Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1849-03-23
CALIFORNIA ExPEDITIoN-GRAPHIC SKETCH
OF HARDSuIPS.

I CALIFORNIA EXPEDITIoN-GRAPHlC SKETCH
OF HARDsHiPS.
An intelligent Virgmian, en- routs fsr Cai!or-
mia, sends US The following, "off Chagres," under
dale Of February 18Th, lS4a:
For the Enquirer.
McSsis Editors: | have made The Trip from
New York 10 Chagres on board The steamer FaI'
con. We eit New York on The Isl February
aud reached Chagres on The l3.h. having paid FOL
passage in Ire all cabin $50. Each stale-!nom
ulaiLs three beThs, and yields Of course Si50 &c
the company in New York.
As several OF my irIen.s intend 10 make The
same Trip in The sane steamer, which is adVef.
Used 10 leave New York on the 18th March,
adopt this method Of informing them, and all
others similarly situated, what they may expect
| ii they fare as we have done.
| in The ffss place, The company took on boa,d
three HUNDRED and fifteen passengers. II any de-
ten.un al sea had occurred, such as it is not un-
reasonable 10 expect and such as il is Criminal
no. 10 provide against, our 8aler and provisions
would have formed the corpus hits for bowie
knives and si1barelled revolvers But tn
heavens favored us ami We reached Havana be-
fore the wafer had entirely disappeared.
In the second place. there has been an entire
absence OF order, arrangement, sysem and dis
| cipline in every department. A civil word from
a scTvan; 10 gentleman has been most M
usual occurrence. As We were lying oil Charles
| lun, the clerk undertook 10 make an examination
Il our tickets aid, 10 facilitate matters confined
below as many Of US as he had The good iCrtGne To
catch. Ate! The expiration OF Two hours gen.
tleman went mp, despite The order, and, meeting
with his exce!iency, the Gle k, was repnmanded
by him IN The terms following: "Thesr Id pas
sengefS wont keep still-never mind, will count
I hon ilp 10 .t.n, MIA ha
Another sc .lleman, without Offering the slight
est provo alton was Old y one 4 the crew hat
he was a id sight too impudenL The Store
keeper. steward and cook ENJOY separ ale sover-
eighties AMI exercise their rights u an extent
which frequently deprives US OF any thing I'll 10
eat OF drink. The Caprai'. is a very fine spec-
men Of maslcTy inactivity. saw him in The
alt aoon THIS morning, for The FIRST time since
We lett New York; and although have been
somewhat on The lookout for something oil The
kind, have not yet discovered single instance
OF the least care or concern on his par for the
comfort Of The passengers. On the contrary, he
maniirs.s the coolest Indifference 10 such trivial
matters, combining himself 10 an observation al
meridian, and occasionally inspecting lhr NoHh
STAR IN the mirror OF his quadrant. II The Great
Mosul were passenger, he might cast on US
such regard As our Captain does.
Our provisions have vety much The look Of
thing lorgtt al auction, and knocked down u
The flrst bidder. The cookiug-ii, indeed The
process deserve that name-does no, improve The
raw material. am convinced thar no water in
this ship, save that in the engine boiler, and
that given US 10 drink has mounted up, Fahren-
helt's scale, higher than l30 degrees As minutes.
But lei me do justice b, saving, that for Two
whole days after we left New York, we had
modlcum OF ice wafer; aud that in The opinion
OF The passengers, whatever Of space, in The
unprecedented, c0pper-iasienec, iast-sailing
steamer Fa con, belonging 10 Messrs Law 4
Co, New York, i. mol filled win articles Of
comfort, or even with necessares-is flied with
Yankee notions, sent out ior the California mar
kel by certain persons in New York.
am writing in the greatest imaginable haste,
and under circumstances Of Inconvenience,
which would have deferred me, but Tor the desire
have to inform my friends aud The public OF The
treatment we have received. Tor heir own enefii;
and also from the qualification il affords me 10
expose the conduct OF Inc managers Of this
craft, which. in my opioion amounts 10 the
coolest and most impudenl swindling ever pTac.
Used against gentlemen.
have shown this Letter 10 a number OF gentle
men on board, and read il in squads, many OF
whose members were strangers 10 me. Their
accordance is unanimnus-an many OF them
have suggested Inconvenience. hardships and
uurages, which have neither The time nor in
cllnalion TO specify Yours, truly
YlRGlNIUS.