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The boy signed the articles , received his advance , laid out a little of it in clothes , and spent the rest , and was ready to go on board , when , upon the morning of sailing , he heard that the ship was bound upon the North-west Coast , on a two or three years ' voyage , and was not going to Europe . The carpenter , very prematurely , and without any authority from the crew , had sounded the mate as to whether he would take command of the ship , and intimated an intention to displace the captain ; and the mate , as in duty bound , had told the whole to the captain , who immediately sent for all hands aft . At eight bells , the watch was called , and we came on deck , one hand going aft to take the wheel , and another and another going to the galley to get the grub for dinner . The music was lively , and among the tunes , we recognized several of our popular airs , which we , without doubt , have taken from the Spanish . This day the sun rose fair , but it ran too low in the heavens to give any heat , or thaw out our sails and rigging ; yet the sight of it was pleasant ; and we had a steady " reef topsail breeze " from the westward . The whole length of the hold , from stem to stern , was floored off level , and we began with raising a pile in the after part , hard against the bulkhead of the run , and filling it up to the beams , crowding in as many as we could by hand and pushing in with oars ; when a large " book " was made of from twenty-five to fifty hides , doubled at the backs , and put into one another , like the leaves of a book . Several old shoes were very decently repaired , and with waxed ends , an awl , and the top of an old boot , I made me quite a respectable sheath for my knife . We passed directly under the high cliff on which the Presidio is built , and stood into the middle of the bay , from whence we could see small bays , making up into the interior , on every side ; large and beautifully-wooded islands ; and the mouths of several small rivers . Its great size ; - for it must have been from two to three miles in circumference , and several hundred feet in height ; - its slow motion , as ts base rose and sank in the water , and its high points nodded against the clouds ; the dashing of the waves upon it , which , breaking high with foam , lined its base with a white crust ; and the thundering sound of the cracking of the mass , and the breaking and tumbling down of huge pieces ; together with its nearness and approach , which added a slight element of fear , - all combined to give to it the character of true sublimity . The bride 's father 's house was the principal one in the place , with a large court in front , upon which a tent was built , capable of containing several hundred people .