New York to Texas 43 



gave us their parting advice and blessing, were 

 drowned by the tolling of the last bell. Its knell 

 went to my heart like a funeral note, and I was too 

 much overcome to answer the cheer of the hundreds 

 who came down to see us ofif, and in silence waved 

 my cap to my brother and friends, and in deep 

 mental sorrow prayed God for courage and ability 

 to do all I had promised to try to do. 



My men looked back to New York's beautiful 

 battery, and I paced the boiler deck almost alone, 

 watching the red sunset and cooling my burning 

 face and aching head with the north-west wind, 

 cold and frosty from the snow covered palisades, 

 turning often to look up "our North River" to see 

 if I could get one glimpse of that home so long to 

 be unseen. 



The tide was low so we had to take the outside, 

 and I went to the bow to look over Sandy Hook 

 towards the broad Atlantic, and to try to realize 

 that the Pacific had to be seen before I could 

 again return to my own beautiful coast. It was a 

 most curious sight as I entered the cabin of the 

 boat to see the different feelings exhibited; some 

 were in deep thought; some in sorrowful anxiety; 

 some gay, and again others with evidently forced 

 merriment; but in the main, cheerfulness was 

 certainly on every side, and when I had to announce 

 that we had been promised what was not on board, 

 a good supper, not a murmur was heard, and merri- 



