Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-14

ssYou spoke of canned stuffs and con-
densed milk" the madame said, ii didn't
know they were in existence SO long ago.
aOh yes: canned things are old-fash-
toned articles, though in those times they
were not as plenty as now; but think we
made up in quality what we lacked in
quantity. Often when we opened a can of
milk we got considerable butter that had
been churned by the ships motion"
sHow did you spend your timer"
"The lawyers wife and myself busted
ourselves somewhat with needlework; and
we all played cards and every sort OF
game. There were chess, checkers and
games of every description; some had been
bought before sailing and more lack-knifed
out of odd bits of wood by the men on
board. Reading matter in those days was
not as accessible to the multitude as now,
though there was a small supply among
us. OF course great deal of time was de-
voted to speculation as to their future
among the men, We women-being only
two-found it pretty dull very often, be-
cause we were forced to stay in our cabins
so much of the time, owing to the army of
men always on deck. Hardly half hour
during the day or night saw the deck
clear. We had the right good fortune to
have piano, and many of the men being
musical there were songs nearly every day.
On Sunday morning we had an interesting
service, conducted by Alphabet W-n,
whose transcendentalism was only out
shone by his religious fervor."
didn't you see vessels or land p
Occasionally the cry, sail-hop sent us
Joot- b,,rrx,. ht,f t-r,oLo: No
vessels and didn't make land until the
Horn was reached. 1t was well to make
land there, SO the Captain could get his
bearings; but of course there was not an
opportunity for the passengers to make
discoveries concerning the land in doing
this, since it was Antarctic winter and dark
from 3 p NJ until A. NJ. Beside the
darkness, we encountered head winds and
snow squalls each of the several days we
were sounding Once fairly into the Pa
cifc the weather was delightful, naviga-
ton easy, and the last part of the voyage
thoroughly enjoyable. San Francisco Bay
was entered early in August, 49, and we
were just 155 days from Boston,"
"Were'n you glad to see land ?"
eyes and no. | was told land had been
sighted, and, hurrying on deck, saw a most
desolate stretch of land 1t was more like
a New England berry pasture after DRY
spelP in midsummer than anything else.
| There was no wharves or houses to be seen;
nothing but few tents, glaringly white in
] the sun and heat peculiar to the California
dry season."
mot much of an Eldorado, was %
| "Not for farmers, surely; but many Of
our miners were eager to begin their new
life as soon as boats could be put off. Our
doctor vanished among the first, and we
never saw or heard of him until few
years ago, when by one of these queer
chances, occurring sometimes, my daugh-
ter, born many years after I'd known him,
met him at a Boston hotel, where both
were spending part Of the winter. A good
many of the miners lived on board the
Sweden for a while. going ashore for
several days prospecting and returning to
divide their find. Some wandered far up
into the country, and suffered so from ex-
posure and lack Of vegetable food they fell
victims to scurvy, from which many died.
Others pitched tents along shore, and with
bedding and dishes used ON the voyage,
set up housekeeping Some one more in
! genious than his mates conceived the idea
of making a wharf; so very, very crude
arrangement to serve that purpose was
constructed. Then ingenuity went a step
farther, and the ship Charlotte Zone that
had gone out earlier in 40 than the Swe-
den and later than two that sailed, one
late in the autumn of AS and the other
in early winter of '49) was stripped of her
masts, made fast at bow and stern to the
wharf, her deck housed over, and San
Francisco boosted of her first house, and
as things went then it was an exceedingly
comfortable shelter for the settlers"
SHOW did they get their foodW
"Just any way they could Sometimes
something was found 'up country; then,
again, by rare chance, supply was bought
off vessels from the Sandwich Islands or
Southern California, from which place the
Mexicans frequently sent cargoes. What
ever was bous hit was equally divided among
the members of the band purchasing At
one time vegetable food was so scarce
small part of the blossoms of the cactus
plant was eaten; and later vegetable a
little like our squash, only very, very much
more watery, was considered a delicacy
By rare bit of good fortune my husband
6Ob ROSoCoo3Ou vi BOuuu Ud2 vi ShttI
potatoes, for which he paid without demur
SIS in gold dust. / assure you we feasted
royalty while they lasted"
"How long did you lie in portg'
"From early August till November. We
lay at anchor within easy distance ofshore
and swung with the tide till we were
ready to leave port. Pilots in those days
were rare as wharves and houses, SO the
Cap'n had to take his ship in and out of
port himself"
"Did any of the outward passengers come
home with your"
"Not one. A great many that went up
country died, and, taking it all in all,
there were few who were in condition to
return. The whole affair was about the
most melancholy ever was participant
in, and |, for one, wasn't sorry when we
started in ballast for San Diego. We went
down there for a partial cargo of hides,
then to Valparaiso to finish loading with
Peruvian bark The entire homeward
voyage was very enjoyable; the Captain
was relieved of the great responsibility of
the outward voyage, the crew wasn't one
of would-be miners, and the weather de-
lightful. We rounded the horn In Ant
arctic summer and had light in proper
ton to the amount of darkness experienced
previously. There was less suffering from
seasickness, and, best of all, that peculiar
atmosphere of going into you don't know
what, that overwhelmed us going out, was
removed"
Weren't you glad to get homer" /
asked
81 never felt happier at getting ashore.
/ don't think my feet touched the paving
the first time | walked through Pearl
street after landing. I'd been from home
fourteen months and seemed to have moth
ing tangible to show for so much time I'M
less it were a great quantity of sewing.
Oh, wasn't glad to sleep in bed and to
be able to procure variety of food