Address to Panama                                                                 

as before directed, we will be there some day.      

 

Monte Video                             

Juniata, Dec 9, 86.

 

Dear Cordelia,

                        Have just sent off Alice's letter, commence this now & will add a few lines until we leave, as we may at any time at short notice, owing to the cholera which appears to be spreading ashore. I don't care a snap how soon we go for it is an uninteresting place, & these pamperos come up so suddenly that if you happen to be ashore there is no telling how or when you can get back to the ship.

 

            In telling of matters on the ship I don't remember where I left off, but last Saty night we had quite a little time, on board. I expect they all felt like cutting our throats, L— & self. For several days previous Capt seemed determined to provoke a quarrel with me, or get me into a snarl, officially. I steered clear of all snags tho' so far. I had a touch of muscular rheumatism one day coming down from Rio, had lost a little sleep previously, but tried to keep on duty. one afternoon I asked L— to look out for me in case I went to sleep, I was going to lie down. Some little thing happened to one of the boilers & I did not feel like running around so he attended to it, & had to go & see the Capt. it seemed all right until about 8:30 p.m. / when I went on deck, & sat down with Lawrence, while the boy was fixing up my room. Capt & Burwell were on the poop looking down, & right at us. Capt went to his cabin & sent to the D^r to ask if I was sick, or if on the list, D^r said I was not on the list. then Capt sent for me, I went to the cabin, asked if he wished to see me. He asked me what L— was running around so for, why I was lying back on the lounge, did not ask me to be seated, so I took a chair & sat. I told him I was not feeling well. he said "the D^r says you are not on the list" I said, no sir, I never cared to go on the list so long as I could keep off, &c. (one of liners had been drunk & incapable Saty p.m. & Sunday before & he had sent for him, & to guard against his being found drunk, &c, two or three managed to keep him in his room so Capt did not see him). Whether he thought I was also "under the weather" or shirking I don't know but he gained nothing. I went on the list next a.m. for a day or two so L— could play Chief Engr & bother Capt & Burwell which he did. We have exchanged a few compliments since then. / He is rude & dis-courteous to L— & myself whenever he can be, ditto Burwell, officially & otherwise, we get a shot in once in a while. I came off in the launch with Capt one evening at 6 p.m. in this place. on the dock several officers from Lancaster & Tallapoosa there, I saluted the Capt & bid him good evening, he never looked, moved or answered me. The other officers saw it. Those of the line who know him & B— say he is a hog, & B— is a liar & a worthless fellow. I have come to the conclusion they are right. as we came off in the launch, only Usher & self with him, he sat down & turned his back on me & never gave me a chance to speak. he had done this same thing before but never so noticeable. One or two other things happened just previous to the Saty night last, when everybody knew that the Consul was coming on board to take dinner, invited by Lawrence. Consul came off at the apptd time, but Capt went ashore just before then, left orders for Burwell to fire a salute making it official, this being his first visit. B— and one or two of them made a combined effort to capture him, but L— would not be sat on, or bluffed, / We were all at the Gangway to receive him, & L received him, took him to his room, seated him at table next to himself, at opposite end from B— & where the caterer (D^r) & L— sit. Lawrence furnished all the wines, all in good style & everything went off in very good style. B— scarce opened his sweet lips. Then or after dinner, about 9 Capt cane back, & then the Capt of Tallapoosa came, B—brought them both down to the ward room table where we all sat, seated both at his end of the table & thought to overpower the rest by rank, &c, I then made an effort to silence L—s end of table by loud talk & laughter, but no go, Consul chatted away cheerfully, by & by the 2 Capts left with Burwell, went on deck, & the rest remained until about 10:30 when the Consul took his departure, delighted with his visit.

 

            Last night the Minister had a tea party with music & dancing. The Capt & B— managed to transmit the invitation in their usual peculiar way so that no one on the stbd side went. I went ashore to meet Chf Engr Baker at the English Club & Lawrence joined us, with Towne of the Tallapoosa in the evening. it being a feast day, we visited the Plaza's where the bands were all playing p.m. to see the people, then went into the cathedral to hear the music & see everything there. The finest cath^l in South America, either side, and so the day & evening passed.

 

Since Burwell was so insulting at the time D^r was elected caterer, when he indulged in a few threats as to what he would do, & when I made a few remarks concerning his language & manner, we have not spoken except officially. This annoys him & his followers & the Capt too, worse I think than a row, for then they might think of catching me, but as I treat him very respectfully in all official matters they can't do anything. Once when I was interviewing the Capt, he was not pleasant, as usual, & referred to our B & I not being on as pleasant terms as he wished, & hoped this condition of things would cease. I told him I was not responsible for the lack of good feeling, when Mr B— learned to better control his temper & his tongue there would be no trouble so far as I was concerned. (I might have said when he learned to speak the truth also, as I have proved him a liar in several matters, to the Capt.) I think they both know better than to push matters too far. Everything would go on well with them if I would submit to Burwells ways, let him run the Engine Dept. my report everything to him & not bother the Capt, as regulation requires me to do. /

 

Dec 11^th          I would much prefer being in Brighton, celebrating the day, than here on the Juniata. We have had beastly weather & it looks like it could continue. The Lancaster & Tallapoosa left yesterday a.m. for a place 20 miles away. We will leave some day next week, soon as we get one more American & one more English mail. when you write Ellen tell her I will answer her letter on our way down & mail it at Sandy Point, or station in the Straits of Magellan, where I think we can mail letters. My rheumatism & my stomach are both better, but they have left me in a sort of demoralized condition. Shall be all right in a day or two.

 

Sunday, 12 Dec.          We are in a pickle now from what I hear. There is a doubt of our getting a clean bill of health from here on acct of cholera, in which case we will have to visit Falkland Islands, that place being under England. D^r has gone ashore to see the English Consul & if we cant go to a Chilean port free from quarantine we will go there, so you wont hear from us again for probably a month or so. The ward room men is going to telegraph our departure, which I hope you will receive all safe. Our skipper is on his good behavior this morning smiling all over his face, a sickly looking smile, but the best he has. / We will be minus our Xmas dinner, & perhaps New Years d^o. I don't think there is much at Falkland Islands except mutton & vegetables. An English Company there own everything, raise a great many sheep for the English market, an English steamer stops there occasionally, on its way from Australia & England. I am rather glad to visit Falkland Islands, as our stay will be only short, just enough to give us a clean bill of health to a Chilean port.

 

14^th      There is a discussion going on as to the cholera, or no cholera, & our prospects of getting into the next port without quarantine. A telegram will be sent home by the men when we leave & where bound. No one knows a thing yet, or as to where we are likely to go. One day Capt says one thing, next day another. Two mail steamers in this week, but only one delivered the other is on the [?] for Valparaiso. Whether there is anything for me on the latter I don't know. The Capt is as mild as milk this morning & everything just now is going on pleasantly. He has sort of put his foot in it in regard to our getting a clean bill of health & entry into Valparaiso. D^r had been ashore all day Sunday & had succeeded in fixing it up so that we could leave when we choose & go for Falkland Islands, then get a clean bill of health from the British Consul here & there & then to Valparaiso. he, the Capt like a / fool must interfere in everything, & the less he knows of things more likely he is to interfere. he went ashore & without saying a word to the D^r (who in these matters has always the entire matter in charge) goes to the Chilean Consul with an interpreter & gave the whole scheme away. Consul told him he would not permit him to enter Chile via Falkland Isl^ds. So we are in a fix if cholera should become so bad here that we should want to leave, there is no place for us to go to. Of course the only object in going to F—I^d was to get a bill of health to enter Chile. There is nothing to go there for except that & now the Capt has blocked that. The D^r spoke pretty plainly to the Capt & is disgusted with him. He (the Capt) commenced his first circus with me, & seems to be going round the ship, suspending first me & then another & interfering with all. He has some one of the Juniors under suspension all the time now for the most frivolous or unjust things. I talked so plain to him in all my discussions that I wonder he did not suspend me, he would perhaps only I had ample proofs & gave them to him showing that my men had been excessively & unjustly punished, & that the officer of the deck had illegally given orders in connection with the Engine dept. & that the Executive officer had neglected his duty, ditto the officer of the deck, & numerous other irregularities had happened. I think he was afraid to suspend me or "go for me" as they say, except in little petty ways, fearing that I might have in reserve some things not desirable to bring up. He has since then tried many ways to exasperate Lawrence & myself too, but he has failed in all his schemes so far. Lawrence has been in charge since the 4^th when I went on the list. I have been around all the time, could have kept on duty if I had chosen, but Lawrence wanted to have a few interviews with the Capt, & the D^r said I might as well go on the list so I could do as I pleased without the Capt annoying me by sending for me at uncertain hours. My appetite has been as good as ever. The rheumatism & stomach trouble has only served to make me feel uncomfortable. I am about rid of it now, but shall remain on the list for a week or so longer if we remain here. Another scheme of the Capt was to keep L— and I / from going ashore together, which he could do if on duty, but now I go ashore those days when L— can go & he (Capt) cant well say nay, which riles him.

 

            Our mess with the Dr as caterer goes on finely, everything clean & palatable, as compared with Baker, when everything was so vile & disgusting.

 

            Lawrence's management of the ship as Acty Chf Engr has been very amusing to H, D^r & self. His appearance is not very prepossessing, but he is cute & can talk well. Keeps cool, hates a line officer like poison, & has several grudges he wants to square with the Capt. so jumps at every chance to play Chf Engr.

            I dont know when there will be a chance to send this letter off, as the folks ashore say that if the steamers are not to take any cargo &c they shan't land any, & vice versa, so may not be able to mail a letter for some time now. One steamer just in has 400 passengers for this place & they wont have them landed, whether they will take them on to Valparaiso, or what they will do remains to be seen. Two mail steamers have passed us by, for England, so cant send letters yet. I presume the men will telegraph in a few days, all well, if nothing more. 

 

            When the D^r first arranged about men telegraphing, as a matter of courtesy he asked the Capt if he would join, he said he would, & D^r explained everything to him fully. Now Capt says he did not understand it, he does not care to join it now, but he got one message home all the same, does not offer to pay his share, nearly all hands say to D^r not to ask him for any money, but to count him out hereafter. He has come down to all the wardroom mess Saty night entertainments, and has never invited any one to the cabin except Burwell once at sea, and he had D^r & Pay each separately (while I was on my last leave home), suppose he had an object in having them down while I was absent. I have not yet seen him. It will be a cold day when I go in his cabin for an entertainment of any kind. I presume the mess will invite him down on Xmas or New Years. Lawrence bought a 160 $ diamond ring yesterday, as a speculation. it is a fine one, & they say 'twas very cheap.

 

17^th      We are going to leave here on Saty, tomorrow, for Maldonado, about / 30 miles away only. The Tallapoosa & Lancaster left for that place some days ago, a little village only. Nothing to do, nothing to see there, simply a place where we can ride out a quarantine.

 

All the folks are mad at the Capt acting like a fool in the matter with the Chilean Consul. About our mail I don't know when we will get the next, nor do we know what the chances are of our mails from here being sent off. I am going ashore after noon & will mail this any way, & a letter to Geo with 2 track charts. If we lay there long we will have to come back here for coal again. I wish we were going to Falkland Is^ds instead of Maldonado. The men will not telegraph home about our leaving for Maldonado. Hope you will get this within reasonable time, & that it will find you all well. Remember me to everybody, to all in the house, & to M^r & Mrs Pearce or Purse. A Happy New Year when it arrives.

 

Much love from          George.

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