300 ELDORADO 



As many passengers as could find standing or sleep- 

 ing room was taken on board and had the seas over 

 which they sailed, been as stormy as the Atlantic, few 

 would ever have reached their destination. The 

 schooner "Phoenix," seventy tons burden, carried six- 

 ty passengers and was one hundred and fifteen days 

 on the passage. The "Two Friends," two hundred 

 and six tons, carried one hundred and sixty- four pas- 

 sengers, and was five and a half months in reaching 

 San Francisco. The party of whom I write having 

 arrived at the southern extremity of Lower California 

 and becoming discouraged at the difiiculties encoun- 

 tered in the continuous head winds and calms, which, 

 long ago, baffled the nautical skill of the old Spanish 

 voyagers, abandoned their vessel and made their way 

 along the whole peninsular on foot, subsisting on 

 rattle-snakes and cacti, and after enduring incredable 

 hardships, reached San Diego nearly naked and emac- 

 iated to the last degree. 



The steamer "Falcon" sailed from New Orleans in 

 December, 1848, for Chagres, with some of the earliest 

 adventurers who left the United States for California 

 after the discoverv of gold. 



Crossing the Isthmus by way of the Chagres River, 

 in Bungoes. to Panama, thev found no prospect of 

 speed V convevance from that port. A number deter- 

 mined to purchase an old schooner called the "Dol- 

 phin," of about one hundred tons burden, and make 

 use of her as a passeng-er boat for California. T- S. 

 K. Ogier, afterwards Judp-e of the United States 

 Court for the Southern District of California, was 

 chosen captain, and she sailed with a companv of 

 forty-five men on the loth of January, 1849. They 



