Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-21
LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE.
Midshipman Plankett's Pacific VOy-
age.

Midshipman Pldnkett's Pacific VOy-
age.
MRS. Admiral TinsIOW-The Admiral
Mess I-StatiOns-SaII,
HOI-GastFOnOmicaI TrRnsftiOn-In
POrt-Juan Fernandez-GOat Hunt
Ing-RObinsOn CrusOe's Cave-The
TabIeE-ExeeedinRIy Heightened
Observation-Disclosures Vegetables and
Fruits, etc.
UNITED STATES STEAMER CALIFORNIA,
SUNDAY, Feb. 4, lat. SO deg. S., long. 134
W.-Wel, you see, we are another week
on our journey. We have done splendidly
all week, and had splendid winds, except
for day or so, when we had terrific gale
of wind and rain, making it rather UNI
pleasant; but as it was favorable, it sent us
howling on our course at the same time,
kicking up a fearful old sea. We are now
in a dead calm, and so having no wind to
steady Us, we are rolling around to such an
extent that l can scarcely keep my chair up
10 the table.
AN ACCIDENT.
In calling around the other day Mrs.
Winslow, the Admirals wife, fell and hurt
herself good deal, though no bones were
broken.
ADMIRAL WINSLOW
has about recovered and was able to read
the service to-day. He is quite feeble and
think this viii be his last cruise.
EN- ROUTE To VALPARAISO.
We are now about as far south of the line
as you are north Of it and if we can help 1t
we do not wish to 60 any further down.
We are chOpping off the longitude as fast as
-. -.
hundred miles to 60 to Valparaiso. We
can make that in about twenty days with a
good breeze. win be delighted to get in,
for our stores are beginning to look won
derfully like salt provisions, at best never
dinner to-day which gave US a glimpse Of
fresh meat anyhow. 1t was quite good and
it is subject of c0ngratulation that we
have two more LEFT.
MESS.
or course there are "household " diff
culties here as on land. The servants
evidently are wssteful and this eXtravag ance
has given rise to complaint. Our mess bill
is now up to S35 a month, on an average,
for each officer, since leaving Frisco. The
steward says We have used one hundred
and thirty-fve pounds of coffee in this
.
shipmen for caterer and he watches as far
as possible but the duties we do are such
that we can't watch very close. We are
going to make frantic endeavor to i'm
prove matters.
"ONWARD, STILL ONWARD
SUNDAY, Feb. IL. Lat. IS deg. East,
long. 100 deg. West.-We are very anxious
TO get on, as matter of course, and get our
mail and read the news. The last that We
knew of the world was Dec. y, so that by
this time there ought to be an abundance of
news to us. 1t won't take us long now, go
ing as we have been since last Sunday. We
got the breeze we expected, and ever since
we have just spun along, with the lOveliest
weather and the most elegant wind you
could imagine. We have made thirteen
hundred miles this week, and have
only eighteen hundred left, and in
less than two weeks from to-
dayI expect we will be peacefully at an
Choir in Valparaiso. We are now thirty
Sc, IN days from Honolulu, and so far, We
have made very quiet passage.
DRILL.
We drill every day and sometimes twice
a day, and then, again, we have lots of nav.
igation to work, which latter l take a great
deal of pleasure in doing.
STATIONS.
A disagreeable feature of this station is
the dreadful long time it takes to 90 from
one port TO another. In the European
squadron they are never more than five OF
Gays out, and then they steam if they
FlaTe no wind.
THE UTTER LONELINESS OF THE VERY
Vastly DEEP.
1t IS singular how few sails we have seen
To show you how much alone We are, since
we left Honolulu We have only seen three
sails, and they were all at Remitera trad
ing. We have not seen a single one at sea-
l think in a day or so we will be in the
track Of the ships coming round Cape Horn
aud bound up the coast and then we will
see a good many. I like TO see them, for il
varies the feeling of utter loneliness and is
something to look at besides the water.
THE TRACKLEss WASTE AGAIN.
Ar SEA, Feb. Is, long. 81 west; lat. SO
deg. IS sOuth.-We are still going on and
on over this trackless waste. l really do
not wonder that Columbus men should
have been alarmed, for if | did not know
what we are coming to | would be frighten-
ed myself. We are now on the seventh
thousand miles since we left Honolulu, and
have seen nothing to show that there was
ANYTHING else, saving one solitary speck OF
land, that you could walk entirely round in
an hour. We haze run on with a light
wind all week, which was part Of the time
directly in our teeth, so we have not made
an extraordinary run, but we have done
pretty well, and are now only about eleven
hundred miles from Valparaiso.
AHEAD.
While en- route TO Valparaiso We expect
to stop for three days at Juan Fernandez tC
investigate Robinson Crusoe's cave. 1t is
only about seven hundred and fifty miles
from here, so probably we will make it this
week. From there it is generally under
stood We are to 80 over to Talcahwana, Z
small port on the coast principally used by
whalers who put in there for provisions anC
water. Nine miles back Oft is the city Of
Conception which has population of about
fourteen thousand people and is said to be
quite a pretty place, but has suffered good
deal from Indian attacks.
SAIL. HO!
Last night we sighted a sail and another
this morning, but they were 50 far OF We
could not make them out. They seemed
TO be bound around the cape. These are
the only strangers we have seen.
TIKI. TROUBLES OF HOUSEKEEPING" AT
SEA.
The row in the mess is still on hand
An Id. r,-o,r-I ouayy- tina thew come to 6