As They Drew Nearer, We Soon Discovered The High Poop
And Top-Gallant Forecastle, And Other Marks Of The Italian Ship Rosa,
And The Brig Proved To Be The Catalina, Which We Saw At Santa Barbara,
Just Arrived From Valparaiso.
They came to anchor, moored ship,
and commenced discharging hides and tallow.
The Rosa had purchased
the house occupied by the Lagoda, and the Catalina took the other
spare one between ours and the Ayacucho's, so that, now, each one
was occupied, and the beach, for several days, was all alive.
The Catalina had several Kanakas on board, who were immediately
besieged by the others, and carried up to the oven, where they had
a long pow-wow, and a smoke. Two Frenchmen, who belonged to the
Rosa's crew, came in, every evening, to see Nicholas; and from them
we learned that the Pilgrim was at San Pedro, and was the only other
vessel now on the coast. Several of the Italians slept on shore at
their hide-house; and there, and at the tent in which the Fazio's
crew lived, we had some very good singing almost every evening.
The Italians sang a variety of songs - barcarollas, provincial airs,
etc.; in several of which I recognized parts of our favorite operas
and sentimental songs. They often joined in a song, taking all the
different parts; which produced a fine effect, as many of them had good
voices, and all seemed to sing with spirit and feeling. One young
man, in particular, had a falsetto as clear as a clarionet.
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