Manzanillo bay,

Mexico           

Nov 25 – 1881.

 

Dear Alice,

                        Yesterday was Thanksgiving here. We had a good dinner as dinners go along the Mexican coast. The turkey was not very old in years, but tough enough to have come over in the "Mayflower". We have plenty of fruit such as they have on this coast, green cocoa nuts, oranges, bananas, lemons, pine apples, &c. I enjoy the nuts, lemons & oranges. These with our canned meats & other stuff we get along pretty well. I shan't want to see another chicken or turkey after I leave this coast for the next 50 years.

 

            When we were in Acapulco two small boats came in with the Capt, wife, two children and several men from a vessel that had been burnt about 300 miles / south of Acapulco, two more boats are still missing, a Mexican gunboat went out in search of them. I saw the account of the 4^th Ave fire in S.F. papers and wondered if you & Frank, Maude & the boys were there to see it. it must have been a fearful sight.

 

            I wrote Mama about the storm that visited this place, it is all down yet. a nice harbor, but the town itself never did amount to much. I have not been ashore anywhere yet since leaving San Francisco. Acapulco is too hot a place for me unless I am obliged to go, & here there is nothing to see or go for. If we come to a place where there are any shells to be found I shall take a boat & go, but there is nothing to see at these places & nothing to do, and the ship is the pleasantest place by far.

 

            I hope you still like your teacher & the class you are in, & that you are well.

 

            This last year has been a / dreadful long one. I wish this was the second year, then by the time we got back to Frisco I could begin to count the months. I can't send any money this mail, but will send some by stmr that leaves Acapulco about 19^th Dec. which will reach you about end of first week in Jany.

 

            I write Mama, George & Frank by this mail. I hope they will all reach you. I send some feathers for you & Maude. I have some larger ones, a few only, am waiting for some more, but if I don't get them soon will send what I have. As we will all be very busy for some time think I will send them now. They are not much but there is nothing to see or buy here, at least nothing worth buying.

 

            There is a man ashore here who has been bitten by a tarantula. they are very poisonous, his foot / they say is as large as his body. He is still alive.

Soon as we get through with the work on the engines we have to go up to a place about 100 miles off to pick up a shipwrecked crew. The vessel was in the storm off Cape Corrientes & sprung a leak, and they run into a little harbor & ran ashore & there they have been ever since. We just heard to day, & would have gone at once but have commenced on some work that we can't finish before Monday a.m.

 

            I hope you are all well & had a pleasant Thanksgiving. ours passed pretty well, we had several of the rail road people off for dinner, they are busy building a R.R. from here to Mexico several Philadelphians & New Yorkers.

 

Love to all, good bye,

from Papa

SOURCES