Against These, We Beat Slowly Up To Santa Barbara - A
Distance Of About Ninety Miles - In Three Days.
There we found,
lying at anchor, the large Genoese ship which we saw in the same
place, on the first day of our coming upon the coast.
She had been
up to San Francisco, or, as it is called, "chock up to windward,"
had stopped at Monterey on her way down, and was shortly to proceed
to San Pedro and San Diego, and thence, taking in her cargo, to sail
for Valparaiso and Cadiz. She was a large, clumsy ship, and with
her topmasts stayed forward, and high poop-deck, looked like an
old woman with a crippled back. It was now the close of Lent,
and on Good Friday she had all her yards a'cock-bill, which is
customary among Catholic vessels. Some also have an effigy of
Judas, which the crew amuse themselves with keel-hauling and
hanging by the neck from the yard-arms.
CHAPTER XVIII
EASTER SUNDAY - "SAIL HO!" - WHALES - SAN JUAN - ROMANCE OF
HIDE-DROGHING - SAN DIEGO AGAIN
The next Sunday was Easter Sunday, and as there had been no
liberty at San Pedro, it was our turn to go ashore and misspend
another Sabbath. Soon after breakfast, a large boat, filled with
men in blue jackets, scarlet caps, and various colored under-clothes,
bound ashore on liberty, left the Italian ship, and passed under
our stern; the men singing beautiful Italian boat-songs, all the way,
in fine, full chorus.
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