In 1849, Captain Tibbetts sailed the Pacific into
San Francisco Bay. One of his more notable passengers was Mark
Hopkins.
An article in the Oakland Tribune reported:
"The first disillusionment experienced by the passengers aboard
the Pacific was the attitude of one Captain Tibbetts, who trod
the quarterdeck. The jovial mariner who previously extolled the
service of his craft, the bounty of its table, and the conveniences
of travel aboard his ship, proved a relentless tyrant as soon as land
was left behind.
"Thirty days out of New York, the passengers were
miserable with seasickness and cold. Snow confined them in verminous
quarters. The food consisted of raw mush, preserved meats,
dubbed "old junk," and beans. Some of the passengers
asked why pickles and vegetables were not served with meals, and the
Captain blandly explained these items as being saved against the time
when the passengers developed scurvy.
"Needless to say, the emigrants were indignant.
Their first cabin fare proved no better than the food served to sailors,
and in that day and age the meals to able seamen were bare subsistence
rations.
"Gales raged, seasickness became more prevalent.
A Samaritan who would have have carried gruel to a man so ill he could
not leave his cabin was told by the Captain that if the sick man could
not get to the mess hall, he need not eat. A disease racked sailor,
so weak and ill he could hardly walk, was sent aloft in the gale.
He managed to survive. A passenger commented on the situation
and Captain Tibbetts explained he never had sick sailors with him long.
"As is usual when a group of men receive unsatisfactory
food, dissent arose among the passengers. A delegation waited
on the Captain, who promptly threatened to fire the ship's powder magazine
and "blow it all to hell," he he hard any more complaints.
"Despite poor food and insults, the passengers amused
themselves. Ardent anglers trailed fish lines from the stern and
impromptu concerts were held . . . Mr. Scott rounded out the ensemble
with a "key bugle" . . . Dancing followed, but such antics
irked the Captain's religious principles and he broke up the entertainment,
threatening to stud the deck with spikes if such unholy practices continued.
"Tibbetts was a sweet soul."
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Captain Hall J. Tibbetts
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Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/tibbetts
Date Entered: August 2001
Source: Oakland Tribune, June 18, 1839: Held by California Historical Society, San Francisco in Biog & Obits, Volume 14
Research and WebDesign: D.B.A. Levy
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
Post Office Box 2878
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U.S.A.
The Maritime Heritage Project is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity established in 1998.
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org
Post Office Box 2878
Sausalito, California 94966
U.S.A.
The Maritime Heritage Project is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity established in 1998.
Copyright © 1998-2011:
D. Blethen Adams Levy/The Maritime Heritage Project.
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