His wife is a pleasant woman, both typical hospitable Germans, 
such as it is a pleasure to meet in this land of Mexicans and 
Manyama. So it cleared off nicely on the 15th and all agreed 
the weather had settled, so at 1 P.M. we were off, but over the 
bar with some breakers and out to the west over a shining sea - 
the experience was not unlike that of the trip out of Havanna - 
but dear me the Havanna sail out into the teeth of a "norther" 
was child's play by the side of the gale we met that night. I 
cannot describe the thrashing the winds and the waves gave our 
poor Ituna. We were rolled and tossed and shaken and battered 
and soaked until we were fairly dazed. We had set out on a 
twelve hours journey to Manititlan. At the end of three days 
we were seeking the place like lost sheep seeking a fold. I 
kept to my cabin the entire time seeing only Jonks the waiter 
to come down from the front cabin at the risk of his life (for 
torrents poured over the deck at every turn) to bring me what 
I wanted. Armour and Thomson were in the fore cabin hardly 
less comfortable and much worse flooded. I ate nothing and 
did not take off my shoes for three nights because of the water 
on the floors. 
The third evening we ventured to approach land and find- 
ing a break in the coast came as near as possible to seek the 
light house of our destination. There was nothing save a wild - 
army of breakers and a tenantless coast. When Mate Kelly came 
down to see me later, I amused him by telling the following 
story. I related that as we approached land I was at my 
