Chapter 9
February 17, 1851
We boarded the ship Reindeer, a coastal trader loaded with supplies and passengers bound for California. There were sixteen sailors, three cooks and one hundred and eighty nine passengers along on this voyage. We had a cabin with two bunks in it that was barely wide enough for us to get to the bunks and only about five and a half feet high. Both Josie and I were taller than that so we had to crouch to move around in the cabin. We were in the first class cabins, and I could only imagine what the second class and steerage passengers faced where they were. At least the bunks were long enough so that with some curling up we could fit in them length-wise. I was glad that Josie was used to traveling light, because I was wondering where we could place the few items we had brought with us. I could just imagine what would have happened if a tourist from my time had to find some place to put all of their stuff.
With a call for three cheers for the Captain by the first mate, we departed the wharf and headed to the middle of the harbor to wait for the land breeze. We dined that night with the Captain on leg of lamb, with boiled ham, hard bread and rice pudding for dessert. Josie and I dined with a hearty appetite, but I noticed several of the other passengers were bothered by the motion of the ship in the harbor. I wondered what they would do when we get out into the ocean. No dramamine here for seasickness! When I checked with the Captain, he told me that he expected us to take five days to reach San Francisco. We talked about various topics and he, like many of the seamen, bemoaned the lack of federal aid to develop the harbors. "We could rival any harbor in the world if the federal government would just give us some money to get started with things", he told me. I had to take his word for it. I knew nothing about developing harbors and could really care less. I wanted more development around the river.
Josie and I retired to our cabin where we faced a dilemma. Who would get undressed first? I wasn't shy and would be willing to get undressed in front of Josie, but I had never seen her undressed. Finally Josie looked at me, "You get undressed first and I'll close my eyes. We have to learn to handle this somehow, because I'm damned if I'm going to be staying alone in California. Besides if they think we're related the men are less likely to bother me."
I agreed with her assessment and began to get undressed. I saw Josie standing by her bed with her eyes shut trying not to listen while I got undressed. I noticed that she wasn't completely successful though. Her nipples were pointing out enough to tent out the fabric of her dress. I got down to my underwear and debated whether to leave them on or not. I normally slept in the nude so after thinking about it, I peeled them off too. I went up to where Josie was standing and mischievously gave her a kiss on the lips. Josie started and then kissed me back. I got under the covers and told her I was decent. She looked at me after she opened her eyes, "Decent! Alex, you better be decent or I'm going to tell your wives about this trip!"
"And if I am decent, you won't tell them?"
She blushed and refused to answer. "Close your eyes and don't you dare peek!", she scolded me.
I closed my eyes but I admit I peeked. I had wondered if her bare body matched what I thought I saw when she was dressed. I was wrong, it was even better. A couple of pock marks on her stomach, but otherwise she had an unblemished body with and hourglass figure. Her legs stretched for miles and very shapely ones at that. Her stomach was flat and she had what must have been 38 D cup breasts with large areolas and nipples. I felt my mouth water when I thought of tasting those. She stripped down to her underpants and then redressed in her heavy cotton nightgown. She crawled into bed and then I heard a whisper, "You peeked!"
I nodded in agreement, forgetting she couldn't see me for an instant, then answered out loud, "Yes, and I enjoyed the view too!"
She giggled and I saw her head looking over the edge of the bunk above me. "I peeked too. I enjoyed the view myself."
I smiled and her head disappeared from view. Soon afterwards I could hear her soft snores and shortly after that added my own to hers. I woke up in the dark. Something had changed. I lay awake trying to figure what had changed and realized that the ship had gotten underway. We were heading to California and English Jim at last.
We were called to breakfast by the steward knocking on the door shortly after daybreak. We didn't bother hiding while getting dressed, since we had seen each other last night anyway. There wasn't room for both of us to get dressed at the same time. I stayed in the bunk while Josie dressed and after she left I got dressed myself. We had been told that the orlop deck held the water closets for the passengers, the only problem I had was I had no idea where that was. When we got out I saw a line of people and then I knew exactly where it was. The Captain had mounted what appeared to be two open-bottomed outhouses over the rails on either side of the ship and the male passengers were lined up to use these facilities as well. Others, who had brought a thunder pot out, were just emptying them over the rails. I waited for Josie and together we headed toward the Captain's cabin.
One thing I noticed and really didn't like was the absence of any way to wash your hands. I paid one of the crewmen to throw out a bucket and get me some saltwater, which we used to clean our hands. We broke our fast on fries and sausages and then retired to the Captain's cabin where we played cards and others threw dice while the steerage passengers came on deck and stretched out. They were served what I think was some sort of mush in tin bowls. After about an hour they were herded back down into the hold and the sailors got busy resetting the sails. I asked the Captain if he planned to use the steam engine and was told that it would be used only in an emergency as it used too much coal to run for the entire trip.
After about three hours, I had had enough of cards and looked for something else to do. I soon discovered that there was very little else on board that we could do. Unlike a future cruise ship, the coastal cutter we were on was primarily a cargo ship which also happened to be carrying passengers. I asked and was given permission to be on deck but was warned that if I got in the way of the sailors working that I would be sent back to join the remaining passengers. I looked around, but we were far enough out to sea to see the land only as a smudge on the horizon. After about an hour, I went back to join the other passengers playing cards.
That set the tone for the next four days of the voyage. We would go to bed, get up eat breakfast, usually duff (a form of breakfast pudding) and sausages, then eat lunch from the food we had brought on board before finally dining with the Captain at night. During the day we were expected to keep inside and leave the deck free for the sailors to handle the ship. At night we would have one or more of the sailors or passengers playing an instrument and have a sing-a-long or tell stories.
If you chose not to play cards or dice you had the choice of reading or having a conversation with whomever you could find. Josie and I had several conversations about almost everything. We really enjoyed the talks but found ourselves acting more like brother and sister than lovers. That doesn't mean that we were immune to the sexual nature of each other, just that we didn't let ourselves go too far when we cuddled. As far as I knew Josie was a virgin and I was content to leave her one.
February 23, 1851
We have finally entered San Francisco harbor after a tedious voyage. As we approached the entrance to the harbor of San Francisco, I realized how appropriate the name "Golden Gate" was when I saw the sun reflected on the hills in a soft golden glow. The entrance is about a mile and a half across. The waters of the bay appear to have opened a passage through the high ridge of hills next to the shore of the Pacific, which rise abruptly on either side of the opening. The harbor is deep enough for the largest ships; and so protected from the winds that vessels can ride at anchor in perfect safety regardless of the weather. The harbor is huge and could hold an entire navy easily. Monte Diabolo was the first land which can be seen and several of the passengers pointed it out as a sign that the voyage was nearing its end. When we anchored at the pier San Francisco looked nothing like the city I remembered from the future. There were sandy hills and scrub brush above the piers and the entire cove was dotted with the hulks of abandoned ships in various stages of decay. We landed on a large wharf, called Central Wharf, but it shared the cove with many other wharves sticking out from every street. Early San Francisco was a city of planks and sheds built on pilings driven in the water next to the wharves. All of it was thronged with drays, wagons, horses, sailors, miners, and merchants. Some wharves appeared to be small cities of stores, shops, and store ships lining the waterfront.
Josie and I looked at each other in dismay. How were we going to find just one man in this chaos? It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. We hired a wagon and drove toward the warehouse area where we were to meet Samuel Brannan. I saw a lot of men but almost no women walking around. Those we did see were obviously prostitutes and we saw them in all sorts of states of undress and sex while we drove toward the shore. Drunken miners and sailors wandered around making remarks about everyone they saw. Typical tourists!
I was tempted to take offense about several remarks that were directed toward Josie but she told me to pay no attention to them. Finally one drunk went too far and grabbed her arm and tried to drag her out of the wagon. Josie pulled out a knife from her purse and used it to prick him on the arm to get him to let her go.
The drunk roared with outrage and started to drag her again when she placed the knife under his chin. Another man in the group he was with began to approach but I pulled my revolver and pointed it at them. He backed off when I put a bullet five inches in front of his boot. The drunk stood very still when Josie pushed up the knife, "I think you owe my brother and I an apology."
I could see piss staining the front of his pants as he stood there. When Josie dug the knife's tip into his throat he quickly spoke up in a high squeaky voice, "I apologize for any rudeness I have shown you or your brother!" Josie stood there considering if she was going to accept this apology then nodded and kicked him in the balls so hard that he fell down with his arms curled around them, moaning in pain. She calmly got back into the wagon.
"That's better. Alex can we continue our trip?" She put the knife away again in her purse while the man who had assaulted her was carried away by the others as the crowd laughed. I clucked to the horses and we began moving again. Soon we were off the piers and headed toward the warehouse area. For the first while all I saw was sandy hills and brush with scattered tents and ramshackle shacks along a well-traveled road. When we reached the top of the hills to the west I saw that there were a lot of brick warehouses and a large number of houses with signs of several fires in the recent past.
We met Sam Brannan at the Cliff House, the residence that he had built. Samuel Brannan was a tall man with dark brown hair and heavy sideburns. He was an elder of the Mormon Church and apparently had heard of my family. The first words out of his mouth were, "Are you a follower of the blessed Prophets Smith and Young?"
When I told him that not only was I not a member of the Mormon Church but had no intention of becoming one, he let out a deep breath, "I know the Prophet Smith in 'The Word of Wisdom' limited alcohol use to wine for the Sacrament and hard liquor for washing the body but I have to admit that I have a weakness for drink and need one right now. Would you care to join me?"
"No thanks", both of us answered. I didn't drink anything but an occasional beer except when I really got upset. Curious about his remark I asked, "Why do you need a drink for?"
"We have had several fires set recently and they are destroying the city. I think that it's the Sydney Ducks or the Hounds. The worthless police we have here can't or won't do anything to stop them. They have burned down the city three times already. The businessmen here are about ready to give up and move to another location. There is no law in this city anymore." He settled into what I can only describe as a brown study, drinking shots of whiskey from the bottle.
I interrupted his thoughts, "I'm looking for English Jim. I have a federal warrant for his arrest from Oregon."
Sam shook his head and started to laugh, "Do you think one of the worthless police officers I told you about would help you? They won't even go into Sydney Town, let alone arrest someone in there. The courts are just the same. If they're not in the pockets of the Sydney Ducks or Hounds than they're totally ineffectual".
I wasn't about to let this stop me, "Give me three men I can trust and I'll arrest him myself."
Sam stopped laughing and then thought about it, "I can give you three men you can trust, but you'll never find him in Sydney Town."
"All I need is some way to find where he lived for a while and something that is associated with him. After that I'll find him anywhere he goes."
Sam gave me a doubtful look and then shrugged his shoulders, "All right, I will have three men for you tomorrow." He invited us to stay with him and we gratefully accepted. Once he started Sam never stopped drinking. We ate with him that night and I was surprised that Brannan drank so much even at dinner. I began to wonder if the excuse he gave me for wanting a drink this morning was just that: an excuse to drink. He consumed enough alcohol to make himself drunk during the dinner. He was a mean drunk with a volatile temper. One man interrupted him during dinner and he screamed at him to get out and stay out. He noticed Josie and apologized for his actions. Ten minutes later he was screaming at the cook for not serving him his next course warm.
The next morning we got up and met the three men who were going with us; Charles Page, James Fanna and Albert Stewart. They were all unmarried men who worked for Sam. Samuel Brannan came out and acted like nothing had happened last night. He seemed to have no memory about what had occurred during dinner.
I knew the signs he was an alcoholic. Memory blackouts, changes in personality, sudden need for a drink, all were indicators that pointed in that direction. It was a shame but I couldn't do anything to help him. The only cure, not to drink anymore, would have to be accomplished using his willpower. (Samuel Brannan, despite having become a millionaire during the Gold Rush, died from alcoholism, broke and forgotten in rural San Diego County, far away from his beloved San Francisco.)
I made sure that all three men were armed with shotguns and then we started toward Sydney Town. When we arrived I was amazed at how many people were in that small area. I knew the population of San Francisco was about 20,000 or 30,000 permanent residents but I could swear that there must have been almost that many in Sydney Town itself. Charles spoke up, "Most of these men are miners passing through going to one of the saloons or houses. English Jim usually hangs out around the Fierce Grizzly during the days when he's in town."
James spoke up, "I heard he's going to be leaving to go to the gold fields soon so we may not find him."
None of the three men seemed very eager to go into Sydney Town, but after I started forward they followed. Josie wanted to come but I told her to wait for me with Mr. Brannan, as I might need her to form a rescue party. We headed deeper into Sydney Town.
Somehow the word that we were looking for English Jim must have gotten around, because we began running into groups that managed to delay us on our trip to the Fierce Grizzly. One man tried to grab me and I shot him in the leg. After that the men kept away from us but they still managed to slow us down.
When we finally arrived at the Fierce Grizzly, I went up to the barkeep, "I'm looking for English Jim."
He looked back at me and shrugged, "Never heard of him."
I placed a gold eagle on the bar and then my revolver came up and pointed toward him, "You have a choice between one or the other. Where's English Jim?"
He glanced behind me and I looked in the mirror to see two men coming down the stairway with shotguns. Turning quickly I shot and hit the first man and then shot at the second and missed. He fired hitting Charles and James in the back with the shot. I shot again and this time hit him in the head. Swinging quickly around I found the barkeep squatting behind the bar and trying to reach a sawed-off shotgun under the bar.
Albert had swung around and he kept his shotgun covering the rest of the room. I grabbed the collar of the barkeep and pulled him over the bar and onto the floor in front of Charles and James. I checked them out and found both had several buckshot wounds in the back and were dead. I felt bad that they had died but I really didn't know them, so I quickly got back to business.
I picked up the barkeep and shoved him back against the bar. I saw the grizzly bear they had in the cage next to the bar and dragged him over to it. The bear roared and tried to reach us with his claws. I looked at the barkeep, "If you don't want to join him, I suggest that you tell me what I want to know. He still wouldn't answer, so I pushed him next to the cage where the bear's claws began to tear his clothes, "Last chance". He looked at me and must have believed that I would do it, because his posture slumped, "He was upstairs but he left when we learned you were coming here with a warrant."
"Show me", I commanded. When we got upstairs, I saw signs of a hasty departure with clothes strewn about and a half empty bottle of whiskey on the bed stand. I looked around and found several items belonging to English Jim. Finally I decided that I would take a pocket watch inscribed with James Stuart, his real name. With this in hand I headed back down to the bar pushing the barkeep in front of me.
Albert and I left and headed back toward the land. When we got out I found the crowd had grown until it filled the entire pier in front of us. I had picked up both shotguns and the shotgun from the bar. Raising one I fired it over the head of the crowd, "Back off! The next one goes into the middle of any crowd I see."
They could see I had no prisoner with me so they separated and Albert and I went forward. Both of us were nervous about getting in the large crowd but the threat of the shotguns seemed to do the trick and we managed to get away from the Fierce Grizzly without any further problems. We had gotten away and were about to get on dry ground when a shot rang out from the pier and Albert fell to the ground. He had been shot in the back and despite my best efforts he soon died.
I managed to reach the wagon being held by Sam Brannan with Josie sitting in it and he looked around for the others. I shook my head when he looked at me. His shoulders slumped and we got into the wagon and headed back toward his house. When we got back there Sam began to rant and rave about the deaths of the three men and his inability to do anything about them.
"I'm surprised you haven't had any vigilantes around here to try and clean up the town."
"Vigilantes? Would they work in such a big city?" he asked.
"If there were enough of them and they were organized right they would."
We talked about various ways that men could come together to protect themselves. I told him that they would have to have a large enough group to band together to keep from being arrested and would need to follow the law to avoid problems with the federal government. When we retired for the night Sam was quiet. He hadn't even drunk that much and seemed preoccupied with the idea of a Vigilance Committee to oversee the administration of justice until the people of San Francisco could take back their city.
I took the watch I had taken from English Jim's room and bound it to the dowsing rod I had brought with me. Getting a large map from Sam, I tried to locate English Jim. I could feel no sense of him in San Francisco and only when I got out a map of Northern California did I get a feeling of his location. Josie and I began to get ready and by February 20th were ready to leave. On the night of February 19th something happened that delayed our journey that was to have an effect on San Francisco that would change the entire history of that city.
Thanks Drahkan for your help in editing the story.