This Is What Is Called
"Hazing" A Crew, And "Working Their Old Iron Up."
While lying at Santa Barbara, we encountered another south-easter;
and, like the first, it came on in the night; the great black
clouds coming round from the southward, covering the mountain,
and hanging down over the town, appearing almost to rest upon
the roofs of the houses.
We made sail, slipped our cable, cleared
the point, and beat about, for four days, in the offing, under close
sail, with continual rain and high seas and winds. No wonder,
thought we, they have no rain in the other seasons, for enough
seemed to have fallen in those four days to last through a common
summer. On the fifth day it cleared up, after a few hours, as is
usual, of rain coming down like a four hours' shower-bath, and
we found ourselves drifted nearly ten leagues from the anchorage;
and having light head winds, we did not return until the sixth
day. Having recovered our anchor, we made preparations for getting
under weigh to go down to leeward. We had hoped to go directly
to San Diego, and thus fall in with the California before she sailed
for Boston; but our orders were to stop at an intermediate port
called San Pedro, and as we were to lie there a week or two, and
the California was to sail in a few days, we lost the opportunity.
Just before sailing, the captain took on board a short, red-haired,
round-shouldered, vulgar-looking fellow, who had lost one eye,
and squinted with the other, and introducing him as Mr. Russell,
told us that he was an officer on board. This was too bad. We had
lost overboard, on the passage, one of the best of our number,
another had been taken from us and appointed clerk, and thus
weakened and reduced, instead of shipping some hands to make
our work easier, he had put another officer over us, to watch
and drive us. We had now four officers, and only six in the
forecastle. This was bringing her too much down by the stern
for our comfort.
Leaving Santa Barbara, we coasted along down, the country
appearing level or moderately uneven, and, for the most part, sandy
and treeless; until, doubling a high, sandy point, we let go our
anchor at a distance of three or three and a half miles from shore.
It was like a vessel, bound to Halifax, coming to anchor on the
Grand Banks; for the shore being low, appeared to be at a greater
distance than it actually was, and we thought we might as well
have staid at Santa Barbara, and sent our boat down for the hides.
The land was of a clayey consistency, and, as far as the eye could
reach, entirely bare of trees and even shrubs; and there was no
sign of a town, - not even a house to be seen. What brought us
into such a place, we could not conceive.
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