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Treasured Islands
| Article
# : |
14128 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1988 |
6,061 Words |
| Author
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Lowell D. Holmes
Lowell D. Holmes is professor and chairman of the Department
of Anthropology at Wichita State University. |
At the precise moment the tide turned, the schooner Casco, casting off her bow and stern lines, was towed away from the pier. Her foresail, main, and two headsails hoisted and sheeted in, the graceful windship--ninety-four feet in length and of seventy-four ton registry--heeled to leeward and pointed her bow toward the Golden Gate, San Francisco's portal to the open sea. Once outside the bay, with the wind freshened and the seas increased, the Casco set its course southwest by south, and her rail dug deep in the tumbling seas as they sped astern. Again and again, her plunging bow sent showers of spray back along the deck. The passengers and most of the crew sought shelter below decks, leaving only a forward lookout and a helmsman aft to brave the elements and see to the ship's safety.
Below, in a handsomely appointed forward cabin, five passengers huddled together experiencing doubts about the wisdom of undertaking an extended ocean voyage in such a "tiny boat." They also wondered how soon seasickness would take hold. Only one of them, Louis, was having the time of his life, observing--much to the disgust of the rest--how good it was to be out on the open sea, where the air was fresh and the ocean was an exquisite blue.
While these passengers were behaving much like any others might on their first day at sea, this collection of voyagers was hardly commonplace. They were the Stevenson family, comprised of author Robert Louis, his wife Fanny, his mother Margaret, his stepson Lloyd, and Fanny's French maid Valentine. The date was June 27, 1888, and the Stevensons were on their way to the Marquesas, the first of their many ports of call on this sea venture among the fabled islands in the South
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