USS Juniata                           

600 miles south of Rio

Nov 21 – 86

 

Dear Cordelia,

                        Am rather late beginning my letter. it has been such a confounded trip from Rio, bad weather, no end of it, & such a table we have had, the worst god forsaken Irishman in or around Brighton would turn his nose up at it. That Baker would certainly beat the Dutch. After we crossed the Equator when we came down to our beans, either the diet or the heat upset my stomach. when we got to Rio change of diet & exercise ashore set me up all right. After we got to sea again coming down here we had miserable weather & worse diet again. My stomach tumbled me again. I went on the list for a few days. I could have kept up all right if I had chosen, but I went on to get rid of Burwell & the Capt. They are a pair of / mean specimens. I think Burwell has him under his thumb somehow. Whenever anything comes up for discussion he dodges the question until he has had time to see Burwell. The latter wants to run everything. Once in a while I catch the Capt napping & he gets his foot in it. The latter is about as fit for the position of Capt as Munroe would be. Just about Munroe-style. I shall beat them both yet before the cruise is up. It annoys them both that I rank Burwell, & everybody except the Capt. I go to the Capt for everything, this makes B— mad, & then he punishes my men unjustly often, & excessively when he has chance. I watch my chance & go to the Capt & call his attention to the matter, he generally tries to laugh it off. I stick to my text & then he generally wilts. B— lies like a Frenchman, but he is hard to catch. first time I get him foul I will go for him. I want a-/ nother witness, its no use when his word would be against mine. If there is anyone in the ship that B— dislikes worse than I it is Lawrence. He L carries himself very well, is a good talker & fears neither man nor the D—. B— tries to sit on him but he goes off worse for it, so far as L— generally tongue can serve. While I was sick L— acted as Chief, much to the chagrin of Capt & B—, I had to laugh many times at their encounters, it amused the D^r too. the Paymaster toadys to the Capt & Burwell as Pay^s generally do.

 

B— Wood & Usher are very much discontented on acct of ship not going "round the world" cruise. Since we left N.Y. I am content to remain in the Pac. Station.

 

            Our mess is going along fine of late, so far as clean linen & general comfort of the Port side is concerned. D^r certainly manages well with what he has / & just as soon as the drunkards can pay up their mess bills we will be all right. I bought 10 doz eggs & 150 oranges in Rio & Lawrence bought some can'd sausages & other meats so we are all right so far as first breakfasts are concerned, better than we were coming down anyhow. I have tried all their wines that they have in the wine mess, I got so disgusted with their tea & coffee & their fruit. I did not fancy their wines, wishy-washy stuff, except their sherry, that & some whisky I laid in in New York is helping me out all right. We will be in Monte Video for 2 to 4 weeks, this with good grub will fix me up. it is getting cool & pleasant. Tell George that while I have been writing this about 30 large whales some of them 60 feet long have been going close by the ship. They raised quite a commotion in the water, blowing & thrashing their tails around. Moritz, my junior asst is an amateur photographer, has taken a few pictures on the ship. I have a few, but am at a loss how to send them. I may have a chance some day. I tried to get some views in Rio but could not get one. There are excellent places for views of the harbor & mountain scenery but no one seems to care for photo's.

 

I suppose you are having all your fires going now, & preparing for Thanksgiving day. We are hoping to be in M.V. on that day so we can get a change of menu. We have had some very cold & wet weather. Just now it is clear & sunny midday, but cool, 65-68. They say this will be about the temp. to Valparaiso.

 

            Capt has given it out that he knows the Adml & is going to try to keep the ship on Pac Station, the officers on Stbd side who want to go around the world are furious and indulge in severe remarks about him. They are not a happy family by any means, but when it comes to fighting the staff they are united. 

 

Wonder if McConnell is W.O. yet, or if he has duty? did not see any thing of his orders in the Army & Navy Journals the fellows take. He thought his fortune could be made by bootlicking Loring & abusing Sherwood & Zeller, but he has not seemed to gain much by it yet. Lawrence was in Washington when the list of officers was being made up for Vandalia & Juniata, Loring had me down in the Vandalia first. She was bound for Europe, fitting out at Portsmouth, N.H. Burnap was on duty at the Yard there, he was  down for the Juniata. We went to work & got his orders changed to the Vandalia & mine to the J—. At the last moment the V— was ordered to the Pacific, she is good for three years there, and so we may be, but we managed to put in 8 months in in N.Y. & I think we will fetch San Francisco Yard ere long & put in a spell there for repairs, or go out of commission. Old a ship as she is (the J) & a drunken crowd as they are here I think I should have preferred the J. to the V. / take it all in all. I think from what I hear & can judge of that we will be at Mare Isl^d for repairs by Sept next, before the elections come off. We may be in Valparaiso until about April, then wend our way up the coast, stopping at all the ports. After repairs our movements will be uncertain.

 

If Mrs Baker keeps up any correspondence with Alice, she Alice need not say anything definite about the California matter. I think less favorably of her coming out there with Mrs B— the more I see & know of B— and the crowd he goes with & would be likely to have around him if his wife comes out. They certainly had a hard common crowd around them when we were off Staten Isl^d when they were boarding ashore there during the last few weeks.

 

We are going through the water fairly fast now, wind fair & strong, if it continues & the Capt does not get scared / we might be in by Wednesday. I wish we may for I am hungry, and tired out with doing nothing. The ship rolls so it is next to impossible to walk on deck.

 

            I suppose the Howsons are back by this time. hope you have some one else in the Herricks room. how do they get along in their house in cold weather? If the rain came in so, the cold air must find its way in also. Remember me to all in the house, Frosts, Herricks & Fiske's. Tell Mrs Gooch I wish I could sit down to her Thanksgiving dinner a week hence. I think my stomach is getting smaller & will collapse. if it was not for the eggs I bought & Lawrences sausages in early breakfast I should be worse off. (One sausage & 2 eggs for breakfast.) Remember me to Ellen & family, and to Geo & Anna. I would write Geo.[?] if I knew where he was.

 

I hope we will find our missing Cape de Verde mails in Monte Video. I shall close this letter & have it ready in case of a mail leaving, & will write more after getting letters. I hope A F & Geo are all getting along, that F is getting along all right at the store. (Tell him I will make him a present of 10% of what income he gets at end of his year.)

 

Alice will have to take those birds to a taxidermist to have them fixed up properly, eyes put in, &c. I sent a dozen so she could give Maude one or two, or more. What I did not send is a brooch and scarf pin, each a humming bird head mounted in gold, former for herself, the latter for herself or Maude whichever she chooses when she sees them. I don't know when I can send them, if by mail they might be confiscated. will send them soon as I can. 

 

There is not much in the way of curios to be bought on this side, or the other, as far as I can hear.

 

Hope Alice is likely to have a good time this coming winter & that she wont run across any acquaintances of the Woodbridge type. My New Year Xmas & birthday presents will have to be waived until I get to a place where there is something worth buying.

 

Hope you & your Mother are both well & still enjoying Mrs Gooch's table. I wish I could sit down to one good meal a day. My stomach aches for want of something decent to eat. If you write Mrs MacConnell remember me to them. Regards to all who may enquire for me. Much love for all, a Merry Xmas & a happy New Year when it comes in—George.

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