We anchored and took cattle aboard. I watched the natives tow them off, the cattle swimming behind their small boats, and then saw the poor beasts hoisted2 up by their horns to the deck of our ship.
I thought it most dreadfully cruel, but was informed that it had been done from time immemorial, so I ceased to talk about it, knowing that I could not reform those aged3 countries, and realizing, faintly perhaps (for I had never seen much of the rough side of life), that just as cruel things were done to the cattle we consume in the North.
Now that Mr. Sinclair, in his great book "The Jungle," has brought the multiplied horrors of the great packing-houses before our very eyes, we might witness the hoisting4 of the cattle over the ship's side without feeling such intense pity, admitting that everything is relative, even cruelty.
It was now the middle of August, and the weather had become insufferably hot, but we were out of the long swell5 of the Pacific Ocean; we had rounded Cape St. Lucas, and were steaming up the Gulf6 of California, towards the mouth of the Great Colorado, whose red and turbulent waters empty themselves into this gulf, at its head.
I now had time to become acquainted with the officers of the regiment7, whom I had not before met; they had come in from other posts and joined the command at San Francisco.
The daughter of the lieutenant8-colonel was on board, the beautiful and graceful9 Caroline Wilkins, the belle10 of the regiment; and Major Worth, to whose company my husband belonged. I took a special interest in the latter, as I knew we must face life together in the wilds of Arizona. I had time to learn something about the regiment and its history; and that Major Worth's father, whose monument I had so often seen in New York, was the first colonel of the Eighth Infantry11, when it was organized in the State of New York in 1838.
The party on board was merry enough, and even gay. There was Captain Ogilby, a great, genial12 Scotchman, and Captain Porter, a graduate of Dublin, and so charmingly witty13. He seemed very devoted14 to Miss Wilkins, but Miss Wilkins was accustomed to the devotion of all the officers of the Eighth Infantry. In fact, it was said that every young lieutenant who joined the regiment had proposed to her. She was most attractive, and as she had too kind a heart to be a coquette, she was a universal favorite with the women as well as with the men.
There was Ella Bailey, too, Miss Wilkins' sister, with her young and handsome husband and their young baby.
Then, dear Mrs. Wilkins, who had been so many years in the army that she remembered crossing the plains in a real ox-team. She represented the best type of the older army woman—and it was so lovely to see her with her two daughters, all in the same regiment. A mother of grown-up daughters was not often met with in the army.
And Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins, a gentleman in the truest sense of the word—a man of rather quiet tastes, never happier than when he had leisure for indulging his musical taste in strumming all sorts of Spanish fandangos on the guitar, or his somewhat marked talent with the pencil and brush.
The heat of the staterooms compelled us all to sleep on deck, so our mattresses15 were brought up by the soldiers at night, and spread about. The situation, however, was so novel and altogether ludicrous, and our fear of rats which ran about on deck so great, that sleep was well-nigh out of the question.
Before dawn, we fled to our staterooms, but by sunrise we were glad to dress and escape from their suffocating16 heat and go on deck again. Black coffee and hard-tack were sent up, and this sustained us until the nine-o'clock breakfast, which was elaborate, but not good. There was no milk, of course, except the heavily sweetened sort, which I could not use: it was the old-time condensed and canned milk; the meats were beyond everything, except the poor, tough, fresh beef we had seen hoisted over the side, at Cape St. Lucas. The butter, poor at the best, began to pour like oil. Black coffee and bread, and a baked sweet potato, seemed the only things that I could swallow.
The heat in the Gulf of California was intense. Our trunks were brought up from the vessel's hold, and we took out summer clothing. But how inadequate17 and inappropriate it was for that climate! Our faces burned and blistered18; even the parting on the head burned, under the awnings19 which were kept spread. The ice-supply decreased alarmingly, the meats turned green, and when the steward20 went down into the refrigerator, which was somewhere below the quarter-deck, to get provisions for the day, every woman held a bottle of salts to her nose, and the officers fled to the forward part of the ship. The odor which ascended21 from that refrigerator was indescribable: it lingered and would not go. It followed us to the table, and when we tasted the food we tasted the odor. We bribed22 the steward for ice. Finally, I could not go below at all, but had a baked sweet potato brought on deck, and lived several days upon that diet.
On the 14th of August we anchored off Mazatlan, a picturesque23 and ancient adobe24 town in old Mexico. The approach to this port was strikingly beautiful. Great rocks, cut by the surf into arches and caverns25, guarded the entrance to the harbor. We anchored two miles out. A customs and a Wells-Fargo boat boarded us, and many natives came along side, bringing fresh cocoanuts, bananas, and limes. Some Mexicans bound for Guaymas came on board, and a troupe26 of Japanese jugglers.
While we were unloading cargo27, some officers and their wives went on shore in one of the ship's boats, and found it a most interesting place. It was garrisoned28 by Mexican troops, uniformed in white cotton shirts and trousers. They visited the old hotel, the amphitheatre where the bull-fights were held, and the old fort. They told also about the cock-pits—and about the refreshing29 drinks they had.
My thirst began to be abnormal. We bought a dozen cocoanuts, and I drank the milk from them, and made up my mind to go ashore30 at the next port; for after nine days with only thick black coffee and bad warm water to drink, I was longing31 for a cup of good tea or a glass of fresh, sweet milk.
A day or so more brought us to Guaymas, another Mexican port. Mrs. Wilkins said she had heard something about an old Spaniard there, who used to cook meals for stray travellers. This was enough. I was desperately32 hungry and thirsty, and we decided33 to try and find him. Mrs. Wilkins spoke34 a little Spanish, and by dint35 of inquiries36 we found the man's house, a little old, forlorn, deserted37-looking adobe casa.
We rapped vigorously upon the old door, and after some minutes a small, withered38 old man appeared.
Mrs. Wilkins told him what we wanted, but this ancient Delmonico declined to serve us, and said, in Spanish, the country was "a desert"; he had "nothing in the house"; he had "not cooked a meal in years"; he could not; and, finally, he would not; and he gently pushed the door to in our faces. But we did not give it up, and Mrs. Wilkins continued to persuade. I mustered39 what Spanish I knew, and told him I would pay him any price for a cup of coffee with fresh milk. He finally yielded, and told us to return in one hour.
So we walked around the little deserted town. I could think only of the breakfast we were to have in the old man's casa. And it met and exceeded our wildest anticipations40, for, just fancy! We were served with a delicious boullion, then chicken, perfectly41 cooked, accompanied by some dish flavored with chile verde, creamy biscuit, fresh butter, and golden coffee with milk. There were three or four women and several officers in the party, and we had a merry breakfast. We paid the old man generously, thanked him warmly, and returned to the ship, fortified42 to endure the sight of all the green ducks that came out of the lower hold.
You must remember that the "Newbern" was a small and old propeller43, not fitted up for passengers, and in those days the great refrigerating plants were unheard of. The women who go to the Philippines on our great transports of to-day cannot realize and will scarcely believe what we endured for lack of ice and of good food on that never-to-be-forgotten voyage down the Pacific coast and up the Gulf of California in the summer of 1874.
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1
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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hoisting
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| 起重，提升 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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mattresses
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| 褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 ) | |
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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awnings
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| 篷帐布 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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adobe
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| n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司 | |
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caverns
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| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
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troupe
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| n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团 | |
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cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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garrisoned
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| 卫戍部队守备( garrison的过去式和过去分词 )； 派部队驻防 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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