Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/143



by officers  of  the  Pacific  company  that  no  one  regretted, or more  heartily  condemned,  the  pohcy  of  the  Atlantic company than  their  managers. From the  first  the service on  the  Pacific  was  in  marked  contrast  to  that upon the  Atlantic;  but  not  until  the  autumn  of  1865 were the  managers  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship Company able  to  rid  themselves  of  that  influence which rested  so  long  like  an  incubus  on  the  line. At this time  the  control  of  the  entire  line  passed  into their hands,  when  the  same  courtesies  and  comforts were extended  to  travellers  on  the  Atlantic  as  had hitherto been  customary  on  the  Pacific. The Pacific company had  frequently  overcrowded  their  steamers, but this  sometimes  was  an  act  of  charity  rather  than cruelty ;  as,  for  example,  when  the  California  reached Panama on  her  first  voyage,  the  cholera  was  raging there ; and  this,  together  with  the  often  ill-advised anxiety to  reach  the  land  of  gold,  had  in  many  in- stances drawn the  last  dollar  from  the  pockets  of  those congregated on  the  Isthmus;  so  that  the  steamer, which had  accommodations  for  only  120  passengers, sailed with  four  times  that  number. As high  as $1,200  was  paid  on  this  trip  for  a  steerage  passage.

Gradually the  service  became  perfected. Larger and yet  more  magnificent  steamers  were  built  from time to  time,  with  promenade  decks  a  sixteenth  of  a mile  in  length,  and  these  were  well  appointed  and  ably oflScered. The line  rose  to  the  head  of  the  world's marine,  and  became  an  honor  to  the  American  nation. From this  time  until  the  completion  of  the  Pacific railway, it  carried  more  passengers,  at  fairer  rates, and, according  to  distance,  varieties  of  climate,  and numbers, with  fewer  discomforts  than  did  ever  another oceanic line. Four, five,  and  six  thousand  people passed and  repassed  monthly  on  its  vessels,  and  mer- chandise was carried  which,  at  from  $45  to  $75  a  ton, aggregated millions  of  dollars  freight-money. One reason why  the  passage  on  the  Pacific  can  be  made more pleasant  is  that  the  ships  are  built  higher  out  of