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While not off , on these wood and water parties , or up the rivers to the missions , we had very easy times on board the ship . She rounded to , backed her main topsail , and showed her decks full of men , four guns on a side , hammock nettings , and everything man-of-war fashion , except that there was no boatswain 's whistle , and no uniforms on the quarter-deck . Six weeks , or two months , of the hardest work we had yet seen , was before us , and then - " Good-by to California ! He held on to the kid till the last , like a good fellow , but the beef was gone , and when the water had run off , we saw it lying high and dry , like a rock at low tide - nothing could hurt that . It was not easy to sleep , lying , as I did , with my head directly against the bows , which might be dashed in by an island of ice , brought down by the very next sea that struck her . No sooner had we come-to , than a strong south-easter , which had been threatening us all day , set in , with heavy rain and a chilly atmosphere . Sunday , July 3d , the breeze continued strong , the air exceedingly chilly , and the thermometer low . We pulled off with a will , saying to ourselves ( I can speak for myself at least ) - " Good-by , Santa Barbara ! Each of us had made for himself a suit of oil-cloth or tarpaulin , and these we got out , and gave thorough coatings of oil or tar , and hung upon the stays to dry . Keeping some sticks near , to dry , and covering the whole over with a roof of boards , we kept up a small fire , by which we cooked our muscles , and eat them , rather for an occupation than from hunger . Once or twice , when our bullocks failed and we were obliged to make a meal upon dry bread and water , it seemed like feeding upon shavings .