Two years before the mast. A personal narrative

JOHN HENRY NASH LIBRARY

SAN FRANCISCO

PRESENTED TO THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

ROBERT GORDON SPROUL, PRESIDENT

BV

MR.ANDMRS.MILTON S.RAV
CECILY, VIRGINIAANDROSALYN RAY

RAY OIL BURNER COMPANY

CHition

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

WITH A SUPPLEMENT BY THE AUTHOR AND

INTRODUCTION AND ADDITIONAL CHAPTER

BY HIS SON

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I

A** v

Two Tears
Before the Mast

A PERSONAL NARRATIVE
BY

RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR.

"Housed on the wild sea, with wild usages''''
VOLUME I

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
ftttoettfibe pre^rf Cambrib0e

MDCCCCXI

COPYRIGHT, I9II, BY RICHARD H. DANA
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THIS LARGE-PAPER EDITION CONSISTS OF
THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY NUMBERED
COPIES, OF WHICH THIS IS NUMBER

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

IN the preparation of this Large Paper Edition of that
most popular of American classics, R. H. Dana's " Two
Years Before the Mast," the publishers have thought
themselves fortunate in having at every step the active
and sympathetic cooperation of Mr. Richard H. Dana,
the author's son. Through his assistance, it has been
possible to obtain contemporaneous pictures of the places
described in the narrative, faithful paintings of the " Pil-
grim " and " Alert," and other illustrations and textual
features which will, it is believed, add greatly to the
reader's instruction and interest.

4 PARK STREET,
September, 1911

ILLUSTRATIONS

THE BRIG PILGRIM, Photogravure, Hand Colored Frontispiece
From a painting by Sidney M. Chase, in the possession of the
author's son, R. H. Dana.

THE BRIG PILGRIM. Photogravure . . . Frontispiece

THE BRIG PILGRIM. Vignette Photogravure . . Title-page
From a drawing by Sidney M. Chase, in the possession of the
author's daughter, Elizabeth E. Dana.

HARVARD COLLEGE IN 1836 ix

After a drawing by Eliza S. Quincy, in the "History of Harvard
University" by Josiah Quincy.

RICHARD HENRY DANA, JR xii

From a daguerreotype in 1842.

BOSTON HARBOR I

LECTURING THE CREW 4

THE CAPTAIN 12

SIGHTING A VESSEL 20

WHALES AND GRAMPUSES 30

FALLING OVERBOARD 42

FACSIMILE FROM SHORT DIARY WRITTEN AT SEA . . 42
From this, after the long diary was lost, the copy for the book
was prepared.

FACSIMILE OF THE UNOFFICIAL LOG OF THE ALERT . 42
Kept by the Mate Amazeen.

FACSIMILE OF MS. USED FOR THE BOOK .... 43
LANDING AT JUAN FERNANDEZ 49

WATERING PLACE, JUAN FERNANDEZ, IN 1824 ... 50
After a drawing by Maria Graham in "Journal of a residence in
Chile," by Maria Graham.

viii ILLUSTRATIONS

TARRING 58

LANDING IN THE COMBERS 66

SANTA BARBARA IN 1835 68

After a drawing by John Hall in "California" by Alexander
Forbes.

IN A SOUTHEASTER 76

IN A SQUALL 82

THE BAY OF MONTEREY IN 1835 86

, After a drawing by Captain Smyth, R. N., in "California" by
Alexander Forbes.

MEXICAN OFFICERS OF THE CUSTOMS 89

TRADING 93

LANDING GOODS "CALIFORNIA FASHION" . . . .106

SAN PEDRO IN 1852 116

After a drawing by S. V. Hunt in "U. S. Coast Survey Map"
showing cliffs down which hides were thrown. Dead Man's
Island on the right.

FLOGGING 121

A HOLIDAY 139

LANDING "OLD BESS" 149

BACK WATER FOR YOUR LIVES! 159

HIDE-CURING 177

KANAKAS FIGHTING "JOHNNY SHARK" 197

AN INDIAN FIGHT 1 209

SWIMMING AFTER THE VESSEL 217

SAN DIEGO FROM THE OLD FORT, IN 1848 .... 222
After a drawing by Lieut. Col. W. H. Emory in "Notes of
the Military Reconnoissance" by Lieut. Col. W. H. Emory.
The hide houses were near the entrance, four miles beyond
the fort.

HOLYSTONING THE DECK ........ 225

LOADING THE HIDES 249

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

I

INTRODUCTION

N 1869, my father, the late Richard Henry Dana,
Jr., prepared a new edition of his " Two Years
Before the Mast " with this preface :

" After twenty-eight years, the copyright of this book has re-
verted to me. In presenting the first ' author's edition ' to the
public, I have been encouraged to add an account of a visit to
the old scenes, made twenty-four years after, together with no-
tices of the subsequent story and fate of the vessels, and of some
of the persons with whom the reader is made acquainted."

The popularity of this book has been so great and
continued that it is now proposed to make an illustrated
edition with new material. I have prepared a concluding
chapter to continue my father's " Twenty-four Years
After." This will give all that we have since learned of
the fate of crew and vessels, and a brief account of Mr.
Dana himself and his important lifework, which appears
more fully in his published biography * and printed

1 Richard Henry Dana, Jr. A Biography. By Charles Francis
Adams. In two volumes. Boston and New York: Hough ton
Mifflin Company.

x INTRODUCTION

speeches and letters. 1 This concluding chapter will take
the place of the biographic sketch prefixed to the last au-
thorized edition. There is also added an appendix with
a list of the crews of the two vessels in which Mr. Dana
sailed, extracts from a log, and also plates of spars,
rigging and sails, with names, to aid the reader.

In the winter of 1879-80 I sailed round Cape Horn
in a full-rigged ship from New York to California. At
the latter place I visited the scenes of " Two Years Before
the Mast." At the old town of San Diego I met Jack
Stewart, my father's old shipmate, and as we were looking
at the dreary landscape and the forlorn adobe houses and
talking of California of the thirties, he burst out into an
encomium of the accuracy and fidelity to details of my
father's book. He said, " I have read it again and again.
It all comes back to me, everything just as it happened.
The seamanship is perfect." And then as if to empha-
size it all, with the exception that proves the rule, he
detailed one slight case where he thought my father was
at fault, a detail so slight that I now forget what it is.
In reading the Log kept by the discharged mate, Amer-
zeen, on the return trip in the Alert, I find that every inci-
dent there recorded, from running aground at the start at
San Diego Harbor, through the perilous icebergs round
the Horn, the St. Elmo's fire, the scurvy of the crew and
the small matters like the painting of the vessel, to
the final sail up Boston Harbor, confirms my father's
record. His former shipmate, the late B. G. Stimson,
a distinguished citizen of Detroit, said the account of the
flogging was far from an exaggeration, and Captain Fau-

1 Speeches in Stirring Times and Letters to a Son. Richard
Henry Dana, Jr., with introduction and notes by Richard Henry
Dana*, 3rd. In one volume. Boston and New York: Houghton
Mifflin Company.

INTRODUCTION xi

con of the Alert also during his lifetime frequently con-
firmed all that came under his observation. Such truth in
the author demands truth in illustration, and I have co-
operated with the publishers in securing contempora-
neous pictures of the places described, paintings of the
Pilgrim and Alert, and other illustrations in pen and
ink faithful to the text in every detail.

Accuracy, however, is not the secret of the success of
this book. Its flowing style, the use of short Anglo-Saxon
words, 1 its picturesqueness, the power of description, the
philosophic arrangement all contribute to it, but chiefly, I
believe, the enthusiasm of the young Dana, his sympathy
for his fellows and interest in new scenes and strange
peoples, and with it all, the real poetry that runs through
the whole. As to its poetry, I will quote from Mrs. Ban-
croft's " Letters from England," giving the opinion of
the poet Samuel Rogers:

" LONDON, June 20, 1847.

"The i Qth, Sat. we breakfasted with Lady Byron and my friend
Miss Murray, at Mr. Rogers'. . . . After breakfast he had been
repeating some lines of poetry which he thought fine, when he
suddenly exclaimed, 'But there is a bit of American prose, which,
I think, has more poetry in it, than almost any modern verse.'
He then repeated, I should think, more than a page from Dana's
' Two Years Before the Mast ' describing the falling overboard of
one of the crew, and the effect it produced, not only at the mo-
ment, but for some time afterward. I wondered at his memory,
which enabled him to recite so beautifully a long prose passage,
so much more difficult than verse. Several of those present, with
whom the book was a favorite, were so glad to hear from me
that it was as true as interesting, for they had regarded it as
partly a work of imagination."

1 Extracts from this book were chosen by the oculists of the United
States for use in testing eyes on account of its clearness in style and
freedom from long words.

xii INTRODUCTION

In writing the book Mr. Dana had a motive which
inspired him to put into it his very best. The night after
the flogging of his two fellow-sailors off San Pedro,
California, Mr. Dana, lying in his berth, " vowed that,
if God should ever give me the means, I would do some-
thing to redress the grievances and relieve the sufferings
of that class of beings with whom my lot has been so
long cast." This vow he carried out in no visionary
scheme of mutiny or foolish " paying back " to the captain,
but by awakening a " strong sympathy " for the sailors
"by a voice from the forecastle," in his "Two Years
Before the Mast."

While at sea he made entries almost daily in a
pocket notebook and at leisure hours wrote these out
fully. This full account of his voyage was lost with his
trunk containing sailors' clothes and all souvenirs and
presents for family and friends by the carelessness of a
relative who took charge of his things at the wharf when
he landed in Boston in 1836. Later, while in the Law
School, Mr. Dana re-wrote this account from the note-
book, which, fortunately, he had not entrusted to the lost
trunk. This account he read to his father and Washing-
ton Allston, artist and poet, his uncle by marriage. Both
advised its publication and the manuscript was sent to
William Cullen Bryant, who had then moved to New York.
Mr. Bryant, after looking it over, took it to a prominent
publisher of his city, as the publishers at that time most
able to give the book a large sale. They offered to buy the
book outright but refused the author any share in the
profits. The firm had submitted the manuscript to Alonzo
Potter, afterwards Bishop of Pennsylvania, then acting as
one of their readers. Bishop Potter, meeting Dana in
England years later, told him most emphatically that he
had advised the purchase at any price necessary to secure

RICHARD H. DANA, JR., IN 1842

INTRODUCTION xiii

it. The most, however, that the elder Dana and Bryant
were able to get from the publishers was $250, so that
modest sum with two dozen printed copies was all the
author received at that time for this most successful book.
Incidentally, however, the publication brought Mr. Dana
law practice, especially among sailors, and was an intro-
duction to him not only in this country but in England.
Editions were published in Great Britain and France.
Moxon, the London publisher, sent Mr. Dana not only
presentation copies but as a voluntary honorarium, there
being no international copyright law at that time, a sum
of money larger than the publisher gave him for the man-
uscript. He also received kindly words of appreciation
from Rogers, Brougham, Moore, Bulwer, Dickens and
others, and fifteen years later his reputation secured him
a large social and literary reception in England in 1856.
At last, in 1868, the original copyright expired and my
father brought out the " author's edition " thoroughly
revised and with many important additions to the text
including the " Twenty-four Years After " under a fair
arrangement for percentage of sales with Fields, Osgood
and Co., the predecessors of the present publishers.

In reading the story of this Harvard College under-
graduate's experience, one should bear in mind, to ap-
preciate the dangers of his rounding the Cape, that the
brig Pilgrim was only one hundred and eighty tons
burden and eighty-six feet and six inches long, shorter
on the water line than many of our summer-sailing sloop
and schooner yachts.

RICHARD HENRY DANA.

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 way early in the afternoon, I made my
appearance on board at twelve o'clock, in full sea-rig,
with my chest, containing an outfit for a two or three
years' voyage, which I had undertaken from a deter-
mination to cure, if possible, by an entire change of life,
and by a long absence from books, with a plenty of hard
work, plain food, and open air, a weakness of the eyes,
which had obliged me to give up my studies, and which
no medical aid seemed likely to remedy.

The change from the tight frock-coat, silk cap, and
kid gloves of an undergraduate at Harvard, to the loose
duck trousers, 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 thought myself to be look-
ing as salt as Neptune himself, I was, no doubt, known

1 [In the year 1834.]

2 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 trousers, tight round the hips, and thence
hanging long and loose round the feet, a superabun-
dance of checked shirt, a low-crowned, 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 slip-tie to the black silk neckerchief, with sundry other
minutiae, are signs, the want of which betrays the be-
ginner at once. Besides the points in my dress which were
out of the way, doubtless my complexion and hands were
quite enough to distinguish me from the regular salt
who, with a sunburnt cheek, wide step, and rolling gait,
swings his bronzed and toughened hands athwart-ships,
half opened, as though just ready to grasp a rope.

" 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 preparation for sea, reeving studding-sail gear, cross-
ing 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 regu-
larly fore and aft the whole length of the vessel, look-
ing out over the bows and tafTrail at each turn, and was
not a little surprised at the coolness of the old seaman
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 night, at anchor
in a safe harbor.

The next morning was Saturday, and, a breeze having

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 3

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 for a last look at the
city and well-known 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 re-
mained there through the day and a part of the night.
My watch began at eleven o'clock at night, and. I re-
ceived orders to call the captain if the wind came out
from the westward. About midnight the wind became
fair, and, having summoned 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 " A-a-11 ha-a-a-nds ! up anchor,
a-ho-oy!" 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 small part in these prep-
arations. 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, long-drawn sounds which denote that the crew
are heaving at the windlass began, and in a few minutes
we were under way. The noise of the water thrown
from the bows was 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 Sunday. 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 was 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 with a cigar in his
mouth, and dropping the words out between the puffs.

" 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
have got to do is to obey your orders, and do your duty
like men, then you will fare well enough; if you
don't, you will fare hard enough, I can tell you. If
we pull together, you will find me a clever fellow; if
we don't, you will find me a bloody rescal. That 's all
I've got to say. Go below, the larboard l watch ! "

1 Of late years, the British and American marine, naval, and mercan-
tile, have adopted the word " port " instead of larboard, in all cases
on board ship, to avoid mistake from similarity of sound. At this
time " port " was used only at the helm.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 5

I, being in the starboard or second mate's watch, had
the opportunity of keeping the first watch at sea. Stim-
son, 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 merchant's count-
ing-room in Boston, we found that we had some ac-
quaintances and topics in common. We talked these
matters over Boston, what our friends were probably
doing, our voyage, &c. until he went to take his turn
at the lookout, and left me to myself. I had now a good
opportunity 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 be-
coming insensible to the value of what I was losing.

But all my dreams were soon put to flight by an or-
der 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 I 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

6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

junk, and ship stores, which had not been stowed away.
Moreover, there had been no berths put up 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 on 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 symp-
toms of sea-sickness, and that listlessness and inactivity
which accompany it. Giving up all attempts to collect
my things together, I lay down on the sails, expecting
every moment to hear the cry, " All hands ahoy ! " which
the approaching storm would 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,
trampling of feet, creaking of the 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 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 experi-
ence 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 com-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 7

pletely through. The topsail halyards had been let go,
and the great sails were filling out and backing against
the masts with a noise like thunder; the wind was
whistling through the rigging; loose ropes were fly-
ing about; loud and, to me, unintelligible orders con-
stantly given, and rapidly executed; and the sailors
" singing out " at the ropes in their hoarse and peculiar
strains.

In addition to all this, I had not got my " sea legs on,"
was dreadfully sea-sick, with hardly strength enough to
hold on to anything, and it was " pitch dark." This
was my condition when I was ordered aloft, for the first
time, to reef topsails.

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 remem-
ber having been sick several times before I left the top-
sail yard, making wild vomits into the black night, to
leeward. 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 bilge water 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' voy-
age. 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,

8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and always being relieved immediately. It was an effectual
emetic.

This state of things continued for two days.

Wednesday, August 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 lacks the accompaniments of the
songs of birds, the awakening hum of humanity, and the
glancing of the first beams upon trees, hills, spires, and
house-tops, to give it life and spirit. There is no scenery.
But, although the actual rise of the sun at sea is not
so beautiful, yet nothing will compare for melancholy
and dreariness with the early breaking of day upon
" Old Ocean's gray and melancholy waste."

There is something in the first gray 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,
and gives one a feeling of loneliness, of dread, and of
melancholy foreboding, which nothing else in nature can.
This gradually passes away as the light grows brighter,
and when the sun comes up, the ordinary monotonous
sea day begins.

From such reflections as these, I was aroused by the
order from the officer, " Forward there ! rig the head-
pump ! " I found that no time was allowed for day-
dreaming, but that we must " turn to " at the first light.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 9

Having called up the " idlers," namely, carpenter, cook,
and steward, and rigged the pump, we began 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 decks, and coiled up
the rigging, I sat on the spars, waiting for seven bells,
which was the signal for breakfast. The officer, seeing
my lazy posture, ordered me to slush the mainmast,
from the royal-mast-head down. The vessel was then
rolling a little, and I had taken no food 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 backwardness, I should be ruined at
once. So I took my bucket of grease and climbed up to
the royal-mast-head. 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 had finished my job and got upon the comparative
terra firtna 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 simple-hearted African. " Now," says he,
"my lad, you are well cleaned out; you haven't got a
drop of your 'long-shore swash aboard of you. You
must begin on a new tack, pitch all your sweetmeats
overboard, and turn to upon good hearty salt beef and
ship bread, and I '11 promise you, you '11 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 set their hearts on the

io TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

little niceties which they have laid in, in case of sea-
sickness.

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. Having a watch below until noon, so
that I had some time to myself, I got a huge piece of
strong, cold salt beef from the cook, and 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
no sight exceeds it in interest, and few in 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 land."

Thursday, August 2ist. 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 be-
ginning to enter upon the regular duties of a sea life.
About six bells, that is, three o'clock p. M., we saw a
sail on our larboard bow. I was very desirous, like
every new sailor, to speak her. She came down to us,
backed her main-top-sail, and the two vessels stood
"head on," bowing and curveting at each other like a
couple of war-horses reined in by their riders. It was
the first vessel that I had seen near, and I was sur-
prised to find how much she rolled and pitched in so
quiet a sea. She plunged her head into the sea, and

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 11

then, her stern settling gradually down, her huge bows
rose up, showing the bright copper, and her stem 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 re-
ceiving 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.

There is a settled routine for hailing ships at sea:
"Ship a-hoy!" Answer, "Hulloa!" " What ship is
that, pray ? " " The ship Carolina, from Havre, bound
to New York. Where are you from ? " " The brig
Pilgrim, from Boston, bound to the coast of California.
five days out." Unless there is leisure, or something
special to say, this form is not much varied from.

This day ended pleasantly; we had got into regular
and comfortable weather, and into that routine of sea
life which is only broken by a storm, a sail, or the sight
of land.

Awe have now had a long " spell " of fine
weather, without any incident to break the
monotony of our lives, I may have no better
place for a description of the duties, regulations, and
customs of an American merchantman, of which ours
was a fair specimen.

The captain, in the first place, is lord paramount. He
stands no watch, comes and goes when he pleases, is
accountable to no one, and must be obeyed in every-
thing, 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. 1 Where there are no passengers and no su-
percargo, as in our vessel, he has no companion but his
own dignity, and few pleasures, unless he differs from
most of his kind, beyond the consciousness of possess-
ing supreme power, and, occasionally, the exercise of it.

The prime minister, the official organ, and the active
and superintending officer is the chief mate. He is
first lieutenant, boatswain, sailing-master, and quarter-
master. The captain tells him what he wishes to have

1 There is a doubt of his power to do the latter.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 13

done, and leaves to him the care of overseeing, of allot-
ting the work, and also the responsibility of its being
well done. The mate (as he is always called, par excel-
lence) also keeps the log-book, for which he is responsi-
ble to the owners and insurers, and has the charge of
the stowage, safe-keeping, and delivery of the cargo.
He is also, ex officio, the wit of the crew; for the cap-
tain 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 coarse joke
or a little practical wit, every one feels bound to laugh.

The second mate is proverbially a dog's berth. He
is neither officer nor man. 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, and the men do not
much respect him as an officer. The crew call him the
" sailor's waiter," as he has to furnish them with spun-
yarn, marline, and all other stuffs that they need in
their work, and has charge of the boatswain's locker,
which includes serving-boards, marline-spikes, &c., &c.
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 table, that is, makes a meal out of
what the captain and chief mate leave.

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

14 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

crew do not consider him as one of their number, so he
is left to the mercy of the captain.

The cook, whose title is " Doctor," 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 in the night-watch. These two worthies, to-
gether with the carpenter (and sailmaker, if there be one),
stand no watch, but, being employed all day, are allowed
to " sleep in " at night, unless all hands are called.

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 star-
board. They divide the time between them, being on
and off duty, or, as it is called, on deck and below, every
other four hours. The three night-watches are called
the first, the middle, and the morning watch. If, for
instance, the chief mate with the larboard watch have
the first night-watch from eight to twelve, at that hour
the starboard watch and the second mate take 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. As the larboard watch
will have been on deck eight hours out of the twelve,
while the starboard watch will have been up only four
hours, the former have what is called a " forenoon watch
below," that is, from eight A. M. till twelve M. In a
man-of-war, and in some merchantmen, this alternation
of watches is kept up throughout the twenty-four hours,
which is called having " watch and watch " ; but our
ship, like most merchantmen, had " all hands " from
twelve o'clock till dark, except in very bad weather,
when we were allowed " watch and watch."

An explanation of the " dog-watches " may, perhaps,
be necessary to one who has never been at sea. Their

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 15

purpose is to shift the watches each night, so that the
same watch shall not be on deck at the same hours
throughout a voyage. In order to effect this, the watch
from four to eight p. M. is divided into two half-watches,
one from four to six, and the other from six to eight.
By this means they divide the twenty-four 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 quarter-deck, the chief mate on the lee side, and
the second mate about the weather gangway. The stew-
ard 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, singing, or telling long yarns. At eight o'clock
eight bells are struck, the log is hove, the watch set, the
wheel relieved, the galley shut up, and the watch off
duty goes below.

The morning begins with the watch on deck's "turn-
ing to" 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 natural
mistake, and, being frequently made, is one which every

16 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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. At all other times you will
never see a man, on board a well-ordered 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 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, al-
ways out of repair. When first leaving port, studding-
sail 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 num-
berless 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, round-
ings, battens, and service of all kinds, rope-yarns,
spun-yarn, marline, and seizing-stuffs. Taking off, put-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 17

ting on, and mending the chafing gear alone, upon a
vessel, would find constant employment for a man or
two men, during working hours, for a whole voyage.

The next point to be considered is, that all the " small
stuffs " which are used on board a ship such as spun-
yarn, marline, seizing-stuff, &c., &c. are made on
board. The owners of a vessel buy up incredible quan-
tities of "old junk," which the sailors unlay, and, after
drawing out the yarns, knot them together, and roll them
up in balls. These " rope-yarns " are constantly used
for various purposes, but the greater part is manufac-
tured into spun-yarn. For this purpose, every vessel is
furnished with a " spun-yarn 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 yarns, and making
spun-yarn.

Another method of employing the crew is " setting-
up " rigging. Whenever any of the standing rigging
becomes slack (which is continually happening), the
seizings and coverings must be taken off, tackles got up,
and, after the rigging is bowsed well taut, the seizings
and coverings be replaced, 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 requiring a change in another. You cannot
stay a mast aft by the back stays, without slacking up
the head stays, &c., &c. If we add to this all the tar-
ring, greasing, oiling, varnishing, painting, scraping, and
scrubbing which is required in the course of a long voy-
age, 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 climb-

i8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ing 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,

"Wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch
The lion and the belly-pinched wolf
Keep their furs dry,"

the merchants and captains think that the sailors 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 pour-
ing 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 of-
ficers have been so driven to find work for the crew in
a ship ready for sea, that they have set them to pound-
ing the anchors (often done) and scraping the chain
cables. The " Philadelphia Catechism " is

" Six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able,
And on the seventh, holystone the decks and scrape the cable."

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 pea-jackets, and our hands
so numb that we could hardly hold our marline-spikes.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 19

I have here gone out of my narrative course in order
that any who read this may, at the start, 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 ship-carpenter is kept constantly employed, during
good weather, on board vessels which are in what is
called perfect sea order.

ATER speaking the Carolina, on the 2ist of
August, nothing occurred to break the monotony
of our life until

Friday, September $th, when we saw a sail on our
weather (starboard) beam. She proved to be a brig un-
der English colors, and, passing under our stern, reported
herself as forty-nine days from Buenos Ayres, bound to
Liverpool. Before she had passed us, " Sail ho ! " was
cried again, and we made another sail, broad on our
weather bow, and steering athwart our hawse. She
passed out of hail, but we made her out to be an her-
maphrodite brig, with Brazilian colors in her main rig-
ging. By her course, she must have been bound from
Brazil to the south of Europe, probably Portugal.

Sunday, September ?th. Fell in with the northeast
trade-winds. 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 has 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,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 21

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 rainbow.

This day was spent like all pleasant Sundays 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 trousers, 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 privi-
leges are allowed them. When Monday comes, they put
on their tarry trousers again, and prepare for six days of
labor.

To enhance the value of Sunday 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 up with his
crew, for hard usage, by allowing them duff twice a week
on the passage home.

On board some vessels Sunday is made a day of in-
struction 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 enjoy-
ment, was all that we could expect.

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

September 22d, when, upon coming on deck at seven

22 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

bells in the morning, we found the other watch aloft
throwing water upon the sails; and, looking astern, we
saw a small clipper-built 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 extra studding-sail yards,
and continued wetting down the sails by buckets of water
whipped up to the mast-head, until about nine o'clock,
when there came on a drizzling rain. The vessel con-
tinued 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 an-
other advantage. The wind was light, and we spread
more canvas than she did, having royals and sky-sails
fore and aft, and ten studding-sails ; 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 fire-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 exceed-
ingly 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 removed the light in the binnacle, and
steered by the stars, and kept perfect silence through the
night. At daybreak there was no sign of anything in the
horizon, and we kept the vessel off to her course.

Wednesday, October ist. Crossed the equator in Ion.
24 24' W. I now, for the first time, felt at liberty,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 23

according to the old usage, to call myself a son of Nep-
tune, 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, un-
less there are passengers on board, in which case there
is always a good deal of sport.

It had been obvious to all hands for some time that
the second mate, whose name was Foster, 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. Foster (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 sailors of."
He used to hold long yarns with the crew, and talk
against 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 cap-
tain, he was told that he would be turned off duty if he
did it again. To prevent his sleeping on deck, the hen-
coops were ordered to be knocked up, for the captain

24 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

never sat down on deck himself, and never permitted an
officer to do so.

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. Foster, 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 com-
panion and went fast asleep. Soon afterwards the cap-
tain came softly on deck, and stood by me for some
time looking at the compass. The officer at length be-
came aware of the captain's presence, but, pretending
not to know it, began humming and whistling to him-
self, 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 pre-
tended 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
blow-up, in true nautical style : " You 're a lazy, good-
for-nothing 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 state-room, and the
captain stood the rest of the watch himself.

At seven bells in the morning, all hands were called
aft, and told that Foster was no longer an officer on
board, and that we might choose one of our own num-
ber for second mate. It is not uncommon for the cap-
tain to make this offer, and it is good policy, for the
crew think themselves the choosers, and are flattered

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 25

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 on the banks of the Kenne-
bec, who had been several Canton voyages, and pro-
claimed him in the following mariner : " 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." Foster went forward into the fore-
castle as a common sailor, and lost the handle to his
name, while young fore-mast Jim became Mr. Hall, and
took up his quarters in the land of knives and forks and
tea-cups.

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 stretch-
ing along on our weather beam. We immediately took
in studding-sails 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 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 land-fall settled the matter, and the former instru-
ment was condemned, and, becoming still worse, was
never afterwards used.

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

26 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

church, and the town of Olinda. We ran along by the
mouth of the harbor, and saw a full-rigged brig going
in. At two P. M. we again stood out to sea, 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, the men sitting with
their feet in 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 be-
come 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 from
Olinda, we kept off on our way to Cape Horn.

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 dur-
ing my watch on deck. I was walking in the lee gang-
way, 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 top-gallant-sails, 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 27

over that portion 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 on
for some time directly before it, tearing through the
water with everything flying. Having called all hands,
we close-reefed the topsails and trysail, furled the courses
and jib, set the fore-topmast 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 I had met, 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 reef-
point as well as anybody. I obeyed the order to lay *
aloft with the rest, and found the reefing a very excit-
ing scene; for one watch reefed the fore-topsail, 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 reef-tackle,
and have the weather earing passed before there was a
man upon the yard. In this way we were almost always

1 This word "lay," which is in such general use on board ship, be-
ing used in giving orders instead of "go," as "Lay forward!" "Lay
aft!" "Lay aloft!" &c., I do not Understand to be the neuter verb lie,
mispronounced, but to be the active verb lay, with the objective case
understood; as, "Lay yourselves forward!" "Lay yourselves aft!" &c.
At all events, lay is an active verb at sea, and means go.

28 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

able to raise the cry of " Haul out to leeward " before
them ; and, having knotted our points, would slide down
the shrouds and back-stays, 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 elbow-room. In reefing, the yard-
arms (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.

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 pre-
pared 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, and
before midnight had top-gallant sails upon her.

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

Tuesday, November 4th. At daybreak, saw land upon

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 29

our larboard quarter. There were two islands, of differ-
ent size, but of the same shape; rather high, beginning
low at the water's edge, and running with a curved as-
cent 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 mast-head, 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 north-
ward, topmast and top-gallant studding-sails set, and
every prospect of a speedy and pleasant passage round.

WEDNESDAY, November 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 con-
sist of three small nebulae in the southern part of the
heavens, two bright, like the milky-way, and one dark.
They are first seen, just above the horizon, soon after
crossing the southern tropic. The Southern Cross begins
to be seen at 18 N., and, when off Cape Horn, is nearly
overhead. It is composed of four stars in that form, and
is one of the brightest constellations 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 studding-sails 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, hurry-
ing upon deck, we found a large black cloud rolling on
toward us from the southwest, and darkening 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 minutes a heavier sea was

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 31

raised than I had ever seen, 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 bow-
ports and hawse-holes and over the knight-heads, threat-
ening 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 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 grow-
ing worse and worse. At the same time sleet and hail
were driving with all fury against us. We clewed down,
and hauled out the reef-tackles again, and close-reefed
the fore-topsail, and furled the main, and hove her to,
on the starboard tack. Here was an end to our fine pros-
pects. 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 sky-sail masts and studding-sail booms.

Throughout the night it stormed violently, rain, hail,
snow, and sleet beating upon the vessel, the wind con-
tinuing 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 course.

Thursday, November 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 close-reefed topsails, balance-reefed try-

32 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

sail, and fore top-mast 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 Stim-
son nor I 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 take a mast out of her.

Friday, November fth. 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 here there is generally so high a sea running,
with periods of calm 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 ves-
sel when pitching in a chopping sea, yet it is a great help
in steadying a vessel when rolling in a long swell,
giving more slowness, ease, and regularity to the motion.

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 per-
fectly still, enclosed in a thick fog, and the sea as smooth

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 33

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 smooth-
ness 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 lazy, deep,
and long-drawn breathings which give such an impres-
sion of supineness and strength. Some of the watch were
asleep, and the others were quiet, so that there was noth-
ing 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
of its own heavy and long-drawn respirations.

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 clew up and haul down, reef and furl, until we had
got her down to close-reefed topsails, double-reefed try-
sail, and reefed fore spenser. Snow, hail, and sleet were
driving upon us most of the night, and the sea was
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, November 8th. This day began with calm
and thick fog, and ended with hail, snow, a violent wind,
and close-reefed topsails.

Sunday, November $th. To-day 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

34 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 Star-
bowlines 1 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 reef-tackles hauled out,
and were just mounting the fore-rigging when the storm
struck us. In an instant the sea, which had been com-
paratively 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 tremen-
dous head sea, which at every drive rushed in through
the bow-ports and over the bows, and buried all the for-
ward 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

1 It is the fashion to call the respective watches Starbowlines and
Larbowlines.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 35

must be done. John, a Swede (the best sailor on board),
who belonged on the forecastle, sprang out upon the bow-
sprit. Another one must go. It was a clear case of
holding back. I was near the mate, but sprang past sev-
eral, threw the downhaul over the windlass, and jumped
between the knight-heads out upon the bowsprit. The
crew stood abaft the windlass and hauled the jib down,
while John and I got out upon the weather side of the
jib-boom, our feet on the foot-ropes, holding on by the
spar, the great jib flying off to leeward and slatting so
as almost to throw us off 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, the boom lifting us up dripping
from the water, we were raised high into the air and then
plunged below again. John 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. John admitted that it had been a post of danger,
which good sailors seldom do when the thing is over.
The weather continued nearly the same through the night.
Monday, November loth. During a part of this day
we were hove to, but the rest of the time were driving
on, under close-reefed sails, with a heavy sea, a strong
gale, and frequent squalls of hail and snow.

36 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Tuesday, November nth. The same.

Wednesday. The same.

Thursday. The same.

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. There
is no fire in the forecastle, and we cannot dry clothes at
the galley. It was in vain to think of reading or work-
ing 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 our wet
clothes, hang them up to chafe against the bulkheads,
and turn in and sleep as soundly as we could, until our
watch was called again. A sailor can sleep anywhere,
no sound of wind, water, canvas, rope, 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 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 37

length on the decks. I remember an English lad who
was the life of the crew whom we afterwards lost over-
board 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
long-boat, 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 duck-
ing 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 others 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 hands.

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

38 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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. What-
ever 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 in-
stant death, it would not do to look at all disturbed, or
to treat it as a serious matter.

Friday, November iqth. We were now well to the
westward of the Cape, and were changing our course to
northward as much as we dared, since the strong south-
west 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 single-reefed topsails. We at
that time had shaken the reefs out of our topsails, as the
wind was lighter, and set the main top-gallant sail. As
soon as our captain saw what sail she was under, he set
the fore top-gallant 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 top-
sails, but could do no more, for he had sent down his top-
gallant masts off the Cape. He ran down for us, and
answered our hail as the whale-ship New England, of
Poughkeepsie, one hundred and twenty days from New
York. Our captain gave our name, and added, ninety-two
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 dur-
ing the night. Toward morning, the wind having be-
come 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 up his main top-gallant mast

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 39

and set the sail, and made signal for us to heave to.
About half past seven their whale-boat 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 green hand, 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 cow-
hide boots, and brown coat and trousers, 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
out of the bush, and, as the sailor's phrase is, " had n't
got the hayseed out of their hair." Captain Terry con-
vinced 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 her captain, Lord James Towns-
hend, 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 countrified-looking 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
his father's pigs.

A curious case of dignity occurred here. It seems that
in a whale-ship there is an intermediate class, called boat-
steerers. One of them came in Captain Terry's boat, but

40 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

we thought he was cockswain of the boat, and a cock-
swain is only a sailor. In the whaler, the boat-steerers
are between the officers and crew, a sort of petty officers,;
keep by themselves in the waist, sleep amidships, and eat
by themselves, either at a separate table, or at the cabin'
table, after the captain and mates are done. Of all this
hierarchy we were entirely ignorant, so the poor boat-
steerer was left to himself. The second mate would not
notice him, and seemed surprised at his keeping amidships,
but his pride of office would not allow him to go forward.
With dinner-time came the experimentum crucis. What
would he do? The second mate went to the second table
without asking him. There was nothing for him but
famine or humiliation. We asked him into the forecastle,
but he faintly declined. The whale-boat's crew explained
it to us, and we asked him again. Hunger got the vic-
tory over pride of rank, and his boat-steering majesty had
to take his grub out of our kid, and eat with his jack-
knife. Yet the man was ill at ease all the time, was spar-
ing of his conversation, and kept up the notion of a con-
descension under stress of circumstances. One would say
that, instead of a tendency to equality in human beings,
the tendency is to make the most of inequalities, natural
or artificial.

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, and
Coleridge's poem, 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 41

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 sur-
face 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 one of the big billows,
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 wings and took his flight.

CHAPTER
VI

MONDAY, November ipth. 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
studding-sails set ; for, the boy who was at the helm leav-
ing it to throw something overboard, 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 quarter-boat, and I got on deck
just in time to fling 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, the young English sailor, whom I have
before spoken of as the life of the crew. He was prized
by the officers as an active and willing seaman, and by
the men as a lively, hearty fellow, and a good shipmate.
He was going aloft to fit a strap round the main topmast-
head, for ringtail halyards, and had the strap and block,
a coil of halyards, and a marline-spike about his neck.
He fell from the starboard futtock shrouds, and, not

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TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 43

knowing how to swim, and being heavily dressed, with
all those things round his neck, he probably sank imme-
diately. We pulled astern, in the direction in which he
fell, and though we knew that there was no hope of sav-
ing him, yet no one wished to speak of returning, and
we rowed about for nearly an hour, without an idea of
doing anything, but unwilling to acknowledge to ourselves
that we must give him up. At length we turned the
boat's head and made towards the brig.

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.

44 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, in their way; though their no-
tions and opinions are unfixed and at loose ends. They
say, " 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
be passed to their credit in the books of the Great Captain
hereafter, "To work hard, live hard, die hard, and go
to hell after all, would be hard indeed! " Our cook, a
simple-hearted 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 the Lord's Days badly, and told them that
they might go as suddenly as George had, and be as little
prepared. *

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 sub-
lime with the commonplace, and the solemn with the
ludicrous.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 45

Not long after we had returned on board with our sad
report, an auction was held of the poor man's effects.
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 filled away
and kept the brig off to her course.

The laws regulating navigation make the captain an-
swerable for the effects of a sailor who dies during the
voyage, and it is either a law or a custom, established
for convenience, that the captain should soon 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 voy-
age 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 trousers in which we had seen
him dressed so lately were exposed and bid off while the
life was hardly out of his body, and his chest was taken
aft and used as a store-chest, so that there was nothing
left which could be called his. Sailors have an unwilling-
ness to wear a dead man's clothes during the same voy-
age, 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

46 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 mentioned the subject
during the voyage.

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 hav-
ing 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 of unusual be-
havior of men before death. From this he went on to
other superstitions, the Flying Dutchman, &c., 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 hear-
ing, and, being satisfied on that point, asked me in a low
tone,

" I say ! you know what countryman 'e carpenter
be?"

"Yes," said I; "he's a German."

"What kind of a German?" said the cook.

" He belongs to Bremen," said I.

" Are you sure o' dat ? " said he.

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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 47

mighty 'fraid he was a Fin. I tell you what, I been plaguy
civil to that man all the voyage."

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 to the Sandwich Islands
in a vessel in which the sail-maker was a Fin, and could
do anything he was of a mind to. This sail-maker 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 Fin-
land 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 studding-sails out, and find she was
from Finland.

" Oh, no ! " said he ; "I 've seen too much o' dem men
to want to see 'em 'board a ship. If dey can't have dare
own way, they '11 play the d 1 with you."

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, with whom he had
had same hard words a short time before, was a Fin,

48 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 which
brought the wind round again, and they let him up.
" Dar," said the cook, " what you tink o' dat? "
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 days, Fin or no Fin.

" O," says he, " go 'way ! You tink, 'cause you been
to college, you know better dan anybody. You know
better dan dem as 'as seen it wid der own eyes. You
wait till you 've been to sea as long as I have, and den
you '11 know."

WE continued sailing along with a fair wind
and fine weather until
Tuesday, November 2$th, when at day-
light 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 man-
of-war 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 different
points 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 ship were continu-

SO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ally bracing the yards about for every puff that struck
us, until about twelve o'clock, when we came to in forty
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 three watches, and
thus stood out the remainder of the night.

I was called on deck to stand my watch at about three
in the morning, and I shall never forget the peculiar sen-
sation 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 moun-
tains seemed almost to hang over us, and apparently from
the very heart of them there came out, at regular inter-
vals, 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 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 romantic, I may almost say classic, island.

When all hands were called it was nearly sunrise, and
between that time and breakfast, although quite busy
on board in getting up water-casks, &c., I had a good
view of the objects about me. The harbor was nearly
land-locked, and at the head of it was a landing, pro-
tected 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
a hundred in number, the best of them built of mud or
unburnt clay, and whitewashed, but the greater part Rob-
inson Crusoe like, only of posts and branches of trees.
The governor's house, as it is called, was the most con-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 51

spicuous, 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, brown-looking building, sur-
rounded by something like a palisade, from which an
old and dingy-looking 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, exceed-
ingly fertile valleys, with mule-tracks leading to different
parts of the island.

I cannot here forget how Stimson and I got the laugh
of the crew upon us by our eagerness to get on shore.
The captain having ordered the quarter-boat to be low-
ered, we both, thinking it was going ashore, 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 tow-line for
half an hour, and coming on board again to be laughed
at by the crew, who had seen our manoeuvre.

After breakfast, the second mate was ordered ashore
with five hands to fill the water-casks, and, to my joy, I
was among the number. We pulled ashore with empty
casks ; and here again fortune favored me, for the water
was too thick and muddy to be put into the casks, and

52 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, strawber-
ries 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 in-
terest 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, &c. Knives were also 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 penal colony 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 mule-
tracks 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 53

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 paseo at the landing-place, looking at us
and our vessel, and too lazy to speak fast; while the
others were 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 broad-
brimmed straw hats upon their heads. Upon what pre-
cise 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 the island,
and he was out of my walk, for I was a sailor ashore as
well as on board.

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 gray 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 whale-
boat 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, was soon out of sight.

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^

54 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 ob-
tained, and learned that it grew on the hills in the centre
of the island. I regretted that I did not bring away
other specimens; but what I had the piece of sandal-
wood, and a small flower which I plucked and brought
on board in the crown of my tarpaulin, and carefully
pressed between the leaves of a volume of Cowper's Let-
ters were lost, with my chest and its contents, by an-
other's negligence, on our arrival home.

About an hour before sundown, having stowed our
water-casks, we began getting under way, 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 tripped 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 bade 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 together peculiar. It was partly, no doubt, from
its having been the first land that I had seen since leav-
ing home, and still more from the associations which
every one has connected with it in his childhood from
reading Robinson Crusoe. To this I may add the height
and romantic outline of its mountains, the beauty and
freshness of its verdure and the extreme fertility of its

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 55

soil, and its solitary position in the midst of the wide
expanse of the South Pacific, as all concurring to give it
its charm.

When thoughts of this place have occurred to me at
different times, I have endeavored to recall more par-
ticulars with regard to it. It is situated in about 33
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 bights of land on each side of the main
bay (sometimes dignified by the name of bays) being
little more than landing-places for boats. The best an-
chorage is at the western side of the harbor, 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
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 short time 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, bream, silver-fish, and
other kinds, whose names they did not know, or which I
have forgotten.

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

56 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

.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 landing-
-place for boats and goods, after which the Chilian gov-
ernment intended to lay port charges.

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 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 wind-
ing 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 of mortals; and indeed, as far as my obser-
vation goes, there are no people to whom the newly in-
vented 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 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 57

in running about after them. One of these gusts oc-
curred while we were ashore, and afforded us no little
amusement in 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. How-
ever, they were not gone long, but soon returned to their
habitual occupation of doing nothing.

It is perhaps needless to say that we saw nothing of
the interior; but all who have seen it give favorable
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, and he was very desirous of having it stocked.

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 eyes would hardly have known it for
land. At the close of the watch a few trade-wind clouds
which had arisen, though we were hardly yet in their
latitude, shut it out from our view, and the next day,

Thursday, November 2?th, 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.

CHAPTER
VIII

Awe 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 south-
east 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 steer-
age into a trade-room; for our cargo, we now learned,
was not to be landed, but to be sold by retail on board;
and this trade-room 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 work-
ing upon the rigging. Everything was set up taut, the
lower rigging rattled down, or rather rattled up (accord-
ing to the modern fashion), an abundance of spun-yarn
and seizing-stuff made, and finally the whole standing-
rigging, fore and aft, was tarred down. It was my first
essay at the latter business, and I had enough of it; for
nearly all of it came upon my friend Stimson and my-
self. The men were needed at the other work, and Henry
Mellus, the other young man who came out with us be-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 59

fore the mast, 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 regu-
lar he was kept during most of the daytime at the helm,
so that we had quite as much as we wished of it. 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 royal-mast-head, 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, as
I have said, came upon two of us, and we were new at
the business, it took several days. In this operation they
always begin at the mast-head, and work down, tarring
the shrouds, backstays, standing parts of the lifts, the
ties, runners, &c., and go out to the yard-arms, and come
in, tarring, as they come, the lifts and foot-ropes. Tar-
ring the stays is more difficult, and is done by an opera-
tion which the sailors call " riding down." A long piece
of rope top-gallant-studding-sail halyards, or something
of the kind is taken up to the mast-head from which
the stay leads, and rove through a block for a girt-line,
or, as the sailors usually call it, a gant-line ; with the end
of this, a bowline is taken round the stay, into which the
man gets with his bucket of tar and 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

60 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

holidays (places not tarred), for, in case he should, he
would have to go over the whole again, or of dropping
no tar upon deck, for then there would be a soft word
in his ear from the mate. In this manner I tarred down
all the head-stays, but found the rigging about the jib-
booms, martingale, and spritsail yard, upon which I was
afterwards put, the hardest. Here you have to " hang
on with your eyelids " and tar with your hands.

This dirty work could not last forever; and on Satur-
day 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 trousers and laid them away for the next occasion,
and put on our clean duck clothes, and had a good com-
fortable 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
began painting, and getting the vessel ready for port.
This work, too, is done by the crew, and every sailor
who has been long voyages is a little of a painter, in ad-
dition 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
paint-pots 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 after-
noon, our vessel going quietly along at the rate of four
or five knots, and a pilot-fish, the sure precursor of a
shark, swimming alongside of us. The captain was lean-
ing over the rail watching him, and we went quietly on
with our work. In the midst of our painting, on

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 61

Friday, December ipth, we crossed the equator for the
second time. I had the sense of incongruity 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.

Thursday, December 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
were not to be cheated out of our rights in that way.

Such are the trifles which produce quarrels on ship-
board. In fact, we had been too long from port. We
were getting tired of one another, and were in an irrita-
ble 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
many 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, ap-
parent abuses, brought us into a condition in which
everything seemed to go wrong. Every encroachment
upon the time allowed for rest appeared unnecessary.
Every shifting of the studding-sails was only to " haze " l
the crew.

1 Haze is a word of frequent use on board ship. It is very ex-
pressive to a sailor, and means to punish by hard work. Let an
officer once say, "I '11 haze you," and your fate is fixed. You will be
" worked up," if you are not a better man than he is.

62 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

In the midst of this state of things, my messmate
Stimson and I 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 offi-
cers, cannot dance, sing, play, smoke, make a noise, or
growl, or take any other sailor's pleasure; and you live
with the steward, who is usually a go-between; 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
wood-sawyer'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, &c., from
their long yarns and equally long disputes. No man
can be a sailor, or know what sailors are, unless he has
lived in the forecastle with them, turned in and out
with them, and eaten from the common kid. 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 fore-
castle 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 the art myself, which stood me
in so good stead afterwards.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 63

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 John, the
Swede, the oldest and best sailor of the crew, for spokes-
man. The recollection of the scene that followed always
brings up a smile, especially the quarter-deck dignity
and elocution of the captain. He was walking the
weather side of the quarter-deck, 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

d 1 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 it was that which made
us find fault. This provoked us, and we began to give
word for word. This would never answer. He clinched
his fist, stamped and swore, and ordered us all forward,
saying, with oaths enough interspersed to send the words
home, " Away with you ! go forward every one of you !
I '11 haze you ! I '11 work you up ! You don't have
enough to do ! If you a' n't careful I '11 make a hell of
heaven ! . . . . You 've mistaken your man ! I 'm Frank
Thompson, all the way from ' down east/ I 've been
through the mill, ground and bolted, and come out a
regular-built down-east johnny-cake, when it 's hot,
d d good, but when it 's cold, d d sour and in-
digestible ; and you '11 find me so ! " The latter part
of this harangue made a strong impression, and the
" down-east johnny-cake " became a bywojd for the rest
of the voyage, and on the coast of California, after our
arrival. One of his nicknames in all the ports was " The

64 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Down-east Johnny-cake." 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 would n'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 cap-
tain and crew remained together.

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 hazi-
ness, like a thin gauze, drawn over the sun, which, with-
out 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 west-
ward to have the full advantage of the northeast trades,
and when we had reached the latitude of Point Concep-
tion, 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 heave-to
after dark, for fear of making the land at night, on a
coast where there are no lighthouses and but indifferent
charts, and at daybreak on the morning of

Tuesday, January i^th, 1835, we made the land at
Point Conception, lat. 34 32' N., Ion. 120 06' W. The
port of Santa Barbara, to which we were bound, lying

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 65

about fifty miles to the southward of this point, we con-
tinued sailing down the coast during the day and fol-
lowing night, and on the next morning,

January ifth, we came to anchor in the spacious bay
of Santa Barbara, after a voyage of one hundred and
fifty days from Boston.

CALIFORNIA extends along nearly the whole
of the western coast of Mexico, between the
Gulf of California in the south and the Bay
of San Francisco on the north, or between the 22d
and 38th degrees of north latitude. It is subdivided
into two provinces, Lower or Old California, lying be-
tween 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 39', and the northernmost, San Fran-
cisco, situated in the large bay discovered by Sir Francis
Drake, in lat. 37 58', and now known as the Bay of
San Francisco, so named, I suppose, by Franciscan mis-
sionaries. Upper California has the seat of its govern-
ment at Monterey, where is also the custom-house, the
only one on the coast, and at which every vessel intend-
ing to trade on the coast must enter its cargo before it
can begin its traffic. We were to trade upon this coast
exclusively, and therefore expected to go first to Mon-
terey, 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 trans-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 67

acts 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 Santa Buenaventura on the south), which here
.bends in like a crescent, and by three large islands op-
posite to it and at the distance of some twenty miles.
These points are 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 south-
easter, 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 November and April.

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 slip-ropes 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 north, and San
Diego in the south.

As it was January when we arrived, and the middle of
the southeaster season, we came to anchor at the dis-
tance of three miles from the shore, in eleven fathoms
water, and bent a slip-rope and buoys to our cables, cast
off the yard-arm gaskets from the sails, and stopped
them all with rope-yarns. After we had done this, the

68 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

boat went ashore with the captain, and returned with
orders to the mate to send a boat ashore for him at sun-
down. 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
seem a long time to be in sight and out of reach of
land. We spent the day on board in the usual duties;
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 pass a year or two of our lives in.

It was a beautiful day, and so warm that we wore
straw hats, duck trousers, and all the summer gear.
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 south-
easterly weather, thick clothes were not uncomfortable.

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 three hundred tons, with raking masts, and very
square yards, and English colors at her peak. We after-
wards 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 com-
manded her, and was engaged in the trade between
Callao and other parts of South America and Califor-
nia. She was a fast sailer, as we frequently afterwards
saw, and had a crew of Sandwich-Islanders on board.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 69

Beside this vessel, there was no object to break the sur-
face 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 has a mission upon it, called Santa 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 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 centre of which
is a high tower, with a belfry of five bells. 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 one-story houses
built of sun-baked clay, or adobe, some of them white-
washed, with red tiles on the roofs. I should judge that
there were about a 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 finely situated, with a bay in front, and an amphi-
theatre of hills behind. The only thing which dimin-
ishes 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 ago, and they
had not yet grown 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

70 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

heated that the people were obliged to leave the town
and take up their quarters for several days upon the
beach.

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, wait-
ing for a good chance to run in, when a boat, which
had put off from the Ayacucho, 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 experi-
ence, and would not go in first. Finding, at length,
how matters stood, they gave a shout, and taking ad-
vantage of a great comber which came swelling in, rear-
ing its head, and lifting up the sterns of our boats nearly
perpendicular, and again dropping them in the trough,
they gave three or four long and strong pulls, and went
in on top of the great wave, throwing their oars over-
board, and as far from the boat as they could throw them,
and, jumping out the instant the boat touched the beach,
they seized hold of her by the gunwale, on each side,
and ran her up high and dry upon the sand. We saw,
at once, how the thing was to be done, and also the
necessity of keeping the boat stern out to the sea; for
the instant the sea should strike upon her broadside or

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 71

quarter, she would be driven up broadside on, and cap-
sized. 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 race-horse, we threw the oars as
far from the boat as we could, and took hold of the gun-
wales, ready to spring out and seize her when she struck,
the officer using his utmost strength, with his steering-
oar, to keep her stern out. We were shot up upon the
beach, and, seizing the boat, ran her up high and dry,
and, picking up our oars, stood by her, ready for the
captain to come down.

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 landing-place, which is in the middle, it being
more stony toward the ends. It is about twenty yards
in width from high-water 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 ves-
sels in the offing; and the great seas were rolling in in
regular lines, growing larger and larger as they ap-
proached 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 child's
long card house falls when a card is knocked down 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 so

72 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

far into the water that every large sea might float her,
and two of them, with their trousers rolled up, stood by
the bows, one on each side, keeping her in her right posi-
tion. 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, in which 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 woollen caps. " Look here, Bill, and see
what you 're coming to ! " said one of our men to another
who stood by the boat. " Well, Dana," said the second
mate to me, "this does not look much like Harvard
College, does it? But it is what I call * head work. 9 "
.To tell the truth, it did not look very encouraging.

After they had got through with the hides, the Kana-
kas laid hold of the bags of tallow (the bags are made
of hide, and are about the size of a common meal-bag),
and lifted each upon the shoulders of two men, one at
each end, who walked off with them to the boat, when all
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 two after oars
sat upon their benches, with their oars shipped, ready to
strike out as soon as she was afloat. The two men re-
mained standing at the bows; 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 gunwales into the
bows, dripping with water. The men at the oars struck

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 73

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 bawl-
ing, got her well off. We watched them till they were
out of the breakers, and saw them steering for their
vessel, which was now hidden in the darkness.

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 a shipmaster is commonly called, to come down.
In a few minutes we heard something coming towards
us. It was a man on horseback. He came 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 serape, 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 John,
"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,

74 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

which, as we neared it, we found had been run up to
our trysail gaff.

Coming aboard, we hoisted up all the boats, and, div-
ing 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 con-
jectures about the people ashore, the length of the voy-
age, carrying hides, &c., &c., 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,
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, &c., and got
breakfast at eight o'clock. In the course of the fore-
noon, 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 bearing round the
point. One was a large ship under top-gallant sails,
and the other a small hermaphrodite brig. They both
backed their topsails and sent boats aboard of us. The
ship's colors had puzzled us, and we found that she was

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 75

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
the hide and tallow trade. She was a lump of a thing,
what the sailors call a butter-box. 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 be relied upon for sea-
manship, 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 super-
cargo, 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 good-natured 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 has neither of 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, he
begins to interfere in all the duties, and to draw the
reins more taut, and the crew have to suffer.

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, we turned in early. Waking up about mid-
night, I found a man who had just come down from
his watch striking a light. He said that it was begin-
ning to puff from the southeast, that the sea was rolling
in, and he had called the captain ; and as he threw him-
self 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, prepared for an instant summons. In a few
minutes it came, three knocks on the scuttle, and " All
hands ahoy ! bear-a-hand * up and make sail." We
sprang for our clothes, and were about half 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

1 "Bear-a-hand" is to make haste.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 77

crew singing out 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 remain-
ing, 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, cut-
ting through the head seas like a knife, with her raking
masts, and her 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 our topsails had been sheeted home, the
head yards braced aback, the fore-topmast staysail hoisted,
and the buoys streamed, and all ready forward for slip-
ping, we went aft and manned the slip-rope which came
through the stern port with a turn round the timber-
heads. " All ready forward ? " asked the captain. " Aye,
aye, sir; all ready," answered the mate. "Let go!"
" All gone, sir " ; and the chain cable grated over the
windlass and through the hawse-hole, and the little ves-
sel's head swinging off from the wind under the force
of her backed head sails brought the strain upon the
slip-rope. " Let go aft ! " Instantly all was gone, and
we were under way. 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 anchor-
age 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 black; but the captain would not take in sail until

78 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 went aloft, double-reefed each top-
sail, 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 lie-to under easy sail, and
wait for the gale to be over, which seldom lasts more
than two days, and is sometimes 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. The mate soon settled it by sending
his watch below, saying that we should have our turn
the next time we got under way. 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 oil-cloth suits
and southwester caps, and had nothing to do but to
stand bolt upright and let it pour down upon us. There
are no umbrellas, and no sheds to go under, at sea.

While we were standing about on deck, we saw the
little brig drifting by us, hove to under her fore topsail
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 companion-way and told the second
mate, who commanded our watch, to look out for a
change of wind, which usually followed a calm, with
heavy rain. It was well that he did; for in a few

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 79

minutes it fell dead calm, the vessel lost her steerage-
way, 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 trade-wind. The sun came up bright, and
we set royals, skysails and studding-sails, 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 eager 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 from our studding-sails ; for Captain Wilson car-
ried nothing above top-gallant-sails, and always unbent
his studding-sails 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 taut
bowline, after rounding the point; and here he had us
on his own 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 taut

8o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

bowline, and he would beat us, if we had all the canvas
of the Royal George.

The Ayacucho got to the anchoring ground about half
an hour before us, and was furling her sails when we
came to it. This picking up your cables is a nice piece
of work. It requires some seamanship to do it, and to
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 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
slip-rope. We brought the other end to the capstan,
and hove in upon it until we came to the slip-rope, which
we took to the windlass, and walked her up to her chain,
occasionally helping her by backing and filling the sails.
The chain is then passed through the hawse-hole and
round the windlass, and bitted, the slip-rope 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 have through the winter.

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. Robinson, and
some other passengers, were going to Monterey with us,
and that we were to sail the same night. In a few
minutes Captain Thompson, with two gentlemen and a
lady, came down, and we got ready to go off. They

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 81

had a good deal of baggage, which we put into the
bows of the boat, and then two of us took the sefiora 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 per-
fectly 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 young-looking 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 that the lady was his wife. She
was a delicate, dark-complexioned young woman, of one
of the respectable families of 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 slip-ropes
and gear cast off; and after about twenty minutes of
heaving at the windlass, making sail, and bracing yards,
we were well under way, and going with a fair wind
up the coast to Monterey. The Loriotte got under way
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 going up, as the prevailing wind is the
north, which blows directly down the coast; whence the
northern are called the windward, and the southern the
leeward ports.

WE got clear of the islands 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 an unin-
habited 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 studding-
sails set on both sides, when, as we came round the point,
we had to haul our wind, and take in the lee studding-
sails. As the brig came more upon the wind, she felt
it more, and we doused the skysails, but kept the weather
studding-sails on her, bracing the yards forward, so that
the swinging-boom 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. Robinson, looking a little disturbed, said some-
thing to him, but he only answered that he knew the
vessel and what she would carry. He was evidently
showing off, and letting them know how he could carry
sail. He stood up to windward, holding on by the back-
stays, and looking up at the sticks to see how much they

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 83

would bear, when a puff came which settled the matter.
Then it was " haul down " and " clew up " royals, flying-
jib, and studding-sails, all at once. There was what the
sailors call a " mess," everything let go, nothing hauled
in, and everything flying. The poor Mexican woman
came to the companion-way, looking as pale as a ghost,
and nearly frightened to death. The mate and some men
forward were trying to haul in the lower studding-sail,
which had blown over the spritsail yard-arm and round
the guys, while the topmast-studding-sail boom, after
buckling up and springing out again like a piece of
whalebone, broke off at the boom-iron. I jumped aloft
to take in the main top-gallant studding-sail, but before
I got into the top the tack parted, and away went the
sail, swinging forward of the top-gallant-sail, and tear-
ing 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, Dana, and furl that main
royal." Leaving the studding-sail, I went up to the cross-
trees; and here it looked rather squally. The foot of
the top-gallant-mast was working between the cross and
trussel trees, and the mast lay over at a fearful angle
with the topmast 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
turnpike gate, and the whole sail, having blown out to lee-
ward, the lee leach was over the yard-arm, and the sky-
sail was all adrift and flying about my head. I looked

84 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

down, but it was in vain to attempt to make myself
heard, for every one was busy below, and the wind
roared, and sails were flapping in all directions. For-
tunately, it was noon and broad daylight, and the man
at the wheel, who had his eyes aloft, soon saw my dif-
ficulty, and after numberless signs and gestures got some
one to haul the necessary ropes taut. During this in-
terval I took a look below. Everything was in confu-
sion on deck; the little vessel was tearing through the
water as if she had lost her wits, the seas flying over
her, and the masts leaning over at a wide angle from
the vertical. At the other royal-mast-head was Stimson,
working away at the sail, which was blowing from him
as fast as he could gather it in. The top-gallant sail
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 double-
reefed topsails and the storm-sails.

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 Mon-
terey, a distance of a 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 top-
gallant-mast and carry as little sail as possible forward.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 85

Our four passengers were dreadfully sea-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 in mid-ocean 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 mis-
erable and forlorn creature a sea-sick 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 on our voyage out) ; and I will own there
was a pleasant feeling of superiority in being able to
walk the deck, and eat, and go aloft, and compare 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 mast-heads,
or sitting quietly at work on the ends of the lofty yards.
A well man at sea has little sympathy with one who is
sea-sick; he is apt to be too conscious of a comparison
which seems favorable to his own manhood.

After a few days we made the land at Point Pinos,
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 north-
ward 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

86 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

point, as at Santa Barbara, San Pedro, and particularly
San Diego, there is very little wood, and the country
has a naked, level appearance, though it is still fertile.

The bay of Monterey is wide at the entrance, being
about twenty-four 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 from the points about eighteen miles, which is 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 wild
fowl 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 of whitewashed adobe, which gives a much better
effect than those of Santa Barbara, which are mostly left
of a mud color. The red tiles, too, on the roofs, con-
trasted well with the white sides, and with the extreme
greenness of the lawn upon which the houses about a
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 nor fences
(except that here and there a small patch might be fenced
in for a garden), so that the houses are placed at random
upon the green. This, 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 that we came to
anchor, the sun about an hour high, and everything look-
ing pleasantly. The Mexican flag was flying from the

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 87

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 de-
lighted with the appearance of things. We felt as though
we had got into a Christian (which in the sailor's vocabu-
lary 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 dark-
looking town, a mile from the beach; and not a sound
to be heard, nor anything to be seen, but Kanakas, hides,
and tallow-bags. Add to this the gale off Point Con-
ception, and no one can be at a loss to account for our
agreeable disappointment in Monterey. Besides, we soon
learned, which was of no small importance to us, that
there was little or no surf here, and this afternoon the
beach was as smooth as a pond.

We landed the agent and passengers, and found sev-
eral 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 learned,
were English and Americans who had married and settled
here.

I also connected with our arrival here another circum-
stance which more nearly concerns myself; viz., my first
act of what the sailors will allow to be seamanship,
sending down a royal-yard. 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

88 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

mast, that I could do it, and got him to ask the mate
to 3end me up the first time the royal-yards were struck.
Accordingly, I was called upon, and went aloft, repeating
the operations over in my mind, taking care to get each
thing 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 satisfac-
tion as I ever felt at Cambridge on seeing a " bene " at
the foot of a Latin exercise.

CHAPTER
XII

THE next day being Sunday, which is the
liberty-day among merchantmen, when it is
usual to let a part of the crew go ashore, the
sailors had depended upon a holiday, and were already
disputing who should ask to go, when, upon being called
in the morning, we were turned-to upon the rigging, and
found that the top-mast, which had been sprung, was to
come down, and a new one to go up, with top-gallant
and royal masts, and the rigging to be set. This was too
bad. If there is anything that irritates sailors, and makes
them feel hardly used, it is being deprived of their Sun-
day. Not that they would always, or indeed generally,
spend it improvingly, but it is their only day of rest.
Then, too, they are so 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 deter-
mined to have the custom-house 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

90 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

work faster than he; but the instant he feels that he is
kept at work for nothing, or, as the nautical phrase is,
" humbugged/' 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 long-boat, and a pull at the
scuttled butt." 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 every-
thing 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. Marline-spikes were not to be found;
knives wanted a prodigious deal of sharpening, and, gen-
erally, three or four were waiting round the grindstone
at a time. When a man got to the mast-head, he would
come slowly down again for something he had left ; 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 up-hill
work; and at eight o'clock, when we went to breakfast,
things were nearly where they were when we began.

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 offi-
cers, that, if we would get through work soon, we might
have a boat in the afternoon and go a-fishing. This bait
was well thrown, and took with several who were fond

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 91

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 jolly-boat, 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 sea-breeze, 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 Foster (the ci-devant second mate), who was of our
number, brought up with his hook a large and beautiful
pearl-oyster shell. We afterwards learned that this place
was celebrated for shells, and that a small schooner had
made a good voyage by carrying a cargo of them to the
United States.

We returned by sundown, and found the Loriotte at
anchor within a cable's length of the Pilgrim. The next
day we were " turned-to " early, and began taking off
the hatches, overhauling the cargo, and getting every-
thing ready for inspection. At eight, the officers of the
customs, five in number, came on board, and began ex-
amining the cargo, manifest, &c. The Mexican revenue
laws are very strict, and require the whole cargo to be
landed, examined, and taken on board again; but our
agent had succeeded in compounding for the last two
vessels, and saving the trouble of taking the cargo ashore.
The officers were dressed in the costume which we found
prevailed through the country, broad-brimmed hat,
usually of a black or dark brown color, with a gilt or
figured band round the crown, and lined under the rim
with silk; a short jacket of silk, or figured calico (the

92 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

European skirted body-coat is never worn) ; the shirt
open in the neck ; rich waistcoat, if any ; pantaloons open
at the sides below the knee, laced with gilt, usually of
velveteen or broadcloth ; or else short breeches and white
stockings. They wear the deer-skin shoe, which is of a
dark brown 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 never-failing poncho, or the serapa, and
you have the dress of the Californian. This last garment
is always a mark of the rank and wealth of the owner.
The gente de razon, or better sort of people, 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
a poncho, something like a large square cloth, 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
practically serfs, and doing all the hard work) ; and
every rich man looks like a grandee, and every poor scamp
like a broken-down 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 pockets,
and absolutely suffering for something to eat.

THE next day, the cargo having been entered
in due form, we began trading. The trade-
room was fitted up in the steerage, and
furnished out with the lighter goods, and with speci-
mens of the rest of the cargo ; and Mellus, 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 this business, having been clerk
in a counting-house in Boston ; but he had been troubled
for some time with 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 chil-
dren ; and we were continually going in the boats, carry-
ing 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,
crockery-ware, tin-ware, cutlery, clothing of all kinds,

94 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

boots and shoes from Lynn, calicoes and cotton from
Lowell, crapes, silks; also, shawls, scarfs, necklaces, jew-
elry, and combs for the women ; furniture ; and, in fact,
everything that can be imagined, from Chinese fireworks
to English cart-wheels, of which we had a dozen pairs
with their iron tires on.

The Calif ornians are an idle, thriftless people, and can
make nothing for themselves. The country abounds in
grapes, yet they buy, at a great price, bad wine made in
Boston and brought round by us, and retail it among
themselves at a real (12^ cents) by the small wine-
glass. Their hides, too, which they value at two dollars
in money, they barter for something which costs seventy-
five cents in Boston; and buy shoes (as like as not made
of their own hides, which have been carried twice round
Cape Horn) at three and four dollars, and " chicken-
skin boots " at fifteen dollars a pair. 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 an idea,
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 two thirds 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.

This kind of business was new to us, and we liked it
very well for a few days, though we were hard at work
every minute from daylight to dark, and sometimes even
later.

By being thus continually engaged in transporting pas-
sengers, with their goods, to and fro, we gained consid-
erable knowledge of the character, dress, and language

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 95

of the people. The dress of the men was as I have be-
fore described it. The women wore gowns of various
texture, silks, crape, calicoes, &c., made after the
European style, except that the sleeves were short, leav-
ing the arm bare, and that they were loose about the
waist, corsets not being in use. They wore shoes of kid
or satin, sashes or belts of bright colors, and almost al-
ways a necklace and ear-rings. Bonnets they had none.
I only saw one on the coast, and that belonged to the
wife of an American sea-captain 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 pat-
tern. 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 the amount of Spanish blood
they can lay claim to, which also settles their social
rank. Those who are of pure Spanish blood, having
never intermarried with the aborigines, have clear bru-
nette 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 terms of office, have set-
tled here upon property they have acquired; and others

96 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

who have been banished for state offences. These form
the upper class, intermarrying, and keeping up an
exclusive system in every respect. They can be distin-
guished, not only by their complexion, dress, and man-
ners, but also by their speech; for, calling themselves
Castilians, they are very ambitious of speaking the pure
Castilian, while all Spanish is spoken in a somewhat cor-
rupted 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 octo-
roon, is sufficient to raise one from the position of a
serf, and entitle him to wear a suit of clothes, boots,
hat, cloak, spurs, long knife, all complete, though coarse
and dirty as may be, and to call himself Espanol, and
to hold property, if he can get any.

The fondness for dress among the women is excessive,
and is sometimes their ruin. A present of a fine mantle,
or of a necklace or pair of ear-rings, gains the favor of the
greater part. Nothing is more common than to see a
woman living in a house of only two rooms, with the
ground for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes, silk
gown, high comb, and gilt, if not gold, ear-rings 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 vessel, ex-
amining the fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently
making purchases at a rate which would have made a
seamstress or waiting-maid in Boston open her eyes.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 97

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 ruffian-looking fellow, with
a slouched hat, blanket cloak, dirty under-dress, 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 by 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 bullock-driver, on horseback, de-
livering a message, seemed to speak like an ambassador
at a royal 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 man-
ners, and their voices.

Another thing that surprised me was the quantity of
silver in circulation. I never, in my life, saw so much
silver at one time, as during the week that we were at
Monterey. The truth is, they have no credit system, no
banks, and no way of investing money but in cattle.
Besides silver, they have no circulating medium but hides,
which the sailors call " California bank-notes." Every-
thing that they buy they must pay for by one or the
other of these means. The hides they bring down dried
and doubled, in clumsy ox-carts, or upon mules' backs,
and the money they carry tied up in a handkerchief, fifty
or a hundred dollars and half-dollars.

I had not studied Spanish at college, and could not
speak a word when at Juan Fernandez; but, during the

98 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 studied Latin and French, I got the name of a
great linguist, and was always sent by the captain and
officers for provisions, or to take letters and messages to
different parts of the town. I was often sent for some-
thing 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
learned the word from him ; and then, by signs, and by
giving a Latin or French word a twist at the end, con-
trived 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 oppor-
tunities of seeing the customs, characters, and domestic
arrangements of the people, beside being a great relief
from the monotony of a day spent on board ship.

Monterey, as far as my observation goes, is decidedly
the pleasantest and most civilized-looking place in Cali-
fornia. In the centre of it is an open square, surrounded
by four lines of one-story 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 un-
fortified. There were several officers with long titles, and

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 99

about eighty soldiers, but they were poorly paid, fed,
clothed, and disciplined. The governor-general, or, as he
is commonly called, the " general," lives here, which makes
it the seat of government. He is appointed by the cen-
tral government at Mexico, and is the chief civil and
military officer. In addition to him, each town has a
commandant who is its chief officer, and has charge of the
fort, and of all transactions with foreigners and foreign
vessels; while two or three alcaldes and corregidores,
elected by the inhabitants, are the civil officers. Courts
strictly of law, with a system of jurisprudence, they have
not. Small municipal matters are regulated by the al-
caldes and corregidores, and everything relating to the
general government, to the military, and to foreigners,
by the commandants, acting under the governor-general.
Capital cases are decided by the latter, upon personal
inspection, if near; or upon minutes sent him by the
proper officers, if the offender is at a distant place. No
Protestant has any political rights, nor can he hold prop-
erty, or, indeed, remain more than a few weeks on shore,
unless he belong to a foreign vessel. Consequently,
Americans and English, who intend to reside here, be-
come Papists, the current phrase among them being,
" A man must leave his conscience at Cape Horn."

But, to return to Monterey. The houses here, as
everywhere else in California, are of one story, built of
adobes, that is, 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 joined together by a
cement of the same material, and the whole are of a
common dirt-color. 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

ioo TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

inhabitants have glass to their windows and board floors ;
and in Monterey nearly all the houses are whitewashed
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 looking-glass, a
crucifix, and small daubs of paintings enclosed in glass,
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 kitchen, separated from the house. The
Indians, as I have said before, do all the hard work, two
or three being attached to the better house ; and the poor-
est 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 men, and a coarse gown, without
shoes or stockings, for the women.

In Monterey there are a number of English and Ameri-
cans (English or Ingles all are called who speak the Eng-
lish language) who have married Calif ornians, become
united to the Roman Church, and acquired considerable
property. Having more industry, frugality, and enter-
prise 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 ships. 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 naturally suspicious of foreigners,
and they would not be allowed to remain, were it not that
they conform to the Church, and by marrying natives,
and bringing up their children as Roman Catholics and
Mexicans, and not teaching them the English language,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 101

they quiet suspicion, and even become popular and lead-
ing men. The chief alcaldes in Monterey and Santa Bar-
bara were Yankees by birth.

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 are put 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 mount-
ing a horse, there being generally several standing tied
to the door-posts 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.

102 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, bull-baitings, &c. ; but as we were not ashore dur-
ing any holiday, we saw nothing of it. Monterey is also
a great place for cock-fighting, gambling of all sorts,
fandangos, and various kinds 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 amusements
and dissipation, until they have wasted their oppor-
tunities and their money, and then go back, stripped of
everything.

Nothing but the character of the people prevents Mon-
terey from becoming a large 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 holding-ground 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 owing
to 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 dragging at all, or
finding it necessary to strike her top-gallant-masts.

The only vessel in port with us was the little Loriotte.
I frequently went on board her, and became well ac-
quainted 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 ac-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 103

tive, with black eyes, intelligent countenances, dark olive,
or, I should rather say, copper complexions, and coarse
black hair, but not woolly, like the negroes. They ap-
peared to be talking continually. In the forecastle there
was a complete Babel. Their language is extremely gut-
tural, and not pleasant at first, but improves as you hear
it more; and it is said to have considerable 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 water-dogs, and 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 ready 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 of little use in cold weather.
In their dress, they are precisely like our sailors. In ad-
dition to these Islanders, the Loriotte 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 Eng-
lish sailor that I ever saw. He had been to sea from a
boy, having served a regular apprenticeship of seven
years, as 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 rope-yarn."
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;

104 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and his eyes he might have sold to a duchess at the price
of diamonds, for their brilliancy. As for their color,
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 well-varnished black tarpaulin,
stuck upon the back of his head, his long locks coming
down almost into his eyes, his white duck trousers 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 was 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. The printing 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 a crucifix, and on the other, the
sign of the " foul anchor."

He was 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 descrip-
tion of an unknown, outcast sailor, whom one may never
see again, and whom no one may care to hear about;
yet so it is. Some persons 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

him. Whoever falls in with him will find a handsome,
hearty fellow, and a good shipmate.

Sunday came again while we were at Monterey ; but, as
before, it brought us no holiday. The people on shore
dressed 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 former
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 the matter is settled.
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 quarter-deck, smoking his morning cigar, and
Foster 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, sur-
veyed 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 Foster. He walked
forward, jumped down into the forecastle, and in a mo-
ment 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
changed him outwardly and inwardly in a surprising
manner.

ATER 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 pre-
sidio, and left the little town astern, standing out of
the bay, and bearing down the coast again for Santa Bar-
bara. 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 studding-sails alow and aloft, and were walk-
ing off at the rate of eight or nine knots, promising to
traverse in twenty-four 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 of Santa Barbara, it died away a little,
but we came-to at our old anchoring ground in less than
thirty hours from the time of leaving Monterey.

Here everything was pretty much as we left it, 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, slip-ropes,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 107

buoy-ropes, sails furled with reefs in them, and rope-
yarns for gaskets. We lay at this place about a fortnight,
employed in landing goods and taking off hides, occa-
sionally, when the surf was not high; but there did not
appear to be one half 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 ox-carts, with the bow of 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 brought down dry, or they will 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
high- water 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 usually kept anchored by a small kedge,
or keelek, just outside of the surf. We all provided our-
selves with thick Scotch caps, which would be soft to the
head, and at the same time protect it ; for we soon learned
that, however it might look or feel at first, the " head-
work " 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

io8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 that 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 were 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 ourselves down in the sand,
in trying to swing a large hide upon our heads, or nearly
blown over with one in a little gust of wind. The cap-
tain made it harder for us, by telling us that it was " Cali-
fornia 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 "hide droghers,"
and finding that they carried only one at a time, we
" knocked off " the extra one, and thus made our duty
somewhat easier.

After our heads had become used to the weight, and
we 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,
went barefooted on this duty, as no shoes could stand such
constant wetting with salt water. And after this, we had
a pull of three miles, with a loaded boat, which often took
a couple of hours.

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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 109

especially if the days are short before daylight, as soon
as the first gray 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 trousers and paddle about decks
barefooted, like the rest of the crew. The washing, swab-
bing, squilgeeing, &c. 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 turned-to
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 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 going on. There is much of the latter
kind of work which can only be done when the vessel is
in port. Everything, too, must be kept taut and in good
order, spun-yarn 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 mealtimes, from day-
light till dark ; and at night an " anchor watch " is kept,
which, with us, consisted of only two at a time, all the
crew taking turns. An hour is allowed for dinner, and
at dark the decks are cleared up, the boats hoisted, supper

i io TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ordered ; and at eight the lights are put out, except in the
binnacle, where the glass stands ; and the anchor watch 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, mend-
ing clothes, &c., 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 goes far to account for the preference
sailors usually show for vessels under such command. We
were well satisfied if we got even 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 take them off, which usually occupied half
a day; besides, 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 prospect of
pulling on board, and stowing them all away, before
supper.

But all these little vexations and labors would have
been nothing, they would have been passed by as the
common evils of a sea life, which every sailor, who is a
man, 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 half-
civilized coast, at the ends of the earth, and with a pros-
pect of remaining an indefinite period, two or three

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST in

years at the least. When we left Boston, we supposed
that ours 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 follow us, which had leaked
out from the captain and mate, but we passed them by as
mere " yarns," till our 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 getting 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 upon our own cargo. Here was
a gloomy prospect indeed. The Lagoda, a smaller ship
than the California, carrying only thirty-one or thirty-
two 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 well-known Indiaman, which was expected in
Boston in a few months, when we sailed. There could

ii2 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 the crew ; 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 might 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 a college
degree and a profession would be in vain to think of;
and I made up my mind that, feel as I might, a sailor I
might have to be, and to command a merchant vessel
might be the limit of my ambition.

Beside the length of the voyage, and the hard and
exposed life, we were in the remote parts of the earth,
on an almost desert coast, 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 clothes, and felt as though our fate was fixed beyond
all hope of change.

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 kind-hearted man I never saw,
but he was too easy and amiable for the mate of a mer-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 113

chantman. He was not the man to call a sailor a " son
of a bitch," and knock him down with a handspike.
Perhaps he really lacked the energy and spirit for such
a voyage as ours, and for such a captain. Captain Thomp-
son was a vigorous, energetic fellow. As sailors say, " he
had n'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
tflat 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, he was dissatisfied
with him, became suspicious that discipline was getting
relaxed, and began to interfere in everything. He drew
the reins tighter; 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 things 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 all respects unfortunately
situated, captain, officers, and crew, entirely unfitted
for one another; and every circumstance and event was
like a two-edged sword, and cut both ways. The length
of the voyage, which made us dissatisfied, made the cap-
tain, at the same time, see 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 at the mercy of a hard master, made the captain
understand, on the other hand, that he must depend
entirely upon his own resources. Severity created dis-
content, and signs of discontent provoked severity. Then,
too, ill-treatment 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

ii4 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the hardships, if they were only kindly treated, and if
they could feel that something was done to make work
lighter and life easier. We felt as though our situation
was a call upon our superiors to give us occasional re-
laxations, and to make our yoke easier. But the opposite
policy was pursued. We were kept at work all day when
in port; which, together with a watch at night, made us
glad to turn-in as soon as we got below. Thus we had
no time for reading, or which was of more importan6e
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 spun-
yarn 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, stand-
ing round the deck so far apart so as to prevent our talk-
ing with one another, with our tarpaulins and oil-cloth
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, and " working their old
iron up."

While lying at Santa Barbara, we encountered another
southeaster; and, like the first, it came on in the night;
the great black clouds moving 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,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 115

thought we, they have no rain in the other seasons, for
enough seemed to have fallen in those four 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' shower-bath, 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 way 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 oppor-
tunity. Just before sailing, the captain took on board
a short, red-haired, round-shouldered, vulgar-looking
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 was bringing
her too much down by the stern for our comfort.

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 ves-
sel bound to St. John's, Newfoundland, 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

ii6 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

thought we might as well have stayed at Santa Barbara,
and sent our boat down for the hides. The land was of
a clayey quality, and, as far as the eye could reach, en-
tirely 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 slip-rope, 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 northerly winds, and
they came over a flat country with a rake 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 be-
fore, 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. Leaving the boat, and pick-
ing our way barefooted over these, we came to what is
called the landing-place, at high-water mark. The soil
was, at 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 Califor-
nians ; one of them having on a pair of untanned leather
trousers and a red baize shirt. When they reached us,
we found that they were Englishmen. 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, close behind it, a small, low

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 117

building, with one room, containing a fireplace, cooking-
apparatus, &c., 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 cattle-farm, about three miles off;
and one of them went there, at the request of our offi-
cer, 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 Aya-
cucho 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 land-locked,
and the water as smooth as a duck-pond. This was the
depot for all the vessels engaged in the trade; each one
having a large house there, built of rough boards, in

n8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

which they stowed their hides as fast as they collected
them in their trips up and down the coast, and when
they had procured a full cargo, spent a few weeks there
taking it in, smoking ship, laying in 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 myself.

I also learned, to my surprise, that the desolate-look-
ing place we were in furnished more hides than any port
on the coast. 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 los . Angeles, the largest
town in California, and several of the wealthiest mis-
sions ; to all of which San Pedro was the seaport.

Having made 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 toward
the brig, which was so far off that we could hardly see
her, in the increasing darkness; and when we got on
board the boats were hoisted up, and the crew at sup-
per. Going down into the forecastle, eating our supper,
and lighting our cigars and pipes, we had, as usual, to
tell what 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 probability of seeing the Lagoda before she
sailed, &c., &c.

The next day we pulled the agent ashore, and he
went up to visit the Pueblo and the neighboring mis-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 119

sions; and in a few days, as the result of his labors,
large ox-carts, and droves of mules, loaded with hides,
were seen coming over the flat country. We loaded our
long-boat 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 holding
ground for our feet. The heavy barrels and casks we
rolled up with some difficulty, getting behind and put-
ting 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 gait of a funeral pro-
cession. 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 to load the carts again
with our own goods; the lazy Indians, who came down
with them, squatting on their hams, looking on, doing
nothing, and when we asked them to help us, only shak-
ing their heads, or drawling out " no quiero."

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

120 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

them off, letting them slide over the slope. Many of
them lodged, and we had to let ourselves down and set
them a-going again, and in this way became covered
with dust, and our clothes torn. After we had the hides
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 expe-
rienced. For several days we were employed in this man-
ner, 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 off-
shore, we had only to let go our other anchor and hold
on. We were called up at night to send down the
royal-yards. It was as dark as a pocket, and the vessel
pitching at her anchors. I went up to the fore, and
Stimson to the main, and we soon had them down
" ship-shape and Bristol fashion " ; for, as we had now
become used to our duty aloft, everything above the
cross-trees was left to us, who were the youngest of the
crew, except one boy.

CHAPTER
XV

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 swords'
points at once. But his displeasure was chiefly turned
against a large, heavy-moulded fellow from the Middle
States, who was called Sam. This man hesitated in his
speech, was rather slow in his motions, and was only a
tolerably good sailor, but usually seemed to do his best;
yet 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 sailor-phrase is, " he may as well jump over-
board." The captain found fault with everything this
man did, and hazed him for dropping a marline-spike
from the main-yard, 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

122 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

any other people. We worked late Friday night, and were
turned-to 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 Mr. Russell and
I 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 aboard, and we leaned down the hatchway, and
though we could see no one, yet we knew that the captain
had the advantage, for his voice was loud and clear :

" 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.

"That's not what I ask you. Will you ever be im-
pudent to me again ? "

" I never have been, sir," said Sam.

" Answer my question, or I '11 make a spread eagle of
you ! I '11 flog you, by G d."

" I 'm no negro slave," said Sam.

" Then I '11 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. Amerzene ! Seize him up !

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 123

Make a spread eagle of him ! I '11 teach you all who is
master aboard ! "

The crew and officers followed the captain up the hatch-
way; but it was not until after repeated orders that the
mate laid hold of Sam, who made no resistance, and
carried him to the gangway.

" What are you going to flog that man for, sir ? " said
John, the Swede, to the captain.

Upon hearing this, the captain turned upon John ; 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 quarter-deck. Sam, by this time, was
seized up, as it is called, that is, placed against the shrouds,
with his wrists made fast to them, 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 end
of a thick, strong rope. The officers stood round, and
the crew grouped together in the waist. All these prep-
arations 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, eaten with, and stood watch
with for months, and knew so well! If a thought of
resistance crossed the minds of any of the men, what
was to be done? Their time for it had gone by. Two
men were fast, and there were left only two men besides
Stimson and myself, and a small boy of ten or twelve
years of age; and Stimson and I would not have joined
the men in a mutiny, as they knew. And then, on the

124 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

other side, there were (beside the captain) three officers,
steward, agent, and clerk, and the cabin supplied with
weapons. 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, what are they to be for the rest of their lives?
If a sailor resist his commander, he resists the law, and
piracy or submission is his only alternative. Bad as it
was, they saw 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 John was loose, he
ran forward to the forecastle. " Bring that man aft ! "
shouted the captain. The second mate, who had been
in the forecastle with these men the early part of the
voyage, 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 John soon threw him from him. The
captain stood on the quarter-deck, bareheaded, his eyes
flashing with rage, and his face as red as blood, swing-
ing the rope, and calling out to his officers : " Drag him
aft ! Lay hold of him ! I '11 sweeten him ! " &c., &c.
The mate now went forward, and told John quietly to
go aft; and he, seeing resistance vain, threw the black-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 125

guard 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 struggled; but, the mate and Russell
holding him, he was soon seized up. When he was
made fast, he turned to the captain, who stood rolling
up his sleeves and getting ready for the blow, and asked
him what he was to be flogged for. " Have I ever re-
fused my duty, sir? Have you ever known me to hang
back, or to be insolent, or not to know my work ? "

" No," said the captain, " it is not that that I flog you
for; I flog you for your interference, for asking ques-
tions."

" Can't a man ask a question here without being
flogged?"

"No," shouted the captain ; " nobody shall open his
mouth aboard this vessel but myself," and began lay-
ing the blows upon his back, swinging half round be-
tween 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 '11 tell you. It 's because I
like to do it ! because I like to do it ! It suits me !
That 's what I do it for ! "

The man writhed under the pain until he could en-
dure it no longer, when he called out, with an exclam-
ation more common among foreigners than with us:
" O Jesus Christ! O Jesus Christ! "

" Don't call on Jesus Christ," shouted the captain ;
"he can't help you. Call on Frank Thompson! He's
the man! He can help you! Jesus Christ can't help
you now ! "

At these words, which I never shall forget, my blood

126 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ran cold. I could look on no longer. Disgusted, sick,
I turned away, and leaned over the rail, and looked
down into the water. A few rapid thoughts, I don't
know what, our situation, a resolution to see the cap-
tain punished when we got home, crossed my mind ;
but the falling of the blows and the cries of the man
called me back once more. At length they ceased, and,
turning round, I found that the mate, at a signal from
the captain, had cast him loose. 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 quarter-deck,
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 did n't know what 'I was ! Now
you know what I am ! " "I '11 make you toe the
mark, every soul of you, or I '11 flog you all, fore and
aft, from the boy up ! " " You 've got a driver over
you! Yes, a slave-driver, a nigger-driver! I'll see
who '11 tell me he is n't a NIGGER 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 lay-up
on board this vessel." He then called to Mr. Russell to
take those two men and two others in the boat, and pull

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 127

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, stayed 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
Indians, 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 long; the dim, swinging lamp shed its light
over the dark hole in which we lived, and many and
various reflections and purposes coursed through my
mind. I had no apprehension that the captain would

128 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

try to lay a hand on me; but our situation, living under
a tyranny, with an ungoverned, swaggering fellow ad-
ministering it; of the character of the country we were
in; the length of the voyage; the uncertainty attending
our return to America ; and then, if we should return,
the prospect of obtaining justice and satisfaction for
these poor men; and I vowed that, if God should ever
give me the means, I would do something to redress
the grievances and relieve the sufferings of that class
of beings with whom my lot had so long been cast.

The next day was Sunday. We worked, as usual,
washing decks, &c., until breakfast-time. After break-
fast we pulled the captain ashore, and, finding some
hides there which had been brought down the night be-
fore, 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. Unfortu-
nately they had no books; and, after talking with them,
and walking about, I began to grow tired of doing noth-
ing. 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, dreary-looking 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, 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 affecting 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 burying-
place, it would have been nothing. The single body

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 129

corresponded well with the solitary character of every-
thing around. It was the only spot in California that
impressed me with anything like poetic interest. 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 or
a prayer.

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 moment to speak to the man who brought my jacket.

" How do things go aboard? " said I.

" Bad enough," said he ; " hard work and not a kind
word spoken."

" What! " said I, " have you been at work all day? "

" Yes ! no more Sunday for us. Everything has been
moved in the hold, from stem to stern, and from the
water-ways to the keelson."

I went up to the house to supper. We had frijoles
(the perpetual food of the Calif ornians, 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
" treinte uno," a sort of Spanish " everlasting." I left

130 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

them and went out to take up my bivouac 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 liv-
ing soul within a league. The coyotes (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 hill 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, it was a most melancholy and
boding sound. Through nearly all the night they kept
it up, answering one another slowly at regular intervals.
This was relieved by the noisy coyotes, some of which
came quite near to my quarters, and were not very
pleasant neighbors. The next morning, before sunrise,
the long-boat came ashore, and the hides were taken
off.

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 rinding a part of a volume of Scott's Pirate
in a corner of the house; but it failed me at a most in-
teresting moment, and I betook myself to my acquaint-
ances on shore, and from them learned a good deal about
the customs of the country, the harbors, &c. 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 for which we slipped at Santa Bar-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 131

bara had been so bad a one here, that the whole bay,
for a league out, was filled with the foam of the break-
ers, 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
breakers high and dry upon the beach.

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 by and
by," 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 Bos-
ton, the hides will wear all the hair off your head, and
you '11 take up all your wages in clothes, and won't have
enough left to buy a wig with ! "

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 consideration which

132 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

would have been worthy of admiration in the highest
walks of life. Sam knew John had suffered solely on
his account; and in all his complaints he said that,
if he alone had been flogged, it would have been noth-
ing; but he never could see him without thinking that
he had been the means of bringing this disgrace upon
him; and John never, by word or deed, let anything
escape him to remind the other that it was by inter-
fering to save his shipmate that he had suffered. Neither
made it a secret that they thought the Dutchman Bill
and Foster might have helped them; but they did not
expect it of Stimson or me. While we showed our sym-
pathy for their suffering, and our indignation at the cap-
tain's violence, we did not feel sure that there was only
one side to the beginning of the difficulty, and we kept
clear of any engagement with them, except our promise
to help them when they got home. 1

1 Owing to the change of vessels that afterwards took place, Captain
Thompson arrived in Boston nearly a year before the Pilgrim, and was
off on another voyage, and beyond the reach of these men. Soon after
the publication of the first edition of this book, in 1841, I received a
letter from Stimson, dated at Detroit, Michigan, where he had re-
entered mercantile life, from which I make this extract: " As to your
account of the flogging scene, I think you have given a fair history of
it, and, if anything, been too lenient towards Captain Thompson for
his brutal, cowardly treatment of those men. As I was in the hold at
the time the affray commenced, I will give you a short history of it as
near as I can recollect. We were breaking out goods in the fore hold,
and, in order to get at them, we had to shift our hides from forward
to aft. After having removed part of them, we came to the boxes,
and attempted to get them out without moving any more of the hides.
While doing so, Sam accidentally hurt his hand, and, as usual, began
swearing about it, and was not sparing of his oaths, although I think
he was not aware that Captain Thompson was so near him at the time.
Captain Thompson asked him, hi no moderate way, what was the
matter with him. Sam, on account of the impediment in his speech,
could not answer immediately, although he endeavored to, but as soon
as possible answered in a manner that almost any one would, under
the like circumstances, yet, I believe, not with the intention of giving

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 133

Having got all our spare room filled with hides, we
hove up our anchor, and made sail for San Diego. In
no operation cafi the disposition of a crew be better dis-
covered than in getting under way. 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 ! " and the chorus of " Cheerly, men ! "
cats the anchor. 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 knight-heads, 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 ! " &c., &c. ; but it
would not do. Nobody broke his back or his hand-
spike by his efforts. And when the cat-tackle-fall was
strung along, and all hands cook, steward, and all
laid hold, to cat the anchor, instead of the lively song
of " Cheerly, 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 cat-head pretty slowly. " Give us ' Cheer-
ly ! ' " said the mate ; but there was no " cheerly " for
us, and we did without it. The captain walked the
quarter-deck, and said not a word. He must have seen
the change, but there was nothing which he could notice
officially.

We sailed leisurely down the coast before a light, fair

a short answer; but being provoked, and suffering pain from the in-
jured hand, he perhaps answered rather short, or sullenly. Thus com-
menced the scene you have so vividly described, and which seems to
me exactly the history of the whole affair without any exaggeration."

134 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 Capistrano, under which ves-
sels sometimes come to anchor, in the summer season,
and take off hides. 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 I4th of March, hav-
ing a good breeze, we stood round the point, and, haul-
ing our wind, brought the little harbor, which is rather
the outlet of a small river, right before us. Every one
was desirous 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 cur-
rent swift, and the channel runs so near to a low, stony
point 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 Hide Houses. 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,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 135

with the blood-red banner and cross of St. George at
her peak, was the handsome Ayacucho. The third
was a large ship, with top-gallant-masts housed and
sails unbent, and looking as rusty and worn as two
years' " hide droghing " could make her. This was the
Lagoda. As we drew near, carried rapidly along by the
current, we overhauled our chain, and clewed up the
topsails. " Let go the anchor ! " said the captain ; but
either there was not chain enough forward of the wind-
lass, 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 her cook, seeing us coming, rushed out
of his galley, and called up the officers and men.

Fortunately, no great harm was done. Her jib-boom
passed 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 down upon
the Loriotte. The captain now gave out his orders rap-
idly 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 Cap-
tain 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 star-
board quarter railing, and breaking off her larboard
bumpkin, and one or two stanchions above the deck.

136 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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. W T e 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, well-built man, about
fifty years of age; and being some 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, " O no ! Cap-
tain Thompson, you don't want the jib on her/' or " It
is n't time yet to heave ! " he soon gave it up. We had
no objections to this state of things, for Wilson was a
kind 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 wind-
lass, 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 got our other anchor, which had
dragged half over the harbor. " Now," said Wilson,
" I '11 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 hide-house which
.we were to use. Having done this, he took his leave,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 137

while we furled the sails, and got our breakfast, which
was welcome to us, for we had worked hard, and eaten
nothing since yesterday afternoon, and it was nearly
twelve o'clock. After breakfast, and until night, we
were employed in getting out the boats and mooring
ship.

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 Captain Bradshaw,
down the companion-way, " Captain Thompson has come
aboard, sir ! " " Has he brought his brig with him ? "
asked the rough old fellow, in a tone which made itself
heard fore and aft. This mortified our captain not a
little, and it became a standing joke among us, and, in-
deed, over the coast, for the rest of the voyage. The
captain went down into the cabin, and we walked for-
ward and put our heads down the forecastle, where we
found the men at supper. " Come down, shipmates ! 1
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 Satur-
day night; they had got through 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.

1 "Shipmate" is the term by which sailors address one another
when not acquainted.

138 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

We spent an hour or more with them, talking over
California matters, until the word was passed, " Pil-
grims, away ! " and we went back to our brig. The
Lagodas were a hardy, intelligent set, a little rough-
ened, and their clothes patched and old, from California
wear; all able seamen, and between the ages of twenty
and thirty-five or forty. They inquired about our ves-
sel, the usage on board, &c., and were not a little sur-
prised at the story of the flogging. They said there
were often difficulties in vessels on the coast, and some-
times knock-downs and fightings, but they had never
heard before of a regular seizing-up and flogging.
" Spread eagles " were a new kind of bird in California.

Sunday, they said, was always given in San Diego,
both at the hide-houses and on board the vessels, a large
number usually going up to the town, on liberty. We
learned a good deal from them about the curing and
stowing of hides, &c., and they were desirous 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, per-
haps, after all, no worse, though more gross and coarse,
than those one may chance to hear from some well
dressed gentlemen around their tables.

CHAPTER
XVI

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 prep-
aration. Buckets of fresh water (which we were allowed
in port), and soap, were put in use; go-ashore jackets and
trousers got out and brushed; pumps, neckerchiefs, and
hats overhauled, one lending to another; so that among
the whole each got a good fit-out. 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 out on our walk for the town, which was
nearly three miles off.

It is a pity that some other arrangement is not made
in merchant vessels with regard to the liberty-day.
When in port, the crews are kept at work all the week,
and the only day they are allowed for rest or pleasure is
Sunday; 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

I 4 o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 inju-
rious. As it is, it can hardly be expected that a crew, on
a long and hard voyage, will refuse a few hours of free-
dom from toil and the restraints of a vessel, and an op-
portunity to tread the ground and see the sights of society
and humanity, because it is a Sunday. They feel no
objection to being drawn out of a pit on the Sabbath
day.

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 entire. 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. Stimson 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, when we were free and
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 tolera-
ble 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 141

look on the bright side of everything for some time
after.

Stimson and I 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 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 ship-
mate 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 trousers, blue
jacket, and straw hat, which would prevent my going
into 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, sailor-like,
steered for the first grog-shop. This was a small adobe
building, of only one room, in which were liquors, " dry-
goods," West India goods, shoes, bread, fruits, and every-
thing which is vendible in California. It was kept by a
Yankee, a one-eyed man, who belonged formerly to Fall
River, came out to the Pacific in a whale-ship, left her
at the Sandwich Islands, and came to California and set
up a pulperia. Stimson 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, call-
ing for a glass all round, and obliging every one who is
present, even to the keeper of the shop, to take a glass
with him. When we first came in, there was some dis-
pute between our crew and the others, whether the new-

142 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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^ cents) a glass, it made somewhat
of a hole in their lockers. It was now our ship's turn,
and Stimson and I, desirous 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 ap-
prehension of being too late for our horses, and of get-
ting too much; for drink you must, every time; and if
you drink with one, and not with another, it is always
taken as an insult.

Having at length gone through our turns and acquit-
ted ourselves of all obligations, we slipped out, and went
about among the houses, endeavoring to find horses for
the day, so that we might ride round and see the coun-
try. At first we had but little success, all that we could
get out of the lazy fellows, in reply to our questions, be-
ing the eternal drawling Quien sdbe? ("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 ; very fair ones not being worth more than ten

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 143

dollars apiece, and the poorer 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 in the cavalry fashion, 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 settle-
ment lay directly below the fort, composed of about forty
dark brown looking huts, or houses, and three or four
larger ones, whitewashed, which belonged to the "gente
de razon." This town is not more than half as large as
Monterey, or Santa Barbara, and has little or no busi-
ness. 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, 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 stream, we came directly before it.
The Mission is built of adobe and plastered. There was
something decidedly striking in its appearance: a num-

144 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ber 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 very large 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
the Mission.

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 se.emed to be little
more than a high connecting wall. Not a living crea-
ture 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 Gray Friars, pass rapidly through a gallery,
but he disappeared without noticing us. After two
circuits, we stopped our horses, and at last a man showed
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, sup-
porting a large bunch of keys. From this, we took him
to be the steward of the Mission, and, addressing him as
" Mayor-domo," 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 alguna cosa de comer? " said I, from my grammar.
"Si, Senor!" said he. " Que gusta usted?" Mention-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 145

ing frijoles, which I knew they must have if they had
nothing else, and beef and bread, with a hint for wine, if
they had any, he went off to another building across
the court, and returned in a few minutes 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 ban-
quet. After despatching it, 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, 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 more; 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, in-
cluding several acres, and filled, it is said, with the be'st
fruits of the climate. The language of these people,
which is spoken by all the Indians of California, is the
most brutish, 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 and the independent Mexicans.

146 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Here, among the huts, we saw the oldest man that I
had ever met with; 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 gray 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
lids seemed to have gone. I asked his age, but could
get no answer but " Quien sabe ? " and they probably
did not know it.

Leaving the Mission, we returned to the village, going
nearly all the way on a full run. The California horses
have no medium gait, which is pleasant, between walk-
ing 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 gait of the an-
imals, 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 holiday 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 147

ball, and throwing it with all their might. Some of the
girls ran like greyhounds. At every accident, or re-
markable feat, the old people set up a deafening scream-
ing and clapping of hands. Several blue jackets were
reeling about among the 1 houses, which showed that the
pulperias had been well patronized. One or two of the
sailors had got on horseback, but being rather indiffer-
ent horsemen, and the Mexicans having given them
vicious beasts, they were soon thrown, much to the amuse-
ment of the people. A half-dozen Sandwich-Islanders,
from the hide-houses and the* two brigs, bold riders,
were, dashing about on the full gallop, hallooing and
laughing like so many wild men.

It was now nearly sundown, and Stimson and I went
into a house and sat quietly down to rest ourselves be-
fore going' to the beach. Several people soon collected
to see " los marineros ingleses," and one of them, a
young woman, took a great fancy to my pocket-hand-
kerchief, 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 me into high favor; and we had a pres-
ent 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 had 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 to
the beach, a distance of three miles, we procured

148 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

two, at four reals more apiece, with two Indian boys to
run 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 a few
minutes. Wishing to make our liberty last as long as
possible, we rode up and down among the hide-houses,
amusing ourselves with seeing the men as they arrived
(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 been thrown, or had fallen off, and were seen heading
for the beach, but steering pretty wild, and, by the looks
of things, would not be down much before midnight.

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 liberty-
day on shore. We were well tired, but had had a good
time, and were more willing to go back to our old duties.
About midnight we were waked up by our two watch-
mates, who had come aboard in high dispute. It seems
they had started to come down on the same horse,
double-backed ; and each was accusing the other of being
the cause of his fall. They soon, however, turned-in
and fell asleep, and probably forgot all about it, for the
next morning the dispute was not renewed.

THE next sound that 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
go-ashore paraphernalia, and putting on old duck trousers,
red shirts, and Scotch caps, began taking out and landing
our hides. For three days we were hard at work in
this duty, from the gray of the morning until starlight,
with the exception of a short time allowed for meals. For
landing and taking on board hides, San Diego is decidedly
the best place in California. The harbor is small and
land-locked; 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, in-
deed, 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 pos-
session of one of the hide-houses, 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

ISO TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

prospect of filling it before we could leave the coast;
and toward this our thirty-five hundred, which we brought
down with us, would do but little. There was scarce
a man on board who did not go often into the house,
looking round, reflecting, and making some calculation
of the time it would require.

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, and cleaning, and stowed away in the
house, ready to be put on board. This process is neces-
sary in order that they may keep during a long voyage
and in warm latitudes. For the purpose of curing and
taking care of them, 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 in our places
on board; but he could not get any Sandwich-Islanders
to go, although 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 our
spare spars and rigging, all the stores which we did not
need in the course of one trip to windward, and, in fact,
everything which we could spare, so as to make room on
board for hides; among other things, the pigsty, and
with it "old Bess." This was an old sow that we had
brought from Boston, and who lived to get round Cape
Horn, where all the other pigs died from cold and wet.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 151

Report said that she had been a Canton voyage be-
fore. 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. 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 might 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 on the main-yard, and, hooking it to a
strap round her body, swayed away, and, giving a wink
to one another, ran her chock up to the yard-arm.
"'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 mut-
tered 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 set 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, set-
ting up a shout and clapping his hands whenever Bess
came off victorious in- the struggles for pieces of raw
hide and half-picked bones which were lying about the

152 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 swill 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 we had 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. Sev-
eral of us wrote letters to send home by the Lagoda.
At twelve o'clock, the Ayacucho dropped her fore top-
sail, which was a signal for her sailing. She unmoored
and warped down into the bight, from which she got
under way. During this operation her crew were a
long time heaving at the windlass, and I listened to the
musical notes of a Sandwich-Islander named Mahanna,
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 high and long-
drawn notes, varying with the motion of the windlass.
This requires a clear voice, strong lungs, and much
practice, to be done well. This fellow had a very pecu-
liar, wild sort of note, breaking occasionally into a fal-
setto. The sailors thought that it was too high, and
not enough of the boatswain hoarseness about it; but

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 153

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, the Ayacucho got under
way, and with her long, sharp head cutting elegantly
through the water on a taut bowline, she stood directly
out of the harbor, and bore away to the southward.
She was bound to Callao, and thence to the Sandwich
Islands, and expected to be on the coast again in eight
or ten months.

At the close of the week we were ready to sail, but
were delayed a day or two by the running away of
Foster, 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. Hav-
ing shipped for an officer when he was not half a sea-
man, he found little pity with the crew, and was not
man enough to hold his ground among them. The cap-
tain 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

1 Soger (soldier) is the worst term of reproach that can be applied
to a sailor. It signifies a skulk, a shirk, 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 land-lubber. To make a sailor shoulder a handspike, and walk fore
and aft the deck, like a sentry, is as ignominious a punishment as can
be put upon him. Such a punishment inflicted upon an able seaman
in a vessel of war might break down his spirit more than a flogging.

154 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

he came aboard, it being past the proper hour he
was called aft, and told that he was to have a flog-
ging. Immediately he fell down on deck, calling out,
" Don't flog me, Captain Thompson, don't flog me ! "
and the captain, angry and disgusted with him, 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 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 mat-
tress to one of the Lagoda's crew, who promised to keep
it for him, and took it aboard his ship as something
which he had bought. 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 down silently with the tide until he was out
of hearing, when he sculled ashore.

The next morning, when all hands were mustered,
there was a great stir to find Foster. 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 the boat lying 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 hide-houses. As soon as he had landed, he
went directly to the Lagoda's hide-house, and a part

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 155

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 his ship. Just behind the hide-houses,
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 remained until he saw us under way and well
round the point.

Friday, March 2?th. The captain having given up all
hope of finding Foster, and being unwilling to delay any
longer, gave orders for unmooring 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 were made miserable by 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 sea-breeze came rippling
and darkening the surface of the water, and by sundown
we were off San Juan, which is about forty miles from
San Diego, and is called half-way to San Pedro, where
we were bound. Our crew was now considerably weak-
ened. One man we had lost overboard, another had
been taken aft as clerk, and a third had run away; so
that, beside Stimson 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

156 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 Foster 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 dis-
heartened ; and we were all rejoiced to hear, upon our re-
turn to San Diego, about two months afterwards, that he
had been immediately taken aboard the Lagoda, and had
gone home in her, on regular seaman's wages.

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 con-
trast 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 sand-banks. Our carpenter surveyed her, and pro-
nounced her capable of being refitted, and in a few days
the owners came down from the Pueblo, and having
waited for the high spring tides, with the help of our
cables, kedges, and crew, hauled her off 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
coast.

On board our own vessel, things went on in the com-
mon monotonous way. The excitement which immedi-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 157

ately 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 high-tempered, 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 in him, 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 in John's plans of satisfaction and
retaliation.

After a stay of about a fortnight, during which we
slipped for one southeaster, and were at sea two days,
we got under way for Santa Barbara. It was now the
middle of April, the southeaster season was nearly over,
and the light, regular winds, 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 Bar-
bara 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

158 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 poop-deck, 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'-cock-bill, which is customary among Catholic
vessels. Some also have an effigy of Judas, which the
crew amuse themselves with keel-hauling and hanging
by the neck from the yard-arms.

CHAPTER
XVIII

THE next Sunday was Easter, and as there
had been no liberty at San Pedro, it was
our turn to go ashore and misspend another
Sunday. Soon after breakfast, a large boat, filled with
men in blue jackets, scarlet caps, and various-colored
under-clothes, bound ashore on liberty, left the Italian ship,
and passed under our stern, the men singing beautiful
Italian boat-songs all the way, in fine, full chorus. Among
the songs I recognized the favorite, " O Pescator deir
onda." It brought back to my mind piano-fortes, draw-
ing-rooms, 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, for it is a point with liberty-men
to be pulled off and back as passengers by their ship-
mates, and, with orders to be on the beach at sundown,
we took our way for the town. There, everything wore
the appearance of a holiday. The people were dressed
in their best; the men riding about among the houses,
and the women sitting on carpets before the doors. Under

160 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 instru-
ments, 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 instruments. 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 air. In
a few minutes the man made his appearance, and apolo-
gized for having nothing to entertain us with, saying
that he had had a fandango at his house the night be-
fore, and the people had eaten and drunk up everything.

" O yes ! " said I, " Easter holidays! "

" No ! " said he, with a singular expression on his
face ; " I had a little daughter die the other day, and
that 's the custom of the country."

At this I felt somewhat awkwardly, not knowing what
to say, and whether to offer consolation or not, 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 bou-
quets in their hands. Following our conductor among

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 161

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 covered
with white cloth, and lined with white satin, and was
strewn 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, I asked the man when
the funeral would take place, and being told that it would
move toward the Mission in about an hour, took my
leave.

To pass away the time, we hired horses and rode to
the beach, and there saw 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 in-
vigorated and excited by the salt sea-breeze, and by the
continual roar and dashing of the breakers. From the
beach we returned to the town, and, finding that the fu-
neral procession had moved, rode on and overtook it,
about half-way to the Mission. Here was as peculiar a
sight as we had seen before in the house, the one look-
ing 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 be-
tween five and fifteen in the place. They played along

162 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, fre-
quently 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 their
hands, 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 was the only interpretation that I
could put upon 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 his hand. The Mission is a large and de-
serted-looking place, the out-buildings going to ruin, and
everything giving one the impression of decayed gran-
deur. 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 conse-
crated, and we forebore. Just at this moment, the bells
set up their harsh, discordant clangor, and the proces-
sion moved into the court. I wished 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
hoofs caught in the tackling of the saddle, which had
slipped, was fast dragging and ripping it to pieces. Know-
ing that my shipmate could not speak a word of Span-
ish, 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,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 163

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 surpris-
ingly 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
importa ! " and giving us to understand that he had plenty
more.

Having returned to the town, we saw a crowd col-
lected 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 cock-fight. One of the bantams having been
knocked in the head, and having an eye put out, gave
in, and two monstrous prize-cocks were brought on.
These were the object of the whole affair; the 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. Both cocks 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 true

164 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

veni-vidi-vici look, leaving the other lying panting on his
beam-ends.

This matter having been settled, we heard some talk
about " caballos " and " carrera," and seeing the people
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 race-course. Here the crowd soon became
thick again, the ground was marked off, the judges sta-
tioned, and the horses led up to one end. Two fine-
looking 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, work-
ing all over, both man and beast. The steeds came by
us like a couple of chain shot, 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
light-built men, had handkerchiefs tied round their
heads, and were bare-armed and bare-legged. The
horses were noble-looking beasts, not so sleek and
combed as our Boston stable horses, 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 town.

Returning to the large pulperia, we heard the violin
and guitar screaming and twanging away under the
piazza, where they had been all day. As it was now

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 165

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 noi 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 'fore-mast Jacks; and, having been or-
dered to be on the beach by sunset, 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.
Liberty-men 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 our-
selves 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 stayed on board, and, hav-
ing taken a night-smoke, turned in. Thus ended our
second day's liberty on shore.

On Monday morning, as an offset to our day's sport, we
were all set to work " tarring down " the rigging. Some

i66 TWO^YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

got girt-lines up for riding down the stays and back-stays,
and others tarred the shrouds, lifts, &c., laying out on the
yards, and coming down the rigging. We overhauled
our bags, and took out our old tarry trousers and frocks,
which we had used when we tarred down before, and
were all at work in the rigging by sunrise. After break-
fast, we had the satisfaction of seeing the Italian ship's
boat go ashore, filled with men, gayly dressed, as on the
day before, and singing their barcarollas. The Easter
holidays are kept up on shore for three days; and, being
a Catholic vessel, her crew had the advantage of them.
For two successive days, while perched up in the rig-
ging, 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 Catholi-
cism's spreading in New England, unless the Church
cuts down her holidays; Yankees can't afford the
time. 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. As
Yankees don't usually keep Christmas, and shipmasters
at sea never know when Thanksgiving comes, Jack has
no festival at all.

About noon, a man aloft called out " Sail ho ! " and,
looking off, we saw the head sails of a vessel coming
round the point. As she drew round, she showed the
broadside of a full-rigged 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 ours, expected to have news from home. She
rounded-to 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.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 167

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 and Loriotte, 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 the 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 expecting from
Boston.

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 sparingly 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
way and come-to in half the time, and get two an-
chors, while they were all talking at once, jabbering
like a parcel of " Yahoos," and running about decks to
find their cat-block.

There was only one point in which they had the ad-
vantage over us, and that was in lightening their labors

i68 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 discon-
tented 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 :

" For the tired slave, song lifts the languid oar,

And bids it aptly fall, with chime
That beautifies the fairest shore,
And mitigates the harshest clime."

After lying about a week in San Pedro, we got under
way for San Diego, intending to stop at San Juan, as the
southeaster season was nearly over, and there was little
or no danger.

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 anchor-watch, 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 or thrown sky-
high. We had been on board the little Spanish brig,

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 169

and were returning, stretching out well at our oars, the
little boat going like a swallow; our faces were turned
aft (as is always the case in pulling), and the captain,
who was steering, was not looking out 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, hump-backed 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 iron-gray 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 fin-backs and hump-backs,
which are more difficult to take, and are said not to
give oil enough to pay for the trouble/ For this reason,
whale-ships do not come upon the coast after them.
Our captain, together with Captain Nye of the Loriotte,
who had been in a whale-ship, thought of making an at-
tempt upon one of them with two boats' crews; but as
we had only two harpoons, and no proper lines, they
gave it up.

During the months of March, April, and May, these
whales appear in great numbers in the open ports of
Santa Barbara, San Pedro, &c., and hover off the coast,
while a few find their way into the close harbors of San

i;o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Diego and Monterey. They are all off again before mid-
summer, and make their appearance on the " off-shore
ground." We saw some fine " schools " of sperm whales,
which are easily distinguished by their spout, blowing
away, a few miles to windward, on our passage to San
Juan.

Coasting along on the quiet shore of the Pacific, we
came to anchor in twenty fathoms 5 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 royal-
mast-head. We had heard much of this place from the
Lagoda's crew, who said it was the worst place in Cali-
fornia. The shore is rocky, and directly exposed to the
southeast, 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 slip-rope and gear,
though we meant to stay only twenty-four 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 different directions up and down the beach,
to explore it.

San Juan is the only romantic spot on the coast.
The country here for several miles is high table-land,
running boldly to the shore, and breaking off in a steep
cliff, 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 frag-
ments 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 sand-beach between the
sea and the bottom of the hill. This was the only land-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 171

ing-place. 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 table-land 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 steep places,
in the ascent. No animal but a man or a 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 a solemnity to the
scene, a silence and solitariness which affected every
part! 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 sand-beach 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 re-
turned 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 life, with its paltry, vulgar associations, which I

172 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

had been leading. 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 together, as the agent had made his
appearance, on his way back to our boat.

We pulled aboard, and found the long-boat hoisted
out, and nearly laden with goods; and, after dinner, we
all went on shore in the quarter-boat, with the long-
boat in tow. As we drew in, we descried an ox-cart 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 scram-
bling 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 on the edge of the hill, and looking
down the perpendicular height, the sailors

" That walked upon the beach
Appeared like mice; and our tall anchoring bark
Diminished to her cock; her cock a buoy
Almost too small for sight."

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 173

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 the beach. This was the romance of
hide droghing!

Some of the hides lodged in cavities under the bank and
out of our sight, being directly under us; but by pitch-
ing other hides in the same direction, we succeeded in
dislodging them. Had they remained there, the cap-
tain said he should have sent on board for a couple of
pairs of long halyards, and got some one to go 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 will do until he is called upon; for, six months
afterwards, I descended the same place by a pair of top-
gallant studding-sail halyards, to save half a dozen hides
which had lodged there.

Having thrown them all over, 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 sun-
down were on our way to San Diego.

Friday, May 8th, 1835. Arrived at San Diego. We

174 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

found the little harbor deserted. The Lagoda, Ayacu-
cho, Loriotte, all had sailed from the coast, and we were
left alone. All the hide-houses on the beach but ours
were shut up, and the Sandwich-Islanders, a dozen or
twenty in number, who had worked for the other ves-
sels, and been paid off when they sailed, were living on
the beach, keeping up a grand carnival. There was a
large oven on the beach, which, it seems, had been built
by a Russian discovery-ship, that had been on the coast
a few years ago, for baking her bread. This the Sand-
wich-Islanders took possession of, and had kept ever
since, undisturbed. It was big enough to hold eight or
ten men, and had a door at the side, and a vent-hole at
top. They covered the floor with Oahu mats for a car-
pet, stopped up the vent-hole in bad weather, and made
it their head-quarters. It was now inhabited by as
many as a dozen or twenty men, crowded together, 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 ship-bread, and a barrel of flour from the Lagoda,
before she sailed. There they lived, having a grand
time, and caring for nobody. Captain Thompson wished
to get three or four of them to come on board the Pil-
grim, 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 cap-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 175

tain 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 New-
castle. So long as they had money, they would not
work for fifty dollars a month, and when their money
was gone, they would work for ten.

" What do you do here, Mr. Mannini ? " x said the
captain.

" Oh ! we play cards, get drunk, smoke, do anything
we 're a mind to."

" Don't you want to come aboard and work? "

" Aole! aole make make makou i ka hana. Now, got
plenty money; no good, work. Mamule, money pau
all gone. Ah ! very good, work ! maikai, hana hana
nui!"

"But you'll spend all your money in this way," said
the captain.

"Aye! me know that. By-'em-by money pau all
gone; then Kanaka work plenty."

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 won over Mr. Mannini to his
interest, and as the shot was getting low in the locker
at the oven, 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 hide-house. This

1 The vowels in the Sandwich Island language have the sound of
those in the languages of Continental Europe.

176 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

was unexpected to me; but anything in the way of
variety I liked; so we made ready, and were pulled
ashore. I stood on the beach while the brig got under
way, and watched her until she rounded the point, and
then went to the hide-house to take up my quarters for
a few months.

CHAPTER
XIX

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
" beach-comber " and a hide-curer ; yet the novelty and the
comparative independence of the life were not unpleasant.
Our hide-house 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, &c., 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
heads was another small room, in which Mr. Russell
lived, who had charge of the hide-house, 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 commun-
ing with his own dignity. The boy, a Marblehead hope-
ful, whose name was Sam, was to act as cook; while I,
a giant of a Frenchman named Nicholas, and four Sand-
wich-Islanders were to cure the hides. Sam, Nicholas,
and I lived together in the room, and the four Sandwich-

178 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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. 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 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, with scant clothing to his back and no 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 igno-
rance to his strength, " strong as an ox, and ignorant
as strong." He knew how neither to read nor to write.
He had been to sea from a boy, had seen all kinds of
service, and been in all sorts of vessels, merchantmen,
men-of-war, 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 been in even worse business
than slave-trading. He was once tried for his life in
Charleston, South Carolina, and, though acquitted, was so
frightened that he never would show himself in the
United States again. I was not able to persuade him
that he could not 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.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 179

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 older, stronger,
and larger than I, he showed a marked respect for me,
on account of my education, and of what he had heard
of my situation before coming to sea, such as may be
expected from a European of the humble class. " I '11
be good friends with you," he used to say, " for by and
by you '11 come out here captain, and then you 11 haze
me well ! " By holding together, we kept the officer in
good order, for he was evidently afraid of Nicholas, and
never interfered with us, except when employed upon
the hides. My other companions, the Sandwich-Island-
ers, 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 when-
ever they chose, and let themselves out to cure hides
at San Diego, and to supply the places of the men left
ashore from the American vessels while on the coast. In
this way a little colony of them had become settled at
San Diego, as their head-quarters. 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 employ them.

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,

i8o TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, " Ka-
nakas," from a word in their own language, signifying,
I believe, man, human being, which they apply to
themselves, and to all South-Sea-Islanders, in distinc-
tion from whites, whom they call " Haole." This name,
" Kanaka," they answer to, both collectively and indi-
vidually. 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 our proper names, as Jack, Tom,
Bill; and some have fancy names, as Ban-yan, Fore-top,
Rope-yarn, Pelican, &c., &c. 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 Lagoda-
Jack, California-Bill, &c., &c. But by whatever names
they might be called, they jwere the most interesting,
intelligent, and kind-hearted 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 day, a feeling
for, which would lead me to go a great way for the
pleasure of seeing them, and which will always make
me feel a strong interest in the mere name of a
Sandwich-Islander.
Tom Davis knew how to read, write, and cipher in

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 181

common arithmetic; had been to the United States,
and spoke English quite well. His education was as
good as that of three quarters of the Yankees in Cali-
fornia, 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 ease. Old " Mr. Bing-
ham" spoke very little English, almost none, and
could neither read nor write; but he was the best-
hearted old fellow in the world. He must have been
over fifty years of age. He 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 eatee Cap'nee Cook! Me
pickaninny small so high no more! My fader
see Cap'nee 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 eatee white man; Sandwich Island Kanaka,
no. Sandwich Island Kanaka ua like pu na haole, all
'e same a' you ! "

Mr. Bingham was a sort of patriarch among them,
and was 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 re-

182 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

membered perfectly; and also about the customs of 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 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 from barbar-
ism. I would have trusted my life and all I had 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 see it done, before my own country-
men had got half through counting the cost. Their
customs, 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. What-
ever one has they all have. Money, food, clothes, they
share with one another, even to the last piece of to-
bacco to put in their pipes. I once heard old Mr. Bing-
ham say, with the highest indignation, to a Yankee
trader who was trying to persuade him to keep his
money to himself, " No ! we no all 'e same a' you !
Suppose one got money, all got money. You, sup-
pose one got money lock him up in chest. No
good ! " " Kanaka all 'e same a' one ! " This princi-
ple they carry so far that none of them will eat any-
thing in 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.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 183

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,
kind-hearted 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 inso-
lent mates of vessels. He was always civil, and always
ready, and never forgot a benefit. I once took care of
him when he was ill, 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 con-
tract, 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 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 respecting Boston (as they called the United
States), asking many questions about the houses, the
people, &c., 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

184 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 apprehen-
sion, and, I have no doubt, left them with about as
clear an idea of the principle as I had myself. This diffi-
culty, of course, existed in the same force with respect to
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 ran
over to New Bedford. And, by the way, it was strange
to hear Tom speak of America, when the poor fellow
had been all the way round Cape Horn and back, and
had seen nothing but Nantucket.

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 denote that it is undiscovered, he looked up
and asked, " Pauf " (Done? ended?)

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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 185

mouths as full as they can hold of smoke, 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 pipe-full
serving for half a dozen. They never take short, con-
tinuous 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 pipe, flint, steel, tinder, a hand of
tobacco, and a jack-knife, which he always carried about
with him. 1

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 seem-
ing hardly to move, and the sounds apparently modu-
lated 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 improvisator e
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

1 Matches had not come into use then. I think there were none on
board any vessel on the coast. We used the tinder box in our fore-
castle.

186 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

of our own people before we had observed them our-
selves.

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 settle-
ment. 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 hide-houses
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 hon-
orably buried. Hogs and a few chickens were the rest
of the animal tribe, and formed, like the dogs, a com-
mon company, though they were all known, and usually
fed at the houses to which they belonged.

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
try-works on shore, put up a small tent, in which they
all lived, and commenced operations. This addition
gave a change and variety to our society, and we spent

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 187

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
hide-curing. 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 the hides are thus
dried in the sun, and doubled with the skin out, they
are received by the vessels at the different ports on
the coast, and brought down to the depot at San Diego.
The vessels land them, and leave them in large piles
near the houses. Then begins the hide-curer'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 twenty-
five for each man, which, with us, made a hundred and
fifty. There they lie forty-eight hours, when they are
taken out, and rolled up, in wheelbarrows, and thrown
into the vats. These vats contain brine, made very
strong, being sea-water, with great quantities of salt
thrown in. This pickles the hides, and in this they lie
forty-eight hours; the use of the sea-water, into which
they are first put, being merely to soften and clean them.
From these vats they are taken, and lie on a platform
for twenty-four hours, and then are spread upon the
ground, and carefully stretched and staked out, with the
skin up, that they may dry smooth. After they had
been staked, and while yet wet and soft, we used to go
upon them with our knives, and carefully cut off all the

i88 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 off everything that ought to come off,
and not to cut or injure the hide. It was also a long
process, as six of us had to clean a 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 back-ache. 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, could keep up with
the others, and clean my twenty-five.

This cleaning must be got through with before noon,
for by that time the hides 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 over, for the other side to dry, 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 beaten with flails. This takes all the dust
from them. Then, having been 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 189

into shoes and other articles for which leather is used,
and many of them, very probably, in the end, brought
back again to California in the shape of shoes, and worn
out in pursuit of other bullocks, or in the curing of other
hides.

By putting a hundred and fifty in soak every day,
we had the same number at each stage of curing on
each day; so that we had, every day, the same work to
do upon the same number, a hundred and fifty to put
in soak, a 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 Sun-
day; 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
might be to kill a bullock, which was sent down for our
use about once a week, and sometimes came on Sunday.
Another advantage of the hide-curing life 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
with the first signs of daylight, and allowing a short
time, at 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

190 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 Coffee-
house." 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
nor 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 twenty-five 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 permission, this was seldom or never
refused.

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 nasty vats, into which
we were often obliged to wade, knee-deep, to press
down the hides, all made the work disagreeable and
fatiguing; but we soon became 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 191

when we were through for the day, 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 for 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 have 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 dis-
tance on our backs, as we could not get the hand-cart
up the hills and over the uneven places. Two after-
noons in the week, generally Monday and Thursday, as
soon as we were through dinner, we started off for the
bush, each of us furnished with a hatchet and a long
piece of rope, and dragging the hand-cart 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 hand-cart 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 hand-cart 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,

192 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

so that, with 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 " back-
load," 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 hand-cart. Two good back-loads apiece rilled the
hand-cart, and that was each one's proportion. When
each had brought down his second load, we rilled the
hand-cart, and took our way again slowly back to the
beach. It was generally sundown when we got back;
and unloading, covering the hides for the night, and,
getting our supper, finished the day's work.

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 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. Fre-
quently, too, we had some amusement and adventure.
The coyotes, 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 Cali-
fornia. 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 fast, 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
coyote single, and was considerably worsted, and might,
perhaps, have been killed, had we not come to his assist-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 193

ance. 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 fore-quarters of the
mastiff. When he was brought to San Diego, an Eng-
lish sailor said that he looked, about the face, 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 favor-
ite and bully of the beach. He always led the dogs by
several yards in the chase, and had killed two coyotes at
different times in single combats. We often had fine
sport with these fellows. A quick, sharp bark from a
coyote, and in an instant every dog was at the height
of his speed. A few minutes made up for an unfair
start, and gave each dog his right place. Welly, at the
head, seemed almost to skim over the bushes, and after
him came Fanny, Feliciana, Childers, and the other fleet
ones, the spaniels and terriers ; and then, behind, fol-
lowed the heavy corps, bull-dogs, &c., for we had
every breed. Pursuit by us was in vain, and in about
half an hour the dogs would begin to come panting and
straggling back.

Beside the coyotes, the dogs sometimes made prizes
of rabbits and hares, which are plentiful here, and num-
bers of which we often shot for our dinners. Among
the other animals there was a reptile I was not so much
disposed to find amusement from, the rattlesnake. These
snakes are very abundant here, especially during the

i 9 4 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 " with-
out one of our number starting some of them. I re-
member perfectly well the first one that I ever saw. I
had left my companions, and was beginning to clear
away a fine clump of trees, when, just in the midst of
the thicket, but a few yards from me, one of these fel-
lows 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 continued 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, re-
treating 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 195

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 glid-
ing 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 a considerable collection. None of our
people were 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 an herb which would cure it,
but it was fortunately never brought to the test.

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, abounded, 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 of the coast,

196 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 neighbor-
hood. The only other animals were horses. More than
a dozen of these were owned by men on the beach, and
were allowed to run loose among the hills, with a long
lasso attached to them, to 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, so that we could mount him and
catch any of the others. Some of them were really fine
animals, and gave us many good runs up to the presidio
and over the country.

CHAPTER
XX

ATER 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 an ox-
cart, 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 com-
ing 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 man-
ner of conjectures were abroad. Some said it was
the Pilgrim, with the Boston ship, which we were ex-
pecting; but we soon saw that the brig was not the
Pilgrim, and the ship, with her stump top-gallant-masts
and rusty sides, could not be a dandy Boston Indiaman.
As they drew nearer, we discovered the high poop, and
top-gallant forecastle, and other marks of the Italian

198 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 began dis-
charging 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 house was occupied, and the beach,
for several days, was all animation. The Catalina had
several Kanakas on board, who were immediately laid
hold of by the others, and carried up to the oven, where
they had a long pow-wow and a smoke. Two French-
men, 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
vessel from the United States now on the coast.
Several of the Italians slept on shore at their hide-
house; and there, and at the tent in which the Fazio's
crew lived, we had some singing almost every evening.
The Italians sang a variety of songs, barcarollas, pro-
vincial airs, &c. ; in several of which I recognized parts
of our favorite operas and sentimental songs. They
often joined in a song, taking the different parts, which
produced a fine effect, as many of them had good voices,
and all sang with spirit. One young man, in particu-
lar, had a falsetto as clear as a clarionet.

The greater part of the crews of the vessels 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 199

whom were Normans, and the third from Gascony), one
Dutchman, one Austrian, two or three Spaniards (from
old Spain), half a dozen Spanish- Americans and half-
breeds, 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-Island-
ers, one Tahitian, and one Kanaka from the Marquesas
Islands.

The night before the vessels were ready to sail, all
the Europeans united and had an entertainment at the
Rosa's hide-house, and we had songs of every nation and
tongue. A German gave us " Ach ! mein lieber Augus-
tin ! " the three Frenchmen roared through the Mar-
seilles Hymn ; the English and Scotchmen gave us " Rule
Britannia," and " Wha '11 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 " Star-spangled Ban-
ner." After these national tributes had been paid, the
Austrian gave us a pretty little love-song, and the
Frenchmen sang a spirited thing, " Sentinelle ! O
prenez garde a vous ! " and then followed the melange
which might have been expected. When I left them,
the aguardiente and annisou were pretty well in their
heads, they were all singing and talking at once, and
their peculiar national oaths were getting as plenty as
pronouns.

The next day, the two vessels got under way 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 was a little
changed. In charge of the Catalina's house was an old
Scotchman, Robert, who, like most of his countrymen,
had some education, and, like many of them, was rather

200 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

pragmatical, and had a ludicrously solemn conceit
of himself. He employed his time in taking care of
his pigs, chickens, turkeys, dogs, &c., 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 chronom-
eter, 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, Captain Lord James
Townshend, and had great ideas of his own importance.
The man in charge of the Rosa's house, Schmidt, was an
Austrian, 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 man-of-war, where he learned to
speak our language easily, 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 books
in it. He was between forty and fifty years of age,
and was a singular mixture of the man-of-war's-man 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 holiday,
he and old Robert (the Scotchman from the Catalina)
went up to the town, and got so cosey, talking over old
stories and giving each other good advice, that they
came down, double-backed, 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 201

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 '11 be on your back ! " Still, he was an in-
telligent, good-natured old fellow, and had a chest full of
books, which he willingly lent me to read. In the same
house with him were a Frenchman and an Englishman,
the latter a regular-built " man-o'-war 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 every time he went to the presidio, when he
always managed to sleep on the road, and have his
money stolen from him. These, with a Chilian and
half a dozen Kanakas, formed the addition to our
company.

In about six weeks from the time when the Pilgrim
sailed, we had 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 noth-
ing 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. Accord-
ingly 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
mark for noon, as there was not a watch on the beach,

and then came back to dinner, and after dinner
started off again with our hand-cart 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

202 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

" 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 whole shirt to my back.

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
wheat-coffee and dry bread rather poor living, we clubbed
together, and I went to the town on horseback, with
a great salt-bag behind the saddle, and a few reals in
my pocket, and brought back the bag full of onions,
beans, pears, 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 larger portion. With
these we lived like fighting-cocks for a week or two,
and had, besides, what the sailors call a " blow-out 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 put everything in order, " patch upon patch, like
a sand-barge's mainsail." Then I took hold of Bowditch's

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 203

Navigator, which I had always with me. I had been
through the greater part of it, and now went carefully
over 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 story-book,
or the half of a shipping calendar, seemed a treas-
ure. I actually read a jest-book through, from begin-
ning to end, in one day, as I should a novel, and enjoyed
it much. At last, when I thought that there were no
more to be had, 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 an 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 ridiculous so, with me,
from Mandeville to hide-curing was but a step; for

Wednesday, July i8th, 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
top-gallant-masts were up, her bowlines all unrove (ex-
cept to the courses), the quarter boom-irons off her
lower yards, her jack-cross-trees sent down, several
blocks got rid of, running rigging 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 quarter-deck, a short, dark-complex-
ioned man, in a green jacket and a high leather cap.

204 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

These changes, of course, set the whole beach on the
qui-vvue, and we were all waiting for the boat to come
ashore, that we might have things explained. At length,
after the sails were furled and the anchor carried out,
her boat pulled ashore, and the news soon flew that the
expected ship had arrived at Santa Barbara, and that
Captain Thompson had taken command of her, and her
captain, Faucon, had taken the Pilgrim, and was the
green- jacketed man on the quarter-deck. 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. Nu-
merous inquiries passed as to the new ship, the latest
news from Boston, &c., &c. Stimson had received let-
ters 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," &c., &c. Captain Thompson took command of
her, and she went directly up to Monterey; 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 morning, like a man-of-war's ;
everything on board " ship-shape and Bristol fashion " ;

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 205

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 by either 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, shifting the top-gallant-
masts, and unreeving all the studding-sail gear and
half the running rigging, the very first day.

Having got all the news we could, we pulled ashore;
and as soon as we reached the house, I, as might be sup-
posed, fell directly to opening my bundle, and found a
reasonable supply of duck, flannel shirts, shoes, &c., and,
what was still more valuable, a packet of eleven letters.
These I sat up nearly all night reading, and put them
carefully away, to be re-read again and again at my
leisure. Then came 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." Only those
who have been on distant voyages, and after a long ab-
sence received a newspaper from home, can understand
the delight that they give one. I read every part of
them, the houses to let, things lost or stolen, auc-
tion sales, and all. Nothing carries you so entirely to a
place, and makes you feel so perfectly at home, as a
newspaper. The very name of " Boston Daily Adver-
tiser " " sounded hospitably upon the ear."

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, &c. Captain

206 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Faucon came quietly up to me, as I was sitting upon a
stretched hide, cutting- the meat from it with my knife,
and asked me how I liked California, and repeated,

" Tityre, tu patulae recubans subtegmine fagi."

Very apropos, thought I, and, at the same time, shows
that you have studied Latin. However, it was kind
of him, and an attention from a captain is a thing
not to be slighted. Thompson's majesty could not
have bent to it, in the sight of so many mates and
men; but Faucon was a man of education, literary
habits, and good social position, and held things at their
right value.

Saturday, July nth. 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. The duck I received from home
I soon made up into trousers and frocks, and, having
formed the remnants of the duck into a cap, I displayed
myself, every Sunday, in a complete suit of my own
make, from head to foot. Reading, mending, sleeping,
with occasional excursions into the bush, with the dogs,
in search of coyotes, hares, and rabbits, or to encounter
a rattlesnake, and now and then a visit to the presidio,
filled up our spare time after hide-curing was over for
the day. Another amusement which we sometimes in-
dulged in was " burning the water " for craw-fish. 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 torch-bearer in
the bow, a steersman in the stern, and one man on each
side with the grains, went off, on dark nights, to burn

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 207

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 craw-fish are
an easy prey, and we used soon to get a load of them.
The other fish were more difficult to catch, yet we fre-
quently speared a number of them, of various kinds and
sizes. The Pilgrim brought us a supply of fish-hooks,
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 expe-
ditions, 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
minutes 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! " &c., &c. ;
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 he 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,
and 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 floun-
dering, toward deep water; but here again, before he
was fairly off, the other Kanaka seized him by the tail,
and made a spring toward the beach, his companion at
the same time paying away upon him with stones and a

208 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

large stick. As soon, however, as the shark could turn,
the man 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 pre-
sidio, and by the close of the summer I had
added much to my vocabulary, beside hav-
ing 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 discovered in 1534 by Ximenes, or in
1536 by Cortes, I cannot settle which, and was subse-
quently visited by many 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, were added rumors of gold mines, pearl fishery,
&c. No sooner was the importance of the country
known, than the Jesuits obtained leave to establish
themselves in it, to Christianize and enlighten the In-
dians. 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

210 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, San Francisco, and other
places, dividing the country into large districts, each
with its presidio, and governed by a commandante.
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 In-
dians, who became, in fact, their serfs, in tending their
vast herds. In the year 1793, when Vancouver visited
San Diego, the missions 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 had been going
down; until, at last, a law was passed, stripping them
of all their possessions, and confining the priests to
their spiritual duties, 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 serfs, as much as they
ever were. But in the missions the change was com-
plete. 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 211

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 for-
tunes, 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, in-
deed, to every one concerned with the country, by trade
or otherwise, than that of the administradores. The
priests were connected permanently to one mission, and
felt the necessity of keeping up its credit. Accordingly
the debts of the missions 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 sol-
diers, 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 were going
rapidly to decay.

The external political arrangements remain the same.
There are four or more presidios, having under their pro-
tection the various missions, and the pueblos, which are
towns formed by the civil power and containing no mis-
sion or presidio. The most northerly presidio is San
Francisco, the next Monterey, the next Santa Barbara,
including the mission of the same, San Luis Obispo, and
Santa Buenaventura, which is said to be the best mis-
sion in the whole country, having fertile soil and rich
vineyards. The last, and most southerly, is San Diego,
including the mission of the same, San Juan Capistrano,

2i2 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

the Pueblo de los Angeles, the largest town in Califor-
nia, with the neighboring mission of San Gabriel. The
priests, in spiritual matters, are subject to the Arch-
bishop of Mexico, and in temporal matters to the gov-
ernor-general, who is the great civil and military head
of the country.

The government of the country is an arbitrary de-
mocracy, having no common law, and nothing that we
should call a 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 capi-
tal 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; and if another member should
be sent, he has only to challenge him, and decide the
contested election in that way.

Revolutions are matters of frequent occurrence in Cali-
fornia. They are got up by men who are at the foot of
the ladder and in desperate circumstances, just as a new
political organization may be started by such men in our
own country. The only object, of course, is the loaves
and fishes ; and instead of caucusing, paragraphing, libel-
ling, feasting, promising, and lying, they take mus-
kets and bayonets, and, seizing upon the presidio and
custom-house, divide the spoils, and declare a new
dynasty. As for justice, they know little 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 Angeles, with
his wife and children, when a Mexican, with whom he

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 213

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 governor-general. The governor-general
refused to do anything about it, and the countrymen of
the murdered man, seeing no prospect of justice being
administered, gave notice that, if nothing was done, they
should try the man themselves. It chanced that, at this
time, there was a company of some thirty or forty trap-
pers and hunters from the Western States, with their
rifles, who had made their head-quarters 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 rea-
sonable time, proceeded to try the man according to the
forms in their own country. A judge and jury were ap-
pointed, and he was tried, convicted, sentenced to be
shot, and carried out before the town 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 procla-
mation as long as the fore-top-bowline, threatening de-
struction to the rebels, but never stirred from his fort ;
for forty Kentucky hunters, with their rifles, and a dozen
of Yankees and Englishmen, were a match for a whole
regiment of hungry, drawling, lazy half-breeds. This
affair happened while we were at San Pedro (the port
of the Pueblo), and we had the particulars from those
who were on the spot. A few months afterwards,

214 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

another man was murdered on the high-road between
the Pueblo and San Luis Rey by his own wife and a man
with whom she ran off. The foreigners pursued and shot
them both, according to one story. According to another
version, nothing was done about it, as the parties were
natives, and a man whom I frequently saw in San Diego
was pointed out as the murderer. Perhaps they were
two cases, that had got mixed.

When a crime has been committed by Indians, justice,
or rather vengeance, is not so tardy. One Sunday after-
noon, 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 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 be-
ing his own, and a favorite with him, yet he was an In-
dian, 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 of jus-
tice in California.

In their domestic relations, these people are not better
than in their public. The men are thriftless, proud,
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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 215

best; yet the instances of infidelity are much less fre-
quent than one would at first suppose. In fact, one vice
is set over against another; and thus something like a
balance is obtained. If the women have but little virtue,
the jealousy of their husbands is extreme, and their re-
venge 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. The difficulties of the attempt are numer-
ous, and the consequences of discovery fatal, in the bet-
ter classes. With the unmarried women, too, great
watchfulness is used. The main object of the parents is
to marry their daughters well, and to this a fair name is
necessary. The sharp eyes of a duefia, and the ready
weapons 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 dishonor of another.

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; yet 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 evil livers, they
were whipped, and kept at work sweeping the square of
the presidio, and carrying mud and bricks for the build-
ings ; yet a few reals would generally buy them off. In-

216 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

temperance, too, is a common vice among the Indians.
The Mexicans, on the contrary, are abstemious, and
I do not remember ever having seen a Mexican in-
toxicated.

Such are the people who inhabit a country embracing
four or five hundred miles of sea-coast, 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 re-
main 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 Mexicans; yet their children are
brought up Mexicans in most respects, and if the
" California fever " (laziness) spares the first generation,
it is likely to attack the second.

SATURDAY, July i8th. This day sailed the
Mexican hermaphrodite brig Fazio, for San
Bias 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, &c., and her sailing
had been delayed for several weeks ; but everything having
been arranged, she got under way 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
then at hand, they offered a handful of silver to any
Kanaka who would swim off and take a letter on
board. One of the Kanakas, an active, well-made young
fellow, instantly threw off everything but his duck
trousers, 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

2i8 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

deck, but did not heave-to, suspecting the nature of his
errand; yet, the wind continuing light, he swam along-
side, 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
hide-house. He did not seem at all fatigued, had made
three or four dollars, got a glass of brandy, and was in
high spirits. The brig kept on her course, and the gov-
ernment officers, who had come down to forbid her sail-
ing, went back, each with something very like a flea in
his ear, having depended upon extorting a little more
money from the owner.

It was now nearly three months since the Alert ar-
rived at Santa Barbara, and we began to expect her
daily. About half a mile behind the hide-house 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 was
a sail in sight, coming down before the regular trades.
Day after day we went up the hill, and came back dis-
appointed. 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 Thomp-
son 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 re-
ceived, 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 219

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 might settle the matter. I might
be a sailor for life; and although I had pretty well
made up my mind to it before I had my letters from
home, 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 hide-house was no place to
learn seamanship in. I had become experienced in hide-
curing, and everything went on smoothly, and I had
many opportunities of becoming acquainted with the
people, and much leisure for reading and studying navi-
gation; 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 sedi-
ments of six months' hide-curing, in a stench which
would drive a donkey from his breakfast), and got all in
readiness for the arrival of the ship, and had another
leisure interval of three or four weeks. I spent these, as
usual, in reading, writing, studying, making and mend-
ing 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 passed in taking care of a little
puppy, which I had selected from thirty-six that were
born within three days of one another at our house.

220 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 brought him into complete subjection,
and he grew nicely, was much attached to me, and bade
fair to be one of the leading dogs on the beach. I called
him Bravo, and all I regretted at the thought of leaving
the beach was parting from him and the Kanakas.

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 after-
noon's paseo upon the beach, was the ship, where she
could be, had she been to San Francisco, how many
hides she would bring, &c., &c.

Tuesday, August 2$th. 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 hide-house, 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 hide-house. In
an instant every one was out of his house, and there
was a tall, gallant ship, with royals and skysails set,
bending over before the strong afternoon breeze, and
coming rapidly round the point. Her yards were braced
sharp up; every sail was set, and drew well; the stars
and stripes were flying from her mizzen-peak, and, hav-
ing the tide in her favor, she came up like a race-horse.
It was nearly six months since a new vessel had entered
San Diego, and, of course, every one was wide awake.
She certainly made a fine appearance. Her light sails
were taken in, as she passed the low, sandy tongue of

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 221

land, and clewing up her head sails, she rounded hand-
somely to under her mizzen topsail, and let go her
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 top-
gallant yard, the men slid down the stay to furl the jib,
and from the mizzen top-gallant yard, by the stay, into
the main-top, and thence to the yard; and the men on
the topsail yards came down the lifts to the yard-arms
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 yard-arms and the stay, the long-boat hoisted
out, a large anchor carried astern, and the ship moored.
This was the Alert.

The 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 whale-boat, handsomely painted, and fitted up with
cushions and tiller-ropes in the stern sheets. We im-
mediately 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, &c., and they were very
curious to know about the kind of life we were leading
upon the beach. One of them offered to exchange with
me, which was just what I wanted, and we had only to
get the permission of the captain.

After dinner the crew began discharging their hides,
and, as we had nothing to do at the hide-houses, 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

222 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

disfigures the after part of most of our vessels), flush
fore and aft, and as white as flax, 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 " ship-
shape." 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 hearty fellow, with a roaring
voice, 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, and cook, and
twelve hands before the mast. She had on board seven
thousand hides, which she had collected at the wind-
ward, and also horns and tallow. All these we began dis-
charging 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 ballast, and we returned
to our old work, hide-curing.

Saturday, August 2(?th. Arrived, brig Catalina, from
the windward.

Sunday, August joth. This was the first Sunday that
the Alert's 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
those of 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, either mending and

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 223

washing their clothes, or reading and writing. They
told me that the ship stopped at Callao on the passage
out, and lay there three weeks. She had a passage of
a little over eighty days from Boston to Callao, which is
one of the shortest on record. There they left the
Brandywine frigate, and some smaller American ships
of war, and the English frigate Blonde, and a French
seventy-four. From Callao they came directly to Cali-
fornia, and had visited every port on the coast, including
San Francisco. The forecastle in which they lived was
large, tolerably well lighted by bull's-eyes, 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 spit-box always under the
steps and between the bits, and obliging every man to
hang up his wet clothes, &c. In addition to this, it was
holystoned every Saturday morning. In the after part
of the ship was a handsome cabin, a dining-room, and a
trade-room, fitted out with shelves, and furnished with
all sorts of goods. Between these and the forecastle
was the " between-decks," as high as the gun-deck
of a frigate, being six feet and a half, under the
beams. These between-decks were holystoned regu-
larly, and kept in the most perfect order; the car-
penter's bench and tools being in one part, the sail-
maker'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 between-
decks were clapboarded, the knees and stanchions of

224 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 entire confidence in her as
a " lucky ship." She was seven years old, had always
been in the Canton trade, had never met with an ac-
cident of any consequence, nor made a passage that was
not shorter than the average. The third mate, a young
man 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 as
much of her as he would of a wife and family.

The ship lay about a week longer in port, when, hav-
ing discharged her cargo and taken in ballast, she pre-
pared to get under way. 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 be-
fore) ; 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
hammock, and found myself once more afloat.

CHAPTER
XXIII

TUESDAY, September 8th, 1835. This was
my first day's duty on board the ship; and
though a sailor's life is a sailor's life wher-
ever 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 the men to dress and come on deck, and if
any were longer than that, they were sure to be over-
hauled by the mate, who was always on deck, and making
himself heard all over the ship. The head-pump was then
rigged, and the decks washed down by the second and
third mates ; the chief mate walking the quarter-deck, 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 water-ways, 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
hand-stones, which the sailors call " prayer-books," are
used to scrub in among the crevices and narrow places,

226 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

where the large holystone will not go. An hour or two
we were kept at this work, when the head-pump 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 morn-
ing job. There were five boats belonging to the ship,
launch, pinnace, jolly-boat, larboard quarter-boat, 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 harness-
cask; another, the man-rope 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 mean time the
rest of the crew filled the scuttled-butt, and the cook
scraped his kids (wooden tubs out of which 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 quar-
ter-deck, and took a few turns, 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, bread-bags, &c., stowed away; and, this
morning, preparations were made for getting under way.
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 cat-block 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 227

about in, more discipline and system, more men, and
more good-will. Each 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 fore-
castle, gave the order to loose the sails! and, in an
instant all 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 yard-arm gaskets and
bunt gaskets, and one man remained on each yard, hold-
ing 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 cross-jack yards?"
&c., &c. ; 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 royal-
mast-heads to the decks. All then came down, except one
man in each top, to overhaul the rigging, and the top-
sails were hoisted and sheeted home, the three yards
going to the mast-head 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 mizzen. The yards were then trimmed,
the anchor weighed, the cat-block hooked on, the fall
stretched out, manned by " all hands and the cook,"
and the anchor brought to the head with " cheerly,
men ! " in full chorus. The ship being now under way,
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 (as I was 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

228 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, all things 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 good usage on board. Each one knew that
he must be a man, and show himself such when at his
duty, yet all were satisfied with the treatment; and a
contented crew, agreeing with one another, and finding
no fault, was a contrast indeed with the small, hard-used,
dissatisfied, grumbling, desponding crew of the Pilgrim.

It being the turn of our watch to go below, the men set
themselves to work, mending their clothes, and do-
ing other little things for themselves; and I, having got
my wardrobe in complete order at San Diego, had noth-
ing 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 bot-
tom of his chest, and, producing it, I found, to my sur-
prise and joy, that it was nothing else than Bulwer's
Paul Clifford. I seized it immediately, and, going to my
hammock, lay there, swinging and reading, until the
watch below was out. The between-decks clear, the
hatchways open, a cool breeze blowing through them,
the ship under easy way, everything was comfortable.
I had just got well into the story when eight bells were
struck, and we were all ordered to dinner. After din-
ner came our watch on deck for four hours, and at four

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 229

o'clock I went below again, turned into my hammock
and read until the dog watch. As lights were not
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 feast to me. The brilliancy of the book, the
succession of capital hits, and the lively and character-
istic sketches, kept me in a constant state of pleasing
sensations. It was far too good for a sailor. I could
not expect such fine times to last long.

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 spun-yarn, &c., 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 look-
out, 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
well acquainted with the larboard watch. The sail-
maker was the head man of the watch, and was gener-
ally considered the most experienced seaman on board.
He was a thorough-bred old man-of-war's-man, had been
at sea twenty-two years, in all kinds of vessels, men-
of-war, privateers, slavers, and merchantmen, every-
thing except whalers, which a thorough man-of-war or
merchant seaman looks down upon, and will always
steer clear of if he can. He had, of course, been in
most parts of the world, and was remarkable for draw-

230 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

ing a long bow. His yarns frequently stretched through
a watch, and kept all hands awake. They were amus-
ing from their improbability, and, indeed, he never ex-
pected to be believed, but spun them merely for amuse-
ment; and as he had some humor and a good supply of
man-of-war 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 here-
after. 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 broad-backed, thick-headed, Cape Cod x boy,
who had been in mackerel schooners, and was making
his first voyage in a square-rigged vessel. He was born
in Hingham, and of course was called " Bucket-maker."
The other watch was composed of about the same num-
ber. A tall, fine-looking Frenchman, with coal-black
whiskers and curly hair, a first-rate seaman, 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 some property and re-
spectable connections, and was reduced to duck trousers
and monthly wages), a German, an English lad, named
Ben, who belonged on the mizzen-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 sea-dog,
a Swede by birth, and accounted the best helmsman in
the ship. This was our ship's company, beside cook and
steward, who were blacks, three mates, and the captain.

1 Sailors call men from any part of the coast of Massachusetts south
of Boston Cape Cod men.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 231

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 fore-
castle, 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 bowline; the cook, ex
officio, 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 cross- jack braces ; three other light hands at the
lee ; one boy at the spanker-sheet and guy ; a man and a
boy at the main topsail, top-gallant, and royal braces;
and all the rest of the crew men and boys tallied
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 the ropes 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 quarter-deck, 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 fore-
castle, 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 taut for a swing. The

232 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

weather cross-jack braces and the lee main braces are
belayed together upon two pins, and ready to be let go,
and the opposite braces hauled taut. " Main topsail
haul ! " shouts the captain ; the braces are let go ; and if
he has chosen 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 lee-
ward, 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 ! " " Top-
gallant yard's well!" "Royal yard too much! Haul
in to windward! So! well that!" "Well all!" Then
the starboard watch board the main tack, and the lar-
board 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 cross-jack 1 yard ! " " Small pull the main
top-gallant yard!" "Well that!" "Well the mizzen
topsail yard!" " Cross- jack yards all well!" "Well
all aft!" "Haul taut 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 twenty-four hours of the passage, we
beat off and on the land, making a tack about once in
four hours, so that I had sufficient opportunity to ob-
serve 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

1 Pronounced croj-ac.

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 233

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.
This light working of the ship was owing to the at-
tention and seamanship of Captain Faucon. He had
reeved anew nearly all the running rigging of the ship,
getting rid of useless blocks, putting single blocks for
double wherever he could, using pendent blocks, and
adjusting the purchases scientifically.

Friday, September nth. This morning, at four o'clock,
went below, San Pedro point being about two leagues
ahead, and the ship going on under studding-sails. 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 studding-sails, 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 an-
chor inside of the kelp. In coming to anchor, as well
as in tacking ship, 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 top-
sails ; 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,
sailmaker, and the larboard watch, went upon the fore
topsail yard; the second mate, carpenter, and the star-

234 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

board watch, 'upon the main; and I, and the Eng-
lish lad, and the two Boston boys, and the young Cape
Cod man, furled the mizzen 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 un-
der 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 triced up, on deck. The mate then took
his place between the knight-heads to " twig " the fore,
on the windlass to twig the main, and at the foot of
the mainmast for the mizzen; and if anything was
wrong, too much bunt on one side, clews too taut 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 yard-arm gaskets passed, so as not
to leave a wrinkle forward of the yard short gaskets,
with turns close together.

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 hal-
looing 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 a more estimable man, perhaps, but a far
better mate of a vessel; and the entire change in Cap-
tain Thompson'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, and the captain interferes
continually; that makes a difficulty between them, which
encourages the crew, and the whole ends in a three-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 235

sided quarrel. But Mr. Brown (a Marblehead man)
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. Cap-
tain Thompson gave his directions to the mate in private,
and, except in coming to anchor, getting under way, tack-
ing, reefing topsails, and other " all-hands-work," 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 well.

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 top-gallant yard; two more light hands the fore,
and one boy the mizzen. This order we 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 mizzen to port. No sooner was she
all snug, than tackles were got up on the yards and
stays, and the long-boat 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 every-
thing 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 with 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

236 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

off work, and cleared up decks for the night, my friend
Stimson 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. Stimson was deter-
mined to go home in the Alert, by begging or buying.
If Captain Thompson 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 ste\vard with lights to put in the between-decks, and
set all hands to dancing. The between-decks were
high enough to allow of jumping, and being clear, and
white, from holystoning, made a good dancing-hall.
Some of the Pilgrim's crew were in the forecastle, and
they all turned-to and had a regular sailor's shuffle till
eight bells. The Cape Cod 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 used to stand at the steerage door, looking on,
and if the boys would not dance, hazed them round with
a rope's end, much to the entertainment of the men.

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 way with no fuss,
and came so near us as to throw a letter on board,
Captain Faucon standing at the tiller himself, and steer-
ing her as he would a mackerel smack. When Captain
Thompson was in command of the Pilgrim, there was

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 237

as much preparation and ceremony as there would be in
getting a seventy-four under way. 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 him thoroughly, 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 usually
ready to admit. To find fault with the seamanship of
the captain is a crew's reserved store for grumbling.

After the Pilgrim left us, we lay three weeks at San
Pedro, from the nth of September until the 2d of
October, engaged in the usual port duties of landing
cargo, taking off hides, &c., &c. 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, by a division of labor, a boat's crew
of a dozen could take off all the hides brought down in
a day without much trouble; 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 pleasant young fel-
low, and made no unnecessary trouble; so that we gen-
erally had a sociable time, and were glad to be re-
lieved 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, better outfit,
better regulation, more life, and more company. An-
other thing was better arranged here: we had a regular
gig's crew. A light whale-boat, handsomely painted,
and fitted out with stern seats, yoke and tiller-ropes,

238 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

hung on the starboard quarter, and was used as the gig.
The youngest lad in the ship, a Boston boy about fourteen
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 her
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 boat-hook and painter, and
the coxswain of the rudder, yoke, and stern-sheets. Our
duty was to carry the captain and agent about, and pas-
sengers 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, was to be brought off
and taken ashore in our boat. Some days, when people
were coming and going fast, we were in the boat, pull-
ing off and on, all day long, with hardly time for our
meals, making, as we lay nearly three miles off shore,
from thirty to forty 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 with small bundles which the passengers took
with them, and no hides to carry. Besides, we had the
opportunity of seeing everybody, making acquaintances,
and hearing the news. Unless the captain or agent
was 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 to the nearest house, or spend the
time in strolling about the beach, picking up shells, or

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 239

playing hop-scotch, and other games, on the hard sand.
The others 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 Cali-
fornia; for, besides carrying everybody in our boat,
men, women, and children, all the messages, letters,
and light packages went by us, and, being known by our
dress, we found a ready reception everywhere.

At San Pedro, we had none of this amusement, for,
there being but one house in the place, there was nothing
to see and no company. All the variety that I had
was riding, once a week, to the nearest rancho, 1 to order
a bullock down to the ship.

The brig Catalina came in from San Diego, and, being
bound to windward, we both got under way at the same
time, for a trial of speed up to Santa Barbara, a dis-
tance of about eighty miles. We hove up and got
under sail about eleven o'clock at night, with a light
land-breeze, which died away toward morning, leaving
us becalmed only a few miles from our anchoring-place.
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 sea-
breeze 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 in-shore. When the sea-breeze died away,

1 This was Sepulveda's rancho, where there was a fight, during
our war with Mexico in 1846, between some United States troops and
the Mexicans, under Don Andre*as Pico.

240 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

she was nearly out of sight; and, toward the latter
part of the afternoon, the regular northwest wind set-
ting 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 taut bowline.
We had nearly five hours of splendid 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 in-shore, and caught the
land-breeze first, which came off upon our quarter,
about the middle of the first watch. All hands were
turned up, and we set all sail, to the skysails and the
royal studding-sails; 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 Santa Buenaventura, and our com-
petitor nearly out of sight. The sea-breeze, however,
favored her again, while we w r ere becalmed under the
headland, and laboring slowly along, and she was abreast
of us by noon. Thus we continued, ahead, astern, and
abreast of each other, 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 ad-
mitted 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 241

windward, which is the best trial of a vessel, had much
the advantage.

Sunday, October 4th. This was the day of our ar-
rival; and, somehow or other, our captain seemed to
manage, not only to sail, but to come into port, on a
Sunday. The main reason for sailing on Sunday is not,
as many people suppose, because it 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, Sunday being their only day of rest,
whatever additional work can be thrown into it is so
much gain to the owners. This is the reason of our
coasters and packets generally sailing on Sunday. Thus it
was with us nearly all the time we were on the coast, and
many of our Sundays were lost entirely to us. The Catho-
lics on shore do not, as a general thing, do regular
trading or make journeys on Sunday, but the American
has no national religion, and likes to show his inde-
pendence of priestcraft by doing as he chooses on the
Lord's Day.

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, embedded 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 hardly seeming to earn their sunlight. Day-
light was thrown away upon them. We had a few visit-
ors, 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 monkey-jackets with us, and flint and
steel, and made a fire on the beach with the driftwood

242 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

and the bushes which 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 in-
habitants. 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 remark-
able man I had ever seen, Tom Harris. An hour,
every night, while lying in port, Harris and I had the
deck to ourselves, and walking fore and aft, night after
night, for months, I learned his 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. His memory was perfect,
seeming to form a regular chain, reaching from his ear-
liest childhood up to the time I knew him, without a link
wanting. His power of calculation, too, was extraordi-
nary. 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.
He carried in his head, not only a log-book of the voy-
age, which was complete and accurate, and from which
no one thought of appealing, but also an accurate regis-
try of the cargo, knowing where each thing was stowed,
and how many hides we took in at each port.

One night he made a rough calculation of the num-

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 243

her of hides that could be stowed in the lower hold, be-
tween the fore and main masts, taking the depth of hold
and breadth of beam (for he knew the dimensions of
every part of a ship before he had been long on board),
and the average area and thickness of a hide; and 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, and 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 each 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 twenty-four hours,
by taking the whole progress and allowing so many
eights southing or northing, to so many easting or west-
ing, he would make up his reckoning just before the
captain took the sun at noon, and often came very
near the mark. 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 forgot anything that he read. The only
thing in the way of poetry that he ever read was Fal-
coner's Shipwreck, which he was charmed with, and
pages of which he could repeat. He said he could re-
call 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 we afterwards fell in with, who had been in a ship
with Harris nearly twelve years before, was much sur-
prised 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

244 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 striking. 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, among all the
young men of my acquaintance at college, there is not
one whom I had not rather meet in an argument than
this man. I never answered a question from him, or ad-
vanced 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 you had said
months before, he was sure to have you on the hip. In
fact, I felt, when with him, that I was with no common
man. I had a positive respect for his powers of mind,
and thought, often, that if half the pains had been spent
upon his education which are thrown away yearly, in
our colleges, he would have made his mark. Like many
self-taught men of real merit, he overrated the value
of a regular education; and this 1 often told him,
though I had profited by his error; 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 a sovereign contempt.
He was a far better sailor, and probably a better navi-
gator, 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 fell into an argument with him, they would
call out: "Ah, Jack! you had better drop that as you

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 245

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, com-
ing 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, in-
deed, he had any at all. When I had got through, he
took the liberty of differing from me, and brought argu-
ments and facts which were new to me, and to which I
was 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 boarding-house 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 had no previous acquaint-
ance, yet he had the chain of reasoning, founded upon
principles of political economy, fully in his memory;
and his facts, so far as I could judge, were correct; at
least, he stated them with precision. The principles of
the steam-engine, too, he was familiar with, having been
several months on board a steamboat, and made himself
master of its secrets. He knew every lunar star in
both hemispheres, and was a master of the quadrant
and sextant. The men said he could take a meridian
altitude of the sun from a tar bucket. Such was the
man, who, at forty, was still a dog before the mast, at

246 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

twelve dollars a month. The reason of this was to be
found in his past life, as I had it, at different times, from
himself.

He was an Englishman, a native of IlfracomE, 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 common-school education, passing his winters at school
and his summers in the coasting trade until his seven-
teenth year, when he left home to go upon foreign voy-
ages. Of this mother he spoke with the greatest respect,
and said that she was a woman of a strong mind,
and had an excellent system of education, which had
made respectable men of his three brothers, and failed
in him only from his own indomitable obstinacy. One
thing he 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,
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, when
the voyage should end, to embark for home with all the
wages he should get, to spend with and for his mother,
if perchance he should find her alive.

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 bot-
tom of. Several times he had been hauled up in the
hospitals, and as often the great strength of his consti-
tution had brought him out again in health. Several

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 247

times, too, from his acknowledged 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, " There," said
he, " in the forecastle, at the foot of those steps, a
chest of old clothes, is the result of twenty-two years
of hard labor and exposure worked like a horse, and
treated like a dog." As he had grown 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 ship-
mate of his was brought aboard drunk, with a dangerous
gash in his head, and his money and new clothes stripped
from him. Harris had been in hundreds of such scenes
as these, but in his then state of mind it fixed his de-
termination, and he resolved never to taste a 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 reso-
lution, and the thing was done. The date of his resolu-
tion he knew, of course, to the very hour. It was three
years before I became acquainted with 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 talk-
ing 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 meaner man.

He understood the management of a ship upon scien-
tific principles, and could give the reason for hauling

248 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

every rope; and a long experience, added to careful ob-
servation at the time, gave him a knowledge of the ex-
pedients and resorts for times of hazard, 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 enabled 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 sea-
men by connivance of the owners, landlords, and officers,
all these he had, and I could not but believe them ; for
he made the impression of an exact man, to whom ex-
aggeration was falsehood; and his statements were al-
ways credited. 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
highly connected in Boston, who absolutely murdered a
lad from Boston who 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 captain has since died of the same
fever on the same coast.)

In fact, taking together all that I learned from him
of seamanship, of the history of sailors' lives, of practi-
cal wisdom, and of human nature under new circum-
stances and strange forms of life, 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 the gift of
many hours to be passed in study and intercourse with
even the best of society.

CHAPTER
XXIV

SUNDAY, October nth. 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, October i^th. 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 hide-house 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 suddenly the very day after I sailed in the Alert.

Sunday was again, as usual, our sailing day, and we
got under way 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

250 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

Juan, where we came to anchor nearly three miles from
the shore, with slip-ropes on our cables, in the old south-
easter style of last winter. On the passage up, we had
an old sea-captain on board, who had married and set-
tled in California, and had not been on salt water for
more than fifteen years. He was surprised 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 top-gallant-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, October 20th. Having got everything ready,
we set the agent ashore, who went up to the Mission
to hurry down the hides for the next morning. This
night we had the strictest orders to look out for south-
easters; and the long, low clouds seemed rather threat-
ening. But the night passed over without any trouble,
and early the next morning we hove out the long-boat
and pinnace, lowered away the quarter-boats, 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 mast-head, 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 sum-
mit. 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 251

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 boat-loads 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
bank, 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 com-
mission was one per cent, he determined not to give
them up, and sent on board for a pair of top-gallant
studding-sail 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 ac-
tive, 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 the rope, and prepared for the de-
scent.

We found a stake fastened strongly into the ground,
and apparently capable of holding my weight, to which
we made one end of the halyard well fast, and, taking the
coil, threw it over the brink. The end, we saw, just
reached to a landing-place, from which the descent to
the beach was easy. Having nothing on but shirt,
trousers, and hat, the common sea rig of warm weather,
I had no stripping to do, and began my descent by
taking hold of the rope with both hands, 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

252 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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 aid of my feet and the other hand
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 mid-air. I got down
in safety, pretty well covered with dirt; and for my

pains was told, " What a d d fool you were to risk

your life for half a dozen hides ! "

While we were carrying the hides to the -boat, I per-
ceived, 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 jolly-boat. 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 tow-line, and we expected every moment to see the
launch swamped. At length we got alongside, our
boats half full of water; and now came the greatest
trouble of all, unloading the boats in a heavy sea,
which pitched them about so that it was almost impos-
sible 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 253

on, and the launch and pinnace hoisted, chocked, and
griped. The quarter-boats 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 hawse-holes, and the chain
surged so as almost to unship the barrel of the wind-
lass. " Hove short, sir ! " said the mate. " Aye, aye !
Weather-bit 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 neces-
sity 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 were soon close-hauled, under reefed
sails, standing off from the lee shore and rocks against a
heavy head sea. The fore course was given to her, which
helped her a little; but as she hardly held her own
against the sea, which was setting her to 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 wind-
lass came slowly round, pawl after pawl, and the
weather clew of the sail was brought down to the water-
ways. 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

254 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

her head the foam, which flew off at each 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 mizzen-top men were sent up to
take another reef in the mizzen 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 yard-arm,
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 miz->
zen topsail yard, either for reefing or furling, and the
young English lad and I 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
morning, and the gale having blown itself out, we
came-to,

Thursday, October 22d, at San Pedro, in the old south-
easter berth, a league from shore, with a slip-rope on
the cable, reefs in the topsails, and rope-yarns for
gaskets. Here we lay ten days, with the usual boating,
hide-carrying, rolling of cargo up the steep hill, walking
barefooted over stones, and getting drenched in salt
water.

The third day after our arrival, the Rosa came in
from San Juan, where she went the day after the south-
easter. Her crew said it was as smooth as a mill-pond
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:

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 255

not only that an Italian ship should have got to wind-
ward of us in the trade, but because every thousand
hides went towards completing the forty thousand which
we were to collect before we could say good by to
California.

While lying here, we shipped one new hand, an Eng-
lishman, of about six-and-twenty years, who was 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 edu-
cation 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 boarding-house from which
they shipped, that George had been at a college (proba-
bly a naval one, as he knew no Latin or Greek), where he
learned French and mathematics. He was not the man
by nature that Harris was. Harris had made every-
thing of his mind and character in spite of obstacles;
while this man had evidently been born in a different

256 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

rank, and educated early in life accordingly, but had
been a vagabond, and done nothing for himself since.
Neither had George the character, strength of mind, or
memory of Harris; yet there was about him the re-
mains of a pretty good education, which enabled him to
talk quite up to his brains, and a high spirit and amena-
bility to the point 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 adventures of the
last two years, which we afterwards heard confirmed
in such a manner as put the truth of them beyond a
doubt.

He sailed from New York in the year 1833, if I mis-
take 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 sur-
rendered, 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 gave way to the cap-
tain, 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

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST 257

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 a pet of him. In this way he lived
for thirteen months, in a delicious climate, with plenty
to eat, half naked, and nothing to do. He soon, how-
ever, became tired, and went round the island, on differ-
ent pVetences, 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 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 con-
sented. They paddled off in the track in which the ship
was bound, and lay-to 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 na-
tive 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 sea-
man'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, hav-
ing some difficulty with the captain, he left her, and,
coming down the coast, joined us at San Pedro. Nearly

258 TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

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, giving all the particulars just as we had
them from George. The letter was published for the in-
formation 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 him since.

George had an interesting journal of his adventures
in the Pelew Islands, which he had written out at length,
in a handsome hand, and in correct English. 1

1 In the spring of 1841, a sea-faring man called at my rooms, in Boston
and said he wished to see me, as he knew something about a man I had
spoken of in my book. He then told me that he was second mate of
the bark Mary Frazer, which sailed from Batavia in company with the
Cabot, bound to Manilla, that when off the Pelew Islands they fell in
with a canoe with two natives on board, who told them that there was
an American ship ahead, out of sight, and that they had put a white man
on board of her. The bark gave the canoe a tow for a short distance.
When the Mary Frazer arrived at Manilla, they found the Cabot there;
and my informant said that George came on board several times, and
told the same story that I had given of him in this book. He said the
name of George's schooner was the Dash, and that she was wrecked,
and attacked by the natives, as George had told me.

This man, whose name was Beauchamp, was second mate of the
Mary Frazer when she took the missionaries to Oahu. He became
religious during the passage, and joined the mission church at Oahu
upon his arrival. When I saw him, he was master of a bark.

END OF VOLUME I

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