Ch. (2)

Arriving in town, we hired another paddle horse, and taking a trail through the coast range Mts. Arrive at out destination the second afternoon fresh and full of pep. Being at the time 20 years old in fact I found that with only one exception, no one over 22 years. I find lot of husky robust fellows ready for any emergency and a good natured lot as well. I found a camp yet unorganized, waiting for my friend and I which made up the complete crew. I had never been on the ocean in a small boat, and at first they looked frightfully small and frail to battle with the mighty power of the waves and breakers, especially so when I was told that every night we were to land for camping ashore, by the way, I was chilled and had been since our arrival. What a contrast I found it. Thee days before I was actually suffering with the heat and now, with the cold, and the wind blew continually always fro the west or north-west, but I gradually become acclimated and before two weeks had passes I was enjoying it with all by youthful vigor. Caulking our boats was my first work as a seaman, some experience is needed for this work as I found soon after undertaking the work, but after a fashion I finally did the half of one boat, some 16 ft. Our boats ranged from one 22 foot double-ended one to one 16 ft. flat bottom and a small one, 12 foot keel bottom. The caulking finished, I was to have a try out ride, to try my nerve, I suppose, and try it they did. I was told to get right into the middle of the boat and take my seat with oars in place and pull when the word was given. Now I had never pulled or rowed a boat and I had never given it a thought, but what it was so simple that one needed no instructing. One of the boys was going to initiate me in surfing, as surfing was going to be our principle vacation during our cruise. Every thing being ready and I as the locomotion power they shoved her out into the surf and as soon as the boat was afloat the fellow who was running the initiation program shouted Pull, and I plunged both oars into the water and they plunged so deep, that I could not get any action on them, the handle was about my head and try as I would I could not get any motion on the boat.

Rube was shouting at the top of his voice. Pull, pull or you will swamp us. I for some inquisitive reason looked over my shoulder and what I saw stirred me to quicker action than even Rube’s startled cry of pull, a breaker about 12 to 15 feet away and as large as a small hill, just<ring> starting to comb, was rushing down on us. I knew enough about the situation to know I should hit this wave with as much power as I could command, in order to drive us through it, or it was all day with the initiation. So scrambling and working to get the oar out and pulling with all my strength, at the same time our boat began to mount the coming wave, when I at the very instance got my oar in the position again for the critical moment, which was to take us over the mountain of water, but something happened. I did not realize what at the time unless I had in my frightened strength, broke an oar, but I did know that I saw my heels going over my head as I plunged backward into the bottom of the boat and instantly I was smothered in tons of water, even at this calamity, I caught through a heavy shower of water, the form of Rube being pitched head foremost out and over the side of the boat, then all was dark and a mighty roar, it seemed hours, but really could only have been seconds before I was thrown cleat of the boat, and towards the shore. I sank once more, and on coming up was able to touch bottom, and a minute later I was out on the sand. Rube had been carried out shortly before, but none the worse for our experience except a thorough wetting and a bit short of nerve

But, oh, how cold, my teeth fairly ached, and talking was out of the question, my teeth was chattering at an awful rate.

At the camp, which was only a stone’s throw from the water, I got into any clothing, and, a moderate dose of poison soon put me on my mettle again. Several opinions were discussed as to how the accident occurred. I thinking all the time I had broken an oar, but later when the oars came ashore the were found in good repair, and the opinion of all then, an oar lock or rather my oar had jumped out of a lock, causing our disaster.

It was several days before another attempt was made to put me through the 1 degree again. Meanwhile, I fell for the work of painting the boats. When the painting was done, someone suggested we should name them, but what name and which boat should have such name, caused a long and hot rangle. But we finally came to an agreement. There was 3 girls that some or most of the boys knew, and of coarse their name won. The larger double-ended was names after a young and pretty school teacher “Lizzie Engles”, the middle sized boat was adorned with the name “Anabel”, the little one was “Dora”. To the best of my knowledge, those girls still retained their maiden names, at least there was none of our crew that was lucky enough to change it.

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