HOMEWARD BOUND — SOUTHWARD. 279 



" Opposition," the former being the " Regular " line, and on 

 the 5th of May lay at Mission Street Wharf awaiting the signal 

 for departure. As was always the case when a " States steamer " 

 left, the dock was crowded with the curious and interested ; 

 among whom was a large percentage of sellers of sea-sickness 

 preventives, as well as venders of provocatives of stomachic 

 troubles, and merchants of various kinds of literature, gene- 

 rally novels of the " blood and thunder " variety. There was 

 much rivalry among the passengers of the two steamers, as 

 well as among their owners and crews ; so that when the hour 

 came for a mutual start, and the " Orizaba" was found so imbed- 

 ded in the mud that she was immovable, there came jeers and 

 cheers from the " Golden Gate" as she moved off, and voices of 

 mortification from her fixed rival. By the time the tide had 

 sufficiently risen to let us off" we were two hours behind the 

 other, which we saw disappear with flags and streamers flying 

 around the channel leading to the " Gateway of Gold," as Bay- 

 ard Taylor calls it. 



At last we are in a position to move; and now the ex- 

 citement is at the top notch. Separating friends bestow 

 the parting greeting for the hundredth time, while the book, 

 newspaper and fruit venders unite in one yelling chorus 

 to impress us with the chances we are wasting in seeing such 

 bargains slip away. As our departure becomes additionally 

 imminent the tumult on the wharf increases, and the fruit 

 peddlers, seeing no hope of selling us anything more, are 

 so moved by generous impulses as to sling the more damaged 

 portions of their goods at us as tokens of remembrances, so 

 that we had some decayed specimens of tropical fruitage to 

 eat between meals. The news and medicine venders, and dis- 

 pensers of bologna sausage and other delicacies, which the 

 steerage passengers ma}^ yearn for, make one more effort; 

 friends again send affectionate messages from the lonely wharf 

 to the high deck, and the reverse ; the rowdy element shouts ; 



