Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1849-10-25
LATE FROM CALIFORNIA.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR.
SAN FRAsc,sco. Aug. 2oth. |


Mr.. EDITOR "A grecabe TO promise tina.
recollecI OF having made you but few days
before leaving your pleasant and fOurtshing lit
tie village, l now seat myself on the floor Of my
slate room, and making a table of the old blue
chest that contains what little personal property
happen to POSSESSES about this time, TO eudeavor
10 give you as brief and as faithful an account
Of my wanderlpgs thus far as possibly cam
Hoping you viii make all allowance for my pres
ent excited and llstless stale of mnd aud thus
overlook all imperlections which you will doubt
less find scattered over these disconnected serb
ings; aud also hoping that what may write
may prove Interesting, but not SO talterIng to
the readers of the Watchman, as to induce them
to leave their homes, where all is enchdntment
and quiet, and wander hlther in the hope to laden
themselves with riches that take TO themselves
wings, by casting their 'mortal coils" into the
hub6ub that now ruges on the banks Of the Sac
ramen, hopping all this, | viii, with pleasure,
hasten 10 give you an unvarnshed story Of a
few things that NY eyes have seen, and my ears
heard. Our voyage, as you well Know, has
been u remarkably long one, but perhaps you
don't know that it has been far more remarkable
in other points of view, fully as interesting 10 us
its victims as its remarkable length AS :" time
is money" especially III these parts, shall only
mention few Of The most prominent remarkable
features that | have above alluded to, and leave
others for an evenings chat, when again meet
YOU around the old sIove where The CalIfor-
MA fever was wont 10 rage so violently. Among
our remarkables there, will mention that we
we're most poorly fed during the voyage, SO Of
course we we've remarkably hungry Again, we
we're greatly deceived as 10 lhe Accommodations
that we were to find aboard Of The " fast sailing,
newly repaired, copper covered ana fastened
ship Magnolia, A l." and instead OF taking ou-
meals with the "ladles," and listening TO the
music of an elegant piano iortc, and willing
away our leisure moments by having recourse
to all extensse library of choice reading; say
instead of all this the ladies' eat in aft with their
husbands, and zoe went through with the ceremo-
MES of eating over food that one OF the Magno-
las poets SAYS, the swine would never CLEAN"
while the library was among the things that had
been: and the pianos music was like notes Of
" dlscord, badly out of tune." So we were sadly
disappointed Again, when ice asked for bread,
we received only laugh and a sheer, aud the
old retorl Of our agent, Navy ralions are all
that you are entitled 10 !" SO here again was a
remarkable annoyance and grievance that we
were obliged TO endure the whole voyage. Get
ting round into The more tranquil waters OF the
mighty Pacific, we came short OF water, so that
we had only three pins a day from about the
sixth degree of South latitude till we arrived at
this port. And had we not obtained some wa
ter through the kindness OF the Masters and pas
sengers of the ships Helena aud Minerva that
we spoke when far out upon the dark waves Of
the rolling sea, we certainly must have suffered
very much for water; and even as 1t was we
were obliged to resort to making fresh water by
condensng the vapor that escapes from boiling
salt water You can never know what II is TO
be on So small an allowance OF water, especially
about the hot climate OF the equator, I'll taught
by experience. AT length We were IN the lali-
lude OF our destined port, but II so happened that
we did hot know 1t, as the log was SO dense that
IL was impossible TO obtain our latitude. So on
we go nearly to astoria II not quite. Al last the
Captain determined 10 ascertain where we were
SO he swore he would run the old ship MI he
made The lee shore it he could not fluid out our
situation. Then making our due east course
we at last made the land, but what land It was
10 one knew-ony we were sure that It was The
western coast OF North America. We then
followed the coast, hoping 10 find an enrance
that we could call The " Golden Gale" But
running To the suulhward as lar as lie thought Ju-
dicious, We at last cunie 10 al anchor III the
broad Pacific. We then commenced hrng;
hoping that we might call some SAL that could
render US assistance. Alter laying ut anchor
about eighteen hours the joyful cry OF san hU!
was heard from one end OF the ship 10 the other,
IL proved to be the brig Malek Abel, from San
Francisco bound to the Sandwich Islands. But
hearing our guns she came down 10 us thinking
we were IN distress, and so ice pere, Tor we We're
almost out OF water and the fog was SO thick
that we did not care to run, and then again we
knew MOI where we were, or where 10 70. She
gave US our course to San Francisco, ana as good
luck would have 1t that time, we were only u
lew miles from the entrance, and 10 two hours
| after she lett US we were at anchor in the bay