206 A CALIFORNIA TRAMP. 



We were not allowed to go on board the " Senator " till near 

 sun-down. A rope had been run ashore, and back and for- 

 ward along this a lighter was pulled till the passengers were 

 on board, the freight having been previously loaded. There 

 was a heavy swell on the bay, although the wind had gone 

 down, and I was afraid awhile our rude craft would swamp; 

 but we finally reached the steamer. As the two vessels did 

 not go up and down together, there was some difficulty in get- 

 ting on board, but with the aid of the down-reaching arms 

 of the sailors we climbed the deck. The " Senator " was on her 

 up trip from San Diego, and for passengers had a motley crowd 

 of dignified Spanish gentlemen, pompous army officers, enter- 

 prising Yankee merchants and adventurers of all kinds, seek- 

 ing a change of scene. I was tired and, having slept none 

 since leaving El Monte, crawled into a rude berth in the steer- 

 age and was soon forgetting everything in a deep sleep. When 

 I awoke I found the "Senator" had up anchored and was 

 plowing her way through the darkness, and also that I had 

 missed my supper. However, as the charge was high I was 

 not sorry, as I had saved that much. 



That night the Pacific Ocean belied its name. I know of the 

 propensity of travelers who to sea in ships go down to narrate 

 remarkable experiences. They have the quickest or most 

 tedious of voyages from port to port, the most terrible storms 

 and the most quiescent calms. The vessel in question is at the 

 " mercy of waves rolling mountains high," or is a " painted ship 

 upon a painted ocean." Before the storm they note the anxious 

 look of the captain, as he scans the barometer, and the talks 

 among the sailors, who, in hushed voices, tell how they heard 

 the ship's cat give an ominous note of warning the night be- 

 fore, or how the ghost of Tom Bowline, who was lost at sea last 

 trip, appeared to the cabin boy about midnight and gave vent 

 to an expression of similar import. The storm safely over, 

 they hear master and men say they never had such nautical 



