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Arrived at San Pedro on the fourth day , and came-to in the old place , a league from shore , with no other vessel in port , and the prospect of three weeks , or more , of dull life , rolling goods up a slippery hill , carrying hides on our heads over sharp stones , and , perhaps , slipping for a south-easter . I knew him at once , though I should not have been more surprised to have seen the Old South steeple shoot up from the hide-house . If the hat was thrown off , the offer was refused , and the gentleman was obliged to pick up his hat amid a general laugh . Friday , and a part of Saturday , we were engaged in this work , until we had thrown out all but what we wanted under our cargo on the passage home ; when , as the next day was Sunday , and a good day for smoking ship , we cleared everything out of the cabin and forecastle , made a slow fire of charcoal , birch bark , brimstone , and other matters , on the ballast in the bottom of the hold , calked up the hatches and every open seam , and pasted over the cracks of the windows , and the slides of the scuttles , and companionway . " This was good-naturedly answered from the California , and she braced sharp up , and stood close upon the wind up the coast ; while we squared away our yards , and stood before the wind to the south-southwest . It was in sight all the afternoon ; and when we got to leeward of it , the wind died away , so that we lay-to quite near it for a greater part of the night . One of them was not so ill ; and was moving about , smoking his pipe , and talking , and trying to keep up his spirits ; but the other , who was my friend , and Aikane - Hope , was the most dreadful object I had ever seen in my life : his eyes sunken and dead , his cheeks fallen in against his teeth , his hands looking like claws ; a dreadful cough , which seemed to rack his whole shattered system , a hollow whispering voice , and an entire inability to move himself . This was set off against the account of the A. J. Donelson , and led us to look forward with less confidence to the passage , especially as no one on board had ever been through , and the captain had no very perfect charts . Finding the rain running down upon us , and our jackets getting wet through , and the rough , knotty-logs , rather indifferent couches , we turned out ; and taking an iron pan which we brought with us , we wiped it out dry , put some stones around it , cut the wet bark from some sticks , and striking a light , made a small fire in the pan . This was the best consolation " Sails " had to offer , but it did not seem to be just the thing the carpenter wanted ; for , during several days , he was very much dejected , and bore with difficulty the jokes of the sailors , and with still more difficulty their attempts at advice and consolation , of most of which the sailmaker 's was a good specimen . This preparation of the cable and anchors was for the passage of the straits ; for , being very crooked , and with a variety of currents , it is necessary to come frequently to anchor . " This called me again , and two of us went aloft , up the fore rigging , and two more up the main , upon the top-gallant yards . It seemed as though the genius of the place had been roused at finding that we had nearly slipped through his fingers , and had come down upon us with tenfold fury . No sooner had we got into the large bay , than we found a strong tide setting us out to seaward , a thick fog which prevented our seeing the ship , and a breeze too light to set us against the tide ; for we were as deep as a sand-barge . She had been acting in this way all of our forenoon watch below ; as we could tell by the washing of the water over our heads , and the heavy breaking of the seas against her bows , ( with a sound as though she were striking against a rock , ) only the thickness of the plank from our heads , as we lay in our berths , which are directly against the bows . Bad weather and hard work at sea can be borne up against very well , if one only has spirit and health ; but there is nothing brings a man down , at such a time , like bodily pain and want of sleep . One of our hands , too , had unluckily fallen upon a half of an old newspaper which contained an account of the passage , through the straits , of a Boston brig , called , I think , the Peruvian , in which she lost every cable and anchor she had , got aground twice , and arrived at Valparaiso in distress .