e grounds as a lumber yard to sell on commission,
and as a place for storage, which was very scarce then. There were quite
a number who had taken the liberty of piling lumber and other articles
on it, using it as public ground. I took formal possession of it in the
name of Colonel Stevenson, and gave notice to the different parties that
if they did not remove their materials from the premises in ten days
they would be charged so much for storage. Some removed, and others did
not. I recollect the German house that did not remove it in thirty days
after the ten days of notice. It was a wealthy house, and I handed them
a bill of $250 for storage, at which they demurred very seriously,
questioning our title; but they paid it. When I went out to the ship to
see about taking my houses off, I met the first mate, whom I got
acquainted with in New York. I told him I thought the ship had been
lost; that all the old tugs of ships had got in ahead of them. He said
to me, I have had the worst time I ever had in my life. I have had to
carry that old man on my shoulders (referring to the captain) all the
way. Whenever we had a good breeze and sails were all full, he would
come on deck and order shorten sail to check our speed, or we might have
been here a month sooner. That told the whole story. I saw them take
freight, in my presence, when they were offered $1.50 per foot, when
they told me there was no room for the other half of my houses to go on
the ship, when I had a legal contract with them at sixty cents per foot.
My freight alone would have made a difference of two or three thousand
dollars by excluding it and taking the other in at the difference in the
price of it. There is no doubt they served many other shippers and put
their goods on other vessels, and kept theirs back until the other
ships would get to San Francisco ahead of them, so that they could
deliver the freight according to their bills of lading on the arrival of
the _Prince de Joinville_. That was why my speculation was ruined by
their dishonesty. Instead of being the fastest ship, it was a fraud, a
decoy, a dead trap on those who were unfortunate enough to ship by it.
When I saw the captain he was very humble. He had all kinds of apologies
to make, and invited me to go to China with him. I could have the best
state-room on his ship. It should not cost me a dollar. I could go
around the world with him. I saw that my speculation was ruined by their
dishonesty, and