are furnished with a bed or two, a few chairs and tables, a lookingglass, a crucifix of some

material or other, and small daubs of paintings enclosed in glass, and representing some miracle or

martyrdom. They have no chimneys or fireplaces in the houses, the climate being such as to make a fire

unnecessary; and all their cooking is done in a small cookhouse, separated from the house. The Indians, as I

have said before, do all the hard work, two or three being attached to each house; and the poorest persons are

able to keep one, at least, for they have only to feed them and give them a small piece of coarse cloth and a

belt, for the males; and a coarse gown, without shoes or stockings, for the females.

In Monterey there are a number of English and Americans (English or "Ingles" all are called who speak the

English language) who have married Californians, become united to the Catholic church, and acquired

considerable property. Having more industry, frugality, and enterprise than the natives, they soon get nearly

all the trade into their hands. They usually keep shops, in which they retail the goods purchased in larger

quantities from our vessels, and also send a good deal into the interior, taking hides in pay, which they again

barter with our vessels. In every town on the coast there are foreigners engaged in this kind of trade, while I

recollect but two shops kept by natives. The people are generally suspicious of foreigners, and they would not

be allowed to remain, were it not that they become good Catholics, and by marrying natives, and bringing up

their children as Catholics and Mexicans, and not teaching them the English language, they quiet suspicion,

and even become popular and leading men. The chief alcaldes in Monterey and Santa Barbara were both

The men in Monterey appeared to me to be always on horseback. Horses are as abundant here as dogs and

chickens were in Juan Fernandez. There are no stables to keep them in, but they are allowed to run wild and

graze wherever they please, being branded, and having long leather ropes, called "lassos," attached to their

necks and dragging along behind them, by which they can be easily taken. The men usually catch one in the

morning, throw a saddle and bridle upon him, and use him for the day, and let him go at night, catching

another the next day. When they go on long journeys, they ride one horse down, and catch another, throw the

saddle and bridle upon him, and after riding him down, take a third, and so on to the end of the journey.

There are probably no better riders in the world. They get upon a horse when only four or five years old, their

little legs not long enough to come half way over his sides; and may almost be said to keep on him until they

have grown to him. The stirrups are covered or boxed up in front, to prevent their catching when riding

through the woods; and the saddles are large and heavy, strapped very tight upon the horse, and have large

pommels, or loggerheads, in front, round which the "lasso" is coiled when not in use. They can hardly go

from one house to another without getting on a horse, there being generally several standing tied to the

doorposts of the little cottages. When they wish to show their activity, they make no use of their stirrups in

mounting, but striking the horse, spring into the saddle as he starts, and sticking their long spurs into him, go

off on the full run. Their spurs are cruel things, having four or five rowels, each an inch in length, dull and

rusty. The flanks of the horses are often sore from them, and I have seen men come in from chasing bullocks

with their horses' hind legs and quarters covered with blood. They frequently give exhibitions of their

horsemanship, in races, bullbaitings, etc.; but as we were not ashore during any holyday, we saw nothing of

it. Monterey is also a great place for cockfighting, gambling of all sorts, fandangos, and every kind of

amusement and knavery. Trappers and hunters, who occasionally arrive here from over the Rocky mountains,

with their valuable skins and furs, are often entertained with every sort of amusement and dissipation, until

they have wasted their time and their money, and go back, stripped of everything.

Nothing but the character of the people prevents Monterey from becoming a great town. The soil is as rich as

man could wish; climate as good as any in the world; water abundant, and situation extremely beautiful. The

harbor, too, is a good one, being subject only to one bad wind, the north; and though the holdingground is

not the best, yet I heard of but one vessel's being driven ashore here. That was a Mexican brig, which went

ashore a few months before our arrival, and was a total wreck, all the crew but one being drowned. Yet this

was from the carelessness or ignorance of the captain, who paid out all his small cable before he let go his

other anchor. The ship Lagoda, of Boston, was there at the time, and rode out the gale in safety, without

The only vessel in port with us was the little Loriotte. I frequently went on board her, and became very well

acquainted with her Sandwich Island crew. One of them could speak a little English, and from him I learned a

good deal about them. They were well formed and active, with black eyes, intelligent countenances,

darkolive, or, I should rather say, copper complexions and coarse black hair, but not woolly like the

negroes. They appeared to be talking continually. In the forecastle there was a complete Babel. Their

language is extremely guttural, and not pleasant at first, but improves as you hear it more, and is said to have

great capacity. They use a good deal of gesticulation, and are exceedingly animated, saying with their might

what their tongues find to say. They are complete waterdogs, therefore very good in boating. It is for this

reason that there are so many of them on the coast of California; they being very good hands in the surf. They

are also quick and active in the rigging, and good hands in warm weather; but those who have been with them

round Cape Horn, and in high latitudes, say that they are useless in cold weather. In their dress they are

precisely like our sailors. In addition to these Islanders, the vessel had two English sailors, who acted as

boatswains over the Islanders, and took care of the rigging. One of them I shall always remember as the best

specimen of the thoroughbred English sailor that I ever saw. He had been to sea from a boy, having served a

regular apprenticeship of seven years, as all English sailors are obliged to do, and was then about four or five

and twenty. He was tall; but you only perceived it when he was standing by the side of others, for the great

breadth of his shoulders and chest made him appear but little above the middle height. His chest was as deep

as it was wide; his arm like that of Hercules; and his hand "the fist of a tar every hair a ropeyarn." With all

this he had one of the pleasantest smiles I ever saw. His cheeks were of a handsome brown; his teeth

brilliantly white; and his hair, of a raven black, waved in loose curls all over his head, and fine, open

forehead; and his eyes he might have sold to a duchess at the price of diamonds, for their brilliancy. As for

their color, they were like the Irishman's pig, which would not stay to be counted, every change of position

and light seemed to give them a new hue; but their prevailing color was black, or nearly so. Take him with his

wellvarnished black tarpaulin stuck upon the back of his head; his long locks coming down almost into his

eyes; his white duck trowsers and shirt; blue jacket; and black kerchief, tied loosely round his neck; and he

was a fine specimen of manly beauty. On his broad chest he had stamped with India ink "Parting moments;"

a ship ready to sail; a boat on the beach; and a girl and her sailor lover taking their farewell. Underneath were

printed the initials of his own name, and two other letters, standing for some name which he knew better than

I did. This was very well done, having been executed by a man who made it his business to print with India

ink, for sailors, at Havre. On one of his broad arms, he had the crucifixion, and on the other the sign of the

He was very fond of reading, and we lent him most of the books which we had in the forecastle, which he

read and returned to us the next time we fell in with him. He had a good deal of information, and his captain

said he was a perfect seaman, and worth his weight in gold on board a vessel, in fair weather and in foul. His

strength must have been great, and he had the sight of a vulture. It is strange that one should be so minute in

the description of an unknown, outcast sailor, whom one may never see again, and whom no one may care to

hear about; but so it is. Some people we see under no remarkable circumstances, but whom, for some reason

or other, we never forget. He called himself Bill Jackson; and I know no one of all my accidental

acquaintances to whom I would more gladly give a shake of the hand than to him. Whoever falls in with him

Sunday came again while we were at Monterey, but as before, it brought us no holyday. The people on shore

dressed themselves and came off in greater numbers than ever, and we were employed all day in boating and

breaking out cargo, so that we had hardly time to eat. Our cidevant second mate, who was determined to get

liberty if it was to be had, dressed himself in a long coat and black hat, and polished his shoes, and went aft

and asked to go ashore. He could not have done a more imprudent thing; for he knew that no liberty would be

given; and besides, sailors, however sure they may be of having liberty granted them always go aft in their

working clothes, to appear as though they had no reason to expect anything, and then wash, dress, and shave,

after they get their liberty. But this poor fellow was always getting into hot water, and if there was a wrong

way of doing a thing, was sure to hit upon it. We looked to see him go aft, knowing pretty well what his

reception would be. The captain was walking the quarterdeck, smoking his morning cigar, and F went

as far as the break of the deck, and there waited for him to notice him. The captain took two or three turns,

and then walking directly up to him, surveyed him from head to foot, and lifting up his forefinger, said a

word or two, in a tone too low for us to hear, but which had a magical effect upon poor F. He walked

forward, sprang into the forecastle, and in a moment more made his appearance in his common clothes, and

went quietly to work again, What the captain said to him, we never could get him to tell, but it certainly

After a few days, finding the trade beginning to slacken, we hove our anchor up, set our topsails, ran the stars

and stripes up to the peak, fired a gun, which was returned from the Presidio, and left the little town astern,

running out of the bay, and bearing down the coast again, for Santa Barbara. As we were now going to

leeward, we had a fair wind and a plenty of it. After doubling Point Pinos, we bore up, set studdingsails

alow and aloft, and were walking off at the rate of eight or nine knots, promising to traverse in twentyfour

hours the distance which we were nearly three weeks in traversing on the passage up. We passed Point

Conception at a flying rate, the wind blowing so that it would have seemed half a gale to us, if we had been

going the other way and close hauled. As we drew near the islands off Santa Barbara, it died away a little but

we cameto at our old anchoringground in less than thirty hours from the time of leaving Monterey.

Here everything was pretty much as we it left the large bay without a vessel in it; the surf roaring and

rolling in upon the beach; the white mission; the dark town and the high, treeless mountains. Here too, we

had our southeaster tacks aboard again, slipropes, buoyropes, sails furled with reefs in them, and

ropeyarns for gaskets. We lay here about a fortnight, employed in landing goods and taking off hides,

occasionally, when the surf was not high; but there did not appear to be onehalf the business doing here that

there was in Monterey. In fact, so far as we were concerned, the town might almost as well have been in the

middle of the Cordilleras. We lay at a distance of three miles from the beach, and the town was nearly a mile

farther; so that we saw little or nothing of it. Occasionally we landed a few goods, which were taken away by

Indians in large, clumsy oxcarts, with the yoke on the ox's neck instead of under it, and with small solid

wheels. A few hides were brought. down, which we carried off in the California style. This we had now got

pretty well accustomed to; and hardened to also; for it does require a little hardening even to the toughest.

The hides are always brought down dry, or they would not be received. When they are taken from the animal,

they have holes cut in the ends, and are staked out, and thus dried in the sun without shrinking. They are then

doubled once, lengthwise, with the hair side usually in, and sent down, upon mules or in carts, and piled

above highwater mark; and then we take them upon our heads, one at a time, or two, if they are small, and

wade out with them and throw them into the boat, which as there are no wharves, we are usually kept

anchored by a small kedge, or keelek, just outside, of the surf. We all provided ourselves with thick Scotch

caps, which would be soft to the head, and at the same time protect it; for we soon found that however it

might look or feel at first the "headwork" was the only system for California. For besides that the seas,

breaking high, often obliged us to carry the hides so, in order to keep them dry, we found that, as they were

very large and heavy, and nearly as stiff as boards, it was the only way that we could carry them with any

convenience to ourselves. Some of the crew tried other expedients, saying that they looked too much like

West India negroes; but they all came to it at last. The great art is in getting them on the head. We had to take

them from the ground, and as they were often very heavy, and as wide as the arms could stretch and easily

taken by the wind, we used to have some trouble with them. I have often been laughed at myself, and joined

in laughing at others, pitching themselves down in the sand, trying to swing a large hide upon their heads, or

nearly blown over with one in a little gust of wind. The captain made it harder for us, by telling us that it was

"California fashion" to carry two on the head at a time; and as he insisted upon it, and we did not wish to be

outdone by other vessels, we carried two for the first few months; but after falling in with a few other

"hidedroghers," and finding that they carried only one at a time we "knocked off" the extra one, and thus

After we had got our heads used to the weight, and had learned the true California style of tossing a hide, we

could carry off two or three hundred in a short time, without much trouble; but it was always wet work, and,

if the beach was stony, bad for our feet; for we, of course, always went barefooted on this duty, as no shoes

could stand such constant wetting with salt water. Then, too, we had a long pull of three miles, with a loaded

We had now got well settled down into our harbor duties, which, as they are a good deal different from those

at sea, it may be well enough to describe. In the first place, all hands are called at daylight, or rather

especially if the days are short before daylight, as soon as the first grey of the morning. The cook makes his

fire in the galley; the steward goes about his work in the cabin; and the crew rig the head pump, and wash

down the decks. The chief mate is always on deck, but takes no active part, all the duty coming upon the

second mate, who has to roll up his trowsers and paddle about decks barefooted, like the rest of the crew. The

washing, swabbing, squilgeeing, etc., lasts, or is made to last, until eight o'clock, when breakfast is ordered,

fore and aft. After breakfast, for which half an hour is allowed, the boats are lowered down, and made fast

astern, or out to the swinging booms, by geswarps, and the crew are turnedto upon their day's work. This is

various, and its character depends upon circumstances. There is always more or less of boating, in small

boats; and if heavy goods are to be taken ashore, or hides are brought down to the beach for us, then all hands

are sent ashore with an officer in the long boat. Then there is always a good deal to be done in the hold:

goods to be broken out; and cargo to be shifted, to make room for hides, or to keep the trim of the vessel. In

addition to this, the usual work upon the rigging must be done. There is a good deal of the latter kind of work

which can only be done when the vessel is in port; and then everything must be kept taught and in good

order; spunyarn made; chafing gear repaired; and all the other ordinary work. The great difference between

sea and harbor duty is in the division of time. Instead of having a watch on deck and a watch below, as at sea,

all hands are at work together, except at meal times, from daylight till dark; and at night an "anchorwatch" is

kept, which consists of only two at a time; the whole crew taking turns. An hour is allowed for dinner, and at

dark, the decks are cleared up; the boats hoisted; supper ordered; and at eight, the lights put out, except in the

binnacle, where the glass stands; and the anchorwatch is set. Thus, when at anchor, the crew have more time

at night, (standing watch only about two hours,) but have no time to themselves in the day; so that reading,

mending clothes, etc., has to be put off until Sunday, which is usually given. Some religious captains give

their crews Saturday afternoons to do their washing and mending in, so that they may have their Sundays

free. This is a good arrangement, and does much toward creating the preference sailors usually show for

religious vessels. We were well satisfied if we got Sunday to ourselves, for, if any hides came down on that

day, as was often the case when they were brought from a distance, we were obliged to bring them off, which

usually took half a day; and as we now lived on fresh beef, and ate one bullock a week, the animal was

almost always brought down on Sunday, and we had to go ashore, kill it, dress it, and bring it aboard, which

was another interruption. Then, too, our common day's work was protracted and made more fatiguing by

hides coming down late in the afternoon, which sometimes kept us at work in the surf by starlight, with the

But all these little vexations and labors would have been nothing, they would have been passed by as the

common evils of a sealife, which every sailor, who is a man, will go through will go through without

complaint, were it not for the uncertainty, or worse than uncertainty, which hung over the nature and length

of our voyage. Here we were, in a little vessel, with a small crew, on a halfcivilized coast, at the ends of the

earth, and with a prospect of remaining an indefinite period, two or three years at the least. When we left

Boston we supposed that it was to be a voyage of eighteen months, or two years, at most; but upon arriving

on the coast, we learned something more of the trade, and found that in the scarcity of hides, which was

yearly greater and greater, it would take us a year, at least, to collect our own cargo, beside the passage out

and home; and that we were also to collect a cargo for a large ship belonging to the same firm, which was

soon to come on the coast, and to which we were to act as tender. We had heard rumors of such a ship to

arrival, when they were confirmed by the letters which we brought from the owners to their agent. The ship

California, belonging to the same firm, had been nearly two years on the coast; had collected a full cargo, and

was now at San Diego, from which port she was expected to sail in a few weeks for Boston; and we were to

collect all the hides we could, and deposit them at San Diego, when the new ship, which would carry forty

thousand, was to be filled and sent home; and then we were to begin anew, and collect our own cargo. Here

was a gloomy prospect before us, indeed. The California had been twenty months on the coast, and the

Lagoda, a smaller ship, carrying only thirtyone or thirtytwo thousand, had been two years getting her

cargo; and we were to collect a cargo of forty thousand beside our own, which would be twelve or fifteen

thousand; and hides were said to be growing scarcer. Then, too, this ship, which had been to us a worse

phantom than any flying Dutchman, was no phantom, or ideal thing, but had been reduced to a certainty; so

much so that a name was given her, and it was said that she was to be the Alert, a wellknown Indiaman,

which was expected in Boston in a few months, when we sailed. There could be no doubt, and all looked

black enough. Hints were thrown out about three years and four years;the older sailors said they never

should see Boston again, but should lay their bones in California; and a cloud seemed to hang over the whole

voyage. Besides, we were not provided for so long a voyage, and clothes, and all sailors' necessaries, were

excessively dear three or four hundred per cent advance upon the Boston prices. This was bad enough for

them; but still worse was it for me, who did not mean to be a sailor for life; having intended only to be gone

eighteen months or two years. Three or four years would make me a sailor in every respect, mind and habits,

as well as body nolens volens; and would put all my companions so far ahead of me that college and a

profession would be in vain to think of; and I made up my mind that, feel as I might, a sailor I must be, and to

Beside the length of the voyage, and the hard and exposed life, we were at the ends of the earth; on a coast

almost solitary; in a country where there is neither law nor gospel, and where sailors are at their captain's

mercy, there being no American consul, or any one to whom a complaint could be made. We lost all interest

in the voyage; cared nothing about the cargo, which we were only collecting for others; began to patch our

In addition to, and perhaps partly as a consequence of, this state of things, there was trouble brewing on board

the vessel. Our mate (as the first mate is always called, par excellence) was a worthy man; a more honest,

upright, and kindhearted man I never saw; but he was too good for the mate of a merchantman. He was not

the man to call a sailor a "son of a bh," and knock him down with a handspike. He wanted the energy and

spirit for such a voyage as ours, and for such a captain. Captain T was a vigorous, energetic fellow. As

sailors say, "he hadn't a lazy bone in him." He was made of steel and whalebone. He was a man to "toe the

mark," and to make every one else step up to it. During all the time that I was with him, I never saw him sit

down on deck. He was always active and driving; severe in his discipline, and expected the same of his

officers. The mate not being enough of a driver for him, and being perhaps too easy with the crew, he was

dissatisfied with him, became suspicious that discipline was getting relaxed, and began to interfere in

everything. He drew the reins taughter; and as, in all quarrels between officers, the sailors side with the one

who treats them best, he became suspicious of the crew. He saw that everything went wrong that nothing

was done "with a will;" and in his attempt to remedy the difficulty by severity, he made everything worse.

We were in every respect unfortunately situated. Captain, officers, and crew, entirely unfitted for one another;

and every circumstance and event was like a twoedged sword, and cut both ways. The length of the voyage,

which made us dissatisfied, made the captain, at the same time, feel the necessity of order and strict

discipline; and the nature of the country, which caused us to feel that we had nowhere to go for redress, but

were entirely at the mercy of a hard master, made the captain feel, on the other hand, that he must depend

entirely upon his own resources. Severity created discontent, and signs of discontent provoked severity. Then,

too, illtreatment and dissatisfaction are no "linimenta laborum;" and many a time have I heard the sailors say

that they should not mind the length of the voyage, and the hardships, if they were only kindly treated, and if

they could feel that something was done to make things lighter and easier. We felt as though our situation

was a call upon our superiors to give us occasional relaxations, and to make our yoke easier. But the contrary

policy was pursued. We were kept at work all day when in port; which, together with a watch at night, made

us glad to turnin as soon as we got below. Thus we got no time for reading, or which was of more

importance to us for washing and mending our clothes. And then, when we were at sea, sailing from port to

port, instead of giving us "watch and watch," as was the custom on board every other vessel on the coast, we

were all kept on deck and at work, rain or shine, making spunyarn and rope, and at other work in good

weather, and picking oakum, when it was too wet for anything else. All hands were called to "come up and

see it rain," and kept on deck hour after hour in a drenching rain, standing round the deck so far apart as to

prevent our talking with one another, with our tarpaulins and oilcloth jackets on, picking old rope to pieces,

or laying up gaskets and robands. This was often done, too, when we were lying in port with two anchors

down, and no necessity for more than one man on deck as a lookout. This is what is called "hazing" a crew,

While lying at Santa Barbara, we encountered another southeaster; and, like the first, it came on in the

night; the great black clouds coming round from the southward, covering the mountain, and hanging down

over the town, appearing almost to rest upon the roofs of the houses. We made sail, slipped our cable, cleared

the point, and beat about, for four days, in the offing, under close sail, with continual rain and high seas and

winds. No wonder, thought we, they have no rain in the the other, seasons, for enough seemed to have fallen

in those four days days to last through a common summer. On the fifth day it cleared up, after a few hours, as

is usual, of rain coming down like a four hours' showerbath, and we found ourselves drifted nearly ten

leagues from the anchorage; and having light head winds, we did not return until the sixth day. Having

recovered our anchor, we made preparations for getting under weigh to go down to leeward. We had hoped to

go directly to San Diego, and thus fall in with the California before she sailed for Boston; but our orders were

to stop at an intermediate port called San Pedro, and as we were to lie there a week or two, and the California

was to sail in a few days, we lost the opportunity. Just before sailing, the captain took on board a short,

redhaired, roundshouldered, vulgarlooking fellow, who had lost one eye, and squinted with the other, and

introducing him as Mr. Russell, told us that he was an officer on board. This was too bad. We had lost

overboard, on the passage, one of the best of our number, another had been taken from us and appointed

clerk, and thus weakened and reduced, instead of shipping some hands to make our work easier, he had put

another officer over us, to watch and drive us. We had now four officers, and only six in the forecastle. This

Leaving Santa Barbara, we coasted along down, the country appearing level or moderately uneven, and, for

the most part, sandy and treeless; until, doubling a high, sandy point, we let go our anchor at a distance of

three or three and a half miles from shore. It was like a vessel, bound to Halifax, coming to anchor on the

Grand Banks; for the shore being low, appeared to be at a greater distance than it actually was, and we

thought we might as well have staid at Santa Barbara, and sent our boat down for the hides. The land was of a

clayey consistency, and, as far as the eye could reach, entirely bare of trees and even shrubs; and there was no

sign of a town, not even a house to be seen. What brought us into such a place, we could not conceive. No

sooner had we come to anchor, than the sliprope, and the other preparations for southeasters, were got

ready; and there was reason enough for it, for we lay exposed to every wind that could blow, except the

northwest, and that came over a flat country with a range of more than a league of water. As soon as

everything was snug on board, the boat was lowered, and we pulled ashore, our new officer, who had been

several times in the port before, taking the place of steersman. As we drew in, we found the tide low, and the

rocks and stones, covered with kelp and seaweed, lying bare for the distance of nearly an eighth of a mile.

Picking our way barefooted over these, we came to what is called the landingplace, at highwater mark. The

soil was as it appeared at first, loose and clayey, and except the stalks of the mustard plant, there was no

vegetation. Just in front of the landing, and immediately over it, was a small hill, which, from its being not

more than thirty or forty feet high, we had not perceived from our anchorage. Over this hill we saw three men

coming down, dressed partly like sailors and partly like Californians; one of them having on a pair of

untanned leather trowsers and a red baize shirt. When they came down to us, we found that they were

Englishmen, and they told us that they had belonged to a small Mexican brig which had been driven ashore

here in a southeaster, and now lived in a small house just over the hill. Going up this hill with them, we saw,

just behind it, a small, low building, with one room, containing a fireplace, cooking apparatus, etc., and the

rest of it unfinished, and used as a place to store hides and goods. This, they told us, was built by some

traders in the Pueblo, (a town about thirty miles in the interior, to which this was the port,) and used by them

as a storehouse, and also as a lodging place when they came down to trade with the vessels. These three men

were employed by them to keep the house in order, and to look out for the things stored in it. They said that

they had been there nearly a year; had nothing to do most of the time, living upon beef, hard bread, and

frijoles (a peculiar kind of bean very abundant in California). The nearest house, they told us, was a Rancho,

or cattlefarm, about three miles off; and one of them went up, at the request of our officer, to order a horse

to be sent down, with which the agent, who was on board, might go up to the Pueblo. From one of them, who

was an intelligent English sailor, I learned a good deal, in a few minutes' conversation, about the place, its

trade, and the news from the southern ports. San Diego, he said, was about eighty miles to the leeward of San

Pedro; that they had heard from there, by a Mexican who came up on horseback, that the California had

sailed for Boston, and that the Lagoda, which had been in San Pedro only a few weeks before, was taking in

her cargo for Boston. The Ayacucho was also there, loading for Callao, and the little Loriotte, which had run

directly down from Monterey, where we left her. San Diego, he told me, was a small, snug place, having very

little trade, but decidedly the best harbor on the coast, being completely landlocked, and the water as smooth

as a duckpond. This was the depot for all the vessels engaged in the trade; each one having a large house

there, built of rough boards, in which they stowed their hides, as fast as they collected them in their trips up

and down the coast, and when they had procured ; full cargo, spent a few weeks there, taking it in, smoking

ship, supplying wood and water, and making other preparations for the voyage home. The Lagoda was now

about this business. When we should be about it, was more than I could tell; two years, at least, I thought to

I also learned, to my surprise, that the desolatelooking place we were in was the best place on the whole

coast for hides. It was the only port for a distance of eighty miles, and about thirty miles in the interior was a

fine plane country, filled with herds of cattle, in the centre of which was the Pueblo de les Angelos the

largest town in California and several of the wealthiest missions; to all of which San Pedro was the

Having made our arrangements for a horse to take the agent to the Pueblo the next day, we picked our way

again over the green, slippery rocks, and pulled aboard. By the time we reached the vessel, which was so far

off that we could hardly see her, in the increasing darkness, the boats were hoisted up, and the crew at supper.

Going down into the forecastle, eating our supper, and lighting our cigars and pipes, we had, as usual, to tell

all we had seen or heard ashore. We all agreed that it was the worst place we had seen yet, especially for

getting off hides, and our lying off at so great a distance looked as though it was bad for southeasters. After

a few disputes as to whether we should have to carry our goods up the hill, or not, we talked of San Diego,

The next day we pulled the agent ashore, and he went up to visit the Pueblo and the neighboring missions;

and in a few days, as the result of his labors, large oxcarts, and droves of mules, loaded with hides, were

seen coming over the flat country. We loaded our longboat with goods of all kinds, light and heavy, and

pulled ashore. After landing, and rolling them over the stones upon the beach, we stopped, waiting for the

carts to come down the hill and take them; but the captain soon settled the matter by ordering us to carry them

all up to the top, saying that, that was "California fashion." So what the oxen would not do, we were obliged

to do. The hill was low, but steep, and the earth, being clayey and wet with the recent rains, was but bad

holdingground for our feet. The heavy barrels and casks we rolled up with some difficulty, getting behind

and putting our shoulders to them; now and then our feet slipping, added to the danger of the casks rolling

back upon us. But the greatest trouble was with the large boxes of sugar. These, we had to place upon oars,

and lifting them up rest the oars upon our shoulders, and creep slowly up the hill with the gilt of a funeral

procession. After an hour or two of hard work, we got them all up, and found the carts standing full of hides,

which we had to unload, and also to load again with our own goods; the lazy Indians, who came down with

them, squatting down on their hams, looking on, doing nothing, and when we asked them to help us, only

Having loaded the carts, we started up the Indians, who went off, one on each side of the oxen, with long

sticks, sharpened at the end, to punch them with. This is one of the means of saving labor in California; two

Indians to two oxen. Now, the hides were to be got down; and for this purpose, we brought the boat round to

a place where the hill was steeper, and threw them down, letting them slide over the slope. Many of them

lodged, and we had to let ourselves down and set them agoing again; and in this way got covered with dust,

and our clothes torn. After we had got them all down, we were obliged to take them on our heads, and walk

over the stones, and through the water, to the boat. The water and the stones together would wear out a pair of

shoes a day, and as shoes were very scarce and very dear, we were compelled to go barefooted. At night, we

went on board, having had the hardest and most disagreeable day's work that we had yet experienced. For

several days, we were employed in this manner, until we had landed forty or fifty tons of goods, and brought

on board about two thousand hides; when the trade began to slacken, and we were kept at work, on board,

during the latter part of the week, either in the hold or upon the rigging. On Thursday night, there was a

violent blow from the northward, but as this was offshore, we had only to let go our other anchor and hold on.

We were called up at night to send down the royalyards. It was as dark as a pocket, and the vessel pitching

at her anchors. I went up to the fore, and my friend S, to the main, and we soon had them down

"shipshape and Bristol fashion;" for, as we had now got used to our duty aloft, everything above the

For several days the captain seemed very much out of humor. Nothing went right, or fast enough for him. He

quarrelled with the cook, and threatened to flog him for throwing wood on deck; and had a dispute with the

mate about reeving a Spanish burton; the mate saying that he was right, and had been taught how to do it by a

man who was a sailor! This, the captain took in dudgeon, and they were at sword's points at once. But his

displeasure was chiefly turned against a large, heavymoulded fellow from the Middle States, who was

called Sam. This man hesitated in his speech, and was rather slow in his motions, but was a pretty good

sailor, and always seemed to do his best; but the captain took a dislike to him, thought he was surly, and lazy;

and "if you once give a dog a bad name" as the sailorphrase is "he may as well jump overboard." The

captain found fault with everything this man did, and hazed him for dropping a marlinespike from the

mainyard, where he was at work. This, of course, was an accident, but it was set down against him. The

captain was on board all day Friday, and everything went on hard and disagreeably. "The more you drive a

man, the less he will do," was as true with us as with any other people. We worked late Friday night, and

were turnedto early Saturday morning. About ten o'clock the captain ordered our new officer, Russell, who

by this time had become thoroughly disliked by all the crew, to get the gig ready to take him ashore. John, the

Swede, was sitting in the boat alongside, and Russell and myself were standing by the main hatchway,

waiting for the captain, who was down in the hold, where the crew were at work, when we heard his voice

raised in violent dispute with somebody, whether it was with the mate, or one of the crew, I could not tell;

and then came blows and scuffling. I ran to the side and beckoned to John, who came up, and we leaned

down the hatchway; and though we could see no one, yet we knew that the captain had the advantage, for his

"You see your condition! You see your condition! Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?" No answer;

and then came wrestling and heaving, as though the man was trying to turn him. "You may as well keep still,

for I have got you," said the captain. Then came the question, "Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?"

"I never gave you any, sir," said Sam; for it was his voice that we heard, though low and half choked.

"Then I'll make you one," said the captain; and he came to the hatchway, and sprang on deck, threw off his

coat, and rolling up his sleeves, called out to the mate "Seize that man up, Mr. A! Seize him up! Make a

The crew and officers followed the captain up the hatchway, and after repeated orders the mate laid hold of

"What are you going to flog that man for, sir?" said John, the Swede, to the captain.

Upon hearing this, the captain turned upon him, but knowing him to be quick and resolute, he ordered the

steward to bring the irons, and calling upon Russell to help him, went up to John.

"Let me alone," said John. "I'm willing to be put in irons. You need not use any force;" and putting out his

hands, the captain slipped the irons on, and sent him aft to the quarterdeck. Sam by this time was seized up,

as it is called, that is, placed against the shrouds, with his wrists made fast to the shrouds, his jacket off, and

his back exposed. The captain stood on the break of the deck, a few feet from him, and a little raised, so as to

have a good swing at him, and held in his hand the bight of a thick, strong rope. The officers stood round, and

the crew grouped together in the waist. All these preparations made me feel sick and almost faint, angry and

excited as I was. A man a human being, made in God's likeness fastened up and flogged like a beast! A

man, too, whom I had lived with and eaten with for months, and knew almost as well as a brother. The first

and almost uncontrollable impulse was resistance. But what was to be done? The time for it had gone by. The

two best men were fast, and there were only two beside myself, and a small boy of ten or twelve years of age.

And then there were (beside the captain) three officers, steward, agent and clerk. But beside the numbers,

what is there for sailors to do? If they resist, it is mutiny; and if they succeed, and take the vessel, it is piracy.

If they ever yield again, their punishment must come; and if they do not yield, they are pirates for life. If a

sailor resist his commander, he resists the law, and piracy or submission are his only alternatives. Bad as it

was, it must be borne. It is what a sailor ships for. Swinging the rope over his head, and bending his body so

as to give it full force, the captain brought it down upon the poor fellow's back. Once, twice; six times.

"Will you ever give me any more of your jaw?" The man writhed with pain, but said not a word. Three times

more. This was too much, and he muttered something which I could not hear; this brought as many more as

the man could stand; when the captain ordered him to be cut down, and to go forward.

"Now for you," said the captain, making up to John and taking his irons off. As soon as he was loose, he ran

forward to the forecastle. "Bring that man aft," shouted the captain. The second mate, who had been a

shipmate of John's, stood still in the waist, and the mate walked slowly forward; but our third officer, anxious

to show his zeal, sprang forward over the windlass, and laid hold of John; but he soon threw him from him.

At this moment I would have given worlds for the power to help the poor fellow; but it was all in vain. The

captain stood on the quarterdeck, bareheaded, his eyes flashing with rage, and his face as red as blood,

swinging the rope, and calling out to his officers, "Drag him aft! Lay hold of him! I'll sweeten him!" etc.,

etc. The mate now went forward and told John quietly to go aft; and he, seeing resistance in vain, threw the

blackguard third mate from him; said he would go aft of himself; that they should not drag him; and went up

to the gangway and held out his hands; but as soon as the captain began to make him fast, the indignity was

too much, and he began to resist; but the mate and Russell holding him, he was soon seized up. When he was

made fast, he turned to the captain, who stood turning up his sleeves and getting ready for the blow, and

asked him what he was to be flogged for. "Have I ever refused my duty, sir? Have you ever known me to

"No," said the captain, "it is not that I flog you for; I flog you for your interference for asking questions."

"No," shouted the captain; "nobody shall open his mouth aboard this vessel, but myself;" and began laying

the blows upon his back, swinging half round between each blow, to give it full effect. As he went on, his

passion increased, and he danced about the deck, calling out as he swung the rope; "If you want to know

what I flog you for, I'll tell you. It's because I like to do it! because I like to do it! It suits me! That's what I

The man writhed under the pain, until he could endure it no longer, when he called out, with an exclamation

"Don't call on Jesus Christ," shouted the captain; "he can't help you. Call on Captain T, he's the man! He

At these words, which I never shall forget, my blood ran cold. I could look on no longer. Disgusted, sick, and

horrorstruck, I turned away and leaned over the rail, and looked down into the water. A few rapid thoughts

of my own situation, and of the prospect of future revenge, crossed my mind; but the falling of the blows and

the cries of the man called me back at once. At length they ceased, and turning round, I found that the mate,

at a signal from the captain had cut him down. Almost doubled up with pain, the man walked slowly forward,

and went down into the forecastle. Every one else stood still at his post, while the captain, swelling with rage

and with the importance of his achievement, walked the quarterdeck, and at each turn, as he came forward,

calling out to us, "You see your condition! You see where I've got you all, and you know what to expect!"

"You've been mistaken in me you didn't know what I was! Now you know what I am!" "I'll make you toe

the mark, every soul of you, or I'll flog you all, fore and aft, from the boy, up!" "You've got a driver over

you! Yes, a slavedriver a negrodriver! I'll see who'll tell me he isn't a negro slave!" With this and the like

matter, equally calculated to quiet us, and to allay any apprehensions of future trouble, he entertained us for

about ten minutes, when he went below. Soon after, John came aft, with his bare back covered with stripes

and wales in every direction, and dreadfully swollen, and asked the steward to ask the captain to let him have

some salve, or balsam, to put upon it. "No," said the captain, who heard him from below; "tell him to put his

shirt on; that's the best thing for him; and pull me ashore in the boat. Nobody is going to layup on board this

vessel." He then called to Mr. Russell to take those men and two others in the boat, and pull him ashore. I

went for one. The two men could hardly bend their backs, and the captain called to them to "give way," "give

way " but finding they did their best, he let them alone. The agent was in the stern sheets, but during the

whole pull a league or more not a word was spoken. We landed; the captain, agent, and officer went up to

the house, and left us with the boat. I, and the man with me, staid near the boat, while John and Sam walked

slowly away, and sat down on the rocks. They talked some time together, but at length separated, each sitting

alone. I had some fears of John. He was a foreigner, and violently tempered, and under suffering; and he had

his knife with him, and the captain was to come down alone to the boat. But nothing happened; and we went

quietly on board. The captain was probably armed, and if either of them had lifted a hand against him, they

would have had nothing before them but flight, and starvation in the woods of California, or capture by the

soldiers and Indian bloodhounds, whom the offer of twenty dollars would have set upon them.

After the day's work was done, we went down into the forecastle, and ate our plain supper; but not a word

was spoken. It was Saturday night; but there was no song no "sweethearts and wives." A gloom was over

everything. The two men lay in their berths, groaning with pain, and we all turned in, but for myself, not to

sleep. A sound coming now and then from the berths of the two men showed that they were awake, as awake

they must have been, for they could hardly lie in one posture a moment; the dim, swinging lamp of the

forecastle shed its light over the dark hole in which we lived; and many and various reflections and purposes

coursed through my mind. I thought of our situation, living under a tyranny; of the character of the country

we were in; of the length of the voyage, and of the uncertainty attending our return to America; and then, if

we should return, of the prospect of obtaining justice and satisfaction for these poor men; and vowed that if

God should ever give me the means, I would do something to redress the grievances and relieve the

The next day was Sunday. We worked as usual, washing decks, until breakfasttime. After breakfast, we

pulled the captain etc., ashore, and finding some hides there which had been brought down the night before,

he ordered me to stay ashore and watch them, saying that the boat would come again before night. They left

me, and I spent a quiet day on the hill, eating dinner with the three men at the little house. Unfortunately, they

had no books, and after talking with them and walking about, I began to grow tired of doing nothing. The

little brig, the home of so much hardship and suffering, lay in the offing, almost as far as one could see; and

the only other thing which broke the surface of the great bay was a small, desolatelooking island, steep and

conical, of a clayey soil, and without the sign of vegetable life upon it; yet which had a peculiar and

melancholy interest to me, for on the top of it were buried the remains of an Englishman, the commander of a

small merchant brig, who died while lying in this port. It was always a solemn and interesting spot to me.

There it stood, desolate, and in the midst of desolation; and there were the remains of one who died and was

buried alone and friendless. Had it been a common buryingplace, it would have been nothing. The single

body corresponded well with the solitary character of everything around. It was the only thing in California

from which I could ever extract anything like poetry. Then, too, the man died far from home; without a friend

near him; by poison, it was suspected, and no one to inquire into it; and without proper funeral rites; the mate,

(as I was told,) glad to have him out of the way, hurrying him up the hill and into the ground, without a word

I looked anxiously for a boat, during the latter part of the afternoon, but none came; until toward sundown,

when I saw a speck on the water, and as it drew near, I found it was the gig, with the captain. The hides, then,

were not to go off. The captain came up the hill, with a man, bringing my monkey jacket and a blanket. He

looked pretty black, but inquired whether I had enough to eat; told me to make a house out of the hides, and

keep myself warm, as I should have to sleep there among them, and to keep good watch over them. I got a

"Yes! no more Sunday for us. Everything has been moved in the hold, from stem to stern, and from the

I went up to the house to supper. We had frijoles, (the perpetual food of the Californians, but which, when

well cooked, are the best bean in the world,) coffee made of burnt wheat, and hard bread. After our meal, the

three men sat down by the light of a tallow candle, with a pack of greasy Spanish cards, to the favorite game

of "treinta uno," a sort of Spanish "everlasting." I left them and went out to take up my bivouack among the

hides. It was now dark; the vessel was hidden from sight, and except the three men in the house, there was

not a living soul within a league. The coati (a wild animal of a nature and appearance between that of the fox

and the wolf) set up their sharp, quick bark, and two owls, at the end of two distant points running out into

the bay, on different sides of the hills where I lay, kept up their alternate, dismal notes. I had heard the sound

before at night, but did not know what it was, until one of the men, who came down to look at my quarters,

told me it was the owl. Mellowed by the distance, and heard alone, at night, I thought it was the most

melancholy, boding sound I had ever heard. Through nearly all the night they kept it up, answering one

another slowly, at regular intervals. This was relieved by the noisy coati, some of which came quite near to

my quarters, and were not very pleasant neighbors. The next morning, before sunrise, the longboat came

We lay at San Pedro about a week, engaged in taking off hides and in other labors, which had now become

our regular duties. I spent one more day on the hill, watching a quantity of hides and goods, and this time

succeeded in finding a part of a volume of Scott's Pirate, in a corner of the house; but it failed me at a most

interesting moment, and I betook myself to my acquaintances on shore, and from them learned a good deal

about the customs of the country, the harbors, etc. This, they told me, was a worse harbor than Santa Barbara,

for southeasters; the bearing of the headland being a point and a half more to windward, and it being so

shallow that the sea broke often as far out as where we lay at anchor. The gale from which we slipped at

Santa Barbara, had been so bad a one here, that the whole bay, for a league out, was filled with the foam of

the breakers, and seas actually broke over the Dead Man's island. The Lagoda was lying there, and slipped at

the first alarm, and in such haste that she was obliged to leave her launch behind her at anchor. The little boat

rode it out for several hours, pitching at her anchor, and standing with her stern up almost perpendicularly.

The men told me that they watched her till towards night, when she snapped her cable and drove up over the

On board the Pilgrim, everything went on regularly, each one trying to get along as smoothly as possible; but

the comfort of the voyage was evidently at an end. "That is a long lane which has no turning" "Every dog

must have his day, and mine will come byandby" and the like proverbs, were occasionally quoted; but no

one spoke of any probable end to the voyage, or of Boston, or anything of the kind; or if he did, it was only to

draw out the perpetual, surly reply from his shipmate "Boston, is it? You may thank your stars if you ever

see that place. You had better have your back sheathed, and your head coppered, and your feet shod, and

make out your log for California for life!" or else something of this kind "Before you get to Boston the hides

will wear the hair off your head, and you'll take up all your wages in clothes, and won't have enough left to

The flogging was seldom if ever alluded to by us, in the forecastle. If any one was inclined to talk about it,

the others, with a delicacy which I hardly expected to find among them, always stopped him, or turned the

subject. But the behavior of the two men who were flogged toward one another showed a delicacy and a

sense of honor, which would have been worthy of admiration in the highest walks of life. Sam knew that the

other had suffered solely on his account, and in all his complaints, he said that if he alone had been flogged, it

would have been nothing; but that he never could see that man without thinking what had been the means of

bringing that disgrace upon him; and John never, by word or deed, let anything escape him to remind the

Having got all our spare room filled with hides, we hove up our anchor and made sail for San Diego. In no

operation can the disposition of a crew be discovered better than in getting under weigh. Where things are

"done with a will," every one is like a cat aloft: sails are loosed in an instant; each one lays out his strength on

his handspike, and the windlass goes briskly round with the loud cry of "Yo heave ho! Heave and pawl!

Heave hearty ho!" But with us, at this time, it was all dragging work. No one went aloft beyond his ordinary

gait, and the chain came slowly in over the windlass. The mate, between the knightheads, exhausted all his

official rhetoric, in calls of "Heave with a will!" "Heave hearty, men! heave hearty!" "Heave and raise the

dead!" "Heave, and away!" etc., etc.; but it would not do. Nobody broke his back or his handspike by his

efforts. And when the cattacklefall was strung along, and all hands cook, steward, and all laid hold, to

cat the anchor, instead of the lively song of "Cheerily, men!" in which all hands join in the chorus, we pulled

a long, heavy, silent pull, and as sailors say a song is as good as ten men the anchor came to the cathead

pretty slowly. "Give us 'Cheerily!'" said the mate; but there was no "cheerily" for us, and we did without it.

The captain walked the quarterdeck, and said not a word. He must have seen the change, but there was

We sailed leisurely down the coast before a light fair wind, keeping the land well aboard, and saw two other

missions, looking like blocks of white plaster, shining in the distance; one of which, situated on the top of a

high hill, was San Juan Capestrano, under which vessels sometimes come to anchor, in the summer season,

and take off hides. The most distant one was St. Louis Rey, which the third mate said was only fifteen miles

from San Diego. At sunset on the second day, we had a large and well wooded headland directly before us,

behind which lay the little harbor of San Diego. We were becalmed off this point all night, but the next

morning, which was Saturday, the 14th of March, having a good breeze, we stood round the point, and

hauling our the point, and hauling our wind, brought the little harbor, which is rather the outlet of a small

river, right before us. Every one was anxious to get a view of the new place. A chain of high hills, beginning

at the point, (which was on our larboard hand, coming in,) protected the harbor on the north and west, and ran

off into the interior as far as the eye could reach. On the other sides, the land was low, and green, but without

trees. The entrance is so narrow as to admit but one vessel at a time, the current swift, and the channel runs so

near to a low stony that the ship's sides appeared almost to touch it. There was no town in sight, but on the

smooth sand beach, abreast, and within a cable's length of which three vessels lay moored, were four large

houses, built of rough boards, and looking like the great barns in which ice is stored on the borders of the

large ponds near Boston; with piles of hides standing round them, and men in red shirts and large straw hats,

walking in and out of the doors. These were the hidehouses. Of the vessels: one, a short, clumsy, little

hermaphrodite brig, we recognized as our old acquaintance, the Loriotte; another, with sharp bows and raking

masts, newly painted and tarred, and glittering in the morning sun, with the bloodred banner and cross of St.

George at her peak, was the handsome Ayacucho. The third was a large ship, with topgallantmasts housed,

and sails unbent, and looking as rusty and worn as two years' "hidedroghing" could make her. This was the

Lagoda. As we drew near, carried rapidly along by the current, we overhauled our chain, and dewed up the

topsails. "Let go the anchor!" said the captain but either there was not chain enough forward of the windlass,

or the anchor went down foul, or we had too much headway on, for it did not bring us up. "Pay out chain!"

shouted the captain; and we gave it to her; but it would not do. Before the other anchor could be let go, we

drifted down, broadside on, and went smash into the Lagoda. Her crew were at breakfast in the forecastle,

and the cook, seeing us coming, rushed out of his galley, and called up the officers and men.

Fortunately no great harm was done. Her jibboom ran between our fore and main masts, carrying away

some of our rigging, and breaking down the rail. She lost her martingale. This brought us up, and as they paid

out chain, we swung clear of them, and let go the other anchor; but this had as bad luck as the first, for, before

any one perceived it, we were drifting on to the Loriotte. The captain now gave out his orders rapidly and

fiercely, sheeting home the topsails, and backing and filling the sails, in hope of starting or clearing the

anchors; but it was all in vain, and he sat down on the rail, taking it very leisurely, and calling out to Captain

Nye, that he was coming to pay him a visit. We drifted fairly into the Loriotte, her larboard bow into our

starboard quarter, carrying away a part of our starboard quarter railing, and breaking off her larboard

bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above the deck. We saw our handsome sailor, Jackson, on the forecastle,

with the Sandwich Islanders, working away to get us clear. After paying out chain, we swung clear, but our

anchors were no doubt afoul of hers. We manned the windlass, and hove, and hove away, but to no purpose.

Sometimes we got a little upon the cable, but a good surge would take it all back again. We now began to

drift down toward the Ayacucho, when her boat put off and brought her commander, Captain Wilson, on

board. He was a short, active, wellbuilt man, between fifty and sixty years of age; and being nearly twenty

years older than our captain, and a thorough seaman, he did not hesitate to give his advice, and from giving

advice, he gradually came to taking the command; ordering us when to heave and when to pawl, and backing

and filling the topsails, setting and taking in jib and trysail, whenever he thought best. Our captain gave a few

orders, but as Wilson generally countermanded them, saying, in an easy, fatherly kind of way, "Oh no!

Captain T, you don't want the jib on her," or "It isn't time yet to heave!" he soon gave it up. We had no

objections to this state of things, for Wilson was a kind old man, and had an encouraging and pleasant way of

speaking to us, which made everything go easily. After two or three hours of constant labor at the windlass,

heaving and "Yo ho!"ing with all our might, we brought up an anchor, with the Loriotte's small bower fast

to it. Having cleared this and let it go, and cleared our hawse, we soon got our other anchor, which had

dragged half over the harbor. "Now," said Wilson, "I'll find you a good berth;" and setting both the topsails,

he carried us down, and brought us to anchor, in handsome style, directly abreast of the hidehouse which we

were to use. Having done this, he took his leave, while we furled the sails, and got our breakfast, which was

welcome to us, for we had worked hard, and it was nearly twelve o'clock. After breakfast, and until night, we

After supper, two of us took the captain on board the Lagoda. As he came alongside, he gave his name, and

the mate, in the gangway, called out to the captain down the companionway "Captain T has come

aboard, sir!" "Has he brought his brig with him?" said the rough old fellow, in a tone which made itself heard

fore and aft. This mortified our captain a little, and it became a standing joke among us for the rest of the

voyage. The captain went down into the cabin, and we walked forward and put our heads down the forecastle,

where we found the men at supper. "Come down, shipmates! Come down!" said they, as soon as they saw us;

and we went down, and found a large, high forecastle, well lighted; and a crew of twelve or fourteen men,

eating out of their kids and pans, and drinking their tea, and talking and laughing, all as independent and easy

as so many "woodsawyer's clerks." This looked like comfort and enjoyment, compared with the dark little

forecastle, and scanty, discontented crew of the brig. It was Saturday night; they had got through with their

work for the week; and being snugly moored, had nothing to do until Monday, again. After two years' hard

service, they had seen the worst, and all, of California; had got their cargo nearly stowed, and expected to

sail in a week or two, for Boston. We spent an hour or more with them, talking over California matters, until

the word was passed "Pilgrims, away!" and we went back with our captain. They were a hardy, but

intelligent crew; a little roughened, and their clothes patched and old, from California wear; all able seamen,

and between the ages of twenty and thirtyfive. They inquired about our vessel, the usage, etc., and were not

a little surprised at the story of the flogging. They said there were often difficulties in vessels on the coast,

and sometimes knockdowns and fightings, but they had never heard before of a regular seizingup and

Sunday, they said, was always given in San Diego, both at the hidehouses and on board the vessels, a large

number usually going up to the town, on liberty. We learned a good deal from them about curing and stowing

of hides, etc., and they were anxious to have the latest news (seven months old) from Boston. One of their

first inquiries was for Father Taylor, the seamen's preacher in Boston. Then followed the usual strain of

conversation, inquiries, stories, and jokes, which, one must always hear in a ship's forecastle, but which are

perhaps, after all, no worse, nor, indeed, more gross, than that of many welldressed gentlemen at their clubs.

The next day being Sunday, after washing and clearing decks, and getting breakfast, the mate came forward

with leave for one watch to go ashore, on liberty. We drew lots, and it fell to the larboard, which I was in.

Instantly all was preparation. Buckets of fresh water, (which we were allowed in port,) and soap, were put in

use; goashore jackets and trowsers got out and brushed; pumps, neckerchiefs, and hats overhauled; one

lending to another; so that among the whole each one got a good fitout. A boat was called to pull the

"liberty men" ashore, and we sat down in the stern sheets, "as big as pay passengers," and jumping ashore, set

It is a pity that some other arrangement is not made in merchant vessels, with regard to the libertyday. When

in port, the crews are kept at work all the week, and the only day they are allowed for rest or pleasure is the

Sabbath; and unless they go ashore on that day, they cannot go at all. I have heard of a religious captain who

gave his crew liberty on Saturdays, after twelve o'clock. This would be a good plan, if shipmasters would

bring themselves to give their crews so much time. For young sailors especially, many of whom have been

brought up with a regard for the sacredness of the day, this strong temptation to break it, is exceedingly

injurious. As it is, it can hardly be expected that a crew, on a long and hard voyage, refuse a few hours of

freedom from toil and the restraints of a vessel, and an opportunity to tread the ground and see the sights of

society and humanity, because it is on a Sunday. It is too much like escaping from prison, or being drawn out

I shall never forget the delightful sensation of being in the open air, with the birds singing around me, and

escaped from the confinement, labor, and strict rule of a vessel of being once more in my life, though only

for a day, my own master. A sailor's liberty is but for a day; yet while it lasts it is perfect. He is under no one's

eye, and can do whatever, and go wherever, he pleases. This day, for the first time, I may truly say, in my

whole life, I felt the meaning of a term which I had often heard the sweets of liberty. My friend S was

with me, and turning our backs upon the vessels, we walked slowly along, talking of the pleasure of being our

own masters, of the times past, and when we were free in the midst of friends, in America, and of the

prospect of our return; and planning where we would go, and what we would do, when we reached home. It

was wonderful how the prospect brightened, and how short and tolerable the voyage appeared, when viewed

in this new light. Things looked differently from what they did when we talked them over in the little dark

forecastle, the night after the flogging at San Pedro. It is not the least of the advantages of allowing sailors

occasionally a day of liberty, that it gives them a spring, and makes them feel cheerful and independent, and

leads them insensibly to look on the bright side of everything for some time after.

S and myself determined to keep as much together as possible, though we knew that it would not do to

cut our shipmates; for, knowing our birth and education, they were a little suspicious that we would try to put

on the gentleman when we got ashore, and would be ashamed of their company; and this won't do with Jack.

When the voyage is at an end, you may do as you please, but so long as you belong to the same vessel, you

must be a shipmate to him on shore, or he will not be a shipmate to you on board. Being forewarned of this

before I went to sea, I took no "long togs" with me, and being dressed like the rest, in white duck trowsers,

blue jacket and straw hat, which would prevent my going in better company, and showing no disposition to

avoid them, I set all suspicion at rest. Our crew fell in with some who belonged to the other vessels, and,

sailorlike, steered for the first grogshop. This was a small mud building, of only one room, in which were

liquors, dry and West India goods, shoes, bread, fruits, and everything which is vendible in California. It was

kept by a Yankee, a oneeyed man, who belonged formerly to Fall River, came out to the Pacific in a

whaleship, left her at the Sandwich Islands, and came to California and set up a "Pulperia." S and I

followed in our shipmates' wake, knowing that to refuse to drink with them would be the highest affront, but

determining to slip away at the first opportunity. It is the universal custom with sailors for each one, in his

turn, to treat the whole, calling for a glass all round, and obliging every one who is present, even the keeper

of the shop, to take a glass with him. When we first came in, there was some dispute between our crew and

the others, whether the new comers or the old California rangers should treat first; but it being settled in favor

of the latter, each of the crews of the other vessels treated all round in their turn, and as there were a good

many present, (including some "loafers" who had dropped in, knowing what was going on, to take advantage

of Jack's hospitality,) and the liquor was a real (12 1/2 cents) a glass, it made somewhat of a hole in their

lockers. It was now our ship's turn, and S and I, anxious to get away, stepped up to call for glasses; but we

soon found that we must go in order the oldest first, for the old sailors did not choose to be preceded by a

couple of youngsters; and bon gre mal gre, we had to wait our turn, with the twofold apprehension of being

too late for our horses, and of getting corned, for drink you must, every time; and if you drink with one and

Having at length gone through our turns and acquitted ourselves of all obligations, we slipped out, and went

about among the houses, endeavoring to get horses for the day, so that we might ride round and see the

country. At first we had but little success, all that we could get out of the lazy fellows, in reply to our

questions, being the eternal drawling "Quien sabe?" ("who knows?") which is an answer to all questions.

After several efforts, we at length fell in with a little Sandwich Island boy, who belonged to Captain Wilson

of the Ayacucho, and was well acquainted in the place; and he, knowing where to go, soon procured us two

horses, ready saddled and bridled, each with a lasso coiled over the pommel. These we were to have all day,

with the privilege of riding them down to the beach at night, for a dollar, which we had to pay in advance.

Horses are the cheapest thing in California; the very best not being worth more than ten dollars apiece, and

very good ones being often sold for three, and four. In taking a day's ride, you pay for the use of the saddle,

and for the labor and trouble of catching the horses. If you bring the saddle back safe, they care but little what

becomes of the horse. Mounted on our horses, which were spirited beasts, and which, by the way, in this

country, are always steered by pressing the contrary rein against the neck, and not by pulling on the bit, we

started off on a fine run over the country. The first place we went to was the old ruinous presidio, which

stands on a rising ground near the village, which it overlooks. It is built in the form of an open square, like all

the other presidios, and was in a most ruinous state, with the exception of one side, in which the commandant

lived, with his family. There were only two guns, one of which was spiked, and the other had no carriage.

Twelve, half clothed, and half starved looking fellows, composed the garrison; and they, it was said, had not a

musket apiece. The small settlement lay directly below the fort, composed of about forty dark brown looking

huts, or houses, and two larger ones, plastered, which belonged to two of the "gente de razon." This town is

not more than half as large as Monterey, or Santa Barbara, and has little or no business. From the presidio, we

rode off in the direction of the mission, which we were told was three miles distant. The country was rather

sandy, and there was nothing for miles which could be called a tree, but the grass grew green and rank, and

there were many bushes and thickets, and the soil is said to be good. After a pleasant ride of a couple of

miles, we saw the white walls of the mission, and fording a small river, we came directly before it. The

mission is built of mud, or rather of the unburnt bricks of the country, and plastered. There was something

decidedly striking in its appearance: a number of irregular buildings, connected with one another, and

disposed in the form of a hollow square, with a church at one end, rising above the rest, with a tower

containing five belfries, in each of which hung a large bell, and with immense rusty iron crosses at the tops.

Just outside of the buildings, and under the walls, stood twenty or thirty small huts, built of straw and of the

branches of trees, grouped together, in which a few Indians lived, under the protection and in the service of

Entering a gateway, we drove into the open square, in which the stillness of death reigned. On one side was

the church; on another, a range of high buildings with grated windows; a third was a range of smaller

buildings, or offices; and the fourth seemed to be little more than a high connecting wall. Not a living

creature could we see. We rode twice round the square, in the hope of waking up some one; and in one

circuit, saw a tall monk, with shaven head, sandals, and the dress of the Grey Friars, pass rapidly through a

gallery, but he disappeared without noticing us. After two circuits, we stopped our horses, and saw, at last, a

man show himself in front of one of the small buildings. We rode up to him, and found him dressed in the

common dress of the country, with a silver chain round his neck, supporting a large bunch of keys. From this,

we took him to be the steward of the mission, and addressing him as "Mayordomo," received a low bow and

an invitation to walk into his room. Making our horses fast, we went in. It was a plain room, containing a

table, three or four chairs, a small picture or two of some saint, or miracle, or martyrdom, and a few dishes

and glasses. "Hay algunas cosa de comer?" said I. "Si Senor!" said he. "Que gusta usted?" Mentioning

frijoles, which I knew they must have if they had nothing else, and beef and bread, and a hint for wine, if they

had any, he went off to another building, across the court, and returned in a few moments, with a couple of

Indian boys, bearing dishes and a decanter of wine. The dishes contained baked meats, frijoles stewed with

peppers and onions, boiled eggs, and California flour baked into a kind of macaroni. These, together with the

wine, made the most sumptuous meal we had eaten since we left Boston; and, compared with the fare we had

lived upon for seven months, it was a regal banquet. After despatching our meal, we took out some money

and asked him how much we were to pay. He shook his head, and crossed himself, saying that it was

charity: that the Lord gave it to us. Knowing the amount of this to be that he did not sell it, but was willing

to receive a present, we gave him ten or twelve reals, which he pocketed with admirable nonchalance, saying,

"Dios se lo pague." Taking leave of him, we rode out to the Indians' huts. The little children were running

about among the huts, stark naked, and the men were not much better; but the women had generally coarse

gowns, of a sort of tow cloth. The men are employed, most of the time, in tending the cattle of the mission,

and in working in the garden, which is a very large one, including several acres, and filled, it is said, with the

best fruits of the climate. The language of these people, which is spoken by all the Indians of California, is

the most brutish and inhuman language, without any exception, that I ever heard, or that could well be

conceived of. It is a complete slabber. The words fall off of the ends of their tongues, and a continual

slabbering sound is made in the cheeks, outside of the teeth. It cannot have been the language of Montezuma

Here, among the huts, we saw the oldest man that I had ever seen; and, indeed, I never supposed that a person

could retain life and exhibit such marks of age. He was sitting out in the sun, leaning against the side of a hut;

and his legs and arms, which were bare, were of a dark red color, the skin withered and shrunk up like burnt

leather, and the limbs not larger round than those of a boy of five years. He had a few grey hairs, which were

tied together at the back of his head; and he was so feeble that, when we came up to him, he raised his hands

slowly to his face, and taking hold of his lids with his fingers, lifted them up to look at us; and being satisfied,

let them drop again. All command over the lid seemed to have gone. I asked his age, but could get no answer

Leaving the mission, we returned to village, going nearly all the way on a full run. The California horses have

no medium gait, which is pleasant, between walking and running; for as there are no streets and parades, they

have no need of the genteel trot, and their riders usually keep them at the top of their speed until they are

tired, and then let them rest themselves by walking. The fine air of the afternoon; the rapid rate of the

animals, who seemed almost to fly over the ground; and the excitement and novelty of the motion to us, who

had been so long confined on shipboard, were exhilarating beyond expression, and we felt willing to ride all

day long. Coming into the village, we found things looking very lively. The Indians, who always have a

holyday on Sunday, were engaged at playing a kind of running game of ball, on a level piece of ground, near

the houses. The old ones sat down in a ring, looking on, while the young ones men, boys and girls were

chasing the ball, and throwing it with all their might. Some of the girls ran like greyhounds. At every

accident, or remarkable feat, the old people set up a deafening screaming and clapping of hands. Several blue

jackets were reeling about among the houses, which showed that the pulperias had been well patronized. One

or two of the sailors had got on horseback, but being rather indifferent horsemen, and the Spaniards having

given them vicious horses, they were soon thrown, much to the amusement of the people. A half dozen

Sandwich Islanders, from the hidehouses and the two brigs, who are bold riders, were dashing about on the

It was now nearly sundown, and S and myself went into a house and sat quietly down to rest ourselves

before going down to the beach. Several people were soon collected to see "los Ingles marineros," and one of

them a young woman took a great fancy to my pocket handkerchief, which was a large silk one that I had

before going to sea, and a handsomer one than they had been in the habit of seeing. Of course, I gave it to

her; which brought us into high favor; and we had a present of some pears and other fruits, which we took

down to the beach with us. When we came to leave the house, we found that our horses, which we left tied at

the door, were both gone. We had paid for them to ride down to the beach, but they were not to be found. We

went to the man of whom we hired them, but he only shrugged his shoulders, and to our question, "Where are

the horses?" only answered "Quien sabe?" but as he was very easy, and made no inquiries for the saddles,

we saw that he knew very well where they were. After a little trouble, determined not to walk down, a

distance of three miles we procured two, at four reds apiece, with an Indian boy to run on behind and bring

them back. Determined to have "the go" out of the horses, for our trouble, we went down at full speed, and

were on the beach in fifteen minutes. Wishing to make our liberty last as long as possible, we rode up and

down among the hidehouses, amusing ourselves with seeing the men, as they came down, (it was now

dusk,) some on horseback and others on foot. The Sandwich Islanders rode down, and were in "high snuff."

We inquired for our shipmates, and were told that two of them had started on horseback and had been thrown

or had fallen off, and were seen heading for the beach, but steering pretty wild, and by the looks of things,

The Indian boys having arrived, we gave them our horses, and having seen them safely off, hailed for a boat

and went aboard. Thus ended our first libertyday on shore. We were well tired, but had a good time, and

were more willing to go back to our old duties. About midnight, we were waked up by our two watchmates,

who had come aboard in high dispute. It seems they had started to come down on the same horse,

doublebacked; and each was accusing the other of being the cause of his fall. They soon, however,

turnedin and fell asleep, and probably forgot all about it, for the next morning the dispute was not renewed.

The next sound we heard was "All hands ahoy!" and looking up the scuttle, saw that it was just daylight. Our

liberty had now truly taken flight, and with it we laid away our pumps, stockings, blue jackets, neckerchiefs,

and other goashore paraphernalia, and putting on old duck trowsers, red shirts, and Scotch caps, began

taking out and landing our hides. For three days we were hard at work, from the grey of the morning until

starlight, with the exception of a short time allowed for meals, in this duty. For landing and taking on board

hides, San Diego is decidedly the best place in California. The harbor is small and landlocked; there is no

surf; the vessels lie within a cable's length of the beach; and the beach itself is smooth, hard sand, without

rocks or stones. For these reasons, it is used by all the vessels in the trade, as a depot; and, indeed, it would be

impossible, when loading with the cured hides for the passage home, to take them on board at any of the open

ports, without getting them wet in the surf, which would spoil them. We took possession of one of the

hidehouses, which belonged to our firm, and had been used by the California. It was built to hold forty

thousand hides, and we had the pleasing prospect of filling it before we could leave the coast; and toward

this, our thirtyfive hundred, which we brought down with us, would do but little. There was not a man on

board who did not go a dozen times into the house, and look round, and make some calculation of the time it

The hides, as they come rough and uncured from the vessels, are piled up outside of the houses, whence they

are taken and carried through a regular process of pickling, drying, cleaning, etc., and stowed away in the

house, ready to be put on board. This process is necessary in order that they may keep, during a long voyage,

and in warm latitudes. For the purpose of curing and taking care of these hides, an officer and a part of the

crew of each vessel are usually left ashore and it was for this business, we found, that our new officer had

joined us. As soon as the hides were landed, he took charge of the house, and the captain intended to leave

two or three of us with him, hiring Sandwich Islanders to take our places on board; but he could not get any

Sandwich Islanders to go, though he offered them fifteen dollars a month; for the report of the flogging had

got among them, and he was called "aole maikai," (no good,) and that was an end of the business. They were,

however, willing to work on shore, and four of them were hired and put with Mr. Russell to cure the hides.

After landing our hides, we next sent ashore all our spare spars and rigging; all the stores which we did not

want to use in the course of one trip to windward; and, in fact, everything which we could spare, so as to

make room for hides: among other things, the pigsty, and with it "old Bess." This was an old sow that we

had brought from Boston, and which lived to get around Cape Horn, where all the other pigs died from cold

and wet. Report said that she had been a Canton voyage before. She had been the pet of the cook during the

whole passage, and he had fed her with the best of everything, and taught her to know his voice, and to do a

number of strange tricks for his amusement. Tom Cringle says that no one can fathom a negro's affection for

a pig; and I believe he is right, for it almost broke our poor darky's heart when he heard that Bess was to be

taken ashore, and that he was to have the care of her no more during the whole voyage. He had depended

upon her as a solace, during the long trips up and down the coast. "Obey orders, if you break owners!" said

he. "Break hearts," he meant to have said; and lent a hand to get her over the side, trying to make it as easy

for her as possible. We got a whip up on the mainyard, and hooking it to a strap around her body, swayed

away; and giving a wink to one another, ran her chock up to the yard. "'Vast there! 'vast!" said the mate;

"none of your skylarking! Lower away!" But he evidently enjoyed the joke. The pig squealed like the "crack

of doom," and tears stood in the poor darky's eyes; and he muttered something about having no pity on a

dumb beast. "Dumb beast!" said Jack; "if she's what you call a dumb beast, then my eyes a'n't mates." This

produced a laugh from all but the cook. He was too intent upon seeing her safe in the boat. He watched her all

the way ashore, where, upon her landing, she was received by a whole troop of her kind, who had been sent

ashore from the other vessels, and had multiplied and formed a large commonwealth. From the door of his

galley, the cook used to watch them in their manoeuvres, setting up a shout and clapping his hands whenever

Bess came off victorious in the struggles for pieces of raw hide and halfpicked bones which were lying

about the beach. During the day, he saved all the nice things, and made a bucket of swill, and asked us to take

it ashore in the gig, and looked quite disconcerted when the mate told him that he would pitch the 'I

overboard, and him after it, if he saw any of it go into the boats. We told him that he thought more about the

pig than he did about his wife, who lived down in Robinson's Alley; and, indeed, he could hardly have been

more attentive, for he actually, on several nights, after dark, when he thought he would not be seen, sculled

himself ashore in a boat with a bucket of nice swill, and returned like Leander from crossing the Hellespont.

The next Sunday the other half of our crew went ashore on liberty, and left us on board, to enjoy the first

quiet Sunday which we had upon the coast. Here were no hides to come off, and no southeasters to fear. We

washed and mended our clothes in the morning, and spent the rest of the day in reading and writing. Several

of us wrote letters to send home by the Lagoda. At twelve o'clock the Ayacucho dropped her fore topsail,

which was a signal for her sailing. She unmoored and warped down into the night, from which she got under

way. During this operation, her crew were a long time heaving at the windlass, and I listened for nearly an

hour to the musical notes of a Sandwich Islander, called Mahannah, who "sang out" for them. Sailors, when

heaving at a windlass, in order that they may heave together, always have one to sing out; which is done in a

peculiar, high and longdrawn note, varying with the motion of the windlass. This requires a high voice,

strong lungs, and much practice, to be done well. This fellow had a very peculiar, wild sort of note, breaking

occasionally into a falsetto. The sailors thought it was too high, and not enough of the boatswain hoarseness

about it; but to me it had a great charm. The harbor was perfectly still, and his voice rang among the hills, as

though it could have been heard for miles. Toward sundown, a good breeze having sprung up, she got under

weigh, and with her long, sharp head cutting elegantly through the water, on a taught bowline, she stood

directly out of the harbor, and bore away to the southward. She was bound to Callao, and thence to the

At the close of the week we were ready to sail, but were delayed a day or two by the running away of F,

the man who had been our second mate, and was turned forward. From the time that he was "broken," he had

had a dog's berth on board the vessel, and determined to run away at the first opportunity. Having shipped for

an officer when he was not half a seaman, he found little pity with the crew, and was not man enough to hold

his ground among them. The captain called him a "soger,"* and promised to "ride him down as he would the

main tack;" and when officers are once determined to "ride a man down," it is a gone case with him. He had

had several difficulties with the captain, and asked leave to go home in the Lagoda; but this was refused him.

One night he was insolent to an officer on the beach, and refused to come aboard in the boat. He was reported

to the captain; and as he came aboard,it being past the proper hourshe was called aft, and told that he was

to have a flogging. Immediately, he fell down on the deck, calling out"Don't flog me, Captain T; don't

flog me!" and the captain, angry with him, and disgusted with his cowardice, gave him a few blows over the

back with a rope's end and sent him forward. He was not much hurt, but a good deal frightened, and made up

his mind to run away that very night. This was managed better than anything he ever did in his life, and

seemed really to show some spirit and forethought. He gave his bedding and mattress to one of the Lagoda's

crew, who took it aboard his vessel as something which he had bought, and promised to keep it for him. He

then unpacked his chest, putting all his valuable clothes into a large canvas bag, and told one of us, who had

the watch, to call him at midnight. Coming on deck, at midnight, and finding no officer on deck, and all still

aft, he lowered his bag into a boat, got softly down into it, cast off the painter, and let it drop silently with the

tide until he was out of hearing, when he sculled ashore. *Soger (soldier) is the worst term of reproach that

can be applied to a sailor. It signifies a skulk, a sherk, one who is always trying to get clear of work, and is

out of the way, or hanging back, when duty is to be done. "Marine" is the term applied more particularly to a

man who is ignorant and clumsy about seaman's work a greenhorn a landlubber. To make a sailor

shoulder a handspike, and walk fore and aft the deck, like a sentry, is the most ignominious punishment that

could be put upon him. Such a punishment inflicted upon an able seaman in a vessel of war, would break his

The next morning, when all hands were mustered, there was a great stir to find F. Of course, we would

tell nothing, and all they could discover was, that he had left an empty chest behind him, and that he went off

in a boat; for they saw it lying up high and dry on the beach. After breakfast, the captain went up to the town,

and offered a reward of twenty dollars for him; and for a couple of days, the soldiers, Indians, and all others

who had nothing to do, were scouring the country for him, on horseback, but without effect; for he was safely

concealed, all the time, within fifty rods of the hidehouses. As soon as he had landed, he went directly to the

Lagoda's hidehouse, and a part of her crew, who were living there on shore, promised to conceal him and

his traps until the Pilgrim should sail, and then to intercede with Captain Bradshaw to take him on board the

ship. Just behind the hidehouses, among the thickets and underwood, was a small cave, the entrance to

which was known only to two men on the beach, and which was so well concealed that, though, when I

afterwards came to live on shore, it was shown to me two or three times, I was never able to find it alone. To

this cave he was carried before daybreak in the morning, and supplied with bread and water, and there

Friday, March 27th. The captain, having given up all hope of finding F, and being unwilling to delay any

longer, gave orders for unmooring the ship, and we made sail, dropping slowly down with the tide and light

wind. We left letters with Captain Bradshaw to take to Boston, and had the satisfaction of hearing him say

that he should be back again before we left the coast. The wind, which was very light, died away soon after

we doubled the point, and we lay becalmed for two days, not moving three miles the whole time, and a part

of the second day were almost within sight of the vessels. On the third day, about noon, a cool seabreeze

came rippling and darkening the surface of the water, and by sundown we were off San Juan's, which is about

forty miles from San Diego, and is called half way to San Pedro, where we were now bound. Our crew was

now considerably weakened. One man we had lost overboard; another had been taken aft as clerk; and a third

had run away; so that, beside S and myself, there were only three able seamen and one boy of twelve

years of age. With this diminished and discontented crew, and in a small vessel, we were now to battle the

watch through a couple of years of hard service; yet there was not one who was not glad that F had

escaped; for, shiftless and good for nothing as he was, no one could wish to see him dragging on a miserable

life, cowed down and disheartened; and we were all rejoiced to hear, upon our return to San Diego, about two

months afterwards, that he had been immediately taken aboard the Lagoda, and went home in her, on regular

After a slow passage of five days, we arrived, on Wednesday, the first of April, at our old anchoring ground

at San Pedro. The bay was as deserted, and looked as dreary, as before, and formed no pleasing contrast with

the security and snugness of San Diego, and the activity and interest which the loading and unloading of four

vessels gave to that scene. In a few days the hides began to come slowly down, and we got into the old

business of rolling goods up the hill, pitching hides down, and pulling our long league off and on. Nothing of

note occurred while we were lying here, except that an attempt was made to repair the small Mexican brig

which had been cast away in a southeaster, and which now lay up, high and dry, over one reef of rocks and

two sandbanks. Our carpenter surveyed her, and pronounced her capable of refitting, and in a few days the

owners came down from the Pueblo, and, waiting for the high spring tides, with the help of our cables,

kedges, and crew, got her off and afloat, after several trials. The three men at the house on shore, who had

formerly been a part of her crew, now joined her, and seemed glad enough at the prospect of getting off the

On board our own vessel, things went on in the common monotonous way. The excitement which

immediately followed the flogging scene had passed off, but the effect of it upon the crew, and especially

upon the two men themselves, remained. The different manner in which these men were affected,

corresponding to their different characters, was not a little remarkable. John was a foreigner and

hightempered, and, though mortified, as any one would be at having had the worst of an encounter, yet his

chief feeling seemed to be anger; and he talked much of satisfaction and revenge, if he ever got back to

Boston. But with the other, it was very different. He was an American, and had had some education; and this

thing coming upon him, seemed completely to break him down. He had a feeling of the degradation that had

been inflicted upon him, which the other man was incapable of. Before that, he had a good deal of fun, and

amused us often with queer negro stories, (he was from a slave state); but afterwards he seldom smiled;

seemed to lose all life and elasticity; and appeared to have but one wish, and that was for the voyage to be at

an end. I have often known him to draw a long sigh when he was alone, and he took but little part or interest

After a stay of about a fortnight, during which we slipped for one southeaster, and were at sea two days, we

got under weigh for Santa Barbara. It was now the middle of April, and the southeaster season was nearly

over; and the light, regular tradewinds, which blow down the coast, began to set steadily in, during the latter

part of each day. Against these, we beat slowly up to Santa Barbara a distance of about ninety miles in

three days. There we found, lying at anchor, the large Genoese ship which we saw in the same place, on the

first day of our coming upon the coast. She had been up to San Francisco, or, as it is called, "chock up to

windward," had stopped at Monterey on her way down, and was shortly to proceed to San Pedro and San

Diego, and thence, taking in her cargo, to sail for Valparaiso and Cadiz. She was a large, clumsy ship, and

with her topmasts stayed forward, and high poopdeck, looked like an old woman with a crippled back. It

was now the close of Lent, and on Good Friday she had all her yards a'cockbill, which is customary among

Catholic vessels. Some also have an effigy of Judas, which the crew amuse themselves with keelhauling and

The next Sunday was Easter Sunday, and as there had been no liberty at San Pedro, it was our turn to go

ashore and misspend another Sabbath. Soon after breakfast, a large boat, filled with men in blue jackets,

scarlet caps, and various colored underclothes, bound ashore on liberty, left the Italian ship, and passed

under our stern; the men singing beautiful Italian boatsongs, all the way, in fine, full chorus. Among the

songs I recognized the favorite "O Pescator dell' onda." It brought back to my mind pianofortes,

drawingrooms, young ladies singing, and a thousand other things which as little befitted me, in my situation,

to be thinking upon. Supposing that the whole day would be too long a time to spend ashore, as there was no

place to which we could take a ride, we remained quietly on board until after dinner. We were then pulled

ashore in the stern of the boat, and, with orders to be on the beach at sundown, we took our way for the town.

There, everything wore the appearance of a holyday. The people were all dressed in their best; the men riding

about on horseback among the houses, and the women sitting on carpets before the doors. Under the piazza of

a "pulperia," two men were seated, decked out with knots of ribbons and bouquets, and playing the violin and

the Spanish guitar. These are the only instruments, with the exception of the drums and trumpets at Monterey

that I ever heard in California; and I suspect they play upon no others, for at a great fandango at which I was

afterwards present, and where they mustered all the music they could find, there were three violins and two

guitars, and no other instrument. As it was now too near the middle of the day to see any dancing and hearing

that a bull was expected down from the country, to be baited in the presidio square, in the course of an hour

or two we took a stroll among the houses. Inquiring for an American who, we had been told, had married in

the place, and kept a shop, we were directed to a long, low building, at the end of which was a door, with a

sign over it, in Spanish. Entering the shop, we found no one in it, and the whole had an empty, deserted

appearance. In a few minutes the man made his appearance, and apologized for having nothing to entertain us

with, saying that he had had a fandango at his house the night before, and the people had eaten and drunk up

"No!" said he, with a singular expression to his face; "I had a little daughter die the other day, and that's the

Here I felt a little strangely, not knowing what to say, or whether to offer consolation or no, and was

beginning to retire, when he opened a side door and told us to walk in. Here I was no less astonished; for I

found a large room, filled with young girls, from three or four years of age up to fifteen and sixteen, dressed

all in white, with wreaths of flowers on their heads, and bouquets in their hands. Following our conductor

through all these girls, who were playing about in high spirits, we came to a table, at the end of the room,

covered with a white cloth, on which lay a coffin, about three feet long, with the body of his child. The coffin

was lined on the outside with white cloth, and on the inside with white satin, and was strewed with flowers.

Through an open door we saw, in another room, a few elderly people in common dresses; while the benches

and tables thrown up in a corner, and the stained walls, gave evident signs of the last night's "high go."

Feeling, like Garrick, between tragedy and comedy, an uncertainty of purpose and a little awkwardness, I

asked the man when the funeral would take place, and being told that it would move toward the mission in

To pass away the time, we took horses and rode down to the beach, and there found three or four Italian

sailors, mounted, and riding up and down, on the hard sand, at a furious rate. We joined them, and found it

fine sport. The beach gave us a stretch of a mile or more, and the horses flew over the smooth, hard sand,

apparently invigorated and excited by the salt seabreeze, and by the continual roar and dashing of the

breakers. From the beach we returned to the town, and finding that the funeral procession had moved, rode on

and overtook it, about halfway to the mission. Here was as peculiar a sight as we had seen before in the

house; the one looking as much like a funeral procession as the other did like a house of mourning. The little

coffin was borne by eight girls, who were continually relieved by others, running forward from the

procession and taking their places. Behind it came a straggling company of girls, dressed as before, in white

and flowers, and including, I should suppose by their numbers, nearly all the girls between five and fifteen in

the place. They played along on the way, frequently stopping and running all together to talk to some one, or

to pick up a flower, and then running on again to overtake the coffin. There were a few elderly women in

common colors; and a herd of young men and boys, some on foot and others mounted, followed them, or

walked or rode by their side, frequently interrupting them by jokes and questions. But the most singular thing

of all was, that two men walked, one on each side of the coffin, carrying muskets in the coffin, which they

continually loaded, and fired into the air. Whether this was to keep off the evil spirits or not, I do not know. It

As we drew near the mission, we saw the great gate thrown open, and the padre standing on the steps, with a

crucifix in hand. The mission is a large and desertedlooking place, the outbuildings going to ruin, and

everything giving one the impression of decayed grandeur. A large stone fountain threw out pure water, from

four mouths, into a basin, before the church door; and we were on the point of riding up to let our horses

drink, when it occurred to us that it might be consecrated, and we forbore. Just at this moment, the bells set

up their harsh, discordant clang; and the procession moved into the court. I was anxious to follow, and see the

ceremony, but the horse of one of my companions had become frightened, and was tearing off toward the

town; and having thrown his rider, and got one of his feet caught in the saddle, which had slipped, was fast

dragging and ripping it to pieces. Knowing that my shipmate could not speak a word of Spanish, and fearing

that he would get into difficulty, I was obliged to leave the ceremony and ride after him. I soon overtook him,

trudging along, swearing at the horse, and carrying the remains of the saddle, which he had picked up on the

road. Going to the owner of the horse, we made a settlement with him, and found him surprisingly liberal. All

parts of the saddle were brought back, and, being capable of repair, he was satisfied with six reals. We

thought it would have been a few dollars. We pointed to the horse, which was now half way up one of the

mountains; but he shook his head, saying, "No importer" and giving us to understand that he had plenty more.

Having returned to the town, we saw a great crowd collected in the square before the principal pulperia, and

riding up, found that all these people men, women, and children had been drawn together by a couple of

bantam cocks. The cocks were in full tilt, springing into one another, and the people were as eager, laughing

and shouting, as though the combatants had been men. There had been a disappointment about the bull; he

had broken his bail, and taken himself off, and it was too late to get another; so the people were obliged to put

up with a cockfight. One of the bantams having been knocked in the head, and had an eye put out, he gave

in, and two monstrous prizecocks were brought on. These were the object of the whole affair; the two

bantams having been merely served up as a first course, to collect the people together. Two fellows came into

the ring holding the cocks in their arms, and stroking them, and running about on all fours, encouraging and

setting them on. Bets ran high, and, like most other contests, it remained for some time undecided. They both

showed great pluck, and fought probably better and longer than their masters would have done. Whether, in

the end, it was the white or the red that beat, I do not recollect; but, whichever it was, he strutted off with the

This matter having been settled, we heard some talk about "caballos" and "carrera," and seeing the people all

streaming off in one direction, we followed, and came upon a level piece of ground, just out of the town,

which was used as a racecourse. Here the crowd soon became thick again; the ground was marked off; the

judges stationed; and the horses led up to one end. Two finelooking old gentlemen Don Carlos and Don

Domingo, so called held the stakes, and all was now ready. We waited some time, during which we could

just see the horses twisting round and turning, until, at length, there was a shout along the lines, and on they

came heads stretched out and eyes starting; working all over, both man and beast. The steeds came by us

like a couple of chainshot neck and neck; and now we could see nothing but their backs, and their hind

hoofs flying in the air. As fast as the horses passed, the crowd broke up behind them, and ran to the goal.

When we got there, we found the horses returning on a slow walk, having run far beyond the mark, and heard

that the long, bony one had come in head and shoulders before the other. The riders were lightbuilt men;

had handkerchiefs tied round their heads; and were barearmed and barelegged. The horses were

noblelooking beasts, not so sleek and combed as our Boston stablehorses, but with fine limbs, and spirited

eyes. After this had been settled, and fully talked over, the crowd scattered again and flocked back to the

Returning to the large pulperia, we found the violin and guitar screaming and twanging away under the

piazza, where they had been all day. As it was now sundown, there began to be some dancing. The Italian

sailors danced, and one of our crew exhibited himself in a sort of West India shuffle, much to the amusement

of the bystanders, who cried out, "Bravo!" "Otra vez!" and "Vivan los marineros!" but the dancing did not

become general, as the women and the "gente de razon" had not yet made their appearance. We wished very

much to stay and see the style of dancing; but, although we had had our own way during the day, yet we

were, after all, but 'foremast Jacks; and having been ordered to be on the beach by sundown, did not venture

to be more than an hour behind the time; so we took our way down. We found the boat just pulling ashore

through the breakers, which were running high, there having been a heavy fog outside, which, from some

cause or other, always brings on, or precedes a heavy sea. Libertymen are privileged from the time they

leave the vessel until they step on board again; so we took our places in the stern sheets, and were

congratulating ourselves upon getting off dry, when a great comber broke fore and aft the boat, and wet us

through and through, filling the boat half full of water. Having lost her buoyancy by the weight of the water,

she dropped heavily into every sea that struck her, and by the time we had pulled out of the surf into deep

water, she was but just afloat, and we were up to our knees. By the help of a small bucket and our hats, we

bailed her out, got on board, hoisted the boats, eat our supper, changed our clothes, gave (as is usual) the

whole history of our day's adventures to those who had staid on board, and having taken a nightsmoke,

On Monday morning, as an offset to our day's sport, we were all set to work "tarring down" the rigging. Some

got girtlines up for riding down the stays and backstays, and others tarred the shrouds, lifts, etc., laying out

on the yards, and coming down the rigging. We overhauled our bags and took out our old tarry trowsers and

frocks, which we had used when we tarred down before, and were all at work in the rigging by sunrise. After

breakfast, we had the satisfaction of seeing the Italian ship's boat go ashore, filled with men, gaily dressed, as

on the day before, and singing their barcarollas. The Easter holydays are kept up on shore during three days;

and being a Catholic vessel, the crew had the advantage of them. For two successive days, while perched up

in the rigging, covered with tar and engaged in our disagreeable work, we saw these fellows going ashore in

the morning, and coming off again at night, in high spirits. So much for being Protestants. There's no danger

of Catholicism's spreading in New England; Yankees can't afford the time to be Catholics. American

shipmasters get nearly three weeks more labor out of their crews, in the course of a year, than the masters of

vessels from Catholic countries. Yankees don't keep Christmas, and shipmasters at sea never know when

About noon, a man aloft called out "Sail ho!" and looking round, we saw the head sails of a vessel coming

round the point. As she drew round, she showed the broadside of a fullrigged brig, with the Yankee ensign

at her peak. We ran up our stars and stripes, and, knowing that there was no American brig on the coast but

ourselves, expected to have news from home. She roundedto and let go her anchor, but the dark faces on her

yards, when they furled the sails, and the Babel on deck, soon made known that she was from the Islands.

Immediately afterwards, a boat's crew came aboard, bringing her skipper, and from them we learned that she

was from Oahu, and was engaged in the same trade with the Ayacucho, Loriotte, etc., between the coast, the

Sandwich Islands, and the leeward coast of Peru and Chili. Her captain and officers were Americans, and also

a part of her crew; the rest were Islanders. She was called the Catalina, and, like all the others vessels in that

trade, except the Ayacucho, her papers and colors were from Uncle Sam. They, of course, brought us no

news, and we were doubly disappointed, for we had thought, at first, it might be the ship which we were

After lying here about a fortnight, and collecting all the hides the place afforded, we set sail again for San

Pedro. There we found the brig which we had assisted in getting off lying at anchor, with a mixed crew of

Americans, English, Sandwich Islanders, Spaniards, and Spanish Indians; and, though much smaller than we,

yet she had three times the number of men; and she needed them, for her officers were Californians. No

vessels in the world go so poorly manned as American and English; and none do so well. A Yankee brig of

that size would have had a crew of four men, and would have worked round and round her. The Italian ship

had a crew of thirty men; nearly three times as many as the Alert, which was afterwards on the coast, and was

of the same size; yet the Alert would get under weigh and cometo in half the time, and get two anchors,

while they were all talking at once jabbering like a parcel of "Yahoos," and running about decks to find their

There was only one point in which they had the advantage over us, and that was in lightening their labors in

the boats by their songs. The Americans are a time and money saving people, but have not yet, as a nation,

learned that music may be "turned to account." We pulled the long distances to and from the shore, with our

loaded boats, without a word spoken, and with discontented looks, while they not only lightened the labor of

rowing, but actually made it pleasant and cheerful, by their music. So true is it, that

We lay about a week in San Pedro, and got under weigh for San Diego, intending to stop at San Juan, as the

This being the spring season, San Pedro, as well as all the other open ports upon the coast, was filled with

whales, that had come in to make their annual visit upon soundings. For the first few days that we were here

and at Santa Barbara, we watched them with great interest calling out "there she blows!" every time we saw

the spout of one breaking the surface of the water; but they soon became so common that we took little notice

of them. They often "broke" very near us; and one thick, foggy night, during a dead calm, while I was

standing anchorwatch, one of them rose so near, that he struck our cable, and made all surge again. He did

not seem to like the encounter much himself, for he sheered off, and spouted at a good distance. We once

came very near running one down in the gig, and should probably have been knocked to pieces and blown

skyhigh. We had been on board the little Spanish brig, and were returning, stretching out well at our oars,

the little boat going like a swallow; our backs were forward, (as is always the case in pulling,) and the

captain, who was steering, was not looking ahead, when, all at once, we heard the spout of a whale directly

ahead. "Back water! back water, for your lives!" shouted the captain; and we backed our blades in the water

and brought the boat to in a smother of foam. Turning our heads, we saw a great, rough, humpbacked whale,

slowly crossing our fore foot, within three or four yards of the boat's stem. Had we not backed water just as

we did, we should inevitably have gone smash upon him, striking him with our stem just about amidships. He

took no notice of us, but passed slowly on, and dived a few yards beyond us, throwing his tail high in the air.

He was so near that we had a perfect view of him and as may be supposed, had no desire to see him nearer.

He was a disgusting creature; with a skin rough, hairy, and of an irongrey color. This kind differs much

from the sperm, in color and skin, and is said to be fiercer. We saw a few sperm whales; but most of the

whales that come upon the coast are finbacks, hump backs, and right whales, which are more difficult to

take, and are said not to give oil enough to pay for the trouble. For this reason whaleships do not come upon

the coast after them. Our captain, together with Captain Nye of the Loriotte, who had been in a whaleship,

thought of making an attempt upon one of them with two boats' crews, but as we had only two harpoons and

During the months of March, April, and May, these whales appear in great numbers in the open ports of

Santa Barbara, San Pedro, etc., and hover off the coast, while a few find their way into the close harbors of

San Diego and Monterey. They are all off again before midsummer, and make their appearance on the

"offshore ground." We saw some fine "schools" of sperm whales, which are easily distinguished by their

Coasting along on the quiet shore of the Pacific, we came to anchor, in twenty fathoms' water, almost out at

sea, as it were, and directly abreast of a steep hill which overhung the water, and was twice as high as our

royalmasthead. We had heard much of this place, from the Lagoda's crew, who said it was the worst place

in California. The shore is rocky, and directly exposed to the southeast, so so that vessels are obliged to slip

and run for their lives on the first sign of a gale; and late as it was in the season, we got up our sliprope and

gear, though we meant to stay only twentyfour hours. We pulled the agent ashore, and were ordered to wait

for him, while he took a circuitous way round the hill to the mission, which was hidden behind it. We were

glad of the opportunity to examine this singular place, and hauling the boat up and making her well fast, took

San Juan is the only romantic spot in California. The country here for several miles is high tableland,

running boldly to the shore, and breaking off in a steep hill, at the foot of which the waters of the Pacific are

constantly dashing. For several miles the water washes the very base of the hill, or breaks upon ledges and

fragments of rocks which run out into the sea. Just where we landed was a small cove, or "bight," which gave

us, at high tide, a few square feet of sandbeach between the sea and the bottom of the hill. This was the only

landingplace. Directly before us, rose the perpendicular height of four or five hundred feet. How we were to

get hides down, or goods up, upon the tableland on which the mission was situated, was more than we could

tell. The agent had taken a long circuit, and yet had frequently to jump over breaks, and climb up steep

places, in the ascent. No animal but a man or monkey could get up it. However, that was not our lookout;

and knowing that the agent would be gone an hour or more, we strolled about, picking up shells, and

following the sea where it tumbled in, roaring and spouting, among the crevices of the great rocks. What a

sight, thought I, must this be in a southeaster! The rocks were as large as those of Nahant or Newport, but,

to my eye, more grand and broken. Beside, there was a grandeur in everything around, which gave almost a

solemnity to the scene: a silence and solitariness which affected everything! Not a human being but ourselves

for miles; and no sound heard but the pulsations of the great Pacific! and the great steep hill rising like a wall,

and cutting us off from all the world, but the "world of waters!" I separated myself from the rest and sat down

on a rock, just where the sea ran in and formed a fine spouting horn. Compared with the plain, dull

sandbeach of the rest of the coast, this grandeur was as refreshing as a great rock in a weary land. It was

almost the first time that I had been positively alone free from the sense that human beings were at my

elbow, if not talking with me since I had left home. My better nature returned strong upon me. Everything

was in accordance with my state of feeling, and I experienced a glow of pleasure at finding that what of

poetry and romance I ever had in me, had not been entirely deadened by the laborious and frittering life I had

led. Nearly an hour did I sit, almost lost in the luxury of this entire new scene of the play in which I had been

so long acting, when I was aroused by the distant shouts of my companions, and saw that they were collecting

We pulled aboard, and found the longboat hoisted out, and nearly laden with goods; and after dinner, we all

went on shore in the quarterboat, with the longboat in tow. As we drew in, we found an oxcart and a

couple of men standing directly on the brow of the hill; and having landed, the captain took his way round the

hill, ordering me and one other to follow him. We followed, picking our way out, and jumping and

scrambling up, walking over briers and prickly pears, until we came to the top. Here the country stretched out

for miles as far as the eye could reach, on a level, table surface; and the only habitation in sight was the small

white mission of San Juan Capistrano, with a few Indian huts about it, standing in a small hollow, about a

mile from where we were. Reaching the brow of the hill where the cart stood, we found several piles of hides,

and Indians sitting round them. One or two other carts were coming slowly on from the mission, and the

captain told us to begin and throw the hides down. This, then, was the way they were to be got down: thrown

down, one at a time, a distance of four hundred feet! This was doing the business on a great scale. Standing

Down this height we pitched the hides, throwing them as far out into the air as we could; and as they were all

large, stiff, and doubled, like the cover of a book, the wind took them, and they swayed and eddied about,

plunging and rising in the air, like a kite when it has broken its string. As it was now low tide, there was no

danger of their falling into the water, and as fast as they came to ground, the men below picked them up, and

taking them on their heads, walked off with them to the boat. It was really a picturesque sight: the great

height; the scaling of the hides; and the continual walking to and fro of the men, who looked like mites, on

Some of the hides lodged in cavities which were under the bank and out of our sight, being directly under us;

but by sending others down in the same direction, we succeeded in dislodging them. Had they remained

there, the captain said he should have sent on board for a couple of pairs of long halyards, and got some one

to have gone down for them. It was said that one of the crew of an English brig went down in the same way, a

few years before. We looked over, and thought it would not be a welcome task, especially for a few paltry

hides; but no one knows what he can do until he is called upon; for, six months afterwards, I went down the

same place by a pair of topgallant studdingsail halyards, to save a half a dozen hides which had lodged

Having thrown them all down, we took our way back again, and found the boat loaded and ready to start. We

pulled off; took the hides all aboard; hoisted in the boats; hove up our anchor; made sail; and before

Friday, May 8th, 1835. Arrived at San Diego. Here we found the little harbor deserted. The Lagoda,

Ayacucho, Loriotte, and all, had left the coast, and we were nearly alone. All the hidehouses on the beach,

but ours, were shut up, and the Sandwich Islanders, a dozen or twenty in number, who had worked for the

other vessels and been paid off when they sailed, were living on the beach, keeping up a grand carnival. A

Russian discoveryship which had been in this port a few years before, had built a large oven for baking

bread, and went away, leaving it standing. This, the Sandwich Islanders took possession of, and had kept,

ever since, undisturbed. It was big enough to hold six or eight men that is, it was as large as a ship's

forecastle; had a door at the side, and a venthole at top. They covered it with Oahu mats, for a carpet;

stopped up the venthole in bad weather, and made it their headquarters. It was now inhabited by as many as

a dozen or twenty men, who lived there in complete idleness drinking, playing cards, and carousing in every

way. They bought a bullock once a week, which kept them in meat, and one of them went up to the town

every day to get fruit, liquor, and provisions. Besides this, they had bought a cask of shipbread, and a barrel

of flour from the Lagoda, before she sailed. There they lived, having a grand time, and caring for nobody.

Captain T was anxious to get three or four of them to come on board the Pilgrim, as we were so much

diminished in numbers; and went up to the oven and spent an hour or two trying to negotiate with them. One

of them, a finely built, active, strong and intelligent fellow, who was a sort of king among them, acted as

spokesman. He was called Mannini, or rather, out of compliment to his known importance and influence,

Mr. Mannini and was known all over California. Through him, the captain offered them fifteen dollars a

month, and one month's pay in advance; but it was like throwing pearls before swine, or rather, carrying coals

to Newcastle. So long as they had money, they would not work for fifty dollars a month, and when their

"What do you do here, Mr. Mannini?"* said the captain. *The letter i in the Sandwich Island language is

"Aole! aole make make makou i ka hana. Now, got plenty money; no good, work. Mamule, money pau all

This was a hopeless case, and the captain left them, to wait patiently until their money was gone.

We discharged our hides and tallow, and in about a week were ready to set sail again for the windward. We

unmoored, and got everything ready, when the captain made another attempt upon the oven. This time he had

more regard to the "mollia tempora fandi," and succeeded very well. He got Mr. Mannini in his interest, and

as the shot was getting low in the locker, prevailed upon him and three others to come on board with their

chests and baggage, and sent a hasty summons to me and the boy to come ashore with our things, and join the

gang at the hidehouse. This was unexpected to me; but anything in the way of variety I liked; so we got

ready, and were pulled ashore. I stood on the beach while the brig got under weigh, and watched her until she

rounded the point, and then went up to the hidehouse to take up my quarters for a few months.

Here was a change in my life as complete as it had been sudden. In the twinkling of an eye, I was transformed

from a sailor into a "beachcomber" and a hidecurer; yet the novelty and the comparative independence of

the life were not unpleasant. Our hidehouse was a large building, made of rough boards, and intended to

hold forty thousand hides. In one corner of it, a small room was parted off, in which four berths were made,

where we were to live, with mother earth for our floor. It contained a table, a small locker for pots, spoons,

plates, etc., and a small hole cut to let in the light. Here we put our chests, threw our bedding into the berths,

and took up our quarters. Over our head was another small room, in which Mr. Russell lived, who had charge

of the hidehouse; the same man who was for a time an officer of the Pilgrim. There he lived in solitary

grandeur; eating and sleeping alone, (and these were his principal occupations,) and communing with his own

dignity. The boy was to act as cook; while myself, a giant of a Frenchman named Nicholas, and four

Sandwich Islanders, were to cure the hides. Sam, the Frenchman, and myself, lived together in the room, and

the four Sandwich Islanders worked and ate with us, but generally slept at the oven. My new messmate,

Nicholas, was the most immense man that I had ever seen in my life. He came on the coast in a vessel which

was afterwards wrecked, and now let himself out to the different houses to cure hides. He was considerably

over six feet, and of a frame so large that he might have been shown for a curiosity. But the most remarkable

thing about him was his feet. They were so large that he could not find a pair of shoes in California to fit him,

and was obliged to send to Oahu for a pair; and when he got them, he was compelled to wear them down at

the heel. He told me once, himself, that he was wrecked in an American brig on the Goodwin Sands, and was

sent up to London, to the charge of the American consul, without clothing to his back or shoes to his feet, and

was obliged to go about London streets in his stocking feet three or four days, in the month of January, until

the consul could have a pair of shoes made for him. His strength was in proportion to his size, and his

ignorance to his strength "strong as an ox, and ignorant as strong." He neither knew how to read nor write.

He had been to sea from a boy, and had seen all kinds of service, and been in every kind of vessel:

merchantmen, menofwar, privateers, and slavers; and from what I could gather from his accounts of

himself, and from what he once told me, in confidence, after we had become better acquainted, he had even

been in worse business than slavetrading. He was once tried for his life in Charleston, South Carolina, and

though acquitted, yet he was so frightened that he never would show himself in the United States again; and I

could not persuade him that he could never be tried a second time for the same offence. He said he had got

safe off from the breakers, and was too good a sailor to risk his timbers again.

Though I knew what his life had been, yet I never had the slightest fear of him. We always got along very

well together, and, though so much stronger and larger than I, he showed a respect for my education, and for

what he had heard of my situation before coming to sea. "I'll be good friends with you," he used to say, "for

byandby you'll come out here captain, and then you'll haze me well!" By holding well together, we kept

the officer in good order, for he was evidently afraid of Nicholas, and never ordered us, except when

employed upon the hides. My other companions, the Sandwich Islanders, deserve particular notice.

A considerable trade has been carried on for several years between California and the Sandwich Islands, and

most of the vessels are manned with Islanders; who, as they, for the most part, sign no articles, leave

whenever they choose, and let themselves out to cure hides at San Diego, and to supply the places of the men

of the American vessels while on the coast. In this way, quite a colony of them had become settled at San

Diego, as their headquarters. Some of these had recently gone off in the Ayacucho and Loriotte, and the

Pilgrim had taken Mr. Mannini and three others, so that there were not more than twenty left. Of these, four

were on pay at the Ayacucho's house, four more working with us, and the rest were living at the oven in a

quiet way; for their money was nearly gone, and they must make it last until some other vessel came down to

During the four months that I lived here, I got well acquainted with all of them, and took the greatest pains to

become familiar with their language, habits, and characters. Their language, I could only learn, orally, for

they had not any books among them, though many of them had been taught to read and write by the

missionaries at home. They spoke a little English, and by a sort of compromise, a mixed language was used

on the beach, which could be understood by all. The long name of Sandwich Islanders is dropped, and they

are called by the whites, all over the Pacific ocean, "Kanakas," from a word in their own language which they

apply to themselves, and to all South Sea Islanders, in distinction from whites, whom they call "Haole." This

name, "Kanaka," they answer to, both collectively and individually. Their proper names, in their own

language, being difficult to pronounce and remember, they are called by any names which the captains or

crews may choose to give them. Some are called after the vessel they are in; others by common names, as

Jack, Tom, Bill; and some have fancy names, as Banyan, Foretop, Ropeyarn, Pelican, etc., etc. Of the

four who worked at our house one was named "Mr. Bingham," after the missionary at Oahu; another, Hope,

after a vessel that he had been in; a third, Tom Davis, the name of his first captain; and the fourth, Pelican,

from his fancied resemblance to that bird. Then there was LagodaJack, CaliforniaBill, etc., etc. But by

whatever names they might be called, they were the most interesting, intelligent, and kindhearted people that

I ever fell in with. I felt a positive attachment for almost all of them; and many of them I have, to this time, a

feeling for, which would lead me to go a great way for the mere pleasure of seeing them, and which will

Tom Davis knew how to read, write, and cipher in common arithmetic; had been to the United States, and

spoke English quite well. His education was as good as that of threequarters of the Yankees in California,

and his manners and principles a good deal better, and he was so quick of apprehension that he might have

been taught navigation, and the elements of many of the sciences, with the most perfect ease. Old "Mr.

Bingham" spoke very little English almost none, and neither knew how to read nor write; but he was the

besthearted old fellow in the world. He must have been over fifty years of age, and had two of his front teeth

knocked out, which was done by his parents as a sign of grief at the death of Kamehameha, the great king of

the Sandwich Islands. We used to tell him that he ate Captain Cook, and lost his teeth in that way. That was

the only thing that ever made him angry. He would always be quite excited at that; and say "Aole!" (no.)

"Me no eat Captain Cook! Me pikinini small so high no more! My father see Captain Cook! Me no!"

None of them liked to have anything said about Captain Cook, for the sailors all believe that he was eaten,

and that, they cannot endure to be taunted with. "New Zealand Kanaka eat white man; Sandwich Island

Mr. Bingham was a sort of patriarch among them, and was always treated with great respect, though he had

not the education and energy which gave Mr. Mannini his power over them. I have spent hours in talking

with this old fellow about Kamehameha, the Charlemagne of the Sandwich Islands; his son and successor

Riho Riho, who died in England, and was brought to Oahu in the frigate Blonde, Captain Lord Byron, and

whose funeral he remembered perfectly; and also about the customs of his country in his boyhood, and the

changes which had been made by the missionaries. He never would allow that human beings had been eaten

there; and, indeed, it always seemed like an insult to tell so affectionate, intelligent, and civilized a class of

men, that such barbarities had been practised in their own country within the recollection of many of them.

Certainly, the history of no people on the globe can show anything like so rapid an advance. I would have

trusted my life and my fortune in the hands of any one of these people; and certainly had I wished for a favor

or act of sacrifice, I would have gone to them all, in turn, before I should have applied to one of my own

countrymen on the coast, and should have expected to have seen it done, before my own countrymen had got

half through counting the cost. Their costumes, and manner of treating one another, show a simple, primitive

generosity, which is truly delightful; and which is often a reproach to our own people. Whatever one has, they

all have. Money, food, clothes, they share with one another; even to the last piece of tobacco to put in their

pipes. I once heard old Mr. Bingham say, with the highest indignation, a Yankee trader who was trying to

persuade him to keep his money to himself "No! We no all same a' you! Suppose one got money, all got

money. You; suppose one got money lock him up in chest. No good!" "Kanaka all 'e same a' one!" This

principle they carry so far, that none of them will eat anything in the sight of others without offering it all

round. I have seen one of them break a biscuit, which had been given him, into five parts, at a time when I

knew he was on a very short allowance, as there was but little to eat on the beach.

My favorite among all of them, and one who was liked by both officers and men, and by whomever he had

anything to do with, was Hope. He was an intelligent, kindhearted little fellow, and I never saw him angry,

though I knew him for more than a year, and have seen him imposed upon by white people, and abused by

insolent officers of vessels. He was always civil, and always ready, and never forgot a benefit. I once took

care of him when he was in, getting medicines from the ship's chests, when no captain or officer would do

anything for him, and he never forgot it. Every Kanaka has one particular friend, whom he considers himself

bound to do everything for, and with whom he has a sort of contracts an alliance offensive and defensive,

and for whom he will often make the greatest sacrifices. This friend they call aikane; and for such did Hope

adopt me. I do not believe I could have wanted anything which he had, that he would not have given me. In

return for this, I was always his friend among the Americans, and used to teach him letters and numbers; for

he left home before he had learned how to read. He was very curious about Boston (as they call the United

States); asking many questions about the houses, the people, etc., and always wished to have the pictures in

books explained to him. They were all astonishingly quick in catching at explanations, and many things

which I had thought it utterly impossible to make them understand, they often seized in an instant, and asked

questions which showed that they knew enough to make them wish to go farther. The pictures of steamboats

and railroad cars, in the columns of some newspapers which I had, gave me great difficulty to explain. The

grading of the road, the rails, the construction of the carriages, they could easily understand, but the motion

produced by steam was a little too refined for them. I attempted to show it to them once by an experiment

upon the cook's coppers, but failed; probably as much from my own ignorance as from their want of

apprehension; and, I have no doubt, left them with about as clear idea of the principle as I had myself. This

difficulty, of course, existed in the same force with the steamboats and all I could do was to give them some

account of the results, in the shape of speed; for, failing in the reason, I had to fall back upon the fact. In my

account of the speed I was supported by Tom, who had been to Nantucket, and seen a little steamboat which

A map of the world, which I once showed them, kept their attention for hours; those who knew how to read

pointing out the places and referring to me for the distances. I remember being much amused with a question

which Hope asked me. Pointing to the large irregular place which is always left blank round the poles, to

The system of naming the streets and numbering the houses, they easily understood, and the utility of it. They

had a great desire to see America, but were afraid of doubling Cape Horn, for they suffer much in cold

weather, and had heard dreadful accounts of the Cape, from those of their number who had been round it.

They smoke a great deal, though not much at a time; using pipes with large bowls, and very short stems, or

no stems at all. These, they light, and putting them to their mouths, take a long draught, getting their mouths

as full as they can hold, and their cheeks distended, and then let it slowly out through their mouths and

nostrils. The pipe is then passed to others, who draw, in the same manner, one pipefull serving for half a

dozen. They never take short, continuous draughts, like Europeans, but one of these "Oahu puffs," as the

sailors call them, serves for an hour or two, until some one else lights his pipe, and it is passed round in the

same manner. Each Kanaka on the beach had a pine, flint, steel, tinder, a hand of tobacco, and a jackknife,

That which strikes a stranger most peculiarly is their style of singing. They run on, in a low, guttural,

monotonous sort of chant, their lips and tongues seeming hardly to move, and the sounds modulated solely in

the throat. There is very little tune to it, and the words, so far as I could learn, are extempore. They sing about

persons and things which are around them, and adopt this method when they do not wish to be understood by

any but themselves; and it is very effectual, for with the most careful attention I never could detect a word

that I knew. I have often heard Mr. Mannini, who was the most noted improvisatore among them, sing for an

hour together, when at work in the midst of Americans and Englishmen; and, by the occasional shouts and

laughter of the Kanakas, who were at a distance, it was evident that he was singing about the different men

that he was at work with. They have great powers of ridicule, and are excellent mimics; many of them

discovering and imitating the peculiarities of our own people, before we had seen them ourselves.

These were the people with whom I was to spend a few months; and who, with the exception of the officer,

Nicholas the Frenchman, and the boy, made the whole population of the beach. I ought, perhaps, to except the

dogs, for they were an important part of our settlement. Some of the first vessels brought dogs out with them,

who, for convenience, were left ashore, and there multiplied, until they came to be a great people. While I

was on the beach, the average number was about forty, and probably an equal, or greater number are

drowned, or killed in some other way, every year. They are very useful in guarding the beach, the Indians

being afraid to come down at night; for it was impossible for any one to get within half a mile of the

hidehouses without a general alarm. The father of the colony, old Sachem, so called from the ship in which

he was brought out, died while I was there, full of years, and was honorably buried. Hogs, and a few

chickens, were the rest of the animal tribe, and formed, like the dogs, a common company, though they were

I had been but a few hours on the beach, and the Pilgrim was hardly out of sight, when the cry of "Sail ho!"

was raised, and a small hermaphrodite brig rounded the point, bore up into the harbor, and came to anchor. It

was the Mexican brig Fazio, which we had left at San Pedro, and which had come down to land her tallow,

try it all over, and make new bags, and then take it in, and leave the coast. They moored ship, erected their

tryworks on shore, put up a small tent, in which they all lived, and commenced operations. They made an

addition to our society, and we spent many evenings in their tent, where, amid the Babel of English, Spanish,

French, Indian, and Kanaka, we found some words that we could understand in common.

The morning after my landing, I began the duties of hidecuring. In order to understand these, it will be

necessary to give the whole history of a hide, from the time it is taken from a bullock until it is put on board

the vessel to be carried to Boston. When the hide is taken from the bullock, holes are cut round it, near the

edge, by which it is staked out to dry. In this manner it dries without shrinking. After they are thus dried in

the sun, they are received by the vessels, and brought down to the depot at San Diego. The vessels land them,

Then begins the hidecurer's duty. The first thing is to put them in soak. This is done by carrying them down

at low tide, and making them fast, in small piles, by ropes, and letting the tide come up and cover them.

Every day we put in soak twentyfive for each man, which, with us, made an hundred and fifty. There they

lie fortyeight hours, when they are taken out, and rolled up, in wheelbarrows, and thrown into the vats.

These vats contain brine, made very strong; being seawater, with great quantities of salt thrown in. This

pickles the hides, and in this they lie fortyeight hours; the use of the seawater, into which they are first put,

being merely to soften and clean them. From these vats, they are taken, and lie on a platform twentyfour

hours, and then are spread upon the ground, and carefully stretched and staked out, so that they may dry

smooth. After they were staked, and while yet wet and soft, we used to go upon them with our knives, and

carefully cut off all the bad parts: the pieces of meat and fat, which would corrupt and infect the whole if

stowed away in a vessel for many months, the large flippers, the ears, and all other parts which would prevent

close stowage. This was the most difficult part of our duty: as it required much skill to take everything

necessary off and not to cut or injure the hide. It was also a long process, as six of us had to clean an hundred

and fifty, most of which required a great deal to be done to them, as the Spaniards are very careless in

skinning their cattle. Then, too, as we cleaned them while they were staked out, we were obliged to kneel

down upon them, which always gives beginners the backache. The first day, I was so slow and awkward

that I cleaned only eight; at the end of a few days I doubled my number; and in a fortnight or three weeks,

This cleaning must be got through with before noon; for by that time they get too dry. After the sun has been

upon them a few hours, they are carefully gone over with scrapers, to get off all the grease which the sun

brings out. This being done, the stakes are pulled up, and the hides carefully doubled, with the hair side out,

and left to dry. About the middle of the afternoon they are turned upon the other side, and at sundown piled

up and covered over. The next day they are spread out and opened again, and at night, if fully dry, are thrown

upon a long, horizontal pole, five at a time, and beat with flails. This takes all the dust from them. Then,

being salted, scraped, cleaned, dried, and beaten, they are stowed away in the house. Here ends their history,

except that they are taken out again when the vessel is ready to go home, beaten, stowed away on board,

carried to Boston, tanned, made into shoes and other articles for which leather is used; and many of them,

very probably, in the end, brought back again to California the shape of shoes, and worn out in pursuit of

By putting an hundred and fifty in soak every day, we had the same number at each stage of curing, on each

day; so that we had, everyday, the same work to do upon the same number: an hundred and fifty to put in

soak; an hundred and fifty to wash out and put in the vat; the same number to haul from the vat and put on the

platform to drain; the same number to spread and stake out and clean; and the same number to beat and stow

away in the house. I ought to except Sunday; for, by a prescription which no captain or agent has yet ventured

to break in upon, Sunday has been a day of leisure on the beach for years. On Saturday night, the hides, in

every stage of progress, are carefully covered up, and not uncovered until Monday morning. On Sundays we

had absolutely no work to do, unless it was to kill a bullock, which was sent down for our use about once a

week, and sometimes came on Sunday. Another good arrangement was, that we had just so much work to do,

and when that was through, the time was our own. Knowing this, we worked hard, and needed no driving.

We "turned out" every morning at the first signs of daylight, and allowing a short time, about eight o'clock,

for breakfast, generally got through our labor between one and two o'clock, when we dined, and had the rest

of the time to ourselves; until just before sundown, when we beat the dry hides and put them in the house,

and covered over all the others. By this means we had about three hours to ourselves every afternoon; and at

sundown we had our supper, and our work was done for the day. There was no watch to stand, and no

topsails to reef. The evenings we generally spent at one another's houses, and I often went up and spent an

hour or so at the oven; which was called the "Kanaka Hotel," and the "Oahu Coffeehouse." Immediately

after dinner we usually took a short siesta to make up for our early rising, and spent the rest of the afternoon

according to our own fancies. I generally read, wrote, and made or mended clothes; for necessity, the mother

of invention, had taught me these two latter arts. The Kanakas went up to the oven, and spent the time in

sleeping, talking, and smoking; and my messmate, Nicholas, who neither knew how to read or write, passed

away the time by a long siesta, two or three smokes with his pipe, and a paseo to the other houses. This

leisure time is never interfered with, for the captains know that the men earn it by working hard and fast, and

that if they interfered with it, the men could easily make their twentyfive hides apiece last through the day.

We were pretty independent, too, for the master of the house "capitan de la casa" had nothing to say to us,

except when we were at work on the hides, and although we could not go up to the town without his

The great weight of the wet hides, which we were obliged to roll about in wheelbarrows; the continual

stooping upon those which were pegged out to be cleaned; and the smell of the vats, into which we were

often obliged to get, kneedeep, to press down the hides; all made the work disagreeable and fatiguing; but

we soon got hardened to it, and the comparative independence of our life reconciled us to it; for there was

nobody to haze us and find fault; and when we got through, we had only to wash and change our clothes, and

our time was our own. There was, however, one exception to the time's being our own; which was, that on

two afternoons of every week we were obliged to go off and get wood, for the cook to use in the galley.

Wood is very scarce in the vicinity of San Diego; there being no trees of any size, for miles. In the town, the

inhabitants burn the small wood which grows in thickets, and for which they send out Indians, in large

numbers, every few days. Fortunately, the climate is so fine that they had no need of a fire in their houses,

and only use it for cooking. With us the getting of wood was a great trouble; for all that in the vicinity of the

houses had been cut down, and we were obliged to go off a mile or two, and to carry it some distance on our

backs, as we could not get the handcart up the hills and over the uneven places. Two afternoons in the week,

generally Monday and Thursday, as soon as we had got through dinner, we started off for the bush, each of us

furnished with a hatchet and a long piece of rope, and dragging the handcart behind us, and followed by the

whole colony of dogs, who were always ready for the bush, and were half mad whenever they saw our

preparations. We went with the handcart as far as we could conveniently drag it, and leaving it in an open,

conspicuous place, separated ourselves; each taking his own course, and looking about for some good place

to begin upon. Frequently, we had to go nearly a mile from the handcart before we could find any fit place.

Having lighted upon a good thicket, the next thing was to clear away the underbrush, and have fair play at

the trees. These trees are seldom more than five or six feet high, and the highest that I ever saw in these

expeditions could not have been more than twelve; so that, lopping off the branches and clearing away the

underwood, we had a good deal of cutting to do for a very little wood. Having cut enough for a "backload,"

the next thing was to make it well fast with the rope, and heaving the bundle upon our backs, and taking the

hatchet in hand, to walk off, up hill and down dale, to the handcart. Two good backloads apiece filled the

handcart; and that was each one's proportion. When each had brought down his second load, we filled the

handcart, and took our way again slowly back, and unloading, covering the hides for the night, and getting

These wooding excursions had always a mixture of something rather pleasant in them. Roaming about in the

woods with hatchet in hand, like a backwoodsman, followed by a troop of dogs; starting up of birds, snakes,

hares and foxes, and examining the various kinds of trees, flowers, and birds' nests, was at least, a change

from the monotonous drag and pull on shipboard. Frequently, too, we had some amusement and adventure.

The coati, of which I have before spoken, a sort of mixture of the fox and wolf breeds, fierce little animals,

with bushy tails and large heads, and a quick, sharp bark, abound here, as in all other parts of California.

These, the dogs were very watchful for, and whenever they saw them, started off in full run after them. We

had many fine chases; yet, although our dogs ran finely, the rascals generally escaped. They are a match for

the dog, one to one, but as the dogs generally went in squads, there was seldom a fair fight. A smaller dog,

belonging to us, once attacked a coati, single, and got a good deal worsted, and might perhaps have been

killed had we not come to his assistance. We had, however, one dog which gave them a good deal of trouble,

and many hard runs. He was a fine, tall fellow, and united strength and agility better than any dog that I have

ever seen. He was born at the Islands, his father being an English mastiff, and his mother a greyhound. He

had the high head, long legs, narrow body, and springing gait of the latter, and the heavy jaw, thick jowls, and

strong forequarters of the mastiff. When he was brought to San Diego, an English sailor said that he looked,

about the face precisely like the Duke of Wellington, whom he had once seen at the Tower; and, indeed, there

was something about him which resembled the portraits of the Duke. From this time he was christened

"Welly," and became the favorite and bully of the beach. He always led the dogs by several yards in the

chase, and had killed two coati at different times in single combats. We often had fine sport with these

fellows. A quick, sharp bark from a coati, and in an instant every dog was at the height of his speed. A few

moments made up for an unfair start, and gave each dog his relative place. Welly, at the head, seemed almost

to skim over the bushes; and after him came Fanny, Felicians, Childers, and the other fleet ones, the spaniels

and terriers; and then behind, followed the heavy corps bulldogs, etc., for we had every breed. Pursuit by us

was in vain, and in about half an hour a few of them would come panting and straggling back.

Beside the coati, the dogs sometimes made prizes of rabbits and hares, which are very plentiful here, and

great numbers of which we often shot for our dinners. There was another animal that I was not so much

disposed to find amusement from, and that was the rattlesnake. These are very abundant here, especially

during the spring of the year. The latter part of the time that I was on shore, I did not meet with so many, but

for the first two months we seldom went into "the bush" without one of our number starting some of them.

The first that I ever saw, I remember perfectly well. I had left my companions, and was beginning to clear

away a fine clump of trees, when just in the midst of the thicket, not more than eight yards from me, one of

these fellows set up his hiss. It is a sharp, continuous sound, and resembles very much the letting off of the

steam from the small pipe of a steamboat, except that it is on a smaller scale. I knew, by the sound of an axe,

that one of my companions was near, and called out to him, to let him know what I had fallen upon. He took

it very lightly, and as he seemed inclined to laugh at me for being afraid, I determined to keep my place. I

knew that so long as I could hear the rattle, I was safe, for these snakes never make a noise when they are in

motion. Accordingly, I kept at my work, and the noise which I made with cutting and breaking the trees kept

him in alarm; so that I had the rattle to show me his whereabouts. Once or twice the noise stopped for a short

time, which gave me a little uneasiness, and retreating a few steps. I threw something into the bush, at which

he would set his rattle agoing; and finding that he had not moved from his first place, I was easy again. In this

way I continued at my work until I had cut a full load, never suffering him to be quiet for a moment. Having

cut my load, I strapped it together, and got everything ready for starting. I felt that I could now call the others

without the imputation of being afraid; and went in search of them. In a few minutes we were all collected,

and began an attack upon the bush. The big Frenchman, who was the one that I had called to at first, I found

as little inclined to approach the snake as I had been. The dogs, too, seemed afraid of the rattle, and kept up a

barking at a safe distance; but the Kanakas showed no fear, and getting long sticks, went into the bush, and

keeping a bright lookout, stood within a few feet of him. One or two blows struck near him, and a few

stones thrown, started him, and we lost his track, and had the pleasant consciousness that he might be directly

under our feet. By throwing stones and chips in different directions, we made him spring his rattle again, and

began another attack. This time we drove him into the clear ground, and saw him gliding off, with head and

tail erect, when a stone, well aimed, knocked him over the bank, down a declivity of fifteen or twenty feet,

and stretched him at his length. Having made sure of him, by a few more stones, we went down, and one of

the Kanakas cut off his rattle. These rattles vary in number it is said, according to the age of the snake; though

the Indians think they indicate the number of creatures they have killed. We always preserved them as

trophies, and at the end of the summer had quite a number. None of our people were ever bitten by them, but

one of our dogs died of a bite, and another was supposed to have been bitten, but recovered. We had no

remedy for the bite, though it was said that the Indians of the country had, and the Kanakas professed to have

Hares and rabbits, as I said before, were abundant, and, during the winter months, the waters are covered with

wild ducks and geese. Crows, too, were very numerous, and frequently alighted in great numbers upon our

hides, picking at the pieces of dried meat and fat. Bears and wolves are numerous in the upper parts, and in

the interior, (and, indeed, a man was killed by a bear within a few miles of San Pedro, while we were there,)

but there were none in our immediate neighborhood. The only other animals were horses. Over a dozen of

these were owned by different people on the beach, and were allowed to run loose among the hills, with a

long lasso attached to them, and pick up feed wherever they could find it. We were sure of seeing them once

a day, for there was no water among the hills, and they were obliged to come down to the well which had

been dug upon the beach. These horses were bought at, from two, to six and eight dollars apiece, and were

held very much as common property. We generally kept one fast to one of the houses every day, so that we

could mount him and catch any of the others. Some of them were really fine animals, and gave us many good

After we had been a few weeks on shore, and had begun to feel broken into the regularity of our life, its

monotony was interrupted by the arrival of two vessels from the windward. We were sitting at dinner in our

little room, when we heard the cry of "Sail ho!" This, we had learned, did not always signify a vessel but was

raised whenever a woman was seen coming down from the town; or a squaw, or an oxcart, or anything

unusual, hove in sight upon the road; so we took no notice of it. But it soon became so loud and general from

all parts of the beach, that we were led to go to the door; and there, sure enough, were two sails coming round

the point, and leaning over from the strong northwest wind, which blows down the coast every afternoon.

The headmost was a ship, and the other, a brig. Everybody was alive on the beach, and all manner of

conjectures were abroad. Some said it was the Pilgrim, with the Boston ship, which we were expecting; but

we soon saw that the brig was not the Pilgrim, and the ship with her stump topgallant masts and rusty sides,

could not be a dandy Boston Indiaman. As they drew nearer, we soon discovered the high poop and

topgallant forecastle, and other marks of the Italian ship Rosa, and the brig proved to be the Catalina, which

we saw at Santa Barbara, just arrived from Valparaiso. They came to anchor, moored ship, and commenced

discharging hides and tallow. The Rosa had purchased the house occupied by the Lagoda, and the Catalina

took the other spare one between ours and the Ayacucho's, so that, now, each one was occupied, and the

beach, for several days, was all alive. The Catalina had several Kanakas on board, who were immediately

besieged by the others, and carried up to the oven, where they had a long powwow, and a smoke. Two

Frenchmen, who belonged to the Rosa's crew, came in, every evening, to see Nicholas; and from them we

learned that the Pilgrim was at San Pedro, and was the only other vessel now on the coast. Several of the

Italians slept on shore at their hidehouse; and there, and at the tent in which the Fazio's crew lived, we had

some very good singing almost every evening. The Italians sang a variety of songs barcarollas, provincial

airs, etc.; in several of which I recognized parts of our favorite operas and sentimental songs. They often

joined in a song, taking all the different parts; which produced a fine effect, as many of them had good

voices, and all seemed to sing with spirit and feeling. One young man, in particular, had a falsetto as dear as a

The greater part of the crews of the vessel's came ashore every evening, and we passed the time in going

about from one house to another, and listening to all manner of languages. The Spanish was the common

ground upon which we all met; for every one knew more or less of that. We had now, out of forty or fifty,

representatives from almost every nation under the sun: two Englishmen, three Yankees, two Scotchmen, two

Welshmen, one Irishman, three Frenchmen (two of whom were Normans, and the third from Gascony,) one

Dutchman, one Austrian, two or three Spaniards, (from old Spain,) half a dozen SpanishAmericans and

halfbreeds, two native Indians from Chili and the Island of Chiloe, one Negro, one Mulatto, about twenty

Italians, from all parts of Italy, as many more Sandwich Islanders, one Otaheitan, and one Kanaka from the

The night before the vessels were ready to sail, all the Europeans united and had an entertainment at the

Rosa's hidehouse, and we had songs of every nation and tongue. A German gave us "Och! mein lieber

Augustin!" the three Frenchmen roared through the Marseilles Hymn; the English and Scotchmen gave us

"Rule Britannia," and "Who'll be King but Charlie?" the Italians and Spaniards screamed through some

national affairs, for which I was none the wiser; and we three Yankees made an attempt at the "Starspangled

Banner." After these national tributes had been paid, the Austrian gave us a very pretty little lovesong, and

the Frenchmen sang a spirited thing called "Sentinelle! O prenez garde a vous!" and then followed the

melange which might have been expected. When I left them, the aguardiente and annisou was pretty well in

their heads, and they were all singing and talking at once, and their peculiar national oaths were getting as

The next day, the two vessels got under weigh for the windward, and left us in quiet possession of the beach.

Our numbers were somewhat enlarged by the opening of the new houses, and the society of the beach a little

changed. In charge of the Catalina's house, was an old Scotchman, who, like most of his countrymen, had a

pretty good education, and, like many of them, was rather pragmatical, manical, and had a ludicrously solemn

conceit. He employed his time in taking care of his pigs, chickens, turkeys, dogs, etc., and in smoking his

long pipe. Everything was as neat as a pin in the house, and he was as regular in his hours as a chronometer,

but as he kept very much by himself, was not a great addition to our society. He hardly spent a cent all the

time he was on the beach, and the others said he was no shipmate. He had been a petty officer on board the

British frigate Dublin, Capt. Lord James Townshend, and had great ideas of his own importance. The man in

charge of the Rosa's house was an Austrian by birth, but spoke, read, and wrote four languages with ease and

correctness. German was his native tongue, but being born near the borders of Italy, and having sailed out of

Genoa, the Italian was almost as familiar to him as his own language. He was six years on board of an

English manofwar, where he learned to speak our language with ease, and also to read and write it. He had

been several years in Spanish vessels, and had acquired that language so well, that he could read any books in

it. He was between forty and fifty years of age, and was a singular mixture of the manofwar'sman and

Puritan. He talked a great deal about propriety and steadiness, and gave good advice to the youngsters and

Kanakas, but seldom went up to the town, without coming down "three sheets in the wind." One holyday, he

and old Robert (the Scotchman from the Catalina) went up to the town, and got so cozy, talking over old

stories and giving one another good advice, that they came down doublebacked, on a horse, and both rolled

off into the sand as soon as the horse stopped. This put an end to their pretensions, and they never heard the

last of it from the rest of the men. On the night of the entertainment at the Rosa's house, I saw old Schmidt,

(that was the Austrian's name) standing up by a hogshead, holding on by both hands, and calling out to

himself "Hold on, Schmidt! hold on, my good fellow, or you'll be on your back!" Still, he was an intelligent,

goodnatured old fellow, and had a chestfull of books, which he willingly lent me to read. In the same

house with him was a Frenchman and an Englishman; the latter a regularbuilt "manofwar Jack;" a

thorough seaman; a hearty, generous fellow; and, at the same time, a drunken, dissolute dog. He made it a

point to get drunk once a fortnight, (when he always managed to sleep on the road, and have his money stolen

from him,) and to battle the Frenchman once a week. These, with a Chilian, and a half a dozen Kanakas,

In about six weeks from the time when the Pilgrim sailed, we had got all the hides which she left us cured and

stowed away; and having cleared up the ground, and emptied the vats, and set everything in order, had

nothing more to do until she should come down again, but to supply ourselves with wood. Instead of going

twice a week for this purpose, we determined to give one whole week to getting wood, and then we should

have enough to last us half through the summer. Accordingly, we started off every morning, after an early

breakfast, with our hatchets in hand, and cut wood until the sun was over the point, which was our only

mark of time, as there was not a watch on the beach and then came back to dinner, and after dinner, started

off again with our handcart and ropes, and carted and "backed" it down, until sunset. This, we kept up for a

week, until we had collected several cords,enough to last us for six or eight weeks when we "knocked off"

altogether, much to my joy; for, though I liked straying in the woods, and cutting, very well, yet the backing

the wood for so great a distance, over an uneven country, was, without exception, the hardest work I had ever

done. I usually had to kneel down and contrive to heave the load, which was well strapped together, upon my

back, and then rise up and start off with it up the hills and down the vales, sometimes through thickets, the

rough points sticking into the skin, and tearing the clothes, so that, at the end of the week, I had hardly a

We were now through all our work, and had nothing more to do until the Pilgrim should come down again.

We had nearly got through our provisions too, as well as our work; for our officer had been very wasteful of

them, and the tea, flour, sugar, and molasses, were all gone. We suspected him of sending them up to the

town; and he always treated the squaws with molasses, when they came down to the beach. Finding

wheatcoffee and dry bread rather poor living, we dubbed together, and I went up to the town on horseback

with a great saltbag behind the saddle, and a few reals in my pocket, and brought back the bag fun of

onions, pears, beans, watermelons, and other fruits; for the young woman who tended the garden, finding

that I belonged to the American ship, and that we were short of provisions, put in a double portion. With

these we lived like fightingcocks for a week or two, and had, besides, what the sailors call "a blowout on

sleep;" not turning out in the morning until breakfast was ready. I employed several days in overhauling my

chest, and mending up all my old clothes, until I had got everything in order patch upon patch, like a

sandbarge's mainsail. Then I took hold of Bowditch's Navigator, which I had always with me. I had been

through the greater part of it, and now went carefully through it, from beginning to end working out most of

the examples. That done, and there being no signs of the Pilgrim, I made a descent upon old Schmidt, and

borrowed and read all the books there were upon the beach. Such a dearth was there of these latter articles,

that anything, even a little child's storybook, or the half of a shipping calendar, appeared like a treasure. I

actually read a jestbook through, from beginning to end, in one day, as I should a novel, and enjoyed it very

much. At last, when I thought that there were no more to be got, I found, at the bottom of old Schmidt's chest,

"Mandeville, a Romance, by Godwin, in five volumes." This I had never read, but Godwin's name was

enough, and after the wretched trash I had devoured, anything bearing the name of a distinguished intellectual

man, was a prize indeed. I bore it off, and for two days I was up early and late, reading with all my might, and

actually drinking in delight. It is no extravagance to say that it was like a spring in a desert land.

From the sublime to the ridiculousso with me, from Mandeville to hidecuring, was but a step; for

Wednesday, July 18th, brought us the brig Pilgrim from the windward. As she came in, we found that she

was a good deal altered in her appearance. Her short topgallant masts were up; her bowlines all unrove

(except to the courses); the quarter boomirons off her lower yards; her jackcrosstrees sent down; several

blocks got rid of; runningrigging rove in new places; and numberless other changes of the same character.

Then, too, there was a new voice giving orders, and a new face on the quarterdeck, a short, dark

complexioned man, in a green jacket and a high leather cap. These changes, of course, set the whole beach on

the quivive, and we were all waiting for the boat to come ashore, that we might have things explained. At

length, after the sails were furied and the anchor carried out the boat pulled ashore, and the news soon flew

that the expected ship had arrived at Santa Barbara, and that Captain T had taken command of her, and

her captain, Faucon, had taken the Pilgrim, and was the greenjacketed man on the quarterdeck. The boat put

directly off again, without giving us time to ask any more questions, and we were obliged to wait till night,

when we took a little skiff, that lay on the beach, and paddled off. When I stepped aboard, the second mate

called me aft, and gave me a large bundle, directed to me, and marked "Ship Alert." This was what I had

longed for, yet I refrained from opening it until I went ashore. Diving down into the forecastle, I found the

same old crew, and was really glad to see them again. Numerous inquiries passed as to the new ship, the

latest news from Boston, etc., etc. S had received letters from home, and nothing remarkable had

happened. The Alert was agreed on all hands to be a fine ship, and a large one: "Larger than the Rosa" "Big

enough to carry off all the hides in California" "Rail as high as a man's head" "A crack ship" "A regular

dandy," etc., ect. Captain T took command of her, and she went directly up to Monterey; from thence she

was to go to San Francisco, and probably would not be in San Diego under two or three months. Some of the

Pilgrim's crew found old shipmates aboard of her, and spent an hour or two in her forecastle, the evening

before she sailed. They said her decks were as white as snow holystoned every morining, like a

manofwar's; everything on board "shipshape and Bristol fashion;" a fine crew, three mates, a sailmaker

and carpenter, and all complete. "They've got a man for mate of that ship, and not a bloody sheep about

decks!" "A mate that knows his duty, and makes everybody do theirs, and won't be imposed upon either by

captain or crew." After collecting all the information we could get on this point, we asked something about

their new captain. He had hardly been on board long enough for them to know much about him, but he had

taken hold strong, as soon as he took command; sending down the topgallant masts, and unreeving half the

Having got all the news we could, we pulled ashore; and as soon as we reached the house, I, as might be

supposed, proceeded directly to opening my bundle, and found a reasonable supply of duck, flannel shirts,

shoes, etc., and, what was still more valuable, a packet of eleven letters. These I sat up nearly all the night to

read, and put them carefully away, to be read and reread again and again at my leisure. Then came a half a

dozen newspapers, the last of which gave notice of Thanksgiving, and of the clearance of "ship Alert, Edward

H. Faucon, master, for Callao and California, by Bryant, Sturgis Co." No one has ever been on distant

voyages, and after a long absence received a newspaper from home, who cannot understand the delight that

they give one. I read every part of them the houses to let; things lost or stolen; auction sales, and all.

Nothing carries you so entirely to a place, and makes you feel so perfectly at home, as a newspaper. The very

The Pilgrim discharged her hides, which set us at work again, and in a few days we were in the old routine of

dry hides wet hides cleaning beating, etc. Captain Faucon came quietly up to me, as I was at work, with

my knife, cutting the meat from a dirty hide, asked me how I liked California, and repeated "Tityre, tu

patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi." Very apropos, thought I, and, at the same time, serves to show that you

understand Latin. However, a kind word from a captain is a thing not to be slighted; so I answered him

Saturday, July 11th. The Pilgrim set sail for the windward, and left us to go on in our old way. Having laid in

such a supply of wood, and the days being now long, and invariably pleasant, we had a good deal of time to

ourselves. All the duck I received from home, I soon made up into trowsers and frocks, and displayed, every

Sunday, a complete suit of my own make, from head to foot, having formed the remnants of the duck into a

cap. Reading, mending, sleeping, with occasional excursions into the bush, with the dogs, in search of coati,

hares, and rabbits, or to encounter a rattlesnake, and now and then a visit to the Presidio, filled up our spare

time after hidecuring was over for the day. Another amusement, which we sometimes indulged in, was

"burning the water" for crawfish. For this purpose, we procured a pair of grains, with a long staff like a

harpoon, and making torches with tarred rope twisted round a long pine stick, took the only boat on the

beach, a small skiff, and with a torchbearer in the bow, a steersman in the stern, and one man on each side

with the grains, went off, on dark nights, to burn the water. This is fine sport. Keeping within a few rods of

the shore, where the water is not more than three or four feet deep, with a clear sandy bottom, the torches

light everything up so that one could almost have seen a pin among the grains of sand. The crawfish are an

easy prey, and we used soon to get a load of them. The other fish were more difficult to catch, yet we

frequently speared a number of them, of various kinds and sizes. The Pilgrim brought us down a supply of

fishhooks, which we had never had before, on the beach, and for several days we went down to the Point,

and caught a quantity of cod and mackerel. On one of these expeditions, we saw a battle between two

Sandwich Islanders and a shark. "Johnny" had been playing about our boat for some time, driving away the

fish, and showing his teeth at our bait, when we missed him, and in a few moments heard a great shouting

between two Kanakas who were fishing on the rock opposite to us: "E hana hana make i ka ia nui!" "E pii

mai Aikane!" etc., etc.; and saw them pulling away on a stout line, and "Johnny Shark" floundering at the

other end. The line soon broke; but the Kanakas would not let him off so easily, and sprang directly into the

water after him. Now came the tug of war. Before we could get into deep water, one of them seized him by

the tail, and ran up with him upon the beach; but Johnny twisted round, turning his head under his body, and,

showing his teeth in the vicinity of the Kanaka's hand, made him let go and spring out of the way. The shark

now turned tail and made the best of his way, by flapping and floundering, toward deep water; but here again,

before he was fairly off, the other Kanaka seized him by the tail, and made a spring towards the beach, his

companion at the same time paying away upon him with stones and a large stick. As soon, however, as the

shark could turn, he was obliged to let go his hold; but the instant he made toward deep water, they were both

behind him, watching their chance to seize him. In this way the battle went on for some time, the shark, in a

rage, splashing and twisting about, and the Kanakas, in high excitement, yelling at the top of their voices; but

the shark at last got off, carrying away a hook and line, and not a few severe bruises.

We kept up a constant connection with the Presidio, and by the close of the summer I had added much to my

made vocabulary, besides having made the acquaintance of nearly everybody in the place, and acquired some

knowledge of the character and habits of the people, as well as of the institutions under which they live.

California was first discovered in 1536, by Cortes and was subsequently visited by numerous other

adventurers as well as commissioned voyagers of the Spanish crown. It was found to be inhabited by

numerous tribes of Indians, and to be in many parts extremely fertile; to which, of course, was added rumors

of gold mines, pearl fishery, etc. No sooner was the importance of the country known, than the Jesuits

obtained leave to establish themselves in it, to Christianize and enlighten the Indians. They established

missions in various parts of the country toward the close of the seventeenth century, and collected the natives

about them, baptizing them into the church, and teaching them the arts of civilized life. To protect the Jesuits

in their missions, and at the same time to support the power of the crown over the civilized Indians, two forts

were erected and garrisoned, one at San Diego, and the other at Monterey. These were called Presidios, and

divided the command of the whole country between them. Presidios have since been established at Santa

Barbara and San Francisco; thus dividing the country into four large districts, each with its presidio, and

governed by the commandant. The soldiers, for the most part, married civilized Indians; and thus, in the

vicinity of each presidio, sprung up, gradually, small towns. In the course of time, vessels began to come into

the ports to trade with the missions, and received hides in return; and thus began the great trade of California.

Nearly all the cattle in the country belonged to the missions, and they employed their Indians, who became, in

fact, their slaves, in tending their vast herds. In the year 1793, when Vancouver visited San Diego, the

mission had obtained great wealth and power, and are accused of having depreciated the country with the

sovereign, that they might be allowed to retain their possessions. On the expulsion of the Jesuits from the

Spanish dominions, the missions passed into the hands of the Franciscans, though without any essential

change in their management. Ever since the independence of Mexico, the missions have been going down;

until, at last, a law was passed, stripping them of all their possessions, and confining the priests to their

spiritual duties; and at the same time declaring all the Indians free and independent Rancheros. The change in

the condition of the Indians was, as may be supposed, only nominal: they are virtually slaves, as much as they

ever were. But in the missions, the change was complete. The priests have now no power, except in their

religious character, and the great possessions of the missions are given over to be preyed upon by the harpies

of the civil power, who are sent there in the capacity of administradores, to settle up the concerns; and who

usually end, in a few years, by making themselves fortunes, and leaving their stewardships worse than they

found them. The dynasty of the priests was much more acceptable to the people of the country, and indeed, to

every one concerned with the country, by trade or otherwise, than that of the administradores. The priests

were attached perpetually to one mission, and felt the necessity of keeping up its credit. Accordingly, their

debts were regularly paid, and the people were, in the main, well treated, and attached to those who had spent

their whole lives among them. But the administradores are strangers sent from Mexico, having no interest in

the country; not identified in any way with their charge, and, for the most part, men of desperate fortunes

broken down politicians and soldiers whose only object is to retrieve their condition in as short a time as

possible. The change had been made but a few years before our arrival upon the coast, yet, in that short time,

the trade was much diminished, credit impaired, and the venerable missions going rapidly to decay. The

external arrangements remain the same. There are four presidios, having under their protection the various

missions, and pueblos, which are towns formed by the civil power, and containing no mission or presidio.

The most northerly presidio is San Francisco; the next Monterey; the next Santa Barbara, including the

mission of the same, St. Louis Obispo, and St. Buenaventura, which is the finest mission in the whole

country, having very fertile soil and rich vineyards. The last, and most southerly, is San Diego, including the

mission of the same, San Juan Capestrano, the Pueblo de los Angelos, the largest town in California, with the

neighboring mission of San Gabriel. The priests in spiritual matters are subject to the Archbishop of Mexico,

and in temporal matters to the governorgeneral, who is the great civil and military head of the country.

The government of the country is an arbitrary democracy; having no common law, and no judiciary. Their

only laws are made and unmade at the caprice of the legislature, and are as variable as the legislature itself.

They pass through the form of sending representatives to the congress at Mexico, but as it takes several

months to go and return, and there is very little communication between the capital and this distant province,

a member usually stays there, as permanent member, knowing very well that there will be revolutions at

home before he can write and receive an answer; if another member should be sent, he has only to challenge

Revolutions are matters of constant occurrence in California. They are got up by men who are at the foot of

the ladder and in desperate circumstances, just as a new political party is started by such men in our own

country. The only object, of course, is the loaves and fishes; and instead of caucusing, paragraphing, libelling,

feasting, promising, and lying, as with us, they take muskets and bayonets, and seizing upon the presidio and

customhouse, divide the spoils, and declare a new dynasty. As for justice, they know no law but will and

fear. A Yankee, who had been naturalized, and become a Catholic, and had married in the country, was

sitting in his house at the Pueblo de los Angelos, with his wife and children, when a Spaniard, with whom he

had had a difficulty, entered the house, and stabbed him to the heart before them all. The murderer was seized

by some Yankees who had settled there, and kept in confinement until a statement of the whole affair could

be sent to the governorgeneral. He refused to do anything about it, and the countrymen of the murdered

man, seeing no prospect of justice being administered, made known that if nothing was done, they should try

the man themselves. It chanced that, at this time, there was a company of forty trappers and hunters from

Kentucky, with their rifles, who had made their headquarters at the Pueblo; and these, together with the

Americans and Englishmen in the place, who were between twenty and thirty in number, took possession of

the town, and waiting a reasonable time, proceeded to try the man according to the forms in their own

country. A judge and jury were appointed, and he was tried, convicted, sentenced to be shot, and carried out

before the town, with his eyes blindfolded. The names of all the men were then put into a hat and each one

pledging himself to perform his duty, twelve names were drawn out, and the men took their stations with

their rifles, and, firing at the word, laid him dead. He was decently buried, and the place was restored quietly

to the proper authorities. A general, with titles enough for an hidalgo, was at San Gabriel, and issued a

proclamation as long as the foretopbowline, threatening destruction to the rebels, but never stirred from his

fort; for forty Kentucky hunters, with their rifles, were a match for a whole regiment of hungry, drawling,

lazy halfbreeds. This affair happened while we were at San Pedro, (the port of the Pueblo,) and we had all

the particulars directly from those who were on the spot. A few months afterwards, another man, whom we

had often seen in San Diego, murdered a man and his wife on the high road between the Pueblo and San

Louis Rey, and the foreigners not feeling themselves called upon to act in this case, the parties being all

natives, nothing was done about it; and I frequently afterwards saw the murderer in San Diego, where he was

When a crime has been committed by Indians, justice, or rather vengeance, is not so tardy. One Sunday

afternoon, while I was at San Diego, an Indian was sitting on his horse, when another, with whom he had had

some difficulty, came up to him, drew a long knife, and plunged it directly into the horse's heart. The Indian

sprang from his falling horse, drew out the knife, and plunged it into the other Indian's breast, over his

shoulder, and laid him dead. The poor fellow was seized at once, clapped into the calabozo, and kept there

until an answer could be received from Monterey. A few weeks afterwards, I saw the poor wretch, sitting on

the bare ground, in front of the calabozo, with his feet chained to a stake, and handcuffs about his wrists. I

knew there was very little hope for him. Although the deed was done in hot blood, the horse on which he was

sitting being his own, and a great favorite, yet he was an Indian, and that was enough. In about a week after I

saw him, I heard that he had been shot. These few instances will serve to give one a notion of the distribution

In their domestic relations, these people are no better than in their public. The men are thriftless, proud, and

extravagant, and very much given to gaming; and the women have but little education, and a good deal of

beauty, and their morality, of course, is none of the best; yet the instances of infidelity are much less frequent

than one would at first suppose. In fact, one vice is set over against another; and thus, something like a

balance is obtained. The women have but little virtue, but then the jealousy of their husbands is extreme, and

their revenge deadly and almost certain. A few inches of cold steel has been the punishment of many an

unwary man, who has been guilty, perhaps, of nothing more than indiscretion of manner. The difficulties of

the attempt are numerous, and the consequences of discovery fatal. With the unmarried women, too, great

watchfulness is used. The main object of the parents is to marry their daughters well, and to this, the slightest

slip would be fatal. The sharp eyes of a duena, and the cold steel of a father or brother, are a protection which

the characters of most of them men and women render by no means useless; for the very men who would

lay down their lives to avenge the dishonor of their own family, would risk the same lives to complete the

Of the poor Indians, very little care is taken. The priests, indeed, at the missions, are said to keep them very

strictly, and some rules are usually made by the alcaldes to punish their misconduct; but it all amounts to but

little. Indeed, to show the entire want of any sense of morality or domestic duty among them, I have

frequently known an Indian to bring his wife, to whom he was lawfully married in the church, down to the

beach, and carry her back again, dividing with her the money which she had got from the sailors. If any of the

girls were discovered by the alcalde to be open evillivers, they were whipped, and kept at work sweeping

the square of the presidio, and carrying mud and bricks for the buildings; yet a few reals would generally buy

them off. Intemperance, too, is a common vice among the Indians. The Spaniards, on the contrary, are very

Such are the people who inhabit a country embracing four or five hundred miles of seacoast, with several

good harbors; with fine forests in the north; the waters filled with fish, and the plains covered with thousands

of herds of cattle; blessed with a climate, than which there can be no better in the world; free from all manner

of diseases, whether epidemic or endemic; and with a soil in which corn yields from seventy to eighty fold. In

the hands of an enterprising people, what a country this might be! we are ready to say. Yet how long would a

people remain so, in such a country? The Americans (as those from the United States are called) and

Englishmen, who are fast filling up the principal towns, and getting the trade into their hands, are indeed

more industrious and effective than the Spaniards; yet their children are brought up Spaniards, in every

respect, and if the "California fever" (laziness) spares the first generation, it always attacks the second.

Saturday, July 18th. This day, sailed the Mexican hermaphrodite brig, Fazio, for San Blas and Mazatlan. This

was the brig which was driven ashore at San Pedro in a southeaster, and had been lying at San Diego to repair

and take in her cargo. The owner of her had had a good deal of difficulty with the government about the

duties, etc., and her sailing had been delayed for several weeks; but everything having been arranged, she got

under weigh with a light breeze, and was floating out of the harbor, when two horsemen came dashing down

to the beach, at full speed, and tried to find a boat to put off after her; but there being none on the beach, they

offered a handful of silver to any Kanaka who would swim off and take a letter on board. One of the

Kanakas, a fine, active, wellmade young fellow, instantly threw off everything but his duck trowsers, and

putting the letter into his hat, swam off, after the vessel. Fortunately, the wind was very light and the vessel

was going slowly, so that, although she was nearly a mile off when he started, he gained on her rapidly. He

went through the water leaving a wake like a small steamboat. I certainly never saw such swimming before.

They saw him coming from the deck, but did not heaveto suspecting the nature of his errand; yet, the wind

continuing light, he swam alongside and got on board, and delivered his letter. The captain read the letter,

told the Kanaka there was no answer, and giving him a glass of brandy, left him to jump overboard and find

the best of his way to the shore. The Kanaka swam in for the nearest point of land, and, in about an hour,

made his appearance at the hidehouse. He did not seem at all fatigued, had made three or four dollars, got a

glass of brandy, and was in fine spirits. The brig kept on her course, and the government officers, who had

come down to forbid her sailing, went back, each with something like a flea in his ear, having depended upon

It was now nearly three months since the Alert arrived at Santa Barbara, and we began to expect her daily.

About a half a mile behind the hidehouse, was a high hill; and every afternoon, as soon as we had done our

work, some one of us walked up to see if there were any sail in sight, coming down before the regular trades,

which blow every afternoon. Each day, after the latter part of July, we went up the hill, and came back

disappointed. I was anxious for her arrival, for I had been told by letter that the owners in Boston, at the

request of my friends, had written to Captain T to take me on board the Alert, in case she returned to the

United States before the Pilgrim; and I, of course, wished to know whether the order had been received, and

what was the destination of the ship. One year more or less might be of small consequence to others, but it

was everything to me. It was now just a year since we sailed from Boston, and at the shortest, no vessel could

expect to get away under eight or nine months, which would make our absence two years in all. This would

be pretty long, but would not be fatal. It would not necessarily be decisive of my future life. But one year

more would settle the matter. I should be a sailor for life; and although I had made up my mind to it before I

had my letters from home, and was, as I thought, quite satisfied; yet, as soon as an opportunity was held out

to me of returning, and the prospect of another kind of life was opened to me, my anxiety to return, and, at

least, to have the chance of deciding upon my course for myself, was beyond measure. Beside that, I wished

to be "equal to either fortune," and to qualify myself for an officer's berth, and a hidehouse was no place to

learn seamanship in. I had become experienced in hidecuring, and everything went on smoothly, and I had

many opportunities of becoming acquainted with the people, and much leisure for reading and studying

navigation; yet practical seamanship could only be got on board ship; therefore, I determined to ask to be

taken on board the ship when she arrived. By the first of August, we finished curing all our hides, stored them

away, cleaned out our vats, (in which latter work we spent two days, up to our knees in mud and the

sediments of six months' hidecuring, in a stench which would drive a donkey from his breakfast,) and got in

readiness for the arrival of the ship, and had another leisure interval of three or four weeks; which I spent, as

usual, in reading, writing, studying, making and mending my clothes, and getting my wardrobe in complete

readiness, in case I should go on board the ship; and in fishing, ranging the woods with the dogs, and in

occasional visits to the presidio and mission. A good deal of my time was spent in taking care of a little

puppy, which I had selected from thirtysix, that were born within three days of one another, at our house.

He was a fine, promising pup, with four white paws, and all the rest of his body of a dark brown. I built a

little kennel for him, and kept him fastened there, away from the other dogs, feeding and disciplining him

myself. In a few weeks, I got him in complete subjection, and he grew finely, was very much attached to me,

and bid fair to be one of the leading dogs on the beach. I called him Bravo, and the only thing I regretted at

Day after day, we went up the hill, but no ship was to be seen, and we began to form all sorts of conjectures

as to her whereabouts; and the theme of every evening's conversation at the different houses, and in our

afternoon's paseo upon the beach, was the ship where she could be had she been to San Francisco? how

Tuesday, August 25th. This morning, the officer in charge of our house went off beyond the point a fishing,

in a small canoe, with two Kanakas; and we were sitting quietly in our room at the hidehouse, when, just

before noon, we heard a complete yell of "Sail ho!" breaking out from all parts of the beach, at once, from

the Kanakas' oven to the Rosa's house. In an instant, every one was out of his house; and there was a fine, tall

ship, with royals and skysails set, bending over before the strong afternoon breeze, and coming round the

point. Her yards were braced sharp up; every sail was set, and drew well; the Yankee ensign was flying from

her mizenpeak; and having the tide in her favor, she came up like a racehorse. It was nearly six months

since a new vessel had entered San Diego, and of course, every one was on the quivive. She certainly made

a fine appearance. Her light sails were taken in, as she passed the low, sandy tongue of land, and clewing up

her head sails, she rounded handsomely to, under her mizen topsail, and let go the anchor at about a cable's

length from the shore. In a few minutes, the topsail yards were manned, and all three of the topsails furled at

once. From the fore topgallant yard, the men slid down the stay to furl the jib, and from the mizen

topgallant yard, by the stay, into the maintop, and thence to the yard; and the men on the topsail yards came

down the lifts to the yardarms of the courses. The sails were furled with great care, the bunts triced up by

jiggers, and the jibs stowed in cloth. The royal yards were then struck, tackles got upon the yardarms and

the stay, the longboat hoisted out, a large anchor carried astern, and the ship moored. Then the captain's gig

was lowered away from the quarter, and a boat's crew of fine lads, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen,

pulled the captain ashore. The gig was a light whaleboat, handsomely painted, and fitted up with cushions,

etc., in the stern sheets. We immediately attacked the boat's crew, and got very thick with them in a few

minutes. We had much to ask about Boston, their passage out, etc., and they were very curious to know about

the life we were leading upon the beach. One of them offered to exchange with me; which was just what I

After dinner, the crew began discharging their hides, and, as we had nothing to do at the hidehouses, we

were ordered aboard to help them. I had now my first opportunity of seeing the ship which I hoped was to be

my home for the next year. She looked as well on board as she did from without. Her decks were wide and

roomy, (there being no poop, or house on deck, which disfigures the after part of most of our vessels,) flush,

fore and aft, and as white as snow, which the crew told us was from constant use of holystones. There was no

foolish gilding and gingerbread work, to take the eye of landsmen and passengers, but everything was

"shipshape and Bristol fashion." There was no rust, no dirt, no rigging hanging slack, no fag ends of ropes

and "Irish pendants" aloft, and the yards were squared "to a t" by lifts and braces.

The mate was a fine, hearty, noisy fellow, with a voice like a lion, and always wide awake. He was "a man,

every inch of him," as the sailors said; and though "a bit of a horse," and "a hard customer," yet he was

generally liked by the crew. There was also a second and third mate, a carpenter, sailmaker, steward, cook,

etc., and twelve, including boys, before the mast. She had, on board, seven thousand hides, which she had

collected at the windward, and also horns and tallow. All these we began discharging, from both gangways at

once, into the two boats, the second mate having charge of the launch, and the third mate of the pinnace. For

several days, we were employed in this way, until all the hides were taken out, when the crew began taking in

Sunday, 30th. This was the first Sunday that the crew had been in San Diego, and of course they were all for

going up to see the town. The Indians came down early, with horses to let for the day, and all the crew, who

could obtain liberty, went off to the Presidio and mission, and did not return until night. I had seen enough of

San Diego, and went on board and spent the day with some of the crew, whom I found quietly at work in the

forecastle, mending and washing their clothes, and reading and writing. They told me that the ship stopped at

Callao in the passage out, and there lay three weeks. She had a passage of little over eighty days from Boston

to Callao, which is one of the shortest on record. There, they left the Brandywine frigate, and other smaller

American ships of war, and the English frigate Blonde, and a French seventyfour. From Callao they came

directly to California, and had visited every port on the coast, including San Francisco. The forecastle in

which they lived was large, tolerably well lighted by bullseyes, and, being kept perfectly clean, had quite a

comfortable appearance; at least, it was far better than the little, black, dirty hole in which I had lived so

many months on board the Pilgrim. By the regulations of the ship, the forecastle was cleaned out every

morning, and the crew, being very neat, kept it clean by some regulations of their own, such as having a large

spitbox always under the steps and between the bits, and obliging every man to hang up his wet clothes, etc.

In addition to this, it was holystoned every Saturday morning. In the after part of the ship was a handsome

cabin, a diningroom, and a traderoom, fitted out with shelves and furnished with all sorts of goods.

Between these and the forecastle was the "betweendecks," as high as the gun deck of a frigate; being six feet

and a half, under the beams. These betweendecks were holystoned regularly, and kept in the most perfect

order; the carpenter's bench and tools being in one part, the sailmaker's in another, and boatswain's locker,

with the spare rigging, in a third. A part of the crew slept here, in hammocks swung fore and aft from the

beams, and triced up every morning. The sides of the betweendecks were clapboarded, the knees and

stanchions of iron, and the latter made to unship. The crew said she was as tight as a drum, and a fine sea

boat, her only fault being, that of most fast ships, that she was wet, forward. When she was going, as she

sometimes would, eight or nine knots on a wind, there would not be a dry spot forward of the gangway. The

men told great stories of her sailing, and had great confidence in her as a "lucky ship." She was seven years

old, and had always been in the Canton trade, and never had met with an accident of any consequence, and

had never made a passage that was not shorter than the average. The third mate, a young man of about

eighteen years of age, nephew of one of the owners, had been in the ship from a small boy, and "believed in

the ship;" and the chief mate thought more of her than he would of a wife and family.

The ship lay about a week longer in port, when, having discharged her cargo and taken in ballast, she

prepared to get under weigh. I now made my application to the captain to go on board. He told me that I

could go home in the ship when she sailed (which I knew before); and, finding that I wished to be on board

while she was on the coast, said he had no objection, if I could find one of my own age to exchange with me,

for the time. This, I easily accomplished, for they were glad to change the scene by a few months on shore,

and, moreover, escape the winter and the southeasters; and I went on board the next day, with my chest and

Tuesday, Sept. 8th. This was my first day's duty on board the ship; and though a sailor's life is a sailor's life

wherever it may be, yet I found everything very different here from the customs of the brig Pilgrim. After all

hands were called, at daybreak, three minutes and a half were allowed for every man to dress and come on

deck, and if any were longer than that, they were sure to be overhauled by the mate, who was always on deck,

and making himself heard all over the ship. The headpump was then rigged, and the decks washed down by

the second and third mates; the chief mate walking the quarterdeck and keeping a general supervision, but

not deigning to touch a bucket or a brush. Inside and out, fore and aft, upper deck and between decks,

steerage and forecastle, rail, bulwarks, and waterways, were washed, scrubbed and scraped with brooms and

canvas, and the decks were wet and sanded all over, and then holystoned. The holystone is a large, soft stone,

smooth on the bottom, with long ropes attached to each end, by which the crew keep it sliding fore and aft,

over the wet, sanded decks. Smaller handstones, which the sailors call "prayerbooks," are used to scrub in

among the crevices and narrow places, where the large holystone will not go. An hour or two, we were kept

at this work, when the headpump was manned, and all the sand washed off the decks and sides. Then came

swabs and squilgees; and after the decks were dry, each one went to his particular morning job. There were

five boats belonging to the ship, launch, pinnace, jollyboat, larboard quarterboat, and gig, each of which

had a coxswain, who had charge of it, and was answerable for the order and cleanness of it. The rest of the

cleaning was divided among the crew; one having the brass and composition work about the capstan; another

the bell, which was of brass, and kept as bright as a gilt button; a third, the harnesscask; another, the

manrope stanchions; others, the steps of the forecastle and hatchways, which were hauled up and

holystoned. Each of these jobs must be finished before breakfast; and, in the meantime, the rest of the crew

filled the scuttlebutt, and the cook scraped his kids (wooden tubs out of which the sailors eat) and polished

the hoops, and placed them before the galley, to await inspection. When the decks were dry, the lord

paramount made his appearance on the quarterdeck, and took a few turns, when eight bells were struck, and

all hands went to breakfast. Half an hour was allowed for breakfast, when all hands were called again; the

kids, pots, breadbags, etc., stowed away; and, this morning, preparations were made for getting under

weigh. We paid out on the chain by which we swung; hove in on the other; catted the anchor; and hove short

on the first. This work was done in shorter time than was usual on board the brig; for though everything was

more than twice as large and heavy, the catblock being as much as a man could lift, and the chain as large as

three of the Pilgrim's, yet there was a plenty of room to move about in, more discipline and system, more

men, and more good will. Every one seemed ambitious to do his best: officers and men knew their duty, and

all went well. As soon as she was hove short, the mate, on the forecastle, gave the order to loose the sails,

and, in an instant, every one sprung into the rigging, up the shrouds, and out on the yards, scrambling by one

another; the first up the best fellow, cast off the yardarm gaskets and bunt gaskets, and one man remained

on each yard, holding the bunt jigger with a turn round the tye, all ready to let go, while the rest laid down to

man the sheets and halyards. The mate then hailed the yards "All ready forward?" "All ready the

crossjack yards?" etc., etc., and "Aye, aye, sir!" being returned from each, the word was given to let go; and

in the twinkling of an eye, the ship, which had shown nothing but her bare yards, was covered with her loose

canvas, from the royalmastheads to the decks. Every one then laid down, except one man in each top, to

overhaul the rigging, and the topsails were hoisted and sheeted home; all three yards going to the masthead

at once, the larboard watch hoisting the fore, the starboard watch the main, and five light hands, (of whom I

was one,) picked from the two watches, the mizen. The yards were then trimmed, the anchor weighed, the

catblock hooked on, the fall stretched out, manned by "all hands and the cook," and the anchor brought to

the head with "cheerily men!" in full chorus. The ship being now under weigh, the light sails were set, one

after another, and she was under full sail, before she had passed the sandy point. The fore royal, which fell to

my lot, (being in the mate's watch,) was more than twice as large as that of the Pilgrim, and, though I could

handle the brig's easily, I found my hands full, with this, especially as there were no jacks to the ship;

everything being for neatness, and nothing left for Jack to hold on by, but his eyelids.

As soon as we were beyond the point, and all sail out, the order was given, "Go below the watch!" and the

crew said that, ever since they had been on the coast, they had had "watch and watch," while going from port

to port; and, in fact, everything showed that, though strict discipline was kept, and the utmost was required of

every man, in the way of his duty, yet, on the whole, there was very good usage on board. Each one knew that

he must be a man, and show himself smart when at his duty, yet every one was satisfied with the usage; and a

contented crew, agreeing with one another, and finding no fault, was a contrast indeed with the small,

It being the turn of our watch to go below, the men went to work, mending their clothes, and doing other little

things for themselves; and I, having got my wardrobe in complete order at San Diego, had nothing to do but

to read. I accordingly overhauled the chests of the crew, but found nothing that suited me exactly, until one of

the men said he had a book which "told all about a great highwayman," at the bottom of his chest, and

producing it, I found, to my surprise and joy, that it was nothing else than Bulwer's Paul Clifford. This, I

seized immediately, and going to my hammock, lay there, swinging and reading, until the watch was out. The

betweendecks were clear, the hatchways open, and a cool breeze blowing through them, the ship under easy

way, and everything comfortable. I had just got well into the story, when eight bells were struck, and we were

all ordered to dinner. After dinner came our watch on deck for four hours, and, at four o'clock, I went below

again. turned into my hammock, and read until the dog watch. As no lights were allowed after eight o'clock,

there was no reading in the night watch. Having light winds and calms, we were three days on the passage,

and each watch below, during the daytime, I spent in the same manner, until I had finished my book. I shall

never forget the enjoyment I derived from it. To come across anything with the slightest claims to literary

merit, was so unusual, that this was a perfect feast to me. The brilliancy of the book, the succession of capital

hits, lively and characteristic sketches, kept me in a constant state of pleasing sensations. It was far too good

While on deck, the regular work of the ship went on. The sailmaker and carpenter worked between decks, and

the crew had their work to do upon the rigging, drawing yarns, making spunyarn, etc., as usual in

merchantmen. The night watches were much more pleasant than on board the Pilgrim. There, there were so

few in a watch, that, one being at the wheel, and another on the lookout, there was no one left to talk with;

but here, we had seven in a watch, so that we had long yarns, in abundance. After two or three night watches,

I became quite well acquainted with all the larboard watch. The sailmaker was the head man of the watch,

and was generally considered most experienced seaman on board. He was a thoroughbred old

manofwar'sman, had been to sea twentytwo years, in all kinds of vessels menofwar, privateers,

slavers, and merchantmen; everything except whalers, which a thorough sailor despises, and will always

steer clear of, if he can. He had, of course, been in all parts of the world, and was remarkable for drawing a

long bow. His yarns frequently stretched through a watch, and kept all hands awake. They were always

amusing from their improbability, and, indeed, he never expected to be believed, but spun them merely for

amusement; and as he had some humor and a good supply of manofwar slang and sailor's salt phrases, he

always made fun. Next to him in age and experience, and, of course, in standing in the watch, was an

Englishman, named Harris, of whom I shall have more to say hereafter. Then, came two or three Americans,

who had been the common run of European and South American voyages, and one who had been in a

"spouter," and, of course, had all the whaling stories to himself. Last of all, was a broadbacked,

thickheaded boy from Cape Cod, who had been in mackerel schooners, and was making his first voyage in a

squarerigged vessel. He was born in Hingham, and of course was called "Bucketmaker." The other watch

was composed of about the same number. A tall, finelooking Frenchman, with coalblack whiskers and

curly hair, a firstrate seaman, and named John, (one name is enough for a sailor,) was the head man of the

watch. Then came two Americans (one of whom had been a dissipated young man of property and family,

and was reduced to duck trowsers and monthly wages,) a German, an English lad, named Ben, who belonged

on the mizen topsail yard with me, and was a good sailor for his years, and two Boston boys just from the

public schools. The carpenter sometimes mustered in the starboard watch, and was an old seadog, a Swede

by birth, and accounted the best helmsman in the ship. This was our ship's company, beside cook and

The second day out, the wind drew ahead, and we had to beat up the coast; so that, in tacking ship, I could see

the regulations of the vessel. Instead of going wherever was most convenient, and running from place to

place, wherever work was to be done, each man had his station. A regular tacking and wearing bill was made

out. The chief mate commanded on the forecastle, and had charge of the head sails and the forward part of the

ship. Two of the best men in the ship the sailmaker from our watch, and John, the Frenchman, from the

other, worked the forecastle. The third mate commanded in the waist, and, with the carpenter and one man,

worked the main tack and bowlines; the cook, exofficio, the fore sheet, and the steward the main. The

second mate had charge of the after yards, and let go the lee fore and main braces. I was stationed at the

weather crossjack braces; three other light hands at the lee; one boy at the spankersheet and guy; a man

and a boy at the main topsail, topgallant, royal braces; and all the rest of the crew men and boys tailled on

to the main brace. Every one here knew his station, must be there when all hands were called to put the ship

about, and was answerable for every rope committed to him. Each man's rope must be let go and hauled in at

the order, properly made fast, and neatly coiled away when the ship was about. As soon as all hands are at

their stations, the captain, who stands on the weather side of the quarterdeck, makes a sign to the man at the

wheel to put it down, and calls out "Helm's a lee'!" "Helm's a lee'!" answers the mate on the forecastle, and

the head sheets are let go. "Raise tacks and sheets!" says the captain; "tacks and sheets!" is passed forward,

and the fore tack and main sheet are let go. The next thing is to haul taught for a swing. The weather

crossjack braces and the lee main braces are each belayed together upon two pins, and ready to be let go;

and the opposite braces hauled taught. "Main topsail haul!" shouts the captain; the braces are let go; and if he

has taken his time well, the yards swing round like a top; but if he is too late, or too soon, it is like drawing

teeth. The after yards are then braced up and belayed, the main sheet hauled aft, the spanker eased over to

leeward, and the men from the braces stand by the head yards. "Let go and haul!" says the captain; the second

mate lets go the weather fore braces, and the men haul in to leeward. The mate, on the forecastle, looks out

for the head yards. "Well, the fore topsail yard!" "Topgallant yard's well!" "Royal yard too much! Haul into

windward! So! well that!" "Well all!" Then the starboard watch board the main tack, and the larboard watch

lay forward and board the fore tack and haul down the jib sheet, clapping a tackle upon it, if it blows very

fresh. The after yards are then trimmed, the captain generally looking out for them himself. "Well the

crossjack yard!" "Small pull the main topgallant yard!" "Well that!" "Well the mizen topgallant yard!"

"Crossjack yards all well!" "Well all aft!" "Haul taught to windward!" Everything being now trimmed and

in order, each man coils up the rigging at his own station, and the order is given "Go below the watch!"

During the last twentyfour hours of the passage, we beat off and on the land, making a tack about once in

four hours, so that I had a sufficient opportunity to observe the working of the ship; and certainly, it took no

more men to brace about this ship's lower yards, which were more than fifty feet square, than it did those of

the Pilgrim, which were not much more than half the size; so much depends upon the manner in which the

braces run, and the state of the blocks; and Captain Wilson, of the Ayacucho, who was afterwards a passenger

with us, upon a trip to windward, said he had no doubt that our ship worked two men lighter than his brig.

Friday, Sept. 11th. This morning, at four o'clock, went below, San Pedro point being about two leagues

ahead, and the ship going on under studdingsails. In about an hour we were waked up by the hauling of the

chain about decks, and in a few minutes "All hands ahoy!" was called; and we were all at work, hauling in

and making up the studdingsails, overhauling the chain forward, and getting the anchors ready. "The Pilgrim

is there at anchor," said some one, as we were running about decks; and taking a moment's look over the rail,

I saw my old friend, deeply laden, lying at anchor inside of the kelp. In coming to anchor, as well as in

tacking, each one had his station and duty. The light sails were clewed up and furled, the courses hauled up

and the jibs down; then came the topsails in the buntlines, and the anchor let go. As soon as she was well at

anchor, all hands lay aloft to furl the topsails; and this, I soon found, was a great matter on board this ship; for

every sailor knows that a vessel is judged of, a good deal, by the furl of her sails. The third mate, a sailmaker,

and the larboard watch went upon the fore topsail yard; the second mate, carpenter, and the starboard watch

upon the main; and myself and the English lad, and the two Boston boys, and the young CapeCod man,

furled the mizen topsail. This sail belonged to us altogether, to reef and to furl, and not a man was allowed to

come upon our yard. The mate took us under his special care, frequently making us furl the sail over, three or

four times, until we got the bunt up to a perfect cone, and the whole sail without a wrinkle. As soon as each

sail was hauled up and the bunt made, the jigger was bent on to the slack of the buntlines, and the bunt traced

up, on deck. The mate then took his place between the knightheads to "twig" the fore, on the windlass to twig

the main, and at the foot of the mainmast, for the mizen; and if anything was wrong, too much bunt on one

side, clews too taught or too slack, or any sail abaft the yard, the whole must be dropped again. When all

was right, the bunts were triced well up, the yardarm gaskets passed, so as not to leave a wrinkle forward of

From the moment of letting go the anchor, when the captain ceases his care of things, the chief mate is the

great man. With a voice like a young lion, he was hallooing and bawling, in all directions, making everything

fly, and, at the same time, doing everything well. He was quite a contrast to the worthy, quiet, unobtrusive

mate of the Pilgrim; not so estimable a man, perhaps, but a far better mate of a vessel; and the entire change

in Captain T's conduct, since he took command of the ship, was owing, no doubt, in a great measure, to

this fact. If the chief officer wants force, discipline slackens, everything gets out of joint, the captain

interferes continually; that makes a difficulty between them, which encourages the crew, and the whole ends

in a threesided quarrel. But Mr. Brown (the mate of the Alert) wanted no help from anybody; took

everything into his own hands; and was more likely to encroach upon the authority of the master, than to need

any spurring. Captain T gave his directions to the mate in private, and, except in coming to anchor,

getting under weigh, tacking, reefing topsails, and other "allhandswork," seldom appeared in person. This

is the proper state of things, and while this lasts, and there is a good understanding aft, everything will go on

Having furled all the sails, the royal yards were next to be sent down. The English lad and myself sent down

the main, which was larger than the Pilgrim's main topgallant yard; two more light hands, the fore; and one

boy, the mizen. This order, we always kept while on the coast; sending them up and down every time we

came in and went out of port. They were all tripped and lowered together, the main on the starboard side, and

the fore and mizen, to port. No sooner was she all snug, than tackles were got up on the yards and stays, and

the longboat and pinnace hove out. The swinging booms were then guyed out, and the boats made fast by

geswarps, and everything in harbor style. After breakfast, the hatches were taken off, and all got ready to

receive hides from the Pilgrim. All day, boats were passing and repassing, until we had taken her hides from

her, and left her in ballast trim. These hides made but little show in our hold, though they had loaded the

Pilgrim down to the water's edge. This changing of the hides settled the question of the destination of the two

vessels, which had been one of some speculation to us. We were to remain in the leeward ports, while the

Pilgrim was to sail, the next morning, for San Francisco. After we had knocked off work, and cleared up

decks for the night, my friend S came on board, and spent an hour with me in our berth between decks.

The Pilgrim's crew envied me my place on board the ship, and seemed to think that I had got a little to

windward of them; especially in the matter of going home first. S was determined to go home on the

Alert, by begging or buying; if Captain T would not let him come on other terms, he would purchase an

exchange with some one of the crew. The prospect of another year after the Alert should sail, was rather "too

much of the monkey." About seven o'clock, the mate came down into the steerage, in fine trim for fun, roused

the boys out of the berth, turned up the carpenter with his fiddle, sent the steward with lights to put in the

betweendecks, and set all hands to dancing. The betweendecks were high enough to allow of jumping; and

being clear, and white, from holystoning, made a fine dancinghall. Some of the Pilgrim's crew were in the

forecastle, and we all turnedto and had a regular sailor's shuffle, till eight bells. The CapeCod boy could

dance the true fisherman's jig, barefooted, knocking with his heels, and slapping the decks with his bare feet,

in time with the music. This was a favorite amusement of the mate's, who always stood at the steerage door,

looking on, and if the boys would not dance, he hazed them round with a rope's end, much to the amusement

The next morning, according to the orders of the agent, the Pilgrim set sail for the windward, to be gone three

or four months. She got under weigh with very little fuss, and came so near us as to throw a letter on board,

Captain Faucon standing at the tiller himself, and steering her as he would a mackerel smack. When Captain

T was in command of the Pilgrim, there was as much preparation and ceremony as there would be in

getting a seventyfour under weigh. Captain Faucon was a sailor, every inch of him; he knew what a ship

was, and was as much at home in one, as a cobbler in his stall. I wanted no better proof of this than the

opinion of the ship's crew, for they had been six months under his command, and knew what he was; and if

sailors allow their captain to be a good seaman, you may be sure he is one, for that is a thing they are not

After the Pilgrim left us, we lay three weeks at San Pedro, from the 11th of September until the 2nd of

October, engaged in the usual port duties of landing cargo, taking off hides, etc., etc. These duties were much

easier, and went on much more agreeably, than on board the Pilgrim. "The more, the merrier," is the sailor's

maxim; and a boat's crew of a dozen could take off all the hides brought down in a day, without much

trouble, by division of labor; and on shore, as well as on board, a good will, and no discontent or grumbling,

make everything go well. The officer, too, who usually went with us, the third mate, was a fine young fellow,

and made no unnecessary trouble; so that we generally had quite a sociable time, and were glad to be relieved

from the restraint of the ship. While here, I often thought of the miserable, gloomy weeks we had spent in this

dull place, in the brig; discontent and hard usage on board, and four hands to do all the work on shore. Give

me a big ship. There is more room, more hands, better outfit, better regulation, more life, and more company.

Another thing was better arranged here: we had a regular gig's crew. A light whaleboat, handsomely

painted, and fitted out with stern seats, yoke, tillerropes, etc., hung on the starboard quarter, and was used as

the gig. The youngest lad in the ship, a Boston boy about thirteen years old, was coxswain of this boat, and

had the entire charge of her, to keep her clean, and have her in readiness to go and come at any hour. Four

light hands, of about the same size and age, of whom I was one, formed the crew. Each had his oar and seat

numbered, and we were obliged to be in our places, have our oars scraped white, our tholepins in, and the

fenders over the side. The bowman had charge of the boathook and painter, and the coxswain of the

rudder, yoke, and sternsheets. Our duty was to carry the captain and agent about, and passengers off and on;

which last was no trifling duty, as the people on shore have no boats, and every purchaser, from the boy who

buys his pair of shoes, to the trader who buys his casks and bales, were to be taken off and on, in our boat.

Some days, when people were coming and going fast, we were in the boat, pulling off and on, all day long,

with hardly time for our meals; making, as we lay nearly three miles from shore, from forty to fifty miles

rowing in a day. Still, we thought it the best berth in the ship; for when the gig was employed, we had

nothing to do with the cargo, except small bundles which the passengers carried with them, and no hides to

carry, besides the opportunity of seeing everybody, making acquaintances, hearing the news, etc. Unless the

captain or agent were in the boat, we had no officer with us, and often had fine times with the passengers,

who were always willing to talk and joke with us. Frequently, too, we were obliged to wait several hours on

shore; when we would haul the boat up on the beach, and leaving one to watch her, go up to the nearest

house, or spend the time in strolling about the beach, picking up shells, or playing hopscotch, and other

games, on the hard sand. The rest of the crew never left the ship, except for bringing heavy goods and taking

off hides; and though we were always in the water, the surf hardly leaving us a dry thread from morning till

night, yet we were young, and the climate was good, and we thought it much better than the quiet, humdrum

drag and pull on board ship. We made the acquaintance of nearly half of California; for, besides carrying

everybody in our boat, men, women, and children, all the messages, letters, and light packages went by us,

At San Pedro, we had none of this amusement, for, there being but one house in the place, we, of course, had

but little company. All the variety that I had, was riding, once a week, to the nearest rancho, to order a

The brig Catalina came in from San Diego, and being bound up to windward, we both got under weigh at the

same time, for a trial of speed up to Santa Barbara, a distance of about eighty miles. We hove up and got

under sail about eleven o'clock at night, with a light landbreeze, which died away toward morning, leaving

us becalmed only a few miles from our anchoringplace. The Catalina, being a small vessel, of less than half

our size, put out sweeps and got a boat ahead, and pulled out to sea, during the night, so that she had the

seabreeze earlier and stronger than we did, and we had the mortification of seeing her standing up the coast,

with a fine breeze, the sea all ruffled about her, while we were becalmed, inshore. When the seabreeze

died away, she was nearly out of sight; and, toward the latter part of the afternoon, the regular northwest

wind set in fresh, we braced sharp upon it, took a pull at every sheet, tack, and halyard, and stood after her, in

fine style, our ship being very good upon a taughtened bowline. We had nearly five hours of fine sailing,

beating up to windward, by long stretches in and off shore, and evidently gaining upon the Catalina at every

tack. When this breeze left us, we were so near as to count the painted ports on her side. Fortunately, the wind

died away when we were on our inward tack, and she on her outward, so we were inshore, and caught the

landbreeze first, which came off upon our quarter, about the middle of the first watch. All hands were

turnedup, and we set all sail, to the skysails and the royal studdingsails; and with these, we glided quietly

through the water, leaving the Catalina, which could not spread so much canvas as we, gradually astern, and,

by daylight, were off St. Buenaventura, and our antagonist nearly out of sight. The seabreeze, however,

favored her again, while we were becalmed under the headland, and laboring slowly along, she was abreast of

us by noon. Thus we continued, ahead, astern, and abreast of one another, alternately; now, far out at sea, and

again, close in under the shore. On the third morning, we came into the great bay of Santa Barbara, two hours

behind the brig, and thus lost the bet; though, if the race had been to the point, we should have beaten her by

five or six hours. This, however, settled the relative sailing of the vessels, for it was admitted that although

she, being small and light, could gain upon us in very light winds, yet whenever there was breeze enough to

set us agoing, we walked away from her like hauling in a line; and in beating to windward, which is the best

Sunday, Oct. 4th. This was the day of our arrival; and somehow or other, our captain always managed not

only to sail, but to come into port, on a Sunday. The main reason for sailing on the Sabbath is not, as many

people suppose, because Sunday is thought a lucky day, but because it is a leisure day. During the six days,

the crew are employed upon the cargo and other ship's works, and the Sabbath, being their only day of rest,

whatever additional work can be thrown into Sunday, is so much gain to the owners. This is the reason of our

coasters, packets, etc., sailing on the Sabbath. They get six good days' work out of the crew, and then throw

all the labor of sailing into the Sabbath. Thus it was with us, nearly all the time we were on the coast, and

many of our Sabbaths were lost entirely to us. The Catholics on shore have no trading and make no journeys

on Sunday, but the American has no national religion, and likes to show his independence of priestcraft by

Santa Barbara looked very much as it did when I left it five months before: the long sand beach, with the

heavy rollers, breaking upon it in a continual roar, and the little town, imbedded on the plain, girt by its

amphitheatre of mountains. Day after day, the sun shone clear and bright upon the wide bay and the red roofs

of the houses; everything being as still as death, the people really hardly seeming to earn their sunlight.

Daylight actually seemed thrown away upon them. We had a few visitors, and collected about a hundred

hides, and every night, at sundown, the gig was sent ashore, to wait for the captain, who spent his evenings in

the town. We always took our monkeyjackets with us, and flint and steel, and made a fire on the beach with

the driftwood and the bushes we pulled from the neighboring thickets, and lay down by it, on the sand.

Sometimes we would stray up to the town, if the captain was likely to stay late, and pass the time at some of

the houses, in which we were almost always well received by the inhabitants. Sometimes earlier and

sometimes later, the captain came down; when, after a good drenching in the surf, we went aboard, changed

our clothes, and turned in for the night yet not for all the night, for there was the anchor watch to stand.

This leads me to speak of my watchmate for nine months and, taking him all in all, the most remarkable

man I have ever seen Tom Harris. An hour, every night, while lying in port, Harris and myself had the deck

to ourselves, and walking fore and aft, night after night, for months, I learned his whole character and history,

and more about foreign nations, the habits of different people, and especially the secrets of sailors' lives and

hardships, and also of practical seamanship, (in which he was abundantly capable of instructing me,) than I

could ever have learned elsewhere. But the most remarkable thing about him, was the power of his mind. His

memory was perfect; seeming to form a regular chain, reaching from his earliest childhood up to the time I

knew him, without one link wanting. His power of calculation, too, was remarkable. I called myself pretty

quick at figures, and had been through a course of mathematical studies; but, working by my head, I was

unable to keep within sight of this man, who had never been beyond his arithmetic: so rapid was his

calculation. He carried in his head not only a logbook of the whole voyage, in which everything was

complete and accurate, and from which no one ever thought of appealing, but also an accurate registry of all

the cargo; knowing, precisely, where each thing was, and how many hides we took in at every port.

One night, he made a rough calculation of the number of hides that could be stowed in the lower hold,

between the fore and main masts, taking the depth of hold and breadth of beam, (for he always knew the

dimension of every part of the ship, before he had been a month on board,) and the average area and

thickness of a hide; he came surprisingly near the number, as it afterwards turned out. The mate frequently

came to him to know the capacity of different parts of the vessel, so he could tell the sailmaker very nearly

the amount of canvas he would want for each sail in the ship; for he knew the hoist of every mast, and spread

of every sail, on the head and foot, in feet and inches. When we were at sea, he kept a running account, in his

head, of the ship's way the number of knots and the courses; and if the courses did not vary much during the

twentyfour hours, by taking the whole progress, and allowing so many eighths southing or northing, to so

many easting or westing; he would make up his reckoning just before the captain took the sun at noon, and

often came wonderfully near the mark. Calculation of all kinds was his delight. He had, in his chest, several

volumes giving accounts of inventions in mechanics, which he read with great pleasure, and made himself

master of. I doubt if he ever forgot anything that he read. The only thing in the way of poetry that he ever

read was Falconer's Shipwreck, which he was delighted with, and whole pages of which he could repeat. He

knew the name of every sailor that had ever been his shipmate, and also, of every vessel, captain, and officer,

and the principal dates of each voyage; and a sailor whom he afterwards fell in with, who had been in a ship

with Harris nearly twelve years before, was very much surprised at having Harris tell him things about

himself which he had entirely forgotten. His facts, whether dates or events, no one thought of disputing; and

his opinions, few of the sailors dared to oppose; for, right or wrong, he always had the best of the argument

with them. His reasoning powers were remarkable. I have had harder work maintaining an argument with him

in a watch, even when I knew myself to be right, and he was only doubting, than I ever had before; not from

his obstinacy, but from his acuteness. Give him only a little knowledge of his subject, and, certainly among

all the young men of my acquaintance and standing at college, there was not one whom I had not rather meet,

than this man. I never answered a question from him, or advanced an opinion to him, without thinking more

than once. With an iron memory, he seemed to have your whole past conversation at command, and if you

said a thing now which ill agreed with something said months before, he was sure to have you on the hip. In

fact, I always felt, when with him, that I was with no common man. I had a positive respect for his powers of

mind, and felt often that if half the pains had been spent upon his education which are thrown away, yearly, in

our colleges, he would have been a man of great weight in society. Like most selftaught men, he

overestimated the value of an education; and this, I often told him, though I profited by it myself; for he

always treated me with respect, and often unnecessarily gave way to me, from an overestimate of my

knowledge. For the intellectual capacities of all the rest of the crew, captain and all, he had the most

sovereign contempt. He was a far better sailor, and probably a better navigator, than the captain, and had

more brains than all the after part of the ship put together. The sailors said, "Tom's got a head as long as the

bowsprit," and if any one got into an argument with him, they would call out "Ah, Jack! you'd better drop

that, as you would a hot potato, for Tom will turn you inside out before you know it."

I recollect his posing me once on the subject of the Corn Laws. I was called to stand my watch, and, coming

on deck, found him there before me; and we began, as usual, to walk fore and aft, in the waist. He talked

about the Corn Laws; asked me my opinion about them, which I gave him; and my reasons; my small stock

of which I set forth to the best advantage, supposing his knowledge on the subject must be less than mine, if,

indeed, he had any at all. When I had got through, he took the liberty of differing from me, and, to my

surprise, brought arguments and facts connected with the subject which were new to me, to which I was

entirely unable to reply. I confessed that I knew almost nothing of the subject, and expressed my surprise at

the extent of his information. He said that, a number of years before, while at a boardinghouse in Liverpool,

he had fallen in with a pamphlet on the subject, and, as it contained calculations, had read it very carefully,

and had ever since wished to find some one who could add to his stock of knowledge on the question.

Although it was many years since he had seen the book, and it was a subject with which he had no previous

acquaintance, yet he had the chain of reasoning, founded upon principles of political economy, perfect in his

memory; and his facts, so far as I could judge, were correct; at least, he stated them with great precision. The

principles of the steam engine, too, he was very familiar with, having been several months on board of a

steamboat, and made himself master of its secrets. He knew every lunar star in both hemispheres, and was a

perfect master of his quadrant and sextant. Such was the man, who, at forty, was still a dog before the mast, at

twelve dollars a month. The reason of this was to be found in his whole past life, as I had it, at different times,

He was an Englishman, by birth, a native of Ilfracomb, in Devonshire. His father was skipper of a small

coaster, from Bristol, and dying, left him, when quite young, to the care of his mother, by whose exertions he

received a commonschool education, passing his winters at school and his summers in the coasting trade,

until his seventeenth year, when he left home to go upon foreign voyages. Of his mother, he often spoke with

the greatest respect, and said that she was a strongminded woman, and had the best system of education he

had ever known; a system which had made respectable men of his three brothers, and failed only in him, from

his own indomitable obstinacy. One thing he often mentioned, in which he said his mother differed from all

other mothers that he had ever seen disciplining their children; that was, that when he was out of humor and

refused to eat, instead of putting his plate away, as most mothers would, and saying that his hunger would

bring him to it, in time, she would stand over him and oblige him to eat it every mouthful of it. It was no

fault of hers that he was what I saw him; and so great was his sense of gratitude for her efforts, though

unsuccessful, that he determined, at the close of the voyage, to embark for home with all the wages he should

After leaving home, he had spent nearly twenty years, sailing upon all sorts of voyages, generally out of the

ports of New York and Boston. Twenty years of vice! Every sin that a sailor knows, he had gone to the

bottom of. Several times he had been hauled up in the hospitals, and as often, the great strength of his

constitution had brought him out again in health. Several times, too, from his known capacity, he had been

promoted to the office of chief mate, and as often, his conduct when in port, especially his drunkenness,

which neither fear nor ambition could induce him to abandon, put him back into the forecastle. One night,

when giving me an account of his life, and lamenting the years of manhood he had thrown away, he said that

there, in the forecastle, at the foot of the steps a chest of old clothes was the result of twentytwo years of

hard labor and exposure worked like a horse, and treated like a dog. As he grew older, he began to feel the

necessity of some provision for his later years, and came gradually to the conviction that rum had been his

worst enemy. One night, in Havana, a young shipmate of his was brought aboard drunk, with a dangerous

gash in his head, and his money and new clothes stripped from him. Harris had seen and been in hundreds of

such scenes as these, but in his then state of mind, it fixed his determination, and he resolved never to taste

another drop of strong drink, of any kind. He signed no pledge, and made no vow, but relied on his own

strength of purpose. The first thing with him was a reason, and then a resolution, and the thing was done. The

date of his resolution he knew, of course, to the very hour. It was three years before I knew him, and during

all that time, nothing stronger than cider or coffee had passed his lips. The sailors never thought of enticing

Tom to take a glass, any more than they would of talking to the ship's compass. He was now a temperate man

for life, and capable of filling any berth in a ship, and many a high station there is on shore which is held by a

He understood the management of a ship upon scientific principles, and could give the reason for hauling

every rope; and a long experience, added to careful observation at the time, and a perfect memory, gave him a

knowledge of the expedients and resorts in times of hazard, which was remarkable, and for which I became

much indebted to him, as he took the greatest pleasure in opening his stores of information to me, in return

for what I was able to do for him. Stories of tyranny and hardship which had driven men to piracy; of the

incredible ignorance of masters and mates, and of horrid brutality to the sick, dead, and dying; as well as of

the secret knavery and impositions practised upon seamen by connivance of the owners, landlords, and

officers; all these he had, and I could not but believe them; for men who had known him for fifteen years had

never taken him even in an exaggeration, and, as I have said, his statements were never disputed. I remember,

among other things, his speaking of a captain whom I had known by report, who never handed a thing to a

sailor, but put it on deck and kicked it to him; and of another, who was of the best connections in Boston,

who absolutely murdered a lad from Boston that went out with him before the mast to Sumatra, by keeping

him hard at work while ill of the coast fever, and obliging him to sleep in the close steerage. (The same

In fact, taking together all that I learned from him of seamanship, of the history of sailors' lives, of practical

wisdom, and of human nature under new circumstances, a great history from which many are shut out, I

would not part with the hours I spent in the watch with that man for any given hours of my life passed in

Sunday, Oct. 11th. Set sail this morning for the leeward; passed within sight of San Pedro, and, to our great

joy, did not come to anchor, but kept directly on to San Diego, where we arrived and moored ship on.

Thursday, Oct. 15th. Found here the Italian ship La Rosa, from the windward, which reported the brig

Pilgrim at San Francisco, all well. Everything was as quiet here as usual. We discharged our hides, horns, and

tallow, and were ready to sail again on the following Sunday. I went ashore to my old quarters, and found the

gang at the hidehouse going on in the even tenor of their way, and spent an hour or two, after dark, at the

oven, taking a whiff with my old Kanaka friends, who really seemed glad to see me again, and saluted me as

the Aikane of the Kanakas. I was grieved to find that my poor dog Bravo was dead. He had sickened and died

Sunday was again, as usual, our sailing day, and we got under weigh with a stiff breeze, which reminded us

that it was the latter part of the autumn, and time to expect southeasters once more. We beat up against a

strong head wind, under reefed topsails, as far as San Juan, where we came to anchor nearly three miles

from the shore, with slipropes on our cables, in the old southeaster style of last winter. On the passage up,

we had an old sea captain on board, who had married and settled in California, and had not been on salt water

for more than fifteen years. He was astonished at the changes and improvements that had been made in ships,

and still more at the manner in which we carried sail; for he was really a little frightened; and said that while

we had topgallant sails on, he should have been under reefed topsails. The working of the ship, and her

progress to windward, seemed to delight him, for he said she went to windward as though she were kedging.

Tuesday, Oct. 20th. Having got everything ready, we set the agent ashore, who went up to the mission to

hasten down the hides for the next morning. This night we had the strictest orders to look out for

southeasters; and the long, low clouds seemed rather threatening. But the night passed over without any

trouble, and early the next morning, we hove out the longboat and pinnace, lowered away the quarterboats,

and went ashore to bring off our hides. Here we were again, in this romantic spot; a perpendicular hill, twice

the height of the ship's masthead, with a single circuitous path to the top, and long sand beach at its base,

with the swell of the whole Pacific breaking high upon it, and our hides ranged in piles on the overhanging

summit. The captain sent me, who was the only one of the crew that had ever been there before, to the top, to

count the hides and pitch them down. There I stood again, as six months before, throwing off the hides, and

watching them, pitching and scaling, to the bottom, while the men, dwarfed by the distance, were walking to

and fro on the beach, carrying the hides, as they picked them up, to the distant boats, upon the tops of their

heads. Two or three boatloads were sent off, until, at last, all were thrown down, and the boats nearly loaded

again; when we were delayed by a dozen or twenty hides which had lodged in the recesses of the hill, and

which we could not reach by any missiles, as the general line of the side was exactly perpendicular, and these

places were caved in, and could not be seen or reached from the top. As hides are worth in Boston twelve and

a half cents a pound, and the captain's commission was two per cent, he determined not to give them up; and

sent on board for a pair of topgallant studdingsail halyards, and requested some one of the crew to go to

the top, and come down by the halyards. The older sailors said the boys, who were light and active, ought to

go, while the boys thought that strength and experience were necessary. Seeing the dilemma, and feeling

myself to be near the medium of these requisites, I offered my services, and went up, with one man to tend

We found a stake fastened strongly into the ground, and apparently capable of holding my weight, to which

we made one end of the halyards well fast, and taking the coil, threw it over the brink. The end, we saw, just

reached to a landingplace, from which the descent to the beach was easy. Having nothing on but shirt,

trowsers, and hat, the common searig of warm weather, I had no stripping to do, and began my descent, by

taking hold of the rope in each hand, and slipping down, sometimes with hands and feet round the rope, and

sometimes breasting off with one hand and foot against the precipice, and holding on to the rope with the

other. In this way I descended until I came to a place which shelved in, and in which the hides were lodged.

Keeping hold of the rope with one hand, I scrambled in, and by the other hand and feet succeeded in

dislodging all the hides, and continued on my way. Just below this place, the precipice projected again, and

going over the projection, I could see nothing below me but the sea and the rocks upon which it broke, and a

few gulls flying in midair. I got down in safety, pretty well covered with dirt; and for my pains was told,

While we were carrying the hides to the boat, I perceived, what I had been too busy to observe before, that

heavy black clouds were rolling up from seaward, a strong swell heaving in, and every sign of a southeaster.

The captain hurried everything. The hides were pitched into the boats; and, with some difficulty, and by

wading nearly up to our armpits, we got the boats through the surf, and began pulling aboard. Our gig's crew

towed the pinnace astern of the gig, and the launch was towed by six men in the jollyboat. The ship was

lying three miles off, pitching at her anchor, and the farther we pulled, the heavier grew the swell. Our boat

stood nearly up and down several times; the pinnace parted her towline, and we expected every moment to

see the launch swamped. We at length got alongside, our boats half full of water; and now came the greatest

difficulty of all, unloading the boats, in a heavy sea, which pitched them about so that it was almost

impossible to stand in them; raising them sometimes even with the rail, and again dropping them below the

bends. With great difficulty, we got all the hides aboard and stowed under hatches, the yard and stay tackles

hooked on, and the launch and pinnace hoisted, checked, and griped. The quarterboats were then hoisted up,

and we began heaving in on the chain. Getting the anchor was no easy work in such a sea, but as we were not

coming back to this port, the captain determined not to slip. The ship's head pitched into the sea, and the

water rushed through the hawseholes, and the chain surged so as almost to unship the barrel of the windlass.

"Hove short, sir!" said the mate. "Aye, aye! Weatherbit your chain and loose the topsails! Make sail on her,

men with a will!" A few moments served to loose the topsails, which were furled with reefs, to sheet them

home, and hoist them up. "Bear a hand!" was the order of the day; and every one saw the necessity of it, for

the gale was already upon us. The ship broke out her own anchor, which we catted and fished, after a fashion,

and stood off from the leeshore against a heavy head sea, under reefed topsails, foretopmast staysail and

spanker. The fore course was given to her, which helped her a little; but as she hardly held her own against

the sea which was settling her leeward "Board the main tack!" shouted the captain; when the tack was

carried forward and taken to the windlass, and all hands called to the handspikes. The great sail bellied out

horizontally as though it would lift up the main stay; the blocks rattled and flew about; but the force of

machinery was too much for her. "Heave ho! Heave and pawl! Yo, heave, hearty, ho!" and, in time with the

song, by the force of twenty strong arms, the windlass came slowly round, pawl after pawl, and the weather

clew of the sail was brought down to the waterways. The starboard watch hauled aft the sheet, and the ship

tore through the water like a mad horse, quivering and shaking at every joint, and dashing from its head the

foam, which flew off at every blow, yards and yards to leeward. A half hour of such sailing served our turn,

when the clews of the sail were hauled up, the sail furled, and the ship, eased of her press, went more quietly

on her way. Soon after, the foresail was reefed, and we mizentop men were sent up to take another reef in

the mizen topsail. This was the first time I had taken a weather earing, and I felt not a little proud to sit,

astride of the weather yardarm, pass the earing, and sing out "Haul out to leeward!" From this time until we

got to Boston, the mate never suffered any one but our own gang to go upon the mizen topsail yard, either for

reefing or furling, and the young English lad and myself generally took the earings between us.

Having cleared the point and got well out to sea, we squared away the yards, made more sail, and stood on,

nearly before the wind, for San Pedro. It blew strong, with some rain, nearly all night, but fell calm toward

Thursday, Oct. 22d, at San Pedro, in the old southeaster berth, a league from shore, with a sliprope on the

cable, reefs in the topsails, and ropeyarns for gaskets. Here we lay ten days, with the usual boating,

hidecarrying, rolling of cargo up the steep hill, walking barefooted over stones, and getting drenched in salt

The third day after our arrival, the Rosa came in from San Juan, where she went the day after the

southeaster. Her crew said it was as smooth as a millpond, after the gale, and she took off nearly a

thousand hides, which had been brought down for us, and which we lost in consequence of the southeaster.

This mortified us; not only that an Italian ship should have got to windward of us in the trade, but because

every thousand hides went toward completing the forty thousand which we were to collect before we could

While lying here, we shipped one new hand, an Englishman, of about two or three and twenty, who was quite

an acquisition, as he proved to be a good sailor, could sing tolerably, and, what was of more importance to

me, had a good education, and a somewhat remarkable history. He called himself George P. Marsh; professed

to have been at sea from a small boy, and to have served his time in the smuggling trade between Germany

and the coasts of France and England. Thus he accounted for his knowledge of the French language, which he

spoke and read as well as he did English; but his cutter education would not account for his English, which

was far too good to have been learned in a smuggler; for he wrote an uncommonly handsome hand, spoke

with great correctness, and frequently, when in private talk with me, quoted from books, and showed a

knowledge of the customs of society, and particularly of the formalities of the various English courts of law,

and of Parliament, which surprised me. Still, he would give no other account of himself than that he was

educated in a smuggler. A man whom we afterwards fell in with, who had been a shipmate of George's a few

years before, said that he heard at the boardinghouse from which they shipped, that George had been at

college, (probably a naval one, as he knew no Latin or Greek,) where he learned French and mathematics. He

was by no means the man by nature that Harris was. Harris had made everything of his mind and character in

spite of obstacles; while this man had evidently been born in a different rank, and educated early in life

accordingly, but had been a vagabond, and done nothing for himself since. What had been given to him by

others, was all that made him to differ from those about him; while Harris had made himself what he was.

Neither had George the character, strength of mind, acuteness, or memory of Harris; yet there was about him

the remains of a pretty good education, which enabled him to talk perhaps beyond his brains, and a high spirit

and sense of honor, which years of a dog's life had not broken. After he had been a little while on board, we

learned from him his remarkable history, for the last two years, which we afterwards heard confirmed in such

He sailed from New York in the year 1833, if I mistake not, before the mast, in the brig Lascar, for Canton.

She was sold in the East Indies, and he shipped at Manilla, in a small schooner, bound on a trading voyage

among the Ladrone and Pelew Islands. On one of the latter islands, their schooner was wrecked on a reef, and

they were attacked by the natives, and, after a desperate resistance, in which all their number except the

captain, George, and a boy, were killed or drowned, they surrendered, and were carried bound, in a canoe, to

a neighboring island. In about a month after this, an opportunity occurred by which one of their number

might get away. I have forgotten the circumstances, but only one could go, and they yielded to the captain,

upon his promising to send them aid if he escaped. He was successful in his attempt; got on board an

American vessel, went back to Manilla, and thence to America, without making any effort for their rescue, or

indeed, as George afterwards discovered, without even mentioning their case to any one in Manilla. The boy

that was with George died, and he being alone, and there being no chance for his escape, the natives soon

treated him with kindness, and even with attention. They painted him, tattooed his body, (for he would never

consent to be marked in the face or hands,) gave him two or three wives; and, in fact, made quite a pet of him.

In this way, he lived for thirteen months, in a fine climate, with a plenty to eat, half naked, and nothing to do.

He soon, however, became tired, and went round the island, on different pretences, to look out for a sail. One

day, he was out fishing in a small canoe with another man, when he saw a large sail to the windward, about a

league and a half off, passing abreast of the island and standing westward. With some difficulty, he persuaded

the islander to go off with him to the ship, promising to return with a good supply of rum and tobacco. These

articles, which the islanders had got a taste of from American traders, were too strong a temptation for the

fellow, and he consented. They paddled off in the track of the ship, and layto until she came down to them.

George stepped on board the ship, nearly naked, painted from head to foot, and in no way distinguishable

from his companion until he began to speak. Upon this, the people on board were not a little astonished; and,

having learned his story, the captain had him washed and clothed, and sending away the poor astonished

native with a knife or two and some tobacco and calico, took George with him on the voyage. This was the

ship Cabot, of New York, Captain Low. She was bound to Manilla, from across the Pacific, and George did

seaman's duty in her until her arrival in Manilla, when he left her, and shipped in a brig bound to the

Sandwich Islands. From Oahu, he came, in the British brig Clementine, to Monterey, as second officer,

where, having some difficulty with the captain, he left her, and coming down the coast, joined us at San

Pedro. Nearly six months after this, among some papers we received by an arrival from Boston, we found a

letter from Captain Low, of the Cabot, published immediately upon his arrival at New York, and giving all

the particulars just as we had them from George. The letter was published for the information of the friends

of George, and Captain Low added, that he left him at Manilla to go to Oahu, and he had heard nothing of

George had an interesting journal of his adventures in the Pelew Islands, which he had written out at length,

Sunday, November 1st. Sailed this day, (Sunday again,) for Santa Barbara, where we arrived on the 5th.

Coming round St. Buenaventura, and nearing the anchorage, we saw two vessels in port, a large fullrigged,

and a small hermaphrodite brig. The former, the crew said must be the Pilgrim; but I had been too long in the

Pilgrim to be mistaken in her, and I was right in differing from them; for, upon nearer approach, her long, low

shear, sharp bows, and raking masts, told quite another story. "Manof war brig," said some of them;

"Baltimore clipper," said others; the Ayacucho, thought I; and soon the broad folds of the beautiful banner of

St. George, white field with bloodred border and cross; were displayed from her peak. A few minutes put

it beyond a doubt, and we were lying by the side of the Ayacucho, which had sailed from San Diego about

nine months before, while we were lying there in the Pilgrim. She had since been to Valparaiso, Callao, and

the Sandwich Islands, and had just come upon the coast. Her boat came on board, bringing Captain Wilson;

and in half an hour the news was all over the ship that there was a war between the United States and France.

Exaggerated accounts reached the forecastle. Battles had been fought, a large French fleet was in the Pacific,

etc., etc.; and one of the boat's crew of the Ayacucho said that when they left Callao, a large French frigate

and the American frigate Brandywine, which were lying there, were going outside to have a battle, and that

the English frigate Blonde was to be umpire, and see fair play. Here was important news for us. Alone, on an

unprotected coast, without an American manofwar within some thousands of miles, and the prospect of a

voyage home through the whole length of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans! A French prison seemed a much

more probable place of destination than the good port of Boston. However, we were too salt to believe every

yarn that comes into the forecastle, and waited to hear the truth of the matter from higher authority. By means

of a supercargo's clerk, I got the account of the matter, which was, that the governments had difficulty about

the payment of a debt; that war had been threatened and prepared for, but not actually declared, although it

was pretty generally anticipated. This was not quite so bad, yet was no small cause of anxiety. But we cared

very little about the matter ourselves. "Happy go lucky" with Jack! We did not believe that a French prison

would be much worse than "hidedroghing" on the coast of California; and no one who has not been on a

long, dull voyage, shut up in one ship, can conceive of the effect of monotony upon one's thoughts and

wishes. The prospect of a change is like a green spot in a desert, and the remotest probability of great events

and exciting scenes gives a feeling of delight, and sets life in motion, so as to give a pleasure, which any one

not in the same state would be entirely unable to account for. In fact, a more jovial night we had not passed in

the forecastle for months. Every one seemed in unaccountably high spirits. An undefined anticipation of

radical changes, of new scenes, and great doings, seemed to have possessed every one, and the common

drudgery of the vessel appeared contemptible. Here was a new vein opened; a grand theme of conversation,

and a topic for all sorts of discussions. National feeling was wrought up. Jokes were cracked upon the only

Frenchman in the ship, and comparisons made between "old horse" and "soup meagre," etc., etc.

We remained in uncertainty as to this war for more than two months, when an arrival from the Sandwich

The other vessel which we found in port was the hermaphrodite brig Avon, from the Sandwich Islands. She

was fitted up in handsome style; fired a gun and ran her ensign up and down at sunrise and sunset; had a band

of four or five pieces of music on board, and appeared rather like a pleasure yacht than a trader; yet, in

connection with the Loriotte, Clementine, Bolivar, Convoy, and other small vessels, belonging to sundry

Americans at Oahu, she carried on a great trade legal and illegal in otter skins, silks, teas, specie, etc.

The second day after our arrival, a fullrigged brig came round the point from the northward, sailed leisurely

through the bay, and stood off again for the southeast, in the direction of the large island of Catalina. The

next day the Avon got under weigh, and stood in the same direction, bound for San Pedro. This might do for

marines and Californians, but we knew the ropes too well. The brig was never again seen on the coast, and

the Avon arrived at San Pedro in about a week, with a full cargo of Canton and American goods.

This was one of the means of escaping the heavy duties the Mexicans lay upon all imports. A vessel comes

on the coast, enters a moderate cargo at Monterey, which is the only customhouse, and commences trading.

In a month or more, having sold a large part of her cargo, she stretches over to Catalina, or other of the large

uninhabited islands which lie off the coast, in a trip from port to port, and supplies herself with choice goods

from a vessel from Oahu, which has been lying off and on the islands, waiting for her. Two days after the

sailing of the Avon, the Loriotte came in from the leeward, and without doubt had also a snatch at the brig's

Tuesday, Nov. 10th. Going ashore, as usual, in the gig, just before sundown, to bring off the captain, we

found, upon taking in the captain and pulling off again, that our ship, which lay the farthest out, had run up

her ensign. This meant "Sail ho!" of course, but as we were within the point we could see nothing. "Give

way, boys! Give way! Lay out on your oars, and long stroke!" said the captain; and stretching to the whole

length of our arms, bending back again, so that our backs touched the thwarts, we sent her through the water

like a rocket. A few minutes of such pulling opened the islands, one after another, in range of the point, and

gave us a view of the Canal, where was a ship, under topgallant sails, standing in, with a light breeze, for the

anchorage. Putting the boat's head in the direction of the ship, the captain told us to lay out again; and we

needed no spurring, for the prospect of boarding a new ship, perhaps from home, hearing the news and

having something to tell of when we got back, was excitement enough for us, and we gave way with a will.

Captain Nye, of the Loriotte, who had been an old whaleman, was in the sternsheets, and fell mightily into

the spirit of it. "Bend your backs and break your oars!" said he. "Lay me on, Captain Bunker!" "There she

flukes!" and other exclamations, peculiar to whalemen. In the meantime, it fell flat calm, and being within a

couple of miles of the ship, we expected to board her in a few moments, when a sudden breeze sprung up,

dead ahead for the ship, and she braced up and stood off toward the islands, sharp on the larboard tack,

making good way through the water. This, of course, brought us up, and we had only to "ease larboard oars;

pull round starboard!" and go aboard the Alert, with something very like a flea in the ear. There was a light

landbreeze all night, and the ship did not come to anchor until the next morning. As soon as her anchor was

down, we went aboard, and found her to be the whaleship, Wilmington and Liverpool Packet, of New

Bedford, last from the "offshore ground," with nineteen hundred barrels of oil. A "spouter" we knew her to

be as soon as we saw her, by her cranes and boats, and by her stump topgallant masts, and a certain slovenly

look to the sails, rigging, spars and hull; and when we got on board, we found everything to

correspond,spouter fashion. She had a false deck, which was rough and oily, and cut up in every direction

by the chimes of oil casks; her rigging was slack and turning white; no paint on the spars or blocks; clumsy

seizings and straps without covers, and homewardbound splices in every direction. Her crew, too, were not

in much better order. Her captain was a slabsided, shamblelegged Quaker, in a suit of brown, with a

broadbrimmed hat, and sneaking about decks, like a sheep, with his head down; and the men looked more

Though it was by no means cold weather, (we having on only our red shirts and duck trowsers,) they all had

on woollen trowsers not blue and shipshape but of all colors brown, drab, grey, aye, and green, with

suspenders over their shoulders, and pockets to put their hands in. This, added to guernsey frocks, striped

comforters about the neck, thick cowhide boots, woollen caps, and a strong, oily smell, and a decidedly green

look, will complete the description. Eight or ten were on the foretopsail yard, and as many more in the main,

furling the topsails, while eight or ten were hanging about the forecastle, doing nothing. This was a strange

sight for a vessel coming to anchor; so we went up to them, to see what was the matter. One of them, a stout,

heartylooking fellow, held out his leg and said he had the scurvy; another had cut his hand; and others had

got nearly well, but said that there were plenty aloft to furl the sails, so they were sogering on the forecastle.

There was only one "splicer" on board, a finelooking old tar, who was in the bunt of the foretopsail. He

was probably the only sailor in the ship, before the mast. The mates, of course, and the boatsteerers, and

also two or three of the crew, had been to sea before, but only whaling voyages; and the greater part of the

crew were raw hands, just from the bush, as green as cabbages, and had not yet got the hayseed out of their

heads. The mizen topsail hung in the buntlines until everything was furled forward. Thus a crew of thirty

men were half an hour in doing what would have been done in the Alert with eighteen hands to go aloft, in

We found they had been at sea six or eight months, and had no news to tell us; so we left them, and promised

to get liberty to come on board in the evening, for some curiosities, etc. Accordingly, as soon as we were

knocked off in the evening and had got supper, we obtained leave, took a boat, and went aboard and spent an

hour or two. They gave us pieces of whalebone, and the teeth and other parts of curious sea animals, and we

exchanged books with them a practice very common among ships in foreign ports, by which you get rid of

the books you have read and reread, and a supply of new ones in their stead, and Jack is not very nice as to

Thursday, Nov. 12th. This day was quite cool in the early part, and there were black clouds about; but as it

was often so in the morning, nothing was apprehended, and all the captains went ashore together, to spend the

day. Towards noon, the clouds hung heavily over the mountains, coming half way down the hills that encircle

the town of Santa Barbara, and a heavy swell rolled in from the southeast. The mate immediately ordered

the gig's crew away, and at the same time, we saw boats pulling ashore from the other vessels. Here was a

grand chance for a rowing match, and every one did his best. We passed the boats of the Ayacucho and

Loriotte, but could gain nothing upon, and indeed, hardly hold our own with, the long, sixoared boat of the

whaleship. They reached the breakers before us; but here we had the advantage of them, for, not being used

to the surf, they were obliged to wait to see us beach our boat, just as, in the same place, nearly a year before,

We had hardly got the boats beached, and their heads out, before our old friend, Bill Jackson, the handsome

English sailor, who steered the Loriotte's boat, called out that the brig was adrift; and, sure enough, she was

dragging her anchors, and drifting down into the bight of the bay. Without waiting for the captain, (for there

was no one on board but the mate and steward,) he sprung into the boat, called the Kanakas together, and

tried to put off. But the Kanakas, though capital waterdogs, were frightened by their vessel's being adrift,

and by the emergency of the case, and seemed to lose their faculties. Twice, their boat filled, and came

broadside upon the beach. Jackson swore at them for a parcel of savages, and promised to flog every one of

them. This made the matter no better; when we came forward, told the Kanakas to take their seats in the boat,

and, going two on each side, walked out with her till it was up to our shoulders, and gave them a shove,

when, giving way with their oars, they got her safely into the long, regular swell. In the mean time, boats had

put off from our ships and the whaler, and coming all on board the brig together, they let go the other anchor,

In a few minutes, the captains came hurrying down, on the run; and there was no time to be lost, for the gale

promised to be a severe one, and the surf was breaking upon the beach, three deep, higher and higher every

instant. The Ayacucho's boat, pulled by four Kanakas, put off first, and as they had no rudder or steering oar,

would probably never have got off, had we not waded out with them, as far as the surf would permit. The

next that made the attempt was the whaleboat, for we, being the most experienced "beachcombers,"

needed no help, and staid till the last. Whalemen make the best boats' crews in the world for a long pull, but

this landing was new to them, and notwithstanding the examples they had had, they slued round and were

hove up boat, oars, and men altogether, high and dry upon the sand. The second time, they filled, and had

to turn their boat over, and set her off again. We could be of no help to them, for they were so many as to be

in one another's way, without the addition of our numbers. The third time, they got off, though not without

shipping a sea which drenched them all, and half filled their boat, keeping them baling, until they reached

their ship. We now got ready to go off, putting the boat's head out; English Ben and I, who were the largest,

standing on each side of the bows, to keep her "head on" to the sea, two more shipping and manning the two

after oars, and the captain taking the steering oar. Two or three Spaniards, who stood upon the beach looking

at us, wrapped their cloaks about them, shook their heads, and muttered "Caramba!" They had no taste for

such doings; in fact, the hydrophobia is a national malady, and shows itself in their persons as well as their

Watching for a "smooth chance," we determined to show the other boats the way it should be done; and, as

soon as ours floated, ran out with her, keeping her head on, with all our strength, and the help of the captain's

oar, and the two after oarsmen giving way regularly and strongly, until our feet were off the ground, we

tumbled into the bows, keeping perfectly still, from fear of hindering the others. For some time it was

doubtful how it would go. The boat stood nearly up and down in the water, and the sea, rolling from under

her, let her fall upon the water with a force which seemed almost to stave her bottom in. By quietly sliding

two oars forward, along the thwarts, without impeding the rowers, we shipped two bow oars, and thus, by the

help of four oars and the captain's strong arm, we got safely off, though we shipped several seas, which left

us half full of water. We pulled alongside of the Loriotte, put her skipper on board, and found her making

preparations for slipping, and then pulled aboard our own ship. Here Mr. Brown, always "on hand," had got

everything ready, so that we had only to hook on the gig and hoist it up, when the order was given to loose

the sails. While we were on the yards, we saw the Loriotte under weigh, and before our yards were

mastheaded, the Ayacucho had spread her wings, and, with yards braced sharp up, was standing athwart our

hawse. There is no prettier sight in the world than a fullrigged, clipperbuilt brig, sailing sharp on the wind.

In a moment, our sliprope was gone, the headyards filled away, and we were off. Next came the whaler;

and in a half an hour from the time when four vessels were lying quietly at anchor, without a rag out, or a

sign of motion, the bay was deserted, and four white clouds were standing off to sea. Being sure of clearing

the point, we stood off with our yards a little braced in, while the Ayacucho went off with a taught bowline,

which brought her to windward of us. During all this day, and the greater part of the night, we had the usual

southeaster entertainment, a gale of wind, variegated and finally topped off with a drenching rain of three or

four hours. At daybreak, the clouds thinned off and rolled away, and the sun came up clear. The wind, instead

of coming out from the northward, as is usual, blew steadily and freshly from the anchoringground. This

was bad for us, for, being "flying light," with little more than ballast trim, we were in no condition for

showing off on a taught bowline, and had depended upon a fair wind, with which, by the help of our light

sails and studdingsails, we meant to have been the first at the anchoringground; but the Ayacucho was a

good league to windward of us, and was standing in, in fine style. The whaler, however, was as far to leeward

of us, and the Loriotte was nearly out of sight, among the islands, up the Canal. By hauling every brace and

bowline, and clapping watchtackles upon all the sheets and halyards, we managed to hold our own, and drop

the leeward vessels a little in every tack. When we reached the anchoringground, the Ayacucho had got her

anchor, furled her sails, squared her yards, and was lying as quietly as if nothing had happened for the last

We had our usual good luck in getting our anchor without letting go another, and were all snug, with our

boats at the boomends, in half an hour. In about two hours more, the whaler came in, and made a clumsy

piece of work in getting her anchor, being obliged to let go her best bower, and finally, to get out a kedge and

a hawser. They were heavehoing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting, and fishing, for three hours;

and the sails hung from the yards all the afternoon, and were not furled until sundown. The Loriotte came in

just after dark, and let go her anchor, making no attempt to pick up the other until the next day.

This affair led to a great dispute as to the sailing of our ship and the Ayacucho. Bets were made between the

captains, and the crews took it up in their own way; but as she was bound to leeward and we to windward,

and merchant captains cannot deviate, a trial never took place; and perhaps it was well for us that it did not,

for the Ayacucho had been eight years in the Pacific, in every part of it Valparaiso, Sandwich Islands,

Canton, California, and all, and was called the fastest merchantman that traded in the Pacific, unless it was

Saturday, Nov. 14th. This day we got under weigh, with the agent and several Spaniards of note, as

passengers, bound up to Monterey. We went ashore in the gig to bring them off with their baggage, and found

them waiting on the beach, and a little afraid about going off, as the surf was running very high. This was

nuts to us; for we liked to have a Spaniard wet with salt water; and then the agent was very much disliked by

the crew, one and all; and we hoped, as there was no officer in the boat, to have a chance to duck them; for

we knew that they were such "marines" that they would not know whether it was our fault or not.

Accordingly, we kept the boat so far from shore as to oblige them to wet their feet in getting into her; and

then waited for a good high comber, and letting the head slue a little round, sent the whole force of the sea

into the sternsheets, drenching them from head to feet. The Spaniards sprang out of the boat, swore, and

shook themselves and protested against trying it again; and it was with the greatest difficulty that the agent

could prevail upon them to make another attempt. The next time we took care, and went off easily enough,

and pulled aboard. The crew came to the side to hoist in their baggage, and we gave them the wink, and they

Everything being now ready, and the passengers aboard, we ran up the ensign and broad pennant, (for there

was no manofwar, and we were the largest vessel on the coast,) and the other vessels ran up their ensigns.

Having hove short, cast off the gaskets, and made the bunt of each sail fast by the jigger, with a man on each

yard; at the word, the whole canvas of the ship was loosed, and with the greatest rapidity possible, everything

was sheeted home and hoisted up, the anchor tripped and catheaded, and the ship under headway. We were

determined to show the "spouter" how things could be done in a smart ship, with a good crew, though not

more than half their number. The royal yards were all crossed at once, and royals and skysails set, and, as we

had the wind free, the booms were run out, and every one was aloft, active as cats, laying out on the yards

and booms, reeving the studdingsail gear; and sail after sail the captain piled upon her, until she was

covered with canvas, her sails looking like a great white cloud resting upon a black speck. Before we doubled

the point, we were going at a dashing rate, and leaving the shipping far astern. We had a fine breeze to take us

through the Canal, as they call this bay of forty miles long by ten wide. The breeze died away at night, and

we were becalmed all day on Sunday, about half way between Santa Barbara and Point Conception. Sunday

night we had a light, fair wind, which set us up again; and having a fine seabreeze on the first part of

Monday, we had the prospect of passing, without any trouble, Point Conception, the Cape Horn of

California, where it begins to blow the first of January, and blows all the year round. Toward the latter part of

the afternoon, however, the regular northwest wind, as usual, set in, which brought in our studdingsails, and

gave us the chance of beating round the Point, which we were now just abreast of, and which stretched off

into the Pacific, high, rocky and barren, forming the central point of the coast for hundreds of miles north and

south. A capfull of wind will be a bagfull here, and before night our royals were furled, and the ship was

laboring hard under her topgallant sails. At eight bells our watch went below, leaving her with as much sail

as she could stagger under, the water flying over the forecastle at every plunge. It was evidently blowing

harder, but then there was not a cloud in the sky, and the sun had gone down bright.

We had been below but a short time, before we had the usual premonitions of a coming gale: seas washing

over the whole forward part of the vessel, and her bows beating against them with a force and sound like the

driving of piles. The watch, too, seemed very busy trampling about decks, and singing out at the ropes. A

sailor can always tell, by the sound, what sail is coming in, and, in a short time, we heard the topgallant sails

come in, one topgallant sails come in, one after another, and then the flying jib. This seemed to ease her a

good deal, and we were fast going off to the land of Nod, when bang, bang, bang on the scuttle, and "All

hands, reef topsails, ahoy!" started us out of our berths; and, it not being very cold weather, we had nothing

extra to put on, and were soon on deck. I shall never forget the fineness of the sight. It was a clear, and rather

a chilly night; the stars were twinkling with an intense brightness, and as far as the eye could reach, there was

not a cloud to be seen. The horizon met the sea in a defined line. A painter could not have painted so clear a

sky. There was not a speck upon it. Yet it was blowing great guns from the northwest. When you can see a

cloud to windward, you feel that there is a place for the wind to come from; but here it seemed to come from

nowhere. No person could have told, from the heavens, by their eyesight alone, that it was not a summer's

night. One reef after another, we took in the topsails, the sails, and before we could get them hoisted up, we

heard a sound like a short, quick rattling of thunder, and the jib was blown to atoms out of the boltrope. We

got the topsails set, and the fragments of the jib stowed away, and the foretopmast staysail set in its place,

when the great mainsail gaped open, and the sail ripped from head to foot. "Lay up on that mainyard and

furl the sail, before it blows to tatters!" shouted the captain; and in a moment, we were up, gathering the

remains of it upon the yard. We got it wrapped, round the yard, and passed gaskets over it as snugly as

possible, and were just on deck again, when, with another loud rent, which was heard throughout the ship, the

foretopsail, which had been doublereefed, split in two, athwartships, just below the reefband, from earing

to earing. Here again it was down yard, haul out reeftackles, and lay out upon the yard for reefing. By

hauling the reeftackles chockablock, we took the strain from the other earings, and passing the closereef

earing, and knotting the points carefully, we succeeded in setting the sail, closereefed.

We had but just got the rigging coiled up, and were waiting to hear "go below the watch!" when the main

royal worked loose from the gaskets, and blew directly out to leeward, flapping, and shaking the mast like a

wand. Here was a job for somebody. The royal must come in or be cut adrift, or the mast would be snapped

short off. All the light hands in the starboard watch were sent up, one after another, but they could do nothing

with it. At length, John, the tall Frenchman, the head of the starboard watch, (and a better sailor never stepped

upon a deck,) sprang aloft, and, by the help of his long arms and legs, succeeded, after a hard struggle, the

sail blowing over the yardarm to leeward, and the skysail blowing directly over his head' in smothering it,

and frapping it with long pieces of sinnet. He came very near being blown or shaken from the yard, several

times, but he was a true sailor, every finger a fishhook. Having made the sail snug, he prepared to send the

yard down, which was a long and difficult job; for, frequently, he was obliged to stop and hold on with all his

might, for several minutes, the ship pitching so as to make it impossible to do anything else at that height.

The yard at length came down safe, and after it, the fore and mizen royalyards were sent down. All hands

were then sent aloft, and for an hour or two we were hard at work, making the booms well fast; unreeving the

studdingsail and royal and skysail gear; getting rollingropes on the yards; setting up the weather

breastbackstays; and making other preparations for a storm. It was a fine night for a gale; just cool and

bracing enough for quick work, without being cold, and as bright as day. It was sport to have a gale in such

weather as this. Yet it blew like a hurricane. The wind seemed to come with a spite, an edge to it, which

threatened to scrape us off the yards. The mere force of the wind was greater than I had ever seen it before;

Having got on deck again, we looked round to see what time of night it was, and whose watch. In a few

minutes the man at the wheel struck four bells, and we found that the other watch was out, and our own half

out. Accordingly, the starboard watch went below, and left the ship to us for a couple of hours, yet with

Hardly had they got below, before away went the foretopmast staysail, blown to ribbons. This was a small

sail, which we could manage in the watch, so that we were not obliged to call up the other watch. We laid out

upon the bowsprit, where we were under water half the time, and took in the fragments of the sail, and as she

must have some head sail on her, prepared to bend another staysail. We got the new one out, into the nettings;

seized on the tack, sheets, and halyards, and the hanks; manned the halyards, cut adrift the trapping lines, and

hoisted away; but before it was half way up the stay, it was blown all to pieces. When we belayed the

halyards, there was nothing left but the boltrope. Now large eyes began to show themselves in the foresail,

and knowing that it must soon go, the mate ordered us upon the yard to furl it. Being unwilling to call up the

watch who had been on deck all night, he roused out the carpenter, sailmaker, cook, steward, and other idlers,

and, with their help, we manned the foreyard, and after nearly half an hour's struggle, mastered the sail, and

got it well furled round the yard. The force of the wind had never been greater than at this moment. In going

up the rigging, it seemed absolutely to pin us down to the shrouds; and on the yard, there was no such thing

as turning a face to windward. Yet here was no driving sleet, and darkness, and wet, and cold, as off Cape

Horn; and instead of a stiff oilcloth suit, southwester caps, and thick boots, we had on hats, round jackets,

duck trowsers, light shoes, and everything light and easy. All these things make a great difference to a sailor.

When we got on deck, the man at the wheel struck eight bells, (four o'clock in the morning,) and "All

starbowlines, ahoy!" brought the other watch up. But there was no going below for us. The gale was now at

its height, "blowing like scissors and thumbscrews;" the captain was on deck; the ship, which was light,

rolling and pitching as though she would shake the long sticks out of her; and the sail gaping open and

splitting, in every direction. The mizen topsail, which was a comparatively new sail, and closereefed, split,

from head to foot, in the bunt; the foretopsail went, in one rent, from clew to earing, and was blowing to

tatters; one of the chain bobstays parted; the spritsailyard sprung in the slings; the martingale had slued

away off to leeward; and, owing to the long dry weather, the lee rigging hung in large bights, at every lurch.

One of the main topgallant shrouds had parted; and, to crown all, the galley had got adrift, and gone over to

leeward, and the anchor on the lee bow had worked loose, and was thumping the side. Here was work enough

for all hands for half a day. Our gang laid on the mizen topsail yard, and after more than half an hour's hard

work, furled the sail, though it bellied out over our heads, and again, by a slant of the wind blew in under the

Double gaskets were passed round the yards, rolling tackles and other gear bowsed taught, and everything

made as secure as could be. Coming down, we found the rest of the crew just coming down the fore rigging,

having furled the tattered topsail, or, rather, swathed it round the yard, which looked like a broken limb,

bandaged. There was no sail now on the ship but the spanker and the closereefed main topsail, which still

held good. But this was too much after sail; and order was given to furl the spanker. The brails were hauled

up, and all the light hands in the starboard watch sent out on the gaff to pass the gaskets; but they could do

nothing with it. The second mate swore at them for a parcel of "sogers," and sent up a couple of the best men;

but they could do no better, and the gaff was lowered down. All hands were now employed in setting up the

lee rigging, fishing the spritsailyard, lashing the galley, and getting tackles upon the martingale, to bowse it

to windward. Being in the larboard watch, my duty was forward, to assist in setting up the martingale. Three

of us were out on the martingale guys and backropes for more than half an hour, carrying out, hooking and

unhooking the tackles, several times buried in the seas, until the mate ordered us in, from fear of our being

washed off. The anchors were then to be taken up on the rail, which kept all hands on the forecastle for an

hour, though every now and then the seas broke over it, washing the rigging off to leeward, filling the lee

Having got everything secure again, we were promising ourselves some breakfast, for it was now nearly nine

o'clock in the forenoon, when the main topsail showed evident signs of giving way. Some sail must be kept

on the ship, and the captain ordered the fore and main spencer gaffs to be lowered down, and the two

spencers (which were storm sails, bran new, small, and made of the strongest canvas) to be got up and bent;

leaving the main topsail to blow away, with a blessing on it, if it would only last until we could set the

spencers. These we bent on very carefully, with strong robands and seizings, and making tackles fast to the

clews, bowsed them down to the waterways. By this time the main topsail was among the things that have

been, and we went aloft to stow away the remnant of the last sail of all those which were on the ship

twentyfour hours before. The spencers were now the only whole sails on the ship, and, being strong and

small, and near the deck, presenting but little surface to the wind above the rail, promised to hold out well.

Hoveto under these, and eased by having no sail above the tops, the ship rose and fell, and drifted off to

It was now eleven o'clock, and the watch was sent below to get breakfast, and at eight bells (noon), as

everything was snug, although the gale had not in the least abated, the watch was set, and the other watch and

idlers sent below. For three days and three nights, the gale continued with unabated fury, and with singular

regularity. There was no lulls, and very little variation in its fierceness. Our ship, being light, rolled so as

almost to send the fore yardarm under water, and drifted off bodily, to leeward. All this time there was not a

cloud to be seen in the sky, day or night; no, not so large as a man's hand. Every morning the sun rose

cloudless from the sea, and set again at night, in the sea, in a flood of light. The stars, too, came out of the

blue, one after another, night after night, unobscured, and twinkled as clear as on a still frosty night at home,

until the day came upon them. All this time, the sea was rolling in immense surges, white with foam, as far as

the eye could reach, on every side, for we were now leagues and leagues from shore.

The betweendecks being empty, several of us slept there in hammocks, which are the best things in the

world to sleep in during a storm; it not being true of them, as it is of another kind of bed, "when the wind

blows, the cradle will rock;" for it is the ship that rocks, while they always hang vertically from the beams.

During these seventytwo hours we had nothing to do, but to turn in and out, four hours on deck, and four

below, eat, sleep, and keep watch. The watches were only varied by taking the helm in turn, and now and

then, by one of the sails, which were furled, blowing out of the gaskets, and getting adrift, which sent us up

on the yards; and by getting tackles on different parts of the rigging, which were slack. Once, the wheelrope

parted, which might have been fatal to us, had not the chief mate sprung instantly with a relieving tackle to

windward, and kept the tiller up, till a new one could be rove. On the morning of the twentieth, at daybreak,

the gale had evidently done its worst, and had somewhat abated; so much so, that all hands were called to

bend new sails, although it was still blowing as hard as two common gales. One at a time, and with great

difficulty and labor, the old sails were unbent and sent down by the buntlines, and three new topsails, made

for the homeward passage round Cape Horn, and which had never been bent, were got up from the sailroom,

and under the care of the sailmaker, were fitted for bending, and sent up by the halyards into the tops, and,

with stops and frapping lines, were bent to the yards, closereefed, sheeted home, and hoisted. These were

done one at a time, and with the greatest care and difficulty. Two spare courses were then got up and bent in

the same manner and furled, and a stormjib, with the bonnet off, bent and furied to the boom. It was twelve

o'clock before we got through; and five hours of more exhausting labor I never experienced; and no one of

that ship's crew, I will venture to say, will ever desire again to unbend and bend five large sails, in the teeth of

a tremendous northwester. Towards night, a few clouds appeared in the horizon, and as the gale moderated,

the usual appearance of driving clouds relieved the face of the sky. The fifth day after the commencement of

the storm, we shook a reef out of each topsail, and set the reefed foresail, jib and spanker; but it was not until

after eight days of reefed topsails that we had a whole sail on the ship; and then it was quite soon enough, for

the captain was anxious to make up for leeway, the gale having blown us half the distance to the Sandwich

Inch by inch, as fast as the gale would permit, we made sail on the ship, for the wind still continued ahead,

and we had many days' sailing to get back to the longitude we were in when the storm took us. For eight days

more we beat to windward under a stiff topgallant breeze, when the wind shifted and became variable. A

light southeaster, to which we could carry a reefed topmast studdingsail, did wonders for our dead

Friday, December 4th, after a passage of twenty days, we arrived at the mouth of the bay of San Francisco.

Our place of destination had been Monterey, but as we were to the northward of it when the wind hauled

ahead, we made a fair wind for San Francisco. This large bay, which lies in latitude 37 deg. 58', was

discovered by Sir Francis Drake, and by him represented to be (as indeed it is) a magnificent bay, containing

several good harbors, great depth of water, and surrounded by a fertile and finely wooded country. About

thirty miles from the mouth of the bay, and on the southeast side, is a high point, upon which the presidio is

built. Behind this, is the harbor in which trading vessels anchor, and near it, the mission of San Francisco, and

a newly begun settlement, mostly of Yankee Californians, called Yerba Buena, which promises well. Here, at

anchor, and the only vessel, was a brig under Russian colors, from Asitka, in Russian America, which had

come down to winter, and to take in a supply of tallow and grain, great quantities of which latter article are

raised in the missions at the head of the bay. The second day after our arrival, we went on board the brig, it

being Sunday, as a matter of curiosity; and there was enough there to gratify it. Though no larger than the

Pilgrim, she had five or six officers, and a crew of between twenty and thirty; and such a stupid and

greasylooking set, I certainly never saw before. Although it was quite comfortable weather, and we had

nothing on but straw hats, shirts, and duck trowsers, and were barefooted, they had, every man of them,

doublesoled boots, coming up to the knees, and well greased; thick woolen trowsers, frocks, waistcoats,

peajackets, woolen caps, and everything in true Nova Zembla rig; and in the warmest days they made no

change. The clothing of one of these men would weigh nearly as much as that of half our crew. They had

brutish faces, looked like the antipodes of sailors, and apparently dealt in nothing but grease. They lived upon

grease; eat it, drank it, slept in the midst of it, and their clothes were covered with it. To a Russian, grease is

the greatest luxury. They looked with greedy eyes upon the tallowbags as they were taken into the vessel,

and, no doubt, would have eaten one up whole, had not the officer kept watch over it. The grease seemed

actually coming through their pores, and out in their hair, and on their faces. It seems as if it were this

saturation which makes them stand cold and rain so well. If they were to go into a warm climate, they would

The vessel was no better than the crew. Everything was in the oldest and most inconvenient fashion possible;

running trusses on the yards, and large hawser cables, coiled all over the decks, and served and parcelled in

all directions. The topmasts, topgallant masts and studdingsail booms were nearly black for want of

scraping, and the decks would have turned the stomach of a manofwar'sman. The galley was down in the

forecastle; and there the crew lived, in the midst of the steam and grease of the cooking, in a place as hot as

an oven, and as dirty as a piggy. Five minutes in the forecastle was enough for us, and we were glad to get

into the open air. We made some trade with them, buying Indian curiosities, of which they had a great

number; such as beadwork, feathers of birds, fur moccasins, etc. I purchased a large robe, made of the skins

of some animals, dried and sewed nicely together, and covered all over on the outside with thick downy

feathers, taken from the breasts of various birds, and arranged with their different colors, so as to make a

A few days after our arrival, the rainy season set in, and, for three weeks, it rained almost every hour, without

cessation. This was bad for our trade, for the collecting of hides is managed differently in this port from what

it is in any other on the coast. The mission of San Francisco near the anchorage, has no trade at all, but those

of San Jose, Santa Clara, and others, situated on large creeks or rivers which run into the bay, and distant

between fifteen and forty miles from the anchorage, do a greater business in hides than any in California.

Large boats, manned by Indians, and capable of carrying nearly a thousand hides apiece, are attached to the

missions, and sent down to the vessels with hides, to bring away goods in return. Some of the crews of the

vessels are obliged to go and come in the boats, to look out for the hides and goods. These are favorite

expeditions with the sailors, in fine weather; but now to be gone three or four days, in open boats, in constant

rain, without any shelter, and with cold food, was hard service. Two of our men went up to Santa Clara in one

of these boats, and were gone three days, during all which time they had a constant rain, and did not sleep a

wink, but passed three long nights, walking fore and aft the boat, in the open air. When they got on board,

they were completely exhausted, and took a watch below of twelve hours. All the hides, too, that came down

in the boats, were soaked with water, and unfit to put below, so that we were obliged to trice them up to dry,

in the intervals of sunshine or wind, upon all parts of the vessel. We got up tricinglines from the

jibboomend to each arm of the fore yard, and thence to the main and crossjack yardarms. Between the

tops, too, and the mastheads, from the fore to the main swifters, and thence to the mizen rigging, and in all

directions athwartships, tricinglines were run, and strung with hides. The head stays and guys, and the

spritsailyard, were lined, and, having still more, we got out the swinging booms, and strung them and the

forward and after guys, with hides. The rail, fore and aft, the windlass, capstan, the sides of the ship, and

every vacant place on deck, were covered with wet hides, on the least sign of an interval for drying. Our ship

was nothing but a mass of hides, from the catharpins to the water's edge, and from the jibboomend to the

One cold, rainy evening, about eight o'clock, I received orders to get ready to start for San Jose at four the

next morning, in one of these Indian boats, with four days' provisions. I got my oilcloth clothes,

southwester, and thick boots all ready, and turned into my hammock early, determined to get some sleep in

advance, as the boat was to be alongside before daybreak. I slept on till all hands were called in the morning;

for, fortunately for me, the Indians, intentionally, or from mistaking their orders, had gone off alone in the

night, and were far out of sight. Thus I escaped three or four days of very uncomfortable service.

Four of our men, a few days afterwards, went up in one of the quarterboats to Santa Clara, to carry the

agent, and remained out all night in a drenching rain, in the small boat, where there was not room for them to

turn round; the agent having gone up to the mission and left the men to their fate, making no provision for

their accommodation, and not even sending them anything to eat. After this, they had to pull thirty miles, and

when they got on board, were so stiff that they could not come up the gangway ladder. This filled up the

measure of the agent's unpopularity, and never after this could he get anything done by any of the crew; and

many a delay and vexation, and many a good ducking in the surf, did he get to pay up old scores, or "square

Having collected nearly all the hides that were to be procured, we began our preparations for taking in a

supply of wood and water, for both of which, San Francisco is the best place on the coast. A small island,

situated about two leagues from the anchorage, called by us "Wood Island," and by the Spaniards "Isle de Los

Angelos," was covered with trees to the water's edge; and to this, two of our crew, who were Kennebec men,

and could handle an axe like a plaything, were sent every morning to cut wood, with two boys to pile it up for

them. In about a week, they had cut enough to last us a year, and the third mate, with myself and three others,

were sent over in a large, schoonerrigged, open launch, which we had hired of the mission, to take in the

wood, and bring it to the ship. We left the ship about noon, but, owing to a strong head wind, and a tide,

which here runs four or five knots, did not get into the harbor, formed by two points of the island, where the

boats lie, until sundown. No sooner had we cometo, than a strong southeaster, which had been threatening

us all day, set in, with heavy rain and a chilly atmosphere. We were in rather a bad situation: an open boat, a

heavy rain, and a long night; for in winter, in this latitude, it was dark nearly fifteen hours. Taking a small

skiff which we had brought with us, we went ashore, but found no shelter, for everything was open to the

rain, and collecting a little wood, which we found by lifting up the leaves and brush, and a few muscles, we

put aboard again, and made the best preparations in our power for passing the night. We unbent the mainsail,

and formed an awning with it over the after part of the boat, made a bed of wet logs of wood, and, with our

jackets on, lay down, about six o'clock, to sleep. Finding the rain running down upon us, and our jackets

getting wet through, and the rough, knottylogs, rather indifferent couches, we turned out; and taking an iron

pan which we brought with us, we wiped it out dry, put some stones around it, cut the wet bark from some

sticks, and striking a light, made a small fire in the pan. Keeping some sticks near, to dry, and covering the

whole over with a roof of boards, we kept up a small fire, by which we cooked our muscles, and eat them,

rather for an occupation than from hunger. Still, it was not ten o'clock, and the night was long before us,

when one of the party produced an old pack of Spanish cards from his monkeyjacket pocket, which we

hailed as a great windfall; and keeping a dim, flickering light by our fagots, we played game after game, one

or two o'clock, when, becoming really tired, we went to our logs again, one sitting up at a time, in turn, to

keep watch over the fire. Toward morning, the rain ceased, and the air became sensibly colder, so that we

found sleep impossible, and sat up, watching for daybreak. No sooner was it light than we went ashore, and

began our preparations for loading our vessel. We were not mistaken in the coldness of the weather, for a

white frost was on the ground, a thing we had never seen before in California, and one or two little puddles of

fresh water were skimmed over with a thin coat of ice. In this state of the weather and before sunrise, in the

grey of the morning, we had to wade off, nearly up to our hips in water, to load the skiff with the wood by

armsfull. The third mate remained on board the launch, two more men staid in the skiff, to load and manage

it, and all the waterwork, as usual, fell upon the two youngest of us; and there we were, with frost on the

ground, wading forward and back, from the beach to the boat, with armsfull of wood, barefooted, and our

trowsers rolled up. When the skiff went off with her load, we could only keep our feet from freezing by

racing up and down the beach on the hard sand, as fast as we could go. We were all day at this work, and

towards sundown, having loaded the vessel as deep as she would bear, we hove up our anchor, and made sail,

beating out the bay. No sooner had we got into the large bay, than we found a strong tide setting us out to

seaward, a thick fog which prevented our seeing the ship, and a breeze too light to set us against the tide; for

we were as deep as a sandbarge. By the utmost exertions, we saved ourselves from being carried out to sea,

and were glad to reach the leewardmost point of the island, where we cameto, and prepared to pass another

night, more uncomfortable than the first, for we were loaded up to the gunwale, and had only a choice among

logs and sticks for a restingplace. The next morning, we made sail at slack water, with a fair wind, and got

on board by eleven o'clock, when all hands were turnedto, to unload and stow away the wood, which took

Having now taken in all our wood, the next morning a waterparty was ordered off with all the casks. From

this we escaped, having had a pretty good siege with the wooding. The waterparty were gone three days,

during which time they narrowly escaped being carried out to sea, and passed one day on an island, where

one of them shot a deer, great numbers of which overrun the islands and hills of San Francisco Bay.

While not off, on these wood and water parties, or up the rivers to the missions, we had very easy times on

board the ship. We were moored, stem and stern, within a cable's length of the shore, safe from southeasters,

and with very little boating to do; and as it rained nearly all the time, awnings were put over the hatchways,

and all hands sent down between decks, where we were at work, day after day, picking oakum, until we got

enough to caulk the ship all over, and to last the whole voyage. Then we made a whole suit of gaskets for the

voyage home, a pair of wheelropes from strips of green hide, great quantities of spunyarn, and everything

else that could be made between decks. It being now midwinter and in high latitude, the nights were very

long, so that we were not turnedto until seven in the morning, and were obliged to knock off at five in the

evening, when we got supper; which gave us nearly three hours before eight bells, at which time the watch

As we had now been about a year on the coast, it was time to think of the voyage home; and knowing that the

last two or three months of our stay would be very busy ones, and that we should never have so good an

opportunity to work for ourselves as the present, we all employed our evenings in making clothes for the

passage home, and more especially for Cape Horn. As soon as supper was over and the kids cleared away,

and each one had taken his smoke, we seated ourselves on our chests round the lamp, which swung from a

beam, and each one went to work in his own way, some making hats, others trowsers, others jackets, etc.,

etc.; and no one was idle. The boys who could not sew well enough to make their own clothes, laid up grass

into sinnet for the men, who sewed for them in return. Several of us clubbed together and bought a large

piece of twilled cotton, which we made into trowsers and jackets, and giving them several coats of linseed oil,

laid them by for Cape Horn. I also sewed and covered a tarpaulin hat, thick and strong enough to sit down

upon, and made myself a complete suit of flannel underclothing, for bad weather. Those who had no

southwester caps, made them, and several of the crew made themselves tarpaulin jackets and trowsers, lined

on the inside with flannel. Industry was the order of the day, and every one did something for himself; for we

knew that as the season advanced, and we went further south, we should have no evenings to work in.

Friday, December 25th. This day was Christmas; and as it rained all day long, and there were no hides to take

in, and nothing especial to do, the captain gave us a holiday, (the first we had had since leaving Boston,) and

plum duff for dinner. The Russian brig, following the Old Style, had celebrated their Christmas eleven days

before; when they had a grand blowout and (as our men said) drank, in the forecastle, a barrel of gin, ate up

Sunday, December 27th. We had now finished all our business at this port, and it being Sunday, we

unmoored ship and got under weigh, firing a salute to the Russian brig, and another to the Presidio, which

were both answered. The commandant of the Presidio, Don Gaudaloupe Villego, a young man, and the most

popular, among the Americans and English, of any man in California, was on board when we got under

weigh. He spoke English very well, and was suspected of being favorably inclined to foreigners.

We sailed down this magnificent bay with a light wind, the tide, which was running out, carrying us at the

rate of four or five knots. It was a fine day; the first of entire sunshine we had had for more than a month. We

passed directly under the high cliff on which the Presidio is built, and stood into the middle of the bay, from

whence we could see small bays, making up into the interior, on every side; large and beautifullywooded

islands; and the mouths of several small rivers. If California ever becomes a prosperous country, this bay will

be the centre of its prosperity. The abundance of wood and water, the extreme fertility of its shores, the

excellence of its climate, which is as near to being perfect as any in the world, and its facilities for navigation,

affording the best anchoringgrounds in the whole western coast of America, all fit it for a place of great

importance; and, indeed, it has attracted much attention, for the settlement of "Yerba Buena," where we lay at

anchor, made chiefly by Americans and English, and which bids fair to become the most important trading

place on the coast, at this time began to supply traders, Russian ships, and whalers, with their stores of wheat

The tide leaving us, we came to anchor near the mouth of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill,

upon which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer, and the stag, with his high branching antlers, were

bounding about, looking at us for a moment, and then starting off, affrighted at the noises which we made for

At midnight, the tide having turned, we hove up our anchor and stood out of the bay, with a fine starry

heaven above us, the first we had seen for weeks and weeks. Before the light northerly winds, which blow

here with the regularity of trades, we worked slowly along, and made Point Ano Neuvo, the northerly point of

the Bay of Monterey, on Monday afternoon. We spoke, going in, the brig Diana, of the Sandwich Islands,

from the Northwest Coast, last from Asitka. She was off the point at the same time with us, but did not get

in to the anchoringground until an hour or two after us. It was ten o'clock on Tuesday morning when we

came to anchor. The town looked just as it did when I saw it last, which was eleven months before, in the brig

Pilgrim. The pretty lawn on which it stands, as green as sun and rain could make it; the pine wood on the

south; the small river on the north side; the houses, with their white plastered sides and redtiled roofs, dotted

about on the green; the low, white presidio, with its soiled, flying, and the discordant din of drums and

trumpets for the noon parade; all brought up the scene we had witnessed here with so much pleasure nearly a

year before, when coming from a long voyage, and our unprepossessing reception at Santa Barbara. It seemed

The only other vessel in port was the Russian government bark, from Asitka, mounting eight guns, (four of

which we found to be Quakers,) and having on board the exgovernor, who was going in her to Mazatlan,

and thence overland to Vera Cruz. He offered to take letters, and deliver them to the American consul at Vera

Cruz, whence they could be easily forwarded to the United States. We accordingly made up a packet of

letters, almost every one writing, and dating them "January 1st, 1836." The governor was true to his promise,

and they all reached Boston before the middle of March; the shortest communication ever yet made across the

The brig Pilgrim had been lying in Monterey through the latter part of November, according to orders,

waiting for us. Day after day, Captain Faucon went up to the hill to look out for us, and at last, gave us up,

thinking we must have gone down in the gale which we experienced off Point Conception, and which had

blown with great fury over the whole coast, driving ashore several vessels in the snuggest ports. An English

brig, which had put into San Francisco, lost both her anchors; the Rosa was driven upon a mud bank in San

Diego; and the Pilgrim, with great difficulty, rode out the gale in Monterey, with three anchors ahead. She

As we were to be here over Sunday, and Monterey was the best place to go ashore on the whole coast, and we

had had no libertyday for nearly three months, every one was for going ashore. On Sunday morning, as soon

as the decks were washed, and we had got breakfast, those who had obtained liberty began to clean

themselves, as it is called, to go ashore. A bucket of fresh water apiece, a cake of soap, a large coarse towel,

and we went to work scrubbing one another, on the forecastle. Having gone through this, the next thing was

to get into the head, one on each side with a bucket apiece, and duck one another, by drawing up water and

heaving over each other, while we were stripped to a pair of trowsers. Then came the riggingup. The usual

outfit of pumps, white stockings, loose white duck trowsers, blue jackets, clean checked shirts, black

kerchiefs, hats well varnished, with a fathom of black ribbon over the left eye, a silk handkerchief flying from

the outside jacket pocket, and four or five dollars tied up in the back of the neckerchief, and we were "all

right." One of the quarterboats pulled us ashore, and we steamed up to the town. I tried to find the church, in

order to see the worship, but was told that there was no service, except a mass early in the morning; so we

went about the town, visiting the Americans and English, and the natives whom we had know when we were

here before. Toward noon we procured horses, and rode out to the Carmel mission, which is about a league

from the town, where from the town, where we got something in the way of a dinner beef, eggs, frijoles,

tortillas, and some middling wine from the mayordomo, who, of course, refused to make any charge, as it

was the Lord's gift, yet received our present, as a gratuity, with a low bow, a touch of the hat, and "Dios se lo

After this repast, we had a fine run, scouring the whole country on our fleet horses, and came into town soon

after sundown. Here we found our companions who had refused to go to ride with us, thinking that a sailor

has no more business with a horse than a fish has with a balloon. They were moored, stem and stern, in a

grogshop, making a great noise, with a crowd of Indians and hungry halfbreeds about them, and with a fair

prospect of being stripped and dirked, or left to pass the night in the calabozo. With a great deal of trouble,

we managed to get them down to the boats, though not without many angry looks and interferences from the

Spaniards, who had marked them out for their prey. The Diana's crews a set of worthless outcasts, who had

been picked up at the islands from the refuse of whaleships, were all as drunk as beasts, and had a setto,

on the beach, with their captain, who was in no better state than themselves. They swore they would not go

aboard, and went back to the town, were stripped and beaten, and lodged in the calabozo, until the next day,

when the captain bought them out. Our forecastle, as usual after a libertyday, was a scene of tumult all night

long, from the drunken ones. They had just got to sleep toward morning, when they were turned up with the

rest, and kept at work all day in the water, carrying hides, their heads aching so that they could hardly stand.

Nothing worthy of remark happened while we were here, except a little boxingmatch on board our own

ship, which gave us something to talk about. A broadbacked, bigheaded Cape Cod boy, about sixteen years

old, had been playing the bully, for the whole voyage, over a slender, delicatelooking boy, from one of the

Boston schools, and over whom he had much the advantage, in strength, age, and experience in the ship's

duty, for this was the first time the Boston boy had been on salt water. The latter, however, had "picked up

his crumbs," was learning his duty, and getting strength and confidence daily; and began to assert his rights

against his oppressor. Still, the other was his master, and, by his superior strength, always tackled with him

and threw him down. One afternoon, before we were turnedto, these boys got into a violent squabble in the

betweendecks, when George (the Boston boy) said he would fight Nat, if he could have fair play. The chief

mate heard the noise, dove down the hatchway, hauled them both up on deck, and told them to shake hands

and have no more trouble for the voyage, or else they should fight till one gave in for beaten. Finding neither

willing to make an offer for reconciliation, he called all hands up, (for the captain was ashore, and he could

do as he chose aboard,) ranged the crew in the waist, marked a line on the deck, brought the two boys up to it,

making them "toe the mark;" then made the bight of a rope fast to a belaying pin, and stretched it across the

deck, bringing it just above their waists. "No striking below the rope!" And there they stood, one on each side

of it, face to face, and went at it like two gamecocks. The Cape Cod boy, Nat, put in his doublefisters,

starting the blood, and bringing the black and blue spots all over the face and arms of the other, whom we

expected to see give in every moment: but the more he was hurt, the better he fought. Time after time he was

knocked nearly down, but up he came again and faced the mark, as bold as a lion, again to take the heavy

blows, which sounded so as to make one's heart turn with pity for him. At length he came up to the mark for

the last time, his shirt torn from his body, his face covered with blood and bruises, and his eyes flashing fire,

and swore he would stand there until one or the other was killed, and setto like a young fury. "Hurrah in the

bow!" said the men, cheering him on. "Well crowed!" "Never say die, while there's a shot in the locker!" Nat

tried to close with him, knowing his advantage, but the mate stopped that, saying there should be fair play,

and no fingering. Nat then came up to the mark, but looked white about the mouth, and his blows were not

given with half the spirit of his first. He was evidently cowed. He had always been his master, and had

nothing to gain, and everything to lose; while the other fought for honor and freedom, under a sense of

wrong. It would not do. It was soon over. Nat gave in; not so much beaten, as cowed and mortified; and never

afterwards tried to act the bully on board. We took George forward, washed him in the decktub,

complimented his pluck, and from this time he became somebody on board, having fought himself into

notice. Mr. Brown's plan had a good effect, for there was no more quarrelling among the boys for the rest of

Wednesday, January 6th. Set sail from Monterey, with a number of Spaniards as passengers, and shaped our

course for Santa Barbara. The Diana went out of the bay in company with us, but parted from us off Point

Pinos, being bound to the Sandwich Islands. We had a smacking breeze for several hours, and went along at a

great rate, until night, when it died away, as usual, and the landbreeze set in, which brought us upon a taught

bowline. Among our passengers was a young man who was the best representation of a decayed gentleman I

had ever seen. He reminded me much of some of the characters in Gil Blas. He was of the aristocracy of the

country, his family being of pure Spanish blood, and once of great importance in Mexico. His father had been

governor of the province, and having amassed a large property, settled at San Diego, where he built a large

house with a courtyard in front, kept a great retinue of Indians, and set up for the grandee of that part of the

country. His son was sent to Mexico, where he received the best education, and went into the first society of

the capital. Misfortune, extravagance, and the want of funds, or any manner of getting interest on money,

soon eat the estate up, and Don Juan Bandini returned from Mexico accomplished, poor, and proud, and

without any office or occupation, to lead the life of most young men of the better families dissolute and

extravagant when the means are at hand; ambitious at heart, and impotent in act; often pinched for bread;

keeping up an appearance of style, when their poverty is known to each halfnaked Indian boy in the street,

and they stand in dread of every small trader and shopkeeper in the place. He had a slight and elegant figure,

moved gracefully, danced and waltzed beautifully, spoke the best of Castilian, with a pleasant and refined

voice and accent, and had, throughout, the bearing of a man of high birth and figure. Yet here he was, with

his passage given him, (as I afterwards learned,) for he had not the means of paying for it, and living upon the

charity of our agent. He was polite to every one, spoke to the sailors, and gave four reals I dare say the last

he had in his pocketto the steward, who waited upon him. I could not but feel a pity for him, especially

when I saw him by the side of his fellowpassenger and townsman, a fat, coarse, vulgar, pretending fellow of

a Yankee trader, who had made money in San Diego, and was eating out the very vitals of the Bandinis,

fattening upon their extravagance, grinding them in their poverty; having mortgages on their lands,

forestalling their cattle, and already making an inroad upon their jewels, which were their last hope.

Don Juan had with him a retainer, who was as much like many of the characters in Gil Blas as his master. He

called himself a private secretary, though there was no writing for him to do, and he lived in the steerage with

the carpenter and sailmaker. He was certainly a character; could read and write extremely well; spoke good

Spanish; had been all over Spanish America, and lived in every possible situation, and served in every

conceivable capacity, though generally in that of confidential servant to some man of figure. I cultivated this

man's acquaintance, and during the five weeks that he was with us, for he remained on board until we

arrived at San Diego, I gained a greater knowledge of the state of political parties in Mexico, and the habits

and affairs of the different classes of society, than I could have learned from almost any one else. He took

great pains in correcting my Spanish, and supplying me with colloquial phrases, and common terms and

exclamations in speaking. He lent me a file of late newspapers from the city of Mexico, which were full of

triumphal receptions of Santa Ana, who had just returned from Tampico after a victory, and with the

preparations for his expedition against the Texans. "Viva Santa Ana!" was the byword everywhere, and it

had even reached California, though there were still many here, among whom was Don Juan Bandini, who

were opposed to his government, and intriguing to bring in Bustamente. Santa Ana, they said, was for

breaking down the missions; or, as they termed it "Santa Ana no quiere religion." Yet I had no doubt that

the office of administrador of San Diego would reconcile Don Juan to any dynasty, and any state of the

church. In these papers, too, I found scraps of American and English news; but which were so unconnected,

and I was so ignorant of everything preceding them for eighteen months past, that they only awakened a

curiosity which they could not satisfy. One article spoke of Taney as Justicia Mayor de los Estados Unidos,

(what had become of Marshall? was he dead, or banished?) and another made known, by news received from

Vera Cruz, that "El Vizconde Melbourne" had returned to the office of "primer ministro," in place of Sir

Roberto Peel. (Sir Robert Peel had been minister, then? and where were Earl Grey and the Duke of

Wellington?) Here were the outlines of a grand parliamentary overturn, the filling up of which I could

The second morning after leaving Monterey, we were off Point Conception. It was a bright, sunny day, and

the wind, though strong, was fair; and everything was in striking contrast with our experience in the same

place two months before, when we were drifting off from a northwester under a fore and main spencer. "Sail

ho!" cried a man who was rigging out a topgallant studdingsail boom. "Where away?" "Weather beam,

sir!" and in a few minutes a fullrigged brig was seen standing out from under Point Conception. The

studdingsail halyards were let go, and the yards boomended, the after yards braced aback, and we waited

her coming down. She rounded to, backed her main topsail, and showed her decks full of men, four guns on a

side, hammock nettings, and everything manofwar fashion, except that there was no boatswain's whistle,

and no uniforms on the quarterdeck. A short, squarebuilt man, in a rough grey jacket, with a

speakingtrumpet in hand, stood in the weather hammock nettings. "Ship ahoy!" "Hallo!" "What ship is

that, pray?" "Alert." "Where are you from, pray?" etc., etc. She proved to be the brig Convoy, from the

Sandwich Islands, engaged in otter hunting, among the islands which lie along the coast. Her armament was

from her being an illegal trader. The otter are very numerous among these islands, and being of great value,

the government require a heavy sum for a license to hunt them, and lay a high duty upon every one shot or

carried out of the country. This vessel had no license, and paid no duty, besides being engaged in smuggling

goods on board other vessels trading on the coast, and belonging to the same owners in Oahu. Our captain

told him to look out for the Mexicans, but he said they had not an armed vessel of his size in the whole

Pacific. This was without doubt the same vessel that showed herself off Santa Barbara a few months before.

These vessels frequently remain on the coast for years, without making port, except at the islands for wood

Sunday, January 10th. Arrived at Santa Barbara, and on the following Wednesday, slipped our cable and

went to sea, on account of a southeaster. Returned to our anchorage the next day. We were the only vessel

in the port. The Pilgrim had passed through the Canal and hoveto off the town, nearly six weeks before, on

her passage down from Monterey, and was now at the leeward. She heard here of our safe arrival at San

Great preparations were making on shore for the marriage of our agent, who was to marry Donna Anneta De

G De Ny C, youngest daughter of Don Antonio N, the grandee of the place, and the head of

the first family in California. Our steward was ashore three days, making pastry and cake, and some of the

best of our stores were sent off with him. On the day appointed for the wedding, we took the captain ashore in

the gig, and had orders to come for him at night, with leave to go up to the house and see the fandango.

Returning on board, we found preparations making for a salute. Our guns were loaded and run out, men

appointed to each, cartridges served out, matches lighted, and all the flags ready to be run up. I took my place

at the starboard after gun, and we all waited for the signal from on shore. At ten o'clock the bride went up

with her sister to the confessional, dressed in deep black. Nearly an hour intervened, when the great doors of

the mission church opened, the bells rang out a loud, discordant peal, the private signal for us was run up by

the captain ashore, the bride, dressed in complete white, came out of the church with the bridegroom,

followed by a long procession. Just as she stepped from the church door, a small white cloud issued from the

bows of our ship, which was full in sight, the loud report echoed among the surrounding hills and over the

bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in flags and pennants from stem to stern. Twentythree guns followed

in regular succession, with an interval of fifteen seconds between each when the cloud cleared away, and the

ship lay dressed in her colors, all day. At sundown, another salute of the same number of guns was fired,

and all the flags run down. This we thought was pretty well a gun every fifteen seconds for a merchantman

After supper, the gig's crew were called, and we rowed ashore, dressed in our uniform, beached the boat, and

went up to the fandango. The bride's father's house was the principal one in the place, with a large court in

front, upon which a tent was built, capable of containing several hundred people. As we drew near, we heard

the accustomed sound of violins and guitars, and saw a great motion of the people within. Going in, we found

nearly all the people of the town men, women, and children collected and crowded together, leaving barely

room for the dancers; for on these occasions no invitations are given, but every one is expected to come,

though there is always a private entertainment within the house for particular friends. The old women sat

down in rows, clapping their hands to the music, and applauding the young ones. The music was lively, and

among the tunes, we recognized several of our popular airs, which we, without doubt, have taken from the

Spanish. In the dancing, I was much disappointed. The women stood upright, with their hands down by their

sides, their eyes fixed upon the ground before them, and slided about without any perceptible means of

motion; for their feet were invisible, the hem of their dresses forming a perfect circle about them, reaching to

the ground. They looked as grave as though they were going through some religious ceremony, their faces as

little excited as their limbs; and on the whole, instead of the spirited, fascinating Spanish dances which I had

expected, I found the Californian fandango, on the part of the women at least, a lifeless affair. The men did

better. They danced with grace and spirit, moving in circles round their nearly stationary partners, and

A great deal was said about our friend Don Juan Bandini, and when he did appear, which was toward the

close of the evening, he certainly gave us the most graceful dancing that I had ever seen. He was dressed in

white pantaloons neatly made, a short jacket of dark silk, gaily figured, white stockings and thin morocco

slippers upon his very small feet. His slight and graceful figure was well calculated for dancing, and he

moved about with the grace and daintiness of a young fawn. An occasional touch of the toe to the ground,

seemed all that was necessary to give him a long interval of motion in the air. At the same time he was not

fantastic or flourishing, but appeared to be rather repressing a strong tendency to motion. He was loudly

applauded, and danced frequently toward the close of the evening. After the supper, the waltzing began,

which was confined to a very few of the "gente de razon," and was considered a high accomplishment, and a

mark of aristocracy. Here, too, Don Juan figured greatly, waltzing with the sister of the bride, (Donna

Angustia, a handsome woman and a general favorite,) in a variety of beautiful, but, to me, offensive figures,

which lasted as much as half an hour, no one else taking the floor. They were repeatedly and loudly

applauded, the old men and women jumping out of their seats in admiration, and the young people waving

their hats and handkerchiefs. Indeed among people of the character of these Mexicans, the waltz seemed to

me to have found its right place. The great amusement of the evenings, which I suppose was owing to its

being carnival was the breaking of eggs filled with cologne, or other essences, upon the heads of the

company. One end of the egg is broken and the inside taken out, then it is partly filled with cologne, and the

whole sealed up. The women bring a great number of these secretly about them, and the amusement is to

break one upon the head of a gentleman when his back is turned. He is bound in gallantry to find out the lady

and return the compliment, though it must not be done if the person sees you. A tall, stately Don, with

immense grey whiskers, and a look of great importance, was standing before me, when I felt a light hand on

my shoulder, and turning round, saw Donna Angustia, (whom we all knew, as she had been up to Monterey,

and down again, in the Alert,) with her finger upon her lip, motioning me gently aside. I stepped back a little,

when she went up behind the Don, and with one hand knocked off his huge sombrero, and at the same instant,

with the other, broke the egg upon his head, and springing behind me, was out of sight in a moment. The Don

turned slowly round, the cologne, running down his face, and over his clothes and a loud laugh breaking out

from every quarter. He looked round in vain, for some time, until the direction of so many laughing eyes

showed him the fair offender. She was his niece, and a great favorite with him, so old Don Domingo had to

join in the laugh. A great many such tricks were played, and many a war of sharp manoeuvering was carried

on between couples of the younger people, and at every successful exploit a general laugh was raised.

Another singular custom I was for some time at a loss about. A pretty young girl was dancing, named, after

what would appear to us the sacrilegious custom of the country Espiritu Santo, when a young man went

behind her and placed his hat directly upon her head, letting it fall down over her eyes, and sprang back

among the crowd. She danced for some time with the hat on, when she threw it off, which called forth a

general shout; and the young man was obliged to go out upon the floor and pick it up. Some of the ladies,

upon whose heads hats had been placed, threw them off at once, and a few kept them on throughout the

dance, and took them off at the end, and held them out in their hands, when the owner stepped out, bowed,

and took it from them. I soon began to suspect the meaning of the thing, and was afterwards told that it was a

compliment, and an offer to become the lady's gallant for the rest of the evening, and to wait upon her home.

If the hat was thrown off, the offer was refused, and the gentleman was obliged to pick up his hat amid a

general laugh. Much amusement was caused sometimes by gentlemen putting hats on the ladies' heads,

without permitting them to see whom it was done by. This obliged them to throw them off, or keep them on

at a venture, and when they came to discover the owner, the laugh was often turned upon them.

The captain sent for us about ten o'clock, and we went aboard in high spirits, having enjoyed the new scene

much, and were of great importance among the crew, from having so much to tell, and from the prospect of

going every night until it was over; for these fandangos generally last three days. The next day, two of us

were sent up to the town, and took care to come back by way of Capitan Noriego's and take a look into the

booth. The musicians were still there, upon their platform, scraping and twanging away, and a few people,

apparently of the lower classes, were dancing. The dancing is kept up, at intervals, throughout the day, but the

crowd, the spirit, and the elite, come in at night. The next night, which was the last, we went ashore in the

same manner, until we got almost tired of the monotonous twang of the instruments, the drawling sounds

which the women kept up, as an accompaniment, and the slapping of the hands in time with the music, in

place of castanets. We found ourselves as great objects of attention as any persons or anything at the place.

Our sailor dresses and we took great pains to have them neat and shipshape were much admired, and we

were invited, from every quarter, to give them an American sailor's dance; but after the ridiculous figure

some of our countrymen cut, in dancing after the Spaniards, we thought it best to leave it to their

imaginations. Our agent, with a tight, black, swallowtailed coat, just imported from Boston, a high stiff

cravat, looking as if he had been pinned and skewered, with only his feet and hands left free, took the floor

The last night they kept it up in great style, and were getting into a highgo, when the captain called us off to

go aboard, for, it being southeaster season, he was afraid to remain on shore long; and it was well he did

not, for that very night, we slipped our cables, as a crowner to our fun ashore, and stood off before a

southeaster, which lasted twelve hours, and returned to our anchorage the next day.

Monday, Feb. 1st. After having been in port twentyone days, we sailed for San Pedro, where we arrived on

the following day, having gone "all fluking," with the weather clew of the mainsail hauled up, the yards

braced in a little, and the lower studdingsails just drawing; the wind hardly shifting a point during the

passage. Here we found the Ayacucho and the Pilgrim, which last we had not seen since the 11th of

September, nearly five months; and I really felt something like an affection for the old brig which had been

my first home, and in which I had spent nearly a year, and got the first rough and tumble of a sea life. She,

too, was associated, in my mind with Boston, the wharf from which we sailed, anchorage in the stream,

leavetaking, and all such matters, which were now to me like small links connecting me with another world,

which I had once been in, and which, please God, I might yet see again. I went on board the first night, after

supper; found the old cook in the galley, playing upon the fife which I had given him, as a parting present;

had a hearty shake of the hand from him; and dove down into the forecastle, where were my old shipmates,

the same as ever, glad to see me; for they had nearly given us up as lost, especially when they did not find us

in Santa Barbara. They had been at San Diego last, had been lying at San Pedro nearly a month, and had

received three thousand hides from the pueblo. These were taken from her the next day, which filled us up,

and we both got under weigh on the 4th, she bound up to San Francisco again, and we to San Diego, where

We were always glad to see San Diego; it being the depot, and a snug little place, and seeming quite like

home, especially to me, who had spent a summer there. There was no vessel in port, the Rosa having sailed

for Valparaiso and Cadiz, and the Catalina for Callao, nearly a month before. We discharged our hides, and in

four days were ready to sail again for the windward; and, to our great joy for the last time! Over thirty

thousand hides had been already collected, cured, and stowed away in the house, which, together with what

we should collect, and the Pilgrim would bring down from San Francisco, would make out her cargo. The

thought that we were actually going up for the last time, and that the next time we went round San Diego

point it would be "homeward bound," brought things so near a close, that we felt as though we were just

there, though it must still be the greater part of a year before we could see Boston.

I spent one evening, as had been my custom, at the oven with the Sandwich Islanders; but it was far from

being the usual noisy, laughing time. It has been said, that the greatest curse to each of the South Sea islands,

was the first man who discovered it; and every one who knows anything of the history of our commerce in

those parts, knows how much truth there is in this; and that the white men, with their vices, have brought in

diseases before unknown to the islanders, and which are now sweeping off the native population of the

Sandwich Islands, at the rate of one fortieth of the entire population annually. They seem to be a doomed

people. The curse of a people calling themselves Christian, seems to follow them everywhere; and even here,

in this obscure place, lay two young islanders, whom I had left strong, active young men, in the vigor of

health, wasting away under a disease, which they would never have known but for their intercourse with

Christianized Mexico and people from Christian America. One of them was not so ill; and was moving about,

smoking his pipe, and talking, and trying to keep up his spirits; but the other, who was my friend, and

Aikane Hope, was the most dreadful object I had ever seen in my life: his eyes sunken and dead, his cheeks

fallen in against his teeth, his hands looking like claws; a dreadful cough, which seemed to rack his whole

shattered system, a hollow whispering voice, and an entire inability to move himself. There he lay, upon a

mat, on the ground, which was the only floor of the oven, with no medicine, no comforts, and no one to care

for, or help him, but a few Kanakas, who were willing enough, but could do nothing. The sight of him made

me sick, and faint. Poor fellow! During the four months that I lived upon the beach, we were continually

together, both in work, and in our excursions in the woods, and upon the water. I really felt a strong affection

for him, and preferred him to any of my own countrymen there; and I believe there was nothing which he

would not have done for me. When I came into the oven he looked at me, held out his hand, and said, in a

low voice, but with a delightful smile, "Aloha, Aikane! Aloha nui!" I comforted him as well as I could, and

promised to ask the captain to help him from the medicinechest, and told him I had no doubt the captain

would do what he could for him, as he had worked in our employ for several years, both on shore and aboard

our vessels on the coast. I went aboard and turned into my hammock, but I could not sleep.

Thinking, from my education, that I must have some knowledge of medicine, the Kanakas had insisted upon

my examining him carefully; and it was not a sight to be forgotten. One of our crew, an old manofwar's

man, of twenty years' standing, who had seen sin and suffering in every shape, and whom I afterwards took to

see Hope, said it was dreadfully worse than anything he had ever seen, or even dreamed of. He was

horrorstruck, as his countenance showed; yet he had been among the worst cases in our naval hospitals. I

could not get the thought of the poor fellow out of my head all night; his horrible suffering, and his

The next day I told the captain of Hope's state, and asked him if he would be so kind as to go and see him.

"Yes, sir," said I; "but he has worked four years for our vessels, and has been in the employ of our owners,

This same man died afterwards of a fever on the deadly coast of Sumatra; and God grant he had better care

taken of him in his sufferings, than he ever gave to any one else! Finding nothing was to be got from the

captain, I consulted an old shipmate, who had much experience in these matters, and got from him a recipe,

which he always kept by him. With this I went to the mate, and told him the case. Mr. Brown had been

entrusted with the general care of the medicinechest, and although a driving fellow, and a taught hand in a

watch, he had good feelings, and was always inclined to be kind to the sick. He said that Hope was not

strictly one of the crew, but as he was in our employ when taken sick, he should have the medicines; and he

got them and gave them to me, with leave to go ashore at night. Nothing could exceed the delight of the

Kanakas, when I came bringing the medicines. All their terms of affection and gratitude were spent upon me,

and in a sense wasted, (for I could not understand half of them,) yet they made all known by their manner.

Poor Hope was so much revived at the bare thought of anything's being done for him, that he was already

stronger and better. I knew he must die as he was, and he could but die under the medicines, and any chance

was worth running. An oven, exposed to every wind and change of weather, is no place to take calomel; but

nothing else would do, and strong remedies must be used, or he was gone. The applications, internal and

external, were powerful, and I gave him strict directions to keep warm and sheltered, telling him it was his

only chance for life. Twice, after this, I visited him, having only time to run up, while waiting in the boat. He

promised to take his medicines regularly until we returned, and insisted upon it that he was doing better.

We got under weigh on the 10th, bound up to San Pedro, and had three days of calm and head winds, making

but little progress. On the fourth, we took a stiff southeaster, which obliged us to reef our topsails. While on

the yard, we saw a sail on the weather bow, and in about half an hour, passed the Ayacucho, under

doublereefed topsails, beating down to San Diego. Arrived at San Pedro on the fourth day, and cameto in

the old place, a league from shore, with no other vessel in port, and the prospect of three weeks, or more, of

dull life, rolling goods up a slippery hill, carrying hides on our heads over sharp stones, and, perhaps, slipping

There was but one man in the only house here, and him I shall always remember as a good specimen of a

California ranger. He had been a tailor in Philadelphia, and getting intemperate and in debt, he joined a

trapping party and went to the Columbia river, and thence down to Monterey, where he spent everything, left

his party, and came to the Pueblo de los Angelos, to work at his trade. Here he went dead to leeward among

the pulperias, gambling rooms, etc., and came down to San Pedro, to be moral by being out of temptation. He

had been in the house several weeks, working hard at his trade, upon orders which he had brought with him,

and talked much of his resolution, and opened his heart to us about his past life. After we had been here some

time, he started off one morning, in fine spirits, well dressed, to carry the clothes which he had been making

to the pueblo, and saying he would bring back his money and some fresh orders the next day. The next day

came, and a week passed, and nearly a fortnight, when, one day, going ashore, we saw a tall man, who looked

like our friend the tailor, getting out of the back of an Indian's cart, which had just come down from the

pueblo. He stood for the house, but we bore up after him; when finding that we were overhauling him, he

hoveto and spoke us. Such a sight I never saw before. Barefooted, with an old pair of trowsers tied round his

waist by a piece of green hide, a soiled cotton shirt, and a torn Indian hat; "cleaned out," to the last real, and

completely "used up." He confessed the whole matter; acknowledged that he was on his back; and now he

had a prospect of a fit of the horrors for a week, and of being worse than useless for months. This is a

specimen of the life of half of the Americans and English who are adrift over the whole of California. One of

the same stamp was Russell, who was master of the hidehouse at San Diego, while I was there, and

afterwards turned away for his misconduct. He spent his own money and nearly all the stores among the

halfbloods upon the beach, and being turned away, went up to the Presidio, where he lived the life of a

desperate "loafer," until some rascally deed sent him off "between two days," with men on horseback, dogs,

and Indians in full cry after him, among the hills. One night, he burst into our room at the hidehouse,

breathless, pale as a ghost, covered with mud, and torn by thorns and briers, nearly naked, and begged for a

crust of bread, saying he had neither eaten nor slept for three days. Here was the great Mr. Russell, who a

month before was "Don Tomas," Capitan de la playa," "Maestro de la casa," etc., etc., begging food and

shelter of Kanakas and sailors. He staid with us till he gave himself up, and was dragged off to the calabozo.

Another, and a more amusing specimen, was one whom we saw at San Francisco. He had been a lad on board

the ship California, in one of her first voyages, and ran away and commenced Ranchero, gambling, stealing

horses, etc. He worked along up to San Francisco, and was living on a rancho near there, while we were in

port. One morning, when we went ashore in the boat, we found him at the landingplace, dressed in

California style, a wide hat, faded velveteen trowsers, and a blanket cloak thrown over his shoulders and

wishing to go off in the boat, saying he was going to pasear with our captain a little. We had many doubts of

the reception he would meet with; but he seemed to think himself company for any one. We took him aboard,

landed him at the gangway, and went about our work, keeping an eye upon the quarterdeck, where the

captain was walking. The lad went up to him with the most complete assurance, and raising his hat, wished

him a good afternoon. Captain T turned round, looked at him from head to foot, and saying coolly,

"Hallo! who the h are you?" kept on his walk. This was a rebuff not to be mistaken, and the joke passed

about among the crew by winks and signs, at different parts of the ship. Finding himself disappointed at

headquarters, he edged along forward to the mate, who was overseeing some work on the forecastle, and tried

to begin a yarn; but it would not do. The mate had seen the reception he had met with aft, and would have no

castoff company. The second mate was aloft, and the third mate and myself were painting the quarterboat,

which hung by the davits, so he betook himself to us; but we looked at one another, and the officer was too

busy to say a word. From us, he went to one and another of the crew, but the joke had got before him, and he

found everybody busy and silent. Looking over the rail a few moments afterward, we saw him at the

galleydoor talking to the cook. This was a great comedown, from the highest seat in the synagogue to a seat

in the galley with the black cook. At night too, when supper was called, he stood in the waist for some time,

hoping to be asked down with the officers, but they went below, one after another, and left him. His next

chance was with the carpenter and sailmaker, and he lounged round the after hatchway until the last had

gone down. We had now had fun enough out of him, and taking pity on him, offered him a pot of tea, and a

cut at the kid, with the rest, in the forecastle. He was hungry, and it was growing dark, and he began to see

that there was no use in playing the caballero any longer, and came down into the forecastle, put into the

"grub" in sailor's style, threw off all his airs, and enjoyed the joke as much as any one; for a man must take a

joke among sailors. He gave us the whole account of his adventures in the country, roguery and all and

was very entertaining. He was a smart, unprincipled fellow, was at the bottom of most of the rascally doings

of the country, and gave us a great deal of interesting information in the ways of the world we were in.

Saturday, Feb. 13th. Were called up at midnight to slip for a violent northeaster, for this rascally hole of San

Pedro is unsafe in every wind but a southwester, which is seldom known to blow more than once in a half

century. We went off with a flowing sheet, and hoveto under the lee of Catalina island, where we lay three

Tuesday, Feb. 23d. This afternoon, a signal was made from the shore, and we went off in the gig, and found

the agent's clerk, who had been up to the pueblo, waiting at the landingplace, with a package under his arm,

covered with brown paper, and tied carefully with twine. No sooner had we shoved off than he told us there

was good news from Santa Barbara. "What's that?" said one of the crew; "has the bloody agent slipped off the

hooks? Has the old bundle of bones got him at last?" "No; better than that. The California has arrived."

Letters, papers, news, and, perhaps, friends, on board! Our hearts were all up in our mouths, and we pulled

away like good fellows; for the precious packet could not be opened except by the captain. As we pulled

under the stern, the clerk held up the package, and called out to the mate, who was leaning over the taffrail,

"Hurrah!" said the mate, so as to be heard fore and aft; "California come, and news from Boston!"

Instantly there was a confusion on board which no one could account for who has not been in the same

"What's that, Mr. Brown?" said the cook, putting his head out of the galley "California come?"

"Aye, aye! you angel of darkness, and there's a letter for you from Bullknop 'treet, number twotwofive

The packet was sent down into the cabin, and every one waited to hear of the result. As nothing came up, the

officers began to feel that they were acting rather a child's part, and turned the crew to again and the same

strict discipline was restored, which prohibits speech between man and man, while at work on deck; so that,

when the steward came forward with letters for the crew, each man took his letters, carried them below to his

chest, and came up again immediately; and not a letter was read until we had cleared up decks for the night.

An overstrained sense of manliness is the characteristic of seafaring men, or, rather, of life on board ship.

This often gives an appearance of want of feeling, and even of cruelty. From this, if a man comes within an

ace of breaking his neck and escapes, it is made a joke of; and no notice must be taken of a bruise or cut; and

any expression of pity, or any show of attention, would look sisterly, and unbecoming a man who has to face

the rough and tumble of such a life. From this, too, the sick are neglected at sea, and whatever may be ashore,

a sick man finds little sympathy or attention, forward or aft. A man, too, can have nothing peculiar or sacred

on board ship; for all the nicer feelings they take pride in disregarding, both in themselves and others. A

thinskinned man could not live an hour on shipboard. One would be torn raw unless he had the hide of an

ox. A moment of natural feeling for home and friends, and then the frigid routine of sealife returned. Jokes

were made upon those who showed any interest in the expected news, and everything near and dear was

made common stock for rude jokes and unfeeling coarseness, to which no exception could be taken by any

Supper, too, must be eaten before the letters were read; and when, at last, they were brought out, they all got

round any one who had a letter, and expected to have it read aloud, and have it all in common. If any one

went by himself to read, it was "Fair play, there; and no skulking!" I took mine and went into the sailmaker's

berth, where I could read it without interruption. It was dated August, just a year from the time I had sailed

from home; and every one was well, and no great change had taken place. Thus, for one year, my mind was

set at ease yet it was already six months from the date of the letter, and what another year would bring to

pass, who could tell? Every one away from home thinks that some great thing must have happened, while to

As much as my feelings were taken up by my own intelligence from home, I could not but be amused by a

scene in the steerage. The carpenter had been married just before leaving Boston, and during the voyage had

talked much about his wife, and had to bear and forbear, as every man, known to be married, must, aboard

ship; yet the certainty of hearing from his wife by the first ship, seemed to keep up his spirits. The California

came, the packet was brought on board; no one was in higher spirits than he; but when the letters came

forward, there was none for him. The captain looked again, but there was no mistake. Poor "Chips," could eat

no supper. He was completely down in the mouth. "Sails" (the sailmaker) tried to comfort him, and told him

he was a bloody fool to give up his grub for any woman's daughter, and reminded him that he had told him a

"Don't I?" said Sails; and then came, for the hundredth time, the story of his coming ashore at New York,

from the Constellation frigate, after a cruise of four years round the Horn, being paid off with over five

hundred dollars, marrying, and taking a couple of rooms in a fourstory houses furnishing the rooms,

(with a particular account of the furniture, including a dozen flagbottomed chairs, which he always dilated

upon, whenever the subject of furniture was alluded to,) going off to sea again, leaving his wife halfpay,

like a fool, coming home and finding her "off, like Bob's horse, with nobody to pay the reckoning;"

furniture gone, flagbottomed chairs and all; and with it, his "long togs," the halfpay, his beaver hat,

white linen shirts, and everything else. His wife he never saw, or heard of, from that day to this, and never

wished to. Then followed a sweeping assertion, not much to the credit of the sex, if true, though he has Pope

to back him. "Come, Chips, cheer up like a man, and take some hot man, and take some hot grub! Don't be

made a fool of by anything in petticoats! As for your wife, you'll never see her again; she was 'up keeleg and

off' before you were outside of Cape Cod. You hove your money away like a fool; but every man must learn

once, just as I did; so you'd better square the yards with her, and make the best of it."

This was the best consolation "Sails" had to offer, but it did not seem to be just the thing the carpenter

wanted; for, during several days, he was very much dejected, and bore with difficulty the jokes of the sailors,

and with still more difficulty their attempts at advice and consolation, of most of which the sailmaker's was a

Thursday, Feb. 25th. Set sail for Santa Barbara, where we arrived on Sunday, the 28th. We just missed of

seeing the California, for she had sailed three days before, bound to Monterey, to enter her cargo and procure

her license, and thence to San Francisco, etc. Captain Arthur left files of Boston papers for Captain T,

which, after they had been read and talked over in the cabin, I procured from my friend the third mate. One

file was of all the Boston Transcripts for the month of August, 1835, and the rest were about a dozen Daily

Advertisers and Couriers, of different dates. After all, there is nothing in a strange land like a newspaper from

home. Even a letter, in many respects, is nothing, in comparison with it. It carries you back to the spot, better

than anything else. It is almost equal to clairvoyance. The names of the streets, with the things advertised, are

almost as good as seeing the signs; and while reading "Boy lost!" one can almost hear the bell and

wellknown voice of "Old Wilson," crying the boy as "strayed, stolen, or mislaid!" Then there was the

Commencement at Cambridge, and the full account of the exercises at the graduating of my own class. A list

of all those familiar names, (beginning as usual with Abbot, and ending with W.,) which, as I read them over,

one by one, brought up their faces and characters as I had known them in the various scenes of college life.

Then I imagined them upon the stage, speaking their orations, dissertations, colloquies, etc., with the gestures

and tones of each, and tried to fancy the manner in which each would handle his subject, * * * * *,handsome,

showy, and superficial; * * * *,with his strong head, clear brain, cool selfpossession; * * * modest,

sensitive, and underrated; * * * * *, the mouthpiece of the debating clubs, noisy, vaporous, and democratic;

and so following. Then I could see them receiving their A.Bs. from the dignified, feudallooking President,

with his "auctoritate mihi commissa," and walking off the stage with their diplomas in their hands; while

upon the very same day, their classmate was walking up and down California beach with a hide upon his

Every watch below, for a week, I pored over these papers, until I was sure there could be nothing in them that

Saturday, March 5th. This was an important day in our almanac, for it was on this day that we were first

assured that our voyage was really drawing to a close. The captain gave orders to have the ship ready for

getting under weigh; and observed that there was a good breeze to take us down to San Pedro. Then we were

not going up to windward. Thus much was certain, and was soon known, fore and aft; and when we went in

the gig to take him off, he shook hands with the people on the beach, and said that he never expected to see

Santa Barbara again. This settled the matter, and sent a thrill of pleasure through the heart of every one in the

boat. We pulled off with a will, saying to ourselves (I can speak for myself at least) "Goodby, Santa

Barbara! This is the last pull here No more duckings in your breakers, and slipping from your cursed

southeasters!" The news was soon known aboard, and put life into everything when we were getting under

weigh. Each one was taking his last look at the mission, the town, the breakers on the beach, and swearing

that no money would make him ship to see them again; and when all hands tallied on to the catfall, the

chorus of "Time for us to go!" was raised for the first time, and joined in, with full swing, by everybody. One

would have thought we were on our voyage home, so near did it seem to us, though there were yet three

We left here the young Englishman, George Marsh, of whom I have before spoken, who was wrecked upon

the Pelew Islands. He left us to take the berth of second mate on board the Ayacucho, which was lying in

port. He was well qualified for this, and his education would enable him to rise to any situation on board ship.

I felt really sorry to part from him. There was something about him which excited my curiosity; for I could

not, for a moment, doubt that he was well born, and, in early life, well bred. There was the latent gentleman

about him, and the sense of honor, and no little of the pride, of a young man of good family. The situation

was offered him only a few hours before we sailed; and though he must give up returning to America, yet I

have no doubt that the change from a dog's berth to an officer's, was too agreeable to his feelings to be

declined. We pulled him on board the Ayacucho, and when he left the boat he gave each of its crew a piece of

money, except myself, and shook hands with me, nodding his head, as much as to say, "We understand one

another." and sprang on board. Had I known, an hour sooner, that he was to leave us, I would have made an

effort to get from him the true history of his early life. He knew that I had no faith in the story which he told

the crew, and perhaps, in the moment of parting from me, probably forever, he would have given me the true

account. Whether I shall ever meet him again, or whether his manuscript narrative of his adventures in the

Pelew Islands, which would be creditable to him and interesting to the world, will ever see the light, I cannot

tell. His is one of those cases which are more numerous than those suppose, who have never lived anywhere

but in their own homes, and never walked but in one line from their cradles to their graves. We must come

down from our heights, and leave our straight paths, for the byways and low places of life, if we would learn

truths by strong contrasts; and in hovels, in forecastles, and among our own outcasts in foreign lands, see

Two days brought us to San Pedro. and two days more (to our no small joy) gave us our last view of that

place, which was universally called the hell of California, and seemed designed, in every way, for the wear

and tear of sailors. Not even the last view could bring out one feeling of regret. No thanks, thought I, as we

left the sandy shores in the distance, for the hours I have walked over your stones, barefooted, with hides on

my head; for the burdens I have carried up your steep, muddy hill; for the duckings in your surf; and for

the long days and longer nights passed on your desolate hill, watching piles of hides, hearing the sharp bark

As I bade goodby to each successive place, I felt as though one link after another were struck from the chain

of my servitude. Having kept close in shore, for the landbreeze, we passed the mission of San Juan

Capestrano the same night, and saw distinctly, by the bright moonlight, the hill which I had gone down by a

pair of halyards in search of a few paltry hides. "Forsan et haec olim," thought I, and took my last look of that

place too. And on the next morning we were under the high point of San Diego. The flood tide took us

swiftly in, and we cameto, opposite our hidehouse, and prepared to get everything in trim for a long stay.

This was our last port. Here we were to discharge everything from the ship, clean her out, smoke her, take in

our hides, wood, water, etc, and set sail for Boston. While all this was doing, we were to be still in one place,

and the port was a safe one, and there was no fear of southeasters. Accordingly, having picked out a good

berth, in the stream, with a good smooth beach opposite, for a landing" Place and within two cables' length of

our hidehouse, we moored ship, unbent all the sails, sent down the topgallant yards and all the

studdingsail booms, and housed the topgallant masts. The boats were then hove out, and all the sails, spare

spars, the stores, the rigging not rove, and, in fact, everything which was not in daily use, sent ashore, and

stowed away in the house. Then went all our hides and horns, and we left hardly anything in the ship but her

ballast, and this we made preparation to heave out, the next day. At night, after we had knocked off, and were

sitting round in the forecastle, smoking and talking and taking sailor's pleasure, we congratulated ourselves

upon being in that situation in which we had wished ourselves every time we had come into San Diego. "If

we were only here for the last time," we had often said, "with our topgallant masts housed and our sails

unbent!" and now we had our wish. Six weeks, or two months, of the hardest work we had yet seen, was

We turnedin early, knowing that we might expect an early call; and sure enough, before the stars had quite

faded, "All hands ahoy!" and we were turnedto, heaving out ballast. A regulation of the port forbids any

ballast to be thrown overboard; accordingly, our longboat was lined inside with rough boards and brought

alongside the gangway, but where one tubfull went into the boat, twenty went overboard. This is done by

every vessel, for the ballast can make but little difference in the channel, and it saves more than a week of

labor, which would be spent in loading the boats, rowing them to the point, and unloading them. When any

people from the Presidio were on board, the boat was hauled up and ballast thrown in; but when the coast was

clear, she was dropped astern again, and the ballast fell overboard. This is one of those petty frauds which

every vessel practises in ports of inferior foreign nations, and which are lost sight of, among the countless

deeds of greater weight which are hardly less common. Fortunately a sailor, not being a free agent in work

aboard ship, is not accountable; yet the fact of being constantly employed, without thought, in such things,

Friday, and a part of Saturday, we were engaged in this work, until we had thrown out all but what we wanted

under our cargo on the passage home; when, as the next day was Sunday, and a good day for smoking ship,

we cleared everything out of the cabin and forecastle, made a slow fire of charcoal, birch bark, brimstone,

and other matters, on the ballast in the bottom of the hold, calked up the hatches and every open seam, and

pasted over the cracks of the windows, and the slides of the scuttles, and companionway. Wherever smoke

was seen coming out, we calked and pasted, and, so far as we could, made the ship smoke tight. The captain

and officers slept under the awning which was spread over the quarterdeck; and we stowed ourselves away

under an old studdingsail, which we drew over one side of the forecastle. The next day, from fear that

something might happen, orders were given for no one to leave the ship, and, as the decks were lumbered up

with everything, we could not wash them down, so we had nothing to do, all day long. Unfortunately, our

books were where we could not get at them, and we were turning about for something to do, when one man

recollected a book he had left in the galley. He went after it, and it proved to be Woodstock. This was a great

windfall, and as all could not read it at once, I, being the scholar of the company, was appointed reader. I got

a knot of six or eight about me, and no one could have had a more attentive audience. Some laughed at the

"scholars," and went over the other side of the forecastle, to work, and spin their yarns; but I carried the day,

and had the cream of the crew for my hearers. Many of the reflections, and the political parts, I omitted, but

all the narrative they were delighted with; especially the descriptions of the Puritans, and the sermons and

harangues of the Roundhead soldiers. The gallantry of Charles, Dr. Radcliffe's plots, the knavery of "trusty

Tompkins," in fact, every part seemed to chain their attention. Many things which, while I was reading, I

had a misgiving about, thinking them above their capacity, I was surprised to find them enter into completely.

I read nearly all day, until sundown; when, as soon as supper was over, as I had nearly finished, they got a

light from the galley; and by skipping what was less interesting, I carried them through to the marriage of

The next morning, we took the battens from the hatches, and opened the ship. A few stifled rats were found;

and what bugs, cockroaches, fleas, and other vermin, there might have been on board, must have unrove their

lifelines before the hatches were opened. The ship being now ready, we covered the bottom of the hold

over, fore and aft, with dried brush for dunnage, and having levelled everything away, we were ready to take

in our cargo. All the hides that had been collected since the California left the coast, (a little more than two

years,) amounting to about forty thousand, were cured, dried, and stowed away in the house, waiting for our

Now began the operation of taking in our cargo, which kept us hard at work, from the grey of the morning till

starlight, for six weeks, with the exception of Sundays, and of just time to swallow our meals. To carry the

work on quicker, a division of labor was made. Two men threw the hides down from the piles in the house,

two more picked them up and put them on a long horizontal pole, raised a few feet from the ground, where

they were beaten, by two more, with flails, somewhat like those used in threshing wheat. When beaten, they

were taken from this pole by two more, and placed upon a platform of boards; and ten or a dozen men, with

their trowsers rolled up, were constantly going, back and forth, from the platform to the boat, which was kept

off where she would just float, with the hides upon their heads. The throwing the hides upon the pole was the

most difficult work, and required a sleight of hand which was only to be got by long practice. As I was

known for a hidecurer, this post was assigned to me, and I continued at it for six or eight days, tossing, in

that time, from eight to ten thousand hides, until my wrists became so lame that I gave in; and was transferred

to the gang that was employed in filling the boats, where I remained for the rest of the time. As we were

obliged to carry the hides on our heads from fear of their getting wet, we each had a piece of sheepskin sewed

into the inside of our hats, with the wool next to our heads, and thus were able to bear the weight, day after

day, which would otherwise have soon worn off our hair, and borne hard upon our skulls. Upon the whole,

ours was the best berth; for though the water was nipping cold, early in the morning and late at night, and

being so continually wet was rather an exposure, yet we got rid of the constant dust and dirt from the beating

of the hides, and being all of us young and hearty, did not mind the exposure. The older men of the crew,

whom it would have been dangerous to have kept in the water, remained on board with the mate, to stow the

We continued at work in this manner until the lower hold was filled to within four feet of the beams, when all

hands were called aboard to commence steeving. As this is a peculiar operation, it will require a minute

Before stowing the hides, as I have said, the ballast is levelled off, just above the keelson, and then loose

dunnage placed upon it, on which the hides rest. The greatest care is used in stowing, to make the ship hold as

many hides as possible. It is no mean art, and a man skilled in it is an important character in California. Many

a dispute have I heard raging high between professed "beachcombers," as to whether the hides should be

stowed "shingling," or backtoback, and flippertoflipper;" upon which point there was an entire and

bitter division of sentiment among the savans. We adopted each method at different periods of the stowing,

and parties ran high in the forecastle, some siding with "old Bill" in favor of the former, and others scouting

him, and relying upon "English Bob" of the Ayacucho, who had been eight years in California, and was

willing to risk his life and limb for the latter method. At length a compromise was effected, and a middle

course, of shifting the ends and backs at every lay, was adopted, which worked well, and which, though they

held it inferior to their own, each party granted was better than that of the other.

Having filled the ship up, in this way, to within four feet of her beams, the process of steeving commenced,

by which an hundred hides are got into a place where one could not be forced by hand, and which presses the

hides to the utmost, sometimes starting the beams of the ship, resembling in its effects the jackscrews which

are used in stowing cotton. Each morning we went ashore, and beat and brought off as many hides as we

could steeve in the course of the day, and, after breakfast, went down into the hold, where we remained at

work until night. The whole length of the hold, from stem to stern, was floored off level, and we began with

raising a pile in the after part, hard against the bulkhead of the run, and filling it up to the beams, crowding in

as many as we could by hand and pushing in with oars; when a large "book" was made of from twentyfive

to fifty hides, doubled at the backs, and put into one another, like the leaves of a book. An opening was then

made between two hides in the pile, and the back of the outside hide of the book inserted. Two long, heavy

spars, called steeves, made of the strongest wood, and sharpened off like a wedge at one end, were placed

with their wedge ends into the inside of the hide which was the centre of the book, and to the other end of

each, straps were fitted, into which large tackles were hooked, composed each of two huge purchase blocks,

one hooked to the strap on the end of the steeve, and the other into a dog, fastened into one of the beams, as

far aft as it could be got. When this was arranged, and the ways greased upon which the book was to slide, the

falls of the tackles were stretched forward, and all hands tallied on, and bowsed away until the book was well

entered; when these tackles were nippered, straps and toggles clapped upon the falls, and two more luff

tackles hooked on, with dogs, in the same manner; and thus, by luff upon luff, the power was multiplied, until

into a pile in which one hide more could not be crowded by hand, an hundred or an hundred and fifty were

often driven in by this complication of purchases. When the last luff was hooked on, all hands were called to

the rope cook, steward, and all and ranging ourselves at the falls, one behind the other, sitting down on the

hides, with our heads just even with the beams, we set taught upon the tackles, and striking up a song, and all

lying back at the chorus, we bowsed the tackles home, and drove the large books chock in out of sight.

The sailor's songs for capstans and falls are of a peculiar kind, having a chorus at the end of each line. The

burden is usually sung, by one alone, and, at the chorus, all hands join in, and the louder the noise, the

better. With us, the chorus seemed almost to raise the decks of the ship, and might be heard at a great

distance, ashore. A song is as necessary to sailors as the drum and fife to a soldier. They can't pull in time, or

pull with a will, without it. Many a time, when a thing goes heavy, with one fellow yohoing, a lively song,

like "Heave, to the girls!" "Nancy oh!" "Jack Crosstree," etc., has put life and strength into every arm. We

often found a great difference in the effect of the different songs in driving in the hides. Two or three songs

would be tried, one after the other, with no effect; not an inch could be got upon the tackles when a new

song, struck up, seemed to hit the humor of the moment, and drove the tackles "two blocks" at once. "Heave

round hearty!" "Heave round hearty!" "Captain gone ashore!" and the like, might do for common pulls, but in

an emergency, when we wanted a heavy, "raisethedead" pull, which should start the beams of the ship,

there was nothing like "Time for us to go!" "Round the corner," or "Hurrah! hurrah! my hearty bullies!"

This was the most lively part of our work. A little boating and beach work in the morning; then twenty or

thirty men down in a close hold, where we were obliged to sit down and slide about, passing hides, and

rowsing about the great steeves, tackles, and dogs, singing out at the falls, and seeing the ship filling up every

day. The work was as hard as it could well be. There was not a moment's cessation from Monday morning till

Saturday night, when we were generally beaten out, and glad to have a full night's rest, a wash and shift of

clothes, and a quiet Sunday. During all this times, which would have startled Dr. Graham we lived upon

almost nothing but fresh beef; fried beefsteaks, three times a day, morning, noon, and night. At morning and

night we had a quart of tea to each man; and an allowance of about a pound of hard bread a day; but our chief

article of food was the beef. A mess, consisting of six men, had a large wooden kid piled up with beefsteaks,

cut thick, and fried in fat, with the grease poured over them. Round this we sat, attacking it with our

jackknives and teeth, and with the appetite of young lions, and sent back an empty kid to the galley. This

was done three times a day. How many pounds each man ate in a day, I will not attempt to compute. A whole

bullock (we ate liver and all) lasted us but four days. Such devouring of flesh, I will venture to say, was

seldom known before. What one man ate in a day, over a hearty man's allowance, would make a Russian's

heart leap into his mouth. Indeed, during all the time we were upon the coast, our principal food was fresh

beef, and every man had perfect health; but this was a time of especial devouring; and what we should have

done without meat, I cannot tell. Once or twice, when our bullocks failed and we were obliged to make a

meal upon dry bread and water, it seemed like feeding upon shavings. Light and dry, feeling unsatisfied, and,

at the same time, full, we were glad to see four quarters of a bullock, just killed, swinging from the foretop.

Whatever theories may be started by sedentary men, certainly no men could have gone through more hard

work and exposure for sixteen months in more perfect health, and without ailings and failings, than our ship's

Friday, April 15th. Arrived, brig Pilgrim, from the windward. It was a sad sight for her crew to see us getting

ready to go off the coast, while they, who had been longer on the coast than the Alert, were condemned to

another year's hard service. I spent an evening on board, and found them making the best of the matter, and

determined to rough it out as they might; but my friend S was determined to go home in the ship, if

money or interest could bring it to pass. After considerable negotiating and working, he succeeded in

persuading my English friend, Tom Harris, my companion in the anchor watch for thirty dollars, some

clothes, and an intimation from Captain Faucon that he met should want a second mate before the voyage was

up, to take his place in the brig as soon as she was ready to go up to windward.

The first opportunity I could get to speak to Captain Faucon, I asked him to step up to the oven and look at

Hope, whom he knew well, having had him on board his vessel. He went to see him, but said that he had so

little medicine, and expected to be so long on the coast, that he could do nothing for him, but that Captain

Arthur would take care of him when he came down in the California, which would be in a week or more. I

had been to see Hope the first night after we got into San Diego this last time, and had frequently since spent

the early part of a night in the oven. I hardly expected, when I left him to go to windward, to find him alive

upon my return. He was certainly as low as he could well be when I left him, and what would be the effect of

the medicines that I gave him. I hardly then dared to conjecture. Yet I knew that he must die without them. I

was not a little rejoiced, therefore, and relieved, upon our return, to see him decidedly better. The medicines

were strong, and took hold and gave a check to the disorder which was destroying him; and, more than that,

they had begun the work of exterminating it. I shall never forget the gratitude that he expressed. All the

Kanakas attributed his escape solely to my knowledge, and would not be persuaded that I had not all the

secrets of the physical system open to me and under my control. My medicines, however, were gone, and no

more could be got from the ship, so that his life was left to hang upon the arrival of the California.

Sunday, April, 24th. We had now been nearly seven weeks in San Diego, and had taken in the greater part of

our cargo, and were looking out, every day, for the arrival of the California, which had our agent on board;

when, this afternoon, some Kanakas, who had been over the hill for rabbits and to fight rattlesnakes, came

running down the path, singing out, singing out, "Kail ho!" with all their might. Mr. H., our third mate, was

ashore, and asking them particularly about the size of the sail, etc., and learning that it was "Moku Nui

Moku," hailed our ship, and said that the California was on the other side of the point. Instantly, all hands

were turned up, the bow guns run out and loaded, the ensign and broad pennant set, the yards squared by lifts

and braces, and everything got ready to make a good appearance. The instant she showed her nose round the

point, we began our salute. She came in under topgallant sails, clawed up and furled her sails in good order,

and cameto, within good swinging distance of us. It being Sunday, and nothing to do, all hands were on the

forecastle, criticising the newcomer. She was a good, substantial ship, not quite so long as the Alert, and

wallsided and kettlebottomed, after the latest fashion of southshore cotton and sugar wagons; strong, too,

and tight, and a good average sailor, but with no pretensions to beauty, and nothing in the style of a "crack

ship." Upon the whole, we were perfectly satisfied that the Alert might hold up her head with a ship twice as

At night, some of us got a boat and went on board, and found a large, roomy forecastle, (for she was squarer

forward than the Alert,) and a crew of a dozen or fifteen men and boys, sitting around on their chests,

smoking and talking, and ready to give a welcome to any of our ship's company. It was just seven months

since they left Boston, which seemed but yesterday to us. Accordingly, we had much to ask, for though we

had seen the newspapers that she brought, yet these were the very men who had been in Boston and seen

everything with their own eyes. One of the greenhands was a Boston boy, from one of the public schools,

and, of course, knew many things which we wished to ask about, and on inquiring the names of our two

Boston boys, found that they had been schoolmates of his. Our men had hundreds of questions to ask about

Ann street, the boardinghouses, the ships in port, the rate of wages, and other matters.

Among her crew were two English manofwar'smen, so that, of course, we soon had music. They sang in

the true sailor's style, and the rest of the crew, which was a remarkably musical one, joined in the choruses.

They had many of the latest sailor songs, which had not yet got about among our merchantmen, and which

they were very choice of. They began soon after we came on board, and kept it up until after two bells, when

the second mate came forward and called "the Alerts away!" Battlesongs, drinkingsongs, boatsongs,

lovesongs, and everything else, they seemed to have a complete assortment of, and I was glad to find that

"All in the Downs," "Poor Tom Bowline," "The Bay of Biscay," "List, ye Landsmen!" and all those classical

songs of the sea, still held their places. In addition to these, they had picked up at the theatres and other places

a few songs of a little more genteel cast, which they were very proud of; and I shall never forget hearing an

old salt, who had broken his voice by hard drinking on shore, and bellowing from the masthead in a hundred

northwesters, with all manner of ungovernable trills and quavers in the high notes, breaking into a rough

falsetto and in the low ones, growling along like the dying away of the boatswain's "all hands ahoy!" down

The last line, being the conclusion, he roared out at the top of his voice, breaking each word up into half a

dozen syllables. This was very popular, and Jack was called upon every night to give them his "sentimental

song." No one called for it more loudly than I, for the complete absurdity of the execution, and the sailors'

The next day, the California commenced unloading her cargo; and her boats' crews, in coming and going,

sang their boatsongs, keeping time with their oars. This they did all day long for several days, until their

hides were all discharged, when a gang of them were sent on board the Alert, to help us steeve our hides. This

was a windfall for us, for they had a set of new songs for the capstan and fall, and ours had got nearly worn

out by six weeks' constant use. I have no doubt that this timely reinforcement of songs hastened our work

Our cargo was now nearly all taken in; and my old friend, the Pilgrim, having completed her discharge,

unmoored, to set sail the next morning on another long trip to windward. I was just thinking of her hard lot,

and congratulating myself upon my escape from her, when I received a summons into the cabin. I went aft,

and there found, seated round the cabin table, my own captain, Captain Faucon of the Pilgrim, and Mr. R,

"Then," said he, "you must get some one to go in your place on board the Pilgrim."

I was so completely "taken aback" by this sudden intimation, that for a moment I could make no reply. I

knew that it would be hopeless to attempt to prevail upon any of the ship's crew to take twelve months more

upon the California in the brig. I knew, too, that Captain T had received orders to bring me home in the

Alert, and he had told me, when I was at the hidehouse, that I was to go home in her; and even if this had

not been so, it was cruel to give me no notice of the step they were going to take, until a few hours before the

brig would sail. As soon as I had got my wits about me, I put on a bold front, and told him plainly that I had a

letter in my chest informing me that he had been written to, by the owners in Boston, to bring me home in the

To have this told him, and to be opposed in such a manner, was more than my lord paramount had been used

He turned fiercely upon me, and tried to look me down, and face me out of my statement; but finding that that

wouldn't do, and that I was entering upon my defence in such a way as would show to the other two that he

was in the wrong, he changed his ground, and pointed to the shipping papers of the Pilgrim, from which my

name had never been erased, and said that there was my name, that I belonged to her, that he had an

absolute discretionary power; and, in short, that I must be on board the Pilgrim by the next morning with my

chest and hammock, or have some one ready to go in my place, and that he would not hear another word from

me. No court or star chamber could proceed more summarily with a poor devil, than this trio was about to do

with me; condemning me to a punishment worse than a Botany Bay exile, and to a fate which would alter the

whole current of my future life; for two years more in California would have made me a sailor for the rest of

my days. I felt all this, and saw the necessity of being determined. I repeated what I had said, and insisted

But it would have all availed me nothing, had I been "some poor body," before this absolute, domineering

tribunal. But they saw that I would not go, unless "vi et armis," and they knew that I had friends and interest

enough at home to make them suffer for any injustice they might do me. It was probably this that turned the

matter; for the captain changed his tone entirely, and asked me if, in case any one went in my place, I would

give him the same sum that S gave Harris to exchange with him. I told him that if any one was sent on

board the brig, I should pity him, and be willing to help him to that, or almost any amount; but would not

"Very well," said he. "Go forward about your business, and send English Ben here to me!"

I went forward with a light heart, but feeling as angry, and as much contempt as I could well contain between

my teeth. English Ben was sent aft, and in a few moments came forward, looking as though he had received

his sentence to be hung. The captain had told him to get his things ready to go on board the brig the next

morning; and that I would give him thirty dollars and a suit of clothes. The hands had "knocked off" for

dinner, and were standing about the forecastle, when Ben came forward and told his story. I could see plainly

that it made a great excitement, and that, unless I explained the matter to them, the feeling would be turned

against me. Ben was a poor English boy, a stranger in Boston, and without friends or money; and being an

active, willing lad, and a good sailor for his years, was a general favorite. "Oh, yes!" said the crew, "the

captain has let you off, because you are a gentleman's son, and have got friends, and know the owners; and

taken Ben, because he is poor, and has got nobody to say a word for him!" I knew that this was too true to be

answered, but I excused myself from any blame, and told them that I had a right to go home, at all events.

This pacified them a little, but Jack had got a notion that a poor lad was to be imposed upon, and did not

distinguish very clearly; and though I knew that I was in no fault, and, in fact, had barely escaped the grossest

injustice, yet I felt that my berth was getting to be a disagreeable one. The notion that I was not "one of

them," which, by a participation in all their labor and hardships, and having no favor shown me, had been laid

asleep, was beginning to revive. But far stronger than any feeling for myself, was the pity I felt for the poor

lad. He had depended upon going home in the ship; and from Boston, was going immediately to Liverpool, to

see his friends. Beside this, having begun the voyage with very few clothes, he had taken up the greater part

of his wages in the slopchest, and it was every day a losing concern to him; and, like all the rest of the crew,

he had a hearty hatred of California, and the prospect of eighteen months or two years more of hidedroghing

seemed completely to break down his spirit. I had determined not to go myself, happen what would, and I

knew that the captain would not dare to attempt to force me. I knew, too, that the two captains had agreed

together to get some one, and that unless I could prevail upon somebody to go voluntarily, there would be no

help for Ben. From this consideration, though I had said that I would have nothing to do with an exchange, I

did my best to get some one to go voluntarily. I offered to give an order upon the owners in Boston for six

months' wages, and also all the clothes, books, and other matters, which I should not want upon the voyage

home. When this offer was published in the ship, and the case of poor Ben was set forth in strong colors,

several, who would not have dreamed of going themselves, were busy in talking it up to others, who, they

thought, might be tempted to accept it; and, at length, one fellow, a harumscarum lad, whom we called

Harry Bluff, and who did not care what country or ship he was in, if he had clothes enough and money

enough partly from pity for Ben, and partly from the thought he should have "cruising money" for the rest

of his stay, came forward, and offered to go and "sling his hammock in the bloody hooker." Lest his purpose

should cool, I signed an order for the sum upon the owners in Boston, gave him all the clothes I could spare,

and sent him aft to the captain, to let him know what had been done. The skipper accepted the exchange, and

was, doubtless, glad to have it pass off so easily. At the same time he cashed the order, which was endorsed

to him,* and the next morning, the lad went aboard the brig, apparently in good spirits, having shaken hands

with each of us and wished us a pleasant passage home, jingling the money in his pockets, and calling out,

"Never say die, while there's a shot in the locker." The same boat carried off Harris, my old watchmate, who

had previously made an exchange with my friend S. *When the crew were paid off in Boston, the owners

answered the order, but generously refused to deduct the amount from the payroll, saying that the exchange

I was sorry to part with Harris. Nearly two hundred hours (as we had calculated it) had we walked the ship's

deck together, at anchor watch, when all hands were below, and talked over and over every subject which

came within the ken of either of us. He gave me a strong gripe with his hand; and I told him, if he came to

Boston again, not to fail to find me out, and let me see an old watchmate. The same boat brought on board

S, my friend, who had begun the voyage with me from Boston, and, like me, was going back to his

family and to the society which we had been born and brought up in. We congratulated one another upon

finding what we had long talked over and wished for, thus brought about; and none on board the ship were

more glad than ourselves to see the old brig standing round the point, under full sail. As she passed abreast of

us, we all collected in the waist, and gave her three loud, hearty cheers, waving our hats in the air. Her crew

sprang into the rigging and chains, answered us with three as loud, to which we, after the nautical custom,

gave one in return. I took my last look of their familiar faces as they got over the rail, and saw the old black

cook put his head out of the galley, and wave his cap over his head. The crew flew aloft to loose the

topgallant sails and royals; the two captains waved their hands to one another; and, in ten minutes, we saw

Relieved as I was to see her well off, (and I felt like one who had just sprung from an iron trap which was

closing upon him) I had yet a feeling of regret at taking the last look at the old craft in which I had spent a

year, and the first year, of my sailor's life which had been my first home in the new world into which I had

entered and with which I had associated so many things, my first leaving home, my first crossing the

equator, Cape Horn, Juan Fernandez, death at sea, and other things, serious and common. Yet, with all this,

and the feeling I had for my old shipmates, condemned to another term of California life, the thought that we

were done with it, and that one week more would see us on our way to Boston, was a cure for everything.

Friday, May 6th, completed the taking of our cargo, and was a memorable day in our calendar. The time

when we were to take in our last hide, we had looked forward to, for sixteen months, as the first bright spot.

When the last hide was stowed away, and the hatches calked down, the tarpaulins battened on to them, the

longboat hoisted in and secured, and the decks swept down for the night, the chief mate sprang upon the top

of the longboat, called all hands into the waist, and giving us a signal by swinging his cap over his head,

we gave three long, loud cheers, which came from the bottom of our hearts, and made the hills and valleys

ring again. In a moment, we heard three, in answer, from the California's crew, who had seen us taking in our

The last week, we had been occupied in taking in a supply of wood and water for the passage home, and

bringing on board the spare spars, sails, etc. I was sent off with a party of Indians to fill the watercasks, at a

spring, about three miles from the shipping, and near the town, and was absent three days, living at the town,

and spending the daytime in filling the casks and transporting them on oxcarts to the landingplace, whence

they were taken on board by the crew with boats. This being all done with, we gave one day to bending our

sails; and at night, every sail, from the courses to the skysails, was bent, and every studdingsail ready for

Before our sailing, an unsuccessful attempt was made by one of the crew of the California to effect an

exchange with one of our number. It was a lad, between fifteen and sixteen years of age, who went by the

name of the "reefer," having been a midshipman in East India Company's ship. His singular character and

story had excited our interest ever since the ship came into the port. He was a delicate, slender little fellow,

with a beautiful pearly complexion, regular features, forehead as white as marble, black haired, curling

beautifully, rounded, tapering, delicate fingers, small feet, soft voice, gentle manners, and, in fact, every sign

of having been well born and bred. At the same time there was something in his expression which showed a

slight deficiency of intellect. How great the deficiency was, or what it resulted from; whether he was born so;

whether it was the result of disease or accident; or whether, as some said, it was brought on by his distress of

mind, during the voyage, I cannot say. From his own account of himself, and from many circumstances

which were known in connection with his story, he must have been the son of a man of wealth. His mother

was an Italian woman. He was probably a natural son, for in scarcely any other way could the incidents of his

early life be accounted for. He said that his parents did not live together, and he seemed to have been ill

treated by his father. Though he had been delicately brought up, and indulged in every way, (and he had then

with him trinkets which had been given him at home,) yet his education had been sadly neglected; and when

only twelve years old, he was sent as midshipman in the Company's service. His own story was, that he

afterwards ran away from home, upon a difficulty which he had with his father. and went to Liverpool,

whence he sailed in the ship Rialto, Captain Holmes, for Boston. Captain Holmes endeavored to get him a

passage back, but there being no vessel to sail for some time, the boy left him, and went to board at a

common sailor's boardinghouse, in Ann street, where he supported himself for a few weeks by selling some

of his valuables. At length, according to his own account, being desirous of returning home, he went to a

shippingoffice, where the shipping articles of the California were open. Upon asking where the ship was

going, he was told by the shippingmaster that she was bound to California. Not knowing where that was, he

told him that he wanted to go to Europe, and asked if California was in Europe. The shippingmaster answered

him in a way which the boy did not understand, and advised him to ship. The boy signed the articles, received

his advance, laid out a little of it in clothes, and spent the rest, and was ready to go on board, when, upon the

morning of sailing, he heard that the ship was bound upon the Northwest Coast, on a two or three years'

voyage, and was not going to Europe. Frightened at this prospect, he slipped away when the crew was going

aboard, wandered up into another part of the town, and spent all the forenoon in straying about the common,

and the neighboring streets. Having no money, and all his clothes and other things being in the chest, on

board, and being a stranger, he became tired and hungry, and ventured down toward the shipping, to see if the

vessel had sailed. He was just turning the corner of a street, when the shippingmaster, who had been in search

of him, popped upon him, seized him, and carried him on board. He cried and struggled, and said he did not

wish to go in the ship, but the topsails were at the masthead, the fasts just ready to be cast off, and

everything in the hurry and confusion of departure, so that he was hardly noticed; and the few who did

inquire about the matter were told that it was merely a boy who had spent his advance and tried to run away.

Had the owners of the vessel known anything of the matter, they would have interfered at once; but they

either knew nothing of it, or heard, like the rest, that it was only an unruly boy who was sick of his bargain.

As soon as the boy found himself actually at sea, and upon a voyage of two or three years in length, his spirits

failed him; he refused to work, and became so miserable, that Captain Arthur took him into the cabin, where

he assisted the steward, and occasionally pulled and hauled about decks. He was in this capacity when we

saw him; and though it was much better for him than the life in the forecastle, and the hard work, watching,

and exposure, which his delicate frame could not have borne, yet, to be joined with a black fellow in waiting

upon a man whom he probably looked upon as but little, in point of education and manners, above one of his

father's servants, was almost too much for his spirit to bear. Had he entered upon his situation of his own free

will, he could have endured it; but to have been deceived, and, in addition to that, forced into it, was

intolerable. He made every effort to go home in our ship, but his captain refused to part with him except in

the way of exchange, and that he could not effect. If this account of the whole matter, which we had from the

boy, and which was confirmed by all the crew, be correct, I cannot understand why Captain Arthur should

have refused to let him go, especially being a captain who had the name, not only with that crew, but with all

whom he had ever commanded, of an unusually kindhearted man. The truth is, the unlimited power which

merchant captains have, upon long voyages on strange coasts, takes away a sense of responsibility, and too

often, even in men otherwise welldisposed, substitutes a disregard for the rights and feelings of others. The

lad was sent on shore to join the gang at the hidehouse; from whence, I was afterwards rejoiced to hear, he

effected his escape, and went down to Callao in a small Spanish schooner; and from Callao, he probably

Soon after the arrival of the California, I spoke to Captain Arthur about Hope; and as he had known him on

the voyage before, and was very fond of him, he immediately went to see him, gave him proper medicines,

and, under such care, he began rapidly to recover. The Saturday night before our sailing, I spent an hour in

the oven, and took leave of my Kanaka friends; and, really, this was the only thing connected with leaving

California which was in any way unpleasant. I felt an interest and affection for many of these simple,

truehearted men, such as I never felt before but for a near relation. Hope shook me by the hand, said he

should soon be well again, and ready to work for me when I came upon the coast, next voyage, as officer of

the ship; and told me not to forget, when I became captain, how to be kind to the sick. Old "Mr. Bingham"

and "King Mannini" went down to the boat with me, shook me heartily by the hand, wished us a good

voyage, and went back to the oven, chanting one of their deep monotonous songs, the burden of which I

Sunday, May 8th. This promised to be our last day in California. Our forty thousand hides, thirty thousand

horns, besides several barrels of otter and beaver skins, were all stowed below, and the hatches calked down.

All our spare spars were taken on board and lashed; our watercasks secured; and our live stock, consisting

of four bullocks, a dozen sheep, a dozen or more pigs, and three or four dozen of poultry, were all stowed

away in their different quarters: the bullocks in the longboat, the sheep in a pen on the forehatch, and the

pigs in a sty under the bows of the longboat, and the poultry in their proper coop; and the jollyboat was full

of hay for the sheep and bullocks. Our unusually large cargo, together with the stores for a five months'

voyage, brought the ship channels down into the water. In addition to this, she had been steeved so

thoroughly, and was so bound by the compression of her cargo, forced into her by so powerful machinery,

that she was like a man in a straightjacket, and would be but a dull sailer, until she had worked herself loose.

The California had finished discharging her cargo, and was to get under weigh at the same time with us.

Having washed down decks and got our breakfast, the two vessels lay side by side, in complete readiness for

sea, our ensigns hanging from the peaks, and our tall spars reflected from the glassy surface of the river,

which, since sunrise, had been unbroken by a ripple. At length, a few whiffs came across the water, and, by

eleven o'clock, the regular northwest wind set steadily in. There was no need of calling all hands, for we had

all been hanging about the forecastle the whole forenoon, and were ready for a start upon the first sign of a

breeze. All eyes were aft upon the captain, who was walking the deck, with, every now and then, a look to

windward. He made a sign to the mate, who came forward, took his station, deliberately between the

knightheads, cast a glance aloft, and called out, "All hands, lay aloft and loose the sails!" We were half in

the rigging before the order came, and never since we left Boston were the gaskets off the yards, and the

rigging overhauled, in a shorter time. "All ready forward, sir!" "All ready the main!" "Crossjack yards all

ready, sir!" "Lay down, all hands but one on each yard!" The yardarm and bunt gaskets were cast off; and

each sail hung by the jigger, with one man standing by the tie to let it go. At the same moment that we sprang

aloft, a dozen hands sprang into the rigging of the California, and in an instant were all over her yards; and

her sails, too, were ready to be dropped at the word. In the mean time our bow gun had been loaded and run

out, and its discharge was to be the signal for dropping sails. A cloud of smoke came out of our bows; the

echoes of the gun rattled our farewell among the hills of California; and the two ships were covered, from

head to foot, with their white canvas. For a few minutes, all was uproar and apparent confusion: men flying

about like monkeys in the rigging; ropes and blocks flying; orders given and answered, and the confused

noises of men singing out at the ropes. The topsails came to the mastheads with "Cheerily, men!" and, in a

few minutes, every sail was set; for the wind was light. The head sails were backed, the windlass came round

"slip slap" to the cry of the sailors; "Hove short, sir," said the mate; "Up with him!" "Aye, aye, sir." A

few hearty and long heaves, and the anchor showed its head. "Hook cat!" The fall was stretched along the

decks; all hands laid hold; "Hurrah, for the last time," said the mate; and the anchor came to the cathead to

the tune of "Time for us to go," with a loud chorus. Everything was done quick, as though it were for the last

time. The head yards were filled away, and our ship began to move through the water on her

The California had got under weigh at the same moment; and we sailed down the narrow bay abreast and

were just off the mouth, and finding ourselves gradually shooting ahead of her, were on the point of giving

her three parting cheers, when, suddenly, we found ourselves stopped short, and the California ranging fast

ahead of us. A bar stretches across the mouth of the harbor, with water enough to float common vessels, but,

being low in the water, and having kept well to leeward, as we were bound to the southward, we had stuck

We kept all sail on, in the hope of forcing over, but failing in this, we hove aback, and lay waiting for the

tide, which was on the flood, to take us back into the channel. This was somewhat of a damper to us, and the

captain looked not a little mortified and vexed. "This is the same place where the Rosa got ashore," observed

the redheaded second mate, most malapropos. A malediction on the Rosa, and him too, was all the answer

he got, and he slunk off to leeward. In a few minutes, the force of the wind and the rising of the tide backed

us into the stream, and we were on our way to our old anchoringplace, the tide setting swiftly up, and the

ship barely manageable, in the light breeze. We cameto, in our old berth, opposite the hidehouse, whose

inmates were not a little surprised to see us return. We felt as though we were tied to California; and some of

In about half an hour, which was near high water, the order was given to man the windlass, and again the

anchor was catted; but not a word was said about the last time. The California had come back on finding that

we had returned, and was hoveto, waiting for us, off the point. This time we passed the bar safely, and were

soon up with the California, who filled away, and kept us company. She seemed desirous of a trial of speed,

and our captain accepted the challenge, although we were loaded down to the bolts of our chain plates, as

deep as a sandbarge, and bound so taught with our cargo that we were no more fit for a race than a man in

fetters; while our antagonist was in her best trim. Being clear of the point, the breeze became stiff, and the

royal masts bent under our sails, but we would not take them in until we saw three boys spring aloft into the

rigging of the California; when they were all furled at once, but with orders to stay aloft at the topgallant

mastheads, and loose them again at the word. It was my duty to furl the fore royal; and while standing by to

loose it again, I had a fine view of the scene. From where I stood, the two vessels seemed nothing but spars

and sails, while their narrow decks, far below, slanting over by the force of the wind aloft, appeared hardly

capable of supporting the great fabrics raised upon them. The California was to windward of us, and had

every advantage; yet, while the breeze was stiff, we held our own. As soon as it began to slacken, she ranged

a little ahead, and the order was given to loose the royals. In an instant the gaskets were off and the bunt

dropped. "Sheet home the fore royal! Weather sheet's home!" "Hoist away, sir!" is bawled from aloft.

"Overhaul your clewlines!" shouts the mate. "Aye, aye, sir, all clear!" "Taught leech! belay! Well the lee

brace; haul taught to windward" and the royals are set. These brought us up again; but the wind continuing

light, the California set hers, and it was soon evident that she was walking away from us. Our captain then

hailed, and said that he should6 keep off to his course; adding "She isn't the Alert now. If I had her in your

trim, she would have been out of sight by this time." This was goodnaturedly answered from the California,

and she braced sharp up, and stood close upon the wind up the coast; while we squared away our yards, and

stood before the wind to the southsouthwest. The California's crew manned her weather rigging, waved their

hats in the air, and gave up three hearty cheers, which we answered as heartily, and the customary single

cheer came back to us from over the water. She stood on her way, doomed to eighteen months' or two years'

hard service upon that hated coast, while we were making our way to our home, to which every hour and

As soon as we parted company with the California, all hands were sent aloft to set the studdingsails. Booms

were rigged out, tacks and halyards rove, sail after sail packed upon her, until every available inch of canvas

was spread, that we might not lose a breath of the fair wind. We could now see how much she was cramped

and deadened by her cargo; for with a good breeze on her quarter, and every stitch of canvas spread, we could

not get more than six knots out of her. She had no more life in her than if she were waterlogged. The log

was hove several times; but she was doing her best. We had hardly patience with her, but the older sailors

said "Stand by! you'll see her work herself loose in a week or two, and then she'll walk up to Cape Horn like

When all sail had been set, and the decks cleared up, the California was a speck in the horizon, and the coast

lay like a low cloud along the northeast. At sunset they were both out of sight, and we were once more upon

At eight o'clock all hands were called aft, and the watches set for the voyage. Some changes were made; but I

was glad to find myself still in the larboard watch. Our crew was somewhat diminished; for a man and a boy

had gone in the Pilgrim; another was second mate of the Ayacucho; and a third, the oldest man of the crew,

had broken down under the hard work and constant exposure on the coast, and, having had a stroke of the

palsy, was left behind at the hidehouse under the charge of Captain Arthur. The poor fellow wished very

much to come home in the ship; and he ought to have been brought home in her. But a live dog is better than

a dead lion, and a sick sailor belongs to nobody's mess; so he was sent ashore with the rest of the lumber,

which was only in the way. By these diminutions, we were shorthanded for a voyage round Cape Horn in the

dead of winter. Besides S and myself, there were only five in the forecastle; who, together with four boys

in the steerage, the sailmaker, carpenter, etc., composed the whole crew. In addition to this, we were only

three or four days out, when the sailmaker, who was the oldest and best seaman on board, was taken with the

palsy, and was useless for the rest of the voyage. The constant wading in the water, in all weathers, to take off

hides, together with the other labors, is too much for old men, and for any who have not good constitutions.

Beside these two men of ours, the second officer of the California and the carpenter of the Pilgrim broke

down under the work, and the latter died at Santa Barbara. The young man, too, who came out with us from

Boston in the Pilgrim, had to be taken from his berth before the mast and made clerk, on account of a fit of

rheumatism which attacked him soon after he came upon the coast. By the loss of the sailmaker, our watch

was reduced to five, of whom two were boys, who never steered but in fine weather, so that the other two and

myself had to stand at the wheel four hours apiece out of every twentyfour; and the other watch had only

four helmsmen. "Never mind we're homeward bound!" was the answer to everything; and we should not

have minded this, were it not for the thought that we should be off Cape Horn in the very dead of winter. It

was now the first part of May; and two months would bring us off the cape in July, which is the worst month

in the year there; when the sun rises at nine and sets at three, giving eighteen hours night, and there is snow

The prospect of meeting this in a ship half manned, and loaded so deep that every heavy sea must wash her

fore and aft, was by no means pleasant. The Alert, in her passage out, doubled the Cape in the month of

February, which is midsummer; and we came round in the Pilgrim in the latter part of October, which we

thought was bad enough. There was only one of our crew who had been off there in the winter, and that was

in a whaleship, much lighter and higher than our ship; yet he said they had mankilling weather for twenty

days without intermission, and their decks were swept twice, and they were all glad enough to see the last of

it. The Brandywine frigate, also, in her passage round, had sixty days off the Cape, and lost several boats by

the heavy sea. All this was for our comfort; yet pass it we must; and all hands agreed to make the best of it.

During our watches below we overhauled our clothes, and made and mended everything for bad weather.

Each of us had made for himself a suit of oilcloth or tarpaulin, and these we got out, and gave thorough

coatings of oil or tar, and hung upon the stays to dry. Our stout boots, too, we covered over with a thick

mixture of melted grease and tar, and hung out to dry. Thus we took advantage of the warm sun and fine

weather of the Pacific to prepare for its other face. In the forenoon watches below, our forecastle looked like

the workshop of what a sailor is a Jack at all trades. Thick stockings and drawers were darned and patched;

mittens dragged from the bottom of the chest and mended; comforters made for the neck and ears; old flannel

shirts cut up to line monkey jackets; southwesters lined with flannel, and a pot of paint smuggled forward to

give them a coat on the outside; and everything turned to hand; so that, although two years had left us but a

scanty wardrobe, yet the economy and invention which necessity teaches a sailor, soon put each of us in

pretty good trim for bad weather, even before we had seen the last of the fine. Even the cobbler's art was not

out of place. Several old shoes were very decently repaired, and with waxed ends, an awl, and the top of an

There was one difficulty, however, which nothing that we could do would remedy; and that was the leaking

of the forecastle, which made it very uncomfortable in bad weather, rendered half of the berths tenantless.

The tightest ships, in long voyage, from the constant strain which is upon the bowsprit, will leak, more or

less, round the heel of the bowsprit, and the bitts, which come down into the forecastle; but, in addition to

this, we this, we had an unaccountable leak on the starboard bow, near the cathead, which drove us from the

forward berths on that side, and, indeed, when she was on the starboard tack, from all the forward berths. One

of the after berths, too, leaked in very bad weather; so that in a ship which was in other respects as tight as a

bottle, and brought her cargo to Boston perfectly dry, we had, after every effort made to prevent it, in the way

of caulking and leading, a forecastle with only three dry berths for seven of us. However, as there is never but

one watch below at a time, by 'turning in and out,' we did pretty well. And there being, in our watch, but three

of us who lived forward, we generally had a dry berth apiece in bad weather.* *On removing the cathead,

after the ship arrived at Boston, it was found that there were two holes under it which had been bored for the

purpose of driving treenails, and which, accidentally, had not been plugged up when the cathead was placed

over them. This was sufficient to account for the leak, and for our not having been able to discover and stop

All this, however, was but anticipation. We were still in fine weather in the North Pacific, running down the

Sunday, May 15th, one week out, we were in latitude 14 deg. 56' N., long. 116 deg. 14' W., having gone, by

reckoning, over thirteen hundred miles in seven days. In fact, ever since leaving San Diego, we had had a fair

wind, and as much as we wanted of it. For seven days, our lower and topmast studdingsails were set all the

time, and our royals and topgallant studdingsails, whenever she could stagger under them. Indeed, the

captain had shown, from the moment we got to sea, that he was to have no boy's play, but that the ship had

got to carry all she could, and that he was going to make up, by "cracking on" to her, what she wanted in

lightness. In this way, we frequently made three degrees of latitude, besides something in longitude, in the

course of twentyfour hours. Our days were spent in the usual ship's work. The rigging which had become

slack from being long in port was to be set up; breast backstays got up; studdingsail booms rigged upon the

main yard; and the royal studdingsails got ready for the light trades; ringtail set; and new rigging fitted and

sails got ready for Cape Horn. For, with a ship's gear, as well as a sailor's wardrobe, fine weather must be

improved to get ready for the bad to come. Our forenoon watch below, as I have said, was given to our own

work, and our night watches were spent in the usual manner: a trick at the wheel, a lookout on the

forecastle, a nap on a coil of rigging under the lee of the rail; a yarn round the windlassend; or, as was

generally my way, a solitary walk fore and aft, in the weather waist, between the windlassend and the main

tack. Every wave that she threw aside brought us nearer home, and every day's observation at noon showed a

progress which, if it continued, would in less than five months, take us into Boston Bay. This is the pleasure

of life at sea, fine weather, day after day, without interruption, fair wind, and a plenty of it, and

homeward bound. Every one was in good humor; things went right; and all was done with a will. At the dog

watch, all hands came on deck, and stood round the weather side of the forecastle, or sat upon the windlass,

and sung sea songs, and those ballads of pirates and highwaymen, which sailors delight in. Home, too, and

what we should do when we got there, and when and how we should arrive, was no infrequent topic. Every

night, after the kids and pots were put away, and we had lighted our pipes and cigars at the galley, and

"Yes, but these trades won't last twentyfour hours longer," says an old salt, pointing with the sharp of his

Then came all manner of calculations and conjectures as to the continuance of the wind, the weather under

the line, the southeast trades, etc., and rough guesses as to the time the ship would be up with the Horn; and

some, more venturous, gave her so many days to Boston light, and offered to bet that she would not exceed it.

"Yes," says another, "you may see Boston, but you've got to 'smell hell' before that good day."

Rumors also of what had been said in the cabin, as usual, found their way forward. The steward had heard the

captain say something about the straits of Magellan, and the man at the wheel fancied he had heard him tell

the "passenger" that, if he found the wind ahead and the weather very bad off the Cape, he should stick her

This passenger the first and only one we had had, except to go from port to port, on the coast, was no one

else than a gentleman whom I had known in my better days; and the last person I should have expected to

have seen on the coast of California Professor N, of Cambridge. I had left him quietly seated in the

chair of Botany and Ornithology, in Harvard University; and the next I saw of him, was strolling about San

Diego beach, in a sailor's peajacket, with a wide straw hat, and barefooted, with his trowsers rolled up to his

knees, picking up stones and shells. He had travelled overland to the Northwest Coast, and come down in a

small vessel to Monterey. There he learned that there was a ship at the leeward, about to sail for Boston; and,

taking passage in the Pilgrim, which was then at Monterey, he came slowly down, visiting the intermediate

ports, and examining the trees, plants, earths, birds, etc., and joined us at San Diego shortly before we sailed.

The second mate of the Pilgrim told me that they had an old gentleman on board who knew me, and came

from the college that I had been in. He could not recollect his name, but said he was a "sort of an oldish

man," with white hair, and spent all his time in the bush, and along the beach, picking up flowers and shells,

and such truck, and had a dozen boxes and barrels, full of them. I thought over everybody who would be

likely to be there, but could fix upon no one; when, the next day, just as we were about to shove off from the

beach, he came down to the boat, in the rig I have described, with his shoes in his hand, and his pockets full

of specimens. I knew him at once, though I should not have been more surprised to have seen the Old South

steeple shoot up from the hidehouse. He probably had no less difficulty in recognizing me. As we left home

about the same time, we had nothing to tell one another; and, owing to our different situations on board, I saw

but little of him on the passage home. Sometimes, when I was at the wheel of a calm night, and the steering

required no attention, and the officer of the watch was forward, he would come aft and hold a short yarn with

me; but this was against the rules of the ship, as is, in fact, all intercourse between passengers and the crew. I

was often amused to see the sailors puzzled to know what to make of him, and to hear their conjectures about

him and his business. They were as much puzzled as our old sailmaker was with the captain's instruments in

the cabin. He said there were three: the chronometer, the chrenometer, and the thenometer.

(Chronometer, barometer, and thermometer.) The Pilgrim's crew christened Mr. N. "Old Curious," from his

zeal for curiosities, and some of them said that he was crazy, and that his friends let him go about and amuse

himself in this way. Why else a rich man (sailors call every man rich who does not work with his hands, and

wears a long coat and cravat) should leave a Christian country, and come to such a place as California, to

pick up shells and stones, they could not understand. One of them, however, an old salt, who had seen

something more of the world ashore, set all to rights, as he thoughts "Oh, 'vast there! You don't know

anything about them craft. I've seen them colleges, and know the ropes. They keep all such things for

curiosities, and study 'em, and have men a' purpose to go and get 'em. This old chap knows what he's about.

He a'n't the child you take him for. He'll carry all these things to the college, and if they are better than any

that they have had before, he'll be head of the college. Then, byandby, somebody else will go after some

more, and if they beat him, he'll have to go again, or else give up his berth. That's the way they do it. This old

covey knows the ropes. He has worked a traverse over 'em, and come 'way out here, where nobody's ever

been afore, and where they'll never think of coming." This explanation satisfied Jack; and as it raised Mr. N.'s

credit for capacity, and was near enough to the truth for common purposes, I did not disturb it.

With the exception of Mr. N., we had no one on board but the regular ship's company, and the live stock.

Upon this, we had made a considerable inroad. We killed one of the bullocks every four days, so that they did

not last us up to the line. We, or, rather, they, then began upon the sheep and the poultry, for these never

come into Jack's mess.* The pigs were left for the latter part of the voyage, for they are sailors, and can stand

all weathers. We had an old sow on board, the mother of a numerous progeny, who had been twice round the

Cape of Good Hope, and once round Cape Horn. The last time going round, was very nearly her death. We

heard her squealing and moaning one dark night, after it had been snowing and hailing for several hours, and

getting into the sty, we found her nearly frozen to death. We got some straw, an old sail, and other things, and

wrapped her up in a corner of the sty, where she staid until we got into fine weather again. *The customs as

to the allowance of "grub" are very nearly the same in all American merchantmen. Whenever a pig is killed,

the sailors have one mess from it. The rest goes to the cabin. The smaller live stock, poultry, etc., they never

taste. And, indeed, they do not complain of this, for it would take a great deal to supply them with a good

meal, and without the accompaniments, (which could hardly be furnished to them,) it would not be much

better than salt beef. But even as to the salt beef, they are scarcely dealt fairly with; for whenever a barrel is

opened, before any of the beef is put into the harnesscask, the steward comes up, and picks it all over, and

takes out the best pieces, (those that have any fat in them) for the cabin. This was done in both the vessels I

was in, and the men said that it was usual in other vessels. Indeed, it is made no secret, but some of the crew

are usually called to help in assorting and putting away the pieces. By this arrangement the hard, dry pieces,

There is a singular piece of rhyme, traditional among sailors, which they say over such pieces of beef. I do

not know that it ever appeared in print before. When seated round the kid, if a particularly bad piece is found,

There is a story current among seamen, that a beefdealer was convicted, at Boston, of having sold old horse

for ship's stores, instead of beef, and had been sentenced to be confined in jail, until he should eat the whole

of it; and that he is now lying in Boston jail. I have heard this story often, on board other vessels beside those

of our own nation. It is very generally believed, and is always highly commended, as a fair instance of

Wednesday, May 18th. Lat. 9 deg. 54' N., long. 113 deg. 17' W., The northeast trades had now left us, and

we had the usual variable winds, which prevail near the line, together with some rain. So long as we were in

these latitudes, we had but little rest in our watch on deck at night, for, as the winds were light and variable,

and we could not lose a breath, we were all the watch bracing the yards, and taking in and making sail, and

"humbugging" with our flying kites. A little puff of wind on the larboard quarter, and then "larboard fore

braces!" and studdingbooms were rigged out, studdingsails set alow and aloft, the yards trimmed, and jibs

and spanker in; when it would come as calm as a duckpond, and the man at the wheel stand with the palm of

his hand up, feeling for the wind. "Keep her off a little!" "All aback forward, sir!" cries a man from the

forecastle. Down go the braces again; in come the studdingsails, all in a mess, which half an hour won't set

right; yards braced sharp up; and she's on the starboard tack, close hauled. The studdingsails must now be

cleared away, and set up in the tops, and on the booms. By the time this is done, and you are looking out for a

soft plank for a nap, "Lay aft here, and square in the head yards!" and the studdingsails are all set again on

the starboard side. So it goes until it is eight bells, call the watch, heave the log, relieve the wheel, and go

Sunday, May 22d. Lat. 5 deg. 14' N., long. 166 deg. 45' W. We were now a fortnight out, and within five

degrees of the line, to which two days of good breeze would take us; but we had, for the most part, what

sailors call "an Irishman's hurricane, right up and down." This day it rained nearly all day, and being

Sunday, and nothing to do, we stopped up the scuppers and filled the decks with rain water, and bringing all

our clothes on deck, had a grand wash, fore and aft. When this was through, we stripped to our drawers, and

taking pieces of soap and strips of canvas for towels, we turnedto and soaped, washed, and scrubbed one

another down, to get off, as we said, the California dust; for the common wash in salt water, which is all Jack

can get, being on an allowance of fresh, had little efficacy, and was more for taste than utility. The captain

was below all the afternoon, and we had something nearer to a Saturnalia than anything we had yet seen; for

the mate came into the scuppers, with a couple of boys to scrub him, and got into a battle with them in

heaving water. By unplugging the holes, we let the soapsuds off the decks, and in a short time had a new

supply of rain water, in which we had a grand rinsing. It was surprising to see how much soap and fresh water

did for the complexions of many of us; how much of what we supposed to be tan and seablacking, we got

rid of. The next day, the sun rising clear, the ship was covered, fore and aft, with clothes of all sorts, hanging

As we approached the line, the wind became more easterly, and the weather clearer, and in twenty days from

Saturday, May 28th, at about three P. M., with a fine breeze from the eastsoutheast, we crossed the equator.

In twentyfour hours, after crossing the line, which was very unusual, we took the regular southeast trades.

These winds come a little from the eastward of southeast, and, with us, they blew directly from the

eastsoutheast, which was fortunate for us, for our course was southbywest, and we could thus go one

point free. The yards were braced so that every sail drew, from the spanker to the flyingjib; and the upper

yards being squared in a little, the fore and main topgallant studdingsails were set, and just drew

handsomely. For twelve days this breeze blew steadily, not varying a point, and just so fresh that we could

carry our royals; and, during the whole time, we hardly started a brace. Such progress did we make, that at

Sunday, June 5th, we were in lat. 19 deg. 29' S., and long. 118 deg. 01' W., having made twelve hundred

miles in seven days, very nearly upon a taught bowline. Our good ship was getting to be herself again, had

increased her rate of sailing more than onethird since leaving San Diego. The crew ceased complaining of

her, and the officers hove the log every two hours with evident satisfaction. This was glorious sailing. A

steady breeze; the light tradewind clouds over our heads; the incomparable temperature of the Pacific,

neither hot nor cold; a clear sun every day, and clear moon and stars each night; and new constellations rising

in the south, and the familiar ones sinking in the north, as we went on our course, "stemming nightly toward

the pole." Already we had sunk the north star and the Great Bear in the northern horizon, and all hands

looked out sharp to the southward for the Magellan Clouds, which, each succeeding night, we expected to

make. "The next time we see the north star," said one, "we shall be standing to the northward, the other side

of the Horn." This was true enough, and no doubt it would be a welcome sight; for sailors say that in coming

home from round Cape Horn, and the Cape of Good Hope, the north star is the first land you make.

These trades were the same that, in the passage out in the Pilgrim, lasted nearly all the way from Juan

Fernandez to the line; blowing steadily on our starboard quarter for three weeks, without our starting a brace,

or even brailing down the skysails. Though we had now the same wind, and were in the same latitude with

the Pilgrim on her passage out, yet we were nearly twelve hundred miles to the westward of her course; for

the captain, depending upon the strong southwest winds which prevail in high southern latitudes during the

winter months, took the full advantage of the trades, and stood well to the westward, so far that we passed

It was this weather and sailing that brought to my mind a little incident that occurred on board the Pilgrim,

while we were in the same latitude. We were going along at a great rate, dead before the wind, with

studdingsails out on both sides, alow and aloft, on a dark night, just after midnight, and everything was as

still as the grave, except the washing of the water by the vessel's side; for, being before the wind, with a

smooth sea, the little brig, covered with canvas, was doing great business, with very little noise. The other

watch was below, and all our watch, except myself and the man at the wheel, were asleep under the lee of the

boat. The second mate, who came out before the mast, and was always very thick with me, had been holding

a yarn with me, and just gone aft to his place on the quarterdeck, and I had resumed my usual walk to and

from the windlassend, when, suddenly, we heard a loud scream coming from ahead, apparently directly

from under the bows. The darkness, and complete stillness of the night, and the solitude of the ocean, gave to

the sound a dreadful and almost supernatural effect. I stood perfectly still, and my heart beat quick. The

sound woke up the rest of the watch, who stood looking at one another. "What, in the name of God, is that?"

said the second mate, coming slowly forward. The first thought I had was, that it might be a boat, with the

crew of some wrecked vessel, or perhaps the boat of some whaleship, out over night, and we had run them

down in the darkness. Another scream, but less loud than the first. This started us, and we ran forward, and

looked over the bows, and over the sides, to leeward, but nothing was to be seen or heard. What was to be

done. Call the captain, and heave the ship aback? Just at this moment, in crossing the forecastle, one of the

men saw a light below, and looking down the scuttle, saw the watch all out of their berths, and afoul of one

poor fellow, dragging him out of his berth, and shaking him, to wake him out of a nightmare. They had been

waked out of their sleep, and as much alarmed at the scream as we were, and were hesitating whether to come

on deck, when the second sound, coming directly from one of the berths, revealed the cause of the alarm. The

fellow got a good shaking for the trouble he had given. We made a joke of the matter and we could well

We were now close upon the southern tropical line, and, with so fine a breeze, were daily leaving the sun

behind us, and drawing nearer to Cape Horn, for which it behoved us to make every preparation. Our rigging

was all examined and overhauled, and mended, or replaced with new, where it was necessary: new and strong

bobstays fitted in the place of the chain ones, which were worn out; the spritsail yard and martingale guys and

backropes set well taught; bran new fore and main braces rove; topgallant sheets, and wheelropes, made

of green hide, laid up in the form of rope, were stretched and fitted; and new topsail clewlines, etc., rove;

new foretopmast backstays fitted; and other preparations made, in good season, that the ropes might have

Sunday, June 12th. Lat. 26 deg. 04' S., 116 deg. 31' W. We had now lost the regular trades, and had the winds

variable, principally from the westward, and kept on, in a southerly course, sailing very nearly upon a

There now began to be a decided change in the appearance of things. The days became shorter and shorter;

the sun running lower in its course each day, and giving less and less heat; and the nights so cold as to

prevent our sleeping on deck; the Magellan Clouds in sight, of a clear night; the skies looking cold and angry;

and, at times, a long, heavy, ugly sea, setting in from the southward, told us what we were coming to. Still,

however, we had a fine, strong breeze, and kept on our way, under as much sail as our ship would bear.

Toward the middle of the week, the wind hauled to the southward, which brought us upon a taught bowline,

made the ship meet, nearly head on, the heavy swell which rolled from that direction; and there was

something not at all encouraging in the manner in which she met it. Being so deep and heavy, she wanted the

buoyancy which should have carried her over the seas, and she dropped heavily into them, the water washing

over the decks; and every now and then, when an unusually large sea met her fairly upon the bows, she struck

it with a sound as dead and heavy as that with which a sledgehammer falls upon the pile, and took the whole

of it in upon the forecastle, and rising, carried it aft in the scuppers, washing the rigging off the pins, and

carrying along with it everything which was loose on deck. She had been acting in this way all of our

forenoon watch below; as we could tell by the washing of the water over our heads, and the heavy breaking

of the seas against her bows, (with a sound as though she were striking against a rock,) only the thickness of

the plank from our heads, as we lay in our berths, which are directly against the bows. At eight bells, the

watch was called, and we came on deck, one hand going aft to take the wheel, and another and another going

to the galley to get the grub for dinner. I stood on the forecastle, looking at the seas, which were rolling high,

as far as the eye could reach, their tops white with foam, and the body of them of a deep indigo blue,

reflecting the bright rays of the sun. Our ship rose slowly over a few of the largest of them, until one immense

fellow came rolling on, threatening to cover her, and which I was sailor enough to know, by "the feeling of

her" under my feet, she would not rise over. I sprang upon the knightheads, and seizing hold of the

forestay with my hands, drew myself upon it. My feet were just off the stanchion, when she struck fairly

into the middle of the sea, and it washed her fore and aft, burying her in the water. As soon as she rose out of

it, I looked aft, and everything forward of the mainmast, except the longboat, which was griped and

doublelashed down to the ringbolts, was swept off clear. The galley, the pigsty, the hencoop, and a large

sheeppen which had been built upon the forehatch, were all gone, in the twinkling of an eye leaving the

deck as clean as a chin newreaped and not a stick left, to show where they had stood. In the scuppers lay

the galley, bottom up, and a few boards floating about, the wreck of the sheeppen and half a dozen

miserable sheep floating among them, wet through, and not a little frightened at the sudden change that had

come upon them. As soon as the sea had washed by, all hands sprung out of the forecastle to see what had

become of the ship and in a few moments the cook and old Bill crawled out from under the galley, where

they had been lying in the water, nearly smothered, with the galley over them. Fortunately, it rested against

the bulwarks, or it would have broken some of their bones. When the water ran off, we picked the sheep up,

and put them in the longboat, got the longboat, got the galley back in its place, and set things a little to

rights; but, had not our ship had uncommonly high bulwarks and rail, everything must have been washed

overboard, not excepting Old Bill and the cook. Bill had been standing at the galleydoor, with the kid of

beef in his hand for the forecastle mess, when, away he went, kid, beef, and all. He held on to the kid till the

last, like a good fellow, but the beef was gone, and when the water had run off, we saw it lying high and dry,

like a rock at low tide nothing could hurt that. We took the loss of our beef very easily, consoling ourselves

with the recollection that the cabin had more to lose than we; and chuckled not a little at seeing the remains of

the chickenpie and pancakes floating in the scuppers. "This will never do!" was what some said, and every

one felt. Here we were, not yet within a thousand miles of the latitude of Cape Horn, and our decks swept by

a sea not one half so high as we must expect to find there. Some blamed the captain for loading his ship so

deep, when he knew what he must expect; while others said that the wind was always southwest, off the

Cape, in the winter; and that, running before it, we should not mind the seas so much. When we got down

into the forecastle, Old Bill, who was somewhat of a croaker, having met with a great many accidents at

sea said that if that was the way she was going to act, we might as well make our wills, and balance the

books at once, and put on a clean shirt. "'Vast there, you bloody old owl! You're always hanging out blue

lights! You're frightened by the ducking you got in the scuppers, and can't take a joke! What's the use in

being always on the lookout for Davy Jones?" "Stand by!" says another, "and we'll get an afternoon watch

below, by this scrape;" but in this they were disappointed, for at two bells, all hands were called and set to

work, getting lashings upon everything on deck; and the captain talked of sending down the long topgallant

masts; but, as the sea went down toward night, and the wind hauled abeam we left them standing, and set the

The next day, all hands were turnedto upon unbending the old sails, and getting up the new ones; for a ship,

unlike people on shore, puts on her best suit in bad weather. The old sails were sent down, and three new

topsails, and new fore and main courses, jib, and foretopmast staysail, which were made on the coast, and

never had been used, were bent, with a complete set of new earings, robands and reefpoints; and

reeftackles were rove to the courses, and spillinglines to the topsails. These, with new braces and

The wind continued westerly, and the weather and sea less rough since the day on which we shipped the

heavy sea, and we were making great progress under studdingsails, with our light sails all set, keeping a

little to the eastward of south; for the captain, depending upon westerly winds off the Cape, had kept so far to

the westward, that though we were within about five hundred miles of the latitude of Cape Horn, we were

nearly seventeen hundred miles to the westward of it. Through the rest of the week, we continued on with a

fair wind, gradually, as we got more to the southward, keeping a more easterly course, and bringing the wind

Sunday, June 26th, when, having a fine, clear day, the captain got a lunar observation, as well as his meridian

altitude, which made us in lat. 47 deg. 50' S., long. 113 deg. 49' W.; Cape Horn bearing, according to my

Monday, June 27th. During the first part of this day, the wind continued fair, and, as we were going before it,

it did not feel very cold, so that we kept at work on deck, in our common clothes and round jackets. Our

watch had an afternoon watch below, for the first time since leaving San Diego, and having inquired of the

third mate what the latitude was at noon, and made our usual guesses as to the time she would need, to be up

with the Horn, we turned in, for a nap. We were sleeping away "at the rates of knots," when three knocks on

the scuttle, and "All hands ahoy!" started us from our berths. What could be the matter? It did not appear to

be blowing hard, and looking up through the scuttle, we could see that it was a clear day, overhead; yet the

watch were taking in sail. We thought there must be a sail in sight, and that we were about to heaveto and

speak her; and were just congratulating ourselves upon it for we had seen neither sail nor land since we had

left port when we heard the mate's voice on deck, (he turnedin "all standing," and was always on deck the

moment he was called,) singing out to the men who were taking in the studdingsails, and asking where his

watch were. We did not wait for a second call, but tumbled up the ladder; and there, on the starboard bow,

was a bank of mist, covering sea and sky, and driving directly for us. I had seen the same before, in my

passage round in the Pilgrim, and knew what it meant, and that there was no time to be lost. We had nothing

The boys of the other watch were in the tops, taking in the topgallant studdingsails, and the lower and

topmast studdingsails were and down by the run. It was nothing but "haul down and clew up," until we got

all the studdingsails in, and the royals, flyingjib, and mizen topgallant sail furled, and the ship kept off a

little, to take the squall. The fore and main topgallant sails were still on her, for the "old man" did not mean

to be frightened in broad daylight, and was determined to carry sail till the last minute. We all stood waiting

for its coming, when the first blast showed us that it was not be trifled with. Rain, sleet, snow, and wind,

enough to take our breath from us, and make the toughest turn his back to windward! The ship lay nearly over

on her beamends; the spars and rigging snapped and cracked; and her topgallant masts bent like

whipsticks. "Clew up the fore and main topgallant sails!" shouted the captain, and all hands sprang to the

clewlines. The decks were standing nearly at an angle of fortyfive degrees, and the ship going like a mad

steed through the water, the whole forward part of her in a smother of foam. The halyards were let go and the

yard clewed down, and the sheets started, and in a few minutes the sails smothered and kept in by clewlines

and buntlines. "Furl 'em, sir?" asked the mate. "Let go the topsail halyards, fore and aft!" shouted the

captain, in answer, at the top of his voice. Down came the topsail yards, the reeftackles were manned and

hauled out, and we climbed up to windward, and sprang into the weather rigging. The violence of the wind,

and the hail and sleet, driving nearly horizontally across the ocean, seemed actually to pin us down to the

rigging. It was hard work making head against them. One after another, we got out upon the yards. And here

we had work to do; for our new sails, which had hardly been bent long enough to get the starch out of them,

were as stiff as boards, and the new earings and reefpoints, stiffened with the sleet, knotted like pieces of

iron wire. Having only our round jackets and straw hats on, we were soon wet through, and it was every

moment growing colder. Our hands were soon stiffened and numbed, which, added to the stiffness of

everything else, kept us a good while on the yard. After we had got the sail hauled upon the yard, we had to

wait a long time for the weather earing to be passed; but there was no fault to be found, for French John was

at the earing, and a better sailor never laid out on a yard; so we leaned over the yard, and beat our hands upon

the sail to keep them from freezing. At length the word came "Haul out to leeward," and we seized the

reefpoints and hauled the band taught for the lee earing. "Taught band Knot away," and we got the first

reef fast, and were just going to lay down, when "Two reefs two reefs!" shouted the mate, and we had a

second reef to take, in the same way. When this was fast, we laid down on deck, manned the halyards to

leeward, nearly up to our knees in water, set the topsail, and then laid aloft on the main topsail yard, and

reefed that sail in the same manner; for, as I have before stated, we were a good deal reduced in numbers,

and, to make it worse, the carpenter, only two days before, cut his leg with an axe, so that he could not go

aloft. This weakened us so that we could not well manage more than one topsail at a time, in such weather as

this, and, of course, our labor was doubled. From the main topsail yard, we went upon the main yard, and

took a reef in the mainsail. No sooner had we got on deck, than "Lay aloft there, mizentopmen, and

closereef the mizen topsail!" This called me; and being nearest to the rigging, I got first aloft, and out to the

weather earing. English Ben was on the yard just after me, and took the lee earing, and the rest of our gang

were soon on the yard, and began to fist the sail, when the mate considerately sent up the cook and steward,

to help us. I could now account for the long time it took to pass the other earings, for, to do my best, with a

strong hand to help me at the dog's ear, I could not get it passed until I heard them beginning everything to

complain in the bunt. One reef after another we took in, until the sail was closereefed, when we went down

and hoisted away at the halyards. In the mean time, the jib had been furled and the staysail set, and the ship,

under her reduced sail, had got more upright and was under management; but the two topgallant sails were

still hanging in the buntlines, and slatting and jerking as though they would take the masts out of her. We

gave a look aloft, and knew that our work was not done yet; and, sure enough, no sooner did the mate see that

we were on deck, than "Lay aloft there, four of you, and furl the topgallant sails!" This called me again,

and two of us went aloft, up the fore rigging, and two more up the main, upon the topgallant yards. The

shrouds were now iced over, the sleet having formed a crust or cake round all the standing rigging, and on the

weather side of the masts and yards. When we got upon the yard, my hands were so numb that I could not

have cast off the knot of the gasket to have saved my life. We both lay over the yard for a few seconds,

beating our hands upon the sail, until we started the blood into our fingers' ends, and at the next moment our

hands were in a burning heat. My companion on the yard was a lad, who came out in the ship a weak, puny

boy, from one of the Boston schools; "no larger than a spritsail sheet knot," nor "heavier than a paper of

lampblack," and "not strong enough to haul a shad off a gridiron," but who was now "as long as a spare

topmast, strong enough to knock down an ox, and hearty enough to eat him." We fisted the sail together, and

after six or eight minutes of hard hauling and pulling and beating down the sail, which was as stiff as sheet

iron, we managed to get it furied; and snugly furled it must be, for we knew the mate well enough to be

certain that if it got adrift again, we should be called up from our watch below, at any hour of the night, to

I had been on the lookout for a moment to jump below and clap on a thick jacket and southwester; but

when we got on deck we found that eight bells had been struck, and the other watch gone below, so that there

were two hours of dog watch for us, and a plenty of work to do. It had now set in for a steady gale from the

southwest; but we were not yet far enough to the southward to make a fair wind of it, for we must give

Terra del Fuego a wide berth. The decks were covered with snow, and there was a constant driving of sleet.

In fact, Cape Horn had set in with good earnest. In the midst of all this, and before it became dark, we had all

the studdingsails to make up and stow away, and then to lay aloft and rig in all the booms, fore and aft, and

coil away the tacks, sheets, and halyards. This was pretty tough work for four or five hands, in the face of a

gale which almost took us off the yards, and with ropes so stiff with ice that it was almost impossible to bend

them. I was nearly half an hour out on the end of the fore yard, trying to coil away and stop down the topmast

studdingsail tack and lower halyards. It was after dark when we got through, and we were not a little

pleased to hear four bells struck, which sent us below for two hours, and gave us each a pot of hot tea with

our cold beef and bread, and, what was better yet, a suit of thick, dry clothing, fitted for the weather, in place

This sudden turn, for which we were so little prepared, was as unacceptable to me as to any of the rest; for I

had been troubled for several days with a slight toothache, and this cold weather, and wetting and freezing,

were not the best things in the world for it. I soon found that it was getting strong hold, and running over all

parts of my face; and before the watch was out I went aft to the mate, who had charge of the medicinechest,

to get something for it. But the chest showed like the end of a long voyage, for there was nothing that would

answer but a few drops of laudanum, which must be saved for any emergency; so I had only to bear the pain

When we went on deck at eight bells, it had stopped snowing, and there were a few stars out, but the clouds

were still black, and it was blowing a steady gale. Just before midnight, I went aloft and sent down the mizen

royal yard, and had the good luck to do it to the satisfaction of the mate, who said it was done "out of hand

and shipshape." The next four hours below were but little relief to me, for I lay awake in my berth, the

whole time, from the pain in my face, and heard every bell strike, and, at four o'clock, turned out with the

watch, feeling little spirit for the hard duties of the day. Bad weather and hard work at sea can be borne up

against very well, if one only has spirit and health; but there is nothing brings a man down, at such a time,

like bodily pain and want of sleep. There was, however, too much to do to allow time to think; for the gale of

yesterday, and the heavy seas we met with a few days before, while we had yet ten degrees more southing to

make, had convinced the captain that we had something before us which was not to be trifled with, and orders

were given to send down the long topgallant masts. The topgallant and royal yards were accordingly struck,

the flying jibboom rigged in, and the topgallant masts sent down on deck, and all lashed together by the

side of the longboat. The rigging was then sent down and coiled away below, and everything was made

snug aloft. There was not a sailor in the ship who was not rejoiced to see these sticks come down; for, so long

as the yards were aloft, on the least sign of a lull, the topgallant sails were loosed, and then we had to furl

them again in a snowsquall, and shin up and down single ropes caked with ice, and send royal yards down

in the teeth of a gale coming right from the south pole. It was an interesting sight, too, to see our noble ship,

dismantled of all her tophamper of long tapering masts and yards, and boom pointed with spearhead,

which ornamented her in port; and all that canvas, which a few days before had covered her like a cloud,

from the truck to the water's edge, spreading far out beyond her hull on either side, now gone; and she,

stripped, like a wrestler for the fight. It corresponded, too, with the desolate character of her situation; alone,

as she was, battling with storms, wind, and ice, at this extremity of the globe, and in almost constant night.

Friday, July 1st. We were now nearly up to the latitude of Cape Horn, and having over forty degrees of

easting to make, we squared away the yards before a strong westerly gale, shook a reef out of the

foretopsail, and stood on our way, eastbysouth, with the prospect of being up with the Cape in a week or

ten days. As for myself, I had had no sleep for fortyeight hours; and the want of rest, together with constant

wet and cold, had increased the swelling, so that my face was nearly as large as two, and I found it impossible

to get my mouth open wide enough to eat. In this state, the steward applied to the captain for some rice to boil

for me, but he only got only got a "No! d you! Tell him to eat salt junk and hard bread, like the rest of

them." For this, of course, I was much obliged to him, and in truth it was just what I expected. However, I did

not starve, for the mate, who was a man as well as a sailor, and had always been a good friend to me,

smuggled a pan of rice into the galley, and told the cook to boil it for me, and not let the "old man" see it.

Had it been fine weather, or in port, I should have gone below and lain by until my face got well; but in such

weather as this, and shorthanded as we were, it was not for me to desert my post; so I kept on deck, and

Saturday, July 2nd. This day the sun rose fair, but it ran too low in the heavens to give any heat, or thaw out

our sails and rigging; yet the sight of it was pleasant; and we had a steady "reef topsail breeze" from the

westward. The atmosphere, which had previously been clear and cold, for the last few hours grew damp, and

had a disagreeable, wet chilliness in it; and the man who came from the wheel said he heard the captain tell

"the passenger" that the thermometer had fallen several degrees since morning, which he could not account

for in any other way than by supposing that there must be ice near us; though such a thing had never been

heard of in this latitude, at this season of the year. At twelve o'clock we went below, and had just got through

dinner, when the cook put his head down the scuttle and told us to come on deck and see the finest sight that

we had ever seen. "Where away, cook?" asked the first man who was up. "On the larboard bow." And there

lay, floating in the ocean, several miles off, an immense, irregular mass, its top and points covered with snow,

and its center of a deep indigo color. This was an iceberg, and of the largest size, as one of our men said who

had been in the Northern ocean. As far as the eye could reach, the sea in every direction was of a deep blue

color, the waves running high and fresh, and sparkling in the light, and in the midst lay this immense

mountainisland, its cavities and valleys thrown into deep shade, and its points and pinnacles glittering in the

sun. All hands were soon on deck, looking at it, and admiring in various ways its beauty and grandeur. But no

description can give any idea of the strangeness, splendor, and, really, the sublimity, of the sight. Its great

size; for it must have been from two to three miles in circumference, and several hundred feet in height; its

slow motion, as ts base rose and sank in the water, and its high points nodded against the clouds; the dashing

of the waves upon it, which, breaking high with foam, lined its base with a white crust; and the thundering

sound of the cracking of the mass, and the breaking and tumbling down of huge pieces; together with its

nearness and approach, which added a slight element of fear, all combined to give to it the character of true

sublimity. The main body of the mass was, as I have said, of an indigo color, its base crusted with frozen

foam; and as it grew thin and transparent toward the edges and top, its color shaded off from a deep blue to

the whiteness of snow. It seemed to be drifting slowly toward the north, so that we kept away and avoided it.

It was in sight all the afternoon; and when we got to leeward of it, the wind died away, so that we layto

quite near it for a greater part of the night. Unfortunately, there was no moon, but it was a clear night, and we

could plainly mark the long, regular heaving of the stupendous mass, as its edges moved slowly against the

stars. Several times in our watch loud cracks were heard, which sounded as though they must have run

through the whole length of the iceberg, and several pieces fell down with a thundering crash, plunging

heavily into the sea. Toward morning, a strong breeze sprang up, and we filled away, and left it astern, and at

Sunday, July 3d, the breeze continued strong, the air exceedingly chilly, and the thermometer low. In the

course of the day we saw several icebergs, of different sizes, but none so near as the one which we saw the

day before. Some of them, as well as we could judge, at the distance at which we were, must have been as

large as that, if not larger. At noon we were in latitude 55 deg. 12' south, and supposed longitude 89 deg. 5'

west. Toward night the wind hauled to the southward, and headed us off our course a little, and blew a

tremendous gale; but this we did not mind, as there was no rain nor snow, and we were already under close

Monday, July 4th. This was "independence day" in Boston. What firing of guns, and ringing of bells, and

rejoicings of all sorts, in every part of our country! The ladies (who have not gone down to Nahant, for a

breath of cool air, and sight of the ocean) walking the streets with parasols over their heads, and the dandies

in their white pantaloons and silk stockings! What quantities of icecream have been eaten, and what

quantities of ice brought into the city from a distance, and sold out by the lump and the pound! The smallest

of the islands which we saw today would have made the fortune of poor Jack, if he had had it in Boston; and

I dare say he would have had no objection to being there with it. This, to be sure, was no place to keep the

fourth of July. To keep ourselves warm, and the ship out of the ice, was as much as we could do. Yet no one

forgot the day; and many were the wishes, and conjectures, and comparisons, both serious and ludicrous,

which were made among all hands. The sun shone bright as long as it was up, only that a scud of black clouds

was ever and anon driving across it. At noon we were in lat. 54 deg. 27' S.,and long. 85 deg. 5' W., having

made a good deal of easting, but having lost in our latitude by the heading of the wind. Between daylight and

dark that is, between nine o'clock and three we saw thirtyfour ice islands, of various sizes; some no

bigger than the hull of our vessel, and others apparently nearly as large as the one that we first saw; though,

as we went on, the islands became smaller and more numerous; and, at sundown of this day, a man at the

masthead saw large fields of floating ice called "fieldice" at the southeast. This kind of ice is much more

dangerous than the large islands, for those can be seen at a distance, and kept away from; but the fieldice,

floating in great quantities, and covering the ocean for miles and miles, in pieces of every sizelarge, flat, and

broken cakes, with here and there an island rising twenty and thirty feet, and as large as the ship's hull; this,

it is very difficult to sheer clear of. A constant lookout was necessary; for any of these pieces, coming with

the heave of the sea, were large enough to have knocked a hole in the ship, and that would have been the end

of us; for no boat (even if we could have got one out) could have lived in such a sea; and no man could have

lived in a boat in such weather. To make our condition still worse, the wind came out due east, just after

sundown, and it blew a gale dead ahead, with hail and sleet, and a thick fog, so that we could not see half the

length of the ship. Our chief reliance, the prevailing westerly gales, was thus cut off; and here we were,

nearly seven hundred miles to the westward of the Cape, with a gale dead from the eastward, and the weather

so thick that we could not see the ice with which we were surrounded, until it was directly under our bows. At

four, P. M. (it was then quite dark) all hands were called, and sent aloft in a violent squall of hall and rain, to

take in sail. We had now all got on our "Cape Horn rig" thick boots, southwesters coming down over our

neck and ears, thick trowsers and jackets, and some with oilcloth suits over all. Mittens, too, we wore on

deck, but it would not do to go aloft with them on, for it was impossible to work with them, and, being wet

and stiff, they might let a man slip overboard, for all the hold be could get upon a rope; so, we were obliged

to work with bare hands, which, as well as our faces, were often cut with the hailstones, which fell thick and

large. Our ship was now all cased with ice, hull, spars, and standing rigging; and the running rigging so

stiff that we could hardly bend it so as to delay it, or, still worse, take a knot with it; and the sails nearly as

stiff as sheet iron. One at a time, (for it was a long piece of work and required many hands,) we furled the

courses, mizen topsail, and foretopmast staysail, and closereefed the fore and main topsails, and hove the

ship to under the fore, with the main hauled up by the clewlines and buntlines, and ready to be sheeted home,

if we found it necessary to make sail to get to windward of an ice island. A regular lookout was then set, and

kept by each watch in turn, until the morning. It was a tedious and anxious night. It blew hard the whole time,

and there was an almost constant driving of either rain, hall, or snow. In addition to this, it was "as thick as

muck," and the ice was all about us. The captain was on deck nearly the whole night, and kept the cook in the

galley, with a roaring fire, to make coffee for him, which he took every few hours, and once or twice gave a

little to his officers; but not a drop of anything was there for the crew. The captain, who sleeps all the

daytime, and comes and goes at night as he chooses, can have his brandy and water in the cabin, and his hot

coffee at the galley; while Jack, who has to stand through everything, and work in wet and cold, can have

nothing to wet his lips or warm his stomach. This was a "temperance ship," and, like too many such ships, the

temperance was all in the forecastle. The sailor, who only takes his one glass as it is dealt out to him, is in

danger of being drunk; while the captain, who has all under his hand, and can drink as much as he chooses,

and upon whose selfpossession and cool judgment the lives of all depend, may be trusted with any amount,

to drink at his will. Sailors will never be convinced that rum is a dangerous thing, by taking it away from

them, and giving it to the officers; nor that, that temperance is their friend, which takes from them what they

have always had, and gives them nothing in the place of it. By seeing it allowed to their officers, they will not

be convinced that it is taken from them for their good; and by receiving nothing in its place, they will not

believe that it is done in kindness. On the contrary, many of them look upon the change as a new instrument

of tyranny. Not that they prefer rum. I never knew a sailor, in my life, who would not prefer a pot of hot

coffee or chocolate, in a cold night, to all the rum afloat. They all say that rum only warms them for a time;

yet, if they can get nothing better, they will miss what they have lost. The momentary warmth and glow from

drinking it; the break and change which is made in a long, dreary watch by the mere calfing all hands aft and

serving of it out; and the simply having some event to look forward to, and to talk about; give it an

importance and a use which no one can appreciate who has not stood his watch before the mast. On my

passage round Cape Horn before, the vessel that I was in was not under temperance articles, and grog was

served out every middle and morning watch, and after every reefing of topsails; and though I had never drank

rum before, and never intend to again, I took my allowance then at the capstan, as the rest did, merely for the

momentary warmth it gave the system, and the change in our feelings and aspect of our duties on the watch.

At the same time, as I have stated, there was not a man on board who would not have pitched the rum to the

dogs, (I have heard them say so, a dozen times) for a pot of coffee or chocolate; or even for our common

beverage "water bewitched, and tea begrudged," as it was.* The temperance reform is the best thing that

ever was undertaken for the sailor; but when the grog is taken from him, he ought to have something in its

place. As it is now, in most vessels, it is a mere saving to the owners; and this accounts for the sudden

increase of temperance ships, which surprised even the best friends of the cause. If every merchant, when he

struck grog from the list of the expenses of his ship, had been obliged to substitute as much coffee, or

chocolate, as would give each man a potfull when he came off the topsail yard, on a stormy night; I fear

Jack might have gone to ruin on the old road.** *The proportions of the ingredients of the tea that was made

for us (and ours, as I have before stated, was a favorable specimen of American merchantmen) were, a pint of

tea, and a pint and a half of molasses, to about three gallons of water. These are all boiled down together in

the "coppers," and before serving it out, the mess is stirred up with a stick, so as to give each man his fair

share of sweetening and tealeaves. The tea for the cabin is, of course, made in the usual way, in a teapot,

and drank with sugar. **I do not wish these remarks, so far as they relate to the saving of expense in the

outfit, to be applied to the owners of our ship, for she was supplied with an abundance of stores, of the best

kind that are given to seamen; though the dispensing of them is necessarily left to the captain. Indeed, so high

was the reputation of "the employ" among men and officers, for the character and outfit of their vessels, and

for their liberality in conducting their voyages, that when it was known that they had a ship fitting out for a

long voyage, and that hands were to be shipped at a certain time, a half hour before the time, as one of the

crew told me, numbers of sailors were steering down the wharf, hopping over the barrels, like flocks of

But this is not doubling Cape Horn. Eight hours of the night, our watch was on deck, and during the whole of

that time we kept a bright lookout: one man on each bow, another in the bunt of the fore yard, the third mate

on the scuttle, one on each quarter, and a man always standing by the wheel. The chief mate was everywhere,

and commanded the ship when the captain was below. When a large piece of ice was seen in our way, or

drifting near us, the word was passed along, and the ship's head turned one way and another; and sometimes

the yards squared or braced up. There was little else to do than to look out; and we had the sharpest eyes in

the ship on the forecastle. The only variety was the monotonous voice of the lookout forward "Another

island!" "Ice ahead!" "Ice on the lee bow!" "Hard up the helm!" "Keep her off a little!" "Steady!"

In the meantime, the wet and cold had brought my face into such a state that I could neither eat nor sleep; and

though I stood it out all night, yet, when it became light, I was in such a state, that all hands told me I must go

below, and lieby for a day or two, or I should be laid up for a long time, and perhaps have the lockjaw.

When the watch was changed I went into the steerage, and took off my hat and comforter, and showed my

face to the mate, who told me to go below at once, and stay in my berth until the swelling went down, and

gave the cook orders to make a poultice for me, and said he would speak to the captain.

I went below and turnedin, covering myself over with blankets and jackets, and lay in my berth nearly

twentyfour hours, half asleep and half awake, stupid, from the dull pain. I heard the watch called, and the

men going up and down, and sometimes a noise on deck, and a cry of "ice," but I gave little attention to

anything. At the end of twentyfour hours the pain went down, and I had a long sleep, which brought me

back to my proper state; yet my face was so swollen and tender, that I was obliged to keep to my berth for

two or three days longer. During the two days I had been below, the weather was much the same that it had

been, head winds, and snow and rain; or, if the wind came fair, too foggy, and the ice too thick, to run. At the

end of the third day the ice was very thick; a complete fogbank covered the ship. It blew a tremendous gale

from the eastward, with sleet and snow, and there was every promise of a dangerous and fatiguing night. At

dark, the captain called all hands aft, and told them that not a man was to leave the deck that night; that the

ship was in the greatest danger; any cake of ice might knock a hole in her, or she might run on an island and

go to pieces. No one could tell whether she would be a ship the next morning. The lookouts were then set,

and every man was put in his station. When I heard what was the state of things, I began to put on my clothes

to stand it out with the rest of them, when the mate came below, and looking at my face, ordered me back to

my berth, saying that if we went down, we should all go down together, but if I went on deck I might lay

myself up for life. This was the first word I had heard from aft; for the captain had done nothing, nor inquired

In obedience to the mate's orders, I went back to my berth; but a more miserable night I never wish to spend.

I never felt the curse of sickness so keenly in my life. If I could only have been on deck with the rest, where

something was to be done, and seen, and heard; where there were fellowbeings for companions in duty and

danger but to be cooped up alone in a black hole, in equal danger, but without the power to do, was the

hardest trial. Several times, in the course of the night, I got up, determined to go on deck; but the silence

which showed that there was nothing doing, and the knowledge that I might make myself seriously ill, for

nothing, kept me back. It was not easy to sleep, lying, as I did, with my head directly against the bows, which

might be dashed in by an island of ice, brought down by the very next sea that struck her. This was the only

time I had been ill since I left Boston, and it was the worst time it could have happened. I felt almost willing

to bear the plagues of Egypt for the rest of the voyage, if I could but be well and strong for that one night. Yet

it was a dreadful night for those on deck. A watch of eighteen hours, with wet, and cold, and constant anxiety,

nearly wore them out; and when they came below at nine o'clock for breakfast, they almost dropped asleep on

their chests, and some of them were so stiff that they could with difficulty sit down. Not a drop of anything

had been given them during the whole time, (though the captain, as on the night that I was on deck, had his

coffee every four hours,) except that the mate stole a potful of coffee for two men to drink behind the galley,

while he kept a lookout for the captain. Every man had his station, and was not allowed to leave it; and

nothing happened to break the monotony of the night, except once setting the main topsails to run clear of a

large island to leeward, which they were drifting fast upon. Some of the boys got so sleepy and stupefied, that

they actually fell asleep at their posts; and the young third mate, whose station was the exposed one of

standing on the fore scuttle, was so stiff, when he was relieved, that he could not bend his knees to get down.

By a constant lookout, and a quick shifting of the helm, as the islands and pieces came in sight, the ship

went clear of everything but a few small pieces, though daylight showed the ocean covered for miles. At

daybreak it fell a dead calm, and with the sun, the fog cleared a little, and a breeze sprung up from the

westward, which soon grew into a gale. We had now a fair wind, daylight, and comparatively clear weather;

yet, to the surprise of every one, the ship continued hoveto. Why does not he run? What is the captain

about? was asked by every one; and from questions, it soon grew into complaints and murmurings. When the

daylight was so short, it was too bad to lose it, and a fair wind, too, which every one had been praying for. As

hour followed hour, and the captain showed no sign of making sail, the crew became impatient, and there was

a good deal of talking and consultation together, on the forecastle. They had been beaten out with the

exposure and hardship, and impatient to get out of it, and this unaccountable delay was more than they could

bear in quietness, in their excited and restless state. Some said that the captain was frightened, completely

cowed, by the dangers and difficulties that surrounded us, and was afraid to make sail; while others said that

in his anxiety and suspense he had made a free use of brandy and opium, and was unfit for his duty. The

carpenter, who was an intelligent man, and a thorough seaman, and had great influence with the crew, came

down into the forecastle, and tried to induce the crew to go aft and ask the captain why he did not run, or

request him, in the name of all hands, to make sail. This appeared to be a very reasonable request, and the

crew agreed that if he did not make sail before noon, they would go aft. Noon came, and no sail was made. A

consultation was held again, and it was proposed to take the ship from the captain and give the command of

her to the mate, who had been heard to say that, if he could have his way, the ship would have been half the

distance to the Cape before nights, ice or no ice. And so irritated and impatient had the crew become, that

even this proposition, which was open mutiny, punishable with state prison, was entertained, and the

carpenter went to his berth, leaving it tacitly understood that something serious would be done, if things

remained as they were many hours longer. When the carpenter left, we talked it all over, and I gave my

advice strongly against it. Another of the men, too, who had known something of the kind attempted in

another ship by a crew who were dissatisfied with their captain, and which was followed with serious

consequences, was opposed to it. S, who soon came down, joined us, and we determined to have nothing

to do with it. By these means, they were soon induced to give it up, for the present, though they said they

The affair remained in this state until four o'clock, when an order came forward for all hands to come aft

upon the quarterdeck. In about ten minutes they came forward again, and the whole affair had been blown.

The carpenter, very prematurely, and without any authority from the crew, had sounded the mate as to

whether he would take command of the ship, and intimated an intention to displace the captain; and the mate,

as in duty bound, had told the whole to the captain, who immediately sent for all hands aft. Instead of violent

measures, or, at least, an outbreak of quarterdeck bravado, threats, and abuse, which they had every reason

to expect, a sense of common danger and common suffering seemed to have tamed his spirit, and begotten

something like a humane fellow feeling; for he received the crew in a manner quiet, and even almost kind. He

told them what he had heard, and said that he did not believe that they would try to do any such thing as was

intimated; that they had always been good men, obedient, and knew their duty, and he had no fault to find

with them; and asked them what they had to complain of said that no one could say that he was slow to

carry sail, (which was true enough;) and that, as soon as he thought it was safe and proper, he should make

sail. He added a few words about their duty in their present situation, and sent them forward, saying that he

should take no further notice of the matter; but, at the same time, told the carpenter to recollect whose power

he was in, and that if he heard another word from him he would have cause to remember him to the day of his

This language of the captain had a very good effect upon the crew, and they returned quietly to their duty.

For two days more the wind blew from the southward and eastward; or in the short intervals when it was fair,

the ice was too thick to run; yet the weather was not so dreadfully bad, and the crew had watch and watch. I

still remained in my berth, fast recovering, yet still not well enough to go safely on deck. And I should have

been perfectly useless; for, from having eaten nothing for nearly a week, except a little rice, which I forced

into my mouth the last day or two, I was as weak as an infant. To be sick in a forecastle is miserable indeed.

It is the worst part of a dog's life; especially in bad weather. The forecastle, shut up tight to keep out the water

and cold air; the watch either on deck, or asleep in their berths; no one to speak to; the pale light of the

single lamp, swinging to and fro from the beam, so dim that one can scarcely see, much less read by it; the

water dropping from the beams and carlines, and running down the sides; and the forecastle so wet, and dark,

and cheerless, and so lumbered up with chests and wet clothes, that sitting up is worse than lying in the berth!

These are some of the evils. Fortunately, I needed no help from any one, and no medicine; and if I had

needed help, I don't know where I should have found it. Sailors are willing enough, but it is true, as is often

said No one ships for nurse on board a vessel. Our merchant ships are always undermanned, and if one

man is lost by sickness, they cannot spare another to take care of him. A sailor is always presumed to be well,

and if he's sick, he's a poor dog. One has to stand his wheel, and another his lookout, and the sooner he gets

Accordingly, as soon as I could possibly go back to my duty, I put on my thick clothes and boots and

southwester, and made my appearance on deck. Though I had been but a few days below, yet everything

looked strangely enough. The ship was cased in ice, decks, sides, masts, yards, and rigging. Two

closereefed topsails were all the sail she had on, and every sail and rope was frozen so stiff in its place,

that it seemed as though it would be impossible to start anything. Reduced, too, to her topmasts, she had

altogether a most forlorn and crippled appearance. The sun had come up brightly; the snow was swept off the

decks, and ashes thrown upon them, so that we could walk, for they had been as slippery as glass. It was,

course, too cold to carry on any ship's work, and we had only to walk the deck and keep ourselves warm. The

wind was still ahead, and the whole ocean, to the eastward, covered with islands and fieldice. At four bells

the order was given to square away the yards; and the man who came from the helm said that the captain had

kept her off to N. N. E. What could this mean? Some said that he was going to put into Valparaiso, and

winter, and others that he was going to run out of the ice and cross the Pacific, and go home round the Cape

of Good Hope. Soon, however, it leaked out, and we found that we were running for the straits of Magellan.

The news soon spread through the ship, and all tongues were at work, talking about it. No one on board had

been through the straits but I had in my chest an account of the passage of the ship A. J. Donelson, of New

York, through those straits, a few years before. The account was given by the captain, and the representation

was as favorable as possible. It was soon read by every one on board, and various opinions pronounced. The

determination of our captain had at least this good effect; it gave every one something to think and talk about,

made a break in our life, and diverted our minds from the monotonous dreariness of the prospect before us.

Having made a fair wind of it, we were going off at a good rate, and leaving the thickest of the ice behind us.

Having been long enough below to get my hands well warmed and softened, the first handling of the ropes

was rather tough; but a few days hardened them, and as soon as I got my mouth open wide enough to take in

Sunday, July 10th. Lat. 54 deg. 10', long. 79 deg. 07'. This was our position at noon. The sun was out bright;

the ice was all left behind, and things had quite a cheering appearance. We brought our wet peajackets and

trowsers on deck, and hung them up in the rigging, that the breeze and the few hours of sun might dry them a

little; and, by the permission of the cook, the galley was nearly filled with stockings and mittens, hung round

to be dried. Boots, too, were brought up; and having got a little tar and slush from below, we gave them a

thick coat. After dinner, all hands were turnedto, to get the anchors over the bows, bend on the chains, etc.

fishtackle was got up, fishdavit rigged out, and after two or three hours of hard and cold work, both the

anchors were ready for instant use, a couple of kedges got up, a hawser coiled away upon the forehatch, and

the deepsealeadline overhauled and got ready. Our spirits returned with having something to do; and

when the tackle was manned to bowse the anchor home, notwithstanding the desolation of the scene, we

struck up "Cheerily ho!" in full chorus. This pleased the mate, who rubbed his hands and cried out "That's

right, my boys; never say die! That sounds like the old crew!" and the captain came up, on hearing the song,

and said to the passenger, within hearing of the man at the wheel, "That sounds like a lively crew. They'll

This preparation of the cable and anchors was for the passage of the straits; for, being very crooked, and with

a variety of currents, it is necessary to come frequently to anchor. This was not, by any means, a pleasant

prospect, for, of all the work that a sailor is called upon to do in cold weather, there is none so bad as working

the groundtackle. The heavy chain cables to be hauled and pulled about the decks with bare hands; wet

hawsers, slipropes, and buoyropes to be hauled aboard, dripping in water, which is running up your sleeves,

and freezing; clearing hawse under the bows; getting under weigh and comingto, at all hours of the night

and day, and a constant lookout for rocks and sands and turns of tides; these are some of the disagreeables

of such a navigation to a common sailor. Fair or foul, he wants to have nothing to do with the ground, tackle

between port and port. One of our hands, too, had unluckily fallen upon a half of an old newspaper which

contained an account of the passage, through the straits, of a Boston brig, called, I think, the Peruvian, in

which she lost every cable and anchor she had, got aground twice, and arrived at Valparaiso in distress. This

was set off against the account of the A. J. Donelson, and led us to look forward with less confidence to the

passage, especially as no one on board had ever been through, and the captain had no very perfect charts.

However, we were spared any further experience on the point; for the next day, when we must have been near

the Cape of Pillars, which is the southwest point of the mouth of the straits, a gale set in from the eastward,

with a heavy fog, so that we could not see half of the ship's length ahead. This, of course, put an end to the

project, for the present; for a thick fog and a gale blowing dead ahead are not the most favorable

circumstances for the passage of difficult and dangerous straits. This weather, too, seemed likely to last for

some time, and we could not think of beating about the mouth of the straits for a week or two, waiting for a

favorable opportunity; so we braced up on the larboard tack, put the ship's head due south, and struck her off

In our first attempt to double the Cape, when we came up to the latitude of it, we were nearly seventeen

hundred miles to the westward, but, in running for the straits of Magellan, we stood so far to the eastward,

that we made our second attempt at a distance of not more than four or five hundred miles; and we had great

hopes, by this means, to run clear of the ice; thinking that the easterly gales, which had prevailed for a long

time, would have driven it to the westward. With the wind about two points free, the yards braced in a little,

and two closereefed topsails and a reefed foresail on the ship, we made great way toward the southward and,

almost every watch, when we came on deck, the air seemed to grow colder, and the sea to run higher. Still,

we saw no ice, and had great hopes of going clear of it altogether, when, one afternoon, about three o'clock,

while we were taking a siesta during our watch below, "All hands!" was called in a loud and fearful voice.

"Tumble up here, men! tumble up! don't stop for your clothes before we're upon it!" We sprang out of

our berths and hurried upon deck. The loud, sharp voice of the captain was heard giving orders, as though for

life or death, and we ran aft to the braces, not waiting to look ahead, for not a moment was to be lost. The

helm was hard up, the after yards shaking, and the ship in the act of wearing. Slowly, with stiff ropes and iced

rigging, we swung the yards round, everything coming hard, and with a creaking and rending sound, like

pulling up a plank which had been frozen into the ice. The ship wore round fairly, the yards were steadied,

and we stood off on the other tack, leaving behind us, directly under our larboard quarter, a large ice island,

peering out of the mist, and reaching high above our tops, while astern; and on either side of the island, large

tracts of fieldice were dimly seen, heaving and rolling in the sea. We were now safe, and standing to the

northward; but, in a few minutes more, had it not been for the sharp lookout of the watch, we should have

been fairly upon the ice, and left our ship's old bones adrift in the Southern ocean. After standing to the

northward a few hours, we wore ship, and the wind having hauled, we stood to the southward and eastward.

All night long, a bright lookout was kept from every part of the deck; and whenever ice was seen on the one

bow or the other, the helm was shifted and the yards braced, and by quick working of the ship she was kept

clear. The accustomed cry of "Ice ahead!" "Ice on the lee bow!" "Another island!" in the same tones, and

with the same orders following them, seemed to bring us directly back to our old position of the week before.

During our watch on deck, which was from twelve to four, the wind came out ahead, with a pelting storm of

hail and sleet, and we lay hoveto, under a closereefed main topsail, the whole watch. During the next

watch it fell calm, with a drenching rain, until daybreak, when the wind came out to the westward, and the

weather cleared up, and showed us the whole ocean, in the course which we should have steered, had it not

been for the head wind and calm, completely blocked up with ice. Here then our progress was stopped, and

we wore ship, and once more stood to the northward and eastward; not for the straits of Magellan, but to

make another attempt to double the Cape, still farther to the eastward; for the captain was determined to get

With a fair wind we soon ran clear of the fieldice, and by noon had only the stray islands floating far and

near upon the ocean. The sun was out bright, the sea of a deep blue, fringed with the white foam of the waves

which ran high before a strong southwester; our solitary ship tore on through the water, as though glad to be

out of her confinement; and the ice islands lay scattered upon the ocean here and there, of various sizes and

shapes, reflecting the bright rays of the sun, and drifting slowly northward before the gale. It was a contrast to

much that we had lately seen, and a spectacle not only of beauty, but of life; for it required but little fancy to

imagine these islands to be animate masses which had broken loose from the "thrilling regions of

thickribbed ice," and were working their way, by wind and current, some alone, and some in fleets, to

milder climes. No pencil has ever yet given anything like the true effect of an iceberg. In a picture, they are

huge, uncouth masses, stuck in the sea, while their chief beauty and grandeur, their slow, stately motion; the

whirling of the snow about their summits, and the fearful groaning and cracking of their parts, the picture

cannot give. This is the large iceberg; while the small and distant islands, floating on the smooth sea, in the

From a northeast course we gradually hauled to the eastward, and after sailing about two hundred miles,

which brought us as near to the western coast of Terra del Fuego as was safe, and having lost sight of the ice

altogether, for the third time we put the ship's head to the southward, to try the passage of the Cape. The

weather continued clear and cold, with a strong gale from the westward, and we were fast getting up with the

latitude of the Cape, with a prospect of soon being round. One fine afternoon, a man who had gone into the

foretop to shift the rolling tackles, sung out, at the top of his voice, and with evident glees "Sail ho!"

Neither land nor sail had we seen since leaving San Diego; and any one who has traversed the length of a

whole ocean alone, can imagine what an excitement such an announcement produced on board. "Sail ho!"

shouted the cook, jumping out of his galley; "Sail ho!" shouted a man, throwing back the slide of the scuttle,

to the watch below, who were soon out of their berths and on deck; and "Sail ho!" shouted the captain down

the companionway to the passenger in the cabin. Besides the pleasure of seeing a ship and human beings in

so desolate a place, it was important for us to speak a vessel, to learn whether there was ice to the eastward,

and to ascertain the longitude; for we had no chronometer, and had been drifting about so long that we had

nearly lost our reckoning, and opportunities for lunar observations are not frequent or sure in such a place as

Cape Horn. For these various reasons, the excitement in our little community was running high, and

conjectures were made, and everything thought of for which the captain would hail, when the man aloft sung

out "Another sail, large on the weather bow!" This was a little odd, but so much the better, and did not

shake our faith in their being sails. At length the man in the top hailed, and said he believed it was land, after

all. "Land in your eye!" said the mate, who was looking through a telescope; "they are ice islands, if I can see

a hole through a ladder;" and a few moments showed the mate to be right and all our expectations fled; and

instead of what we most wished to see, we had what we most dreaded, and what we hoped we had seen the

last of. We soon, however, left these astern, having passed within about two miles of them; and at sundown

Having a fine wind, we were soon up with and passed the latitude of the Cape, and having stood far enough

to the southward to give it a wide berth, we began to stand to the eastward, with a good prospect of being

But ill luck seemed to have lighted upon us. Not four hours had we been standing on in this course, before it

fell dead calm; and in half an hour it clouded up; a few straggling blasts, with spits of snow and sleet, came

from the eastward; and in an hour more, we lay hoveto under a closereefed main topsail, drifting bodily off

to leeward before the fiercest storm that we had yet felt, blowing dead ahead, from the eastward. It seemed as

though the genius of the place had been roused at finding that we had nearly slipped through his fingers, and

had come down upon us with tenfold fury. The sailors said that every blast, as it shook the shrouds, and

whistled through the rigging, said to the old ship, "No, you don't!" "No, you don't!"

For eight days we lay drifting about in this manner. Sometimes, generally towards noons, it fell calm; once

or twice a round copper ball showed itself for a few moments in the place where the sun ought to have been;

and a puff or two came from the westward, giving some hope that a fair wind had come at last. During the

first two days, we made sail for these puffs, shaking the reefs out of the topsails and boarding the tacks of the

courses; but finding that it only made work for us when the gale set in again, it was soon given up, and we

We had less snow and hail than when we were farther to the westward, but we had an abundance of what is

worse to a sailor in cold weather drenching rain. Snow is blinding, and very bad when coming upon a coast,

but, for genuine discomfort, give me rain with freezing weather. A snowstorm is exciting, and it does not

wet through the clothes (which is important to a sailor); but a constant rain there is no escaping from. It wets

to the skin, and makes all protection vain. We had long ago run through all our dry clothes, and as sailors

have no other way of drying them than by the sun, we had nothing to do but to put on those which were the

least wet. At the end of each watch, when we came below, we took off our clothes and wrung them out; two

taking hold of a pair of trowsers, one at each end, and jackets in the same way. Stockings, mittens, and all,

were wrung out also and then hung up to drain and chafe dry against the bulkheads. Then, feeling of all our

clothes, we picked out those which were the least wet, and put them on, so as to be ready for a call, and

turnedin, covered ourselves up with blankets, and slept until three knocks on the scuttle and the dismal

sound of "All starbowlines ahoy! Eight bells, there below! Do you hear the news?" drawled out from on deck,

On deck, all was as dark as a pocket, and either a dead calm, with the rain pouring steadily down, or, more

generally, a violent gale dead ahead, with rain pelting horizontally, and occasional variations of hail and

sleet; decks afloat with water swashing from side to side, and constantly wet feet; for boots could not be

wrung out like drawers, and no composition could stand the constant soaking. In fact, wet and cold feet are

inevitable in such weather, and are not the least of those little items which go to make up the grand total of

the discomforts of a winter passage round the Cape. Few words were spoken between the watches as they

shifted, the wheel was relieved, the mate took his place on the quarterdeck, the lookouts in the bows; and

each man had his narrow space to walk fore and aft in, or, rather, to swing himself forward and back in, from

one belaying pin to another, for the decks were too slippery with ice and water to allow of much walking.

To make a walk, which is absolutely necessary to pass away the time, one of us hit upon the expedient of

sanding the deck; and afterwards, whenever the rain was not so violent as to wash it off, the weatherside of

the quarterdeck and a part of the waist and forecastle were sprinkled with the sand which we had on board for

holystoning; and thus we made a good promenade, where we walked fore and aft, two and two, hour after

hour, in our long, dull, and comfortless watches. The bells seemed to be an hour or two apart, instead of half

an hour, and an age to elapse before the welcome sound of eight bells. The sole object was to make the time

pass on. Any chance was sought for, which would break the monotony of the time; and even the two hours'

trick at the wheel, which came round to each of us, in turn, once in every other watch, was looked upon as a

relief. Even the neverfailing resource of long yarns, which eke out many a watch, seemed to have failed us

now; for we had been so long together that we had heard each other's stories told over and over again, till we

had them by heart; each one knew the whole history of each of the others, and we were fairly and literally

talked out. Singing and joking, we were in no humor for, and, in fact, any sound of mirth or laughter would

have struck strangely upon our ears, and would not have been tolerated, any more than whistling, or a wind

instrument. The last resort, that of speculating upon the future, seemed now to fail us, for our discouraging

situation, and the danger we were really in, (as we expected every day to find ourselves drifted back among

the ice) "clapped a stopper" upon all that. From saying "when we get home" we began insensibly to alter it

In this state of things, a new light was struck out, and a new field opened, by a change in the watch. One of

our watch was laid up for two or three days by a bad hand, (for in cold weather the least cut or bruise ripens

into a sore,) and his place was supplied by the carpenter. This was a windfall, and there was quite a contest,

who should have the carpenter to walk with him. As "Chips" was a man of some little education, and he and I

had had a good deal of intercourse with each other, he fell in with me in my walk. He was a Fin, but spoke

English very well, and gave me long accounts of his country; the customs, the trade, the towns, what little

he knew of the government, (I found he was no friend of Russia), his voyages, his first arrival in America, his

marriage and courtship; he had married a countrywoman of his, a dressmaker, whom he met with in

Boston. I had very little to tell him of my quiet, sedentary life at home; and, in spite of our best efforts, which

had protracted these yarns through five or six watches, we fairly talked one another out, and I turned him over

I commenced a deliberate system of timekilling, which united some profit with a cheering up of the heavy

hours. As soon as I came on deck, and took my place and regular walk, I began with repeating over to myself

a string of matters which I had in my memory, in regular order. First, the multiplication table and the tables

of weights and measures; then the states of the union, with their capitals; the counties of England, with their

shire towns; the kings of England in their order; and a large part of the peerage, which I committed from an

almanac that we had on board; and then the Kanaka numerals. This carried me through my facts, and, being

repeated deliberately, with long intervals, often eked out the two first bells. Then came the ten

commandments; the thirtyninth chapter of Job, and a few other passages from Scripture. The next in the

order, that I never varied from, came Cowper's Castaway, which was a great favorite with me; the solemn

measure and gloomy character of which, as well as the incident that it was founded upon, made it well suited

to a lonely watch at sea. Then his lines to Mary, his address to the jackdaw, and a short extract from Table

Talk; (I abounded in Cowper, for I happened to have a volume of his poems in my chest;) "Ille et nefasto"

from Horace, and Goethe's Erl King. After I had got through these, I allowed myself a more general range

among everything that I could remember, both in prose and verse. In this way, with an occasional break by

relieving the wheel, heaving the log, and going to the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, the longest watch was

passed away; and I was so regular in my silent recitations, that if there was no interruption by ship's duty, I

Our watches below were no more varied than the watch on deck. All washing, sewing, and reading was given

up; and we did nothing but eat, sleep, and stand our watch, leading what might be called a Cape Horn life.

The forecastle was too uncomfortable to sit up in; and whenever we were below, we were in our berths. To

prevent the rain, and the seawater which broke over the bows, from washing down, we were obliged to keep

the scuttle closed, so that the forecastle was nearly airtight. In this little, wet, leaky hole, we were all

quartered, in an atmosphere so bad that our lamp, which swung in the middle from the beams, sometimes

actually burned blue, with a large circle of foul air about it. Still I was never in better health than after three

weeks of this life. I gained a great deal of flesh, and we all ate like horses. At every watch, when we came

below, before turningin, the bread barge and beef kid were overhauled. Each man drank his quart of hot tea

night and morning; and glad enough we were to get it, for no nectar and ambrosia were sweeter to the lazy

immortals, than was a pot of hot tea, a hard biscuit, and a slice of cold salt beef, to us after a watch on deck.

To be sure, we were mere animals and had this life lasted a year instead of a month we should have been little

better than the ropes in the ship. Not a razor, nor a brush, nor a drop of water, except the rain and the spray,

had come near us all the time; for we were on an allowance of fresh water; and who would strip and wash

himself in salt water on deck, in the snow and ice, with the thermometer at zero?

After about eight days of constant easterly gales, the wind hauled occasionally a little to the southward, and

blew hard, which, as we were well to the southward, allowed us to brace in a little and stand on, under all the

sail we could carry. These turns lasted but a short while, and sooner or later it set again from the old quarter;

yet each time we made something, and were gradually edging along to the eastward. One night, after one of

these shifts of the wind, and when all hands had been up a great part of the time, our watch was left on deck,

with the mainsail hanging in the buntlines, ready to be set if necessary. It came on to blow worse and worse,

with hail and snow beating like so many furies upon the ship, it being as dark and thick as night could make

it. The mainsail was blowing and slatting with a noise like thunder, when the captain came on deck, and

ordered it to be furled. The mate was about to call all hands, when the captain stopped him, and said that the

men would be beaten out if they were called up so often; that as our watch must stay on deck, it might as well

be doing that as anything else. Accordingly, we went upon the yard; and never shall I forget that piece of

work. Our watch had been so reduced by sickness, and by some having been left in California, that, with one

man at the wheel, we had only the third mate and three beside myself to go aloft; so that at most, we could

only attempt to furl one yardarm at a time. We manned the weather yardarm, and set to work to make a

furl of it. Our lower masts being short, and our yards very square, the sail had a head of nearly fifty feet, and

a short leach, made still shorter by the deep reef which was in it, which brought the clew away out on the

quarters of the yard, and made a bunt nearly as square as the mizen royalyard. Beside this difficulty, the

yard over which we lay was cased with ice, the gaskets and rope of the foot and leach of the sail as stiff and

hard as a piece of suctionhose, and the sail itself about as pliable as though it had been made of sheets of

sheathing copper. It blew a perfect hurricane, with alternate blasts of snow, hail, and rain. We had to fist the

sail with bare hands. No one could trust himself to mittens, for if he slipped, he was a gone man. All the boats

were hoisted in on deck, and there was nothing to be lowered for him. We had need of every finger God had

given us. Several times we got the sail upon the yard, but it blew away again before we could secure it. It

required men to lie over the yard to pass each turn of the gaskets, and when they were passed, it was almost

impossible to knot them so that they would hold. Frequently we were obliged to leave off altogether and take

to beating our hands upon the sail, to keep them from freezing. After some time, which seemed forever, we

got the weather side stowed after a fashion, and went over to leeward for another trial. This was still worse,

for the body of the sail had been blown over to leeward, and as the yard was acockbill by the lying over of

the vessel, we had to light it all up to windward. When the yardarms were furled, the bunt was all adrift

again, which made more work for us. We got all secure at last, but we had been nearly an hour and a half

upon the yard, and it seemed an age. It just struck five bells when we went up, and eight were struck soon

after we came down. This may seem slow work, but considering the state of everything, and that we had only

five men to a sail with just half as many square yards of canvas in it as the mainsail of the Independence,

sixtygun ship, which musters seven hundred men at her quarters, it is not wonderful that we were no quicker

about it. We were glad enough to get on deck, and still more, to go below. The oldest sailor in the watch said,

as he went down, "I shall never forget that main yard; it beats all my going a fishing. Fun is fun, but

furling one yardarm of a course, at a time, off Cape Horn, is no better than mankilling."

During the greater part of the next two days, the wind was pretty steady from the southward. We had

evidently made great progress, and had good hope of being soon up with the Cape, if we were not there

already. We could put but little confidence in our reckoning, as there had been no opportunities for an

observation, and we had drifted too much to allow of our dead reckoning being anywhere near the mark. If it

would clear off enough to give a chance for an observation, or if we could make land, we should know where

we were; and upon these, and the chances of falling in with a sail from the eastward, we depended almost

Friday, July 22d. This day we had a steady gale from the southward, and stood on under close sail, with the

yards eased a little by the weather braces, the clouds lifting a little, and showing signs of breaking away. In

the afternoon, I was below with Mr. H the third mate, and two others, filling the bread locker in the

steerage from the casks, when a bright gleam of sunshine broke out and shone down the companionway and

through the skylight, lighting up everything below, and sending a warm glow through the heart of every

one. It was a sight we had not seen for weeks, an omen, a godsend. Even the roughest and hardest face

acknowledged its influence. Just at that moment we heard a loud shout from all parts of the deck, and the

mate called out down the companionway to the captain, who was sitting in the cabin. What he said, we

could not distinguish, but the captain kicked over his chair, and was on deck at one jump. We could not tell

what it was; and, anxious as we were to know, the discipline of the ship would not allow of our leaving our

places. Yet, as we were not called, we knew there was no danger. We hurried to get through with our job,

when, seeing the steward's black face peering out of the pantry, Mr. H hailed him. to know what was the

matter. "Lan' o, to be sure, sir! No you hear 'em sing out, 'Lan' o?' De cap'em say 'im Cape Horn!"

This gave us a new start, and we were soon through our work, and on deck; and there lay the land, fair upon

the larboard beam, and slowly edging away upon the quarter. All hands were busy looking at it, the captain

and mates from the quarterdeck, the cook from his galley, and the sailors from the forecastle; and even Mr.

N., the passenger, who had kept in his shell for nearly a month, and hardly been seen by anybody, and who

we had almost forgotten was on board, came out like a butterfly, and was hopping round as bright as a bird.

The land was the island of Staten Land, and, just to the eastward of Cape Horn; and a more desolatelooking

spot I never wish to set eyes upon; bare, broken, and girt with rocks and ice, with here and there, between

the rocks and broken hillocks, a little stunted vegetation of shrubs. It was a place well suited to stand at the

junction of the two oceans, beyond the reach of human cultivation, and encounter the blasts and snows of a

perpetual winter. Yet, dismal as it was, it was a pleasant sight to us; not only as being the first land we had

seen, but because it told us that we had passed the Cape, were in the Atlantic, and that, with twentyfour

hours of this breeze, might bid defiance to the Southern Ocean. It told us, too, our latitude and longitude

better than any observation; and the captain now knew where we were, as well as if we were off the end of

In the general joy, Mr. N. said he should like to go ashore upon the island and examine a spot which probably

no human being had ever set foot upon; but the captain intimated that he would see the island specimens

and all, in another place, before he would get out a boat or delay the ship one moment for him.

We left the land gradually astern; and at sundown had the Atlantic Ocean clear before us.

It is usual, in voyages round the Cape from the Pacific, to keep to the eastward of the Falkland Islands; but as

it had now set in a strong, steady, and clear southwester, with every prospect of its lasting, and we had had

enough of high latitudes, the captain determined to stand immediately to the northward, running inside the

Falkland Islands. Accordingly, when the wheel was relieved at eight o'clock, the order was given to keep her

due north, and all hands were turned up to square away the yards and make sail. In a moment, the news ran

through the ship that the captain was keeping her off, with her nose straight for Boston, and Cape Horn over

her taffrail. It was a moment of enthusiasm. Every one was on the alert, and even the two sick men turned out

to lend a hand at the halyards. The wind was now due southwest, and blowing a gale to which a vessel close

hauled could have shown no more than a single closereefed sail; but as we were going before it, we could

carry on. Accordingly, hands were sent aloft, and a reef shaken out of the topsails, and the reefed foresail

set. When we came to masthead the topsail yards, with all hands at the halyards, we struck up "Cheerily,

men," with a chorus which might have been heard halfway to Staten Land. Under her increased sail, the ship

drove on through the water. Yet she could bear it well; and the captain sang out from the quarterdeck

"Another reef out of that foretopsail, and give it to her!" Two hands sprang aloft; the frozen reefpoints and

earings were cast adrift, the halyards manned, and the sail gave out her increased canvas to the gale. All

hands were kept on deck to watch the effect of the change. It was as much as she could well carry, and with a

heavy sea astern, it took two men at the wheel to steer her. She flung the foam from her bows; the spray

breaking aft as far as the gangway. She was going at a prodigious rate. Still, everything held. Preventer braces

were reeved and hauled taught; tackles got upon the backstays; and each thing done to keep all snug and

strong. The captain walked the deck at a rapid stride, looked aloft at the sails, and then to windward; the mate

stood in the gangway, rubbing his hands, and talking aloud to the ship "Hurrah, old bucket! the Boston girls

have got hold of the towrope!" and the like; and we were on the forecastle, looking to see how the spars

stood it, and guessing the rate at which she was going, when the captain called out "Mr. Brown, get up the

topmast studdingsail! What she can't carry she may drag!" The mate looked a moment; but he would let no

one be before him in daring. He sprang forward "Hurrah, men! rig out the topmast studdingsail boom! Lay

aloft, and I'll send the rigging up to you!" We sprang aloft into the top; lowered a girtline down, by which

we hauled up the rigging; rove the tacks and halyards; ran out the boom and lashed it fast, and sent down the

lower halyards, as a preventer. It was a clear starlight night, cold and blowing; but everybody worked with a

will. Some, indeed, looked as though they thought the "old man" was mad, but no one said a word. We had

had a new topmast studdingsail made with a reef in it, a thing hardly ever heard of, and which the sailors

had ridiculed a good deal, saying that when it was time to reef a studdingsail, it was time to take it in. But

we found a use for it now; for, there being a reef in the topsail, the studdingsail could not be set without one

in it also. To be sure, a studdingsail with reefed topsails was rather a new thing; yet there was some reason

in it, for if we carried that away, we should lose only a sail and a boom; but a whole topsail might have

While we were aloft, the sail had been got out, bent to the yard, reefed, and ready for hoisting. Waiting for a

good opportunity, the halyards were manned and the yard hoisted fairly up to the block; but when the mate

came to shake the catspaw out of the downhaul, and we began to boomend the sail, it shook the ship to her

centre. The boom buckled up and bent like a whipstick, and we looked every moment to see something go;

but, being of the short, tough upland spruce, it bent like whalebone, and nothing could break it. The carpenter

said it was the best stick he had ever seen. The strength of all hands soon brought the tack to the boomend,

and the sheet was trimmed down, and the preventer and the weather brace hauled taught to take off the strain.

Every ropeyarn seemed stretched to the utmost, and every thread of canvas; and with this sail added to her,

the ship sprang through the water like a thing possessed. The sail being nearly all forward, it lifted her out of

the water, and she seemed actually to jump from sea to sea. From the time her keel was laid, she had never

been so driven; and had it been life or death with every one of us, she could not have borne another stitch of

Finding that she would bear the sail, the hands were sent below, and our watch remained on deck. Two men

at the wheel had as much as they could do to keep her within three points of her course, for she steered as

wild as a young colt. The mate walked the deck, looking at the sails, and then over the side to see the foam

fly by her, slapping his hands upon his thighs and talking to the ship "Hurrah, you jade, you've got the

scent! you know where you're going!" And when she leaped over the seas, and almost out of the water, and

trembled to her very keel, the spars and masts snapping and creaking, "There she goes! There she goes,

handsomely! as long as she cracks she holds!" while we stood with the rigging laid down fair for letting

go, and ready to take in sail and clear away, if anything went. At four bells we hove the log, and she was

going eleven knots fairly; and had it not been for the sea from aft which sent the ship home, and threw her

continually off her course, the log would have shown her to have been going much faster. I went to the wheel

with a young fellow from the Kennebec, who was a good helmsman; and for two hours we had our hands

full. A few minutes showed us that our monkeyjackets must come off; and, cold as it was, we stood in our

shirtsleeves, in a perspiration; and were glad enough to have it eight bells, and the wheel relieved. We

turnedin and slept as well as we could, though the sea made a constant roar under her bows, and washed

At four o'clock, we were called again. The same sail was still on the vessel, and the gale, if there was any

change, had increased a little. No attempt was made to take the studdingsail in; and, indeed, it was too late

now. If we had started anything toward taking it in, either tack or halyards, it would have blown to pieces,

and carried something away with it. The only way now was to let everything stand, and if the gale went

down, well and good; if not, something must go the weakest stick or rope first and then we could get it in.

For more than an hour she was driven on at such a rate that she seemed actually to crowd the sea into a heap

before her; and the water poured over the spritsail yard as it would over a dam. Toward daybreak the gale

abated a little, and she was just beginning to go more easily along, relieved of the pressure, when Mr. Brown,

determined to give her no respite, and depending upon the wind's subsiding as the sun rose, told us to get

along the lower studdingsail. This was an immense sail, and held wind enough to last a Dutchman a week,

hoveto. It was soon ready, the boom topped up, preventer guys rove, and the idlers called up to man the

halyards; yet such was still the force of the gale, that we were nearly an hour setting the sail; carried away the

outhaul in doing it, and came very near snapping off the swinging boom. No sooner was it set than the ship

tore on again like one that was mad, and began to steer as wild as a hawk. The men at the wheel were puffing

and blowing at their work, and the helm was going hard up and hard down, constantly. Add to this, the gale

did not lessen as the day came on, but the sun rose in clouds. A sudden lurch threw the man from the weather

wheel across the deck and against the side. The mate sprang to the wheel, and the man, regaining his feet,

seized the spokes, and they hove the wheel up just in time to save her from broaching to; though nearly half

the studdingsail went under water; and as she came to, the boom stood up at an angle of fortyfive degrees.

She had evidently more on her than she could bear; yet it was in vain to try to take it in the clewline was not

strong enough; and they were thinking of cutting away, when another wide yaw and a cometo, snapped the

guys, and the swinging boom came in, with a crash, against the lower rigging. The outhaul block gave way,

and the topmast studdingsail boom bent in a manner which I never before supposed a stick could bend. I had

my eye on it when the guys parted, and it made one spring and buckled up so as to form nearly a half circle,

and sprang out again to its shape. The clewline gave way at the first pull; the cleat to which the halyards were

belayed was wrenched off, and the sail blew round the spritsail yards and head guys, which gave us a bad job

to get it in. A half hour served to clear all away, and she was suffered to drive on with her topmast

During all this day and the next night, we went on under the same sail, the gale blowing with undiminished

force; two men at the wheel all the time; watch and watch, and nothing to do but to steer and look out for the

Sunday, July 24th, when we were in latitude 50 deg. 27' S., longitude 62 deg. 13' W., having made four

degrees of latitude in the last twentyfour hours. Being now to northward of the Falkland Islands, the ship

was kept off, northeast, for the equator; and with her head for the equator, and Cape Horn over her taffrail,

she went gloriously on; every heave of the sea leaving the Cape astern, and every hour bringing us nearer to

home, and to warm weather. Many a time, when blocked up in the ice, with everything dismal and

discouraging about us, had we said, if we were only fairly round, and standing north on the other side, we

should ask for no more: and now we had it all, with a clear sea, and as much wind as a sailor could pray for.

If the best part of the voyage is the last part, surely we had all now that we could wish. Every one was in the

highest spirits, and the ship seemed as glad as any of us at getting out of her confinement. At each change of

the watch, those coming on deck asked those going below "How does she go along?" and got for answer,

the rate, and the customary addition "Aye! and the Boston girls have had hold of the towrope all the watch,

and can't haul half the slack in!" Each day the sun rose higher in the horizon, and the nights grew shorter; and

at coming on deck each morning, there was a sensible change in the temperature. The ice, too, began to melt

from off the rigging and spars, and, except a little which remained in the tops and round the hounds of the

lower masts, was soon gone. As we left the gale behind us, the reefs were shaken out of the topsails, and sail

made as fast as she could bear it; and every time all hands were sent to the halyards, a song was called for,

Sail after sail was added, as we drew into fine weather; and in one week after leaving Cape Horn, the long

topgallant masts were got up, topgallant and royal yards crossed, and the ship restored to her fair proportions.

The Southern Cross we saw no more after the first night; the Magellan Clouds settled lower and lower in the

horizon; and so great was our change of latitude each succeeding night, that we sank some constellation in the

Sunday, July 31st. At noon we were in lat. 36 deg. 41' S., long. 38 deg. 08' W., having traversed the distance

of two thousand miles, allowing for changes of course, in nine days. A thousand miles in four days and a

Soon after eight o'clock, the appearance of the ship gave evidence that this was the first Sunday we had yet

had in fine weather. As the sun came up clear, with the promise of a fair, warm day, and, as usual on Sunday,

there was no work going on, all hands turnedto upon clearing out the forecastle. The wet and soiled clothes

which had accumulated there during the past month, were brought up on deck; the chests moved; brooms,

buckets of water, swabs, scrubbingbrushes, and scrapers carried down, and applied, until the forecastle floor

was as white as chalk, and everything neat and in order. The bedding from the berths was then spread on

deck, and dried, and aired; the decktub filled with water; and a grand washing begun of all the clothes which

were brought up. Shirts, frocks, drawers, trowsers, jackets, stockings, of every shape and color, wet and

dirty many of them mouldy from having been lying a long time wet in a foul corner these were all washed

and scrubbed out, and finally towed overboard for half an hour; and then made fast in the rigging to dry. Wet

boots and shoes were spread out to dry in sunny places on deck; and the whole ship looked like a back yard

on a washing day. After we had done with our clothes, we began upon our own persons. A little fresh water,

which we had saved from our allowance, was put in buckets, and with soap and towels, we had what sailors

call a freshwater wash. The same bucket, to be sure, had to go through several hands, and was spoken for by

one after another, but as we rinsed off in salt water, pure from the ocean, and the fresh was used only to start

the accumulated grime and blackness of five weeks, it was held of little consequence. We soaped down and

scrubbed one another with towels and pieces of canvas, stripping to it; and then, getting into the head, threw

buckets of water upon each other. After this, came shaving, and combing, and brushing; and when, having

spent the first part of the day in this way, we sat down on the forecastle, in the afternoon, with clean duck

trowsers, and shirts on, washed, shaved, and combed, and looking a dozen shades lighter for it, reading,

sewing, and talking at our ease, with a clear sky and warm sun over our heads, a steady breeze over the

larboard quarter, studdingsails out alow and aloft, and all the flying kites aboard; we felt that we had got

back into the pleasantest part of a sailor's life. At sundown the clothes were all taken down from the rigging

clean and dry and stowed neatly away in our chests; and our southwesters, thick boots, guernsey frocks, and

other accompaniments of bad weather, put out of the way, we hoped, for the rest of the voyage, as we

Notwithstanding all that has been said about the beauty of a ship under full sail, there are very few who have

ever seen a ship, literally, under all her sail. A ship coming in or going out of port, with her ordinary sails,

and perhaps two of three studdingsails, is commonly said to be under full sail; but a ship never has all her

sail upon her, except when she has a light, steady breeze, very nearly, but not quite, dead aft, and so regular

that it can be trusted, and is likely to last for some time. Then, with all her sails, light and heavy, and

studdingsails, on each side, alow and aloft, she is the most glorious moving object in the world. Such a

sight, very few, even some who have been at sea a great deal, have ever beheld; for from the deck of your

One night, while we were in these tropics, I went out to the end of the flyingjibboom, upon some duty,

and, having finished it, turned round, and lay over the boom for a long time, admiring the beauty of the sight

before me. Being so far out from the deck, I could look at the ship, as at a separate vessel; and there rose up

from the water, supported only by the small black hull, a pyramid of canvas, spreading out far beyond the

hull, and towering up almost, as it seemed in the indistinct night air, to the clouds. The sea was as still as an

inland lake; the light tradewind was gently and steadily breathing from astern; the dark blue sky was

studded with the tropical stars; there was no sound but the rippling of the water under the stem; and the sails

were spread out, wide and high; the two lower studdingsails stretching, on each side, far beyond the deck;

the topmast studdingsails, like wings to the topsails; the topgallant studdingsails spreading fearlessly out

above them; still higher, the two royal studdingsails, looking like two kites flying from the same string; and,

highest of all, the little skysail, the apex of the pyramid, seeming actually to touch the stars, and to be out of

reach of human hand. So quiet, too, was the sea, and so steady the breeze, that if these sails had been

sculptured marble, they could not have been more motionless. Not a ripple upon the surface of the canvas;

not even a quivering of the extreme edges of the sail so perfectly were they distended by the breeze. I was

so lost in the sight, that I forgot the presence of the man who came out with me, until he said, (for he, too,

rough old manofwar'sman as he was, had been gazing at the show,) half to himself, still looking at the

The fine weather brought work with it, as the ship was to be put in order for coming into port. This may give

a landsman some notion of what is done on board ship. All the first part of a passage is spent in getting a

ship ready for sea, and the last part in getting her ready for port. She is, as sailors say, like a lady's watch,

always out of repair. The new, strong sails, which we had up off Cape Horn, were to be sent down, and the

old set, which were still serviceable in fine weather, to be bent in their place; all the rigging to be set up, fore

and aft; the masts stayed; the standing rigging to be tarred down; lower and topmast rigging rattled down,

fore and aft; the ship scraped, inside and out, and painted; decks varnished; new and neat knots, seizings and

coverings to be fitted; and every part put in order, to look well to the owner's eye, on coming into Boston.

This, of course, was a long matter; and all hands were kept on deck at work for the whole of each day, during

the rest of the voyage. Sailors call this hard usage; but the ship must be in crack order, and "we're homeward

We went on for several days, employed in this way, nothing remarkable occurring; and, at the latter part of

the week, fell in with the southeast trades, blowing about eastsoutheast, which brought them nearly two

points abaft our beam. These blew strong and steady, so that we hardly started a rope, until we were beyond

their latitude. The first day of "all hands," one of those little incidents occurred, which are nothing in

themselves, but are great matters in the eyes of a ship's company, as they serve to break the monotony of a

voyage, and afford conversation to the crew for days afterwards. These small matters, too, are often

In merchant vessels, the captain gives his orders as to the ship's work, to the mate, in a general way, and

leaves the execution of them, with the particular ordering, to him. This has become so fixed a custom, that it

is like a law, and is never infringed upon by a wise master, unless his mate is no seaman; in which case, the

captain must often oversee things for himself. This, however, could not be said of our chief mate; and he was

On Monday morning, the captain told him to stay the foretopmast plumb. He accordingly came forward,

turned all hands to, with tackles on the stays and backstays, coming up with the seizings, hauling here,

belaying there, and full of business, standing between the knightheads to sight the mast, when the captain

came forward, and also began to give orders. This made confusion, and the mate, finding that he was all

This produced a reply, and another fierce answer; and the words flew, fists were doubled up, and things

"Yes, sir, and I'm mate of her, and know my place! My place is forward, and yours is aft!"

"My place is where I choose! I command the whole ship; and you are mate only so long as I choose!"

"Say the word, Capt. T., and I'm done! I can do a man's work aboard! I didn't come through the cabin

This was all fun for us, who stood by, winking at each other, and enjoying the contest between the higher

powers. The captain took the mate aft; and they had a long talk, which ended in the mate's returning to his

duty. The captain had broken through a custom, which is a part of the commonlaw of a ship, and without

reason; for he knew that his mate was a sailor, and needed no help from him; and the mate was excusable for

being angry. Yet he was wrong, and the captain right. Whatever the captain does is right, ipso facto, and any

opposition to it is wrong, on board ship; and every officer and man knows this when he signs the ship's

articles. It is a part of the contract. Yet there has grown up in merchant vessels a series of customs, which

have become a well understood system, and have almost the force of prescriptive law. To be sure, all power

is in the captain, and the officers hold their authority only during his will; and the men are liable to be called

upon for any service; yet, by breaking in upon these usages, many difficulties have occurred on board ship,

and even come into courts of justice, which are perfectly unintelligible to any one not acquainted with the

universal nature and force of these customs. Many a provocation has been offered, and a system of petty

oppression pursued towards men, the force and meaning of which would appear as nothing to strangers, and

The next little diversion, was a battle on the forecastle one afternoon, between the mate and the steward. They

had been on bad terms the whole voyage; and had threatened a rupture several times. This afternoon, the mate

asked him for a tumbler of water, and he refused to get it for him, saying that he waited upon nobody but the

captain: and here he had the custom on his side. But in answering, he left off "the handle to the mate's name."

This enraged the mate, who called him a "black soger;" and at it they went, clenching, striking, and rolling

over and over; while we stood by, looking on, and enjoying the fun. The darky tried to butt him, but the mate

got him down, and held him, the steward singing out, "Let me go, Mr. Brown, or there'll be blood spilt!" In

the midst of this, the captain came on deck, separated them, took the steward aft, and gave him half a dozen

with a rope's end. The steward tried to justify himself; but he had been heard to talk of spilling blood, and that

was enough to earn him his flogging; and the captain did not choose to inquire any further.

The same day, I met with one of those narrow escapes, which are so often happening in a sailor's life. I had

been aloft nearly all the afternoon, at work, standing for as much as an hour on the fore topgallant yard,

which was hoisted up, and hung only by the tie; when, having got through my work, I balled up my yarns,

took my servingboard in my hand, laid hold deliberately of the topgallant rigging, took one foot from the

yard, and was just lifting the other, when the tie parted, and down the yard fell. I was safe, by my hold upon

the rigging, but it made my heart beat quick. Had the tie parted one instant sooner, or had I stood an instant

longer on the yard, I should inevitably have been thrown violently from the height of ninety or a hundred feet,

overboard; or, what is worse, upon the deck. However, "a miss is as good as a mile;" a saying which sailors

very often have occasion to use. An escape is always a joke on board ship. A man would be ridiculed who

should make a serious matter of it. A sailor knows too well that his life hangs upon a thread, to wish to be

always reminded of it; so, if a man has an escape, he keeps it to himself, or makes a joke of it. I have often

known a man's life to be saved by an instant of time, or by the merest chance, the swinging of a rope, and

no notice taken of it. One of our boys, when off Cape Horn, reefing topsails of a dark night, and when there

were no boats to be lowered away, and where, if a man fell overboard he must be left behind, lost his hold

of the reefpoint, slipped from the footrope, and would have been in the water in a moment, when the man

who was next to him on the yard caught him by the collar of his jacket, and hauled him up upon the yard,

with "Hold on, another time, you young monkey, and be dd to you!" and that was all that was heard

Sunday, August 7th. Lat. 25 deg. 59' S., long. 27 deg. 0' W., Spoke the English bark MaryCatherine, from

Bahia, bound to Calcutta. This was the first sail we had fallen in with, and the first time we had seen a human

form or heard the human voice, except of our own number, for nearly a hundred days. The very yohoing of

the sailors at the ropes sounded sociably upon the ear. She was an old, damagedlooking craft, with a high

poop and topgallant forecastle, and sawed off square, stem and stern, like a true English "teawagon," and

with a run like a sugarbox. She had studdingsails out alow and aloft, with a light but steady breeze, and her

captain said he could not get more than four knots out of her and thought he should have a long passage. We

The next day, about three P. M., passed a large corvettebuilt ship, close upon the wind, with royals and

skysails set fore and aft, under English colors. She was standing southbyeast, probably bound round Cape

Horn. She had men in her tops, and black mastheads; heavily sparred, with sails cut to a t, and other marks

of a manof war. She sailed well, and presented a fine appearance; the proud, aristocraticlooking banner of

St. George, the cross in a bloodred field, waving from the mizen. We probably were as fine a sight, with our

studdingsails spread far out beyond the ship on either side, and rising in a pyramid to royal studdingsails

and skysails, burying the hull in canvas, and looking like what the whalemen on the Banks under their

Friday, August 12th. At daylight made the island of Trinidad, situated in lat. 20 deg. 28' S., long. 29 deg. 08'

W. At twelve M., it bore N. W. 1/2 N., distant twentyseven miles. It was a beautiful day, the sea hardly

ruffled by the light trades, and the island looking like a small blue mound rising from a field of glass. Such a

fair and peacefullooking spot is said to have been, for a long time, the resort of a band of pirates, who

Thursday, August 18th. At three P. M., made the island of Fernando Naronha, lying in lat. 3 deg. 55' S., long.

32 deg. 35' W.; and between twelve o'clock Friday night and one o'clock Saturday morning, crossed the

equator, for the fourth time since leaving Boston, in long. 35 deg. W.; having been twentyseven days from

Staten Land a distance, by the courses we had made, of more than four thousand miles.

We were now to the northward of the line, and every day added to our latitude. The Magellan Clouds, the last

sign of South latitude, were sunk in the horizon, and the north star, the Great Bear, and the familiar signs of

northern latitudes, were rising in the heavens. Next to seeing land, there is no sight which makes one realize

more that he is drawing near home, than to see the same heavens, under which he was born, shining at night

over his head. The weather was extremely hot, with the usual tropical alternations of a scorching sun and

squalls of rain; yet not a word was said in complaint of the heat, for we all remembered that only three or four

weeks before we would have given nearly our all to have been where we now were. We had plenty of water,

too, which we caught by spreading an awning, with shot thrown in to make hollows. These rain squalls came

up in the manner usual between the tropics. A clear sky; burning, vertical sun; work going lazily on, and

men about decks with nothing but duck trowsers, checked shirts, and straw hats; the ship moving as lazily

through the water; the man at the helm resting against the wheel, with his hat drawn over his eyes; the captain

below, taking an afternoon nap; the passenger leaning over the taffrail, watching a dolphin following slowly

in our wake; the sailmaker mending an old topsail on the lee side of the quarterdeck; the carpenter working at

his bench, in the waist; the boys making sinner; the spunyarn winch whizzing round and round, and the men

walking slowly fore and aft with their yarns. A cloud rises to windward, looking a little black; the skysails

are brailed down; the captain puts his head out of the companionway, looks at the cloud, comes up, and

begins to walk the deck. The cloud spreads and comes on; the tub of yarns, the sail, and other matters, are

thrown below, and the skylight and boobyhatch put on, and the slide drawn over the forecastle. "Stand by

the royal halyards;" the man at the wheel keeps a good weather helm, so as not to be taken aback. The squall

strikes her. If it is light, the royal yards are clewed down, and the ship keeps on her way; but if the squall

takes strong hold, the royals are clewed up, fore and aft; light hands lay aloft and furl them; topgallant yards

clewed down, flyingjib hauled down, and the ship kept off before it, the man at the helm laying out his

strength to heave the wheel up to windward. At the same time a drenching rain, which soaks one through in

an instant. Yet no one puts on a jacket or cap; for if it is only warm, a sailor does not mind a ducking; and the

sun will soon be out again. As soon as the force of the squall has passed, though to a common eye the ship

would seem to be in the midst of its "Keep her up to her course, again!" "Keep her up, sir," (answer);

"Hoist away the topgallant yards!" "Run up the flying jib!" "Lay aloft, you boys, and loose the royals!"

and all sail is on her again before she is fairly out of the squall; and she is going on in her course. The sun

comes out once more, hotter than ever, dries up the decks and the sailors' clothes; the hatches are taken off;

the sail got up and spread on the quarterdeck; spunyarn winch set a whirling again; rigging coiled up;

These scenes, with occasional dead calms, lasting for hours, and sometimes for days, are fair specimens of

the Atlantic tropics. The nights were fine; and as we had all hands all day, the watch were allowed to sleep on

deck at night, except the man at the wheel, and one lookout on the forecastle. This was not so much

expressly allowed, as winked at. We could do it if we did not ask leave. If the lookout was caught napping,

the whole watch was kept awake. We made the most of this permission, and stowed ourselves away upon the

rigging, under the weather rail, on the spars, under the windlass, and in all the snug corners; and frequently

slept out the watch, unless we had a wheel or a lookout. And we were glad enough to get this rest; for under

the "all hands" system, out of every other thirtysix hours, we had only four below; and even an hour's sleep

was a gain not to be neglected. One would have thought so, to have seen our watch, some nights, sleeping

through a heavy rain. And often have we come on deck, and finding a dead calm and a light, steady rain, and

determined not to lose our sleep, have laid a coil of rigging down so as to keep us out of the water which was

washing about decks, and stowed ourselves away upon it, covering a jacket over us, and slept as soundly as a

For a week or ten days after crossing the line, we had the usual variety of calms, squalls, head winds, and fair

winds; at one time braced sharp upon the wind, with a taught bowline, and in an hour after, slipping quietly

along, with a light breeze over the taffrail, and studdingsails out on both sides; until we fell in with the

Sunday, August 28th, in lat. 12 deg. N. The tradewind clouds had been in sight for a day or two previously,

and we expected to take them every hour. The light southerly breeze, which had been blowing languidly

during the first part of the day, died away toward noon, and in its place came puffs from the northeast,

which caused us to take our studdingsails in and brace up; and in a couple of hours more, we were bowling

gloriously along, dashing the spray far ahead and to leeward, with the cool, steady northeast trades,

freshening up the sea, and giving us as much as we could carry our royals to. These winds blew strong and

steady, keeping us generally upon a bowline, as our course was about northnorthwest; and sometimes, as

they veered a little to the eastward, giving us a chance at a main topgallant studdingsail; and sending us

Sunday, Sept. 4th, when they left us, in lat. 22 deg. N., long. 51 deg. W., directly under the tropic of Cancer.

For several days we lay "humbugging about" in the Horse latitudes, with all sorts of winds and weather, and

occasionally, as we were in the latitude of the West Indies a thunder storm. It was hurricane month, too, and

we were just in the track of the tremendous hurricane of 1830, which swept the North Atlantic, destroying

almost everything before it. The first night after the tradewinds left us, while we were in the latitude of the

island of Cuba, we had a specimen of a true tropical thunder storm. A light breeze had been blowing directly

from aft during the first part of the night which gradually died away, and before midnight it was dead calm,

and a heavy black cloud had shrouded the whole sky. When our watch came on deck at twelve o'clock, it was

as black as Erebus; the studdingsails were all taken in, and the royals furled; not a breath was stirring; the

sails hung heavy and motionless from the yards; and the perfect stillness, and the darkness, which was almost

palpable, were truly appalling. Not a word was spoken, but every one stood as though waiting for something

to happen. In a few minutes the mate came forward, and in a low tone, which was almost a whisper, told us to

haul down the jib. The fore and mizen topgallant sails were taken in, in the same silent manner; and we lay

motionless upon the water, with an uneasy expectation, which, from the long suspense, became actually

painful. We could hear the captain walking the deck, but it was too dark to see anything more than one's hand

before the face. Soon the mate came forward again, and gave an order, in a low tone, to clew up the main

topgallant sail; and so infectious was the awe and silence, that the clewlines and buntlines were hauled up

without any of the customary singing out at the ropes. An English lad and myself went up to furl it; and we

had just got the bunt up, when the mate called out to us, something, we did not hear what, but supposing it

to be an order to bearahand, we hurried, and made all fast, and came down, feeling our way among the

rigging. When we got down we found all hands looking aloft, and there, directly over where we had been

standing, upon the main topgallantmasthead, was a ball of light, which the sailors name a corposant

(corpus sancti), and which the mate had called out to us to look at. They were all watching it carefully, for

sailors have a notion that if the corposant rises in the rigging, it is a sign of fair weather, but if it comes lower

down, there will be a storm. Unfortunately, as an omen, it came down, and showed itself on the topgallant

yardarm. We were off the yard in good season, for it is held a fatal sign to have the pale light of the

corposant thrown upon one's face. As it was, the English lad did not feel comfortably at having had it so near

him, and directly over his head. In a few minutes it disappeared, and showed itself again on the fore

topgallant yard; and after playing about for some time, disappeared again; when the man on the forecastle

pointed to it upon the flyingjibboomend. But our attention was drawn from watching this, by the falling

of some drops of rain and by a perceptible increase of the darkness, which seemed suddenly to add a new

shade of blackness to the night. In a few minutes, low, grumbling thunder was heard, and some random

flashes of lightning came from the southwest. Every sail was taken in but the topsails, still, no squall

appeared to be coming. A few puffs lifted the topsails, but they fell again to the mast, and all was as stiff as

ever. A moment more, and a terrific flash and peal broke simultaneously upon us, and a cloud appeared to

open directly over our heads and let down the water in one body, like a falling ocean. We stood motionless,

and almost stupefied; yet nothing had been struck. Peal after peal rattled over our heads, with a sound which

seemed actually to stop the breath in the body, and the "speedy gleams" kept the whole ocean in a glare of

light. The violent fall of rain lasted but a few minutes, and was succeeded by occasional drops and showers;

but the lightning continued incessant for several hours, breaking the midnight darkness with irregular and

blinding flashes. During all which time there was not a breath stirring, and we lay motionless, like a mark to

be shot at, probably the only object on the surface of the ocean for miles and miles. We stood hour after hour,

until our watch was out, and we were relieved, at four o'clock. During all this time, hardly a word was

spoken; no bells were struck, and the wheel was silently relieved. The rain fell at intervals in heavy showers,

and we stood drenched through and blinded by the flashes, which broke the Egyptian darkness with a

brightness which seemed almost malignant; while the thunder rolled in peals, the concussion of which

appeared to shake the very ocean. A ship is not often injured by lightning, for the electricity is separated by

the great number of points she presents, and the quantity of iron which she has scattered in various parts. The

electric fluid ran over our anchors, topsail sheets and ties; yet no harm was done to us. We went below at

four o'clock, leaving things in the same state. It is not easy to sleep, when the very next flash may tear the

ship in two, or set her on fire; or where the deathlike calm may be broken by the blast of a hurricane, taking

the masts out of the ship. But a man is no sailor if he cannot sleep when he turnsin, and turn out when he's

called. And when, at seven bells, the customary "All the larboard watch, ahoy!" brought us on deck, it was a

fine, clear, sunny morning, the ship going leisurely along, with a good breeze and all sail set.

From the latitude of the West Indies, until we got inside the Bermudas, where we took the westerly and

southwesterly winds, which blow steadily off the coast of the United States early in the autumn, we had

every variety of weather, and two or three moderate gales, or, as sailors call them, doublereeftopsail

breezes, which came on in the usual manner, and of which one is a specimen of all. A fine afternoon; all

hands at work, some in the rigging, and others on deck; a stiff breeze, and ship close upon the wind, and

skysails brailed down. Latter part of the afternoon, breeze increases, ship lies over to it, and clouds look

windy. Spray begins to fly over the forecastle, and wets the yarns the boys are knotting; ball them up and

put them below. Mate knocks off work and clears up decks earlier than usual, and orders a man who has

been employed aloft to send the royal halyards over to windward, as he comes down. Breast backstays hauled

taught, and tackle got upon the martingale backrope. One of the boys furls the mizen royal. Cook thinks

there is going to be "nasty work," and has supper ready early. Mate gives orders to get supper by the watch,

instead of all hands, as usual. While eating supper, hear the watch on deck taking in the royals. Coming on

deck, find it is blowing harder, and an ugly head sea is running. Instead of having all hands on the forecastle

in the dog watch, smoking, singing, and telling yarns, one watch goes below and turnsin, saying that it's

going to be an ugly night, and two hours' sleep is not to be lost. Clouds look black and wild; wind rising, and

ship working hard against a heavy sea, which breaks over the forecastle, and washes aft through the scuppers.

Still, no more sail is taken in, for the captain is a driver, and, like all drivers, very partial to his topgallant

sails. A topgallant sail, too, makes the difference between a breeze and a gale. When a topgallant sail is on

a ship, it is only a breeze, though I have seen ours set over a reefed topsail, when half the bowsprit was under

water, and it was up to a man's knees in the scuppers. At eight bells, nothing is said about reefing the topsails,

and the watch go below, with orders to "stand by for a call." We turnin, growling at the "old man" for not

reefing the topsails when the watch was changed, but putting it off so as to call all hands, and break up a

whole watch below. Turnin "all standing," and keep ourselves awake, saying there is no use in going asleep

to be waked up again. Wind whistles on deck, and ship works hard, groaning and creaking, and pitching into

a heavy head sea, which strikes against the bows, with a noise like knocking upon a rock. The dim lamp in

the forecastle swings to and fro, and things "fetch away" and go over to leeward. "Doesn't that booby of a

second mate ever mean to take in his topgallant sails? He'll have the sticks out of her soon," says old Bill,

who was always growling, and, like most old sailors, did not like to see a ship abused. Byandby an order

is given "Aye, aye, sir!" from the forecastle; rigging is heaved down on deck; the noise of a sail is heard

fluttering aloft, and the short, quick cry which sailors make when hauling upon clewlines. "Here comes his

foretopgallant sail in!" We are wide awake, and know all that's going on as well as if we were on deck.

A wellknown voice is heard from the masthead singing out the officer of the watch to haul taught the

weather brace. "Hallo! There's S aloft to furl the sail!" Next thing, rigging is heaved down directly

over our heads, and a longdrawn cry and a rattling of hanks announce that the flyingjib has come in. The

second mate holds on to the main topgallant sail until a heavy sea is shipped, and washes over the forecastle

as though the whole ocean had come aboard; when a noise further aft shows that that sail, too, is taking in.

After this, the ship is more easy for a time; two bells are struck, and we try to get a little sleep.

Byandby,bang, bang, bang, on the scuttle "All haaands, a hooy!" We spring out of our berths,

clap on a monkeyjacket and southwester, and tumble up the ladder. Mate up before us, and on the

forecastle, singing out like a roaring bull; the captain singing out on the quarterdeck, and the second mate

yelling, like a hyena, in the waist. The ship is lying over half upon her beamends; lee scuppers under water,

and forecastle all in a smother of foam. Rigging all let go, and washing about decks; topsail yards down

upon the caps, and sails flapping and beating against the masts; and starboard watch hauling out the

reeftackles of the main topsail. Our watch haul out the fore, and lay aloft and put two reefs into it, and reef

the foresail, and race with the starboard watch, to see which will masthead its topsail first. All hands

tallyon to the main tack, and while some are furling the jib, and hoisting the staysail, we mizentopmen

doublereef the mizen topsail and hoist it up. All being made fast "Go below, the watch!" and we turnin to

sleep out the rest of the time, which is perhaps an hour and a half. During all the middle, and for the first part

of the morning watch, it blows as hard as ever, but toward daybreak it moderates considerably, and we shake

a reef out of each topsail, and set the topgallant sails over them and when the watch come up, at seven bells,

for breakfast, shake the other reefs out, turn all hands to upon the halyards, get the watchtackle upon the

Our captain had been married only a few weeks before he left Boston; and, after an absence of over two

years, it may be supposed he was not slow in carrying sail. The mate, too, was not to be beaten by anybody;

and the second mate, though he was afraid to press sail, was afraid as death of the captain, and being between

two fears, sometimes carried on longer than any of them. We snapped off three flyingjib booms in

twentyfour hours, as fast as they could be fitted and rigged out; sprung the spritsail yard; and made nothing

of studdingsail booms. Beside the natural desire to get home, we had another reason for urging the ship on.

The scurvy had begun to show itself on board. One man had it so badly as to be disabled and off duty, and the

English lad, Ben, was in a dreadful state, and was daily growing worse. His legs swelled and pained him so

that he could not walk; his flesh lost its elasticity, so that if it was pressed in, it would not return to its shape;

and his gums swelled until he could not open his mouth. His breath, too, became very offensive; he lost all

strength and spirit; could eat nothing; grew worse every day; and, in fact, unless something was done for him,

would be a dead man in a week, at the rate at which he was sinking. The medicines were all, or nearly all,

gone; and if we had had a chestfull, they would have been of no use; for nothing but fresh provisions and

terra firma has any effect upon the scurvy. This disease is not so common now as formerly; and is attributed

generally to salt provisions, want of cleanliness, the free use of grease and fat (which is the reason of its

prevalence among whalemen,) and, last of all, to laziness. It never could have been from the latter cause on

board our ship; nor from the second, for we were a very cleanly crew, kept our forecastle in neat order, and

were more particular about washing and changing clothes than many betterdressed people on shore. It was

probably from having none but salt provisions, and possibly from our having run very rapidly into hot

Depending upon the westerly winds, which prevail off the coast in the autumn, the captain stood well to the

westward, to run inside of the Bermudas, and in the hope of falling in with some vessel bound to the West

Indies or the Southern States. The scurvy had spread no farther among the crew, but there was danger that it

Sunday, Sept. 11th. Lat. 30 deg. 04' N., long. 63 deg. 23' W.; the Bermudas bearing northnorthwest, distant

one hundred and fifty miles. The next morning, about ten o'clock, "Sail ho!" was cried on deck; and all hands

turned up to see the stranger. As she drew nearer, she proved to be an ordinarylooking hermaphrodite brig,

standing southsoutheast; and probably bound out, from the Northern States, to the West Indies; and was just

the thing we wished to see. She hoveto for us, seeing that we wished to speak her; and we ran down to her;

boomended our studdingsails; backed our main topsail, and hailed her "Brig, ahoy!" "Hallo!" "Where

are you from, pray?" "From New York, bound to Curacoa." "Have you any fresh provisions to spare?"

"Aye, aye! plenty of them!" We lowered away the quarterboat, instantly; and the captain and four hands

sprang in, and were soon dancing over the water, and alongside the brig. In about half an hour, they returned

with half a boatload of potatoes and onions, and each vessel filled away, and kept on her course. She proved

to be the brig Solon, of Plymouth, from the Connecticut river, and last from New York, bound to the Spanish

Main, with a cargo of fresh provisions, mules, tin bakepans, and other notions. The onions were genuine and

fresh; and the mate of the brig told the men in the boat, as he passed the bunches over the side, that the girls

had strung them on purpose for us the day he sailed. We had supposed, on board, that a new president had

been chosen, the last winter, and, just as we filled away, the captain hailed and asked who was president of

the United States. They answered, Andrew Jackson; but thinking that the old General could not have been

elected for a third time, we hailed again, and they answered Jack Downing; and left us to correct the mistake

It was just dinnertime when we filled away; and the steward, taking a few bunches of onions for the cabin,

gave the rest to us, with a bottle of vinegar. We carried them forward, stowed them away in the forecastle,

refusing to have them cooked, and ate them raw, with our beef and bread. And a glorious treat they were. The

freshness and crispness of the raw onion, with the earthy taste, give it a great relish to one who has been a

long time on salt provisions. We were perfectly ravenous after them. It was like a scent of blood to a hound.

We ate them at every meal, by the dozen; and filled our pockets with them, to eat in our watch on deck; and

the bunches, rising in the form of a cone, from the largest at the bottom, to the smallest, no larger than a

strawberry, at the top, soon disappeared. The chief use, however, of the fresh provisions, was for the men

with the scurvy. One of them was able to eat, and he soon brought himself to, by gnawing upon raw potatoes;

but the other, by this time, was hardly able to open his mouth; and the cook took the potatoes raw, pounded

them in a mortar, and gave him the juice to drink. This he swallowed, by the teaspoonful at a time, and

rinsed it about his gums and throat. The strong earthy taste and smell of this extract of the raw potato at first

produced a shuddering through his whole frame, and after drinking it, an acute pain, which ran through all

parts of his body; but knowing, by this, that it was taking strong hold, he persevered, drinking a spoonful

every hour or so, and holding it a long time in his mouth; until, by the effect of this drink, and of his own

restored hope, (for he had nearly given up, in despair) he became so well as to be able to move about, and

open his mouth enough to eat the raw potatoes and onions pounded into a soft pulp. This course soon restored

his appetite and strength; and in ten days after we spoke the Solon, so rapid was his recovery, that, from lying

helpless and almost hopeless in his berth, he was at the masthead, furling a royal.

With a fine southwest wind, we passed inside of the Bermudas; and notwithstanding the old couplet, which

was quoted again and again by those who thought we should have one more touch of a storm before our

You must beware of Hatteras" we were to the northward of Hatteras, with good weather, and beginning to

count, not the days, but the hours, to the time when we should be at anchor in Boston harbor.

Our ship was in fine order, all hands having been hard at work upon her from daylight to dark, every day but

It is a common notion with landsmen that a ship is in her finest condition when she leaves port to enter upon

Lean, rent and beggared by the strumpet wind." But so far from that, unless a ship meets with some accident,

or comes upon the coast in the dead of winter, when work cannot be done upon the rigging, she is in her

finest order at the end of the voyage. When she sails from port, her rigging is generally slack; the masts need

staying; the decks and sides are black and dirty from taking in cargo; riggers' seizings and overhand knots in

place of nice seamanlike work; and everything, to a sailor's eye, adrift. But on the passage home, the fine

weather between the tropics is spent in putting the ship into the neatest order. No merchant vessel looks better

than an Indiaman, or a Cape Horner, after a long voyage; and many captains and mates will stake their

reputation for seamanship upon the appearance of their ship when she hauls into the dock. All our standing

rigging, fore and aft, was set up and tarred; the masts stayed; the lower and topmast rigging rattled down,

(or up, as the fashion now is;) and so careful were our officers to keep the rattlins taught and straight, that we

were obliged to go aloft upon the ropes and shearpoles with which the rigging was swifted in; and these were

used as jury rattlins until we got close upon the coast. After this, the ship was scraped, inside and out, decks,

masts, booms and all; a stage being rigged outside, upon which we scraped her down to the waterline;

pounding the rust off the chains, bolts and fastenings. Then, taking two days of calm under the line, we

painted her on the outside, giving her open ports in her streak, and finishing off the nice work upon the stern,

where sat Neptune in his car, holding his trident, drawn by seahorses; and retouched the gilding and

coloring of the cornucopia which ornamented her billethead. The inside was then painted, from the skysail

truck to the waterways the yards black; mastheads and tops, white; monkeyrail, black, white, and yellow;

bulwarks, green; plankshear, white; waterways, lead color, etc., etc. The anchors and ringbolts, and other

iron work, were blackened with coaltar; and the steward kept at work, polishing the brass of the wheel, bell,

capstan, etc. The cabin, too, was scraped, varnished, and painted; and the forecastle scraped and scrubbed;

there being no need of paint and varnish for Jack's quarters. The decks were then scraped and varnished, and

everything useless thrown overboard; among which the empty tar barrels were set on fire and thrown

overboard, on a dark night, and left blazing astern, lighting up the ocean for miles. Add to all this labor, the

neat work upon the rigging; the knots, flemisheyes, splices, seizings, coverings, pointings, and graffings,

which show a ship in crack order. The last preparation, and which looked still more like coming into port,

was getting the anchors over the bows, bending the cables, rowsing the hawsers up from between decks, and

Thursday, September 15th. This morning the temperature and peculiar appearance of the water, the quantities

of gulfweed floating about, and a bank of clouds lying directly before us, showed that we were on the

border of the Gulf Stream. This remarkable current, running northeast, nearly across the ocean, is almost

constantly shrouded in clouds, and is the region of storms and heavy seas. Vessels often run from a clear sky

and light wind, with all sail, at once into a heavy sea and cloudy sky, with doublereefed topsails. A sailor told

me that on a passage from Gibraltar to Boston, his vessel neared the Gulf Stream with a light breeze, clear

sky, and studdingsails out, alow and aloft; while, before it, was along line of heavy, black clouds, lying like

a bank upon the water, and a vessel coming out of it, under doublereefed topsails, and with royal yards sent

down. As they drew near, they began to take in sail after sail, until they were reduced to the same condition;

and, after twelve or fourteen hours of rolling and pitching in a heavy sea, before a smart gale, they ran out of

the bank on the other side, and were in fine weather again, and under their royals and skysails. As we drew

into it, the sky became cloudy, the sea high, and everything had the appearance of the going off, or the

coming on, of a storm. It was blowing no more than a stiff breeze; yet the wind, being northeast, which is

directly against the course of the current, made an ugly, chopping sea, which heaved and pitched the vessel

about, so that we were obliged to send down the royal yards, and to take in our light sails. At noon, the

thermometer, which had been repeatedly lowered into the water, showed the temperature to be seventy;

which was considerably above that of the air, as is always the case in the centre of the Stream. A lad who

had been at work at the royal masthead, came down upon the deck, and took a turn round the longboat; and

looking very pale, said he was so sick that he could stay aloft no longer, but was ashamed to acknowledge it

to the officer. He went up again, but soon gave out and came down, and leaned over the rail, "as sick as a

lady passenger." He had been to sea several years, and had, he said, never been sick before. He was made so

by the irregular, pitching motion of the vessel, increased by the height to which he had been above the hull,

which is like the fulcrum of the lever. An old sailor, who was at work on the topgallant yard, said he felt

disagreeably all the time, and was glad, when his job was done, to get down into the top, or upon the deck.

Another hand was sent to the royal masthead, who staid nearly an hour, but gave up. The work must be done,

and the mate sent me. I did very well for some time, but began at length to feel very unpleasantly, though I

had never been sick since the first two days from Boston, and had been in all sorts of weather and situations.

Still, I kept my place, and did not come down, until I had got through my work, which was more than two

hours. The ship certainly never acted so badly before. She was pitched and jerked about in all manner of

ways; the sails seeming to have no steadying power over her. The tapering points of the masts made various

curves and angles against the sky overhead, and sometimes, in one sweep of an instant, described an are of

more than fortyfive degrees, bringing up with a sudden jerk which made it necessary to hold on with both

hands, and then sweeping off, in another long, irregular curve. I was not positively sick, and came down with

a look of indifference, yet was not unwilling to get upon the comparative terra firma of the deck. A few hours

more carried us through, and when we saw the sun go down, upon our larboard beam, in the direction of the

continent of North America, we had left the bank of dark, stormy clouds astern, in the twilight.

Friday, Sept. 16th. Lat. 38 deg. N., long. 69 deg. 00' W. A fine southwest wind; every hour carrying us

nearer in toward land. All hands on deck at the dog watch, and nothing talked about, but our getting in; where

we should make the land; whether we should arrive before Sunday; going to church; how Boston would look;

friends; wages paid; and the like. Every one was in the best of spirits; and, the voyage being nearly at an

end, the strictness of discipline was relaxed; for it was not necessary to order in a cross tone, what every one

was ready to do with a will. The little differences and quarrels which a long voyage breeds on board a ship,

were forgotten, and every one was friendly; and two men, who had been on the eve of a battle half the

voyage, were laying out a plan together for a cruise on shore. When the mate came forward, he talked to the

men, and said we should be on George's Bank before tomorrow noon; and joked with the boys, promising to

Saturday, 17th. The wind was light all day, which kept us back somewhat; but a fine breeze springing up at

nightfall, we were running fast in toward the land. At six o'clock we expected to have the ship hoveto for

soundings, as a thick fog, coming up showed we were near them; but no order was given, and we kept on our

way. Eight o'clock came, and the watch went below, and, for the whole of the first hour, the ship was tearing

on, with studdingsails out, alow and aloft, and the night as dark as a pocket. At two bells the captain came

on deck, and said a word to the mate, when the studding sails were hauled into the tops, or boomended, the

after yards backed, the deepsealead carried forward, and everything got ready for sounding. A man on the

spritsail yard with the lead, another on the cathead with a handful of the line coiled up, another in the fore

chains, another in the waist, and another in the main chains, each with a quantity of the line coiled away in

his hand. "All ready there, forward?" "Aye, aye, sir!" "Heeeave!" "Watch! ho! watch!" sings out the

man on the man on the spritsail yard, and the heavy lead drops into the water. "Watch! ho! watch!" bawls the

man on the cathead, as the last fake of the coil drops from his hand, and "Watch! ho! watch!" is shouted by

each one as the line falls from his hold; until it comes to the mate, who tends the lead, and has the line in coils

on the quarterdeck. Eighty fathoms, and no bottom! A depth as great as the height of St. Peter's! the line is

snatched in a block upon the swifter, and three or four men haul it in and coil it away. The after yards are

braced full, the studdingsails hauled out again, and in a few minutes more the ship had her whole way upon

her. At four bells, backed again, hove the lead, and soundings! at sixty fathoms! Hurrah for Yankee land!

Hand over hand, we hauled the lead in, and the captain, taking it to the light, found black mud on the bottom.

Studdingsails taken in; after yards filled, and ship kept on under easy sail all night; the wind dying away.

The soundings on the American coast are so regular that a navigator knows as well where he has made land,

by the soundings, as he would by seeing the land. Black mud is the soundings of Block Island. As you go

toward Nantucket, it changes to a dark sand; then, sand and white shells; and on George's Banks, white sand;

and so on. Being off Block Island, our course was due east, to Nantucket Shoals, and the South Channel; but

the wind died away and left us becalmed in a thick fog, in which we lay the whole of Sunday. At noon of

Sunday, 18th, Block Island bore, by calculation, N.W. 14 W. fifteen miles; but the fog was so thick all day

Having got through the ship's duty, and washed and shaved, we went below, and had a fine time overhauling

our chests, laying aside the clothes we meant to go ashore in and throwing overboard all that were worn out

and good for nothing. Away went the woollen caps in which we had carried hides upon our heads, for sixteen

months, on the coast of California; the duck frocks, for tarring down rigging; wornout and darned mittens

and patched woollen trowsers which had stood the tug of Cape Horn. We hove them overboard with a good

will; for there is nothing like being quit of the very last appendages and remnants of our evil fortune. We got

our chests all ready for going ashore, ate the last "duff" we expected to have on board the ship Alert; and

talked as confidently about matters on shore as though our anchor were on the bottom.

"Go away, salt water!" says Tom. "As soon as I get both legs ashore, I'm going to shoe my heels, and button

my ears behind me, and start off into the bush, a straight course, and not stop till I'm out of the sight of salt

"Oh! belay that! Spin that yarn where nobody knows your filling! If you get once moored, stem and stern, in

old B's grogshop, with a coal fire ahead and the bar under your lee, you won't see daylight for three

"No!" says Tom, "I'm going to knock off grog, and go and board at the Home, and see if they won't ship me

"And I," says Bill, "am going to buy a quadrant and ship for navigator of a Hingham packet!"

These and the like jokes served to pass the time while we were lying waiting for a breeze to clear up the fog

Toward night a moderate breeze sprang up; the fog however continuing as thick as before; and we kept on to

the eastward. About the middle of the first watch, a man on the forecastle sang out, in a tone which showed

that there was not a moment to be lost, "Hard up the helm!" and a great ship loomed up out of the fog,

coming directly down upon us. She luffed at the same moment, and we just passed one another; our spanker

boom grazing over her quarter. The officer of the deck had only time to hail, and she answered, as she went

into the fog again, something about Bristol Probably, a whaleman from Bristol, Rhode Island, bound out.

The fog continued through the night, with a very light breeze, before which we ran to the eastward, literally

feeling our way along. The lead was heaved every two hours, and the gradual change from black mud to

sand, showed that we were approaching Nantucket South Shoals. On Monday morning, the increased depth

and deep blue color of the water, and the mixture of shells and white sand which we brought up, upon

sounding, showed that we were in the channel, and nearing George's; accordingly, the ship's head was put

directly to the northward, and we stood on, with perfect confidence in the soundings, though we had not taken

an observation for two days, nor seen land; and the difference of an eighth of a mile out of the way might put

us ashore. Throughout the day a provokingly light wind prevailed, and at eight o'clock, a small fishing

schooner, which we passed, told us we were nearly abreast of Chatham lights. Just before midnight, a light

landbreeze sprang up, which carried us well along; and at four o'clock, thinking ourselves to the northward

of Race Point, we hauled upon the wind and stood into the bay, westnorthwest, for Boston light, and

commenced firing guns for a pilot. Our watch went below at four o'clock, but could not sleep, for the watch

on deck were banging away at the guns every few minutes. And, indeed, we cared very little about it, for we

were in Boston Bay; and if fortune favored us, we could all "sleep in" the next night, with nobody to call the

We turned out, of our own will, at daybreak, to get a sight of land. In the grey of the morning, one or two

small fishing smacks peered out of the mist; and when the broad day broke upon us, there lay the low

sandhills of Cape Cod, over our larboard quarter, and before us, the wide waters of Massachusetts Bay, with

here and there a sail gliding over its smooth surface. As we drew in toward the mouth of the harbor, as toward

a focus, the vessels began to multiply until the bay seemed actually alive with sails gliding about in every

direction; some on the wind, and others before it, as they were bound to or from the emporium of trade and

centre of the bay. It was a stirring sight for us, who had been months on the ocean without seeing anything

but two solitary sails; and over two years without seeing more than the three or four traders on an almost

desolate coast. There were the little coasters, bound to and from the various towns along the south shore,

down in the bight of the bay, and to the eastward; here and there a squarerigged vessel standing out to

seaward; and, far in the distance, beyond Cape Ann, was the smoke of a steamer, stretching along in a

narrow, black cloud upon the water. Every sight was full of beauty and interest. We were coming back to our

homes; and the signs of civilization, and prosperity, and happiness, from which we had been so long

banished, were multiplying about us. The high land of Cape Ann and the rocks and shore of Cohasset were

full in sight, the lighthouses, standing like sentries in white before the harbors, and even the smoke from the

chimney on the plains of Hingham was seen rising slowly in the morning air. One of our boys was the son of

a bucketmaker; and his face lighted up as he saw the tops of the wellknown hills which surround his native

place. About ten o'clock a little boat came bobbing over the water, and put a pilot on board, and sheered off in

pursuit of other vessels bound in. Being now within the scope of the telegraph stations, our signals were run

up at the fore, and in half an hour afterwards, the owner on 'change, or in his countingroom, knew that his

ship was below; and the landlords, runners, and sharks in Ann street learned that there was a rich prize for

them down in the bay: a ship from round the Horn, with a crew to be paid off with two years' wages.

The wind continuing very light, all hands were sent aloft to strip off the chafing gear; and battens, parcellings,

roundings, hoops, mats, and leathers, came flying from aloft, and left the rigging neat and clean, stripped of

all its sea bandaging. The last touch was put to the vessel by painting the skysail poles; and I was sent up to

the fore, with a bucket of white paint and a brush, and touched her off, from the truck to the eyes of the royal

rigging. At noon, we lay becalmed off the lower lighthouse; and it being about slack water, we made little

progress. A firing was heard in the direction of Hingham, and the pilot said there was a review there. The

Hingham boy got wind of this, and said if the ship had been twelve hours sooner, he should have been down

among the soldiers, and in the booths, and having a grand time. As it was, we had little prospect of getting in

before night. About two o'clock a breeze sprang up ahead, from the westward, and we began beating up

against it. A fullrigged brig was beating in at the same time, and we passed one another, in our tacks,

sometimes one and sometimes the other, working to windward, as the wind and tide favored or opposed. It

was my trick at the wheel from two till four; and I stood my last helm, making between nine hundred and a

thousand hours which I had spent at the helms of our two vessels. The tide beginning to set against us, we

made slow work; and the afternoon was nearly spent, before we got abreast of the inner light. In the

meantime, several vessels were coming down, outward bound; among which, a fine, large ship, with yards

squared, fair wind and fair tide, passed us like a racehorse, the men running out upon her yards to rig out the

studdingsail booms. Toward sundown the wind came off in flaws, sometimes blowing very stiff, so that the

pilot took in the royals, and then it died away; when, in order to get us in before the tide became too strong,

the royals were set again. As this kept us running up and down the rigging all the time, one hand was sent

aloft at each masthead, to standby to loose and furl the sails, at the moment of the order. I took my place at

the fore, and loosed and furled the royal five times between Rainsford Island and the Castle. At one tack we

ran so near to Rainsford Island, that, looking down from the royal yard, the island, with its hospital buildings,

nice gravelled walks, and green plats, seemed to he directly under our yardarms. So close is the channel to

some of these islands, that we ran the end of our flyingjibboom over one of the outworks of the

fortifications on George's Island; and had had an opportunity of seeing the advantages of that point as a

fortified place; for, in working up the channel, we presented a fair stem and stern, for raking, from the

We had all set our hearts upon getting up to town before night and going ashore, but the tide beginning to run

strong against us, and the wind, what there was of it, being ahead, we made but little by weatherbowing the

tide, and the pilot gave orders to cockbill the anchor and overhaul the chain. Making two long stretches,

which brought us into the roads, under the lee of the castle, he clawed up the topsails, and let go the anchor;

and for the first time since leaving San Diego, one hundred and thirtyfive days our anchor was upon

bottom. In half an hour more, we were lying snugly, with all sails furled, safe in Boston harbor; our long

voyage ended; the wellknown scene about us; the dome of the State House fading in the western sky; the

lights of the city starting into sight, as the darkness came on; and at nine o'clock the clangor of the bells,

ringing their accustomed peals; among which the Boston boys tried to distinguish the wellknown tone of the

We had just done furling the sails, when a beautiful little pleasureboat luffed up into the wind, under our

quarter, and the junior partner of the firm to which our ship belonged, jumped on board. I saw him from the

mizen topsail yard, and knew him well. He shook the captain by the hand, and went down into the cabin, and

in a few moments came up and inquired of the mate for me. The last time I had seen him, I was in the

uniform of an undergraduate of Harvard College, and now, to his astonishment, there came down from aloft a

"rough alley" looking fellow, with duck trowsers and red shirt, long hair, and face burnt as black as an

Indian's. He shook me by the hand, congratulated me upon my return and my appearance of health and

strength, and said my friends were all well. I thanked him for telling me what I should not have dared to ask;

Sounds ever after like a sullen bell" certainly I shall ever remember this man and his words with pleasure.

The captain went up to town in the boat with Mr. H, and left us to pass another night on board ship, and to

So much did we feel ourselves to be already at home, in anticipation, that our plain supper of hard bread and

salt beef was barely touched; and many on board, to whom this was the first voyage, could scarcely sleep. As

for myself, by one of those anomalous changes of feeling of which we are all the subjects, I found that I was

in a state of indifference, for which I could by no means account. A year before, while carrying hides on the

coast, the assurance that in a twelve month we should see Boston, made me half wild; but now that I was

actually there, and in sight of home, the emotions which I had so long anticipated feeling, I did not find, and

in their place was a state of very nearly entire apathy. Something of the same experience was related to me by

a sailor whose first voyage was one of five years upon the Northwest Coast. He had left home, a lad, and

after several years of very hard and trying experience, found himself homeward bound; and such was the

excitement of his feelings that, during the whole passage, he could talk and think of nothing else but his

arrival, and how and when he should jump from the vessel and take his way directly home. Yet when the

vessel was made fast to the wharf and the crew dismissed, he seemed suddenly to lose all feeling about the

matter. He told me that he went below and changed his dress; took some water from the scuttlebutt and

washed himself leisurely; overhauled his chest, and put his clothes all in order; took his pipe from its place,

filled it, and sitting down upon his chest, smoked it slowly for the last time. Here he looked round upon the

forecastle in which he had spent so many years, and being alone and his shipmates scattered, he began to feel

actually unhappy. Home became almost a dream; and it was not until his brother (who had heard of the ship's

arrival) came down into the forecastle and told him of things at home, and who were waiting there to see him,

that he could realize where he was, and feel interest enough to put him in motion toward that place for which

he had longed, and of which he had dreamed, for years. There is probably so much of excitement in

prolonged expectation, that the quiet realizing of it produces a momentary stagnation of feeling as well as of

effort. It was a good deal so with me. The activity of preparation, the rapid progress of the ship, the first

making land, the coming up the harbor, and old scenes breaking upon the view, produced a mental as well as

bodily activity, from which the change to a perfect stillness, when both expectation and the necessity of labor

failed, left a calmness, almost of indifference, from which I must be roused by some new excitement. And the

next morning, when all hands were called, and we were busily at work, clearing the decks, and getting

everything in readiness for going up to the wharves, loading the guns for a salute, loosing the sails, and

About ten o'clock, a seabreeze sprang up, and the pilot gave orders to get the ship under weigh. All hands

manned the windlass, and the longdrawn "Yo, heave, ho!" which we had last heard dying away among the

desolate hills of San Diego, soon brought the anchor to the bows; and, with a fair wind and tide, a bright

sunny morning, royals and skysails set, ensign, streamer, signals, and pennant, flying, and with our guns

firing, we came swiftly and handsomely up to the city. Off the end of the wharf, we roundedto and let go

our anchor; and no sooner was it on the bottom, than the decks were filled with people: customhouse

officers; Toplier's agent, to inquire for news; others, inquiring for friends on board, or left upon the coast;

dealers in grease, besieging the galley to make a bargain with the cook for his slush; "loafers" in general; and

last and chief, boardinghouse runners, to secure their men. Nothing can exceed the obliging disposition of

these runners, and the interest they take in a sailor returned from a long voyage with a plenty of money. Two

or three of them, at different times, took me by the hand; remembered me perfectly; were quite sure I had

boarded with them before I sailed; were delighted to see me back; gave me their cards; had a handcart

waiting on the wharf, on purpose to take my things up: would lend me a hand to get my chest ashore; bring a

bottle of grog on board if we did not haul in immediately, and the like. In fact, we could hardly get clear of

them, to go aloft and furl the sails. Sail after sail, for the hundredth time, in fair weather and in foul, we furled

now for the last time together, and came down and took the warp ashore, manned the capstan, and with a

chorus which waked up half the North End, and rang among the buildings in the dock, we hauled her in to the

wharf. Here, too, the landlords and runners were active and ready, taking a bar to the capstan, lending a hand

at the ropes, laughing and talking and telling the news. The city bells were just ringing one when the last turn

was made fast, and the crew dismissed; and in five minutes more, not a soul was left on board the good ship

Alert, but the old shipkeeper, who had come down from the countinghouse to take charge of her.

I trust that they who have followed me to the end of my narrative, will not refuse to carry their attention a

This chapter is written after the lapse of a considerable time since the end of my voyage, and after a return to

my former pursuits; and in it I design to offer those views of what may be done for seamen, and of what is

already doing, which I have deduced from my experiences, and from the attention which I have since gladly

The romantic interest which many take in the sea, and in those who live upon it, may be of use in exciting

their attention to this subject, though I cannot but feel sure that all who have followed me in my narrative

must be convinced that the sailor has no romance in his everyday life to sustain him, but that it is very much

the same plain, matteroffact drudgery and hardship, which would be experienced on shore. If I have not

produced this conviction, I have failed in persuading others of what my own experience has most fully

There is a witchery in the sea, its songs and stories, and in the mere sight of a ship, and the sailor's dress,

especially to a young mind, which has done more to man navies, and fill merchantmen, than all the

pressgangs of Europe. I have known a young man with such a passion for the sea, that the very creaking of a

block stirred up his imagination so that he could hardly keep his feet on dry ground; and many are the boys,

in every seaport, who are drawn away, as by an almost irresistible attraction, from their work and schools,

and hang about the decks and yards of vessels, with a fondness which, it is plain, will have its way. No

sooner, however, has the young sailor begun his new life in earnest, than all this fine drapery falls off, and he

learns that it is but work and hardship, after all. This is the true light in which a sailor's life is to be viewed;

and if in our books, and anniversary speeches, we would leave out much that is said about "blue water," "blue

jackets," "open hearts," "seeing God's hand on the deep," and so forth, and take this up like any other

practical subject, I am quite sure we should do full as much for those we wish to benefit. The question is,

what can be done for sailors, as they are, men to be fed, and clothed, and lodged, for whom laws must be

made and executed, and who are to be instructed in useful knowledge, and, above all, to he brought under

religious influence and restraint? It is upon these topics that I wish to make a few observations.

In the first place, I have no fancies about equality on board ship. It is a thing out of the question, and

certainly, in the present state of mankind, not to be desired. I never knew a sailor who found fault with the

orders and ranks of the service; and if I expected to pass the rest of my life before the mast, I would not wish

to have the power of the captain diminished an iota. It is absolutely necessary that there should be one head

and one voice, to control everything, and be responsible for everything. There are emergencies which require

the instant exercise of extreme power. These emergencies do not allow of consultation; and they who would

be the captain's constituted advisers might be the very men over whom he would be called upon to exert his

authority. It has been found necessary to vest in every government, even the most democratic, some

extraordinary, and, at first sight, alarming powers; trusting in public opinion, and subsequent accountability

to modify the exercise of them. These are provided to meet exigencies, which an hope may never occur, but

which yet by possibility may occur, and if they should, and there were no power to meet them instantly, there

would be an end put to the government at once. So it is with the authority of the shipmaster. It will not

answer to say that he shall never do this and that thing, because it does not seem always necessary and

advisable that it should be done. He has great cares and responsibilities; is answerable for everything; and is

subject to emergencies which perhaps no other man exercising authority among civilized people is subject to.

Let him, then, have powers commensurate with his utmost possible need; only let him be held strictly

responsible for the exercise of them. Any other course would be injustice, as well as bad policy.

In the treatment of those under his authority, the captain is amenable to the common law, like any other

person. He is liable at common law for murder, assault and battery, and other offences; and in addition to this,

there is a special statute of the United States which makes a captain or other officer liable to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding five years, and to a fine not exceeding a thousand dollars, for inflicting any cruel

punishment upon, withholding food from, or in any other way maltreating a seaman. This is the state of the

law on the subject; while the relation in which the paities stand, and the peculiar necessities, excuses, and

provocations arising from that relation, are merely circumstances to be considered in each case. As to the

restraints upon the master's exercise of power, the laws themselves seem, on the whole, to be sufficient. I do

not see that we are in need, at present, of more legislation on the subject. The difficulty lies rather in the

administration of the laws; and this is certainly a matter that deserves great consideration, and one of no little

In the first place, the courts have said that public policy requires the power of the master and officers should

be sustained. Many lives and a great amount of property are constantly in their hands, for which they are

strictly responsible. To preserve these, and to deal justly by the captain, and not lay upon him a really fearful

responsibility, and then tie up his hands, it is essential that discipline should be supported. In the second

place, there is always great allowance to be made for false swearing and exaggeration by seamen, and for

combinations among them against their officers; and it is to be remembered that the latter have often no one

to testify on their side. These are weighty and true statements, and should not be lost sight of by the friends of

seamen. On the other hand, sailors make many complaints, some of which are well founded.

On the subject of testimony, seamen labor under a difficulty full as great as that of the captain. It is a

wellknown fact, that they are usually much better treated when there are passengers on board. The presence

of passengers is a restraint upon the captain, not only from his regard to their feelings and to the estimation in

which they may hold him, but because he knows they will be influential witnesses against him if he is

brought to trial. Though officers may sometimes be inclined to show themselves off before passengers, by

freaks of office and authority, yet cruelty they would hardly dare to be guilty of. It is on long and distant

voyages, where there is no restraint upon the captain, and none but the crew to testify against him, that sailors

need most the protection of the law. On such voyages as these, there are many cases of outrageous cruelty on

record, enough to make one heartsick, and almost disgusted with the sight of man; and many, many more,

which have never come to light, and never will be known, until the sea shall give up its dead. Many of these

have led to mutiny and piracy, stripe for stripe, and blood for blood. If on voyages of this description the

testimony of seamen is not to be received in favor of one another, or too great a deduction is made on account

of their being seamen, their case is without remedy; and the captain, knowing this, will be strengthened in

that disposition to tyrannize which the possession of absolute power, without the restraints of friends and

It is to be considered, also, that the sailor comes into court under very different circumstances from the

master. He is thrown among landlords, and sharks of all descriptions; is often led to drink freely; and comes

upon the stand unaided, and under a certain cloud of suspicion as to his character and veracity. The captain,

on the other hand, is backed by the owners and insurers, and has an air of greater respectability; though, after

all, he may have but a little better education than the sailor, and sometimes, (especially among those engaged

These are the considerations most commonly brought up on the subject of seamen's evidence; and I think it

cannot but be obvious to every one that here, positive legislation would be of no manner of use. There can be

no rule of law regulating the weight to be given to seamen's evidence. It must rest in the mind of the judge

and jury; and no enactment or positive rule of court could vary the result a hair, in any one case. The effect of

a sailor's testimony in deciding a case must depend altogether upon the reputation of the class to which he

belongs, and upon the impression he himself produces in court by his deportment, and by those infallible

marks of character which always tell upon a jury. In fine, after all the wellmeant and specious projects that

have been brought forward, we seem driven back to the belief, that the best means of securing a fair

administration of the laws made for the protection of seamen, and certainly the only means which can create

any important change for the better, is the gradual one of raising the intellectual and religious character of the

sailor, so that as an individual and as one of a class, he may, in the first instance, command the respect of his

officers, and if any difficulty should happen, may upon the stand carry that weight which an intelligent and

respectable man of the lower class almost always does with a jury. I know there are many men who, when a

few cases of great hardship occur, and it is evident that there is an evil somewhere, think that some

arrangement must be made, some law passed, or some society got up, to set all right at once. On this subject

there can be no call for any such movement; on the contrary, I fully believe that any public and strong action

would do harm, and that we must be satisfied to labor in the less easy and less exciting task of gradual

Equally injudicious would be any interference with the economy of the ship. The lodging, food, hours of

sleep, etc., are all matters which, though capable of many changes for the better, must yet he left to regulate

themselves. And I am confident that there will be, and that there is now a gradual improvement in all such

particulars. The forecastles of most of our ships are small, black, and wet holes, which few landsmen would

believe held a crew of ten or twelve men on a voyage of months or years; and often, indeed in most cases, the

provisions are not good enough to make a meal anything more than a necessary part of a day's duty;* and on

the score of sleep, I fully believe that the lives of merchant seamen are shortened by the want of it. I do not

refer to those occasions when it is necessarily broken in upon; but, for months, during fine weather, in many

merchantmen, all hands are kept, throughout the day, and, then, there are eight hours on deck for one watch

each night. Thus it is usually the case that at the end of a voyage, where there has been the finest weather, and

no disaster, the crew have a wearied and wornout appearance. They never sleep longer than four hours at a

time, and are seldom called without being really in need of more rest. There is no one thing that a sailor

thinks more of as a luxury of life on shore, than a whole night's sleep. Still, all these things must be left to be

gradually modified by circumstances. Whenever hard cases occur, they should be made known, and masters

and owners should be held answerable, and will, no doubt, in time, be influenced in their arrangements and

discipline by the increased consideration in which sailors are held by the public. It is perfectly proper that the

men should live in a different part of the vessel from the officers; and if the forecastle is made large and

comfortable, there is no reason why the crew should not live there as well as in any other part. In fact, sailors

prefer the forecastle. It is their accustomed place, and in it they are out of the sight and hearing of their

officers. *I am not sure that I have stated, in the course of my narrative, the manner in which sailors eat, on

board ship. There are neither tables, knives, forks, nor plates, in a forecastle; but the kid (a wooden tub, with

iron hoops) is placed on the floor, and the crew sit round it, and each man cuts for himself with the common

jackknife or sheathknife, that he carries about him. They drink their tea out of tin pots, holding little less

These particulars are not looked upon as hardships, and, indeed, may be considered matters of choice. Sailors,

in our merchantmen, furnish their own eating utensils, as they do many of the instruments which they use in

the ship's work, such as knives, palms and needles, marlinespikes, rubbers, etc. And considering their mode

of life in other respects, the little time they would have for laying and clearing away a table with its

apparatus, and the room it would take up in a forecastle, as well as the simple character of their meals,

consisting generally of only one piece of meat, it is certainly a convenient method, and, as the kid and pans

are usually kept perfectly clean, a neat and simple one. I had supposed these things to be generally known,

until I heard, a few months ago, a lawyer of repute, who has had a good deal to do with marine cases, ask a

sailor upon the stand whether the crew had "got up from table" when a certain thing happened.

As to their food and sleep, there are laws, with heavy penalties, requiring a certain amount of stores to be on

board, and safely stowed; and, for depriving the crew unnecessarily of food or sleep, the captain is liable at

common law, as well as under the statute before referred to. Farther than this, it would not be safe to go. The

captain must be the judge when it is necessary to keep his crew from their sleep; and sometimes a

retrenching, not of the necessaries, but of some of the little niceties of their meals, as, for instance, duff on

Sunday, may be a mode of punishment, though I think generally an injudicious one.

I could not do justice to this subject without noticing one part of the discipline of a ship, which has been very

much discussed of late, and has brought out strong expressions of indignation from many, I mean the

infliction of corporal punishment. Those who have followed me in my narrative will remember that I was

witness to an act of great cruelty inflicted upon my own shipmates; and indeed I can sincerely say that the

simple mention of the word flogging, brings up in me feelings which I can hardly control. Yet, when the

proposition is made to abolish it entirely and at once; to prohibit the captain from ever, under any

circumstances, inflicting corporal punishment; I am obliged to pause, and, I must say, to doubt exceedingly

the expediency of making any positive enactment which shall have that effect. If the design of those who are

writing on this subject is merely to draw public attention to it, and to discourage the practice of flogging, and

bring it into disrepute, it is well; and, indeed, whatever may be the end they have in view, the mere agitation

of the question will have that effect, and, so far, must do good. Yet I should not wish to take the command of

a ship tomorrow, running my chance of a crew, as most masters must, and know, and have my crew know,

that I could not, under any circumstances, inflict even moderate chastisement. I should trust that I might

never have to resort to it; and, indeed, I scarcely know what risk I would not run, and to what inconvenience I

would not subject myself, rather than do so. Yet not to have the power of holding it up in terrorem, and

indeed of protecting myself, and all under my charge, by it, if some extreme case should arise, would be a

situation I should not wish to be placed in myself, or to take the responsibility of placing another in.

Indeed, the difficulties into which masters and officers are liable to be thrown, are not sufficiently considered

by many whose sympathies are easily excited by stories, frequent enough, and true enough of outrageous

abuse of this power. It is to be remembered that more than threefourths of the seamen in our merchant

vessels are foreigners. They are from all parts of the world. A great many from the north of Europe, beside

Frenchmen, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, men from all parts of the Mediterranean, together with Lascars,

Negroes, and, perhaps worst of all, the offcasts of British menofwar, and men from our own country who

As things now are, many masters are obliged to sail without knowing anything of their crews, until they get

out at sea. There may be pirates or mutineers among them; and one bad man will often infect all the rest; and

it is almost certain that some of them will be ignorant foreigners, hardly understanding a word of our

language, accustomed all their lives to no influence but force, and perhaps nearly as familiar with the use of

the knife as with that of the marlinsspike. No prudent master, however peaceably inclined, would go to sea

without his pistols and handcuffs. Even with such a crew as I have supposed, kindness and moderation would

be the best policy, and the duty of every conscientious man; and the administering of corporal punishment

might be dangerous, and of doubtful use. But the question is not, what a captain ought generally to do, but

whether it shall be put out of the power of every captain, under any circumstances, to make use of, even

moderate, chastisement. As the law now stands, a parent may correct moderately his child, and the master his

apprentice; and the case of the shipmaster has been placed upon the same principle. The statutes, and the

common law as expounded in the decisions of courts, and in the books of commentators, are express and

unanimous to this point, that the captain may inflict moderate corporal chastisement, for a reasonable cause.

If the punishment is excessive, or the cause not sufficient to justify it, he is answerable; and the jury are to

determine, by their verdict in each case, whether, under all the circumstances, the punishment was moderate,

This seems to me to be as good a position as the whole subject can be left in. I mean to say, that no positive

enactment, going beyond this, is needed, or would be a benefit either to masters or men, in the present state of

things. This again would seem to be a case which should be left to the gradual working of its own cure. As

seamen improve, punishment will become less necessary; and as the character of officers is raised, they will

be less ready to inflict it; and, still more, the infliction of it upon intelligent and respectable men will be an

enormity which will not be tolerated by public opinion, and by juries, who are the pulse of the body politic.

No one can have a greater abhorrence of the infliction of such punishment than I have, and a stronger

conviction that severity is bad policy with a crew; yet I would ask every reasonable man whether he had not

better trust to the practice becoming unnecessary and disreputable; to the measure of moderate chastisement

and a justifiable cause being better understood, and thus, the act becoming dangerous, and in course of time

to be regarded as an unheardof barbarity than to take the responsibility of prohibiting it, at once, in all

There is, however, one point connected with the administration of justice to seamen, to which I wish

seriously to call the attention of those interested in their behalf, and, if possible, also of some of those

concerned in that administration. This is, the practice which prevails of making strong appeals to the jury in

mitigation of damages, or to the judge, after a verdict has been rendered against a captain or officer, for a

lenient sentence, on the grounds of their previous good character, and of their being poor, and having friends

and families depending upon them for support. These appeals have been allowed a weight which is almost

incredible, and which, I think, works a greater hardship upon seamen than any one other thing in the laws, or

the execution of them. Notwithstanding every advantage the captain has over the seaman in point of

evidence, friends, money, and able counsel, it becomes apparent that he must fail in his defence. An appeal is

then made to the jury, if it is a civil action, or to the judge for a mitigated sentence, if it is a criminal

prosecution, on the two grounds I have mentioned. The same form is usually gone through in every case. In

the first place, as to the previous good character of the party. Witnesses are brought from the town in which

he resides, to testify to his good character, and to his unexceptionable conduct when on shore. They say that

he is a good father, or husband, or son, or neighbor, and that they never saw in him any signs of a cruel or

tyrannical disposition. I have even known evidence admitted to show the character he bore when a boy at

school. The owners of the vessel, and other merchants, and perhaps the president of the insurance company,

are then introduced; and they testify to his correct deportment, express their confidence in his honesty, and

say that they have never seen anything in his conduct to justify a suspicion of his being capable of cruelty or

tyranny. This evidence is then put together, and great stress is laid upon the extreme respectability of those

who give it. They are the companions and neighbors of the captain, it is said, men who know him in his

business and domestic relations, and who knew him in his early youth. They are also men of the highest

standing in the community, and who, as the captain's employers, must be supposed to know his character.

This testimony is then contrasted with that of some half dozen obscure sailors, who, the counsel will not

forget to add, are exasperated against the captain because he has found it necessary to punish them

moderately, and who have combined against him, and if they have not fabricated a story entirely, have at least

The next thing to be done is to show to the court and jury that the captain is a poor man, and has a wife and

family, or other friends, depending upon him for support; that if he is fined, it will only be taking bread from

the mouths of the innocent and helpless, and laying a burden upon them which their whole lives will not be

able to work off; and that if he is imprisoned, the confinement, to be sure, he will have to bear, but the

distress consequent upon the cutting him off from his labor and means of earning his wages, will fall upon a

poor wife and helpless children, or upon an infirm parent. These two topics, well put, and urged home

In deprecation of this mode of proceeding, and in behalf of men who I believe are every day wronged by it, I

First, as to the evidence of the good character the captain sustains on shore. It is to be remembered that

masters of vessels have usually been brought up in a forecastle; and upon all men, and especially upon those

taken from lower situations, the conferring of absolute power is too apt to work a great change. There are

many captains whom I know to be cruel and tyrannical men at sea, who yet, among their friends, and in their

families, have never lost the reputation they bore in childhood. In fact, the seacaptain is seldom at home,

and when he is, his stay is short, and during the continuance of it he is surrounded by friends who treat him

with kindness and consideration, and he has everything to please, and at the same time to restrain him. He

would be a brute indeed, if, after an absence of months or years, during his short stay, so short that the

novelty and excitement of it has hardly time to wear off, and the attentions he receives as a visitor and

stranger hardly time to slacken, if, under such circumstances, a townsman or neighbor would be justified in

testifying against his correct and peaceable deportment. With the owners of the vessel, also, to which he is

attached, and among merchants and insurers generally, he is a very different man from what he may be at sea,

when his own master, and the master of everybody and everything about him. He knows that upon such men,

and their good opinion of him, he depends for his bread. So far from their testimony being of any value in

determining what his conduct would be at sea, one would expect that the master who would abuse and

impose upon a man under his power, would be the most compliant and deferential to his employers at home.

As to the appeal made in the captain's behalf on the ground of his being poor and having persons depending

upon his labor for support, the main and fatal objection to it is, that it will cover every case of the kind, and

exempt nearly the whole body of masters and officers from the punishment the law has provided for them.

There are very few, if any masters or other officers of merchantmen in our country, who are not poor men,

and having either parents, wives, children, or other relatives, depending mainly or wholly upon their exertions

for support in life. Few others follow the sea for subsistence. Now if this appeal is to have weight with courts

in diminishing the penalty the law would otherwise inflict, is not the whole class under a privilege which will,

in a degree, protect it in wrongdoing? It is not a thing that happens now and then. It is the invariable appeal,

the last resort, of counsel, when everything else has failed. I have known cases of the most flagrant nature,

where after every effort has been made for the captain, and yet a verdict rendered against him, and all other

hope failed, this appeal has been urged, and with such success that the punishment has been reduced to

something little more than nominal, the court not seeming to consider that it might be made in almost every

such case that could come before them. It is a little singular, too, that it seems to be confined to cases of

shipmasters and officers. No one ever heard of a sentence, for an offence committed on shore, being reduced

by the court on the ground of the prisoner's poverty, and the relation in which he may stand to third persons.

On the contrary, it had been thought that the certainty that disgrace and suffering will be brought upon others

as well as himself, is one of the chief restraints upon the criminally disposed. Besides, this course works a

peculiar hardship in the case of the sailor. For if poverty is the point in question, the sailor is the poorer of the

two; and if there is a man on earth who depends upon whole limbs and an unbroken spirit for support, it is the

sailor. He, too, has friends to whom his hard earnings may be a relief, and whose hearts will bleed at any

cruelty or indignity practised upon him. Yet I never knew this side of the case to be once adverted to in these

arguments addressed to the leniency of the court, which are now so much in vogue; and certainly they are

never allowed a moment's consideration when a sailor is on trial for revolt, or for an injury done to an officer.

Notwithstanding the many difficulties which he in a seaman's way in a court of justice, presuming that they

will be modified in time, there would be little to complain of, were it not for these two appeals.

It is no cause of complaint that the testimony of seamen against their officers is viewed with suspicion, and

that great allowance is made for combinations and exaggeration. On the contrary, it is the judge's duty to

charge the jury on these points strongly. But there is reason for objection, when, after a strict

crossexamination of witnesses, after the arguments of counsel, and the judge's charge, a verdict is found

against the master, that the court should allow the practice of hearing appeals to its lenity, supported solely by

evidence of the captain's good conduct when on shore, (especially where the case is one in which no evidence

but that of sailors could have been brought against the accused), and then, on this ground, and on the

invariable claims of the wife and family, be induced to cut down essentially the penalty imposed by a statute

There are many particulars connected with the manning of vessels, the provisions given to crews, and the

treatment of them while at sea, upon which there might be a good deal said; but as I have, for the most part,

remarked upon them as they came up in the course of my narrative, I will offer nothing further now, except

on the single point of the manner of shipping men. This, it is well known, is usually left entirely to the

shippingmasters, and is a cause of a great deal of difficulty, which might be remedied by the captain, or

owner, if he has any knowledge of seamen, attending to it personally. One of the members of the firm to

which our ship belonged, Mr. S, had been himself a master of a vessel, and generally selected the crew

from a number sent down to him from the shippingoffice. In this way he almost always had healthy,

serviceable, and respectable men; for any one who has seen much of sailors can tell pretty well at first sight,

by a man's dress, countenance, and deportment, what he would be on board ship. This same gentleman was

also in the habit of seeing the crew together, and speaking to them previously to their sailing. On the day

before our ship sailed, while the crew were getting their chests and clothes on board, he went down into the

forecastle and spoke to them about the voyage, the clothing they would need, the provision he had made for

them, and saw that they had a lamp and a few other conveniences. If owners or masters would more generally

take the same pains, they would often save their crews a good deal of inconvenience, beside creating a sense

of satisfaction and gratitude, which makes a voyage begin under good auspices, and goes far toward keeping

It only remains for me now to speak of the associated public efforts which have been making of late years for

the good of seamen: a far more agreeable task than that of finding fault, even where fault there is. The

exertions of the general association, called the American Seamen's Friend Society, and of the other smaller

societies throughout the Union, have been a true blessing to the seaman; and bid fair, in course of time, to

change the whole nature of the circumstances in which he is placed, and give him a new name, as well as a

new character. These associations have taken hold in the right way, and aimed both at making the sailor's life

more comfortable and creditable, and at giving him spiritual instruction. Connected with these efforts, the

spread of temperance among seamen, by means of societies, called, in their own nautical language,

WindwardAnchor Societies, and the distribution of books; the establishment of Sailors' Homes, where they

can be comfortably and cheaply boarded, live quietly and decently, and be in the way of religious services,

reading and conversation; also the institution of Savings Banks for Seamen; the distribution of tracts and

Bibles; are all means which are silently doing a great work for this class of men. These societies make the

religious instruction of seamen their prominent object. If this is gained, there is no fear but that all other

things necessary will be added unto them. A sailor never becomes interested in religion, without immediately

learning to read, if he did not know how before; and regular habits, forehandedness (if I may use the word) in

worldly affairs, and hours reclaimed from indolence and vice, which follow in the wake of the converted

man, make it sure that he will instruct himself in the knowledge necessary and suitable to his calling. The

religious change is the great object. If this is secured, there is no fear but that knowledge of things of the

world will come in fast enough. With the sailor, as with all other men in fact, the cultivation of the intellect,

and the spread of what is commonly called useful knowledge, while religious instruction is neglected, is little

else than changing an ignorant sinner into an intelligent and powerful one. That sailor upon whom, of all

others, the preaching of the Cross is least likely to have effect, is the one whose understanding has been

cultivated, while his heart has been left to its own devices. I fully believe that those efforts which have their

end in the intellectual cultivation of the sailor; in giving him scientific knowledge; putting it in his power to

read everything, without securing, first of all, a right heart which shall guide him in judgment; in giving him

political information, and interesting him in newspapers; an end in the furtherance of which he is exhibited

at ladies' fairs and public meetings, and complimented for his gallantry and generosity, are all doing a harm

The establishment of Bethels in most of our own seaports, and in many foreign ports frequented by our

vessels, where the gospel is regularly preached and the opening of "Sailors' Homes," which I have before

mentioned, where there are usually religious services and other good influences, are doing a vast deal in this

cause. But it is to be remembered that the sailor's home is on the deep. Nearly all his life must be spent on

board ship; and to secure a religious influence there, should be the great object. The distribution of Bibles and

tracts into cabins and forecastles, will do much toward this. There is nothing which will gain a sailor's

attention sooner, and interest him more deeply, than a tract, especially one which contains a story. It is

difficult to engage their attention in mere essays and arguments, but the simplest and shortest story, in which

home is spoken of, kind friends, a praying mother or sister, a sudden death, and the like, often touches the

heart of the roughest and most abandoned. The Bible is to the sailor a sacred book. It may lie in the bottom of

his chest, voyage after voyage; but he never treats it with positive disrespect. I never knew but one sailor who

doubted its being the inspired word of God; and he was one who had received an uncommonly good

education, except that he had been brought up without any early religious influence. The most abandoned

man of our crew, one Sunday morning, asked one of the boys to lend him his Bible. The boy said he would,

but was afraid he would make sport of it. "No!" said the man, "I don't make sport of God Almighty." This is a

feeling general among sailors, and is a good foundation for religious influence.

A still greater gain is made whenever, by means of a captain who is interested in the eternal welfare of those

under his command, there can be secured the performance of regular religious exercises, and the exertion, on

the side of religion, of that mighty influence which a captain possesses for good, or for evil. There are

occurrences at sea which he may turn to great account, a sudden death, the apprehension of danger, or the

escape from it, and the like; and all the calls for gratitude and faith. Besides, this state of thing alters the

whole current of feeling between the crew and their commander. His authority assumes more of the parental

character; and kinder feelings exist. Godwin, though an infidel, in one of his novels, describing the relation in

which a tutor stood to his pupil, says that the conviction the tutor was under, that he and his ward were both

alike awaiting a state of eternal happiness or misery, and that they must appear together before the same

judgmentseat, operated so upon his naturally morose disposition, as to produce a feeling of kindness and

tenderness toward his ward, which nothing else could have caused. Such must be the effect upon the relation

There are now many vessels sailing under such auspices, in which great good is done. Yet I never happened

to fall in with one of them. I did not hear a prayer made, a chapter read in public, nor see anything

approaching to a religious service, for two years and a quarter. There were, in the course of the voyage, many

incidents which made, for the time, serious impressions upon our minds, and which might have been turned

to our good; but there being no one to use the opportunity, and no services, the regular return of which might

have kept something of the feeling alive in us, the advantage of them was lost, to some, perhaps, forever.

The good which a single religious captain may do can hardly be calculated. In the first place, as I have said, a

kinder state of feeling exists on board the ship. There is no profanity allowed; and the men are not called by

any opprobrious names, which is a great thing with sailors. The Sabbath is observed. This gives the men a

day of rest, even if they pass it in no other way. Such a captain, too, will not allow a sailor on board his ship

to remain unable to read his Bible and the books given to him; and will usually instruct those whoneed it, in

writing, arithmetic, and navigation; since he has a good deal of time on his hands, which he can easily

employ in such a manner. He will also have regular religious services; and, in fact, by the power of his

example, and, where it can judiciously be done, by the exercise of his authority, will give a character to the

ship and all on board. In foreign ports, a ship is known by her captain; for, there being no general rules in the

merchant service, each master may adopt a plan of his own. It is to be remembered, too, that there are, in

most ships, boys of a tender age, whose characters for life are forming, as well as old men, whose lives must

be drawing toward a close. The greater part of sailors die at sea; and when they find their end approaching, if

it does not, as is often the case, come without warning, they cannot, as on shore, send for a clergyman, or

some religious friend, to speak to them of that hope in a Saviour, which they have neglected, if not despised,

through life; but if the little hull does not contain such an one within its compass, they must be left without

human aid in their great extremity. When such commanders and such ships, as I have just described, shall

become more numerous, the hope of the friends of seamen will be greatly strengthened; and it is encouraging

to remember that the efforts among common sailors will soon raise up such a class; for those of them who are

brought under these under these influences will inevitably be the ones to succeed to the places of trust and

authority. If there is on earth an instance where a little leaven may leaven the whole lump, it is that of the

It is to the progress of this work among seamen that we must look with the greatest confidence for the

remedying of those numerous minor evils and abuses that we so often hear of. It will raise the character of

sailors, both as individuals and as a class. It will give weight to their testimony in courts of justice, secure

better usage to them on board ship, and add comforts to their lives on shore and at sea. There are some laws

that can be passed to remove temptation from their way and to help them in their progress; and some changes

in the jurisdiction of the lower courts, to prevent delays, may, and probably will, be made. But, generally

speaking, more especially in things which concern the discipline of ships, we had better labor in this great

work, and view with caution the proposal of new laws and arbitrary regulations, remembering that most of

those concerned in the making of them must necessarily be little qualified to judge of their operation.

Without any formal dedication of my narrative to that body of men, of whose common life it is intended to be

a picture, I have yet borne them constantly in mind during its preparation. I cannot but trust that those of

them, into whose hands it may chance to fall, will find in it that which shall render any professions of

sympathy and good wishes on my part unnecessary. And I will take the liberty, on parting with my reader,

who has gone down with us to the ocean, and "laid his hand upon its mane," to commend to his kind wishes,

and to the benefit of his efforts, that class of men with whom, for a time, my lot was cast. I wish the rather to

do this, since I feel that whatever attention this book may gain, and whatever favor it may find, I shall owe

almost entirely to that interest in the sea, and those who follow it, which is so easily excited in us all.

It was in the winter of 18356 that the ship Alert, in the prosecution of her voyage for hides on the remote

and almost unknown coast of California, floated into the vast solitude of the Bay of San Francisco. All

around was the stillness of nature. One vessel, a Russian, lay at anchor there, but during our whole stay not a

sail came or went. Our trade was with remote Missions, which sent hides to us in launches manned by their

Indians. Our anchorage was between a small island, called Yerba Buena, and a gravel beach in a little bight

or cove of the same name, formed by two small projecting points. Beyond, to the westward of the landing

place, were dreary sandhills, with little grass to be seen, and few trees, and beyond them higher hills, steep

and barren, their sides gullied by the rains. Some five or six miles beyond the landingplace, to the right, was

a ruinous Presidio, and some three or four miles to the left was the Mission of Dolores, as ruinous as the

Presidio, almost deserted, with but few Indians attached to it, and but little property in cattle. Over a region

far beyond our sight there were no other human habitations, except that an enterprising Yankee, years in

advance of his time, had put up, on the rising ground above the landing, a shanty of rough boards, where he

carried on a very small retail trade between the hide ships and the Indians. Vast banks of fog, invading us

from the North Pacific, drove in through the entrance, and covered the whole bay; and when they

disappeared, we saw a few wellwooded islands, the sandhills on the west, the grassy and wooded slopes on

the east, and the vast stretch of the bay to the southward, where we were told lay the Missions of Santa Clara

and San Jose, and still longer stretches to the northward and northeastward, where we understood smaller

bays spread out, and large rivers poured in their tributes of waters. There were no settlements on these bays or

rivers, and the few ranchos and Missions were remote and widely separated. Not only the neighborhood of

our anchorage, but the entire region of the great bay, was a solitude. On the whole coast of California there

was not a lighthouse, a beacon, or a buoy, and the charts were made up from old and disconnected surveys by

British, Russian, and Mexican voyagers. Birds of prey and passage swooped and dived about us, wild beasts

ranged through the oak groves, and as we slowly floated out of the harbor with the tide, herds of deer came to

the water's edge, on the northerly side of the entrance, to gaze at the strange spectacle.

On the evening of Saturday, the 13th of August, 1859, the superb steamship Golden Gate, gay with crowds of

passengers, and lighting the sea for miles around with the glare of her signal lights of red, green, and white,

and brilliant with lighted saloons and staterooms, bound up from the Isthmus of Panama, neared the entrance

to San Francisco, the great centre of a worldwide commerce. Miles out at sea, on the desolate rocks of the

Farallones, gleamed the powerful rays of one of the most costly and effective lighthouses in the world. As

we drew in through the Golden Gate, another lighthouse met our eyes, and in the clear moonlight of the

unbroken California summer we saw, on the right, a large fortification protecting the narrow entrance, and

just before us the little island of Alcatraz confronted us, one entire fortress. We bore round the point toward

the old anchoringground of the hide ships, and there, covering the sandhills and the valleys, stretching

from the water's edge to the base of the great hills, and from the old Presidio to the Mission, flickering all

over with the lamps of its streets and houses, lay a city of one hundred thousand inhabitants. Clocks tolled the

hour of midnight from its steeples, but the city was alive from the salute of our guns, spreading the news that

the fortnightly steamer had come, bringing mails and passengers from the Atlantic world. Clipper ships of the

largest size lay at anchor in the stream, or were girt to the wharves; and capacious highpressure steamers, as

large and showy as those of the Hudson or Mississippi, bodies of dazzling light, awaited the delivery of our

mails to take their courses up the Bay, stopping at Benicia and the United States Naval Station, and then up

the great tributaries the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Feather Rivers to the far inland cities of

The dock into which we drew, and the streets about it, were densely crowded with express wagons and

handcarts to take luggage, coaches and cabs for passengers, and with men, some looking out for friends

among our hundreds of passengers, agents of the press, and a greater multitude eager for newspapers and

verbal intelligence from the great Atlantic and European world. Through this crowd I made my way, along

the wellbuilt and welllighted streets, as alive as by day, where boys in highkeyed voices were already

crying the latest New York papers; and between one and two o'clock in the morning found myself

comfortably abed in a commodious room, in the Oriental Hotel, which stood, as well as I could learn, on the

filledup cove, and not far from the spot where we used to beach our boats from the Alert.

Sunday, August 14th. When I awoke in the morning, and looked from my windows over the city of San

Francisco, with its storehouses, towers, and steeples; its courthouses, theatres, and hospitals; its daily

journals; its wellfilled learned professions; its fortresses and fighthouses; its wharves and harbor, with their

thousandton clipper ships, more in number than London or Liverpool sheltered that day, itself one of the

capitals of the American Republic, and the sole emporium of a new world, the awakened Pacific; when I

looked across the bay to the eastward, and beheld a beautiful town on the fertile, wooded shores of the Contra

Costa, and steamers, large and small, the ferryboats to the Contra Costa and capacious freighters and

passengercarriers to all parts of the great bay and its tributaries, with lines of their smoke in the horizon,

when I saw all these things, and reflected on what I once was and saw here, and what now surrounded me, I

could scarcely keep my hold on reality at all, or the genuineness of anything, and seemed to myself like one

I could not complain that I had not a choice of places of worship. The Roman Catholics have an archbishop, a

cathedral, and five or six smaller churches, French, German, Spanish, and English; and the Episcopalians, a

bishop, a cathedral, and three other churches; he Methodists and Presbyterians have three or four each, and

there are Congregationalists, Baptists, a Unitarian, and other societies. On my way to church, I met two

classmates of mine at Harvard standing in a doorway, one a lawyer and the other a teacher, and made

appointments for a future meeting. A little farther on I came upon another Harvard man, a fine scholar and

wit, and full of cleverness and goodhumor, who invited me to go to breakfast with him at the French

house, he was a bachelor, and a late riser on Sundays. I asked him to show me the way to Bishop Kip's

church. He hesitated, looked a little confused, and admitted that he was not as well up in certain classes of

knowledge as in others, but, by a desperate guess, pointed out a wooden building at the foot of the street,

which any one might have seen could not be right, and which turned out to be an African Baptist

meetinghouse. But my friend had many capital points of character, and I owed much of the pleasure of my

The congregation at the Bishop's church was precisely like one you would meet in New York, Philadelphia,

or Boston. To be sure, the identity of the service makes one feel at once at home, but the people were alike,

nearly all of the English race, though from all parts of the Union. The latest French bonnets were at the head

of the chief pews, and business men at the foot. The music was without character, but there was an instructive

I found that there were no services at any of the Protestant churches in the afternoon. They have two services

on Sunday; at 11 A. M., and after dark. The afternoon is spent at home, or in friendly visiting, or teaching of

This is as much the practice with what at home are called the strictest denominations as with any others.

Indeed, I found individuals, as well as public bodies, affected in a marked degree by a change of oceans and

by California life. One Sunday afternoon I was surprised at receiving the card of a man whom I had last

known, some fifteen years ago, as a strict and formal deacon of a Congregational Society in New England.

He was a deacon still, in San Francisco, a leader in all pious works, devoted to his denomination and to total

abstinence, the same internally but externally what a change! Gone was the downcast eye, the bated

breath, the solemn, nonnatural voice, the watchful gait, stepping as if he felt responsible for the balance of

the moral universe! He walked with a stride, an uplifted open countenance, his face covered with beard,

whiskers, and mustache, his voice strong and natural, and, in short, he had put off the New England deacon

and become a human being. In a visit of an hour I learned much from him about the religious societies, the

moral reforms, the "Dashaways," total abstinence societies, which had taken strong hold on the young and

wilder parts of society, and then of the Vigilance Committee, of which he was a member, and of more

In one of the parlors of the hotel, I saw a man of about sixty years of age, with his feet bandaged and resting

in a chair, whom somebody addressed by the name of Lies.* Lies! thought I, that must be the man who came

across the country from Kentucky to Monterey while we lay there in the Pilgrim in 1835, and made a passage

in the Alert, when he used to shoot with his rifle bottles hung from the topgallant

studdingsailboomends. He married the beautiful Dona Rosalia Vallejo, sister of Don Guadalupe. There

were the old high features and sandy hair. I put my chair beside him, and began conversation, as any one may

do in California. Yes, he was the Mr. Lies; and when I gave my name he professed at once to remember me,

and spoke of my book. I found that almost I might perhaps say quite every American in California had

read it; for when California "broke out," as the phrase is, in 1848, and so large a portion of the AngloSaxon

race flocked to it, there was no book upon California but mine. Many who were on the coast at the time the

book refers to, and afterwards read it, and remembered the Pilgrim and Alert, thought they also remembered

me. But perhaps more did remember me than I was inclined at first to believe, for the novelty of a collegian

coming out before the mast had drawn more attention to me than I was aware of at the time. *Pronounced

Late in the afternoon, as there were vespers at the Roman Catholic churches, I went to that of Notre Dame

des Victoires. The congregation was French, and a sermon in French was preached by an Abbe; the music

was excellent, all things airy and tasteful, and making one feel as if in one of the chapels in Paris. The

Cathedral of St. Mary, which I afterwards visited, where the Irish attend, was a contrast indeed, and more like

one of our stifling Irish Catholic churches in Boston or New York, with intelligence in so small a proportion

to the number of faces. During the three Sundays I was in San Francisco, I visited three of the Episcopal

churches, and the Congregational, a Chinese Mission Chapel, and on the Sabbath (Saturday) a Jewish

synagogue. The Jews are a wealthy and powerful class here. The Chinese, too, are numerous, and do a great

part of the manual labor and small shopkeeping, and have some wealthy mercantile houses.

It is noticeable that European Continental fashions prevail generally in this city, French cooking, lunch at

noon, and dinner at the end of the day, with cafe noir after meals, and to a great extent the European

Sunday, to all which emigrants from the United States and Great Britain seem to adapt themselves. Some

dinners which were given to me at French restaurants were, it seemed to me, a poor judge of such matters,

to be sure, as sumptuous and as good, in dishes and wines, as I have found in Paris. But I had a

relishmaker which my friends at table did not suspect, the remembrance of the forecastle dinners I ate here

August 17th. The customs of California are free; and any person who knows about my book speaks to me.

The newspapers have announced the arrival of the veteran pioneer of all. I hardly walk out without meeting

or making acquaintances. I have already been invited to deliver the anniversary oration before the Pioneer

Society, to celebrate the settlement of San Francisco. Any man is qualified for election into the society who

came to California before 1853. What moderns they are! I tell them of the time when Richardson's shanty of

1835 not his adobe house of 1836 was the only human habitation between the Mission and the Presidio,

and when the vast bay, with all its tributaries and recesses, was a solitude, and yet I am but little past forty

years of age. They point out the place where Richardson's adobe house stood, and tell me that the first court

and first town council were convened in it, the first Protestant worship performed in it, and in it the first

capital trial by the Vigilance Committee held. I am taken down to the wharves, by antiquaries of a ten or

twelve years' range, to identify the two points, now known as Clark's and Rincon, which formed the little

cove of Yerba Buena, where we used to beach our boats, now filled up and built upon. The island we called

"Wood Island," where we spent the cold days and nights of December, in our launch, getting wood for our

year's supply, is clean shorn of trees; and the bare rocks of Alcatraz Island, an entire fortress. I have looked at

the city from the water and islands from the city, but I can see nothing that recalls the times gone by, except

the venerable Mission, the ruinous Presidio, the high hills in the rear of the town, and the great stretches of

Today I took a California horse of the old style, the run, the loping gait, and visited the Presidio. The

walls stand as they did, with some changes made to accommodate a small garrison of United States troops. It

has a noble situation, and I saw from it a clipper ship of the very largest class, coming through the Gate,

under her foreandaft sails. Thence I rode to the Fort, now nearly finished, on the southern shore of the

Gate, and made an inspection of it. It is very expensive and of the latest style. One of the engineers here is

Custis Lee, who has just left West Point at the head of his class, a son of Colonel Robert E. Lee, who

Another morning I ride to the Mission Dolores. It has a strangely solitary aspect, enhanced by its

surroundings of the most uncongenial, rapidly growing modernisms; the hoar of ages surrounded by the

brightest, slightest, and rapidest of modern growths. Its old belfries still clanged with the discordant bells, and

Mass was saying within, for it is used as a place of worship for the extreme south part of the city.

In one of my walks about the wharves, I found a pile of dry hides lying by the side of a vessel. Here was

something to feelingly persuade me what I had been, to recall a past scarce credible to myself. I stood lost in

reflection. What were these hides what were they not? to us, to me, a boy, twentyfour years ago? These

were our constant labor, our chief object, our almost habitual thought. They brought us out here, they kept us

here, and it was only by getting them that we could escape from the coast and return to home and civilized

life. If it had not been that I might be seen, I should have seized one, slung it over my head, walked off with

it, and thrown it by the old toss I do not believe yet a lost art to the ground. How they called up to my mind

the months of curing at San Diego, the year and more of beach and surf work, and the steering of the ship for

home! I was in a dream of San Diego, San Pedro, with its hills so steep for taking up goods, and its stones

so hard to our bare feet, and the cliffs of San Juan! All this, too, is no more! The entire hidebusiness is of

the past, and to the present inhabitants of California a dim tradition. The gold discoveries drew off all men

from the gathering or cure of hides, the inflowing population made an end of the great droves of cattle; and

now not a vessel pursues the I was about to say dear the dreary once hated business of gathering hides

upon the coast, and the beach of San Diego is abandoned and its hidehouses have disappeared. Meeting a

respectablelooking citizen on the wharf, I inquired of him how the hidetrade was carried on. "O," said he,

"there is very little of it, and that is all here. The few that are brought in are placed under sheds in winter, or

left out on the wharf in summer, and are loaded from the wharves into the vessels alongside. They form parts

of cargoes of other materials." I really felt too much, at the instant, to express to him the cause of my interest

in the subject, and only added, "Then the old business of trading up and down the coast and curing hides for

cargoes is all over?" "O yes, sir," said he, "those old times of the Pilgrim and Alert and California, that we

Saturday, August 20th. The steamer Senator makes regular trips up and down the coast, between San

Francisco and San Diego, calling at intermediate ports. This is my opportunity to revisit the old scenes. She

sails today, and I am off, steaming among the great clippers anchored in the harbor, and gliding rapidly

round the point, past Alcatraz Island, the lighthouse, and through the fortified Golden Gate, and bending to

the southward, all done in two or three hours, which, in the Alert, under canvas, with head tides, variable

Among the passengers I noticed an elderly gentleman, thin, with sandy hair and face that seemed familiar. He

took off his glove and showed one shrivelled hand. It must be he! I went to him and said, "Captain Wilson, I

believe." Yes, that was his name. "I knew you, sir, when you commanded the Ayacucho on this coast, in old

hidedroghing times, in 18356." He was quickened by this, and at once inquiries were made on each side,

and we were in full talk about the Pilgrim and Alert, Ayacucho and Loriotte, the California and Lagoda. I

found he had been very much flattered by the praise I had bestowed in my book on his seamanship, especially

in bringing the Pilgrim to her berth in San Diego harbor, after she had drifted successively into the Lagoda

and Loriotte, and was coming into him. I had made a pet of his brig, the Ayacucho, which pleased him almost

as much as my remembrance of his bride and their wedding, which I saw at Santa Barbara in 1836. Dona

Ramona was now the mother of a large family, and Wilson assured me that if I would visit him at his rancho,

near San Luis Obispo, I should find her still a handsome woman, and very glad to see me. How we walked

the deck together, hour after hour, talking over the old times, the ships, the captains, the crews, the traders

on shore, the ladies, the Missions, the southeasters! indeed, where could we stop? He had sold the Ayacucho

in Chili for a vessel of war, and had given up the sea, and had been for years a ranchero. (I learned from

others that he had become one of the most wealthy and respectable farmers in the State, and that his rancho

was well worth visiting.) Thompson, he said, hadn't the sailor in him; and he never could laugh enough at his

fiasco in San Diego, and his reception by Bradshaw. Faucon was a sailor and a navigator. He did not know

what had become of George Marsh, except that he left him in Callao; nor could he tell me anything of

handsome Bill Jackson, nor of Captain Nye of the Loriotte. I told him all I then knew of the ships, the

masters, and the officers. I found he had kept some run of my history, and needed little information. Old

Senor Noriego of Santa Barbara, he told me, was dead, and Don Carlos and Don Santiago, but I should find

their children there, now in middle life. Dona Augustia, he said, I had made famous by my praises of her

beauty and dancing, and I should have from her a royal reception. She had been a widow, and remarried

since, and had a daughter as handsome as herself. The descendants of Noriego had taken the ancestral name

of De la Guerra, as they were nobles of Old Spain by birth; and the boy Pablo, who used to make passages in

the Alert, was now Don Pablo de la Guerra, a Senator in the State Legislature for Santa Barbara County.

The points in the country, too, he noticed, as he passed them, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Point Ano

Nuevo, the opening to Monterey, which to my disappointment we did not visit. No; Monterey, the prettiest

town on the coast, and its capital and seat of customs, had got no advantage from the great changes, was out

of the way of commerce and of the travel to the mines and great rivers, and was not worth stopping at. Point

Conception we passed in the night, a cheery light gleaming over the waters from its tall lighthouse, standing

on its outermost peak. Point Conception! That word was enough to recall all our experiences and dreads of

gales, swept decks, topmast carried away, and the hardships of a coast service in the winter. But Captain

Wilson tells me that the climate has altered; that the southeasters are no longer the bane of the coast they once

were, and that vessels now anchor inside the kelp at Santa Barbara and San Pedro all the year round. I should

have thought this owing to his spending his winters on a rancho instead of the deck of the Ayacucho, had not

Passing round Point Conception, and steering easterly, we opened the islands that form, with the mainland,

the canal of Santa Barbara. There they are, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa; and there is the beautiful point, Santa

Buenaventura; and there lies Santa Barbara on its plain, with its amphitheatre of high hills and distant

mountains. There is the old white Mission with its belfries, and there the town, with its onestory adobe

houses, with here and there a twostory wooden house of later build; yet little is it altered; the same repose

in the golden sunlight and glorious climate, sheltered by its hills; and then, more remindful than anything

else, there roars and tumbles upon the beach the same grand surf of the great Pacific as on the beautiful day

when the Pilgrim, after her five months' voyage, dropped her weary anchors here; the same bright blue ocean,

and the surf making just the same monotonous, melancholy roar, and the same dreamy town, and gleaming

white Mission, as when we beached our boats for the first time, riding over the breakers with shouting

Kanakas, the three small hidetraders lying at anchor in the offing. But now we are the only vessel, and that

I landed in the surf, in the old style, but it was not high enough to excite us, the only change being that I was

somehow unaccountably a passenger, and did not have to jump overboard and steady the boat, and run her up

Santa Barbara has gained but little. I should not know, from anything I saw, that she was now a seaport of the

United States, a part of the enterprising Yankee nation, and not still a lifeless Mexican town. At the same old

house, where Senor Noriego lived, on the piazza in front of the courtyard, where was the gay scene of the

marriage of our agent, Mr. Robinson, to Dona Anita, where Don Juan Bandini and Dona Augustia danced,

Don Pablo de la Guerra received me in a courtly fashion. I passed the day with the family, and in walking

about the place; and ate the old dinner with its accompaniments of frijoles, native olives and grapes, and

native wines. In due time I paid my respects to Dona Augustia, and notwithstanding what Wilson told me, I

could hardly believe that after twentyfour years there would still be so much of the enchanting woman about

She thanked me for the kind and, as she called them, greatly exaggerated compliments I had paid her; and her

daughter told me that all travellers who came to Santa Barbara called to see her mother, and that she herself

Mr. Alfred Robinson, our agent in 18356, was here, with a part of his family. I did not know how he would

receive me, remembering what I had printed to the world about him at a time when I took little thought that

the world was going to read it; but there was no sign of offence, only cordiality which gave him, as between

The people of this region are giving attention to sheepraising, winemaking, and the raising of olives, just

But evening is drawing on, and our boat sails tonight. So, refusing a horse or carriage, I walk down, not

unwilling to be a little early, that I may pace up and down the beach, looking off to the islands and the points,

and watching the roaring, tumbling billows. How softening is the effect of time! It touches us through the

affections. I almost feel as if I were lamenting the passing away of something loved and dear, the boats, the

Kanakas, the hides, my old shipmates. Death, change, distance, lend them a character which makes them

quite another thing from the vulgar, wearisome toil of uninteresting, forced manual labour.

The breeze freshened as we stood out to sea, and the wild waves rolled over the red sun, on the broad horizon

of the Pacific; but it is summer, and in summer there can be no bad weather in California. Every day is

pleasant. Nature forbids a drop of rain to fall by day or night, or a wind to excite itself beyond a fresh summer

The next morning we found ourselves at anchor in the Bay of San Pedro. Here was this hated, this thoroughly

detested spot. Although we lay near, I could scarce recognize the hill up which we rolled and dragged and

pushed and carried our heavy loads, and down which we pitched the hides, to carry them barefooted over the

rocks to the floating longboat. It was no longer the landingplace. One had been made at the head of the

creek, and boats discharged and took off cargoes from a mole or wharf, in a quiet place, safe from

southeasters. A tug ran to take off passengers from the steamer to the wharf, for the trade of Los Angeles is

sufficient to support such a vessel. I got the captain to land me privately, in a small boat, at the old place by

the hill. I dismissed the boat, and, alone, found my way to the high ground. I say found my way, for neglect

and weather had left but few traces of the steep road the hidevessels had built to the top. The cliff off which

we used to throw the hides, and where I spent nights watching them, was more easily found. The population

was doubled, that is to say, there were two houses, instead of one, on the hill. I stood on the brow and looked

out toward the offing, the Santa Catalina Island, and, nearer, the melancholy Dead Man's Island, with its

painful tradition, and recalled the gloomy days that followed the flogging, and fancied the Pilgrim at anchor

in the offing. But the tug is going toward our steamer, and I must awake and be off. I walked along the shore

to the new landingplace, where were two or three storehouses and other buildings, forming a small depot;

and a stagecoach, I found, went daily between this place and the Pueblo. I got a seat on the top of the coach,

to which were tackled six little less than wild California horses. Each horse had a man at his head, and when

the driver had got his reins in hand he gave the word, all the horses were let go at once, and away they went

on a spring, tearing over the ground, the driver only keeping them from going the wrong way, for they had a

wide, level pampa to run over the whole thirty miles to the Pueblo. This plain is almost treeless, with no

grass, at least none now in the drought of midsummer, and is filled with squirrelholes, and alive with

squirrels. As we changed horses twice, we did not slacken our speed until we turned into the streets of the

The Pueblo de los Angeles I found a large and flourishing town of about twenty thousand inhabitants, with

brick sidewalks, and blocks of stone or brick houses. The three principal traders when we were here for hides

in the Pilgrim and Alert are still among the chief traders of the place, Stearns, Temple, and Warner, the two

former being reputed very rich. I dined with Mr. Stearns, now a very old man, and met there Don Juan

Bandini, to whom I had given a good deal of notice in my book. From him, as indeed from every one in this

town, I met with the kindest attentions. The wife of Don Juan, who was a beautiful young girl when we were

on the coast, Dona Refugio, daughter of Don Santiago Arguello, the commandante of San Diego, was with

him, and still handsome. This is one of several instances I have noticed of the preserving quality of the

California climate. Here, too, was Henry Mellus, who came out with me before the mast in the Pilgrim, and

left the brig to be agent's clerk on shore. He had experienced varying fortunes here, and was now married to a

Mexican lady, and had a family. I dined with him, and in the afternoon he drove me round to see the

vineyards, the chief objects in this region. The vintage of last year was estimated at half a million of gallons.

Every year new square miles of ground are laid down to vineyards, and the Pueblo promises to be the centre

of one of the largest wineproducing regions in the world. Grapes are a drug here, and I found a great

abundance of figs, olives, peaches, pears, and melons. The climate is well suited to these fruits, but is too hot

Towards evening, we started off in the stage coach, with again our relays of six mad horses, and reached the

creek before dark, though it was late at night before we got on board the steamer, which was slowly moving

As we skirted along the coast, Wilson and I recognized, or thought we did, in the clear moonlight, the rude

white Mission of San Juan Capistrano, and its cliff, from which I had swung down by a pair of halyards to

save a few hides, a boy who could not be prudential, and who caught at every chance for adventure.

As we made the high point off San Diego, Point Loma, we were greeted by the cheering presence of a

lighthouse. As we swept round it in the early morning, there, before us, lay the little harbor of San Diego, its

low spit of sand, where the water runs so deep; the opposite flats, where the Alert grounded in starting for

home; the low hills, without trees, and almost without brush; the quiet little beach; but the chief objects, the

hidehouses, my eye looked for in vain. They were gone, all, and left no mark behind.

I wished to be alone, so I let the other passengers go up to the town, and was quietly pulled ashore in a boat,

and left to myself. The recollections and the emotions all were sad, and only sad.

Fugit, interea fugit irreparabile tempus. The past was real. The present, all about me, was unreal, unnatural,

repellant. I saw the big ships lying in the stream, the Alert, the California, the Rosa, with her Italians; then the

handsome Ayacucho, my favorite; the poor, dear old Pilgrim, the home of hardship and hopelessness; the

boats passing to and fro; the cries of the sailors at the capstan or falls; the peopled beach; the large hidehouses

with their gangs of men; and the Kanakas interspersed everywhere. All, all were gone! not a vestige to mark

where one hidehouse stood. The oven, too, was gone. I searched for its site, and found, where I thought it

should be, a few broken bricks and bits of mortar. I alone was left of all, and how strangely was I here! What

changes to me! Where were they all? Why should I care for them, poor Kanakas and sailors, the refuse of

civilization, the outlaws and beachcombers of the Pacific! Time and death seemed to transfigure them.

Doubtless nearly all were dead; but how had they died, and where? In hospitals, in feverclimes, in dens of

Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown." The lighthearted boys are now hardened

middleaged men, if the seas, rocks, fevers, and the deadlier enemies that beset a sailor's life on shore have

spared them; and the then strong men have bowed themselves, and the earth or sea has covered them.

Even the animals are gone, the colony of dogs, the broods of poultry, the useful horses; but the coyotes bark

still in the woods, for they belong not to man, and are not touched by his changes.

I walked slowly up the hill, finding my way among the few bushes, for the path was long grown over, and sat

down where we used to rest in carrying our burdens of wood, and to look out for vessels that might, though

To rally myself by calling to mind my own better fortune and nobler lot, and cherished surroundings at home,

was impossible. Borne down by depression, the day being yet at its noon, and the sun over the old point, it

is four miles to the town, the Presidio, I have walked it often, and can do it once more, I passed the

familiar objects, and it seemed to me that I remembered them better than those of any other place I had ever

been in; the opening to the little cave; the low hills where we cut wood and killed rattlesnakes, and where

our dogs chased the coyotes; and the black ground where so many of the ship's crew and beachcombers used

to bring up on their return at the end of a liberty day, and spend the night sub Jove.

The little town of San Diego has undergone no change whatever that I can see. It certainly has not grown. It is

still, like Santa Barbara, a Mexican town. The four principal houses of the gente de razon of the Bandinis,

Estudillos, Arguellos, and Picos are the chief houses now; but all the gentlemen and their families, too, I

believe are gone. The big vulgar shopkeeper and trader, Fitch, is long since dead; Tom Wrightington, who

kept the rival pulperia, fell from his horse when drunk, and was found nearly eaten up by coyotes; and I can

scarce find a person whom I remember. I went into a familiar onestory adobe house, with its piazza and

earthen floor, inhabited by a respectable lowerclass family by the name of Muchado, and inquired if any of

the family remained, when a brighteyed middleaged woman recognized me, for she had heard I was on

board the steamer, and told me she had married a shipmate of mine, Jack Stewart, who went out as second

mate the next voyage, but left the ship and married and settled here. She said he wished very much to see me.

In a few minutes he came in, and his sincere pleasure in meeting me was extremely grateful. We talked over

old times as long as I could afford to. I was glad to hear that he was sober and doing well. Dona Tomasa Pico

I found and talked with. She was the only person of the old upper class that remained on the spot, if I rightly

recollect. I found an American family here, with whom I dined, Doyle and his wife, nice young people,

Doyle agent for the great line of coaches to run to the frontier of the old States.

I must complete my acts of pious remembrance, so I take a horse and make a run out to the old Mission,

where Ben Stimson and I went the first liberty day we had after we left Boston. All has gone to decay. The

buildings are unused and ruinous, and the large gardens show now only wild cactuses, willows, and a few

olivetrees. A fast run brings me back in time to take leave of the few I knew and who knew me, and to reach

the steamer before she sails. A last look yes, last for life to the beach, the hills, the low point, the distant

town, as we round Point Loma and the first beams of the lighthouse strike out towards the setting sun.

Wednesday, August 24th. At anchor at San Pedro by daylight. But instead of being roused out of the

forecastle to row the longboat ashore and bring off a load of hides before breakfast, we were served with

breakfast in the cabin, and again took our drive with the wild horses to the Pueblo and spent the day; seeing

nearly the same persons as before, and again getting back by dark. We steamed again for Santa Barbara,

where we only lay an hour, and passed through its canal and round Point Conception, stopping at San Luis

Obispo to land my friend, as I may truly call him after this long passage together, Captain Wilson, whose

most earnest invitation to stop here and visit him at his rancho I was obliged to decline.

Friday evening, 26th August, we entered the Golden Gate, passed the lighthouses and forts, and clipper

ships at anchor, and came to our dock, with this great city, on its high hills and rising surfaces, brilliant before

Making San Francisco my headquarters, I paid visits to various parts of the State,down the Bay to Santa

Clara, with its live oaks and sycamores, and its Jesuit College for boys; and San Jose, where is the best girls'

school in the State, kept by the Sisters of Notre Dame, a town now famous for a year's session of "The

legislature of a thousand drinks," and thence to the rich Almaden quicksilver mines, returning on the Contra

Costa side through the rich agricultural country, with its ranchos and the vast grants of the Castro and Soto

families, where farming and fruitraising are done on so large a scale. Another excursion was up the San

Joaquin to Stockton, a town of some ten thousand inhabitants, a hundred miles from San Francisco, and

crossing the Tuolumne and Stanislaus and Merced, by the little Spanish town of Hornitos, and Snelling's

Tavern, at the ford of the Merced, where so many fatal fights are had. Thence I went to Mariposa County, and

Colonel Fremont's mines, and made an interesting visit to "the Colonel," as he is called all over the country,

and Mrs. Fremont, a heroine equal to either fortune, the salons of Paris and the drawingrooms of New York

and Washington, or the roughest life of the remote and wild mining regions of Mariposa, with their fine

family of spirited, clever children. After a rest there, we went on to Clark's Camp and the Big Trees, where I

measured one tree ninetyseven feet in circumference without its bark, and the bark is usually eighteen

inches thick; and rode through another which lay on the ground, a shell, with all the insides out, rode

through it mounted, and sitting at full height in the saddle; then to the wonderful Yo Semite Valley, itself a

stupendous miracle of nature, with its Dome, its Capitan, its walls of three thousand feet of perpendicular

height, but a valley of streams, of waterfalls from the torrent to the mere shimmer of a bridal veil, only

enough to reflect a rainbow, with their plunges of twentyfive hundred feet, or their smaller falls of eight

hundred, with nothing at the base but thick mists, which form and trickle, and then run and at last plunge into

the blue Merced that flows through the centre of the valley. Back by the Coulterville trail, the peaks of Sierra

Nevada in sight, across the North Fork of the Merced, by Gentry's Gulch, over hills and through canons, to

Fremont's again, and thence to Stockton and San Francisco, all this at the end of August, when there has

been no rain for four months, and the air is clear and very hot, and the ground perfectly dry; windmills, to

raise water for artificial irrigation of small patches, seen all over the landscape, while we travel through

square miles of hot dust, where they tell us, and truly that in winter and early spring we should be up to our

knees in flowers; a country, too, where surface golddigging is so common and unnoticed that the large,

sixhorse stagecoach, in which I travelled from Stockton to Hornitos, turned off in the high road for a

Chinaman, who, with his pan and washer, was working up a hole which an American had abandoned, but

where the minute and patient industry of the Chinaman averaged a few dollars a day.

These visits were so full of interest, with grandeurs and humors of all sorts, that I am strongly tempted to

describe them. But I remember that I am not to write a journal of a visit over the new California, but to sketch

How strange and eventful has been the brief history of this marvellous city, San Francisco! In 1835 there was

one board shanty. In 1836, one adobe house on the same spot. In 1847, a population of four hundred and fifty

persons, who organized a town government. Then came the auri sacra fames, the flocking together of many

of the worst spirits of Christendom; a sudden birth of a city of canvas and boards, entirely destroyed by fire

five times in eighteen months, with a loss of sixteen millions of dollars, and as often rebuilt, until it became a

solid city of brick and stone, of nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants, with all the accompaniments of

wealth and culture, and now (in 1859) the most quiet and wellgoverned city of its size in the United States.

But it has been through its season of Heavendefying crime, violence, and blood, from which it was rescued

and handed back to soberness, morality, and good government, by that peculiar invention of AngloSaxon

Republican America, the solemn, aweinspiring Vigilance Committee of the most grave and responsible

citizens, the last resort of the thinking and the good, taken to only when vice, fraud, and ruffianism have

intrenched themselves behind the forms of law, suffrage, and ballot, and there is no hope but in organized

force, whose action must be instant and thorough, or its state will be worse than before. A history of the

passage of this city through those ordeals, and through its almost incredible financial extremes, should be

written by a pen which not only accuracy shall govern, but imagination shall inspire.

I cannot pause for the civility of referring to the many kind attentions I received, and the society of educated

men and women from all parts of the Union I met with; where New England, the Carolinas, Virginia, and the

My stay in California was interrupted by an absence of nearly four months, when I sailed for the Sandwich

Islands in the noble Boston clipper ship Mastiff, which was burned at sea to the water's edge; we escaping in

boats, and carried by a friendly British bark into Honolulu, whence, after a deeply interesting visit of three

months in that most fascinating group of islands, with its natural and its moral wonders, I returned to San

Francisco in an American whaler, and found myself again in my quarters on the morning of Sunday,

My first visit after my return was to Sacramento, a city of about forty thousand inhabitants, more than a

hundred miles inland from San Francisco, on the Sacramento, where was the capital of the State, and where

were fleets of river steamers, and a large inland commerce. Here I saw the inauguration of a Governor, Mr.

Latham, a young man from Massachusetts, much my junior; and met a member of the State Senate, a man

who, as a carpenter, repaired my father's house at home some ten years before; and two more Senators from

southern California, relics of another age, Don Andres Pico, from San Diego; and Don Pablo de la Guerra,

whom I have mentioned as meeting at Santa Barbara. I had a good deal of conversation with these gentlemen,

who stood alone in an assembly of Americans, who had conquered their country, spared pillars of the past.

Don Andres had fought us at San Pazqual and Sepulveda's rancho, in 1846, and as he fought bravely, not a

common thing among the Mexicans, and, indeed, repulsed Kearney, is always treated with respect. He had

the satisfaction, dear to the proud Spanish heart, of making a speech before a Senate of Americans, in favor

of the retention in office of an officer of our army who was wounded at San Pazqual and whom some

wretched caucus was going to displace to carry out a political job. Don Andres's magnanimity and

My last visit in this part of the country was to a new and rich farming region, the Napa Valley, the United

States Navy Yard at Mare Island, the river gold workings, and the Geysers, and old Mr. John Yount's rancho.

On board the steamer, found Mr. Edward Stanley, formerly member of Congress from North Carolina, who

became my companion for the greater part of my trip. I also met a revival on the spot of an acquaintance of

twenty years ago Don Guadalupe Vallejo; I may say acquaintance, for although I was then before the mast,

he knew my story, and, as he spoke English well, used to hold many conversations with me, when in the boat

or on shore. He received me with true earnestness, and would not hear of my passing his estate without

visiting him. He reminded me of a remark I made to him once, when pulling him ashore in the boat, when he

was commandante at the Presidio. I learned that the two Vallejos, Guadalupe and Salvador, owned, at an

early time, nearly all Napa and Sonoma, having princely estates. But they have not much left. They were

nearly ruined by their bargain with the State, that they would put up the public buildings if the Capital should

be placed at Vallejo, then a town of some promise. They spent $100,000, the Capital was moved there, and in

two years removed to San Jose on another contract. The town fell to pieces, and the houses, chiefly wooden,

were taken down and removed. I accepted the old gentleman's invitation so far as to stop at Vallejo to

The United States Navy Yard, at Mare Island, near Vallejo, is large and well placed, with deep fresh water.

The old Independence, and the sloop Decatur, and two steamers were there, and they were experimenting on

I have no excuse for attempting to describe my visit through the fertile and beautiful Napa Valley, nor even,

what exceeded that in interest, my visit to old John Yount at his rancho, where I heard from his own lips

some of his most interesting stories of hunting and trapping and Indian fighting, during an adventurous life of

forty years of such work, between our back settlements in Missouri and Arkansas, and the mountains of

California, trapping in Colorado and Gila, and his celebrated dream, thrice repeated, which led him to

organize a party to go out over the mountains, that did actually rescue from death by starvation the wretched

I must not pause for the dreary country of the Geysers, the screaming escapes of steam, the sulphur, the

boiling caldrons of black and yellow and green, and the region of Gehenna, through which runs a quiet

stream of pure water; nor for the park scenery, and captivating ranchos of the Napa Valley, where farming is

done on so grand a scale, where I have seen a man plough a furrow by little red flags on sticks, to keep his

range by, until nearly out of sight, and where, the wits tell us, he returns the next day on the back furrow; a

region where, at Christmas time, I have seen old strawberries still on the vines, by the side of vines in full

blossom for the next crop, and grapes in the same stages, and open windows, and yet a grateful wood fire on

the hearth in early morning; nor for the titanic operations of hydraulic surface mining, where large mountain

streams are diverted from their ancient beds, and made to do the work, beyond the reach of all other agents,

of washing out valleys and carrying away hills, and changing the whole surface of the country, to expose the

January 10th, 1860. I am again in San Francisco, and my revisit to California is closed. I have touched too

lightly and rapidly for much impression upon the reader on my last visit into the interior; but, as I have said,

in a mere continuation to a narrative of a seafaring life on the coast, I am only to carry the reader with me on

a visit to those scenes in which the public has long manifested so gratifying an interest. But it seemed to me

that slight notices of these entirely of these new parts of the country would not be out of place, for they serve

to put in strong contrast with the solitudes of 18356 the developed interior, with its mines, and agricultural

wealth, and rapidly filling population, and its large cities, so far from the coast, with their education, religion,

On the morning of the 11th January, 1860, I passed, for the eighth time, through the Golden Gate, on my way

across the delightful Pacific to the Oriental world, with its civilization three thousand years older than that I

was leaving behind. As the shores of California faded in the distance, and the summits of the Coast Range

sank under the blue horizon, I bade farewell yes, I do not doubt, forever to those scenes which, however

It is time my fellowtravellers and I should part company. But I have been requested by a great many persons

to give some account of the subsequent history of the vessels and their crews, with which I had made them

acquainted. I attempt the following sketches in deference to these suggestions, and not, I trust, with any

Something less than a year after my return in the Alert, and when, my eyes having recovered, I was again in

college life, I found one morning in the newspapers, among the arrivals of the day before, "The brig Pilgrim,

Faucon, from San Diego, California:' In a few hours I was down in Ann Street, and on my way to Hackstadt's

boardinghouse, where I knew Tom Harris and others would lodge. Entering the front room, I heard my

name called from amid a group of bluejackets, and several sunburned, tarcolored men came forward to

speak to me. They were, at first, a little embarrassed by the dress and style in which they had never seen me,

and one of them was calling me Mr. Dana; but I soon stopped that, and we were shipmates once more. First,

there was Tom Harris, in a characteristic occupation. I had made him promise to come and see me when we

parted in San Diego; he had got a directory of Boston, found the street and number of my father's house, and,

by a study of the plan of the city, had laid out his course, and was committing it to memory. He said he could

go straight to the house without asking a question. And so he could, for I took the book from him, and he

gave his course, naming each street and turn to right or left, directly to the door.

Tom had been second mate of the Pilgrim, and had laid up no mean sum of money. True to his resolution, he

was going to England to find his mother, and he entered into the comparative advantages of taking his money

home in gold or in bills, a matter of some moment, as this was in the disastrous financial year of 1837, He

seemed to have his ideas well arranged, but I took him to a leading banker, whose advice he followed; and,

declining my invitation to go up and show himself to my friends, he was off for New York that afternoon, to

sail the next day for Liverpool. The last I ever saw of Tom Harris was as he passed down Tremont Street on

the sidewalk, a man dragging a handcart in the street by his side, on which were his voyageworn chest, his

Sam seemed to have got funny again, and he and John the Swede learned that Captain Thompson had several

months before sailed in command of a ship for the coast of Sumatra, and that their chance of proceedings

against him at law was hopeless. Sam was afterwards lost in a brig off the coast of Brazil, when all hands

went down. Of John and the rest of the men I have never heard. The Marblehead boy, Sam, turned out badly;

and, although he had influential friends, never allowed them to improve his condition. The old carpenter, the

Fin, of whom the cook stood in such awe, had fallen sick and died in Santa Barbara, and was buried ashore.

Jim Hall, from the Kennebec, who sailed with us before the mast, and was made second mate in Foster's

place, came home chief mate of the Pilgrim. I have often seen him since. His lot has been prosperous, as he

well deserved it should be. He has commanded the largest ships, and when I last saw him, was going to the

Pacific coast of South America, to take charge of a line of mail steamers. Poor, luckless Foster I have twice

seen. He came into my rooms in Boston, after I had become a barrister and my narrative had been published,

and told me he was chief mate of a big ship; that he had heard I had said some things unfavorable of him in

my book; that he had just bought it, and was going to read it that night, and if I had said anything unfair of

him, he would punish me if he found me in State Street. I surveyed him from head to foot, and said to him,

"Foster, you were not a formidable man when I last knew you, and I don't believe you are now." Either he

was of my opinion, or thought I had spoken of him well enough, for the next (and last) time I met him he was

I believe I omitted to state that Mr. Andrew B. Amerzene, the chief mate of the Pilgrim, an estimable, kind,

and trustworthy man, had a difficulty with Captain Faucon, who thought him slack, was turned off duty, and

sent home with us in the Alert. Captain Thompson, instead of giving him the place of a mate off duty, put

him into the narrow betweendecks, where a space, not over four feet high, had been left out among the

hides, and there compelled him to live the whole wearisome voyage, through trades and tropics, and round

Cape Horn, with nothing to do, not allowed to converse or walk with the officers, and obliged to get his

grub himself from the galley, in the tin pot and kid of a common sailor. I used to talk with him as much as I

had opportunity to, but his lot was wretched, and in every way wounding to his feelings. After our arrival,

Captain Thompson was obliged to make him compensation for this treatment. It happens that I have never

Henry Mellus, who had been in a countinghouse in Boston, and left the forecastle, on the coast, to be agent's

clerk, and whom I met, a married man, at Los Angeles in 1859, died at that place a few years ago, not having

been successful in commercial life. Ben Stimson left the sea for the fresh water and prairies, and settled in

Detroit as a merchant, and when I visited that city, in 1863, I was rejoiced to find him a prosperous and

This ends the catalogue of the Pilgrim's original crew, except her first master, Captain Thompson. He was not

employed by the same firm again, and got up a voyage to the coast of Sumatra for pepper. A cousin and

classmate of mine, Mr. Channing, went as supercargo, not having consulted me as to the captain. First,

Captain Thompson got into difficulties with another American vessel on the coast, which charged him with

having taken some advantage of her in getting pepper; and then with the natives, who accused him of having

obtained too much pepper for his weights. The natives seized him, one afternoon, as he landed in his boat,

and demanded of him to sign an order on the supercargo for the Spanish dollars that they said were due them,

on pain of being imprisoned on shore. He never failed in pluck, and now ordered his boat aboard, leaving him

ashore, the officer to tell the supercargo to obey no direction except under his hand. For several successive

days and nights, his ship, the Alciope, lay in the burning sun, with rainsqualls and thunderclouds coming

over the high mountains, waiting for a word from him. Toward evening of the fourth or fifth day he was seen

on the beach, hailing for the boat. The natives, finding they could not force more money from him, were

afraid to hold him longer, and had let him go. He sprang into the boat, urged her off with the utmost

eagerness, leaped on board the ship like a tiger, his eyes flashing and his face full of blood, ordered the

anchor aweigh, and the topsails set, the four guns, two on a side, loaded with all sorts of devilish stuff, and

wore her round, and, keeping as close into the bamboo village as he could, gave them both broadsides,

slambang into the midst of the houses and people, and stood out to sea! As his excitement passed off,

headache, languor, fever, set in, the deadly coastfever, contracted from the water and nightdews on shore

and his maddened temper. He ordered the ship to Penang, and never saw the deck again. He died on the

passage, and was buried at sea. Mr. Channing, who took care of him in his sickness and delirium, caught the

fever from him, but, as we gratefully remember, did not die until the ship made port, and he was under the

kindly roof of a hospitable family in Penang. The chief mate, also, took the fever, and the second mate and

crew deserted; and although the chief mate recovered and took the ship to Europe and home, the voyage was

a melancholy disaster. In a tour I made round the world in 18591860, of which my revisit to California was

the beginning, I went to Penang. In that fairylike scene of sea and sky and shore, as beautiful as material

earth can be, with its fruits and flowers of a perpetual summer, somewhere in which still lurks the deadly

fever. I found the tomb of my kinsman, classmate, and friend. Standing beside his grave, I tried not to think

that his life had been sacrificed to the faults and violence of another; I tried not to think too hardly of that

The dear old Pilgrim herself! She was sold, at the end of this voyage, to a merchant in New Hampshire, who

employed her on short voyages, and, after a few years, I read of her total loss at sea, by fire, off the coast of

Captain Faucon, who took out the Alert, and brought home the Pilgrim, spent many years in command of

vessels in the Indian and Chinese seas, and was in our volunteer navy during the late war, commanding

several large vessels in succession, on the blockade of the Carolinas, with the rank of lieutenant. He has now

given up the sea, but still keeps it under his eye, from the piazza of his house on the most beautiful hill in the

environs of Boston. I have the pleasure of meeting him often. Once, in speaking of the Alert's crew, in a

company of gentlemen, I heard him say that that crew was exceptional: that he had passed all his life at sea,

but whether before the mast or abaft, whether officer or master, he had never met such a crew, and never

should expect to; and that the two officers of the Alert, long ago shipmasters, agreed with him that, for

intelligence, knowledge of duty and willingness to perform it, pride in the ship, her appearance and sailing,

and in absolute reliableness, they never had seen their equal. Especially he spoke of his favorite seaman,

French John. John, after a few more years at sea, became a boatman, and kept his neat boat at the end of

Granite Wharf, and was ready to take all, but delighted to take any of us of the old Alert's crew, to sail down

the harbor. One day Captain Faucon went to the end of the wharf to board a vessel in the stream, and hailed

for John. There was no response, and his boat was not there. He inquired of a boatman near, where John was.

The time had come that comes to all! There was no loyal voice to respond to the familiar call, the hatches had

closed over him, his boat was sold to another, and he had left not a trace behind. We could not find out even

Mr. Richard Brown, of Marblehead, our chief mate in the Alert, commanded many of our noblest ships in the

European trade, a general favorite. A few years ago, while stepping on board his ship from the wharf, he fell

from the plank into the hold and was killed. If he did not actually die at sea, at least he died as a sailor, he

Our second mate, Evans, no one liked or cared for, and I know nothing of him, except that I once saw him in

court, on trial for some alleged petty tyranny towards his men, still a subaltern officer.

The third mate, Mr. Hatch, a nephew of one of the owners, though only a lad on board the ship, went out

chief mate the next voyage, and rose soon to command some of the finest clippers in the California and India

trade, under the new order of things, a man of character, good judgment, and no little cultivation.

Of the other men before the mast in the Alert, I know nothing of peculiar interest. When visiting, with a party

of ladies and gentlemen, one of our largest lineofbattle ships, we were escorted about the decks by a

midshipman, who was explaining various matters on board, when one of the party came to me and told me

that there was an old sailor there with a whistle round his neck, who looked at me and said of the officer, "he

can't show him anything aboard a ship." I found him out, and, looking into his sunburnt face, covered with

hair, and his little eyes drawn up into the smallest passages for light, like a man who had peered into

hundreds of northeasters, there was old "Sails" of the Alert, clothed in all the honors of boatswain'smate.

We stood aside, out of the cun of the officers, and had a good talk over old times. I remember the contempt

with which he turned on his heel to conceal his face, when the midshipman (who was a grown youth) could

not tell the ladies the length of a fathom, and said it depended on circumstances. Notwithstanding his advice

and consolation to "Chips," in the steerage of the Alert, and his story of his runaway wife and the

flagbottomed chairs, he confessed to me that he had tried marriage again, and had a little tenement just

Harry Bennett, the man who had the palsy, and was unfeelingly left on shore when the Alert sailed, came

home in the Pilgrim, and I had the pleasure of helping to get him into the Massachusetts General Hospital.

When he had been there about a week, I went to see him in his ward, and asked him how he got along. "Oh!

firstrate usage, sir; not a hand's turn to do, and all your grub brought to you, sir." This is a sailor's paradise,

not a hand's turn to do, and all your grub brought to you. But an earthly paradise may pall. Bennett got tired

of indoors and stillness, and was soon out again, and set up a stall, covered with canvas, at the end of one of

the bridges, where he could see all the passersby, and turn a penny by cakes and ale. The stall in time

Of the lads who, beside myself, composed the gig's crew, I know something of all but one. Our brighteyed,

quickwitted little cockswain, from the Boston public schools, Harry May, or Harry Bluff, as he was called,

with all his songs and gibes, went the road to ruin as fast as the usual means could carry him. Nat, the

"bucketmaker," grave and sober, left the seas, and, I believe, is a hackdriver in his native town, although I

have not had the luck to see him since the Alert hauled into her berth at the North End.

One cold winter evening, a pull at the bell, and a woman in distress wished to see me. Her poor son George,

George Somerby, "you remember him, sir; he was a boy in the Alert; he always talks of you, he is dying in

my poor house." I went with her, and in a small room, with the most scanty furniture, upon a mattress on the

floor, emaciated, ashy pale, with hollow voice and sunken eyes, lay the boy George, whom we took out a

small, bright boy of fourteen from a Boston public school, who fought himself into a position on board ship,

and whom we brought home a tall, athletic youth, that might have been the pride and support of his widowed

mother. There he lay, not over nineteen years of age, ruined by every vice a sailor's life absorbs. He took my

hand in his wasted feeble fingers, and talked a little with his hollow, deathsmitten voice. I was to leave town

the next day for a fortnight's absence, and whom had they to see to them? The mother named her landlord,

she knew no one else able to do much for them. It was the name of a physician of wealth and high social

position, well known in the city as the owner of many small tenements, and of whom hard things had been

said as to his strictness in collecting what he thought his dues. Be that as it may, my memory associates him

only with ready and active beneficence. His name has since been known the civilized world over, from his

having been the victim of one of the most painful tragedies in the records of the criminal law. I tried the

experiment of calling upon him; and, having drawn him away from the cheerful fire, sofa, and curtains of a

luxurious parlor, I told him the simple tale of woe, of one of his tenants, unknown to him even by name. He

did not hesitate; and I well remember how, in that biting, eager air, at a late hour, he drew his cloak about his

thin and bent form, and walked off with me across the Common, and to the South End, nearly two miles of an

exposed walk, to the scene of misery. He gave his full share, and more, of kindness and material aid; and, as

George's mother told me, on my return, had with medical aid and stores, and a clergyman, made the boy's end

The Alert made two more voyages to the coast of California, successful, and without a mishap, as usual, and

was sold by Messrs. Bryant and Sturgis, in 1843, to Mr. Thomas W. Williams, a merchant of New London,

Connecticut, who employed her in the whaletrade in the Pacific. She was as lucky and prosperous there as in

the merchant service. When I was at the Sandwich Islands in 1860, a man was introduced to me as having

commanded the Alert on two cruises, and his friends told me that he was as proud of it as if he had

I am permitted to publish the following letter from the owner of the Alert, giving her later record and her

Dear Sir, I am happy to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 14th inst., and to answer your inquiries

about the good ship Alert. I bought her of Messrs. Bryant and Sturgis in the year 1843, for my firm of

Williams and Haven, for a whaler, in which business she was successful until captured by the rebel steamer

Alabama, September, 1862, making a period of more than nineteen years, during which she took and

delivered at New London upwards of twentyfive thousand barrels of whale and sperm oil. She sailed last

from this port, August 30, 1862, for Hurd's Island (the newly discovered land south of Kerguelen's),

commanded by Edwin Church, and was captured and burned on the 9th of September following, only ten

days out, near or close to the Azores, with thirty barrels of sperm oil on board, and while her boats were off in

The Alert was a favorite ship with all owners, officers, and men who had anything to do with her; and I may

add almost all who heard her name asked if that was the ship the man went in who wrote the book called

"Two Years before the Mast"; and thus we feel, with you, no doubt, a sort of sympathy at her loss, and that,

My partner, Mr. Haven, sends me a note from the office this P. M., saying that he had just found the last

logbook, and would send up this evening a copy of the last entry on it; and if there should be anything of

importance I will enclose it to you, and if you have any further inquiries to put, I will, with great pleasure,

P. S. Since writing the above I have received the extract from the logbook, and enclose the same.

"Shortly after the ship came to the wind, with the main yard aback, we went alongside and were hoisted up,

when we found we were prisoners of war, and our ship a prize to the Confederate steamer Alabama. We were

then ordered to give up all nautical instruments and letters appertaining to any of us. Afterwards we were

offered the privilege, as they called it, of joining the steamer or signing a parole of honor not to serve in the

army or navy of the United States. Thank God no one accepted the former of these offers. We were all then

ordered to get our things ready in haste, to go on shore, the ship running off shore all the time. We were

allowed four boats to go on shore in, and when we had got what things we could take in them, were ordered

to get into the boats and pull for the shore, the nearest land being about fourteen miles off, which we

"So end all our bright prospects, blasted by a gang of miscreants, who certainly can have no regard for

humanity so long as they continue to foster their socalled peculiar institution, which is now destroying our

I love to think that our noble ship, with her long record of good service and uniform success, attractive and

beloved in her life, should have passed, at her death, into the lofty regions of international jurisprudence and

debate, forming a part of the body of the "Alabama Claims"; that, like a true ship, committed to her element

once for all at her launching, she perished at sea, and, without an extreme use of language, we may say, a