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Diary recording a voyage from Hong Kong to San Francisco, carrying Chinese passengers to California

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Description
The unknown author begins the diary on October 22nd, 1850. The ship departs from the port of Hong Kong for San Francisco, California at 3 pm. Most of the entries are brief and primarily concern weather conditions, longitude and latitude of the ship, and daily duties. Two days after departure, the writer records fine weather. However, "The ship has leaked very much in the deck several packages much damaged with salt water...the contents had to be taken out to dry and pack in other trunks" (Monday, Oct. 24th). While on board, the author also records notes about the route of their voyage including various islands passed. Although the author rarely mentions other crew members, he does frequently write about Captain Lange and his need for sleep. "The Captain sleep all night on 10 to 12 hours and reads all day. The first officer takes it easy. The 2nd officer wants more experience" (Monday, Nov. 18th). There does appear to be some bitterness between the author and the captain, "...this outrageous management had the ship been kept free all night there would have been no necessity to reduce sail and would have made a distance of 200 miles north" (Tuesday, Dec. 3rd). The Chinese passengers are mentioned in one entry on Friday, the 18th of November. Initially, Captain Lange refused to allow the Chinese passengers to do any work. However, Captain Lange finally agreed to allow the Chinese passengers to cook, if the author promises to pay for the wood and use of the galley. He writes about the lack of sleep due to the rudder and sailors stealing oranges. The writer also logs details about sailing and maintenance of the ship. Concerning the repair of one sail, "...it was unbent and sent on deck the mate undertook to repair it with some old canvas but said he did not know where to begin as it was a worn out sail. The Captain then examined it, told the mate to repair it by covering it all over or rather stretching it so no Topgtsail of any value this passage" (Dec. 9th). The last entry was written for the 24th-29th of December. The author records the usual, "Light southerly winds and thick foggy weather on a wind to the east. No observation. 29th wind N.E. and clear weather."
Type
Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date
1850.
Call number
mssHM 80959
Provenance
Purchased from Michael Brown Rare Books, October 2014.
Find out more
View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab)

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