REMINISCENCES 301 



"Sarah Lavinia," which is dragging her anchor, and rap- 

 idly drifting toward Monterey. A thick, heavy fog envel- 

 oped her and sealed her fate. The next morning brought 

 the sad news of her complete wreck, not a life saved! 

 How do I feel? Do not ask. 



February 6th, 1854. 



After recovering from the shock which my latest expe- 

 rience had given me, I resolved to try my luck again. 

 This time a schooner, "Francisca," Capt. Miller, bound 

 for San Francisco, will receive me as a passenger. The 

 weather is not at all what I should wish it to be, but one 

 cannot have it made to order. I frankly confess that the 

 fate of the "Sarah Lavinia" has rather benumbed my 

 courage; but as I tried to persuade myself that it is the 

 evident will of Providence that I should get to my desti- 

 nation alive, I braced up for the rough outlook. And 

 rough it certainly was, but not till midnight did the crew 

 really think of danger, which was averted by the skillful 

 handling of sails and rudder— captain and crew sharing 

 the merit evenly. Sunrise found us only near Cape Afio- 

 nuevo. All goes well; we come about four o'clock in the 

 afternoon within sight of Cape Bonita, the reefs of which 

 we hope to quietly avoid, as the wind, though strong, has 

 been favorable during the day. Suddenly a dead calm 

 sets in, the sails flap to and fro, then, merciful Heaven, a 

 storm from the dreaded South West sets in, and— the 

 fog, the fog! 



My thoughts were of life, death and hereafter. The 

 heroic efforts of Captain Miller and his noble crew will 

 ever remain in my memory. Again and again we ap- 

 proached the reefs, and as if by miraculous interposition 

 we escaped seemingly certain destruction. A last effort 

 was made to force obedience to man's skill from the roar- 

 ing wind and waves. Every available sail was set, the 

 schooner was laid completely on one side, while the gale 

 blew us fiercely toward the dangerous rocks. One single 

 rope broken would now mean death, but once more Prov- 

 idence had pity on us in our struggle and the danger was 



