The Golden Dream: Adventures in the Far West by R. M. Ballantyne (book recommendations for teens .TXT) đ
- Author: R. M. Ballantyne
Book online «The Golden Dream: Adventures in the Far West by R. M. Ballantyne (book recommendations for teens .TXT) đ». Author R. M. Ballantyne
âIâm as wet as I can be, captain; besides, I can work better as I am, if thereâs anything for me to do.â
âWell, there ainât much: youâll have enough to do to keep yourself from being washed overboard. Howâs her head, Larry?â
âNorâ east anâ by east,â replied one of the men at the wheel, Larry OâNeil by nameâa genuine son of Erin, whose jovial smile of rollicking good humour was modified, but by no means quenched, by the serious circumstances in which he found himself placed. His comrade, William Jones, who stood on the larboard side of the wheel, was a short, thick-set, stern seaman, whose facial muscles were scarcely capable of breaking into a smile, and certainly failed to betray any of the ownerâs thoughts or feelings, excepting astonishment. Such passions as anger, pity, disgust, fear, and the like, whatever place they might have in Jonesâs breast, had no visible index on his visage. Both men were sailor-like and powerful, but they were striking contrasts to each other, as they stoodâthe one sternly, the other smilinglyâsteering the Roving Bess before that howling storm.
âIs not ânorâ east and by eastâ our direct course for the harbour of San Francisco?â inquired Ned Sinton.
âIt is,â replied the captain, âas near as I can guess; but weâve been blown about so much that I canât tell exactly. Moreover, itâs my opinion we canât be far off the coast now; and if this gale holds on Iâll have to bring to, at the risk of beinâ capsized. Them plaguey coral-reefs, too, are always springinâ up in these seas where you least expect âem. If we go bump against one as we are goinâ now, its all up with us.â
âNot a pleasant idea,â remarked Ned, somewhat gravely. âDo these storms usually last long?â
Before the captain could reply, the first mate came up and whispered in his ear.
âEh! how much dâye say?â he asked quickly.
âFive feet, sir; she surged heavily once or twice on the foremast, and I think must have started a plank.â
âCall all hands to work the pumps; and donât let the men know how much water there is in the hold. Come below, Ned. I want you. Keep her head steady as she goes.â
âAy, ay, sir,â sang out OâNeil, as the captain descended the companion-hatch to the cabin, followed by his young friend.
The dim light in the swinging lamp flickered fitfully when the ship plunged into the troughs of the seas, and rose again with a violent surge, as each wave passed under her, while every plank and spar on board seemed to groan under the strain. Darkness now added to the terrors of the wild storm.
Sitting down on a locker, Captain Bunting placed his elbows on the table, and covering his face with his hands, remained silent for several minutes, while Ned sat down beside him, but forbore to interrupt his thoughts.
âBoy,â he said, at length, looking up anxiously, âweâve sprung a leak, and a few minutes will shew what our fate is to be. Five feet of water in the hold in so short a time implies a bad one.â
âFive feet two, sir,â said the mate, looking in at the cabin door; âand the carpenter canât get at the leak.â
âI feared as much,â muttered the captain. âKeep the men hard at the pumps, Mr Williams, and let me hear how it stands again in ten minutes.â
âCaptain,â said Ned, âit does not become a landsman to suggest, perhaps, but I canât help reminding you, that leaks of this kind have been stopped by putting a sail below the shipâs bottom.â
âI know it, boy, I know it; but we could never get a sail down in such a night.â
âCan nothing be done, then?â
âYes, lad; itâs hard to do it, but it must be done; life is more precious than goldâwe must heave the cargo overboard. I have invested every farthing I have in the world in this venture,â continued Captain Bunting, sadly, âbut thereâs no help for it. Now, you were at the shifting of the cargo when we opened the hatches during the calms off the Brazilian coast, and as you know the position of the bales and boxes, I want you to direct the men so as to get it hove out quickly. Luckily, beinâ a general cargo, most oâ the bales are small and easily handled. Here comes the mate againâwell, Mr Williams?â
âUp another inch, sir.â
âGo, Ned, over with it. Iâll superintend above; so good-bye to our golden dreams.â
There was a slight tone of bitterness in the captainâs voice as he spoke, but it passed away quickly, and the next instant he was on deck encouraging his men to throw the valuable cargo over the side. Bale after bale and box after box were tossed ruthlessly out upon the raging sea until little was left in the ship, save the bulky and less valuable portion of the cargo. Then a cry arose that the leak was discovered! The carpenter had succeeded in partially stopping it with part of a sail, and soon the pumps began to reduce the quantity of water in the hold. At last the leak was gained and effectually stopped, and before daybreak the storm began to subside. While part of the crew, being relieved from the harassing work at the pumps, busied themselves in repairing damages, Ned went to his cabin to put on dry clothes and take a little rest, of which he stood much in need.
Next day the bright sun rose in a cloudless sky, and a gentle breeze now wafted the Roving Bess over the Pacific, whose bosom still heaved deeply from the effects of the recent storm. A sense of fervent thankfulness to God for deliverance filled the heart of our hero as he awoke and beheld the warm sunbeams streaming in at the little window of his cabin. Suddenly he was roused from a deep reverie by the shout of âLand, ho!â on deck.
Words cannot convey an adequate idea of the effect of such a shout upon all on board. âLand, ho!â was repeated by every one, as he sprang in dishabille up the hatchway.
âWhere away?â inquired Captain Bunting.
âRight ahead, sir,â answered the look-out.
âAy, there it is,â said the captain, as Ned, without coat or vest, rushed to his side, and gazed eagerly over the bow, âthere it is, Ned,âCalifornia, at last! Yonder rise the golden mountains that have so suddenly become the worldâs magnet; and yonder, too, is the âGolden Gateâ of the harbour of San Francisco. Humph! much good itâll do us.â
Again there was a slight tone of bitterness in the captainâs voice.
âDonât let down your spirits, captain,â said Ned, in a cheering tone; âthere is still enough of the cargo left to enable us to make a start for the gold-fields. Perhaps we may make more money there than we would have made had we sold the cargo at a large profit by trafficking on the coast.â
Captain Bunting hooked his thumbs into the armholes of his waistcoat, and shook his head. It was evident that he had no faith in gold-digging. Meanwhile the crew had assembled on the forecastle, and were looking out ahead with wistful and excited glances; for the fame of the golden land to which they were approaching had spread far and wide, and they longed to see the gold-dust and nuggets with their own eyes.
âItâs a beautiful land, intirely,â exclaimed Larry OâNeil, with an irrepressible shout of enthusiasm, which called forth a general cheer from the men.
âArrah, now,â remarked another Patlander, âdonât ye wish ye wos up to the knees and elbows in the goolden sands already? Faix Iâd give a monthâs pay to have wan day at the digginâs.â
âI donât believe a word about itâI donât,â remarked Jones, with the dogged air of a man who shouldnât, wouldnât, and didnât believe, and yet felt, somehow, that he couldnât help it.
âNother do I,â said another, âItâs all a sham; come, now, ainât it, Bill?â he added, turning to a bronzed veteran who had visited California two years before.
âA sham!â exclaimed Bill. âI tell âe wot it is, messmate, when you comes for to see the miners in San Francisco drinkinâ shampain like water, anâ payinâ a dollar for a glass oâ six-water grog, youâllââ
âHow much is a dollar?â inquired a soft-looking youth, interrupting him.
Bill said it was ââbout four shillinâs,â and turned away with a look of contempt at such a display of ignorance.
âFour shillinâs!â exclaimed the soft youth, in amazement.
âClear the anchor, and clew up the main-topsail,â shouted the mate.
In another moment the crew were scattered, some aloft to âlay outâ on the topsail yard, some to the clew-lines, and some to clear the anchor, which latter had not been disturbed since the Roving Bess left the shores of Old England.
The âGolden Gates,â as they are called, of San Francisco, are two rocky headlands, about a mile apart, which form the entrance to one of the finest harbours, or rather land-locked seas, in the world. This harbour is upwards of forty miles long, by about twelve miles broad at its widest point, and receives at its northern end the waters of the noble Sacramento river, into which all the other rivers in California flow.
Nearly opposite to the mouth of the Sacramento, on the southern shores of the bay, stands the famous city of San Francisco, close to which the Roving Bess let go her anchor and clasped the golden strand.
The old adage that, âtruth is strange, stranger than fiction,â was never more forcibly verified than in the growth and career of this wonderful city. No dreams of Arabian romance ever surpassed the inconceivable wonders that were matters of every-day occurrence there during the first years of the gold-fever; and many of the results attributed to Aladdinâs wonderful lamp were almost literally accomplishedâin some cases actually surpassedâin and around the cities of California.
Before the discovery of gold, San Francisco was a mere hamlet. It consisted of a few rude cottages, built of sun-dried bricks, which were tenanted by native Californians; there were also a few merchants who trafficked in hides and horns. Cruisers and whalers occasionally put into the harbour to obtain fresh supplies of water, but beyond these and the vessels engaged in the hide-trade few ships ever visited the port, and the name of San Francisco was almost unknown.
But the instant the rumour got abroad that gold had been discovered there, the eyes of the world were turned towards it. In a few months men and ships began to pour into the capacious harbour; a city of tents overspread the sand-hills on which the hamlet stood; thousands upon thousands of gold-hunters rushed to the mines; the golden treasures of the land were laid bare, and immense fortunes were made literally in the course of a few weeks. In many cases these were squandered or gambled away almost as soon as made; but hundreds of men retired from the gold-fields after a few monthsâ labour, and returned home possessed of ample fortunes. Thousands, too, failedâsome from physical inability to stand the fatiguing labour of the mines, and some from what they termed âwant of luck,â though want of perseverance was, in nine cases out of ten, the real cause; while many hundreds perished from exposure and from the diseases that were prevalent in the country.
Well would it have been for these last had they remembered Godâs word, âMake not haste to be rich;â but the thirst for gold, and the prospect of the sudden acquisition of enormous wealth, had blinded them to the fact that their frames were not equal to the rough life at the mines.
The excitement was at its height when the Roving Bess anchored off the shores of this land of gold.
The sun was just setting as the anchor
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