The Truth Is, The Unlimited Power Which Merchant Captains Have, Upon
Long Voyages On Strange Coasts, Takes Away A Sense Of Responsibility,
And Too Often, Even In Men Otherwise Well-Disposed, Substitutes
A Disregard For The Rights And Feelings Of Others.
The lad was
sent on shore to join the gang at the hide-house; from whence,
I was afterwards rejoiced to hear, he effected his escape, and
went down to Callao in a small Spanish schooner; and from Callao,
he probably returned to England.
Soon after the arrival of the California, I spoke to Captain Arthur
about Hope; and as he had known him on the voyage before, and was
very fond of him, he immediately went to see him, gave him proper
medicines, and, under such care, he began rapidly to recover. The
Saturday night before our sailing, I spent an hour in the oven,
and took leave of my Kanaka friends; and, really, this was the
only thing connected with leaving California which was in any
way unpleasant. I felt an interest and affection for many of
these simple, true-hearted men, such as I never felt before
but for a near relation. Hope shook me by the hand, said he
should soon be well again, and ready to work for me when I came
upon the coast, next voyage, as officer of the ship; and told me
not to forget, when I became captain, how to be kind to the sick.
Old "Mr. Bingham" and "King Mannini" went down to the boat with me,
shook me heartily by the hand, wished us a good voyage, and went back
to the oven, chanting one of their deep monotonous songs, the burden
of which I gathered to be about us and our voyage.
Sunday, May 8th. This promised to be our last day in California.
Our forty thousand hides, thirty thousand horns, besides several
barrels of otter and beaver skins, were all stowed below, and the
hatches calked down. All our spare spars were taken on board and
lashed; our water-casks secured; and our live stock, consisting
of four bullocks, a dozen sheep, a dozen or more pigs, and three
or four dozen of poultry, were all stowed away in their different
quarters: the bullocks in the long-boat, the sheep in a pen on the
fore-hatch, and the pigs in a sty under the bows of the long-boat,
and the poultry in their proper coop; and the jolly-boat was full
of hay for the sheep and bullocks. Our unusually large cargo,
together with the stores for a five months' voyage, brought the
ship channels down into the water. In addition to this, she had
been steeved so thoroughly, and was so bound by the compression of
her cargo, forced into her by so powerful machinery, that she was
like a man in a straight-jacket, and would be but a dull sailer,
until she had worked herself loose.
The California had finished discharging her cargo, and was to get
under weigh at the same time with us.
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