The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1877-11-21
From San Francisc0, California, to
TokOhsmR, Japan.
.orrs,nondeucs Hartford Herald :

! you huu louhu HihCe w your COluHlhei
| send few notes from the sea.
On the morning Of September 18th |
took up temporary residence in state,
room No. "a, on board stesmsh ip "Ci,y
Of Pekin," lying in wharf in San Frsn>
cisco IIArbor, (Which. by the way, is the
finest natural harbor in the worldly. At
~ N. the cry AL ashore" went round
the deck. The general call 10 "sll
aboard" but in this case the crowd OF
people had thronged the deck TO cay
goOd>bys to those going. hence the re-
verse "all ashore" In a few minutes
more the great ship was shoat. and we
headed westward, gliding through the
Golden Gate, and out toward the open
sea. Learning that the pilot would
leave the ship When fully at:sss, and
that letters could be mailed, all hands
were busy writing "good>byes" to home
friends. 1t was amusing to see the pen
ellis going, and perhaps all saying the
same things. One man mailed sixty
postal cards.
Before giving amy notes of the voyage
it might be of interest to your readers TO
have a brief view of the ship and cargo.
The CITY of Pekin" is one Of the largest
and best ships on the waters-length,
4s0 feet. standing "a feet in water and
about 26 above, being so feet deep and
about GO feet wide. with four stories for
freight and passengers. The displsce>
ment IS S.400 tons weight The engine
is 5000 horse power, and the supply of
coal for the trip is 1000 tons, using IS
tons rer day. TIL. freight Of this trip is
4, 900 tons. The list OF passengers on
this trips bctwsea eighteen and nineteen
hundred people-so you can get some
idea of the size of the ship. Besides the
immense engine there is 40 600 feet OF
sail, which is spread when the wind is
fair. Among our passengers We have
miniature world. Almost al nations
of the earth are represented, and the
islands Of the sea ! looked over the
ship without seeing a negro, and said to
q friend in the language lin party of the
bridge Of signs: ALIAS it is pitiful |
Of whole city full, negroes we have
none" But few days later happened
to fall into the cook room, and there was
Sambo-one of the old style, in white
apron, stirring a pot of hash or some
thing else. This discovery completed
the list OF at least twenty different na>
tionaliiies and races represented. And
as great as the variety of colors and
tongues, 20 also are the phases Of life
and occupations, but | will not take
more space for the invoice.
We are now upon the sea, and as
night draws on. the last view of land
fades away. The wind is quite high,
hence the wild waves are rolling in
perpetual flow" And now the men and
women become interested in the welfare
Of the fish, and for a better method OF
msnifsstiug their sympathy, they freely
empty their stomachs over the railing
for the fish to try, and each one seemed
to claim = special right 10 preference BY
the repeated ejaculation, "0h, my T. A
more ludicrous scene one never saw than
a deck lined with men, women and
children, OF all ages, from six mosths to
sixty years. b~nging over the arms Of pa
rents and the railing ofthe ship, all emit
ting the last morsel from the stomach in
full chorus Of "how ark /" and ''oh my y
as the interlude, But such is sea life to
the large majority OF voyagers. kept
up bravely the first day and fisttered my>
self that would escape; but, at 8 r M
the second day, | awoke and found nv
self performing all kinds of gestures
First. l was standing on my head with
my feet elevated 10 an angle to touch the
moon, and in the next moment WAS in
position ofan invalid propped up for a
dish OF soup, then was sweeping side
wise in a rotary motion, much as one
would upon the end of long pole across
house top and "see>sawing" with q ca
reon from one end Of the house to the
other. soon yielded up. not the ghost
but the ample supply OF mutton-chops
and roast turkey taken on the evening
before. In other words, was "ses sick, y
and you never will know how that is I'M
ill you feel the luxury. An old stall,
joke sa 8, that the first emotion ia fear
+ that you will die, and the second is 9
fear that ven won't die | craved wine
and in the faith of st Paul's advice ia
Timothy, took a bottle Of Bourbon fol
my stomaclfs sake; by which means
was relieved in about twenty-four hours
so thst have been up to enjoy tn,
sea After few days all had recovered
and were out on deck il great glee, play
ing all kinds OF games and promensding
and singing and reading. and last, bu
not least, eating. This last forms the
central feature of sea voyage. We
have coffee and crackers at elk to seven
breakfast at nine, t.ffin or lunch at one
dinner at elk, and supper at nine. Th'
dinner is the principal meal, and usually
occupies an hour and half.
We have had three Ssbbaths on ship
board, which are observed at 10 a. IN
The Captain OF the ship reads the Church
OF England service. At 2p. m. we have
Sunday school. At 81 p. m, the fret
Sunday, Bishop Wiles preached, and 8 p
m. / led a prayer meeting in the socia
hall. The second Sunday was the sam'
as the fret, except the sermon, which va:
by Rev j. Pie on, Of China. We hav,
prayer meeting each Thursday evening
and bible class every afternoon; be.
sides this, there is a meeting each day
for the Japanese passengers and also fol