VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA DURING THE GOLD RUSH MANUSCRIPT
Handwritten memoir (35 pp.) handwritten by an unknown person concerning their voyage from New York to California in 1849-50 during the Gold Rush. This narrative is written in three draft chapters and covers the voyage from New York to Bermuda, where the writer’s ship underwent extensive repair.
The writer was a passenger on the Powhatan, which left New York on December 12, 1849. Although he was cautioned at the docks about the ship’s seaworthiness, the writer was assured by the Captain, Benjamin Ward Tucker (1814–87), that all would be fine.
However, when they were a few days out to sea, it was apparent the boat was leaking. “It turned out that no real danger existed or was likely to occur on account of the ‘leak’…”, according to the narrative. “The ‘caulking’ as it is termed with which these seams are filled was rotten, the coppering was worn out and this would cause any vessel to leak though comparatively new in all other respects. It was well however that we were strong handed as it required 1200 strokes of the pumps per hour to keep the ship free.”
The Captain continued the six-day voyage to Bermuda, where they arrived on December 18. The company that owned the boat attempted to get it condemned, but the Captain insisted on the repairs; they were in Bermuda for 40 days. The ship was recalked and coppered throughout, and her running rigging was overhauled. Because no dry dock was available, there is a detailed explanation about how the Captain was able to move the boat close enough to shore and tip it, so the keel was exposed. All the expenses of the passengers were paid while they were in Bermuda.
We have not been able to determine whether this Powhatan is the ship of the same name that sank off the shore of New Jersey in 1854, resulting in the loss of hundreds of passengers, mostly German immigrants.
During their stay on the small island of St. David’s in Bermuda, the writer encountered Scottish soldiers who were stationed nearby. “Excepting the honor of our presence, I do not know that (St. David’s) was ever enough distinguished for anything to make it worthy a place even in these rambling reminiscences. The soil of the Bermuda is not naturally good, only hollows of their broken surfaces being used to cultivation, all the rest is bare coral rock.”
One of the chapters includes a lengthy description of leaving the port of Bermuda under the direction of a “pilot” they were forced to hire who was drunk and nearly ran them aground. There are also descriptions of passengers, including one who snuck aboard and was caught. This is followed by allusions to a one-sided passionate affair involving the stow-way and a married German woman (Mrs. Wibbard) who brought barrels of sauerkraut for the voyage to California, where she and her new husband planned to open a boarding house.
One of the drafts ends as the author is about to relate the story of a storm at sea. None of the chapters recall reaching San Francisco. The language is verbose and flowery, and the writer often trails off on tangents concerning everything from sea sickness to hats.
The manuscript pages are written on legal size white paper in black ink. There is some toning to the pages and general edgewear, along with rust from a paper clip. Overall, quite legible and very good. Item #79631
Price: $500.00