A LAUNCH AND CLEARANCE. 
17 
and at 2 P. M., 22d Feb., gave the word, “let go,” run up our 
sail, and as it was blowing a stiff breeze from the ocean, glided 
rapidly along up the river, our worthy captain, Dennison, and 
his accomplished mate, Wm. Bliss, of the “Marietta,” calling all 
hands on deck, and giving us three times three as we parted, to 
which actios we responded with feeling hearts. Now, as there 
is a straight run of three miles, a fair wind, and nothing to do 
but attend to our sail and tiller, we will take a survey of craft 
and crew. We are freighted with trunks, shovels, pick-axes, 
India-rubber bags, smoked ham, rifles, camp-kettles, hard-bread, 
swords and cheese. Our crew, commencing at the tallest, (we 
had no first officer,) consisted of two brothers, Dodge, young 
men of intelligence and enterprise; the eldest a man of the most 
indomitable perseverance, the younger of the most unbounded 
good humor, both calculated to make friends wherever they go, 
and to ride over difficulties without a murmur. They had asso¬ 
ciated with them three Germans, Shultz, Eiswald, and Hush. 
Shultz was a young man of energy, fond of music, a good sing¬ 
er, gentlemanly and companionable; Eiswald, full of humor 
and mirth, extracting pleasure from every incident, always at 
his post, a fine companion and good navigator; Hush, was a 
small man, with exceedingly large feet; he appeared to be en¬ 
tirely out of his element; he was disposed to do all he could, 
but his limbs would not obey him; his arms appeared to be 
mismated; his legs, when set in motion, would each take an 
opposite direction, and his feet were everywhere, except where 
he wanted to have them. We were quite safe when he was 
still, but when set in motion we found him a dangerous com¬ 
panion. Mr. Russ, a young lawyer of New York, Mr. Cooper, 
an artist, also of New York, a man of energy, perseverance and 
genius, and one of the most efficient men of the party. Mr. 
Beaty, an elderly man, extremely tall and slender, and very 
moral and exemplary in his habits; being in feeble health, he 
was to act as cook for the voyage. Ninthly and lastly, myself, 
an extremely choleric young man, of whom delicacy forbids me 
to say more. 
We have now arrived at the bend of the river, and as here is 
a spring of excellent water, we make fast and fill our water-keg. 
Water is obtained here for the vessels in port, by sending up 
2 
