After Breakfast,
The Hatches Were Taken Off, And All Got Ready To Receive Hides
From The Pilgrim.
All day, boats were passing and repassing,
until we had taken her hides from her, and left her in ballast
trim.
These hides made but little show in our hold, though they
had loaded the Pilgrim down to the water's edge. This changing
of the hides settled the question of the destination of the two
vessels, which had been one of some speculation to us. We were
to remain in the leeward ports, while the Pilgrim was to sail,
the next morning, for San Francisco. After we had knocked off
work, and cleared up decks for the night, my friend S - - - came
on board, and spent an hour with me in our berth between decks.
The Pilgrim's crew envied me my place on board the ship, and seemed
to think that I had got a little to windward of them; especially in
the matter of going home first. S - - - was determined to go home on
the Alert, by begging or buying; if Captain T - - - would not let
him come on other terms, he would purchase an exchange with some
one of the crew. The prospect of another year after the Alert
should sail, was rather "too much of the monkey." About seven
o'clock, the mate came down into the steerage, in fine trim for fun,
roused the boys out of the berth, turned up the carpenter with his
fiddle, sent the steward with lights to put in the between-decks,
and set all hands to dancing.
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