Final Chapter – Nearing the China Sea | A Maine Sea Captain's Journals From the Clipper Ship Era

10th Paper(10a.)
62 Days out. August 7th, 1869
Lat. 19.30 ‘ North. Long. 124.22’ East.

Crawling along. Nothing to write about! We expected to be in the China Sea tomorrow. We seldom make over 100 miles per day. The wind is so light. Our passengers are quiet and gentlemanly every way. Spear has a great deal of fun, so has Fisk, always pleasant and agreeable. The Chinese are very still once in a while ____ ____ wife makes a noise. I don’t know what it sounds like, something like Filing hand saws. She sits on her haunches most of the time, like a squaw. Her husband told of one of the passengers that he offered her $500.00 to stay at Honolulu, he could get plenty of wives in China. She couldn’t see it. She had better stayed at any price.

I lent them all the pictorials I had to look at. They were very much pleased. The sick Chinaman came on board almost gone with consumption. About a month ago, I gave him a bottle of Ayers Cherry Pectorals, it has nearly cured him. It is powerful stuff. We have been making rope the last week. It makes a good deal of noise. We make all sizes, and some very nice. How the passengers laughed when they saw the spinning wheel going. I have covered the chairs with new reef and made canvass covers for them. And so we go, with the thermometer at 95 in the shade. But the night worse off, what a pity L- Couldn’t be here. Pilgarlic dreams of that very often…

Monday, 9th August 64 days out.
Here we are again, in the China Sea, passed in last night by the Balintang Channel. At 2 AM we were between the islands, it was a grand and solemn, still sight- those everlasting mountains. At daylight the island were all around us. At sunrise had a fine display- The Isles of Balintang were due East of us, behind them lay a mass of cumulus clouds. The sea rising pierced through every opening in them and gilt up the ragged peaks of the black volcanic land, making it look like a number of lighthouses, and she sent the thermometer up to 110! The water is 87! Today the sea is very deep blue, and plenty of seaweed, cuttlefish, sea gulls and other birds and one little dolphin…

…which Mr. Fisk has been trying to catch for two days. The tide nips and whirls around us to a great rate and looks at a distance like breakers and fairly frightened the Mate but I had been over every inch of the ground and knew there were no breakers here.
I had a dream Saturday afternoon. I was sitting in a chair reading Harpers and dropped into a doze. I thought I looked up, and another Lancaster set by me, oh how natural. I thought she wanted something about Louisa, then bowed her head a little to one side and faded away. Again I looked and there was an empty chair. “Nothing more.” But I never was more decided in my life before, I believe she is one of my Guardian Angels.”