Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/136



1^ THE  VOYAGE  TO  CALIFORNIA.

strosities, aberrations,  and  abnormities,  never. The early voyage  to  California,  like  everything  purely Californian, is  and  ever  shall  be  sui  generis.

On the  24th  of  February,  1852,  accompanied  by my  friend  Mr  Kenny,  I  set  sail  from  New  York  in the  steamer  George  Law  for  Habana. There were then two  steamship  lines  in  operation  between  New York and  San  Francisco — one  by  way  of  Nicaragua, and the  other  by  way  of  Panamd,. By the  Nicara- gua route, passengers  were  conveyed  direct  to  San Juan del  Norte,  or  Greytown,  where  they  took  a small  steamboat  and  were  conveyed  up  the  river  San Juan and  across  Lake  Nicaragua  to  Virgin  bay, Kivas, or  Nicaragua,  as  the  landing  was  severally called ; thence  by  land  to  San  Juan  del  Sur,  and again by  steamer  to  San  Francisco. Two steamers of the  Panamd  line,  sailing  one  from  New  York  and the other  from  New  Orleans,  met  at  Habana. There the passengers  and  mails  of  both  were  transferred  to a  third  steamer  and  conveyed  to  the  port  of  Chagres, where, disembarking,  the  Chagres  river  was  ascended in small  open  boats  to  Gorgona,  or  Cruces,  thence  by saddle  and  pack  mules  to  Panamd,  where  the  Pacific Mail Steamship  Company's  steamer  lay  waiting  to sail  for  San  Francisco,  touching  at  Acapulco.

As early  as  1835  the  attention  of  the  president, Andrew Jackson,  was  called  by  Henry  Clay  to  the subject of  inter-oceanic  communication,  and  Charles Biddle was  appointed  commissioner  to  examine  the several routes  and  report  thereon. Nothing, how- ever, was then  accomplished. In 1847  the  vexed question of  the  boundary  line  between  British Columbia and  Oregon  having  been  settled  by  treaty of the  United  States  with  Great  Britain,  it  was deemed desirable,  if  possible,  that  some  shorter  and safer route  should  be  found  to  the  rich  valleys  of  the Northwest Coast,  which  were  then  rapidly  being settled, than    the   savage  path  across  the  plains,  or