September 6. We were aroused this morning at four o'clock by the startling cry of "breakers." Our ship instantly became a scene of confusion, and the passengers rushed on deck from every quarter. I arose at the first cry and went out. And there, within fifteen or twenty rods lay the land, the sea roaring loudly, and breaking in foaming surges on the shore. The helm had been put down, and fortunately the ship came round in season to escape.
A minute's delay would have wrecked us. Or had the ship missed coming in stays, as she has often done during the voyage, nothing could have saved her. There was at the time a thick fog, which accounts for our near approach to the breakers before they were discovered. The sailor on the lookout heard the roaring of the breakers for some time before he discovered them, but attributed it to some other cause; for according to the captain's reckoning we were still far from land. Nothing could be more cheering after our long voyage than to behold the land of our destination, but this sudden introduction to it was any thing but agreeable.
And now having escaped the perils of shipwreck, and hoping to arrive in port to-day, we are closing our voyage with an act of charity to our fellow-passenger, Dolliff, who, though convalescent, is still unable to support himself. A considerable sum is being raised for him.
[CHAPTER XIII.]
Whales—Sunshine—The Pacific Ocean and Tom Moore—Wormy Bread and Impure Water—A Pilot—Arrival in the Harbor of San Francisco—The City—Dismantled Ships—My last Visit to the Bark—Statement and Counter Statement—Angry Remonstrance—Mr. Spring and his two Journals—Final Adieu to the James W. Paige.
We beat all day to the north against a head wind, and made but slow progress. We strove to wear away the tedium of the day by looking at the land, and watching the birds and the whales, of which last a considerable number were seen near the ship, sometimes three or four together. We saw one of these monstrous animals plunge down into the water, throwing his tail above the surface as he made his plunge, and in a moment after, come up again with such force and rapidity as to carry his ponderous body entirely into the air. Such an immense body, as it came down again into the water, could not fail to produce a great commotion. This act of leaping out of the water seemed to be performed in a similar manner to that of the sturgeon and smaller fish in our rivers and lakes. They frequently came close to the ship, playing by its sides, plunging down on one side, and coming up on the other. Among the birds, were a number I had not seen before, and several Brown Pelicans.