california extends along nearly the whole of the western coast of mexico, between the gulf of california in the south and the bay of san francisco on the north, or between the 22d and 38th degrees of north latitude. it is subdivided into two provinces — lower or old california, lying between the gulf and the 32d degree of latitude, or near it (the division line running, i believe, between the bay of todos santos and the port of san diego), and new or upper california, the southernmost port of which is san diego, in lat. 32° 39’, and the northernmost, san francisco, situated in the large bay discovered by sir francis drake, in lat. 37° 58’, and now known as the bay of san francisco, so named, i suppose, by franciscan missionaries. upper california has the seat of its government at monterey, where is also the custom-house, the only one on the coast, and at which every vessel intending to trade on the coast must enter its cargo before it can begin its traffic. we were to trade upon this coast exclusively, and therefore expected to go first to monterey, but the captain’s orders from home were to put in at santa barbara, which is the central port of the coast, and wait there for the agent, who transacts all the business for the firm to which our vessel belonged.
the bay, or, as it was commonly called, the canal of santa barbara, is very large, being formed by the main land on one side (between point conception on the north and point santa buenaventura on the south), which here bends in like a crescent, and by three large islands opposite to it and at the distance of some twenty miles. these points are just sufficient to give it the name of a bay, while at the same time it is so large and so much exposed to the southeast and northwest winds, that it is little better than an open roadstead; and the whole swell of the pacific ocean rolls in here before a southeaster, and breaks with so heavy a surf in the shallow waters, that it is highly dangerous to lie near in to the shore during the southeaster season, that is, between the months of november and april.
this wind (the southeaster) is the bane of the coast of california. between the months of november and april (including a part of each), which is the rainy season in this latitude, you are never safe from it; and accordingly, in the ports which are open to it, vessels are obliged, during these months, to lie at anchor at a distance of three miles from the shore, with slip-ropes on their cables, ready to slip and go to sea at a moment’s warning. the only ports which are safe from this wind are san francisco and monterey in the north, and san diego in the south.
as it was january when we arrived, and the middle of the southeaster season, we came to anchor at the distance of three miles from the shore, in eleven fathoms water, and bent a slip-rope and buoys to our cables, cast off the yard-arm gaskets from the sails, and stopped them all with rope-yarns. after we had done this, the boat went ashore with the captain, and returned with orders to the mate to send a boat ashore for him at sundown. i did not go in the first boat, and was glad to find that there was another going before night; for after so long a voyage as ours had been, a few hours seem a long time to be in sight and out of reach of land. we spent the day on board in the usual duties; but as this was the first time we had been without the captain, we felt a little more freedom, and looked about us to see what sort of a country we had got into, and were to pass a year or two of our lives in.
it was a beautiful day, and so warm that we wore straw hats, duck trousers, and all the summer gear. as this was midwinter, it spoke well for the climate; and we afterwards found that the thermometer never fell to the freezing point throughout the winter, and that there was very little difference between the seasons, except that during a long period of rainy and southeasterly weather, thick clothes were not uncomfortable.
the large bay lay about us, nearly smooth, as there was hardly a breath of wind stirring, though the boat’s crew who went ashore told us that the long groundswell broke into a heavy surf on the beach. there was only one vessel in the port — a long, sharp brig of about three hundred tons, with raking masts, and very square yards, and english colors at her peak. we afterwards learned that she was built at guayaquil, and named the ayacucho, after the place where the battle was fought that gave peru her independence, and was now owned by a scotchman named wilson, who commanded her, and was engaged in the trade between callao and other parts of south america and california. she was a fast sailer, as we frequently afterwards saw, and had a crew of sandwich–islanders on board. beside this vessel, there was no object to break the surface of the bay. two points ran out as the horns of the crescent, one of which — the one to the westward — was low and sandy, and is that to which vessels are obliged to give a wide berth when running out for a southeaster; the other is high, bold, and well wooded, and has a mission upon it, called santa buenaventura, from which the point is named. in the middle of this crescent, directly opposite the anchoring ground, lie the mission and town of santa barbara, on a low plain, but little above the level of the sea, covered with grass, though entirely without trees, and surrounded on three sides by an amphitheatre of mountains, which slant off to the distance of fifteen or twenty miles. the mission stands a little back of the town, and is a large building, or rather collection of buildings, in the centre of which is a high tower, with a belfry of five bells. the whole, being plastered, makes quite a show at a distance, and is the mark by which vessels come to anchor. the town lies a little nearer to the beach — about half a mile from it — and is composed of one-story houses built of sun-baked clay, or adobe, some of them whitewashed, with red tiles on the roofs. i should judge that there were about a hundred of them; and in the midst of them stands the presidio, or fort, built of the same materials, and apparently but little stronger. the town is finely situated, with a bay in front, and an amphitheatre of hills behind. the only thing which diminishes its beauty is, that the hills have no large trees upon them, they having been all burnt by a great fire which swept them off about a dozen years ago, and they had not yet grown again. the fire was described to me by an inhabitant, as having been a very terrible and magnificent sight. the air of the whole valley was so heated that the people were obliged to leave the town and take up their quarters for several days upon the beach.
just before sundown, the mate ordered a boat’s crew ashore, and i went as one of the number. we passed under the stern of the english brig, and had a long pull ashore. i shall never forget the impression which our first landing on the beach of california made upon me. the sun had just gone down; it was getting dusky; the damp night-wind was beginning to blow, and the heavy swell of the pacific was setting in, and breaking in loud and high “combers” upon the beach. we lay on our oars in the swell, just outside of the surf, waiting for a good chance to run in, when a boat, which had put off from the ayacucho, came alongside of us, with a crew of dusky sandwich–islanders, talking and hallooing in their outlandish tongue. they knew that we were novices in this kind of boating, and waited to see us go in. the second mate, however, who steered our boat, determined to have the advantage of their experience, and would not go in first. finding, at length, how matters stood, they gave a shout, and taking advantage of a great comber which came swelling in, rearing its head, and lifting up the sterns of our boats nearly perpendicular, and again dropping them in the trough, they gave three or four long and strong pulls, and went in on top of the great wave, throwing their oars overboard, and as far from the boat as they could throw them, and, jumping out the instant the boat touched the beach, they seized hold of her by the gunwale, on each side, and ran her up high and dry upon the sand. we saw, at once, how the thing was to be done, and also the necessity of keeping the boat stern out to the sea; for the instant the sea should strike upon her broadside or quarter, she would be driven up broadside on, and capsized. we pulled strongly in, and as soon as we felt that the sea had got hold of us, and was carrying us in with the speed of a race-horse, we threw the oars as far from the boat as we could, and took hold of the gunwales, ready to spring out and seize her when she struck, the officer using his utmost strength, with his steering-oar, to keep her stern out. we were shot up upon the beach, and, seizing the boat, ran her up high and dry, and, picking up our oars, stood by her, ready for the captain to come down.
finding that the captain did not come immediately, we put our oars in the boat, and, leaving one to watch it, walked about the beach to see what we could of the place. the beach is nearly a mile in length between the two points, and of smooth sand. we had taken the only good landing-place, which is in the middle, it being more stony toward the ends. it is about twenty yards in width from high-water mark to a slight bank at which the soil begins, and so hard that it is a favorite place for running horses. it was growing dark, so that we could just distinguish the dim outlines of the two vessels in the offing; and the great seas were rolling in in regular lines, growing larger and larger as they approached the shore, and hanging over the beach upon which they were to break, when their tops would curl over and turn white with foam, and, beginning at one extreme of the line, break rapidly to the other, as a child’s long card house falls when a card is knocked down at one end. the sandwich–islanders, in the mean time, had turned their boat round, and ran her down into the water, and were loading her with hides and tallow. as this was the work in which we were soon to be engaged, we looked on with some curiosity. they ran the boat so far into the water that every large sea might float her, and two of them, with their trousers rolled up, stood by the bows, one on each side, keeping her in her right position. this was hard work; for beside the force they had to use upon the boat, the large seas nearly took them off their legs. the others were running from the boat to the bank, upon which, out of the reach of the water, was a pile of dry bullocks’ hides, doubled lengthwise in the middle, and nearly as stiff as boards. these they took upon their heads, one or two at a time, and carried down to the boat, in which one of their number stowed them away. they were obliged to carry them on their heads, to keep them out of the water and we observed that they had on thick woollen caps. “look here, bill, and see what you’re coming to!” said one of our men to another who stood by the boat. “well, dana,” said the second mate to me, “this does not look much like harvard college, does it? but it is what i call ‘head work.”’ to tell the truth, it did not look very encouraging.
after they had got through with the hides, the kanakas laid hold of the bags of tallow (the bags are made of hide, and are about the size of a common meal-bag), and lifted each upon the shoulders of two men, one at each end, who walked off with them to the boat, when all prepared to go aboard. here, too, was something for us to learn. the man who steered shipped his oar and stood up in the stern, and those that pulled the two after oars sat upon their benches, with their oars shipped, ready to strike out as soon as she was afloat. the two men remained standing at the bows; and when, at length, a large sea came in and floated her, seized hold of the gunwales, and ran out with her till they were up to their armpits, and then tumbled over the gunwales into the bows, dripping with water. the men at the oars struck out, but it wouldn’t do; the sea swept back and left them nearly high and dry. the two fellows jumped out again; and the next time they succeeded better, and, with the help of a deal of outlandish hallooing and bawling, got her well off. we watched them till they were out of the breakers, and saw them steering for their vessel, which was now hidden in the darkness.
the sand of the beach began to be cold to our bare feet; the frogs set up their croaking in the marshes, and one solitary owl, from the end of the distant point, gave out his melancholy note, mellowed by the distance, and we began to think that it was high time for “the old man,” as a shipmaster is commonly called, to come down. in a few minutes we heard something coming towards us. it was a man on horseback. he came on the full gallop, reined up near us, addressed a few words to us, and, receiving no answer, wheeled round and galloped off again. he was nearly as dark as an indian, with a large spanish hat, blanket cloak or serape, and leather leggins, with a long knife stuck in them. “this is the seventh city that ever i was in, and no christian one neither,” said bill brown. “stand by!” said john, “you haven’t seen the worst of it yet.” in the midst of this conversation the captain appeared; and we winded the boat round, shoved her down, and prepared to go off. the captain, who had been on the coast before, and “knew the ropes,” took the steering-oar, and we went off in the same way as the other boat. i, being the youngest, had the pleasure of standing at the bow, and getting wet through. we went off well, though the seas were high. some of them lifted us up, and, sliding from under us, seemed to let us drop through the air like a flat plank upon the body of the water. in a few minutes we were in the low, regular swell, and pulled for a light, which, as we neared it, we found had been run up to our trysail gaff.
coming aboard, we hoisted up all the boats, and, diving down into the forecastle, changed our wet clothes, and got our supper. after supper the sailors lighted their pipes (cigars, those of us who had them), and we had to tell all we had seen ashore. then followed conjectures about the people ashore, the length of the voyage, carrying hides, &c., &c., until eight bells, when all hands were called aft, and the “anchor watch” set. we were to stand two in a watch, and, as the nights were pretty long, two hours were to make a watch. the second mate was to keep the deck until eight o’clock, all hands were to be called at daybreak, and the word was passed to keep a bright lookout, and to call the mate if it should come on to blow from the southeast. we had, also, orders to strike the bells every half-hour through the night, as at sea. my watchmate was john, the swedish sailor, and we stood from twelve to two, he walking the larboard side and i the starboard. at daylight all hands were called, and we went through the usual process of washing down, swabbing, &c., and got breakfast at eight o’clock. in the course of the forenoon, a boat went aboard of the ayacucho and brought off a quarter of beef, which made us a fresh bite for dinner. this we were glad enough to have, and the mate told us that we should live upon fresh beef while we were on the coast, as it was cheaper here than the salt. while at dinner, the cook called “sail ho!” and, coming on deck, we saw two sails bearing round the point. one was a large ship under top-gallant sails, and the other a small hermaphrodite brig. they both backed their topsails and sent boats aboard of us. the ship’s colors had puzzled us, and we found that she was from genoa, with an assorted cargo, and was trading on the coast. she filled away again, and stood out, being bound up the coast to san francisco. the crew of the brig’s boat were sandwich–islanders, but one of them, who spoke a little english, told us that she was the loriotte, captain nye, from oahu, and was engaged in the hide and tallow trade. she was a lump of a thing, what the sailors call a butter-box. this vessel, as well as the ayacucho, and others which we afterwards saw engaged in the same trade, have english or americans for officers, and two or three before the mast to do the work upon the rigging, and to be relied upon for seamanship, while the rest of the crew are sandwich–islanders, who are active and very useful in boating.
the three captains went ashore after dinner, and came off again at night. when in port, everything is attended to by the chief mate; the captain, unless he is also supercargo, has little to do, and is usually ashore much of his time. this we thought would be pleasanter for us, as the mate was a good-natured man, and not very strict. so it was for a time, but we were worse off in the end; for wherever the captain is a severe, energetic man, and the mate has neither of these qualities, there will always be trouble. and trouble we had already begun to anticipate. the captain had several times found fault with the mate, in presence of the crew; and hints had been dropped that all was not right between them. when this is the case, and the captain suspects that his chief officer is too easy and familiar with the crew, he begins to interfere in all the duties, and to draw the reins more taut, and the crew have to suffer.
