Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-18

dubbed it "Watling's Island" but for our
selves, readers mipe, let US stand by the
ancient name conferred by the great dis
coverer, as he knelt under the shadow of
the cross.
Passing this historic bit of land, whose
tiash-light may be seen far over the ocean,
run Of eighty miles brings US close to the
revolving beacon on Bird Rock. Like
others of the Bahama group Except Hayti)
this small island is owned by England and
governed from Nassau, the revenue from it
being barely sufficient to support its light
house. And thus it is, by bits of territory
scattered ali around the globe, that the
fayorite boast of Britain is true-"Upon
her domains the sun never SETS"
A few hours later we reach Fortune
Island, at which point, if the weather be
favorable, letters may be put of, to be
picked up by some ,northward-bound
steamer of the Atlas or Pacific Mail lines.
But nobody is advised to pin his faith
upon the reliability OF this postal service
in communications Of Importance, such. for
example, as tardy proposal to your
sweetheart or words Of reconciliation to a
one-time friend. The chance, however,
brings blessed relief to those who are suf-
fering the first pangs of inconsistencies,
even though the hasty love-messages never
reach their destination. Letters sent in
this way go without stamps, ship
mail being allowed to pass free
in the United States, to the other
end of the line, where double postage
is collected. Two boat-loads OF Jamaica
negroes came rowing alongside by the
dim light of a crescent moon, and the
engine suddenly stopped, as if the throb-
bling heart OF the ship stood still with
anxiety lest the precious budget of letters
be lost in its perilous transit to the tossing
bark below.
About thirty miles beyond Fortune
Island the nodding of palms that fringe
the shores. of Jamaica may be seen,
through glass darby" if you happen to
reach the place in clear day in the pas
sage between that island and the western
/ end of Cuba. None needs to be told when
the Caribbean Sea is entered, for the fact
is at once emphatically attested by the
boisterous waves. The faces of our neigh
bors grow pale and paler, then blue, then
| CHASTITY gray the nautical crank, the fir
tatious Spauiard, the patriotic Englishman
and American who had been warding
off this same emergency by imbibing nc
end of champagne, even those who had
| oftenest asserted they were "never, never
sick at sea-" stood not upon the order
of going; and in less time than il
takes to tell it the deck was comparatively
deserted. Then that sound that is so IA
miliar to sea-goers, that word which is the
same in all languages, and is always given
with a rising infection of more or less In
tensity, pronounced u-r-r-a-o-o-o-o-p) i;
heard on every hand. When dinner is on
racks having been put on the tables to pre-
vent the dishes flying across the cabin, the
a-r-r-o-o-o-ps are loudest, as if the organs o.
smell were somehow in collision with Nep
tunes stomach-pump-cau ing all the
component parts of. the ships generous
menu for week past to rise in review be
fore the stricken sufferer, as the sins of {
dying man are said to do.
But nobody ever dies of seasickness
though its victims may wish themselves ;
thousand leagues below. 1t is surprising
how the first glimpse OF land acts as a cura
tive. The moment Manzanillo ISLAND
.heaves into view, the most helpless anC
hopeless Of an hour before begin to bestI
themselves, and presently appear upon deck
And here we are at last, humping agains
the dock at Aspinwall.
FANNIE B. WARD.