We were in the city on election-day; and such a time I never saw. The Ohio boys who talk of political excitement ought to have been there. There were eighty special police appointed, and on nearly every corner there was a fight. Three men were shot, several were wounded, and the station-houses were crowded. The W. P. C.’s carried the city, but the state went Republican.
The Chinese question is a cloud hanging over California; and what the result will be can not be told. Surely some modification of the Burlingame treaty is needed as badly as a protection tariff. There are about fifty thousand in the city of Frisco, and they are scattered in almost every city in the state. Large societies are organized, and all joiners pledge themselves not to employ Chinese labor; and though many join, some of the big employers work to their own interests, and employ those who can be got the cheapest, be they Chinamen or not. Many of the large hotels and bakeries employ Chinese; and more beautiful bread, biscuits, and pies than they turn out were never seen. The secret of their success has been discovered, however, and they have been driven off in some places. They fill their mouth with warm water, and with a peculiar whist they blow it out in sprays as fine as the morning mist, over the dough while kneading. In this way the dough is worked and rolled in good order, and then placed in the oven. When it is of a delicate brown it is drawn out, a lump of butter is melted in the mouth and then blown over it, and the crust becomes soft as sponge. To persons with calloused stomachs, or to those who are ignorant of the process, it is perfectly delicious. As for us, we did not choose to eat spit, be it native or imported. The laundry-men dampen their clothes in the same way; and when several are at work in the same house they make almost as much noise as the cylinder-cocks on a steam-engine, and you can hear them clear out on the street.
California is noted for its beautiful, even climate. There are two seasons—the wet and the dry. The former sets in about November first and continues until about April first. During this season it rains almost every day, and the sun is hidden sometimes for several weeks at a time; and except in the mountains, it seldom gets cold. During the dry season there is no rain, and crops are nourished by the heavy dews. This is the reason corn does no good here. The summers are usually warm. The temperature has been known to reach 120°, and little birds have been seen to drop suffocated from the trees. The mornings and evenings of the warmest days are usually so cool, from the sea-breeze, that fire is comfortable and persons can sleep under a pair of blankets. It is usually about ten o’clock before fog clears away sufficient to let through the rays of the sun. Of course there is some difference between the climate of the northern and the southern parts of the state.
The ocean, to us, was the subject of great attraction; and we loved to sit upon a bluff at the beach and see the tide come rolling in and hear it roar as the briny spray was lashed up against the rocky shores and tossed back into foam, and see the multitudes of ships anchored in the bay, whose rigging looked like a vast net-work.
We saw ships here nearly five hundred feet long, which drew twenty-three feet of water and were twenty feet out of the water. To see these great ships going out and coming in is a grand sight indeed. As they plow through the water the brine is churned into foam and the waves roll several feet high behind them, and the surface is left disturbed far in the rear. It is pleasant to see a ship from a foreign port draw up to the wharf and hear the warm greetings of friends. The wharf is all lined with persons,—many anxious to see some one,—and when the planks are thrown out they rush on board; and to see the warm embraces and affectionate salutes of dear friends whom the briny waves rolled between for perhaps several years is enough to hurry the blood in one’s veins and lift his heart high in his bosom. But, on the other hand, oh! how sorrowful to see friends part. The ship is loaded and the time is set for starting; and persons taking passage gather on board; and their friends sit by their sides talking and telling messages to carry to friends beyond. The minutes fly like seconds, and the time comes nearer and nearer; and at length the order is given to draw in the planks. Quivering lips are then touched and trembling hands are shaken, and with a sorrowful “Good-by” those not going rush ashore. The planks are drawn in, the moorings are cut loose, the great ship is hauled out into the open bay by a tug-boat, and when she is whirled about and her bow pointed toward the Golden Gate the cannon is fired, the great wheel begins to roll, and the great monster, looking like a planet upon the waves, moves gracefully away. Then comes the affecting scene. Friends stand upon the beach waving their handkerchiefs, and as they see the dearest on earth glide out of sight upon the treacherous waves vent is given to strongest grief, and heart-rending sighs waft out upon the ocean breeze.
I have witnessed some touching scenes, one of which I shall not soon forget. I was at the wharf when the great ship Australia was whirled about, her cannon discharged, and she started for the island from which she took her name; and I saw the scene. There was one aged woman whose only son was on board; and she stood upon the shore and sobbed as if her heart would break as he rode away. When the ship faded in the distance she fainted away and was carried off. Oh! what great necessity must have forced that son abroad, or what a hard and cruel heart he must have had to grieve his poor old mother’s heart and drown her cries in the briny waves. How I thought of the great Washington, who gave up his voyage because of his good mother’s grief.
We were not satisfied with looking over the waters, but we were anxious to ride the waves. Accordingly we hired a plunger, about twenty feet long, with a mast about twelve feet high and a single sail; and though we were all greenhorns upon the waters, we pushed into the bay. We thought we would take a fish; so we got tackling, bought three fish-worms for twenty cents, and dragged our lines behind the boat. We started early in the morning when the wind was low and the tide was running out; and we sailed merrily away.
The Golden Gate is about six miles up the bay; and we glided among the tugs and schooners and around the great anchored steamers, and at length reached the gate. Here the bay narrows, and the entrance to the open sea is about half a mile wide. On either side the rough, barren bluffs rise several hundred feet high; and numbers of big government guns planted upon the crests look down over the gateway.
We launched out into the sea and for our first time rode upon the king of waters. The breeze was favorable, and we shot along until the beach was left in the dim distance. We then concluded we were far enough. As far as the eye could reach the waters idly tossed; and the mist hung over the sea like smoke over a burning prairie. The sea-gulls rocked upon the waves, the spirt-whales rose to the surface and blew the brine far into the air, and the dark sea-lions rose to utter their loud roars and then disappear again among the waves.
Our sail out was very pleasant; but the wind had now grown strong, and being directly against us on our return—with our little knowledge of sailing—we were in bad quarters. We tossed about, and several times came near upsetting. We had to jerk down the sail, and at length learned to manage the rudder and to zigzag the boat; and about twilight we glided back through the gate into the bay. The wind was now roaring over the sea, and the waves rolled and tossed and churned it into foam; and it seemed to me that every time we came down we were going clear under. We here turned with the breeze again, and shot down through