The Whaler, However, Was As Far To Leeward Of Us, And The
Loriotte Was Nearly Out Of Sight, Among The
Islands, up the Canal.
By hauling every brace and bowline, and clapping watch-tackles upon
all the sheets and halyards,
We managed to hold our own, and drop
the leeward vessels a little in every tack. When we reached the
anchoring-ground, the Ayacucho had got her anchor, furled her
sails, squared her yards, and was lying as quietly as if nothing
had happened for the last twenty-four hours.
We had our usual good luck in getting our anchor without letting go
another, and were all snug, with our boats at the boom-ends, in half
an hour. In about two hours more, the whaler came in, and made a
clumsy piece of work in getting her anchor, being obliged to let
go her best bower, and finally, to get out a kedge and a hawser.
They were heave-ho-ing, stopping and unstopping, pawling, catting,
and fishing, for three hours; and the sails hung from the yards all
the afternoon, and were not furled until sundown. The Loriotte came
in just after dark, and let go her anchor, making no attempt to pick
up the other until the next day.
This affair led to a great dispute as to the sailing of our ship
and the Ayacucho. Bets were made between the captains, and the
crews took it up in their own way; but as she was bound to leeward
and we to windward, and merchant captains cannot deviate, a trial
never took place; and perhaps it was well for us that it did not,
for the Ayacucho had been eight years in the Pacific, in every part
of it - Valparaiso, Sandwich Islands, Canton, California, and all,
and was called the fastest merchantman that traded in the Pacific,
unless it was the brig John Gilpin, and perhaps the ship Ann McKim
of Baltimore.
Saturday, Nov. 14th. This day we got under weigh, with the agent
and several Spaniards of note, as passengers, bound up to Monterey.
We went ashore in the gig to bring them off with their baggage,
and found them waiting on the beach, and a little afraid about
going off, as the surf was running very high. This was nuts to
us; for we liked to have a Spaniard wet with salt water; and then
the agent was very much disliked by the crew, one and all; and we
hoped, as there was no officer in the boat, to have a chance to
duck them; for we knew that they were such "marines" that they
would not know whether it was our fault or not. Accordingly,
we kept the boat so far from shore as to oblige them to wet their
feet in getting into her; and then waited for a good high comber,
and letting the head slue a little round, sent the whole force of
the sea into the stern-sheets, drenching them from head to feet.
The Spaniards sprang out of the boat, swore, and shook themselves
and protested against trying it again; and it was with the greatest
difficulty that the agent could prevail upon them to make another
attempt.
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