SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

The course of the steamer is frequently in sight of land. The storms I
have referred to were tropical storms, lasting but a short time. The
ocean is generally very mild all the distance, three thousand five
hundred miles from Panama to San Francisco. North of San Francisco the
storms are somewhat similar to the Atlantic ocean storms. The passengers
on the return trip were in the best of spirits; they were returning
home; all of them had been more or less successful in California, and I
can recall to my mind many pleasant times we had on board the steamship.
The porpoise are very numerous on the Pacific ocean; there were often,
for days, schools of them on the sides of the steamer, throwing
themselves out of the water, and then diving in again; great numbers, at
the same time, seeming like the motion of a revolving wheel.
Occasionally we would hear the cry, "There she blows;" a jet of water
being thrown up many feet high in the air--a sperm whale had come up to
breathe. We frequently saw flying fish. One day there was a school of
them landed on the steamer; they are similar to other fish, except
having wings, but not of a very large size. At another time a booby bird
came on the steamer. It got its name from its stupidity. We frequently
saw them on the water, floating on a piece of board or a stick of wood;
sailors say they have seen them five hundred miles out to sea in that
way. This one you could take up and handle; it made no resistance. On
the coast of Central America we saw two mountain peaks of great height,
standing out, individually, like the Pyramids, said to be extinct
volcanoes that were thrown up from the internal fires of the earth, and
which, at one time, belched forth melted lava and fire.