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For Educational Use Only www.MaineMemory.net Copyright 2015 Contributed by Maine Historical Society and Maine State Museum MMN # Coll. 1972; 1997.16.3 Date: ca. 1925 Description: "A Late Tribute to Alonzo Raynes" IN MEMORIAM A Late Tribute to Alonzo E Raynes [Left column] At the time of Mr. Raynes' passing out I had in my possession the follow- ing sketch of his journey to Califor- nia. But though I searched dili- gently, I could not find it, Recently in looking over some papers, it came to light. This sketch was dictated orally verbatim to one of the nurses in the Mount Shasta Hospital and a copy given to me. I wanted to have it published at the time, but the author objected, saying, "No, not now; wait." I feel sure that all who knew Mr. Raynes as he was in his prime would enjoy reading this reminis- cence of his youthful experience, especially when they remember his ever ready response to the many calls for aid, either for church work or local charity. Through his active genius and versatile ability in song, drama, and practical organizing ca- pacity, many thousand dollars were raised for the general benefit, not only in Yreka but elsewhere. All honor to the memory of his naturally kind and generous heart. J. P. C. Trip Around the Horn in 1849. By A. E. Raynes (Jan. 1914) By particular request, I will relate a few incidents that occured during my long and perilous trip around Cape Horn in 1849. That was a long time ago. I was then a boy and now I am an old man. How swiftly times flies. This life seems but a dream, so quickly we pass from the cradle to the grave. But what is life that all so dearly [Continued on next page]

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Page 1: For Educational Use Only Copyright ...johnmartin.mainememory.net/1671.pdfnaturally kind and generous heart. J. P. C. Trip Around the Horn in 1849. By A. E. Raynes (Jan. 1914) By particular

For Educational Use Only www.MaineMemory.net Copyright 2015

Contributed by Maine Historical Society and Maine State MuseumMMN # Coll. 1972; 1997.16.3Date: ca. 1925Description: "A Late Tribute to Alonzo Raynes"

IN MEMORIAMA Late Tribute to Alonzo E Raynes[Left column]At the time of Mr. Raynes' passingout I had in my possession the follow-ing sketch of his journey to Califor-nia. But though I searched dili-gently, I could not find it, Recentlyin looking over some papers, it cameto light. This sketch was dictated orallyverbatim to one of the nurses in theMount Shasta Hospital and a copygiven to me. I wanted to have itpublished at the time, but the authorobjected, saying, "No, not now;wait." I feel sure that all who knewMr. Raynes as he was in his primewould enjoy reading this reminis-cence of his youthful experience,especially when they remember hisever ready response to the many callsfor aid, either for church work orlocal charity. Through his activegenius and versatile ability in song,drama, and practical organizing ca-pacity, many thousand dollars wereraised for the general benefit, notonly in Yreka but elsewhere. All honor to the memory of hisnaturally kind and generous heart. J. P. C. Trip Around the Horn in 1849. By A. E. Raynes (Jan. 1914) By particular request, I will relatea few incidents that occured duringmy long and perilous trip aroundCape Horn in 1849. That was a long time ago. I wasthen a boy and now I am an oldman. How swiftly times flies. Thislife seems but a dream, so quicklywe pass from the cradle to the grave.But what is life that all so dearly [Continued on next page]

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[Continued from previous page]love; that kings will give their crownsfor? The miser will part with the hoard-ings of many years but for one hourof life The spurned begger willlinger through disease and povertyrather than part with one moment ofhis allotted span. Life, thou art but an April daywhose sunshine and storms arescarcely worth the working for. When but a boy I sailed from Bel-fast, Maine, on the first vessel thatleft the state for California, afterreceiving news of the discovery ofgold in this country. We had onboard fifteen passengers besided thecrew. The morning we sailed thewharf was crowded with men, womenand children, come to bid us good-bye and wish us a pleasant and safevoyage. With light hearts andbouyant spirits we sailed awayamidst the cheers of our friends onshore. We all expected in a shorttime to make our fortunes and re-turn to our native homes. The first thing that occurred afterwe sailed out into the ocean was thesurprising discovery that we wereshort of drinking water. It seemsthat the owners of the vessel hademployed men to cleanse old whale-oil casks with lime and water. Thiswas done with a few of the casks, butin the majority of them they put inthe lime and then filled the caskswith water without rinsing or clean-ing them. Consequently the waterwas unfit for use, and we wereobliged either to return to the portfrom which we had sailed or go to [Continued on next page]

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[Continued from previous page]some other port where we could se-cure fresh water. After a carefulexamination, the captain came to theconclusion that by placing the pas-sengers and crew on an allowance ofone pint of water each twenty-fourhours we would have sufficient to lastuntil we could reach Cape de VerdeIslands. With favorable winds andweather we arrived at the island be-fore our supply was entirely ex-hausted. We remained there severaldays refilling with fresh and pure wa-ter. While there we purchased asupply of fruit––bananas, orangesand lemons, which were plentiful andcheap. Our next stopping place was RioDe Janeiro, where we remained sev-eral days taking in the sights of thecity, visiting the American consul andpurchasing a supply of fruits, vege-tables, etc. Now comes the saddest part of ourlong journey. In rounding CapeHorn, we were overtaken by a severestorm and heavy gale of wind. Wewere obliged to place the vessel underclose reefed sails and hold her in po-sition so that she would ride thewaves without having them dashover the deck. During this storm,the captain's son was lost overboard.This sad accident occurred just be-fore dark one evening. The boy wasstanding aft on the quarter deck nearthe wheel, when a heavy wave struckthe vessel, keeling her over on herside. He slid down to the quarterrail, and, missing the main brace––a large cable running from the mainmast, he plunged into the ocean and [Continued on next page]

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[Continued from previous page]was drowned. This sad accidentcaused a feeling of grief throughoutthe vessel, as he was a favorite withboth passengers and crew. This boyand myself were the two youngest onboard. He was eighteen and I wasnineteen years old. We were inti-mate and were together most of thetime; consequently I felt his lossmore deeply than any one else onboard, except his father, the captain. I am not much of a poet, but I com-posed a few verses expressing myfeelings at that time of the loss ofmy dear friend and companion. Inmemory of that sad event, I have re-tained a copy of that little poem allthese years. It reads as follows:

[Right column]That youth, who, but an hour ago Was full of life and glee,Now silent in this ocean sleeps, Where rolls Megellan's Sea.

He's bidden farewell to this vain world, Its pleasures and its woes.His spirit's gone to meet its God. There all is sweet repose.

We never more shall hear that voice Which used to greet our ears.'Tis still, 'tis silent as a grave, 'Thus hushed 'mid bloom of years.

Oh, who can tell that father's grief Who heard his son's last cry,Whose arm could lend him no relief, But saw him sink and die?

Once, only once, his voice was heard From off the bursting tide. [Continued on next page]

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[Continued from previous page]While struggling with the angry waves He to his father cried.

That father heard but naught could do To save his dying son.He listened to the angry blast That bears him swiftly on.

'Tis said that one so young as he Should meet a watery grave,While distant from his native home Where none have power to save.

But like the morning flower that fades Beneath the noon-day sky,So in the brightest of their years The fairest droop and die. r

After the storm was over we setsail for Valparaiso, where we arrivedin due time without further accidents.On arriving there we found, anchoredin the harbor, two "man-of-war"ships, one English and one American,and two or three vessels with pas-sengers, bound for coal. We hadon board of our vessel a fine quar-tette club, and, as there was a the-atrical troupe performing in the the-ater at Valparaiso, we thought wemight make a few dollars by gettingan engagement to sing between theacts. We hunted up the manager ofthe theater and told him we had afine American Quartette Club be-longing on board of our vessel. Wethought, if he engaged us to singbetween the acts and sent out pro-grams to the vessels in the harborhe would have a full house. Hesaid: "You come up to the theaterwith me and I will have the leader [Continued on next page]

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[Continued from previous page]of the orchestra hear you sing, andif satisfactory I will engage you."We did so, and after singing twosongs the leader of the orchestraclapped his hands and said in Span-ish: "Very good, these Americans."The manager then asked us how muchwe wanted to sing four songs betweenthe acts. I told him we wanted fiftydollars. I thought it was a big price,but he said: "You are engaged."Many of the officers and men cameon shore from the vessels to attendthe theater, and when we steppedupon the stage we were greeted withhearty applause. After singing ourfirst number we were invited to takeseats in the manager's private box,which we did after each song. When the performance was overwe were escorted to the residence ofthe American consul, and, afterserenading him, were invited in andtreated royally to champagne, frostedcake and fine cigars. We remainedthere some time singing some of ourfavorite songs, which he seemed toenjoy very much. We then bid himgood-bye and returned to our vessel.Next morning we set sail for SanFrancisco, where we arrived on the19th day of July, 1849, having beenfive months and nineteen days onthe voyage. Here the passengers andcrew separated, some going north,some south and some remaining inSan Francisco. Many and varied are the scenes Ihave passed in early days when rid-ing express through the mines. Icarried the first express ever broughtthrough to the mines in Trinidad [Continued on next page]

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[Continued from previous page]up the Klamath river and over themountains to Yreka. Many times mylife was in danger from tribes ofsavages located along the route, andfrom fording swift and swollenstreams, as there were no bridges inthose days. I have passed many happy yearswith my friends in this Golden Stateand, as I look back to those happydays, I can truly say with the poet:

Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy, Bright dreams of the past she cannot destroy,That come in the night-time of sorrow and car And bring back the features that joy used to wear.

Long, long be my heart with such mem- ories filled, Like the vase, in which roses have once been distilled, You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will, But the scent of the roses will hang 'round it still.

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That line of toys, as complete asever, erectors, tinker toys, buildingblocks, dishes, dolls, wagons, hobyhorses, buggies, etc. Churchill'sDrug Store. nov30t4 –––––––––– The sactity of Hillsborough, havenof millionaires, was violated for the first time a few days ago when thePacific Telephone and Telegraph Com-pany was granted permission to eret abuilding at the intersection of Flori-bunda avenue and the State Highway.Until this time not a single business houe or commercial institution of anykind was allowed in its sacred precincts.The telephone company agreed to erectan artistic structure that would not de-story the rural beauty of the surround-ings.