&» J.' V 'J •(. 1 n t' '¥i^ YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 1936 Afloat 6n the Pacific. OE NOTES OF THREE YEARS LIFE AT SEA, COMPRISING SKETCHES OF PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST AND AMONG T[IE ISLANDS OF POLYNESIA, VISITED DUKING SEVERAL VOYAGES UI'' THE U. S. S. LANCASTER AND SABANAC. BY W. P. MARSHALL, " What heed I of the dusty land And noisy town ? I see the mighty deep expand From its white line of glimmering sand To where the blue of heaven on bluer waves shuts down.'' J. G. Whittiee. ZANESVILLE, 0. BULLIYj^jr Sf (pjiiisojrs. 1S76. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1876, BY THE AUTHOR, in the oflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PREFATORY. » OR those who delight in tales of the marvelous, :f the ocean is full of suggestion ; but however en tertaining such stories may be for those whose minds require a strictly sensational diet, I have chosen to write for that class who prefer facts to fiction, and a "plain unvarnished tale" to the creations of im agination. The sea may be considered a trite sub ject by some; but to the lover of nature its sublimity never becomes commonplace. Its vastness and its vicissitudes, its solitary grandeur and its stern reali ties of danger, combine to invest it with interest ; and for those who have been long tossed on its waves and spent their years in familiarity with its varying moods, there is an indescribable charm about it and its incidents which will amply apologize for these sketches. Keeping in view the excellence of truth in narra tives of this kind, I have endeavored to present only facts, and make my pictures true to nature. THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS, CHAPTER I. Voyage to Aspinwall— First view of tho Ocean— Sea eicknesa- Fellow Passengers— Canary Bird Concerts— Landsmen and Sailors— a Preach er, Actor, and the "Dejected Lover"— Among tbe West Indies. Page, 9 CHAPTEli II. Aapinwall- Crossing the Isthmus— Former population — Panama— Em barking in the night , 18 CHAPTER III. New SnrroundingB— Old Panama and Early Days— Washing Decks— The Crew—Spanish Americans— A Guacho— Rainy Season 24 CHAPTER IV. Life on Board— The St. Mary's and Cyane— Look out for Torpedoes- At tempt to Capture a Mail Steamer, by Rebels— A Porthole Landscape. 31 CHAPTER V. Preparations for Departure— The ''Dejected Lover" again— Off to the Southward— Island of Ouiho—A retrospect from the Bowsprit at Sea— Aloft— Warm Rains— A Calm near the "Lin6"—Payta— Incident of Z Anson's visit— Off again 36 CHAPTER VI. The Andes- Arrive at Callao— The Bay— Peruvian, English and French Ships of War— A visit from the Peruvian Admiral— Visit from the President of Peru— Arrival ofthe Spanish Fleet— Visit from Spanish Admiral— A Sprig of Royalty—Fruits, &c.,— Climate — Idling— Natives of Peru— Midnight Welcome to the New Year— Anchored over a Cityr- Diving in an Iron Boat— A Peruvian Serenade— The Sandwich Island Minister— The old Fredonia and her Fate 43 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. Off for Panama— Burial atSea— Panama— Visit Dead Man's Island— "Dad" —Old Walls— Climbing the Rocks— Iguanas— View irom tlie top- Lonely Graves— "Toboga Bill" and Sharks— A Specimen Revolution —Off for Acapulco 53 CHAPTER VIII. Flying fish, Whales, Turtles, &c.— Bobos— Sea Gulls— Arrival at Acapul co— Town and Harbor— Commerce— Transferred—New Quarters- A'iait ashore— Mexican Suldiers— Houses— Churches-Shops- Streets-Water Carriers— A contrast— News of the Death of Lincoln 62 CHAPTER IX. Trip to Rio Dulce— An Escape— Shore and People— Cat Fishing at Sea— Red Fish and Moon Fish— Shark Fishing— Shark's Tenacity of Life— Re turn 68 CHAPTER X. Commerce of the Spanish Galleons 74 CHAPTER XI. Sleeping— My Occupations— Amateur Theatricals— Actor and Arlist— Ban ditti ashore— Two Slight Adventures 79 CHAPTER XII. Off on a Cruise for the Shenandoah— r)ff Pt. Conception— The Golden Gato —Mare Island— Old Ships— Off to Sea-AStorm— Esquimau, V. I.— Flat Head Indians— Coaling— A Tragedy— Off for the Sandwich Islands —A Tempest- Pair Weather Again— Visit of a Blue bird in Mid- Ocean— A Floating Spar— Water-Spouts— First View of the Sand wiches 86 CHAPTER XIII. Appearance of Oahu— News of the Shenandoah— Off for the Marquesas- Headwinds and Squalls— Fate of the Levant— Grossing the "Line"— Ocean Scenes— Nukahiva Bay, Marquesas Islands— Cannibals— Catho lic Missionaries— Com. Porter and the Essex— Scenery of Nukahiva Bay 49 CHAPTER XIV. Dp Anchor and off for Tahiti— Low Archipelago- Appenr ance of Tahiti- Its Beauty— Papiete— Coral Beef and Transparency of the Water- View from the Anchorage— Fruits and Shells— Moonlight Dances aboard— Barque Glimpse- French Soldiers— The Deserted Wife~Ma- tavia Bay— Contrast with the Past— Tlie day of Captain Wallis' Arrival —To Honolulu 101 CONTENTS. VII CHAPTER XV. Honolulu- Pali Precipice— A Ride up the Mountain— Former Customary Salutation- Royal Road— A Brewery— Primitive Livery Stable— Places of Interest— Fu cure of Hawaii— Sugar Production— Chinese Restaur ant-Character of the Natives— Kanaka Sailors— Raw Fish and Poi— Rev. S. C. Damon— Missionary Efforts— Decrease of Population— De parture— A Whale Sliip in Distress 109 CHAPTER XVI. Voyage down the Coast— La I'az— Pearl Divers— Turtle— Ludicrous Inci dent— Guaymas— A Narrow Escape— Fruits, Fish &c.,— Pelicans— Maz- atlan— Dog's Head Promontory- Water Spouts at Sea— Acapulco again —Shock of an Earthquake at night— The Exiled President- An Artil lery Exercise— Sailors' Stratagems to Obtain Spirits— An old Tar's Method of Getting Drunk— H. B. M. Talisman- Tbe Pliosphorescent Sea— B»ck to Ma/.atlan— Off for Guaymas— Ship a Sea— Return to San Francifaco 121 CHAPTER XVII. \ Mutiny— Off to Sea— Sea-sick in a Gale— The Mouth of the Columbia River— Port Angelos— A Tragedy at Seattlo—Olympia— Drink of Kero sene Oil— Scenery of the Sound— The "Noble Red Man"— Matrimonial — Nauuimo, V. I.— Bellingham Bay— Solitude— Return, 134 CHAPTER XVIII. Cruide Southward— Sea Gull's Powiir of Flight— Artillery Fight— Terrific Stoim at Night— A Narrow Escape — Mazatlau— In Retireme.it— An Ocean Hermitage— December Weather in the Gulf— Return to San Francisco— Cyane and Yellow Fever 141 CHAPTER XIX. Monterey— Whale Fiahing in tlie Bay— A Dance on the Quarter-deck— "Breakdown" at Sea— French Fleet at Mazatlan— Our Snarleyow— He greets an Admiral— Visit of Gen. Martinez— Down to Acapulco 146 CHAPTER XX. First Lesson io Mexicnn Military Discipline— Visit to the Castillo de San tiago— Retiectioiis-Second Lesson in Military Discipline 152 CHAPTER XXI. Down the Coabt- Gulf of Fonseca— Volcanoof Coseguina-La Union— Visit of General Alejandro Cabrero and Priests— San Juan del Sur— Louis nnd his Fillibnstering with Walker— Punta Arenas— Panama again- Yellow Fuver and Cholera- On Shore— Various places inthe Town— "Dug Out" Voyagers from the Southward— Old Walls— Off for Realejo Return Voyage ¦ 157 VIII CON-TENTS. CHAPTER XXII. Recruiting— The Two Enemies— The Two Tragedies— Killing Time— Mike C— His Adventure— The City— Sailor's Attempt to Escape- Burning of the Ship Blackwall— A Narrative of Suffering and Horror— Es cape 163 CHAPTER XXIII. The Last (bruise— Good-bye to Pichilingue Bay— Stormy Voyage— Home ward Bound- In at the Golden Gate ; 173 ILLUSTRATIONS. A CoBAL Reef, Frontispiece Mid-Ocean Scene, Facing Page 41 First Arrival of the Dolphin, " " 105 Kamehameha, " 117 AFLOAT ON THE PACIFIC. CHAPTER I. Toyage to Aspinwall.— First view of tho Ocean.— Sea sickness.- Fellow Passengers— Canary Bird Concerts- Landsmen and Sailors— a Preach er, Actor, and the "Dejected Lover"— Among the West Indies. |N October, 1864, a detachment of officers and men, including the writer, sailed from New York to join the Pacific squadron. We left the wharf at one o'clock P. M., aboard the Pacific Mail Steamship Costa Rica, and got fairly to sea before night. As this was my first voyage, and indeed my first view of the ocean, I felt most vividly those impres sions of its grand sublimity which authors have so often in vain attempted to describe. It would be use less to try to convey, by any attempt at exact descrip tion, the mingled sentiments and emotions that crowd upon the mind at such a time ; and I could not, if I wished, recall all the thoughts that came and went, as our steamer plunged along, farther and farther from the land that gradually faded from view ia the 10 A FIRST VOYAGE. distance and the gathering gloom of night. There are often experiences in our lives, which for their ad equate portrayal, demand a more perfect language than any with which, in this life, mortals are endow ed ; and among thos6 experiences may be counted a sudden introduction to the "vasty deep," in its awful and solitary grandeur. A first voyage, under any circumstances, has in it much that is indescribable. You may read voyages and study the descriptions given by travelers of their sensations and impressions, as much as you will, and after all you will form but an indistinct idea of the reality. There is a strange novelty in the transfer from terra firma to the uncertainty of your footing on the unstable liquid element, that makes you feel as if you had, body and soul, entered upon a new state of existence. You are isolated, not only from friends and familiar places and scenes, but from that life-long unconscious experience of solid land, which has almost become a part of yourself. The ocean reminds you often and forcibly of Eternity. The conditions of existence are different from those on land, the vast ness of the wide expanse of waters suggests the infin itude of the ftiture beyond life, and the mind in eith er case is bewildered by the inconceivable. I spent the first hours on deck, absorbed in the view. Looking out over the white-capped wavelets gleaming in the moonlight, I tried to take into con ception the vastness of my new acquaintance,^-the grand old ocean. In my ihaagination, at times, it seemed endowed with a personality of might and SEASICKNESS. 11 grandeur, so over-powering in effect, that I easily un derstood how natural it has been for the unenlight ened mind to deify the elements. At times swift fancy carried me away over the wide waters to the strange things — the productions and the people of the countries beyond. In my school-days, yet fresh in memory, geography and books of travel had been a never-failing delight ; and now I felt a more ab sorbing interest in the great highway of waters, that reached to every land, and washed the shores of many nations. I forgot my supper in the contemplation, and in the enjoyment of new thoughts and feelings might have forgotten my own existence, had I not been reminded of it by an occasional pitch of the vessel which caused an unpleasant sensation. Thus warned to retire, I sought my bunk, and after long lying awake and listening to the measured thump of the engines and the splash of the waves against the sides, I fell asleep. In the morning the air was chilly and the skies gloomy. The wind blew freshly, and there was enough sea running to induce a pretty general attack of seasickness among the passengers. I, for my part, suffered but little, and only from nausea; enough, however, to make me sympathize with my less fortunate fellow passengers. The pathology of seasickness is not ¦I believe, yet settled beyond dispute among physicians. The feeling seems near akin to the narcotic effects of cer tain drugs — nicotine more especially. Nearly all are effected by it at first, but by habit generally become 12 PASSENGERS. so accustomed to the conditions that produce it, as to suffer little or no inconvenience. The same may be said of the use of tobacco. Might not the strange attachment of old sailors to a life on the ocean, and their restlessness when on shore, be due to physiolog ical effects of the ship's motion, so long continued as to resemble the effects produced by a habitual use of the weed ? We had eight or nine hundred passengers on board, the majority of whom were emigrants to California, and returning Californians. They were a varied and interesting assemblage ; and as we gradually got into warmer latitudes, the scene from day to day, became more and more animated, as the crowds recovering from seasickness came on deck. There were groups of families and friends talking of their prospects in the future, or adventures in the past ; fathers and sons, matrons and daughters, young mothers and children, foreigners and adventurers, people of varied grades of intelligence and refinement, and some apparently of no grade, all mingling in a chattering confusion of voices and nationalities. There was a New England lady with her three pretty daughters, going to Oregon to join her husband, whom she had not seen for thirteen years ; and a number of German families with child ren, seeking a home iu the land of gold. Here and there you might see a young man whose actions and appearance showed that he had left the simple com forts of some rural home to struggle with an unknown world for better fortunes, or in search of adventures. LANDSMEN. 16 A little German had several hundred canary birds, which he had brought from Europe, and was taking to California in small cages. Their concerts were de lightful in the mornings when the sun shone out, and the wind and spray did not silence their cheery music. The voyage was very severe on them however, and they died off at a rapid rate. The sick and down cast birds looked very melancholy indeed, but the others sang merrily, as if to, raise the drooping spirits of their unfortunate companions. Their owner, a ca nary bird importer, said that a large proportion of them usually died on the long voyage, but the num ber that survived made the trade profitable. They were the most entertaining company on board, and I was sorry to part company with them at the Isth mus. Among the men of the detachment many were odd and original characters. During the war a large number of men were shipped for service in the navy, of whom a great many had never been, to sea. Such men were rated as "landsmen." After some progress has been made in seamanship, they may be promoted to the rate of "ordinary seamen," which is still be low the rate of "seamen," to which they can not aspire until they are supposed to have learned the duties of a sailor. Of course the landsman is out of his element, and has a hard time of it. If he makes mistakes, as he • will do, he is jeered and jibed, and if he does not readily take to his disagreeable occupation, he is made to feel his degradation, in being two degrees at least. 14 CHARACTERS. beneath the sailor whom he perhaps on shore has al ways been accustomed to regard as a poor unfortunate creature, fit only for the life he leads. Our detach ment was composed mostly of landsmen. Among others, there was a rural preacher from . one of the western counties of New York. He was a middle-aged man of very moderate attainments, such a man as you might find in any of the sparsely settled districts of the Western States. In his sailor dress and cap, awkwardly worn pf course, he present ed no very imposing appearance; and, though gener ally treated with some respect, he was nevertheless the butt of many a rude jest, and often heard very discon certing allusions made to his former calling and present position. He made several attempts to preach but gave up at last in despair. His homely phrase, and cold, stereotyjied manner of delivery were illy suited to this new sphere. Doubtless he was a very good man, but he seemed lost and bewildered by his strange surroundings. Then there was a stage struck actor, a long, light haired and moustached individual, who never under any circumstances spoke in a natural tone. He de livered his commonest remarks in a tragic key. His bearing was stiff and formal, and he seemed to be laboring under the great responsibility of his high position as an exponent of dramatic dignity and maj esty. He had shipped as a landsman. I must not omit our "dejected lover," or the process by which he came to be such. A young man named George C , an affected fellow, an aggravated case A PROPOSAL. 15 ¦of dime-novel sentimentalism, trained to an idle life, and well read in "yellow-covered literature," made himself ridiculous in everything he did. Among other preposterous things, he fell in love with one of the New England girls, and asked her mother for her, in the presence of several other persons. He told her that his happiness depended upon it; that he worshiped the ground she walked on; and finally, he added that his "own mother had always said he would make a good husband, because he was so fond of children." Such an argument could but have its weight with his fondly-anticipated mother-in-law, and as he had not yet "told his love'' to the girl herself, the amused matron gravely referred him to her. With such apparent encouragement from such a : source, he repaired at once to where she was standing, surrounded by several other less enterprising admir ers, all unsuspecting the honor intended. He ap proached with eager haste, and then aod there bespoke her hand and heart, adding, in order as he thought, to settle any slight objections that' her maidenly mod esty might interpose to such a festive proceeding, that "her mother herself had just told him to ask her." ,Her surprise and indignation can better be imagined than described. "What! Marry such a thing as you !" she exclaimed, and then went below crying over the vexation. Her discomposure was not very lasting however, and she soon recovered gayety and spirits, but it was- a long time before C 's notable qualifi- Leaving the mail steamer to proceed on her way,. we returned to our anchorage. Upon opening the baggage belonging to the prison ers, sufficient evidence in the shape of revolvers and other small arms, iron hand-cuffs, confederate flags,. and papers, were found to convict them. This ended a bold undertaking, and no doubt pre vented what otherwise would most undoubtedly have been a wholesale destruction of American shipping,. in Pacific waters. The captured party were subsequently condemned,. and imprisoned at San Francisco in one of the forts- of the harbor. This scheme being frustrated in this manner, we-: resumed our former monotonous employment of swing ing at anchor back and forth with the tide, off Dead Man's Island, and waiting for something else to turn up. The green hills ashore appeared most inviting- as we looked out upon them through the open jjorts and wondered whether monkeys or macaws were most numerous in their shady recesses. The sleepy old fortress walls before the town, wore au air of mystery about their knowledge of the past since the days of the buccaneers. The Indian "dug-outs" sailed past u s- to the town, laden with oranges-, bananas, pine apples,, and other produce of the southward shore. But it was our mission, as sailors, to sleep, eat, muster at. quarters, and answer the boatswains' calls; for beyond. our routine duties we had no recognized business with. thought or intelligence, past, present, or future. CHAPTER V. Preparations for Departure— The "Dejected Lover" again— Off to the Southward- Islandof Ouibo— .\retrospectfrom the Bowsprit at Sea— Aloft— Warm Kains— A Calm near the "Line"— Payta— Incident of Anson's visit— Otf Hgain. fiBOUT the middle of December, active prepa rations were made for a cruise southward to the coast of Peru. The two large launches which were usually stowed -amidships, just forward of the engine-room hatch, had previously been hoisted into the -water, and were em ployed in coaling ship. The coal was brought along- .side in sacks, and these were hoisted aboard with whips, rove through blocks at the yard-arms. The watches relieved each other in this duty, some hook ing on the sacks in the boats, and others manning the whips on deck. The dejected lover had a decided aversion to this kind of employment, on account of the dust, and the monotony of pulling on the rope every time the boat- .swain's mate piped to hoist away. He expressed his -disgust by scarcely touching the rope, and by walk ing when the men ran. Admonitions were of no avail; ;S0 in order to interest him in the business, the officer in charge had him tied to the rope. He was thus OFF TO CALLAO. 37' compelled to keep pace with the rest, or be dragged.. The sailors, who always despise a loafer, enjoyed the arrangement very much, for they would sometimes run well aft, hoisting the sacks as high as possible,, and then let go "by the run." By this means the un fortunate lover was compelled, not only to keep up with the men, but besides, to run his best when the whip went back, to keep from being dragged head long. Even this severe discipline did not cure him of' his lazy indolence. Having coaled, hoisted the launches aboard, and completed all our preparations, we put to sea under steam, on the 17th. We passed several islands in the Bay of Panama, and in sight of different points of the mainland. Off' the shore to our right lay the island of Quibo, where Lord Anson, on his voyage into these seas, wooded and watered his squadron. Relating this, the histo rian of that expedition gives us the following inter-- esting description ; "Whilst the ship continued here at anchor, the commodore, attended by some of his officers, went in. a boat to examine a bay which lay to the northward ;; and they afterwards ranged all along the eastern side of the island. And in the places where they put on shore, in the course of this expedition, they general ly found the soil to be extremely rich, and met witL great plenty of excellent water. In particular, near the N. E. point of the island, they discovered a nat ural cascade, which surpassed, as they conceived,, everything of this kind which human art or industry/ -¦38 QUIBO. lath hitherto produced. It was a river of transpar- •ent water, about forty yards wide, which rolled down .a declivity of near a hundred and fifty feet in length. The channel it fell into was very irregular ; for it was entirely composed of rock, both its sides and bottom being made up of large detached blocks; and by these the course of the water was frequently inter rupted : for in some parts it ran sloping with a rapid hut uniform motion, while in others it tumbled over the ledges of the rocks with a particular descent. All the neighborhood of this stream was a fine wood; and even the huge masses of rock, which overhung the water, and which, by their various projections, formed the inequalities of the channel, were covered with lofty forest trees. Whilst the commodore, with those accompanying him were attentively reviewing ..this place, and were remarking the different blend- ings of the water, the rocks, and the wood, there came in sight (as it were still to heighten and ani mate the prospect,) a prodigious flight of macaws, ^whieh hovering over this spot, and often wheeling and playing on the wing about it, afforded a most brilliant appearance, by the glittering of the sun on their va- xi^ated plumage: so that some ofthe spectators can not refrain from a kind of transport, when they re count the complicated beauties which occurred in this •extraordinary waterfall." Under the pressure of steam and sails we soon left Panama Bay in the distance. The days were fine, and the nights beautiful. We had gentle breezes, and all sail being made, our ship moved over the VIEW FROM THE BOWSPRIT. 39 calm, blue waters, with majestic bearing, her great extent of canvas, like a cloud, obscuring by day a brilliant sky, and by night, the glories of the star-lit ieavens. To get the best view of the ship that carries you, when she is under sail at sea, you must take a position out on the bowsprit. Thither I was wont to betake miyself of evenings, creeping with care, lest incau tious steps might lead me to become food for the den izens of the deep below; and, having reached a se cure place far out between the forestays, it was -delightful to look back, from that airy perch, upon , the huge vessel, with her gracefully outlined hull and towering masts in perspective. To an imaginative j)erson, in the twilight, she would seem like a great winged creature, hovering over "the vasty deep." Sometimes I went aloft in the fore top mast rigging, where the gentle, swaying motion of the mast, from side to side with the roll of the ship, gave me, after the first sense of insecurity passed away, a singular, though not unpleasant sensation. With the exception of one or two heavy rains at night, we experienced no unpleasant weather during the voyage ; and even the rains could hardly be called disagreeable, for , they were not cold. The men on duty walked back and forth barefooted in the water that washed from side to side, before it ran -off through the scuppers into the sea. We were in a latitude which the power and influence of the frost Mng seldom reaches. We approached and crossed the equator in a dead 40 CALMS. calm. The day was bright with tropical sunshine, and the ocean smooth as a mirror. "The blue sky Leaned silently above ; and all its high And azure circled roof beneath the wave 'Was imaged back and seemed the deep to pave 'With its transparent beauty." These calms are common in these parts, and I should think, that with all their attractions, they would sorely try the patience of voyagers in a sailing vessel. But on board a steamship it is otherwise. It seems that even the restless ocean is not proof against tropical influences ; for he sleeps in these sunny regions for weeks at a time. The ocean in repose is grand. I have often seen the water so glassy smooth and still, and reflecting in the silver sunlight so perfectly the unclouded brightness of the sky, that the reality above and the reflection beneatli seemed blended in the same unfathomable depths of sethereal space, extending in every direction around, above and below. Under such conditions the effect. is wonderful. The invisible sea has vanished from under you. You feel the isolation of inter planetary^ and endless space ; for your vessel, as it idly floats, seems the only object in the glowing immensity. I believe such calms are only seen in the tropics, and perhaps most frequently upon the Pacific. On Christmas day we ran into the fine harbor of Payta, a small town not far from Cape Blanco. This dreary looking little place, surrounded by barrenness and desolation, far less inviting than the MID-OCEAN SCENE. PAYTA. 41 wastes of the ocean, is the port of entry for the large and fertile province of Piura, the capital of which, of the same name, is a flourishing city, forty-five miles inland. Just back ofthe collection of thatched roof houses composing the town, there is a low range of naked sand hills which add to the bleak and des olate appearance of the place. Payta depends upon the distant parts of the province for all the necessa ries of life; and even the drinking water has to be brought from a river twelve miles away, that being the nearest source of supply. The water is brought by mules every morning, and the yearly supply of a large family must be a very exijensive item in the household economy. Sometimes there is no rain here for ten years, but usually they have it every three or four years. I presume a sprinkle once a year would be considered a very wet time. Payta is noted in history as the scene of one of Lord Anson's exploits, all of which is most minutely described in the history of his expedition. This old book describes the robbing and burning of the town as a most commendable and heroic act. Every ves sel in the harbor was either captured or burnt, and the treasure here, amounting to an immense sum, fell into the hands of the English. Speaking of one of the pilots forced into service as a guide in their attack, the writer says : "On this occasion, I cannot but remark a singular circumstance of one of the pilots employed by us in this business. It seems (as we afterwards learned) he had been taken by Captain Clipper ton above twenty years 42 EARLY PRIVATEERING. before, aud had been obliged to lead Clipperton and his people to the surprise of Truxillo, a town within land, to the southward of Payta, where, however, he contrived to alarm his countrymen, and to save them, though the place was carried and pillaged. Now, that the only two attempts on shore, which were made at so long an interval from each other, should be guided by the same person, and he too a prisoner both times, and forced upon the employ contrary to his inclination, is au incident so very extraordiuary, that I could not help mentioning it." Peru at the time of Anson's visit was a province of Spain, and every Spaniard, with all his worldly goods, was considered lawful prize by the English ; provided only that they could make the capture. Payta has been repeatedly sacked and destroyed since the days of Pizarro, but still there is something left of it, though not enough now perhaps to tempt ad venturers to its capture. We only stopped long enough to take on board some fresh provisions, and then put to .sea again, keeping near the coast. CHAPTER VI. The Andes- Arrive at Callao— The Bay— Peruvian, English and French Ships of War— A visit from the Peruvian Admiral— Visit from the President of Peru— Arrival of the Spanish Fleet— Visit from Spanish Admiral— A Sprig of Boyalty— Fruits, &c.,— Climate — Idling— Natives of Peru- Midnight Welcome to the New Year— ATichored over a City — Diving in an Iron Boat— A Peruvian Serenade— The Sandwich Island Minister— The old Fredonia and her Fate. |S we stood on our way southward to Callao, we were a good part of the time in sight of ^^^ " those vast hills called the Andes." In the mornings their snowy crests delayed our sunrise, and in the evenings, when the sun had disappeared from us in the western waters, they, in his full light, still mingled gold and crimson in endless and most mag- .nificent combinations. The second day after leaving Payta we arrived at •Callao, after dark. The picture tbat presented itself, as we dropped anchor, was one of glimmering lights in the darkness, reflected in the still water. In the distant background were luminous clouds overhang ing Lima ; for the glare of the city light lit up the .heavens, though they were hidden from our view by intervening objects. The next morning revealed a great number of ves- isels, of every description, at anchor all around us, the extensive fortifications of Callao, and the barren, rugged, San Lorenzo looming up out of the ocean be hind us. Close in shore lay the Peruvian fleet, anx- 44 THE FLEETS. iously expecting the arrival of the Spanish fleet from Chili. The frigate Amazon, flagship of the Peruvian Admiral, lay farthest out and nearest to us. Safe in shore we could see the famous ironclad built here : it was noted for going straight to the bottom as soon as it got into the water, thus affording its wise builders the pleasure and profit of r{),ising and remodeling it.^ Near us lay the Leander, flagship ofthe English Ad miral, with others of his fleet ; and also the " Vic- toire" French frigate, like all the rest, bristling with guns and decked with pennants and flag. Beside* these, scores of sedate and unpretending merchamt vessels, bearing the produce and flags of various nations, were scattered here and there all over this wide bay. They were continually coming and going,. at all hours, notwithstanding the buzz of preparation for war. While some spread their white wings for distant r^ions, others, continually arriving, dropped anchor in their places, and thus kept populous this ocean hive. Everybody was hourly expecting the arrival of the Spanish fleet ; and often our eyes were turned sea ward to search the horizon for the smoke and sails of the coming frigates. A grand naval battle, and nothing less, was counted on, seeing the warlike bearing of the Peruvians, and hearing their views of things in general, and themselves in particular. In a few days the Peruvian Admiral came on board from his flagship, the Amazon frigate, and was. received with the usual salute and ceremonies. Ho' was an old, bald-headed man, fat and coarse fea- THE president's VISIT. 45 tured, with a downcast look and most unprepossess ing expression of countenance. He was accom panied by a number of his officers. Poor old fellow 1 Though now gold-laced and epauletted, received with " pomp and circumstance," and doubtless en- ^ vied his rank and power, yet, a few months after, in the next revolution, he was hung at his own yard- arm and by his own crew. During our visit General Perez was President, and his deposed enemy, General Castillo, a fugitive. One day he came down from Lima with a numerous suite of officers to pay us a visit. This honor called for all the agony of naval and military etiquette. The President's barge was large and handsome. As he ¦stepped on deck our eight inch guns thundered forth a national salute and the yards were manned. Perez was a tall, fine looking man, with a good head, as the phrenologists say, and an intellectual cast of countenance. His presence was dignified, command ing and noble. The officers of his staff were, many of them, foppish young men, and dressed " within an inch of their lives," in gaudy uniforms. It was al most distressing to see how they tortured their waists and feet, to make them conform to their ideas of ele gance and fashion. After an interview with the Admiral, in the cabin, the President inspected the vessel, the guns and the engine. He admired most the eleven inch fore and aft pivot guns. ~ This ceremony over, he took his de parture. The English Admiral, as well as the others, ex- 46 THE NEW year's WELCOME. changed visits and courtesies with our Admiral, and the inferior officers frequently did the same. I was on duty, on deck, in the first watch of the last night of the year, and as midnight drew on, all the bells of the Callao churches tolled solemnly for the dying year. The night was still, and the heavy mist dimmed the city lights, and modified the mournful sounds to muffled moans, that told their sad tale to the mountains and the sea. All at once, exactly at twelve o'clock, the bells rang out merrily from the many churches in most clamorous peals of joyous- welcome to the New Year. The cheerful ringing- bell tones of "brazen melody," that burst forth so sud denly after the solemn stillness of the dark hours, broken only at intervals by the heavy sounds which came sadly over the mist-covered and night-clouded waters, produced an impressive effect not easily de scribed. The engrossing topic, just at this time, was the " unpleasantness" with Spain. Chili and Peru were partially blockaded by the Spanish fleet, but the en terprising young republics managed so well as to get some of her most Catholic Majesty's ships into sev eral bad predicaments. When we arrived, the Spanish squadron was daily expected from the southward; and before many days elapsed the looked for visitors came. One by one they appeared, with sail and steam, coming around the north end of San Lorenzo. Trim built and tall,, the stately frigates approaching in order, presented, to us a fine spectacle, and a threatening aspect to THE SPANISH FLEET. 47 the more interested Peruvians. The Bella Madrid, flagship, anchored close to our position, and the oth ers at proper distances from each other. Still nearer than the Bella iladrid, the fast gunboat, Covadonga, dropped her anchor. This little vessel was a pet of the Spaniards; and when it was captured by the Chil ians some time after, the Admiral took it so much to heart tbat he committed suicide in his cabin. Doubt less his lack of success in his expedition, all along, contributed to the same result. We were anchored between the hostile fleets, and we kept our position. The expected bombardment did not take place during our stay, on account of some negotiations that were entered into with the government. The Spanish Admiral came aboard us, and was received with the usual salute and other honors. A mild, pleasant, and gray haired old gentleman, of medium size — a striking contrast to the Peruvian Ad miral in every way — he impressed one most favor ably. He went through the usual routine of cere monies, and inspected the guns and machinery. The officers who accompanied him were apparently gentlemen of education and refinement. One of them, a slender, sallow fellow, was said to be a near relative of Queen Isabella. He had a downcast and dejected look. Such a doleful expression, as he wore, would have been more becoming if all his relations had been dead, which is probably not the case, as royal personages are still numerous in Spain. He was also very absent-minded. He stood aft, on the 48 FRUITS — CLIMATE. quarter deck, in conversation with an officer, when the admiral came up from the cabin to go in his boat; and he remained standing there until the Ad miral reached the gangway, when, according to na val etiquette, he should have been in the boat. The Admiral halted a moment, to give him a chance to gain his proper place, and by making a run for it he succeeded. Although we arrived at Callao in the latter part of December, we found fruits and vegetables of every kind cheap and abundant, this being the summer of the Southern hemisphere. Grapes especially, fresh and of excellent quality, were in season, We in dulged freely in the fruits that abounded so plenti fully, and varied our fare with vegetables fresh from. the gardens or fields. The weather was warm and pleasant, though the mornings were foggy. They say it has never been known to rain at Callao; and even if this were strictly true, it is not necessary ; for every morning the fall ing mist or dew was so heavy as to completely wet the clothing of any one exposed for a short time during the latter part of night, or early morning hours. From this vicinity southward the climate is very fine. More than a century ago, Richard Wal ter, speaking of a cruise off the southern coast, de clared, " that in this climate every circumstance con curred that could make the open air aud the daylight desirable. For, in other countries, the scorching heat of the sun in summer renders the greater part of the day unfit, either for labor or amusement, and IDLING. 49 the frequent rains are not less troublesome in the more temperate parts of the year. But in this happy climate the sun rarely appears ; not that the heavens have a dark and gloomy look, for there is constantly a cheerful, gray sky, just sufficient to screen the sun, and mitigate the violence of its perpendicular rays, without obscuring the air, or tinging the daylight with an unpleasant or melancholy hue." Our duties were light, and many a leisure hour was passed by the crew in idle amusement. Old sailors criticised the rigging of the various ships, and speculated upon their cargoes and destination ; young ones canvassed and discussed the probabilities of a bombardment, or listened to the chattering natives along side, who tortured the pure Castilian with va rious degrees of recklessness. Sometimes a swinging boom was lowered, aud those who could swim tum bled about in the water, as regardless of the many fathoms beneath them, as so many mermen might be. The jiopulation of Peru is composed of different races and mixed breeds. The whites, or descendants of the Spaniards, are still the aristocratic class, though few in number and mostly collected in the cities. There are some negroes and a considerable number of Chinese, many of whom are said to be in voluntary emigrants. The remnant of the ancient population, the descendants of the subjects of the Incas, still stamp their characteristics on Peruvian society among the lower classes, and even many among the rich and powerful bear traces of the fea tures of the children of the Sun. It is said that in 50 GENEALOGY. some of the provinces they have preserved their an cient Quichua language, and that east of the Andes ther^ exist independent and warlike tribes, still sub ject to caciques, or chiefs, who claim descent from the Incas, or ancient kings of the land. The mixed breed, descended from the indigenous Peruvians, are called cholus. Among these we often saw individuals whose faces bore the lineaments of the features of that race which ruled before Pizarro landed ; and I have often mused over a dusky speci men who came along side and wished that it might be permitted me to read the book of his genealogy from the days of the good Manco Capac down, through all the years of the Incas, through all the dark days of Pizarro's rule, and of the viceroyalty, and through the changed times of the republic. Per haps some ancestor of my idle fruit seller, with mild and gentle features like his, may have been the prime minister, or a high dignitary, under a peaceful sovereign, in an age before the coming of the con querors. Perhaps some one of them may have been one of the messengers sent by the imprisoned Atahu- alpa, to collect the treasures of Peru to give for his life ; mayhap a priest, or a keeper of the great silver image of the sun, or of the golden treasures of the temple of Cuzco. Yes, perhaps, but more probably the lazy fellow in whose descent so much lost and forgotten history might be condensed, could not take the first, or second step, backward, in a genealogical line, without becoming involved in doubt and uncer tainty. A BURIED CITY. 51 The days slipped by quite pleasantly, considering the disagreeable situation of being in sight of such historic places as Lima and Callao, without being able to visit and explore them thoroughly. Seldom did the routine duties which demanded by presence on board seem more distasteful. I regretted that I could not see more of this interesting country, that I had not the privilege of seeking for the traces of the fabulous age of Peruvian history, or mementoes of its near antiquity. We were anchored in deep water, and our anchor lay on ground which was said to have been once occu - pied by a city before one of their tremendous earth quakes buried it deep in the waters. Nature has here, in the past, suffered great convulsions, and the subterraneous powers have at times, held high carnival amid the foundations of the land and the sea. We are told that the lofty, rugged, and rocky island of San Lorenzo was, in one day, raised from the depths of the ocean to its present position. Some time before our visit, an adventurous genius had taken a fancy to go down and explore the buried city. He invented a large air-tight, iron diving boat of great size and weight, and when all was ready, had it towed out to this place. Here he arranged the apparatus, and with his son and five or six friends, got into it to go to the bottom. It went down beau tifully, but when, after staying some time, they tried to come up, they found that it would not work in that direction. A.S they could do nothing with their un wieldy machine, they were compelled to remain there, shut up as helpless prisoners. Divers were sent 52 INCIDENTS. down, but were unable to effect their release, or to afford them the slightest assistance, and could only give them a sad satisfaction by receiving, their last messages to their friends. There, according to the veracious chronicler of this melancholy affair, they all perished ; and, within that iron boat for a com mon coffin, they yet repose in their wide grave, the J3ay of Callao, awaiting their chances between some future earthquake and the angel Gabriel. A pleasant incident of our story was a serenade by the Peruvian flagship's band. Their performance was good, and the stillness of the night enhanced the fine effect of their music. After rowing around us at a distance in the darkness, they ceased. We cheered them, and with "Vivos los Americanos," they departed as they came. A few days after, the Sandwich Island minister came on board, and interviewed the Admiral. He was .an American or an Englishman, and not a native Kanaka as I had expected. The old Fredonia storeship lay here, dismantled and housed over. Doubtless she had met many a storm and gale in many a sea; but now she rested from her labors in the unassuming capacity of a storeship for the squadron. Since our visit, her career has closed forever, in one of the grandest earthquakes that has ever happened in this region of earth quakes, since the first days of its authentic history. In the same great convulsion of nature, the man-of- war Wateree was carried a considerable distance in land by the great tidal wave which swept everything before it to destruction. CHAPTER VII. Off for Panama— Burial at Sea— Panama— Visit Dead Man's Island- "Dad" —Old Walls— Climbing the Kocks— iguanas— View from the top- Lonely Graves— "Toboga Bill" and the Sharks— A Specimen Eevolu- tion— Otf for Acapulco. In March, after more than two months stay, we got up anchor to return to Panama. Our trip down, on account of adverse currents, and de tention at Payta, occupied ten days, but our return was accomplished in nine. The weather was some what boisterous, and the wind unfavorable for part of the distance, but in this latitude bad weather does- not last long, and all was soon serene again. The only occurrence of note was the burial at sea. of a Sandwich Islander, who died a few days after leaving Callao. He had been ailing for some time, and his death was not unexpected. It is customary during a burial at sea, for the ves sel to lay to. The body having been brought to the lee gangway, and the crew collected by the boat swain's mates, the chaplain proceeded to read the burial service. This was the first time I had ever been present on such an occasion, and the unfamiliar ceremony made a deep and lasting impression on my mind. The crew were assembled with uncovered heads, and the mournful silence was unbroken, save by the soughing 54 BURIAL AT SEA. of the blue deep, so soon, to receive the cold clay of another mortal, and the clear, soft voice of the chap lain, as he intoned the solemn and beautiful service for the dead. At the words "we commit his body to the deep," the body was slid from the board on which it lay, feet foremost into the water. As usual it was sewed up in strong canvass, with heavy, iron shot at the feet, so that the plunge and disappearance were almost instantaneous. To me it seemed horrible, — this sudden sinking into the fathomless, trackless ocean, — and after the ship resumed her course, I could not help gazing long astern, at the place, to mark, if possible, the spot where the body of a human being had disappeared forever. Arriving at Panama on the 16th, we resumed our former anchorage, and continued our former routine of duties. There was a "revolution" brewing on shore among the native officials and would-be-officials. Events here were however on a much smaller scale than at Callao. Formerly the time was, when Panama was the metropolis of the Caucasian race on the shores of the Pacific. Thence went forth the adventurous bands which penetrated to the unknown shores of Peru and Chili southward, and to the tribes and na tions along the Mexican coasts northwestward. Now it is an insignificant way-station on the journey to the populous and powerful nations, once its outposts. Such are the changes wrought by time. An incident of our stay was an excursion to Dead Man's Island, a steep, rooky eminence, rising several AN EXCURSION. 65 hundred feet out of the water, and almost perpendic ular on the side facing the ocean. Thirty or forty of us pulled ill two of the cutters, to a cove ou the land side. As we neared the beach, several of the sailors, and a messenger boy, nicknamed " Dad," jumped overboard to swim ashore. At the same mo ment, one of the men in the boat observed the knife like fin of a shark, cutting through the water with great velocity, directly toward the diminutive boy, who was eagerly enjoying the sport. Instantly he gave the alarm, and all , commenced yelling and splashing the water, while the boy, with great cool ness aud presence of mind, turned round to face the danger. The shark came close up to him, when we perceived that a fish flying for its life through the transparent water was the object of his sharkship's immediate attention. It took refuge among the bathers, and the shark, frightened by the noise, wheeled suddenly by the right flank and disai^peared in deep water. Dad was a character, our " little old man of the sea." Although the shark came so suddenly, and so close that we could have reached him with an oar. Dad never lost his cool presence of mind. He was as nonchalant and fearless in danger, as an old hero. Though not larger than a boy of seven or, eight years, he was nearly twice that age. His face had the expression of an old salt, and a large quid of to bacco, constantly bulging out his cheek, kept up the comical similarity of appearance which had suggested to the sailors his nickname. He was a good swim- 56 " DAD." mer and active as a cat. When sent aloft to clear the pennant, or signal halliards, he would do it quickly, and then slide down the top gallant back stay with a velocity astonishing to even the most ex perienced sailors. I have seen him, at sea, go upon the main yard arm, and lie down bej^ond the lifts and braces on the bare end of the yard, and wait until a bobo, not perceiving his diminutive form, would alight upon him, as they often did. on the yards. Dad would seize the legs of the huge sea bird, and descend iu triumph to the decks with his captive, almost as large as himself. After the intruder had left us, we went ashore, satisfied that nat even the shallow water on the beach was safe from sharks. On the side on which we landed there were several rods of comparatively level ground between the water and the steep ascent. Here were a number of beau- ,^ tiful cocoa-palms, several graves of unfortunate- " strangerSin a strange land," and the remains of old fortifications, built perhaps in the days when the buccaneers infested the Spanish main. The old walls, moss-covered and gray with age, were full of suggestions of the past, "but I had no means of find ing out their history, and I reluctantly left them to make the ascent with my companions. The side of the hill was steep, rocky, and in places overgrown with brushwood. In the scramble to be first at the top, and when about half-way up, I ca'me suddenly upon what I at first thought a young alli gator, or a monstrous lizard. It glided away from DEAD man's island. 57 my feet, leaving me startled and surprised at such an unexpected object. I shortly after learned that this was an iguana, a harmless kind of lizard, whicli is highly esteemed by some natives and sailors, and eaten by them whenever they are so fortunate as to secure this saurian game. One of the sailors caught one, nearly three feet long, and took it aboard alive for his dinner the next day. The view from the top of the rock was fine, and amply repaid the exertion of climbing up. The south side, exposed to the sea, is so steep that it seems as if a step only was required to plunge the adven turer from the summit to the rocks and breakers at the bottom. Among the graves at the foot of the hill was one of an American officer, with a headstone which had but recently been put up. After the name and dates, was inscribed the line from Horace, importing, that " it is sweet and proper to die for one's country." Taking into consideration the prevalence of lizards and other creeping things, the solitude of the sur roundings, and the encroaching jungle, we concluded that, notwithstanding the old Roman poet's opinion, it was sweeter to live for one's country. There are no houses or human inhabitants on this island. There are said to be goats, but we did not see any. The isolated graves among the bushes, the walls moldy and old on the beach, the solitary cocoa palms, cut off from the main land, and the roar of the breakers on the seaworn side, are the principal features of this sea-girt solitude with the sombre name. 58 SHARKS. We returned aboard at dusk, tired and hungry. As we pulled to the ship, quite a number of sharks, mostly small ones, were cutting the water hither and thither, with their back fins just above the surface. While trailing my hand carelessly in the water one of them made for it, but I disappointed him and did not repeat such carelessness. Panama Bay is a favorite resort for sharks. The largest I ever saw were here, and the uncouth mons ters, of great size, were very numerous. They fre quented the bows of the ship, where the cooks threw overboard meat bones, and refiise fragments of food ; and numbers might be seen, after meal times, vorac ious and insatiable, fighting for, and devouring the pieces that fell among them. One of the most noted celebrities of the Pacific coast is an immense monster of the species, known by_ every sailor on these seas as " Toboga Bill." They tell anecdotes of his huge size and invulnerability, and believe that he has digested more sailors than all the cannibals of the Feejees. I was at first inclined to believe that he was only a creation of the imagina tion ; but some of the gentlemen belonging to the Hassler Scientific Expedition, have since had an op portunity of seeing him under favorable circum stances, and bear witness to his immense size, and proportions. According to their account, three or four men would make him but a meager repast. At night, as he flashes through the phosphorescent water in the darkness,he is often mistaken for an approaching or passing boat. One night on watch I hailed what "toboga bill." 59 I supposed to be a boat coming along side, but on a nearer approach I could hear no sound of oars nor get any answer. I was familiar with the luminous appearance of the water when disturbed at night, And could generally judge from the extent of the phosphorescent trail, whether it was caused by boat, shark, or small fish ; but the large trail of light dis- -appeared suddenly, close by, and a sailor told me it was only Toboga Bill. He lives principally here and over at Toboga, an island three or four leagues off, held by the British government. He makes fre quent visits to the neighboring coasts and islands, perhaps to collect his revenues as monarch of all the sharks. His majesty^ age is not set down, that be ing a matter difficult to investigate, as those who have had the fortune to examine his teeth, always thereafter remain silent on the subject. The disturbances among the politicians iu Pana ma, which were brewing when we came, finally cul minated in a " revolution," as it is called here, but more properly a row among the people. These rev olutions are chronic affairs in these parts. Instead of marking an epoch in their history, they are al most of yearly occurrence. Some jefe politico gets control of a battalion of soldiers and some public money, and forthwith there are proclamations, little battles and sieges, followed by all the disorders of war on a small scale, and ending in courts-martial, military executions, and more proclamations. Then affairs subside into a precarious quiet, to await the next emeute, which may be expected to occur before many months have passed. 60 A "revolution. Such a one was that which broke out in April. On the 6th I went ashore with a party to protect the American consulate. The buildings under our flag were pretty well crowded with the families of some of the principal inhabitants, placed here for se curity. The streets were barricaded in places, and what little fighting there was, occurred in the streets and suburbs. Both parties talked pompously of lib erty, and such things, but took good care to keep as much as possible out of rauge of each others guns.. Stray bullets were flying about, rendering it unsafe to promenade the streets. Our duty was to stand by the consul, and see that wbile the bellicose natives- were big with their own dignity, they did not forget the dignity of Uncle Sam, or the respect due him. The pretty senoritas at the consulate seemed well sat isfied to be safe under the stars and stripes, while their relatives, with blunderbusses, argued the mo mentous question as to who should hold the reins of unstable power in this out of the way part of the world. The fighting, however, was not very sanguinary. Two or three of us reconnoitered cautiously, but found the streets deserted and the houses shut up. Out near the old walls the troops were stationed, to defend a road giving the best chance of assault.. The city walls are, in places, broken down to make- roads, but the portions remaining, with the deep. ditch, or moat, outside, make this a place easy to. hold and defend. The walls were well built when ^rst constructed, and sur mounted with towers, or sen- OFF TO SEA. 61 try stations, at intervals. The black cormorants, or buzzards, that are very numerous here, usually stand guard upon them now. The night came on but was comparati veiy quiet. We slept on our arms, expecting at any time to see the fray begin, as was anticipated in case of assault and capture ; but nothing of the kind occurred. The sentinels passed their calls every half hour, and doubtless kept a vigilant lookout, in order to get a good start, and lose no time on the run, if the enemy appeared. The next day we were ordered aboard, as the Ad miral was on the point of leaving. We turned over our duty of watching the mimic war, to a party from another ship in the harbor ; and going on board put to sea immediately. After doubling the head lands of the bay we shaped our course up the coast. CHAPTER VIII. Flying fish, Whales, Tur ties, &c.— Bobos— Sea Gulls— Arrival at Acapul co- Town and Harbor— Commerce— Transferred— New Quarters— Visit ashore— Mexican Soldiers— Houses— Churches— Shops- Streets- Water Carriers- A contrast— News of the Death of Lincoln, iURING the voyage of nine days to Acapulco,. nothing occurred worthy of especial note. ^^^ We had fine weather, a quiet sea, and all the conditions of a pleasant trip. The sea gulls, hobos, porpoises and flying fish, with other denizens of the deep, lent variety to the voyage. Whales were fre quently seen at a distance, but as we were not blubber hunters, we did not call on them. Several times we woke up immense turtles that were sleeping comfort ably on the water in our track, oblivious to all things around and beneath them. The bobos were amusing. They would often alight upon the yards, most frequently about dusk, and were easily caught. They do not fly away when ap proached, but stand staring at you with a silly ex pression of apprehension that is most ludicrous. They evidently fear, but do not seem to have the instinct of self preservation greatly developed. The boys- climbed after them in the rigging, and Dad, whom I have mentioned before, was very expert in catching them. When brought on deck the bobo looked and acted silly enough to deserve his Spanish name, (i. e.. ARRIVE AT ACAPULCO. 63 bobo, fool.) Not being able to rise in the air from a hard flat surface like the deck, and unused to the sit uation, it would throw itself forward on its breast, in vain and awkward efforts to swim aud escape. I was surprised at the powers of flight possessed by the sea gulls. They never seemed to weary or need rest; and seldom were they seen in the water. On such restless wings, with such exuberant powers, it would seem a small matter to explore every nook and corner of the globe, from pole to pole, wherever the waters reach. We reached Acapulco on the 16th, and ran into one of the finest harbors in the world. Our gun-fire was answered by one or two other ships of war at an chor, and a salute to the Castillo de Santiago was returned. This old fort is one of the first objects that attract attention on entering the harbor. It is built on an eminence projecting into the bay, and the high walls are surrounded by a deep ditch. It re minds one very much of a castle of the Middle Ages, and indeed it is quite old. Next appear the white washed adobe houses, glaring in the sunlight to the left of the fort. Beyond, green hills, rising into mountains in the interior, with groves of cocoa trees to the right of the fort, complete the picture. The harbor of Acapulco is land locked, and the ocean being entirely shut out from view at the an chorage, it has the appearance of a quiet and beauti ful lake, sleeping in seclusion among rocky hills and wooded mountains, safe from every storm and gale. Though blessed with so good a harbor, Acapulco 64 NEW QUARTERS. has very little commerce or trade at the best. For merly, in her palmy days, the Manilla treasure ships arrived and departed annually, and fabulous wealth of gold, silver and useful commodities, passed through this port, to and from the Phillipines; but hostile powers, and the changes wrought by time in the af fairs of nations, put an end to the traffic. At pres ent, instead of being the depot of a rich commerce, the port is used as a coaling station by the steamships which carry past it the golden freight of a region, as little regarded formerly, as Acapulco is now. A few days after our arrival, a number of us were transferred from the flagship to the Saranac. I made the change wjthout regret, for six months aboard the flagship was long and monotonous enough. I wanted to stay longer on the Mexican coast, partly to learn the language, and partly, because I preferred a for eign station to going at once to San Francisco, which I would visit anyway, sooner or later. Though our new home was a smaller ship, almost by half, I found the service much preferable, and the novelty of change was an agreeable episode which dissipated for a time the ennui of a monotonous life. Our new quarters were pleasanter than the old, and I was at once among a different crew, with faces, features, and experiences new to me. The forming of new acquaintances was a pleasure, and marked an era in a humdrum life of sameness. Only those who have lived for months or years "In the rank and narro-w ship, Housed on the wild sea -with wild usages," know how to appreciate any change that gives variety. NATIVES — CHURCHES. 65 In a few days the flagship proceeded to San Francisco, while we remained at anchor. I went ashore to take a look at the place. Aca pulco at tbis time was occupied by the military under command of General Alvaredo, who is also the Gov ernor. The power of Maximillian had not yet reached thus far. The soldiers were numerous enough, but not well disciplined or organized. The Mexicans of these parts have much of the aboriginal blood, and are small of stature. Enervated by a tropical cli mate, or lacking the stamina of purer European ex traction, their prowess as warriors is not equal to the average Mexican. A vast horde from these regions, under another Alvaredo of the ruling family here, were, during the Mexican war, engaged in the defence of the city of Mexico, against our army. The houses were mostly of adobe, some of them very old, and all built after patterns unknown to our northern builders. I visited the ruins of an old church, of which only the tower is standing, a conspicuous object from the bay. The old, old Spanish bells were in the same place where they rang out their joyful peals, or sol emn notes of sorrow for the ears that heard in a by gone century. I visited also the church on the Plaza, a barn-like structure, with earthen floor and bare rafters, orna mented with a wax figure of the Virgin, and a few colored prints. Two devotas, or pious females, were kneeling at the altar, and rattling off their prayers like children reciting verses in a backwoods Sunday 66 STREET SCENES. school. They turned to scrutinize us without inter rupting their devotions, and while so employed, I do not know how many ave marias or pater noster'a may have been wasted upon us. I called also at numerous tiendas, or shops, to look at the merchandise, and see what manner of men the shopkeepers were. Their stock in trade consisted principally of prints, light muslins and cheap notions. The salesmen were brisk and foppish mulattoes, or the half Spanish natives. We promenaded the streets, sometimes in the mid dle and sometimes on the sidewalks, where there were any, and at every turn were reminded that we were in a strange land. The sidewalks in places were lined with men, women and girls, who sold simple notions, adapted to the wants and tastes of the rural population, which, on market aud holidays, thronged the streets. Donkeys loaded with every kind of country produce were wending their way to the mar ket place on the Plaza, or returning with empty pannier^ to their rural retreats. The mule-mounted watermen were crying the qualities of their commo dity, which they carried in huge jars, slung pannier- wise on their docile and patient animals. As evening drew on, a large crowd collected on the Plaza, with eggs, fowls, fruits, and other things from the country, to be on hand at market early next morning. The streets presented an animated appearance, and everywhere were the sigus of plenty and comfort. At this time the population was estimated at about ten thousand inhabitants ; and Acapulco, for a Mexican LINCOLN'S DEATH. 67 city, was prosperous and flourishing. The life and activity presented by the throngs of well-fed natives from the country, and the better dressed, but not more civilized denizens of the town, made a great contrast with the deserted and dreary appea,rance of the place, after the war of the empire, with devastating battles and seiges, had here, as elsewhere, preyed upon the life-blood of Mexico. We returned on board in the evening, well pleased with our day of new sights and experiences. On the 29th, by the arrival of the mail steamer, we heard of the assassination of President Lincoln. The intelligence shocked and overwhelmed us with grief, and spread a visible sadness and gloom on every face. Even the roughest and least intelligent of the sailors expressed in some way their sorrow. Lincoln was venerated by even the lowly and obscure. Rough and hardy sailors, seemingly destitute of all social ties, and cut off from home-life influences, bore a tender regard for the good and honest man they had never seen. Our flag was half-masted, and the next day from sunrise to sunset we fired minute guns. The officers put on mourning, which was worn for thirty days. CHAPTER IX. Trip to Eio Dulce— Au Escape- Shore and People— Cat Fishing at Sea— Eed Fish and Moon Fish— Shark Fishing— Shark's Tenacity of Life— Ee- turn I^JWEN days after coming on board, my new routine ^fll& of duties and amusements were varied by an ^^^ expedition to the mouth of the Rio Dulce, a small stream emptying into the ocean, thirty or forty leagues southeast of Acapulco. Our object was to take soundings and examine the coast, which is lit tle known. The weather, as we got to sea, was very warm, and a heavy swell reminded some of us that sea sickness might exist even on the Pacific. The trip was a short one, but our progress, as we approached the vicinity of the Rio Dulce, was slow, on account of the necessity of feeling our way with the lead amid .the unknown dangers of this part of the coast. Three or four miles from shore, off the mouth of the river, we came near getting on some rocks. We were going along with plenty of water, and the men on the wheel houses were calling out the depth with' sailor's monotonous drawl, when all at once the lead at the port wheel house suddenly indicated about five fathoms, while that on the starboard gave deep water, showing our close and unpleasant proximity to hid den rocks. For a moment there was some confusion, THE RIO DULCE. 69 but orders were given with promptness and executed with dispatch, so that our vessel was saved from the danger, drew off into deeper water, and dropped aur chor. The shore and mouth of the river were about a league distant. The country appeared low and marshy for some distance inland, and then rising in to forest-covered hills. Along the shore and river a thick grpwth of tropical trees, interspersed with co coa palms, flourished luxuriantly. Toward evening some of the natives came off to us, in canoes, with yams, cocoanuts, and other fruits to sell. Their prices indicated that their commerce with the rest of the world was limited ; for quartillos and medios would buy as much here as reales at Aca pulco. The people are nearly Indians, having a small admixture of Spanish blood. .As soon as we had anchored, some of the sailors' hung out their, fish lines, and with such success, that soon every one, who could muster hook and line, was. on the side and hauling in fine cat-fish in high glee.. Buckets were filled and carried below. The cook had his hands full, and the galley looked like a stall in a well-stocked fish market. Long after enough had been caught to supply us as long as they would keep, the men fished for the mere pleasure of the thing. These catfish were of a nearly uniform size — ^being eight to ten inches long — and were caught near the surface of the water. I was surprised to see them caught at sea, as I had never seen the like; before, but accounted for it, by supposing that we had! 70 FISH. happened on a shoal that got out of the river ; and this idea was supported by their seeming preference of the stratum of river water which, being fresh, flowed on the surface. There must have been im mense numbers of them, judging from the quantity caught with hook and line in so short a time. The next day they had nearly all gone, and we only caught now and then a straggler from the main body of the shoal. As the sharks were numerous, I doubt not but that they and other fish of prey, committed sad havoc in the adventurous band that had better have remained in their native mud, in the palm- shaded waters of the Rio Dulce, than have wandered in search of adventures, out into the wide world of waters to such a sad end. Beautiftil red fish were as plentiful here as in Aca pulco Bay; and also a singular fish, (^Tetraodon mola,) called by the sailors the toad fish, and by oth ers the moon, or globe fish. It has a globular form, and is thickly covered with little triangular prickles. Its little mouth is circular, and has four white, sharp teeth. It has the appearance of a collapsed toad generally, when first caught. If irritated, it will swell, or inflate itself, by swallowing air, almost to ¦bursting. It then looks like a tiny balloon, with protruding eyes and open mouth, on the top, and lacking only a little basket car to make the resemb lance complete. We frequently caught them, and might have been tempted to use them as a substitute for elastic foot-balls, had not the sailors had a fancy that the spines and flesh were venomous. Though SHARK FISHING. 71 this fish showed a capability of being stretched, and has been represented as being of great size, I can only vouch for a greatest diameter of five or six inches. Sharks were very numerous and easily caught, and all kinds of experiments were practiced by the sailors to test their tenacity of life. A sailor has about as much mercy on a shark that falls into his power, as the shark has on the sailor when the tables are turned. Shark fishing may be cruel and unnec essary, but it is grand sport, not entirely devoid of danger, and may be obtained all along this coast. We most frequently caught them when fishing for other game. It is generally practiced with a large, strong hook, attached to a piece of wire, to prevent its being severed by the sharp, shearing teeth of his sharkship ; and this wire is fastened to a stout line. If you have about sixty fathoms of line, or more, so much the better. A piece of meat, or anything in the shape of fish, or flesh, will do for bait, as sharks are not fastidious about diet. Let your line out slowly; and if the sharks are as numerous as we found them at the mouth of the Rio Dulce, you will not have to wait long for a bite, which in shark fish ing means a swallow. Pull gently, and the shark will find it more comfortable to come up gradually. When he finds what is above him he will dive, or start off at high speed. Give him line when he is furious, but keep it taut with a good, strong, steady pull, until he lies quietly along side, as generally he will do after he has wearied himself with fruitless ef- 72 SHARK FISHING. forts and the pain from the hook. When he first comes up and takes in the situation,he struggles most furiously ; and it is a long time doubtful which indi vidual, the one in the water, or the one on board, will retain possession of the line. Sometimes he darts down ten, twenty, or thirty feet, and it may be comes upon the other side of the vessel. When tired out he moves slowly in the water, or perhaps lies quietly. But you have not got him yet, and he is soon rested enough for renewed struggles. As he cannot be hoisted out of the water with the line, get a rope through a block, or a watch tackle, with a running noose on the end. Put your line through the noose, and let the noose down over his head, This will re quire careful management ; but when effected, draw it tight just behind the forward fiiis, and then hoist him up. A better way, but more difficult, is to harpoon him,, and then haul up harpoon and shark together. The harpoon must be sharp and well aimed, or you will not penetrate his tough skin ; and he will then prob ably get indignant at your awkwardness, and go off with your line in spite of you. When you get him on deck, give him plenty of room to use his tail. If he gets a fair stroke at you with it, you will propably be surprised, and likely hurt. Get a noose over it, and cut it off with an ax or hatchet. This literally curtails his power to a great degree, but keep out of the way of his stump. Don't put your hands or feet in his mouth. This advice has been neglected by some who would afterwards have reconsidered the- matter and acted otherwise, if the shark had not been in such a hurry. SHARKS TENACITY OF LIFE. 73 The sharks tenacity of life is wonderful. I have seen them swim away, after being thrown overboard, disemboweled and tailless. We spent a week sounding and examining the coast with boats, and on the Sth of May returned to Acapulco, after an absence of eight days. CHAPTER X. Commerce of the Spanish Galleons. IHILE swinging at anchor at Acapulco over ^ the very ground occupied by the Spanish K galleons centuries ago, the reader will par don a short digression to speak briefly of their cele brated commerce. For a more particular description we refer to the garrulous old writer who narrated the memorable voyage of Lord Anson. This trade, as is well known, was carried on be tween the city of Manilla in the Philippine Islands, and the coast of America; across the whole extent of the Pacific Ocean. Very large ships were used, which made an annual voyage. In its infancy, the port of Callao, in Peru, was made the depot for the Spanish dominions in America, and from thence for a time, the galleons sailed. From Callao to Manilla, between three and four thousand leagues, the voyage was often made in little over two months, on account of the fa voring influence of the trade winds in that latitude ; but the return from Manilla was always tedious and, on account of having to beat up against those same winds, is said to have sometimes taken more than twelve months. In consequence of this, the return route was subsequently changed to the high northern latitudes, whence after crossing the Pacific they fol- COMMERCE OF THE GALLEONS. 75 lowed the coast of the continent down to Callao. In order to shorten this long and dangerous voyage for the treasure ships, the trade was subsequently trans ferred to Acapulco, where it remained fixed. Manilla, well situated for the India and Chinese trade, in a fe/tile and fi'uitfiil country, collected from all those regions, silks, goldsmiths' work, and manu factures, particularly silk stockings, of which it is said that fifty thousand pairs were usually shipped iu each cargo; vast quantities of " calicoes and chintzes'' and many other articles of use and luxury, wrought by the skillful artificers of the East. These goods were embarked in one, or, at most, two annual ships, which were armed, manned, and fitted out at the expense of the King of Spain. The ton nage was divided into a certain number of bales, or equal parts, and proportioned among the convents of Manilla, principally those of the Jesuits, as a dona tion for the support of their missions in propagation of their faith. The Convents, or others who bought these freight privileges from them, shipped such quan tities of goods as the tonnage of their shares amounted to. The trade was also limited to a certain value bj^ royal decrees. This value, which no cargo was sup posed to exceed, was generally six hundred thousand dollars ; but avarice in this distant part of the world was a power greater than the will of kings ; and the royal arrangement being disregarded, the value of the annual cargo often verged upon three millions of dollars, and was seldom less than one million. The ship, when fully armed and manned, carried a 76 COMMERCE OF THE GALLEONS. force of fifty guns, and from 350 to 600 men, though some were capable of cruising with 1200 men aboard. When freighted, she sailed from Cubite, the port of Manilla, about the middle of July usually, and ar rived at Acapulco in the December, January, or Feb ruary following. The usual course was to the north ward of the 30th parallel of latitude, then across the ocean until signs of land were found in the floating seaweed, when a southward course was taken to make the land at Cape San Lucas. After discharg ing cargo at Acapulco, the return was commenced some time in March ; they sailed along about the 13th or 14th parallel, and reached Manilla generally in June. Nearly a whole year being thus occupied, it was necessary to keep several ships at Manilla, suita ble for the service, in order that, in case of delay, accident, or capture, the trade might not be suspended and a whole continent thrown into a flurry of disap pointment, by a non-arrival. On the long voyages from Manilla to the American coast, which were seldom of less than six month's duration, their anchor was never down, for the reason that in those days there was not a safe harbor, or roadstead known anywhere near their route. The Sandwich Islands were yet undiscovered, the course of the galleons being north of them, going east, and to the south, returning to Manilla. In so long a voy age, in a ship crowded with people, a sufficient sup ply of water was a matter of the first consequence. The heavy lading of the ship left little space for that necessary article; but the default was remedied by COMMERCE OF THE GALLEONS. 77 recruiting their water from the rains at sea in the lat itudes above 30° north. This dependence, seemingly so precarious, never failed them, and they always had a full supply. It was procured by spreading mats all over the ship, in such a manner that they sloped to split bamboo troughs, or spouts, which car ried the water into jars placed for its reception. When the galleon arrived at Acapulco, she was generally moored on the western side of the bay, and her valuable freight discharged with all possible ex pedition. At these times the old city between the hills was thronged with merchants and strangers from all parts of Mexico and Spanish America, and doubt less presented a scfene of unusual bustle and activity. The cargo having been landed and disposed of, the silver and goods consigned to Manilla were taken on board as quickly as possible, in order to get to sea on the return, before the first of April, in compliance with express orders to that effect. The principal re turn freight, being silver, occupied so much less space in stowage, that it was customary to mount another lower tier of guns, increase the number of hands, and carry out a company or two of soldiers for gar rison duty at Manilla. Thus year after year for centuries, did this stream of traffic continue to pour wealth into the treasuries of the convents, and build up the power of the Jesuits in America and the East, until the naval enterprise of England and other countries, prying into the se crets of the Pacific, pushed into these wide and unknown waters. Many captures were made, and 78 COMMERCE OF THE GALLEONS the voyages rendered hazardous. New channels of trade were opened, and new marts were found, until in time the commerce of the galleons ceased. It is remarkable that these many long voyages across the Pacific should have led to the discovery of so few islands, in a sea so thickly studded with them. It is strange that ships should continue almost for centuries to sail past the Sandwich Islands, in such close proximity, and yet never sight the lofty moun tains, or the smoke from the great volcano of Hawaii, in all those years. It is a comment on the routine character of man, even in his grandest achievements. CHAPTER XI. Sleeping— My Occupations— Amateur Theatricals— Actor and Artist— Ban ditti ashore— Two Slight Adventures. '''J'Tf OR nearly three months we swung idly atanchor 11 in the beautiful bay of Acapulco, under the fiery tropical sun. Our anchorage was exactly the place where the Manilla galleon rode in security near a century and a half ago, while Lord Anson kept up his long and wearisome blockade out at sea. He waited patiently, but in vain, for the rich treasure ship to come out and fall into his hands an easy prey. Disappointed in this, he sailed away to meet disasters paralleled only by those through which he had al ready passed ; yet in the end he was successful, for he captured one of them among the Philipines, and returned enriched to England. We kept the awnings spread, and, as there was little to be done, our days dragged slowly along in a monotonous round. We ate and slept with wonder- fiil regularity. A spirit of lassitude and indolence cast a somnolent spell upon us, and many of the men, yielding to the soporific heat, spent the greater part of the day in sleep on deck, in the cool sea breeze which reached us through a notch in the hills to the left of the town. I never before saw so much sleeping ac complished in the same length of time. Stout, strong 80 OCCUPATIONS. men, indulged in from one to two hours sleep in the forenoon, and from two to four in the afternoon. The warm tropical air was so somniferous that al most all gave way to its soothing influence, and the decks at times were covered fore and aft with the sleeping crew so thickly strewn that there was no chance for a promenader. A few individuals became so addicted to sleep that it was often necessary to wake them when they were wanted ; and One espec ially, a thick-headed, stout-built mechanic from Phil adelphia, was noted for dropping asleep anywhere, and in all positions, the moment he was unoccupied by meals or the ship's duty. Those few who, like my self, could not sleep in daytime, felt at times a lan guor and drowsiness which made life seem dream like. I do not wonder at the indolence of the na tives of tropical countries. My chief occupation when our light duties were done was the study of the Spanish. I found studies which required much mental effort, wearisome, for the mind, as well as the body, objects to severe exercise in the hot, enervating atmosphere of these regions. I read all the books I •'could get, which were few, and diligently practiced my Spanis}i exercises on such unfortunate natives as fell in my way. There was a ventriloquist on board, who was also an artist and an actor. He organized an amateur theatrical company, which gave occupation to quite a number, and amusement to all. He painted all the scenery, wrote out all the parts for the performers, (as there was only one copy of the plays,) gave di- AMATEUR THEATRICALS. 81 rectious and instructions at rehearsals, and j)layed the heavy parts himself. Besides all this, he added to the entertainment by giving ventriloquial perform ances, and by illustrating in original and extempo raneous farces the California Chinaman. His pow ers of ventriloquism were wonderful. He could also imitate the songs of birds, and give the sounds and notes so perfectly that it seemed little less than mi raculous. He wrote a good hand aud sketched well, using his left hand at everything. A sketch of Hon olulu, which I saw him make with his left hand, was published in an illustrated weekly paper. The ama teur theatricals were very successful and a credit to his enterprise. His representation of the Chinese washerman was excellent and exactly in character. This salt-water genius was a small and spare young man, named Livingston, from the interior of Cali fornia. The performances were generally on board in the evening, the starboard guns forward being shifted to make room for the stage, The awnings were dropped on the port side to close it in, and the dressing room extended back into the regions of the forecastle. The stage front was aft, so as to make the hurricane deck serve for gallery and the gangway as a dress circle ; but the metropolitan order of things was here re versed, the officers and ladies occupying the gallery and the crew the dress circle. Sometimes there was a performance ashore, in a spacious hall near the central Plaza. Not being of theatrical tastes, my assistance was limited to the translation and copying OZ ADVENTURE ASHORE. of the programmes into Spanish, for the information of the natives. General Alvaredo and family at tended one of the performances. I became quite familiar with the streets and sur roundings of the place, and several times visited the Castillo Santiago. During the day, a stranger was tolerably secure in going anywhere ; but at night it was not safe for any one, who might be supposed to have any money, to venture into out-of-the-way pla ces. Frequently drunken sailors have been decoyed into dark lanes or alleys, and then murdered and robbed. One of our boatswain's mates met with a narrow escape. He had been drinking to excess with a crowd of the " baser sort" ashore, one evening, and was next morning, found on the road to the fort, robbed and bloody. His throat had been cut from ear to ear, but fortunately not deep enough to prove fatal. He recovered, but will carry the unsightly scar to his grave, a memento of the Acapulco ruf fians. One evening in July, as I was returning from the cocoa palm grove, along the Calle de Mejico, I turned into a dark, deserted street, which seemed a nearer way to my lodgings, near the Plaza. I had advanced a few rods only from the lighted street into the darkness, when I saw the dark outlines of a man coming down towards me. From his actions it ap peared that he had been drinking. Being unarmed, and not wishing, in that secluded place, any conver sation with a drunken native of such size and strength, armed doubtless with a sharp cuchillo, or A BANDITTI. 83 machete, I tried to avoid him by stopping in the shadow of the deserted houses until he should pass without seeing me. The street was so narrow that this expedient failed, rfiud he, as soon as he perceived me, came up and demanded to know who I was. I answered " un Americano," and questioned him in turn. He began talking with drunken volubility in such a way that I could understand but little of what he said. I made out, however, that he wanted me to go to the outskirts of the town, where he promised to find " aguardiente y muchachas muy bonitas." I had no desire to go with him to meet assassins and rob bers, and refused. He took piy arm with rude fa miliarity, and propsed to go any way. He seemed to be much stronger than I, and besides had a bright cuchillo, or sheath-knife, in his belt. As I was not very tractable, he offered me a flask of vile smelling liquor, as a more powerful persuasive, and when I re fused to driak the stuff he drew his knife and threat ened me savagely. Just then some men on horse back, probably Mexican officers, came dashing down the dark and narrow street. When they were close up to us I knocked him down, more easily than I ex pected, and in the noise, confusion, and darkness, hurried past the horsemen up the street. I never heard or saw anything of him afterward. Proceeding up the street, I came to an open space, near the ruins of the old church, dimly lighted by the lamps of the distant Plaza. Here I perceived a crowd of excited natives with clubs, knives, and stones, and in the midst of them a drunken flreman 84: ANOTHER ADVENTURE. from the ship, who, una'rmed and surrounded, was re viling them in all the most insulting terms of his lim ited Spanish. He tried to pass on, but they kept him back. In his drunken unconsciousness of dan ger, he challenged them to fight, called them cowards, and used an epithet unfit for ears polite, which he happened to know, and which is the grossest insult a Mexican can conceive. The excited and savage rab ble crowded around him, and the condition of affairs began to be serious and alarming for the foolhardy fellow. Still unperceived in the dark shadow of the wall, I was calculating the chances of successful in terference, when I saw among the crowd, a fellow whom I recognized as Manuel Gordo, who claimed to be a bugler at General Alvarez' headquarters, and who had been, a few months previously, on board ship with me. Kowing his fondness for aguardiente, his ruling passion, and that he had some influence with the rough crowd, I went up to him and asked him to interfere and let the fireman go. He said he could not, that they wanted to kill the fellow because they were enraged at his insults. I promised him " dinero para beber," and taking his arm pushed in to the crowd. By this time the fireman, beginning to see his danger, was getting anxious to get away. My sudden appearance, and perhaps the supposition that I had companions close at hand, stoppBd the vio lent proceedings ; and during the momentary indecis ion, the fireman, on my advice, made a run of it, and struck out for the Plaza as fast as he could go. The cowards did not choose to follow him into the light MANUEL. 85 of the lamps on the square. The promise of some thing to drink kept Manuel close to me ; but in or der to get away from the disappointed crowd without a volley of stones, or other rough usage, it was nec essary for Manuel to promise unlimited quantities ot the ardent liquid at my expense. I have no doubt he made the mental reservation, that all he brought them would be what he was not able to drink him self Arrived at the Plaza, I gave him some reales and left him. The next morning I saw him almost too drunk to stand, and importunate for more money. CHAPTER XII. Off on a Cruise for the Shenandoah- Off Pt. Conception— The Golden Gate —Ware Island— OldShips-Otf to Sea— AStorm— Esquimalt, V.I.— Flat Head Indians— Coaling— A Tragedy— Off for the Sandwich islairds —A Tempest— Fair Weather Again— Visit from a Blue bird in Mid Ocean— A Floating Spar— Water -Spouts — First View of the Sand wiches. |N the 29th of July, the steamer America ar- ^j J rived with news of the depredations being '^^^jiP committed by the Rebel Cruiser Shenandoah, among the whaling vessels in thenorth Pacific. All was at once bustle and activity aboard, with prepara tions for departure, to cruise after the marauder. The next day at noon we were under way for San Francisco. We put to sea 'rt'ith H. B. M. Devasta tion, which we soon left far behind. After a few days of tolerable weather we had head winds, and a rough sea. We overhauled and spoke «very vessel we saw for news of the Shenandoah's precise whereabouts, but got very little information. Many of the vessels were whalers, a long time out, and some of them did not know they were exposed to an enemy. Off Point Conception, which sailors call the Cape Horn of California, we lowered all yards and top masts, and with stump masts and steam walked into the teeth of the wind which assaulted us from the northwest. Here all the year round there is a blow, IN AT THE GOLDEN GATE. 87 with few sudden variations of intensity. For weeks the gale maintains the same fury and velocity under a clear, blue, unclouded sky. By day the bright sun and by night the stars, glittering unobscured, witness the unusual phenomena of a storm wind without clouds or rain. The sea was very rough and the wind whistled and howled through our diminished top hamper, in one monotonous key. Eleven days steaming from Acapulco brought us in sight of the Golden Gate, as the entrance to the ample bay of San Francisco is called, and the Cliff House on the point to the right. Without stopping at the city we proceeded at once to Mare Island up the Bay, to coal and refit for a long cruise. Mare Island is a long and narrow island opposite Vallejo in Sonora County, and admirably situated for use as a navy yard, for which purpose it is used by the government. From the Napa River, where we dropped anchor, the officers' houses and the fine brick barracks, with other large and spacious buildings used as store houses, present an agreeable prospect. Here moored, were various vessels, and among others the old line frigate Independence, a seventy-four gun ship, dismantled and decaying, her warfare with storms and enemies passed, and her service ended. Several other hulks of the olden time, like old heroes worn out in the service of their country, were here ending their days in dignified retirement. We arrived on the afternoon of August 10th, and to give us a speedy departure, all the forces of the yard were put to work, and no time lost. The next 88 OFF FOR A LONG CRUISE. day we dropped into the dry dock, were hoisted out of the water, and by sundown were calked and coppered for a voyage round the world, if need be. Immediately after leaving the dock the coaling com menced, and continued without intermission, night and day, for two days, during which time we took aboard three hundred and fifty tons of coal. On the evening of the 13th, seventy-two hours after our ar rival, we steamed out of the Napa river into the bay, and began our long cruise. On account of a thick fog, we were compelled to- anchor off Ft. Point, and await a pilot. The next morning, by the first grey streaks of the dim daylight we were wending our way to sea in a foggy mist. We ran two days for the Sandwich Islands, and then, in consequence of some information received from a passing vessel, put about for Vancouver's Is land. We hailed every passing sail, for each, until made out, was a possible Shenarldoah to us. On the 17th a most furious storm began and raged with violence, giving me, at least, my first decided taste of winter on the ocean. The cold rain and north winds made us most decidedly uncomfortable. Our late tropical experiences had not fitted us to meet with unconcern these northern blasts. Three long days and nights wore slowly away, and at length we entered th-e Straits of San Juan de Fu- ca. Gladly we cast anchor at Esquimalt, a flne har bor surrounded by green pine forests. The scenery much reminded me of what I had read of Norwegian landscapes. This port is but a short distance from ESQUIMALT, V. I. 89 Victoria, the seat of the colonial government of Van couver's Island. Several British men-of-war, includ ing the Clio, were here at anchor. Many Flat Head Indians still inhabit these parts and are objects of curiosity. Their canoes are light, neat and buoyant ; and many of their manufactures, such as bows, arrows, pipes, and wash-basin-bats, well constructed; but they theitiselves, one and all, appeared to me the most disgusting and wretched specimens of humanity I ever beheld. On the night of our arrival we were warped in to the wharf, in order to have the " coal bunkers" re filled. This was done by the men wheeling the coal from the wharf over the bow. While thus employed some of them procured whisky and got very drunk. Even the guard stationed on the wharf to prevent the smuggling of liquor, became so wild and unmanage able himself that, under the influence of the vile stuff, he shot one of the petty officers sent to relieve him. Fortunately the wound which penetrated the groin, though dangerous, did not at once prove fatal, and the poor fellow was afterward discharged a cripple for life. The guard was of course put in irons, sub sequently tried, and condemned to the California State prison. The drunkenness and excitement that night made our vessel a small pandemonium. In three days we were off again, and, after getting clear of the Straits, bore away for the Sandwich Islands. A day or two of moderate weather was followed by another storm and hurricane. The blow Com- 90 STORM AT SEA. menced in the night, and by daylight on the 26th, the winds and waves were in wild commotion. All day the fury of the storm increased, and we were tossed about as Lhad never been before. Sometimes the vessel would take a dive into the almost perpen dicular side of an advancing wave, and stagger and tremble, like a drunken man, under the tremendous force of the blow. The wind hissed among the waves, shattering and scattering into spray their irregular tops, exposed to its force. It roared and howled through the rigging, and around us, with a sad groan ing sound, such as all the agony of all the ages, if concentrated by supernatural power, might give. The overhanging, flying clouds darkened the waves with a fierce expression of gloom. Though staunch and trim, the ship labored fearfully. Part of the wheel houses were washed away, and planks on the guards, six inches thick, stove iu. The foremast was sprung, and one of the main stays, of chain cable, parted and fell rattling over the smoke stack to the deck. Fortunately no one was killed or injured. Night came on, but few, if any, slept. Even those not on duty, instead of going below, collected under shelter of the hurricane deck, determined to see the worst, at least in company. The negroes aboard were some of them pictures of horror, leaning motionless, and with fixed eyes, against the railing ; while the water shipped forward, washed past them unnoticed and unheeded. It seemed to them the day of doom. Fear or despair was depicted on the countenances of many of the men. Many were the vows of reforma- NIGHT IN A STORM. 91 tion and virtue, prompted by a cowardice that dreaded impending death more than the consequences of vi cious lives. The most reckless and vicious in the past were now the most solemn. Young M — , a wild and dissolute young man, made solemn vows of reform and future good behaviour to be forgotten when the storm was over. I saw him a year or more after ward, at home, dying of consumption, and he refer red to his broken resolutions with great remorse. In the darkness we sheltered ourselves as well as wo could from the cold wind and spray, and the night was spent iu anxious waiting for the morning. The hours seemed long indeed, and that night was an age of weird watching. Those who were not silent, told stories of shipwreck and disaster. A sailor who had passed nearly all his life at sea, minutely detailed a narrative of personal dangers and escapes, to which I had never heard him refer before. All conversa tion took the same turn, and we listened eagerly in the very presence of death. There was a comfort in the sound of the human voice amid the horrible rag ing of the ocean. The gloomy night at length was over, and morning came. The smoke stack was encrusted with salt from the spray, from top to bottom. Showers from the waves ttiat beat on the bows still broke over the yards, and drenched us fore and aft. As the day passed by without any increase of the violence of the gale, we began to hope that the worst was over ; and by night our hopes were realized. In twenty-four hours more we were in a reasonable sea, and Jack Tar forgot dea»h and the dangers of the storm. 92 A BLUE BIRD. In a few days more came fine weather and fair winds. The waves subsided under us, instead of over us, and our ship " danced gaily over the blue deep." One .day, half way from the Continent to the is lands, a small blue bird, weary and almost exhausted, came aboard. It certainly could not have come from land, for we were nearly a thousand miles from the nearest. It is probable that it had escaped or been lost from some ship. What a lonely and wearisome flight it must have had over the vast reaches of water, before it at last espied our vessel, a small speck in its far distant horizon. Had it been endowed with speech and reason, it could have related an ex perience of most absorbing interest. Another day we passed a floating spar covered with barnacles, indicating that it had been long in the water, but with nothing else about it to give any clue to its past history. Where were the ship and crew to which it had once belonged? What poor fellows may have clung to that wood despairingly,. until the cold waves loosened their ¦ hold on it and life together? We could not know, and it floated by, alone with its secrets known only in the eternal world. Early one morning we had a fine view of several waterspouts at one time. They were at a considera ble distance, but very distinct and clearly defined.. Some were in process of formation, while others were- breaking. The novelty of the scene, and the great. size of the columns of water made it a very impres- HAWAII. 93 sive view. Of course all hands were on deck to see them, and we watched them until their evanescent forms were swallowed up in the distance, or the ocean. Approaching the Islands, we necessarily made con- .siderable southing ; and this brought us again into our genial climate of the latitude of Mexico. This, with the calm, deep, blue sea, and clear, bright grey sky, after the stormy part of the voyage was rnost delightful. On the 5th of September, as I was idly leaning over the ship's side, scanning the horizon for some new object, I saw a dim outline which seemed denser than clouds, and shortly after, the man at the mast head reported land. We were off the east coast of the island of Hawaii, the largest of the Sandwich Islands. We came closer to the land in the evening, and saw the lofty Koa looming magnificently above the fleecy clouds, that hung around its brow caress ingly, or as if they clung for support while they peered from its high peak down into the fires of Kil- auea's burning lake. It sloped away on the left to that great volcano. We passed to the northward, and as the different islands rose in view, the scene was flne indeed. I remained late on deck, watching, lest some object of interest should escape me; and when I retired to my hammock, it was with the pleas ant consciousness that at last I was floating among the very islands of which, in my childhood, I had read so much in missionary narratives, and which imagination had pictured as a far off land of wonders. CHAPTER XIII. Appearance of Oahu— News of tbe Shenandoah- Off for the Marquesas — Headwinds and Squalls— Fate of the Levant— Crossing the "Line" — Ocean Scenes— Nukahiva Bay, Marquesas Islands— Cannibals— Catho lic Missionaries— Com. Porter and the Essex— Scenery of Nukahiva Bay. (^iJgHE next morning when I came on deck at !Mw seven o'clock, we were just off Diamond Head, ^tS^gW an old crater forming a bold point about four miles from the town of Honolulu. The city itself soon appeared, and we approached and anchored in the harbor. It is thought by some that Oahu does not at a dis tance present a very inviting appearance. It is true that the crater-shaped hills around are barren and bare ; but the signs of life and cultivation in the di rection of the Nuuana Valley, by the contrast, seem pleasant and cheerful, and especially so, did they seem to us, after our long voyage. The town itself,. a collection of European and native houses nestling among the numerous trees, looks very picturesque,. and has long been a place of blessed mem ory to sailors ; but during our stay this time, we had no time to satisfy idle curiosity. Our object was to- get to sea again as soon as possible ; and all hands were kept busy coaling and repairing the damages- sustained during the voyage. As we returned to Honolulu, I shall have more to say about it in an other place. OFF FOR THE MARQUESAS. 95 Our news here from the Shenandoah was meager and indefinite. Our prospects of a conflict with the pirate, and subsequent prize money, did not grow brighter ; yet we did not give up all hopes of getting along side of her. On the contrary, the laurels of Winslow and the Kearsarge, though they did not keep us from sleeping, yet acted powerfully on our imaginations. We pictured, in fancy, the glory we should win in a bloody conflict with the marauder. We foresaw all the incidents as we would have them ; our eight and eleven inch shot tearing up her iron sides, knocking down her spars in fine style, and fi nally sending her to the bottom in the presence per haps of an appreciative audience of whaling ships. It is true, that occasionally, some timid croaker would suggest the possibility of a vice versa arrange ment — tbat the Shenandoah might send us down, in stead of going down quietly and properly h erself — as she was said to be an iron ship, while ours was wooden. But such suggestions met with little appro bation or encouragement. In a few days we were ready and put to sea, head ing for the Marquesas Islands. We thought it pos sible that Semmes, who was in command of the Shenandoah, might conclude that these islands would be a good place to " die in the last ditch," and we ac cordingly proceeded to search for him there. Head winds and squalls retarded us somewhat. All yards were sent down, and yet we made good head way, notwithstanding the condition of affairs. Oc casionally terrible storms visit this part of the ocean. 96 NEAR THE "LINE." The United States ship Levant, with her two hundred officers and men sailed into this very sea and was never heard from afterwards. The gallant ship had won a place in history by a glorious career, and here, fully armed, manned, and equipped, she disappeared forever from her " stage of action," leaving no trace, or memento, save a sad memory for all who were con nected with her crew by ties of friendship or con sanguinity. Long was she searched for, and long talked of by the navy, but never more returned her white sails to gladden friends or country. On the 26 th we were near the Equator, and some of the old salts made dire preparations, in accord ance with the time-honored custom, to receive Nep tune in proper style. I had an impression that these quaint old ceremonies had become obsolete, but was infiirmed that they are still very commonly practiced on board the ships of various other nations as well as our own. Old hoops were rudely sharpened and fashioned into huge razors, other preparations were made, and lists made out of those to be put through the mysterious rites. As about half our crew had never been across "the line," and were in conse quence subjects for initiation, these arrangements caused considerable consternation and excitement among the novices, as the ceremony, if proceeded with, would be no jest to them. The list was headed with the name of an officer, the son of a distinguished western senator, who viewed the preparations from the hurricane deck with much trepidation and alarm. He was somewhat comforted when told, that in very MUKAHIVA BAY. 97 rare cases, a sum of money would purchase exemp tion from the rough handling of the myrmidons of Neptune. He was again however much cast down when informed that, on this occasion, money would not be accepted, and that he must expect to be prop erly initiated in due time. It turned out, after all, greatly to his relief, that those who had never crossed the line were so numerous aud so determined to re sist, that they made the undertaking too great to be attempted ; consequently all escaped, and the shav ing with old hoops an-d saws, and washing with bilge water were dispensed with. Sept. 27th. The weather very fine. The wavelets at rest, while a long, stately swell heaves us up and lets us down quietly as we fly over the blue depths. Flying fish in shoals rise up and skim along over the smooth undulations to disappear again in the ocean. Numerous fleets of the tiny physalia, or " Portuguese men-of-war," as the sailors call them, are seen all around. These beautiful and curious creatures of the ocean, floating before the breeze with their tiny sails, add much interest to the scene. September 30th, at 10 a. m., we dropped anchor in the wild and romantic bay of Nukahiva in one of the Marquesas. The irregular volcanic mountains, with hanging rocks of grotesque shapes poised so precariously that it seemed as if the wind might at any moment bring them down in an avalanche, ver dant groves of cocoa and orange trees, half hiding native huts, and the thickly wooded sides of the hills, broken here and there by a bare water course. 98 CANNIBALS. all combined to form an interesting and picturesque scene. Tattooed natives, nearly naked, eame off to us, bringing fruits to sell. They were of medium stature and well formed, but with unattractive features. These people have been voracious cannibals, and broiled or roasted missionary was an article of diet once highly prized here. The French authorities have endeavored to prevent their indulgence in this little luxury, and have to a great extent succeeded, ' for we saw no signs of its use. The supply had evi dently run out, or was reserved exclusively for home consumption by the chiefs and warriors in districts remote from the surveillance of the French. An old chief, tattooed from head to foot, came on board and gave us a harangue with most outlandish gestures, grimaces and, attitudes. The untamed sav age acted more like a madman than like a respect able, well fed cannibal. A few ornaments about his head, and a spear, constituted about all his attire. The French have a small force here and occupy the islands. Catholic missionaries, under their pro tection operate among the natives and use every meansito eradicate their appetite for human flesh. We saw a procession of them in white, going to mass very early in the morning. I have no doubt these native christians would, if they dared, roast and eat their pious teachers much more eagerly than they now listen to, or receive their instructions. There were a few persons here who claimed to be Americans, and expressed great satisfaction to hear PORTER AND THE ESSEX: 99 of the end of the war. I believe one of them said that their last news was of the battle of Chancellors- ville. Persons have remained here for many years, cut off from all the world by the wide expanse of ocean that surrounds these unimportant and unfre quented islands. Vessels seldom touch here ; and consequently the chances of getting a passage from them are few and far between. The climate, how ever, like that of all this latitude, is genial ; and the inhabitants require very little protection from the weather. This place is noted in the history of the navy for the events which transpired here, during the stay of the Essex and her prizes, under the gallant Porter, more than fifty years ago. The situation of the Essex at that time was sufficiently remarkable. "More than ten thousand miles from home, with out colonies, stations, or even a really friendly port to repair to, short of stores, without a consort, and otherwise in possession of none of the required means of subsistence and efficiency, she had boldly steered into this distant region, where she had found all that she required, through her own activity ; and having swept the seas of her enemies, she had now retired to these little frequented islands to refit, with the security of a ship at home. It is due to the offi cer, who so promptly adopted, and so / successfully executed this plan, to add, that his enterprise, self reliance, and skill, indicated a man of bold and mas culine conception, of great resources, and of a high degree of moral courage; qualities that are indispen- 100