The MAZEPPA was the first ship that left South Australia for the gold regions in California - in 1849. It was in Adelaide that the golden tidings of a new El Dorado in California first reached me; and when I was in a mood most favourable to be excited by the marvellous reports that were brought of the wealth of that auriferous region. My prospects of success in South Australia, whither I had emigrated from England in the winter of 1848-9, were by no means promising, and I had actually engaged a passage home, in consequence. Restless, dissatisfied, and impatient of inaction, I eagerly caught at the glittering bait that dazzled the senses of so many; and, notwithstanding the remonstrances of my friends, and their representations of the uncertainty and dangers of such an expedition, I resolved on seeking my fortune at the `Diggins'. Accordingly I transferred my berth to the MAZEPPA, a small clipper-built ship of 170 tons register, which was chartered for San Francisco. She had formerly traded to Singapore, and was manned by a Malay crew, seventeen in number. Previous to our sailing I was much amused by hearing the Malays and a party of Australian aborigines bandying the withering taunt of "black fellow," with other epithets in broken English, which they had picked up from the lips of sailors and bullock-drivers. His adventures were published under the title GOLDEN DREAMS AND WAKING REALITIES (1851) and describes that voyage, his visit to San Diego and his landing in San Francisco. The MAZEPPA was the first ship that left South Australia for the gold regions; crowds flocked, therefore, to bid farewell to the little band of adventurers, and we left the wharf amidst deafening cheers from the Adeladians. Besides the captain, supercargo, and two mates, there were five cabin passengers, who paid sixty pounds each for their passage; and sixteen in the steerage, who paid only twenty pounds each. Most of the latter were old colonists; sharp, shrewd fellows, who had seen a great deal of life and undergone many hardships: bushmen and blacksmiths, a carpenter and a shoemaker, some Germans and myself, formed a heterogeneous mess. Owing to the extreme sharpness of the bows of the vessel, the forecastle was very narrow, and the crew were crowded into an inconceivably small space; the steerage, also, measured only sixteen feet square, by four feet ten inches high: close packing for sixteen passengers. Our scale of provisions, however, was exceedingly liberal; far superior to any given out of English ports, and no ship-regulations were imposed on us: each one was left to his own discretion, and the greatest good feeling and harmony prevailed on board. In the steerage we were very social; and though, being for the first time in my life thrown amongst such a rough lot, I felt somewhat embarrassed, yet, being of a flexible disposition, I soon got accustomed to my companions, and found them a very good set of fellows. The wind being fair we reached Port Nicholson in ten days after leaving Adelaide, and put in for water at Wellington. While the MAZEPPA lay here, I went on shore, and walked to the settlement of the Hutt, which is situated in a fertile valley, a short distance from the town. It is picturesque, and has all the appearance of a thriving settlement: a considerable area of ground was fenced in and under cultivation; the soil is very rich, producing fine crops of wheat, oats, and barley. The New Zealand bush is more scrubby than the Australian wilds, the trees are more majestic, and better adapted for timber; scantling, broad-paling, and shingling, have been sent in large quantities to California; very fine spars, of great length and durability, felled in the New Zealand forests, are sent to Sydney for masts of vessels. After leaving Port Nicholson, we encountered heavy weather, and took a northerly course, sighting Pitcairn's Island. On entering the tropics, we felt in full force all the inconveniences of our confined berths and the proximity of the Malay crew; from whom we were only separated by a thin partition. The effluvia from coloured people, always disagreeable, and odious when aggravated by heat and uncleanliness, now became intolerable; and, to add to our disgust and discomfort, cock-roaches and other vermin swarmed everywhere. The ship had formerly been sugar laden, which accounted for the quantities of cock-roaches; the filthy habits of the Malays generated the smaller vermin; scarcely any of the Malays had a change of clothing. The forecastle, what with the exudations, the heat, and the vermin, exhaled the most noisome odours that ever steamed from a heap of putrescence. Our small steerage acted as a safety valve for the escape of foul atmosphere from the forecastle, which, together with the nuisance of rats, in addition to insect vermin, rendered the deck the only tolerable sleeping place: the rats bit us in our sleep, and one of us was awoke by a rat browsing on his eyebrows. |
Then follows an account of the long trip to the gold fields and details of life as a prospector in the international community of the camps. Leaving the mines for Stockton, Shaw is befriended by Mission Indians. Leaving Stockton for San Francisco, Shaw takes a series of odd jobs in the city before moving on the Mission of Dolores until the New Year, when he finds passage back to Australia, all the while recording the social life and business activities he saw. He then recorded the changes observable in Hawaii on his return voyage, a visit to Samoa, and his reception on his landing at Sydney.
