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.