LETTEB NO. VI 



Sunday, January 11th, 1852. 

 On Board the Hamburg Brigg "Aurora," 

 Capt. Mildenstein, 36° 11' N. Latitude, 126° 

 1 W. Longitude, coast of California. 



My Beloved Ones:— This is the birth-day anniversary 

 of my own dear sister Marie, and could it possibly be cel- 

 ebrated by me more worthily than by entertaining you 

 all with an account of my last voyage? 



I presume that you have come into possession of my 

 letters dated the twenty-sixth of October and twenty- 

 sixth of November a. p., which I mailed by the respective 

 Panama steamers long ago. 



One cannot imagine anything more })leasant than my 

 trip from Valparaiso hither. The weather favored us 

 so remarkably that my diary contains but three records 

 of slight inclemencies, whilst at the same time it describes 

 the magnificent effect which the tropical sun had upon 

 the quiet, cooling waters, which were scarcely interrupt- 

 ed by disturbing winds. We really could have made the 

 trip in an open boat, without running any more risk to 

 our safety than in one of the largest vessels. But this 

 was not the only agreeable side of our trip, which in re- 

 ality proved by far preferable to that made on board the 

 Victoria. Intentionally I avoided saying to you in my 

 early letters that our meals on the last named vessel were 

 — to put it mildly — abominable. The quantity was just 

 sufficient to keep a fellow alive, particularly during the 

 last few weeks, when the inclemency of the weather made 

 the want of nutritious food the more perceptible. Indeed 

 the preparation of our food corresponded to its miserable 

 quality. Not a thimbleful of fat ever found its way into 

 the meals, and the hard, old peas and beans, with occa- 



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