Diary and Letters

(Tagebuch und Briefe)

by

Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer

(1798 – 1843)

The document (in German) contains a transcript of a book that Dr. Ernst Hieke published in the 1950’s[1].  Other letters, and a section from his diary, were taken from a transcript in my mother’s possession.  That 36 page comprehensive transcript, according to the title page, is a copy of a the original transcript by Elizabeth Hofschläger, 1928/1929.  The originals were lost in Groß Thurow in 1945.

Note:  Because of the repeated transcripts made of the same material, there may be a number of errors in the meaning and in the grammar.  I have revised the spelling (in the German version).

June 2003                                                                                Bernd Sasse

[1]  In 2012, used copies of the second edition of this book could still be found on-line:
“Diary of the Voyage from Hamburg to Valparaiso”
by Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer and Ernst Hieke.

 “Tagebuch der Reise von Hamburg nach Valparaiso”
von Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer (Autor), Ernst Hieke (Autor)

Translation from German to English by Jochen Schöner, Sandkrug, Germany.
Edited by Pat Gibbings née Abel, Kaslo, BC, Canada.

Eduard was my great, great grand uncle and my favourite Berckemeyer.  His writing is very beautiful and profoundly moving in some places.  We hope that we have been able to retain that in this translation into English.                                                                                                  Pat Gibbings, February, 2013

( “Written in pencil” ) occurs throughout this document and are presumably sections of Eduard’s writing which have been lost.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ernst Hieke

Introduction by Ernst Hieke

Introduction by Eduard Berckemeyer

About the Present Occupants of the “Creole”
(Diary of the Voyage from Hamburg to Valparaiso 1837)

On Board the English Brig “Rimac”
(No. II. Continuation of the Thoughts at Sea  1838)

On Board the English Brig “Rimac”
(No. III. Continuation of the Thoughts at Sea or The Olive Branch 1838)

On Board the English Brig “Rimac”
(No. IV. Continuation of the Thoughts at Sea or The Olive Branch 1838)

An Event in the Years 1827 and 1828

My Deeds and Actions

Letter to his Mother

Letter to his Brother

Family Pictures

Foreword by Ernst Hieke

The branch of the Berckemeyer family located in Lauenburg, owned the family estate, Groß Thurow.  There, in the family archives was a small bound booklet in which, a good hundred years before, the merchant Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer had recorded impressions of his trips to and from Valparaiso.  Groß Thurow was located in the region which, in the summer of 1945, became part of the Soviet occupation zone.  The Berckemeyer family estate had to be vacated.  As painful as the loss of the family estate was, at least, thanks to the kindness of the British occupation authorities, they managed to move all livestock and equipment as well as this legacy of Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer to a new property, the domain Römnitz at Ratzeburg where the present owner, Mr. Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer (BP II)[2] carefully guards it.

[2]  There are two Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyers.  For clarification, I refer to the first one (1764-1816) as BP I and the second one (1879-1962) as BP II.  PG

Until now, only a few family members knew of the diary’s existence.  I was pointed to the existence of these notes by Prof. Dr. P.E. Schramm, Göttingen and even more so by the secretary of the Berckemeyer Family Association e. V.[3], Herbert Berckemeyer, Dr. jur.[4], Hamburg.  The intercession of Dr. Herbert Berckemeyer and his cousin, Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer is to be thanked that that little book was lent to Hamburg and was made accessible to me in the summer of 1950.  Reading the finely written lines afforded me many delightful hours but it also awakened in me a desire to make the diary (“Tagebuch”) more widely accessible.  My proposal to publish it under the heading of “Economic Historical Research Centre e. V.”, was agreed to by Dr. Herbert Berckemeyer, Hamburg and Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer, Römnitz.  It gives me great pleasure to thank them here, for their understanding concession.

[3]  Eingetragener Verein (e. V.) (“registered association”) is a legal status for a registered voluntary association in Germany and Austria.

[4]  Dr. iur. (Doctorate in Law)

The “Diary” was published in December 1950 as Volume 2 of the first Volume of the “Hamburg Economic History”.  When it appears today, unchanged in a 2^nd edition, it proves how much every reader to date has happily taken these notes in hand.

Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel, January 15, 1955
Ernst Hieke, Dr. phil.[5]                    

[5]  Dr. phil. (Doctorate of philosophy, i.e. the humanities like philosophy, philology, history, and the social sciences like sociology or psychology).

Back to Table of Contents

Introduction by Ernst Hieke

– to Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s Diary of the Voyage
from Hamburg to Valparaiso in 1837
(as it appears in the 2nd edition of the book published by Ernst Hieke in 1955)

To better understand the subsequent reproduction of this diary, some explanations seem appropriate:

Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s family originiated in Westphalia, where their agricultural origins on a farm, “hinter dem Berge” (“behind the mountains”) in Lengerich in today’s district of Tecklenburg, can be traced back to 1385.  The various family branches originated here.  The ancestor of the Hamburg branch is Johann Hildebrand Berckemeyer, born in Lengerich on July 29, 1694[6].  He settled in Bremen as a merchant.  His second son, Johann Heinrich Bernhard Berckemeyer, born in Bremen in 1732, moved to Hamburg.  Here he had a son, Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer (BP I), born in 1764.  Supposedly, together they operated the firm “Berckemeyer & Co.”, with the son acting as broker[7].  In any case, it has been proven that his home in 1762 was at Alten Wandrahm and in 1762 at Neuen Wall[8].  From his marriage to Esther Adriansen (born in Hamburg in 1732), two sons were born – Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer, born in Hamburg on May 20, 1764 and Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer, born in Hamburg on May 10, 1771.  Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer founded the company “Berckemeyer & Comp.” in Hamburg on January 1, 1795.  On January 1, 1800, his younger brother, Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer took over the firm and continued under the name “J.H. Berckemeyer”.  On January 1, 1840, he changed the name to “J.H. Berckemeyer & Co.”.  The company still exists today under that name.  The founding circular, drafted in French, has been preserved.

[6]  According to the family tree, he was born July 19, 1694

[7]  Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer did establish this firm but it is doubtful that his father was involved in the company.  See Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer’s (BP I) memoirs.

[8]  Both are streets in Hamburg.

It reads:

Hambourg, le 1. Jan. 1795

M

J‘ai l‘honneur de vous faire part de l‘Etablissement que je viens de former ici sous la Raison de BERCKEMEYER & COMP. ci après ma Signature à la quelle seule Je vous prie d‘ajouter foi.

Je me propose de suivre, principalement en Commission toutes les affaires dont cette Place est susceptible. Des fonds suffisans, une longue experience dans le Commerce & les Connoissances que j‘ai acquis pendant mes Voyages aux principales Places de l‘Europe, joints au Zèle & l‘Activité que je ne cesserai d‘y porter, me mettent a même de servir mes amis leurs entière satisfaction & de soigner leurs Interets avec toute l‘aisance & tous les avantages possibles. Mon grand but sera toujours de me rendre digne de leur Amitié & attachement, ainsi que de leur entière confiance. J‘ose me flatter que vous voudrez bien me les accorder, & me marquer les articles sur lesquels je pourrai vous être utile, ayant en gré l‘offre empressé de mes services que je vous devouerai en toutes occurences.

J‘ai l‘honneur d‘être avec la plus par faite Considération

M

Votre trèshumble Serviteur
Bernhard Philip Berckemeyer

On April 19, 1796 Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer married Cäcilie Böhl, born in Hamburg on June 2, 1778.  Her father, Johann Jacob Böhl owned the largest German business of its time, in Cadiz (Spain).  On May 22, 1799[9] Bernhard Philipp bought the estate, Groβ[10] Thurow, and thus became the ancestor of the Mecklenburg branch of the Berckemeyers.  A few years later, through unfortunate speculations, he lost the greatest part of his assets but he kept the estate, where he died unexpectedly, on April 1, 1816.  From then on, his widow became the centre of the large family and survived him by 36 years.  She died in Groβ Thurow on November 21, 1852.

[9]  It was in 1797 or 1798.

[10]  Groβ is the same as Gross.

The marriage of Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer and Cäcilie Böhl produced ten children.  The eldest son, Eduard Wilhelm (the second child) was born  in Hamburg on November 20, 1798.  He is the author of this “Diary”.  Because he had a deformity, he did not consider himself capable of becoming a farmer, so the estate went to his only brother, Ernst Philipp Berckemeyer (1808 – 1879).[11]  In his “Diary”, Eduard Wilhelm again and again mentions the “geneigten Leserinnen auf Groß Thurow” (“gracious female readers (Leserin) at Groβ Thurow”).  Besides his mother to whom he “reverently” dedicated the pages of his diary, are his sisters; Charlotte Emilie, Therese Henriette, Mathilde Elisabeth and Cäcilia Philippine Amalie.  A deeply heartfelt bond ties Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer to his mother and siblings, who are highly revered by him.

[11]  That is incorrect – Eduard did consider himself capable of becoming a farmer.  The decision was considerably more complicated.  Because the estate was a fief at that time, it fell under special regulations.  See “Additional Notes” in “Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer (BP I) – Memoirs”.

These family history observations on the one hand, show from where Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer originates and on the other hand, they outline the circle of people for whom the pages of the diary were intended.

Why was Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s “Diary of the Voyage from Hamburg to Valparaiso” handed over to the general public?  Just to increase the exposure to the diary’s literature?  Or is there revealed behind these pages, which cover about three years, more than a dalliance to overcome the tedium of a voyage on a sailing ship; to allow the mother and sisters to participate in the hardships; to give them reports on the country, people and life in a foreign land?  The answer to this question seems to be significant.  Firstly it should be noted that, following the losses caused by the two World Wars, any testimony from a Hanseatic merchant is doubly valuable as it directly reflects how our ancestors experienced the period of time in which they were placed.  Insofar as these writings go beyond the scope of mere records of actual events, they tell us even more.  Today we feel attracted by such a strongly addressed report in which we find disclosures about the people and the land of strangers, about the conditions of trade and the possibilities of its expansion.  And then we are faced with the need, because of the war-torn relationships with those countries, to again form ties.  This diary takes us to a time when Hanseatic trade along the shores of South America from La Guaira in the north to Buenos Aires in the south was already well known, but the west coast of the continent, from Cape Horn around, was just beginning to be explored.  Chile, Bolivia and Peru were beginning to interest the Hanseatic League.  About ten years after Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer reported on Valparaiso, they came to the coast of the Pacific Ocean to make a stop before going to San Francisco[12].  When viewed in this economic background, the diary takes on new significance.

[12]  Valparaíso became a desired stopover for ships rounding South America via the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn.  It gained particular importance supporting and supplying the California Gold Rush (1848–1858).

Another thing must also not be forgotten.  Anyone carefully reading the lines that Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer wrote in honour of the loved ones at home in Groß Thurow, will soon realize that behind these lines lies a bit of confession and even a little of his own philosophy.  As when he talks about his relationship to God, to the church, thus – to the Christian religion; or when he reflects on the relationship between God’s rule, nature and death; or about the rules of life “learned through his own bitter experiences” and not from his father.  At one point, he speaks painfully about it, that his father was taken from him “just at the time when a father’s advice and assistance was most needed by a young man entering practical life”.  And so the circle widens.  In addition to the purely factual recordings of travel events, we experience these events in all their phases.  But look through a small crack like Till Eulenspiegel[13], so to speak – the seriousness of the situation is blurred with a mischievous remark like the “platonic skeletons” of the chickens – from which comes a worldly wisdom that, still today, can tell us a great deal.  They (the bits of wisdom) are only hinted at, dabbed with a light hand, and yet, in some places, from a depth that is astonishing.

[13]  Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks chronicles the misadventures and pranks of the German peasant folk hero, Till Eulenspiegel.

The diary provides other insights.  The author familiarizes himself with the country and the people of the areas in which he intends to travel by reading, ahead of time, reports on English journeys of discovery.  He also gives free rein to his anger:  “Such a blubber-soul should be drowned in blubber” if he does not find what he had hoped for.  The voyage provides him with the time and leisure to address nature; the movement of the water is observed, the water and air temperature is measured, the birds that circle the ship are given the same attention as the starry sky north and south of the equator.  Berckemeyer compares the agriculture of his home with that in South America.  He contrasts the agriculture of Argentina with that of Chile and draws his conclusions.  Once again, the contents of the records widen.  Information is provided about the self-education of a businessman, which is in such depth that, in this case, hardly needs to be conveyed a second time.

The most striking element which emerges again and again, is the fluid and elegant style, especially where the writer goes beyond the purely factual and tries to capture the mood of the countryside.  It is the period of fading Classicism and German Romanticism; it also characterizes Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer.  In some places in the diary, one loses the concept of time and space and feels so captured by the images that one forgets that a Hanseatic merchant’s son wrote it.  One would think that it came from the pen of one of our great German Romantics.

 *

These little references to the attractions in the pages of this diary and a look at the questions, which lie unspoken behind the lines, seem to appropriately characterize he who wrote them.  The original text has been retained as Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer wrote it.  It is with a cautious hand that I modified the sentences and punctuation where it was necessary for the modern reader to understand.  In order to single out the essentials, in some places small omissions were made, especially where there were obvious repetitions or pure records of water and air temperatures or reports of geographical longitude and latitude.  A small section about travel impressions of England and France (a trip made before the trip to Valparaiso) that Berckemeyer wrote down while in view of the coast of Dover and Cap Gris Nez, was also omitted and has been reserved for a later reprint of this series.  The accompanying images taken from the original, are placed in exactly the same place where they appeared in the original.  The image of the author which was taken from an oil painting that went from Groß Thurow to Lengerich, is available in the Berckemeyer’s family archives.  Sometimes the reader gets the impression that the author jumps around in time, but it should be noted that the reports of the trip were written mostly during calm days at sea, so that chronological reports overlap with flashbacks to the past.

*

Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer returned to Chile where he continued working as a merchant.  Because of a friend for whom he had vouched, he lost all his hard-earned assets and shot himself in Valparaiso on November 2, 1843.  The thought of voluntarily leaving his life had occupied his mind several times, and in one of his letters he expressed the conviction it was not wrong to do so[14].

[14]  That is incorrect – in the letter to his mother, Eduard writes that he believes suicide to be wrong but the wish to die is not wrong.

Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s importance in the trade between Germany and South America is based not only on his present descriptions but also on events that occurred a few decades after his trip to Valparaiso – results in trade that he would not have imagined.  Berckemeyer’s secretary, Hilliger, is in fact, none other than Jorge Hilliger who acquired a fortune in the saltpeter trade in Chile.

Jorge Hilliger was born in Lauenburg on May 18, 1815 and was baptized Karl Christian Eberhard.  In 1837 he went to Valparaiso with Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer and remained in Chile.  There, probably together with his older brother Johann Wilhelm Gottfried Hilliger (born in Lauenburg on March 13, 1812, died in Iquique, Chile on January 14, 1869), he established the saltpeter company “Ugarte Ceballos y Compania”.  Hermann Conrad Johannes Fölsch, a native of Hamburg, also worked in this company and in 1870 he brought Henry Brarens Sloman to Iquique to situate him with Jorge Hilliger.  In 1872 Fölsch and a partner set up their own company “Fölsch & Martin” in Iquique.  This new company also dealt in the saltpeter trade.  A little later Henry Brarens Sloman became active in the company and after the two owners returned to Europe, he took over the management.  As well as the joint working relationship, there also occurred family relationships.  In 1874, Fölsch married Harriet Regina Sloman (Henry Brarens Sloman’s sister).  In 1881, Henry Brarens Sloman married Renata Emilia Hilliger, a daughter of Johann Wilhelm Gottfried Hilliger (Jorge Hilliger’s brother).  So one can, in a figurative sense, say that the Hamburg company saltpeter trade, or the saltpeter trade between Chile and Hamburg  goes back to Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s 1837 trip to Valparaiso which brought his secretary, Jorge Hilliger to Chile.

Two excerpts from his diary, which have no direct connection to his Valparaiso voyage, might serve as a preface to the text of his account of the journey:  On Easter Sunday, April 15, 1838, Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer wrote the following interesting “Balance Sheet of his Life”:

“Up to 12 o’clock noon today, I have lived in this world: 39 years, 4 months,    26 days and 12 hours.  I am assuming that it was in the darkness of approximately midnight, when I saw this world.  This adds up to 472 ⁹/10 months, 14,420 ¹/2 days,  346,092 hours, 20,765,520 minutes, 1,245,931,200 seconds.  Of these hours I can render the following account:

I hope that all who read this can come up with a better account of their time,  unfortunately, I cannot.”

*

The voyage to Valparaiso is not the first journey that Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer took.  There is information of previous trips in his diaries.

 “As a diversion, I have recorded all my land and sea voyages exactly and have calculated the mileages. Here, as an excerpt, I have listed all the figures.

German miles (1 mile in Lauenburg =  7.53 km)

 [15]  Eduard is referring to Argentina when he uses the name Buenos Aires. The name Argentina came into use later.

N.B. Of course my present voyage[16] has not yet been added.  I have traveled almost enough miles that I could have circumnavigated the globe more than twice. And in spite of rushing through all these huge regions, what do I know of mother earth?  Almost nothing!  If I could have always followed my inclination, I would indeed have seen and explored more of this marvelous, wonderful creation; however, circumstances and intolerable bonds bind me to the perimeter of a spider’s web.  Thousands of men who have at hand all possible means with which to dedicate half of their lives to this sublime purpose, prefer rotating apathetically around their own axis, in self-satisfied comfort.  May God forgive them their sins!  Most men take too small a scale in hand, with which to measure time and space.  For example, they are afraid of a long journey which could separate them from their closest relatives and friends for one or two years; but they see these same relatives and friends only once a year anyway.  Why?  Because they live eight miles apart!  The same relationship exists in space or in the distances from one place to another.”

[16]  To Chile again in 1837.

But let us hear what Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer reports about his recent trip!

NOTES:

 The previous pages are the writings of Ernst Heike with two excerpts from Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s diary.

The remainder of these pages are the writings of Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer.

 In German, “Leser” is a male reader, “Leserin” is a female reader.  Because Eduard has dedicated his diary to his mother and often includes his sisters, he frequently uses the term “Leserin”.  In this translation the word “reader” will mean “female reader” unless otherwise noted.

Back to Table of Contents

Introduction by Eduard Wilhem Berckemeyer

Actually it would be very good and advantageous, if one could get to know the author of any document before reading it.  It would enable one to make a far more accurate judgement of the different temperaments of the writers (male or female) in relation to their age and their position in society.  For example, if a young mischievous girl, who has just become a bride, were ever capable of sustained thinking, her description of any trip or journey would probably be very different from that of an old “Podagristen”[17].

[17]   “The Three Podagristen” was the pseudonym under which three authors wrote their travel stories. They walked to Bad Bentheim where they hoped to find a cure for their gout (podagra), which explains the pseudonym.

The author, of course, has the honour of being known to the noble woman to whom these lines are dedicated[18]; however, he takes the liberty to call the dear reader’s attention to some points which she should kindly consider while reading through this.

[18]  His mother, Cäcilie Berckemeyer née Böhl.

Firstly, the author is quite dominated by water and wind.  So, if all thoughts take on a strong tone from these two powerful elements, I think he deserves to be excused a little.

Secondly, the author sits in a wooden cage, 11 feet long, 5 feet wide and 5 feet high, surrounded by ducks, chickens, pigs, cats, dogs, some half-humans and some humans.  Consequently, one should not be surprised if narrowness and indelicacy appear in these lines.

Relying on the indulgence of the kind reader, the anchors of the mind are cleared, he sets as many sails as his weak ship can tolerate and sets his “Seegedanken” (Thoughts at Sea) down on paper.  Amen.

Written in the North Sea on July 6, 1837, cruising with unfavourable winds after I have drunk to the health of my dear sister Cäcilia and my dear niece Mathilde.

N.B.  Excuse all errors and omissions.

Back to Table of Contents

About the Present Occupants of the “Creole”

Diary of the Voyage from Hamburg to Valparaiso 1837

By rights, the Captain is entitled to first place among these beings.  He is the absolute ruler of this small kingdom.  Constitutional governments are spreading  ever wider on solid ground, and it is fortunate that the 19^th century is prospering well.  At sea, such a constitution would not be appropriate.  Among the rulers of the earth one will, unfortunately, very often find that power is awarded to someone unworthy.  At sea, there is the same imperfection, because the hand of man has created it.  I count my present voyage as confirmation of earlier experiences of this kind.  Therefore, I will not doubt the nautical knowledge of my present king but otherwise he is lacking almost all the virtues I expect in a good ruler.

He is a stout, well-fed man with a moon-shaped face.  All fat people are generally good-natured, apathetic, lazy and selfish.  The faint intellectual light that burns within him, leaves his body with superfluous time to nurture itself.  This is the case with Captain Jörgensen; 1/8 of his life is active, 7/8 is passive.  His most unpleasant attribute is his uncleanliness which, because it proceeds from the leader, is  imparted to all his subordinates.  The small province which I occupy with my secretary and valet, is naturally kept free of this contamination.

As an outward notable feature of our ruler, I can state only that on the behind of his blue “inexpressibles[19]” he has a patch of a different color, approximately one square foot in size, which offers a picturesque sight; a so-called false ..  “de Paris”; it is a poor copy of such a natural product. His birthplace is Jutland which is well known for its fat cattle.

[19]  Eduard wrote this word in English.  They are very tight trousers worn in the early 19th century which were referred to as “inexpressibles“ by delicate females.  They were made by English rather than French tailors.

The best attribute of my Captain is that he does not bother with me at all.  He enters my cabin only in the morning at 8 o’clock for breakfast, at 4 o’clock for lunch and at 9 o’clock in the evening for tea.  If, during the course of this trip, I do not discover other unpleasant attributes, I will be very satisfied. The only swear words I have heard from him so far are “Satan’s angel” and “hound of heaven”!  Two bittersweet curses which I not yet had in my collection.  Nearly all Captains are somewhat superstitious. Our Captain believes that if saying in advance that one will probably arrive at a certain time at this or that place, then it certainly will not happen.  Whether I will discover more notable features of the Captain, will be revealed in the course of this voyage.

About the helmsmen and crew I can only say that they seem to be good and willing seamen. They are all Danes. The cook distinguishes himself through dirt. He has never cooked in his life and only now will learn how.  So one can imagine what he smears together.  His equipment consists of two pots, one large and one small, in which everything possible is cooked and everything stirred with only one wooden spoon.  There is not a single cloth on board to wipe plates, bowls, glasses or pots.  Instead either canvas rags or oakum[20] is used.  If I had not had cleaning materials and Friedrich[21] with me, we would perish in filth.  I have never seen a ship so poorly equipped for passengers as this one is.

[20]  Oakum: the remains of old ropes that have become untwisted or picked to pieces, sometimes called “tow”. This material was often used to stuff into cracks in the ship’s hull with tar to seal it from water.

[21]  Eduard’s valet or servant.

Of the two-legged and four-legged animals on board, I can only say that the chickens which we have so far eaten, are very tough and hard.  Of the four pigs that were on board, one already died while we were still on the Elbe river and had to be thrown overboard, no longer of any use.  The second one had to be slaughtered on July 8^th because it was going to die.  We were able to eat only a little of it.

My secretary, Mr. Hilliger[22], has exhibited the unexpected talent of knowing how to play chess.  Although, unfortunately, I almost always win, this most interesting of all games gives me a few hours of very pleasant diversion every day.  Otherwise, the aforementioned person does not offer any interesting conversation because he has seen too little of the world.

[22]  Jorge Hilliger – see the Introduction by Ernst Hieke.

As always, Friedrich is of great benefit to me.  More every day, he proves to be a faithful and useful servant.  The way he immediately becomes popular with everyone, is very pleasant.

(The next two paragraphs are about the beginning of the voyage.)

 It happened on June 29, 1837, Thursday morning at 6 o’clock as I, with Mr. Hilliger and Friedrich, traveled by land to Schulau, less than one hour from Blankenese.

Uncle Berckemeyer[23] was kind enough to accompany me to Schulau.  It was a beautiful day.  After a two hour boat trip from Schulau, we arrived on board the “Creole” at 12 o’clock noon.  She was riding at anchor at Lühe.  With a strong NNW wind we drifted along on the Elbe for five days and anchored at six different places, the fourth and last time in the evening of July 4 at Cuxhaven.  Finally at 4 o’clock in the morning on July 5^th, we went from Cuxhaven to sea.  On July 5^th, 6^th and 7^th, we had alternating calm, favourable and adverse winds.  In the afternoon of July 8^th, a very favourable wind sprang up.  At nine o’clock in the morning on July 9^th, we saw Dover on the right (or more ahead of us) and on the left, the distant coast of France.

[23]  Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer, his father’s brother.

Today, Thursday July 27^th, it is now four weeks since I left Hamburg.  Since then we have covered 760 German miles (the back and forth tacking in unfavourable winds is included in the calculation); i.e. on average, no more than 1¹/8  miles per hour, which is only twice the speed of Mecklenburg and Lauenburg’s snail mail.  We were very much set back by the six days we had to spend on the Elbe river.  On July 13^th we met a pilot boat from Cowes at the outlet of the English Channel.  Since then, we have almost always had favourable winds.  Up to approximately 40 degrees north latitude, the weather was mainly cold and unpleasant; now it is getting warmer and better every day.  During the day we have an even temperature of 20 to 22 degrees Réaumur[24] (25° to 28° C.) in the shade with fairly strong winds, at night it is never below 18 to 19 degrees Re. (23° to 24° C).  This is the most pleasant warmth that one could wish for; one dresses lightly, the air is light and not oppressive.  On July 22^nd we saw the high mountain on the island of Madeira from a distance of 7 to 8 miles, so that nothing was distinguishable.  I have a great desire to visit this beautiful island sometime.  It is known to have the finest and healthiest climate, the most wonderful tropical vegetation and the heat is moderated by the sea.  Sharks and flying fish are now very common.  We caught a very young shark, about 4 feet long and fried, it tasted quite good.  At night, the flying fish fly against the sails and fall onto the deck, they are the size of a herring and fried, they taste delicious.

[24]   Réaumur ↔ Celsius:  C. = (5/4) Re.  and   Re. = 1.25 x C.

All ships usually have their name and place of origin written in large letters on the transom[25].  In England it is a law that every ship must display its name.  This ship “Creole” has no name on its transom.  If it had, news of us would probably have reached Europe several times.  The ship’s owner is a certain Brun (his name) from Apenrade (Denmark).  Formerly, he was a Captain and later started a shipping company.  He has made a lot of money through luck, expertise, terrible equipment on his ships and poor treatment of his Captains and crew.  The “Creole” is proof of this.  All provisions are of the worst kind, and I am now doubly grateful to the kind donors for the gifts of eggs, peas, ham, sausages, dried fruit, herrings and anchovies.  The eggs and herrings were already consumed by the end of July.  The remaining items are now being sparingly used.  The dried fruit is of excellent quality and extremely good.  The eggs the Captain took along were all rotten; the herrings he is now serving us are the oldest and vilest; his ham is already starting to spoil; the chicken and ducks are old, thin and tough.  The third pig was in a diseased state and has been slaughtered.  We have not eaten any of it, but gladly left it for the sailors.  I am convinced that on land, we often eat the meat of animals that have died in worse condition than said pig.  But then one does not know that.  Here though, I had the sick one daily on my mind and therefore, I could not bring myself to eat it.  The fourth and last pig is well and is being better taken care of than the first ones.  It is not to be slaughtered until we get close to Cape Horn which, unfortunately, is still far away.   I lay the blame less on the Captain than on the ship’s owner, for the inadequate equipment provided for the ship and the passengers.  The Captain has the best intentions, but he is a man who, from ignorance, knows no better and whose hands are tied.  If he exceeded, just slightly, the amount of money allotted for supplies, he would lose his job at once.

[25]  In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel.

I chartered this ship jointly with Mr. D. Schütte.  Because, lately, I was so seldom in Hamburg, I relied more on Schütte’s honesty than prudence would otherwise allow.  Unfortunately, I now find that he abused my good faith in the worst manner; however I hope that I will yet be able to put a spoke in his wheel.  As this gentleman has enjoyed the hospitality of Thurow, I will not fail to mention this circumstance, so that he will know that I deleted him from the list of so-called friends.

From the Cape Verde Islands to the line (equator), we had to continuously tack against a strong, adverse south wind; the weather was unusually cloudy and rainy.  The temperature however, always stays steady at 21 – 22 degrees Réaumur (26–28º C.).  Since we are sailing in the tropics, the ocean water always stays at 20° Réaumur (25ºC.).  Unfortunately there is no vessel on board for bathing or I would often have made use of it.

On August 9 we found ourselves at 4° north latitude.  My dear brother’s[26] birthday was celebrated quietly with friendly wishes and an extra glass of wine at the table.

[26]  Ernst Philipp Berckemeyer.

Yesterday, on the morning of Sunday August 13^th between 3 and 4 o’clock, we crossed the line at 26°  west longitude of Greenwich.  The southern hemisphere welcomed us with friendly weather and better winds.  During one watch (i.e. 4 hours), which is how time is generally counted at sea, we covered 8 to 9 German miles.  From Hamburg to the equator, including all the back and forth tacking in adverse winds, we covered 1,186 German or geographical[27] miles.  One can regard reaching the equator as somewhat less than half of our total voyage.  If we cover the remaining portion of the trip in the same period of 46 days, we can consider ourselves very fortunate.

[27]  A former name for a nautical mile, the geographical mile was 1,855 metres. The present day nautical mile is 1,852 metres.

At noon the same day, Neptune appeared with two of his ghostly servants.  This god of the sea stopped us in order to ask the Captain, whether he and his crew had already paid the proper tribute.  The inquiry revealed that the Captain, nine crew members and one passenger had already crossed the line and had paid the tribute.  Seven crew members and one passenger still had to submit to the laws of the sea[28].  The seven sailors and a boy had their faces rubbed with tar, grease and soot, then it was scraped off with a large wooden knife and four or five buckets of water were poured over their heads.  During this, all sorts of pranks and jokes were made which would certainly displease the delicate readers of these lines.  Two passengers (my secretary and valet) paid their tribute with money and thereby escaped the shaving and the baptism.  The cook was compelled by this procedure, to wash and clean himself and to my astonishment, I discovered that he was a white man, because until now I had always taken him for a mulatto.  This sailor’s custom when crossing the line is very old.  If a Captain refused to grant his crew the customary liberties on that day, they would (if not allowing themselves any insubordination) certainly never sail with him again.  In the afternoon I gave punch to the people here on board and a young sailor, Ferdinand, played the flute for others to dance to.  As the wind was favourable, the ship listed considerably to one side, causing the waltzers to fall down every now and then, quite to the amusement of the spectators.

[28]  The ceremony of “Crossing the Line“ is a traditional initiation rite that commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the equator.

Today on September 1^st , I find myself at 37° south latitude which is somewhat south of Buenos Aires.  So, in the two months since I left Hamburg, I have covered approximately 1,800 German miles.  Time and distance have flown by so quickly, that it seems to me that I left Hamburg just eight days ago.  Everyone is familiar with this feeling which occurs after time has elapsed and distances have been traversed.  In the future one should take a lifetime as the measurement for time, and the earth as the measurement for distance; then the ridiculous fear of time and distance would disappear.

On Sunday August 27^th, we had a strong north-east wind and sailed in full wind on rather high seas. It was 10 o’clock in the morning when two men were sent up the main mast to take down the royal yard, i.e. the fourth and highest sail.  I stood on the foredeck with my secretary as well as the entire crew of that watch, i.e. half the ship’s sailors, who were alternated every four hours day and night.  Work on the highest point of the mast is always dangerous.  The sailor not only has to hold himself fast, but also has to use his hands to untie several ropes and control a large yard-arm with a heavy sail – and all this despite the wind and the movement of the ship.  I had just spoken of the danger of this work and was happy to see that the lesser experienced of the two sailors had started on his way down.  At that same moment there was a strong swing to the ship and I saw the sailor fly through the air and plunge into the sea, certainly 60 feet away from the ship.  Everyone simultaneously shouted “man overboard”.  The Captain leapt out of his cabin and gave the necessary orders to turn the ship back.  The other watch was equally fast arriving on the foredeck to help.  But, because the ship had never been sailing as fast as it was right then, a rescue was not possible.  The unfortunate sailor surfaced twice from the waves and then lay down in his wet coffin, the ocean – prey to the sharks.

I will never forget this experience; the younger and inexperienced members of the crew turned pale and let out a cry of horror and pity.  The older sailors remained expressionless because they firmly believe in their predestination.  The drowned sailor was the same Ferdinand, 21 years old, who had played the flute so well at the equator.  He was from very good family, had received a good education and was to study law.  However, it seems that his ability and effort was not adequate.  The last resort was then imposed, i.e. they sent him to sea.  His family will probably be very satisfied with his destiny.  One could probably blame the Captain for this accident.  In those high seas, he should not have sent an inexperienced sailor up to such a dangerous place.  However, one cannot blame him for not rescuing the sailor, because when a man falls overboard even in calm weather, he is almost never saved.  I have read many reports from British naval officers; for example Captain Marryatt and Captain Chamier, and all agree that even on warships where, because of the large crew, actions are taken ten times faster than on merchant vessels, a man is almost never saved once he had fallen overboard.

A day at sea is calculated from noon to noon and not from midnight to midnight as it is on land.  Every day at noon an accurate determination of latitude and longitude is made.  Using that position and the number of miles that have been  covered, the course is adjusted accordingly.  In the 24 hours which ended at noon on August 27^th,  we had travelled 55 German miles.  We have never sailed that fast during the entire voyage.

Today, Sunday September 3^rd, 41° south latitude.  At 6 o’clock in the morning the temperature in our cabin is 12° (15ºC), outside is 7° (9ºC), water temperature is 9° (11ºC) Réaumur.  Good winds, lots of fog, a little sun; this what my dear sister Mathilde’s birth day looks like to me.  I would rather be with you today than on board the unpleasant “Creole”, but my voyage cannot be aborted to achieve  this.  May my sincerest wishes for your health always accompany you in this newly begun year!

The weather is turning harsher and more inclement every day.  One notices that we are approaching the dreaded Cape Horn.

The glow of the sea water is just one of the many phenomena which man has not yet been able to explain.  Some say it is a phosphorescent material because it is seen only at night; others say it is caused by infusorians[29] which sometimes rise from the sea bed.  However, they cannot be seen with the naked eye – the water is crystal clear.  In the North Sea this glow is seldom seen and then only weakly.  In hot zones it is at its most intense and frequently seen.  Partly, this glow seems to be caused by friction because when the ship moves through the water, the foam is covered with innumerable stars of various sizes; as well, countless glowing stars form on the top of each wave so that in strong winds, the entire sea is illuminated and affords a magnificent sight.  At night, when a fish shoots past the ship, it is surrounded by a strong beam of light so that it is clearly recognizable and a trail of light follows it, just like the wake of the ship.  If water is poured on the foredeck at night, it is covered with glowing stars which illuminate the deck completely.  In the depth to the side of the ship, where at that moment the ship creates no disturbance, there are also glowing stars.  If the water is kept in a vessel for 24 hours, it loses its property to glow.  The decrease and increase of this strange and beautiful phenomenon depends neither on wind nor weather, neither on cold nor warmth.  The cause is still unexplored.

[29]  Any of a heterogeneous group of minute organisms found especially in water with decomposing organic matter.

On August 25^th I had a very serious verbal exchange with the Captain regarding the bad food, especially the food he gave Friedrich.  It would be too boring for the well-disposed readers if I were to list all the complaints.  They can be verbally reported one day, if the honourable housewives promise to give me a few lessons and instructions in the art of cooking, so that I will be protected from such hardships on other voyages.  But what can one expect from a person, who initially enlisted as a sailor and then was told that he would be cooking?  This is the case with our so-called cook.  In Hamburg one hears only the highest praise about carriers and the ship brokers of vessels such as this, done only to extort high prices for the passage, such as I paid.  And then to be cheated in such an awful way.  The Danish ships will be imprinted on my memory!

October 18^th.  Since I last wrote on September 6, I spent a very sad and extremely unpleasant time.  During those seven weeks we had, almost uninterrupted, violent storms.  On September 19^th, we passed by the east side of the Falkland Islands but without being able to see anything of the island.  The Captain was completely confused with his longitude calculation.

On September 14^th we had the first heavy snowfall and it was so cold that ice formed on the foredeck.  Of course the temperature in the cabin also fell and as there was no stove, it was never more than 7° (9ºC.) at night and 5° (6ºC.) during the day, outside it was 2 to 3° below zero (-2 to -4ºC.).  On top of this we were exposed to a cold draft from the poorly sealed windows and doors.  Fortunately, I had furs and winter clothing with me.  But even provided with that, one could not sit and read for more than half an hour and then were forced to walk that same length of time in order to warm up one’s benumbed limbs.  The waves breaking over the foredeck usually made it too wet, so that I had to take my walks in my cabin, in a space of 3½ steps long and 2½ feet wide.  One can imagine how many hundreds of times I had to turn around in this space in order to warm up.  I do not know if my esteemed readers have seen a polar bear in an animal show.  He usually has a large cage, because he must almost always walk back and forth in order to aid his digestion and maintain his health.  During these walks, I was the image of a polar bear, except that he is wrapped in white fur and I in black.

On September 21^st we were at the latitude of Cape Horn and it was not until October 21^st that we came around to the western side of Cape Horn.  We had drifted to 59½ degrees south latitude, so it took us 31 days to cover a distance of 60 miles, a distance which normally can easily be covered in two days.  From October 1^st to the 9^th, the storm reached its peak.  We flew only two small storm sails, which must be used as long as the masts hold, in order to steer the ship.  We expected the masts to go overboard at any moment; especially on October 1^st, 3^rd and 6^th, because at times the whole ship trembled in a terrifying way.   When one is tossed about in this way for weeks, one loses all fear and finally, cannot suppress the wish that this would just come to an end.  If I had a choice as to how I should die, I would certainly choose the sea in a storm.  She is terribly beautiful, great and lofty, immeasurably divine.  Man’s weaknesses, strengths and habits disappear like the foam of the sea.  His bold ship, the masterpiece of man’s strength and wisdom, shattered like a shard of glass, and he appears humble before his Creator!  In no situation in life can one stay as composed and calm as in a storm.  There is nothing man can do to help.  He has to surrender the ship to the storm and the waves; he is entirely in God’s hands.  The mind retains all its powers and one crosses over (into death) with complete consciousness!  How different the slow gradual death of the sick bed seems; it is the angel of darkness, the other is the angel of light.  I do not wish to further describe this picture because I do not wish to draw tears from my beautiful female readers, but rather, a kindly smile.

It is natural, that one cannot think of writing in the cold and with the violent motion of the ship.  Reading, walking, eating, drinking and sleeping were the daily activities, with most of the time spent lying awake in bed!  Playing chess also had to be given up because there was no secure place to sit down and face each other.  Thank God, my books protected me from boredom.  If I had not had those, I would certainly have jumped overboard.  Breakfast, and especially lunch, were always a source of discontent.  The badly prepared meals and the clearly visible uncleanness created disgust, which was finally defeated by hunger.  For our dear German housewives, for whom order and cleanliness are of utmost importance, the things that happen daily in the galley of this infamous ship “Creole”, belong in the realm of fables.  Such things cannot be committed to paper.  My secretary and Friedrich explored the galley in an attempt to discover its secrets.  I avoided it as much as possible.  I quoted from Schiller’s Cassandra: “Der Irrtum ist das Leben und das Wissen ist der Tod” (“Error alone is life and knowledge is death”)[30].   I knew no other way to console my companions except to say: “It is not poison.”  As solid proof, I pointed to the fat paunch of our Captain.  The power of habit is so great that one  now finds delicious the dish which at first one loathed.

[30]  From a long poem entitled ‘Kassandra’ (`Cassandra’) of 1802 where Schiller expresses his dread of reality.

On October 11^th, I had another serious quarrel with the Captain.  He told us that he had no more white sugar, brown sugar or molasses.  I must confess that this infuriated me.  During my numerous voyages I have endured some shortages, but never a lack of sugar.  On land, one can probably not imagine how great this deprivation is, however, be assured that this really is the case.  I could not help giving this vile man a piece of my mind, especially since, instead of apologizing, he believed himself to be in the right.  I really must apologize that I so often mention this disgusting subject; but hopefully it will soon vanish from my eyes and my mind, for we are now rapidly approaching our destination.

Since I have imagined that on October 18^th the marriage of my beloved brother is going to take place, I must to say a few words about this day.  Today was the first pleasant day in the last seven weeks; the sun delighted and warmed us, the temperature in the cabin reached 11° (14º C.) and outside it was 8° (10ºC.).  At 12 o’clock noon, we find ourselves 2½° south and 9° west of Cape Horn, still about 400 German miles from Valparaiso.  Quietly, I drank to the health of the young couple and sent my most sincere and heartfelt wishes for their happiness, up and toward Europe.  I am curious to find out if my guess concerning the wedding day has been correct[31].

[31]  According to the family tree, his brother, Ernst Philipp Berckemeyer married Eleonore Manecke on December 5, 1837.

Today, October 29^th, it is four months since I left Hamburg and so I have been on board this disgusting ship for 123 days.  During this time I have gathered up as much patience as I would have done if I had been married as many years.  I ask my charming readers not to believe that I have come to this conclusion by myself.  God forbid!  I have heard it only from husbands and have always thought that they must be wrong.

I have often regretted that I do not have a knowledge of astronomy.  During this voyage I am very aware of this shortcoming, because so much of the magnificent star-filled sky is visible.  The most beautiful star, which has faithfully accompanied us throughout this trip and which shines gloriously in the west every evening after sunset, is the beautiful planet Venus.  Happy is he who has such a companion throughout his entire life!  I am not an admirer of the moon; he is too moody, sometimes he shows himself too much, sometimes too little.  The Great Bear disappears at about 12° south latitude and Polaris (the North Star) at 15°.  In contrast, the Southern Cross appears in the south, an image of four stars.  It is not perfectly symmetrical and it is upside down.   Above and to the west of it, sits a black nebula[32].  To the right in the east, but at a much farther distance, there are two white nebulae.  All great astronomers, therefore also yours truly, still do not know what to make of these three nebulae.

[32]  A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases.

Among the living beings we caught sight of during our voyage, I count whales, very few sharks and flying fish.  The pilot fish which always accompanies the shark, is a handsome brown and white ringed fish, about one foot long.  As well, there are sperm whales, porpoises in large numbers which jump high out of the water all at the same time; dolphins which, on the west coast, are striped.  Seabirds, mainly from 25° south latitude onward, increase considerably in numbers and species.  Sometimes several hundred swarmed around us, even though we were at least 100 German miles away from land.  Until today, October 31^st, I have already seen 21 different species.  Unfortunately, I do not know their correct names, so I can only describe them.  I will mention only a few species.

The smallest species we saw along the west coast from 40° south latitude onward, are the size of our sparrows.  They fly in flocks with flapping wings; they are white underneath and brown on top.  Most frequent are the cape pigeons (cape petrels) which are the size of our pigeons, with beautiful black and white markings.  The size of the various species increases now, up to the size of several species of albatross, whose wing span measures 10 feet.  All these different species have webbed feet and fly almost without beating their wings.  They maneuver through the air and the stronger the wind is, the easier they seem to fly.  We caught about five different species with fishing rods and in total, certainly, more than 100.  The feather coat of these birds is extremely thick and the sailors kept the good down to stuff their beds.  Unfortunately, we had to eat many of these birds and for several lunches, we had only that to eat.  The meat tastes fishy and is dry and tough.  Our chickens had come to an end long before we reached Cape Horn.  Our Captain had not brought along enough grain to feed them.  They became so weak and frail that, because of the wet and cold, they lost their feathers and many of them died of old age.  I thought of Plato who said that man is a featherless two-legged animal.  One of his students plucked all the feathers from a cock and put it in front of the gathered crowd shouting out: “Ecce homo Platonis!” (Behold, Plato’s man!).  My platonic beings, male as well as female, were so thin and skeleton-like, that the sun, moon and stars shone through them.  Fortunately, I had brought along a glass of curry-powder from England with which I seasoned these platonic skeletons, otherwise they would have been even less palatable.  Every evil contrary to the will of the author, also gives birth to something good.  So, through the hardships of this trip, I have had an exercise in restraint, which I hope I will not lose again.

This morning, November 1^st, to our great joy we finally saw South American land for the first time; it was the tip of Lavapié and the island of Santa Maria below the river Bio-Bio, near Concepciòn in southern Chile.  When one has not seen land for three months, it is always very doubtful if the calculations and the chronometer are correct.  According to the Captain’s assertion, we should have seen land five miles earlier, but five miles on such a long voyage, is not much of a deviation.

For the amusement of the dear housewives and future housewives, I have to mention some more galley curiosities, so that my suffering will stir their emotions.  Our cook has, here on board, entered a kitchen for the first time in his life, i.e. to cook and to provide for the needs of others.  In order to care for himself, legally or illegally, he may have haunted a kitchen often enough before.  The small iron stove has two openings for two iron pots.  In Hamburg, the Captain had bought two pots for these openings without checking to see if they would fit or not.  The dismal result was that both pots did not fit on the stove at the same time, and that only one dish could be cooked at a time.  Consequently, when one dish was warm, the other was cold again.  In the beginning the cook had one wooden spoon which, as was easily expected, very soon was lost or broken.  Subsequently, he broke a piece off an old barrel or used any stick of wood, which served the same purpose.  Salt, considered to be completely unnecessary, was not added to the food at all because the Captain believed that by eating so much salted meat, bacon and fish, it was necessary to restore a balance by eating all other food without salt.  Burnt, smoky, undercooked or spoiled food was naturally very common.  And although, when I complained about the food preparation, the Captain several times gave him a rough beating with a rope, his cooking ability is still at the same level as it probably was during Papa Adam and Mama Eve’s time.

The coffee was quite undrinkable so, after the first try, I never drank it again.  At first the tea was good, but later it was so tainted that I was not enjoying it either.  Fortunately I had brought along tea for myself, so I was able to replace this deficiency.  When I came on board, there were two broken teapots in use, one for us and the other for the helmsmen.  They very soon found their graves and if I had not bought a teapot in Cuxhaven for myself, we would have had to give up drinking tea or prepare it in a bottle.  The Captain owned only six very ordinary spoons which, after a few weeks, made their way down to depths of the Atlantic Ocean.  If I had not taken along my own spoons, we would have to borrow the sailor’s wooden ones.

The waiter or steward is an important person on board a well organized ship.  He handles all the meals and keeps the supplies, the cabin and the galley in order.  Here the steward is a boy, 14 or 15 years old, who is on a sea voyage for the first in his life.  Of course, he does not have the slightest idea about order and cleanliness, so that I would have had to live the life of a sailor if I had not had Friedrich with me.

Today, November 5^th, is the 130^th day on board this ship.  For five days we have been fighting either calm or adverse winds.  As we are facing a water shortage if we do not soon reach our destination, I must say a few words about this most terrible of all evils.  In Hamburg, our Captain boasted of having so much water, that a shortage could not possibly happen.  However, like all his other promises which have proven to be empty words, this was also the case with water.  Below the equator, where the rain often pours down in cloud bursts, is the point where one normally collects water.   Well equipped ships carry a large linen sheet, shaped somewhat like a funnel, which is attached between the rope ladders of the main mast.  In this manner a large volume of very good water is easily collected.

Near the equator one morning, I walked onto the foredeck in a magnificent downpour.  I saw that the crew had plugged the drains in the foredeck, the water was approximately 3 to 4 inches deep and they were busy washing their feet.  Several sailors had thrown their clothes into the water to soak them before washing.  The Captain and the helmsman saw this because they were standing beside me.  Suddenly the Captain gave orders that they should pour the water into the empty barrels.  With the constant movement of the ship, the water flowed from one side of the deck to the other and naturally cleaned the foredeck as well as any other objects it encountered.  So it flowed through the stall of the, at that time still living, pig  and through the chicken cages.  One can easily imagine what condition this water was in.   Nevertheless, they filled three barrels with it.  I asked the Captain what he was going to do with the dirty water.  His answer was that it was to be used by the sailors, only for washing.  That was a lie because the sailors never got it.  It was mixed with the good water and we swallowed it with the meals which were prepared in it.  The water from Hamburg, which was kept in clean barrels, has kept very well and our drinking water has been very good up to now.  Unfortunately, it is running short and if we had not scooped up and filled those three barrels, we would have suffered the greatest shortage or we would have been forced to sail into another port.

 *

Yesterday, November 4^th, it was 9 years ago that I left Valparaiso[33]. I had certainly expected to be there by that day, but unfortunately, this hope has been dashed.  We are still 40 miles from Valparaiso.

[33]  A previous trip to Chile, 1827/1828.

On Wednesday, November 8^th at 8 o’clock in the morning, we anchored in Valparaiso Bay.  From 5 o’clock this morning, I had been busy making discoveries with my telescope.  The closer we came, the more I was amazed at the great changes and improvements that had been made in and around Valparaiso in the nine years since I left.  My dear friend, Don Sebastian Lezica, immediately came on board and I found him to be exactly as I had expected.  I soon went on shore and stepped on South American soil again, which received me with fine weather and friendly views.  I rented a room in the inn for myself, my secretary and Friedrich.  The inn belongs to an Englishman whose name is “French”,  and it is also where I lived nine years ago.  At that time he married a Swiss girl who now, as is usual, rules the household; but one can only praise this governance.  My room has only a  glass door and no window, white lime plastered walls and the ceiling beams are not covered, however it does provide light and coolness.  The rear part of the house abuts an approximately 200 foot high, steep cliff, which connects to the other mountain ranges surrounding Valparaiso.  The city is located in a semicircle around the bay; the entire expanse is 1½ Stunden[34].  In some places the cliffs reach 40 feet up from the seashore; in other places there is flat land which, at its widest point is ½ Stunde wide, studded with houses and well cultivated.  All the cliffs and mountains around Valparaiso have very little fertile soil and consist mainly of granite and red clay.  They are covered with small thorny bushes and tall cacti but barren in many places, and therefore, offer a sad sight when viewed at a distance from sea.  At close range this unpleasant view disappears almost entirely, as there are other things which stimulate and delight the senses.  There is the wonderful climate; the delightful view of the bay and the sea; the activity of the ships and commerce; the amphitheatrically ascending mountains studded with houses and gardens, which are overlooked by the perpetually snow-covered northeast part of the Cordillera de los Andes[35].  When the sun shines on the snow and reflects its brilliance, the  picture is breathtaking, especially with the beautiful clear blue sky providing the background.  The highest peak of the aforementioned part of the Andes is the volcano Aconcagua which, according to the latest measurements, is 23 thousand and some feet above sea level, thus it is higher than the Chimborazo (in Ecuador).  That volcano is located 45 leagues or 33 German miles from Valparaiso.  It has not spewed out fire for a long time now, only some smoke occasionally.  Among the many improvements which I noticed immediately, are the following:  1) a very large, beautiful Customs building which is located about 50 steps from the sea; 2) a dock or pier or large jetty, that projects about 150 feet into the sea for people to disembark and also serves as a place to walk;  3) A so-called stock exchange with two large halls and a magnificent view of the harbour.  It is open from 8 o’clock in the morning until 5 o’clock in the afternoon.  All shipping news is posted there and there are also many newspapers there.

[34]  Two old German measurements of distance.  1 Post Stunde = about 2 1/2  English miles.  OR 1 Stunde zufusse  is as much as a man can walk with ease in an hour, about 3 English miles. — from “Eight Weeks in Germany“, William Whyte and Co. 1842.

[35]  Andes mountains – The term cordillera comes from the Spanish word “cuerda”, meaning “rope”.

Today I have been in Valparaiso only 16 days and have already dismissed all thoughts of a speedy return.  I have tentatively set my stay here at five years.  The same thing will happen to me as it does to all Europeans – the longer they stay, the more they like it.  Europeans have very erroneous ideas about conditions in (South) America and imagine the existing hostilities between Chile and Peru to be much worse than they actually are.  For that reason, I believe that the esteemed readers will welcome an unbiased opinion which contains at least as much truth (mathematical truths excluded) as there generally exists in the world.

For seven years, Chile has enjoyed the most perfect peace.  The government is strong, has increased trade and prosperity, paid its internal debts, completely secured the borders against the Indians and generally made so many improvements inside and out, that I was amazed when I returned to Valparaiso.  This is not the opinion of a man who has been in Valparaiso for only 18 days, but of the most respected foreign and local merchants.

Chile continues briskly along this path, and the Republic of Bolivia under the praiseworthy president, Santa Cruz, follows at the same rate.  Only Peru, to some extent, remains behind because there are ambitious party members fighting for the presidency.  One is named Orbegoso, the other Salaverry.   The former called on  General Santa Cruz for help.  Unfortunately Santa Cruz accepted this invitation, defeated Salaverry and, as a reward for his efforts, he made himself president of Peru and Bolivia.  Until then, Santa Cruz and Chile were on good terms, however, with his increased power, his ambition, unfortunately, also grew.  He wanted to expand his reign to Chile as well.  To that end, Santa Cruz recruited and supported an exiled Chilean revolutionary named General Freire, to lead a war expedition against Chile and to land there.  The whole expedition failed, partly because the men sometimes mutinied and surrendered ships to Chile, and partly because Chilean warships conquered them.

During this same period, Santa Cruz greatly damaged Chile’s trade by imposing higher tariffs on all goods which passed through Chile; furthermore, he prohibited the importation of all products from Chile.  Initially, through an ambassador, Chile demanded satisfaction and a termination of these evils; both were denied.  Chile, therefore, declared war against President Santa Cruz, announcing at the same time that this war was not being waged against Peru and Bolivia, but against only Santa Cruz so that he abandon this unnatural unification of the two countries and that his ambitious plans not extend any further.  The Republic of Chile equipped an army of 4,000 men and the First Minister, Don Diego Portales was very active promoting this expedition.  Santa Cruz was able to bribe some of Chile’s officers so that they rebelled, murdered Minister Portales and wanted to seize the city of Valparaiso.  However, the local militia resisted the rebels; seven officers were caught and shot.  In mid September, the expedition left with 14 transport ships and 7 warships.  They landed in Arica, took Tacna and Arequipa without resistance and were received with open arms.  Since his association with Peru, Santa Cruz has lost more and more support in Bolivia because he used part of the country’s revenues in Peru, without the slightest advantage having accrued from it.  That is how the matter stands now on November 28^th 1837, and every day one waits for news from Peru.  In front of Valparaiso Bay, three Peruvian warships cruise, but as they are hunting only Chilean ships and all foreign ships can go in and out undisturbed, it cannot be called a blockade.  By the way, this harbour is well fortified against such enemies so that we can live here in the greatest security and peace, and have only the trading standstill to regret.

The party which has been governing Chile for seven years is an aristocratic one.  It has given this country a wise and strong government and significantly improved living conditions and finances.  The entire expedition against Peru has cost 1½ million pesos fuertes which the government paid for with ready money and the coffers are still full.  In Europe, it is mistakenly believed that there is no money to be found here at all.  There is an abundance of gold here.   Due to the disruption of trade with Peru and Bolivia, only silver piasters are lacking as they are coined there, and not in Chile itself.  All copper, silver and gold mines in Chile, Bolivia and Peru are very active, however, the silver yield would be far more significant if the greed of the Rothschilds in London had not driven up the price of quicksilver (mercury) to such a disadvantageous level.  Unfortunate, neglected and battered Spain owns, among its many rich resources, the only known quicksilver mines in the world.  They are mortgaged to the Rothschilds and that is why they are driven to this Jewish usury, mainly at the expense of South American countries.

The climate is extraordinarily pleasant.  For six months, from November to April, the sky is almost always clear and it never actually rains.  During my stay from November 8^th until the end of December we had light rain showers only twice in the morning between 7 and 12 o’clock, and two or three times we had cloudy and foggy weather in the morning but around noon it was clear again.  Only on December 24^th was it cloudy all day and the mountains were encircled in fog.  These rainy and cloudy days are regarded as unusual phenomena.  Almost without exception, the temperature at 6 o’clock in the morning is 15°; around noon it usually rises to 17° to 20°; some days it rises to 24°; in the evening it drops back down to 15°.  The only inconvenience in summer brings, is the strong south wind.  Even though the city is protected by mountains, the winds often blow in very violently carrying a lot of dust, coarse sand and even small pebbles, against which one has to cover one’s face.

On December 16^th, Chilean General Blanco returned from Peru with his landing forces and warships.  It turns out now, that Santa Cruz is far stronger than the local government had believed.  In Arequipa, Santa Cruz surrounded the entire expedition, drew back when the expedition tried to attack and finally forced General Blanco to make peace.  The Chilean party, which had voted for war, accused General Blanco of treason.  The government has not yet recognized the peace treaty, but it is expected that tempers will calm down, and very soon, peace will result.

*

On January 1^st 1838, I moved into a small friendly house on the Cerro Alegre, i.e. “Cheerful Mountain”.  The location is charming and I will try to give an accurate description of it.  The Cerro Alegre is a small part of the mountain range that surrounds Valparaiso.  Right at the city, the mountain range is about 150 to 200 feet high with many ravines and creeks.  The mountains are covered with houses, but almost all are arranged in a disorderly fashion because the only areas that can be used, are those which offer a small level spot or places where the builder has taken the trouble of cutting into the mountain.  The lower houses sit like swallow’s nests clinging to the mountain.  At night when lights or  cooking fires have been lit inside, it presents a picturesque sight.  When I was here nine years ago, there were no more than two or three houses on the Cerro Alegre, now there are about 40.  At that time the entire mountain could be purchased for about 2,000 Taler, now they estimate the value of the land without homes at 50,000 to 60,000 Taler.  The continuing  increase in population will cause the value of land to rise even further.  The Cerro Alegre now gradually rises up from the city in broken patches, and joins the rear mountain chain, which is about 2,000 feet high and closes off the interior.  My house is 350 feet above sea level and I need 15 to 20 minutes to climb up from the city because the route is difficult and steep.  The front of the house faces northeast.  I sit here today, Sunday morning January 14^th, with doors and windows open and at a temperature of 18°.  The large bay lies before me afloat with approximately 60 ships.  As today is Sunday, they all have their flags raised but they seldom unfurl because it is almost completely calm.  Nevertheless, I clearly recognize two ships from Hamburg: the “Argo” which brought me a lot of letters from my loved ones back home, and the “George Ganning” which is due to arrive in Hamburg in four to five months.  Besides these, there are French, Danish, English, Chilean and North American ships as well as a Polynesian ship from Otahiti[36] whose flag I have seen here for the first time.  And peacefully next to them is: a French 20 gun brig of war named “Alacrity”, a French 60 gun frigate “Andromede”, an English 50 gun frigate “Stag” and another English 50 gun frigate “Imogenes”.  This last one arrived here eight days ago from the South Pacific Islands with the King of Pitcairn Island[37] on board: an Englishman, whose brief history is correctly documented in the Cannabich Geography Book[38].

[36]  Tahiti was formerly known as Otaheite.

[37]  The head of government from 1832 – 1838 was Joshua Hill.  He was an imposter, a dictator and a tyrant, and has been described as “the man who would be king“.  In 1838 he was removed from Pitcairn by Captain Bruce of HMS “Imogene“ and put ashore in Valparaiso.  He eventually made his way back to England.

[38]  Johann Günther Friedrich Cannabich was a German geographer and minister who published a text book of geography between 1816 and 1818.

Like a hen over her chicks, the North American 104 gun, Ship-of-the-Line  “North Carolina”[39] rises above all the other ships.

[39]  Ship-of-the-Line is defined as a ship of war large enough to have a place in the line of battle.  The “North Carolina“ was 196 ft. in length, draft was 21.6 ft. and a complement of 820 officers and men.  Considered by many the most powerful naval vessel then afloat. She became flagship of Commodore Henry E. Ballard December 26, 1836 and departed Hampton Roads, VA, USA  January 12, 1837 for the west coast of South America.  “North Carolina” arrived at Rio de Janeiro  March 4, called at Montevideo and Buenos Aires, then rounded Cape Horn to reach Callao, Peru, May 26, 1837. Commodore Ballard assumed command of the Pacific Squadron protecting US merchant commerce at a time when a war was raging between Chile and Peru, further complicated by strained relations between the United States and Mexico.
Eduard sighted this ship in Valparaiso harbour January 1838 when Chile and Peru were presumably at peace.

One cannot imagine what is like if one has never seen such a structure.  This floating city, now in peacetime, has 1,000 inhabitants; in wartime it must have 300 to 400 more men.  This impressive man-made creation will disappear in the vast ocean, which extends to the north.  It lies like a calm, blue sheet that every now and then is ruffled by a light wind, probably the harbinger of the strong south wind which has been missing for the past 12 days.  On the sea’s horizon lies a grey-white cloud cover which extends all the way around to the east and lies quietly at the feet of the Andes mountain range, waiting for the south wind.  The snow-capped peaks of the Andes rise high above that cloud cover.  In the sunshine, the snow or ice fields glow splendidly.  The circle of cloud is probably the remains of the thunderstorm that raged last night in the mountain range.  There was persistent and strong lightning between 8 and 11 o’clock, though the thunder could not be heard because of the distance.  To the right, far below me and on the plain, lies the second part of the city, called the Almendral.  From above, I can almost see its unpaved streets.  In the same direction but closer to me and on a mountain, are the Catholic and Protestant churchyards enclosed by walls.  In front of my house and to the left, I see the other houses of the Cerro Alegre and also some of the higher houses of the Quebradas[40].  I can see nothing of the city proper because it lies on the steep slopes.   If one did not know, one would never suspect that behind those mountains and between them and the sea, there are so many houses where almost half the population of Valparaiso lives; actually 12,000 people.  The ships in the harbour are so close to me that I can see the people working on them.  I can hear the shouts of the sailors; no movement in the harbour escapes my eyes.  The earth in front of my house looks rather bad for it is broken up, consists of red clay and is sparsely covered with shrubs of a lovely green colour.  To my left there are two houses inhabited by English families with whom I have become acquainted.  This then, is the approximate picture that presents itself to me under the continuously clear and beautiful blue sky.

[40]  Quebradas is Spanish for “breaks,” a rugged or cliffy area.

A rough floor-plan of my house follows.

A few weeks ago an English Protestant minister arrived here.  All Protestants have contributed toward it and probably, I will soon be asked to contribute my bit.  If I were to be excused from going to church by simply paying, I would gladly do so.  However, here and in other small towns, just like in Hamburg, one has to go to church so that people see it.  Why does one so seldom go to church with pleasure and a desire to do so?  Answer: because a good speaker is a great rarity; because all bad ministers replace quality in a speech with length, and this produces exactly the opposite of the desired effect.  I do not know what boredom is, thank God, only in church have I been forced to become acquainted with it.  Pastor Schmaltz in Hamburg and Pastor Draeseke in Bremen were the only speakers I listened to with real pleasure.  The longer one lives in this world the more one sees how wide spread hypocrisy is.  Church and religion have always been an example of it, and I hate nothing more than I hate hypocrisy.  In the local English Episcopalian church, I will now probably have to renew my acquaintanceship with boredom!

A North American, who has been living on this coast for many years, is now seeking to establish a steamship company in England, with four steamships which are to make stops between Valparaiso and Panama.  They would stop at the principal ports in between and make a trip each month.  From Panama one would  travel by mule to Cruces, which is five German miles; in Cruces one would go by barge down the river to Chagris, which is the port on the north coast.  Once the overland route has been improved and the steamships cruise on the river Chagris, the distance from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean could be covered in nine hours.  From the Chagris port, steamships are supposed to go to Jamaica, from where one would continue the voyage to Falmouth with the monthly English mail ships.  The British government has already promised to support this endeavor in every possible way.  Hopefully, it will begin operating this year!  The voyage would then be made in the following way:

This is the way I will travel next time I pay a visit to Europe!

*

 There are no poisonous or dangerous animals and insects in Chile.  The only nuisance is the black jumper, commonly known as the flea and is also common in Europe.  As this impertinent, often enviable guest frequently abuses its freedom, I am, in conclusion, adding an effective method of extermination which I recently found in the novel “Japhet in Search of a Father” by Capt. Marryat[41], namely: “Take said jumper between thumb and index finger of the left hand, open its mouth and give it a few grains of arsenic or ¹/8 of a drop of cyanide; it will die instantly”.

[41]  Captain Frederick Marryat (1792 –1848) was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story.

With the humble request that the esteemed, charming readers of these “Thoughts at Sea and on Land” will stay well disposed toward me, I will send them tomorrow on the ship “Pigeon”, via Antwerp.

Valparaiso, January 16^th 1838
E^d. W^m. Berckemeyer

Back to Table of Contents

On Board the English Brig “Rimac”

(No. II. Continuation of the Thoughts at Sea  1838)

Capt. Wm. Dixon on the Voyage from Valparaiso to Liverpool (1838)

“Was ist Wahrheit?” [Pontius Pilatus]
“What is truth?” [Pontius Pilate]

This time there will be no introduction, but as an epilogue to the two small booklets which I sent off in the middle of last month (January) from Valparaiso to Antwerp on the Belgian ship “Pigeon”, may the following serve:

Those booklets represent the “Ölblatt” (olive leaf or olive branch) which the dove, as a symbol of peace, love and devotion, lays at the feet of my revered mother in Groβ Thurow, from me in South America.  In the hope of a benevolent and indulgent judgment, I dare to continue writing down my “Seegendanken” (Thoughts at Sea) and occasionally sending them with another “Taube” (dove or pigeon).

*

How unreliable, deceptive and uncertain are all human resolutions, plans and deeds!  When I sent off the aforementioned “Ölblätter” (olive leaves), it was my firm resolve not to leave my superbly located home on the Cerro Alegre for at least five years.  But as soon as a promising opportunity for a profitable business deal shows up, all previous plans are forgotten and banished.  I believe that if tomorrow an opportunity presented itself to earn 10,000 pounds sterling in Peking or Timbuktu, I would immediately go there.  I believe that this money spirit has possessed me ever since I came into possession of a certain, probably charmed, purse.  It came into my hands in June 1837.

This is not the place to discuss the reasons which led to this sudden voyage.  They remain a merchant’s secret which may later, be addressed.  If these lines were to be seen by only the friendly eyes of the esteemed readers, I would not hesitate to immediately entrust them with this secret.  Firstly, I would then know that it would be kept safe, and secondly, I would greatly rise in the dear ladies’ favour, as the entrusting of a secret is well known to do.  But probably these “Thoughts at Sea” will be communicated to some friends as well, therefore, I must keep this secret to myself.  The “fairer sex” says “Men cannot remain silent”, and I believe everything that the daughters of Eve say.  I hope that no one will object to the logic of this decision.

Of the originally planned five years, my stay in Valparaiso has been reduced to three months.  It is now my plan to stay in Europe for three to four months and then return to Valparaiso at approximately the end of this year.  A subsequent sequel  will show to what extent these plans have been realized.  I was very sorry to have had to leave Valparaiso so soon.  I just had my little house comfortably furnished, hoping to enjoy some years of peace.  With nostalgia, I remember the magnificent view and the friendly serene sky!

On February 9^th at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, after a short, quick farewell from all my friends, I boarded the English brig “Rimac”, Capt. Wm. Dixon.  A moment later we sailed out of the bay in very light winds, the sun sank in the southwest behind the mountains and Valparaiso disappeared in the shadows of the night.

The Merchant Brig “Rimac”[42] off Cape Horn,
oil painting by Joseph Heard 1854

[42]  Launched in 1834, she was registered at 215 tons and measured 90 feet in length with a 23 foot beam.  She spent much of her life sailing to the many ports on the western coast of South America and rounded the Horn no less than fifty-six times, a remarkable achievement for any sailing vessel, particularly a tiny brig.

On my departure from Valparaiso it occurs to me, that in several letters I have probably expressed myself vaguely about “farewells in general”, because I have been misunderstood.  The longer I live in this world and the more diverse the conditions in which I find myself, the more I realize that it is most foolish to be kept from the enjoyment of spiritual or physical pleasure through misplaced modesty or shyness or concerns of any kind.  These, as well as thousands of other rules of life, I have, unfortunately learned through my own bitter experiences because, just at the time when a father’s advice and support was most needed by a young man entering practical life, my father was snatched from me[43].  The loving mother’s guidance extends no further than the feminine sphere allows, consequently she cannot become the compass for a young man.  To return to the main point, farewells; I am certainly not against them and I would love to use every moment to once again see friends, and close and distant relatives.  However, the downside of this is that the soft feminine heart cannot be touched without shedding tears, from which the beautiful eyes suffer and the sweet friendly face becomes distorted.  If I leave without a farewell, it is that last friendly look that I try to keep alive and it is only this picture that stays in my memory.  I think that every woman or maiden who has her picture painted, wishes to be portrayed in the most favourable way.  If you imagined me to be a painter during subsequent farewells, you would show me a friendly smiling face and then I would certainly never avoid another farewell.  Some readers will probably object and claim that a beautiful woman or maiden, at the moment of sorrow or inner grief, is even more beautiful with a tear in her eye.  This I admit, however, the suffering woman must be represented while at rest.  A suffering beauty must rest; a cheerful, friendly beauty must be lively and active.  I definitely prefer the latter.

[43]  Eduard’s father, Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer (BP I) died in 1816 when Eduard was 18 years old.

As the weddings of my two siblings were to have taken place in November (1837) and from that time until my arrival in Hamburg, there will have passed as much time as is required to create a human being, so I will arrive at the appropriate time to become a godfather.  At any rate, I will do my best to arrive at Groβ Thurow on June 2^nd.[44]  But to do that, I need the support of the capricious deity Aeolus[45].  Until today, the 20^th of February, he has very much neglected us; sometimes he leaves us completely without wind, sometimes he gives us only a south wind.

[44]  Eduard‘s mother’s birthday was June 2^nd.

[45]  Aeolus is the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology.

At noon on February 12^th, we saw one of the Juan Fernandez Islands[46].  Because the wind was weak, we could see it for three days.  We approached the island from the northeast; it is very steep and mountainous and by visual estimation, the mountains must be almost 3,000 feet high.  With a telescope, I could see trees and green pastures in the ravines and on the hillsides, but no living creatures, neither man nor beast.  The actual port remained hidden from our view.  This island is very fertile and whalers very frequently return here to supply themselves with fresh water and food.  Pigs and goats live here in great numbers.  The Chilean government has established a small garrison with a governor here.  They use the island only as a state prison now and civil and political criminals have to cultivate the land.  A few months ago, Peruvian warships picked up the entire garrison so that at this moment, there is no government.

[46]  Situated about 600 km  off the coast of Chile.  The islands are known mainly for having been the home to the marooned sailor, Alexander Selkirk for four years, which may have inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe.

The temperature near Juan Fernandez was 20 degrees Réaumur (25 degrees C.) in the shade.  The weather was marvellous.  Other than in Valparaiso, I can recall only rarely having seen such a pure, bright, starlit sky as on the evening of February 13^th.   Every time I lose myself in the contemplation and admiration of a beautiful starry sky, I cannot suppress the thought, belief and desire, that after our death we will be transported to a greater and more perfect planet; that in the course of time, as we progress in our perfection, we will travel from one solar system to another without ever reaching the end.  Since we have to retain our consciousness and memory as a necessity for the consequences to follow (otherwise there would be no retribution and justice), and since we know nothing about our prehuman state, I draw the conclusion that our earth, or perhaps our entire solar system among all worlds, is on the same rung of the ladder as the stone or polyp entering life, which strives to touch the first rungs of the stepladder with its arms, which then leads from the chaotic mass to thinking and reasoning people on earth.  Measured by the standard of all worlds, this pompous and vain thing called man, would be nothing more than infusorians which stick to the polyps.  The prince who fancies himself almighty, the proud minister, the scheming mistress who dominates both of those, the proud nobleman Herr von[47] ……, the money-proud merchant, the flatulent senator who calls himself wise, the cunning lawyer, the wily priest, the self-satisfied theorist, the beautiful young woman who shines in all societies, the vain young girl who is sprinkled from all sides with incense, the mincing dandy, – all these will reject such a humiliating allegation with contempt, and so they may, after all!  I call to them: step out of your narrow horizons, consider the work of God and recognize your impotence!

[47]  The “von” in front of a German surname indicates a noble patriarchal lineage.

*

The following will serve as an explanation for the next part:

Jardin _– garden, in Spanish the word actually refers to small flower gardens only.

Huerta _– garden, refers to vegetable and fruit gardens on a larger scale.

Chacara _– field, on a larger scale for growing grains, some livestock and gardening.

Estancia _– farm, ranch or estate on a very large scale for cattle breeding and agriculture.  In Buenos Aires there are ranches from 5, 10 to 25 (Quadrat leguas) Spanish square-miles[48] or 18 ³/4 German square miles, where they keep 25,000 to 30,000 cattle, 5,000 to 6,000 sheep and 4,000 to 6,000 horses.  In Chile, the largest ranches are less than half that size.  In Buenos Aires there is more emphasis on livestock and therefore, a larger area is required.  In Chile, there is more emphasis on agriculture because the mountainous land is not as suitable for livestock.

[48]  1 Spanish square mile is ~30 square km.

When one views the gigantic mountain range, the Cordillera de los Andes, one cannot help but ponder how the various phenomena that one observes, are created.  It is remarkable that where the Cordillera approaches the western shore, it draws all the ascending mists into itself; no clouds are formed and there are no rains or thunderstorms.  This is the case all along the coast[49] from Coquimbo in northern Chile to Lambayeque in northern Peru.  The heavy night time dew and  artificial irrigation maintain the vegetation which, in the valleys where enough water exists, is very rich and lush.  In central Chile, to which Valparaiso and Santiago belong, it rains frequently in autumn and winter.  In the south, to which Valdivia and Chiloe belong, it rains throughout the year like it does by us in northern Germany and in England.  In Tacna, Peru where I lived for a whole year, a drizzling rain fell only a few times in winter, i.e. in June.  The thick  fog which characterizes the winter, lasts one or two months.  In summer, when there are many thunderstorms in the Andes, the inhabitants of Tacna would take a half hour walk out of town in order to hear the thunder which they would never be able to hear down in the valley.   In Lima, the fog in winter is very unpleasant.  Often, the sun is not seen at all for six to eight weeks; therefore, I definitely prefer the climate in Valparaiso.  In winter, it rains frequently and strongly there; however it clears up right after the rain and the sun delights the people and the earth.  A persistently cloudy sky, which I would call a complaining sky, is not known in Valparaiso.

[49]  This phenomenon applies only to the Coastal Range, not to the Andes.

Following are the prices of some foods in Valparaiso as they appeared in my household expenditure records of January, 1838.  I had four persons in the house: Mr. Hilliger and I, Friedrich and a cook.

1 Real is 7 Shillings Courant,
1 Dollar ($) = 3.8 Courantmark,
1 Dollar has 8 Reales.

• For 1 bottle of milk, delivered every morning:
  $2 or 7 Courantmark per month

• For 2 barrels of water, delivered daily,
  (a donkey carries two such barrels):
  $2 per month

• 1 iron stove from North America, very
  functionally designed to heat with coal:
  $70 = 245 Courantmark

• 1 English ton = 2240 pounds of coal:
  $12 = 42 Courantmark

• to bring it up to my house:
  $2 = 7 Courantmark

• Firewood is very expensive, 1 mule-load costs:
  in summer $1,
  in winter $1.5 = 5.4 Courantmark

• My cook José, because he was a beginner:
  $8 = 28 Courantmark per month
  (Usually a chef or cook gets
  $10 to $12 = 35 to 42 Courantmark per month)

• Laundry for me, the household and for Friedrich:
  $10 = 35 Courantmark per month

Daily shopping at the market for 4 persons:
8 – 9 Reales

Sliced dried peaches, approximately
1 pound for 1 Real = 7 Shillings Courant.

Very large, nice strawberries, 1 pound for ¹/2 Real = 3¹/2 Shillings; in Chile there two types of strawberries, our German garden strawberry and field strawberry, both are much larger in Chile but not better.

1 nice, big watermelon for ¹/2 Real = 3¹/2 Shillings Courant.

It is necessary to note that in Valparaiso, as well as in Santiago, all fruits and vegetables are very expensive,.  They are never very fresh or good, because they are brought by mules from 3, 4, and 5 Spanish miles away.

1 dozen chickens cost: in Valparaiso
$3 = 10.8 Courantmark, in Lima $10 to $12
1 dozen ducks: in Valparaiso
$5 = 17.8 Courantmark, in Lima $12
1 Kalkute[50] (turkey): in Valparaiso
7 to 9 Reales =  49 to 63 Shillings, in Lima $3 to $4

Very good Schiffsbrot (ship’s bread)[51] in Valparaiso costs $3¹/2 per 100 pounds or 12.4 Courantmark.  The finest ship’s bread costs $5 per 100 pounds or 17.8 Courantmark.

[50]  Kalkute, Kalkuut is low German, meaning turkey.

[51]  Schiffsbrot (Ship’s bread) – The following is from  Beckmann Bakery in Bremen, Germany.  “Hundreds of years ago bread was stored in cans so that sailors could eat fresh bread even after several weeks at sea.“

The best baker in Valparaiso is a man from Hamburg named Stüyen.  He came here ten years ago and now has the largest business of its kind on the entire coast.  His new house, which he built himself, has an oven, storeroom etc. and is very extensive and very practically equipped. He is married to a Chilean woman and already has two daughters.

No palm-trees grow in the vicinity of Valparaiso, however about 30 Spanish miles to the north they are very common.  A small village, Las Palmas, received that name because of its many palm trees.  In Chile, they make honey or syrup from the sap of the palm tree.  They drill a hole into the tree and collect the liquid running out of it; this is boiled and becomes honey.  The colour is brown like our syrup and the taste is almost the same.  One bottle costs 1 Real or 7 Shillings.  All foods are cheap in Chile but one sometimes has to buy European goods and pay exorbitant prices for them.  When I moved into my house on the Cerro Alegre there were naturally some things to be cleaned and I needed some brushes.  I had to pay 12 Reales or 5.4 Courantmark for a very mediocre scrub brush, or so-called Leuwagen without a handle!

For the last six or eight months there is a very able German doctor in Valparaiso, Mr. Segeth from Berlin.  He was sent to Manila by the Prussian government in order to investigate a fever that was prevalent there.  On his arrival at Valparaiso he became ill, the ship could not wait, so he stayed behind.  Dr. Segeth will probably stay in Valparaiso, because a young, beautiful and rich widow has captured his heart.  So, in the future, he lives under his American wife’s slipper[52] which at least, has the advantage over the European slipper in that it is small and light and fits a most charming foot.

[52]  He uses the expression “unter einem Pantoffel stehen“ which means to be henpecked.

Our voyage on the “Rimac” has, up to now, progressed very well, especially since we were very lucky at Cape Horn.  Today, March 22^nd, the 41^st day of our voyage, we are in the Atlantic Ocean at 32° 50’ south latitude and 42° 9’ west longitude with clear skies and a temperature of 17^o.  Of course the wind is not quite favourable but, as with all hardships in life, it makes us value the good things more and serves to remind us of gratitude.

Back to Table of Contents

On Board the English Brig “Rimac”

(No. III. Continuation of the Thoughts at Sea or The Olive Branch 1838)

Capt. Wm. Dixon on the Voyage from Valparaiso to Liverpool

Wenn Gott mir in einer ____ die Wahrheit
Und in der . . . . .
So . . . . .
Um die Wahrheit . . . . .

[Lessing] (?)

On March 6^th 1838, from a great distance, we saw the Diego Ramirez Islands.  They lie southwest of Cape Horn and in good weather one can sail between the two.  We sailed south of Diego Ramirez and towards evening reached the longitude of Cape Horn.  Our most southerly point was 56° 41’ latitude.  The temperature outside was 8° Réaumur (10^oC), water 6° (8^oC), in the cabin 10° (13^oC).  On March 8^th we saw Bell Mountain or Glockenberg on Tierra del Fuego at the entrance of the Strait Le Maire.  We also saw Staaten Land[53] but at too great a distance to distinguish anything.  On the 11^th we saw Beauchene Island, south of the Falkland Islands[54].  It is a barren flat-topped rock.  We did not see anything of the Falkland Islands.  We had very little stormy weather at Cape Horn.  I had not been able to write for 8 to 10 days, but only because of the cold.  A few years ago the British government sent out two ships, the “Beagle”[55] and the “Adventurer”, to re-survey the entire coast from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and mainly the Strait of Magellan.   It took them four years, from 1826 to 1830.  After the map of this survey was released, some ships tried the passage and now it is used more than it was before.  In some places the Strait of Magellan presents great difficulties because of the strong currents, the narrow channel and the storms.  However, all of these difficulties can be overcome because it is possible to cast anchor everywhere, and there are some very good harbours.  It is strange that every ship’s Captain prefers enduring month-long heavy storms at Cape Horn rather than take the passage through the Strait of Magellan, and this is mainly because he might have to cast anchor several times.  Just as formerly an exaggerated fear of Cape Horn existed, the same fear now prevails for the Strait of Magellan.

[53]  “Strait Le Maire is formed on the west by part of Terra Del Fuego, and on the east by the west end of Staten Land or Island.“ – From Captain Cook’s journal on Tierra del Fuego in 1768/9.  This island can be found on maps today as Staten Island, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

[54]  Beauchene Island is actually the southernmost of the Falkland Islands.

[55]  This was the first voyage of the “Beagle“.  Charles Darwin was on the “Beagle’s“ second voyage, which began in December 1831 and lasted almost 5 years.

On March 14^th and the following days, when we were at 45° to 40° south latitude and 49° to 44° west longitude, we saw countless flocks of seabirds, from albatross to common terns and millions of small grey, fast-flying sea gulls.  Captain Dixon told every time he has been in this area, he has seen the same large number of birds.  The nearest known land is the Falkland Islands, at a distance of 150 German miles.  But it is very likely that there is a, as yet unknown, land nearer and to the east of this point.[56]  In English sea accounts, I found the following about this:
In 1675 the English Captain, La Roche, was undertaking a voyage from the Pacific Ocean to England.  As he approached 46° south latitude, he was hit by strong southwesterly storms which drove him to the northeast.  After many days the storm abated and he saw large flocks of birds and fish, and finally discovered a large island.  He landed and found rich vegetation but no people.  He stayed there for six days but gave no other description of the island, except that he regretted that not all London whalers were there in order to obtain a rich harvest of whales, sea lions and harbour seals, in only a few days.  This negligent explorer did not describe the exact position of the island, but laments only the blubber not harvested.  Such a blubber-soul should be drowned in blubber!

[56]  This unknown land is South Georgia Island. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are a collection of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.  The South Georgia Group lies about 1,390 kilometres east-southeast of the Falkland Islands, at 54°–55°S, 36°–38°W.

In 1793, i.e. 118 years later, the British government sent Captain Colnett in a warship to find this so-called Isla Grande, Grand Isle, Große Insel.  Captain Colnett sailed between 43° and 45° south latitude to 30° west longitude.  He found the same innumerable flocks of sea birds as well as seaweed, even driftwood and tree branches, and whales in large numbers.  However the island did not appear from out of the waves and he gave up looking for it.  Captain Pérouse and Captain Vancouver also searched for the island in vain.

Since in earlier times the chronometer was not known, it is very likely that the searchers miscalculated the longitude.  It is surprising that the British government has not more recently repeated similar searches.  It is probably very likely that this land is in this area and even if, for the time being, the island promises nothing other than catching whales, sea lions and harbour seals, the discovery would still be richly rewarding.

*

On Sunday January 7^th, I walked in the corridor in front of my house on the Cerro Alegre as the sun’s face rose over the mountain range to enter her path across the cloudless, gloriously blue sky.  As is usual at this time of year, there was no breeze.  Before me, the bay with its ships, looked like a mirror’s surface but the more experienced eye soon recognizes the eternal, never-resting motion of the sea  and the ear hears the everlasting roar of the surf.  Resting on the sea was a fog which seemed to be approaching land.  In all warm countries people start moving before daybreak.  So today, already long lines of mules approach from various directions over the mountains, following the sound of the lead bell and loaded with fruits, vegetables and the diverse requirements of life.  Strawberries and figs are carried in large trunks or in containers made of untanned hides, but so carefully packed in grass and leaves that they suffer no damage.  All other fruit and vegetables are placed into very broad woven baskets.  One has to admire the skill with which the farmers (countrymen) or Huasos[57] do the packing.  Through the bends and ravines of the mountains, a great green mass moves along a serpentine route.  The newcomer is amazed because he sees neither people nor animals which could set these green clusters in motion, and yet they are steadily and rapidly approaching.  Look there!  Mules so skilfully loaded with alfalfa or lucerne[58] that only the muzzled head of the animal sticks out.  The riders following behind are also hidden from view by these travelling green hillocks.  At the same time, many “Aguateros” or water carriers and their donkeys wait their turn near the wells to fill their barrels.  They follow their loaded donkeys on foot and sing, “El Cuando” for example, among others:

[57]  A Huaso (Spanish pronunciation: [‘waso] is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the American cowboy.

[58]  Alfalfa is called lucerne in some countries.  Like other legumes, its root nodules contain a bacteria, Sinorhizobium meliloti, with the ability to convert nitrogen from the air into a form which is useable by the plant, producing a high-protein feed, regardless of available nitrogen in the soil.  Its nitrogen-fixing abilities (which increases soil nitrogen) and its use as an animal feed, greatly improve agricultural efficiency.

(I recall having heard the following stanza from country folk in Spain:

Mas allá de la vida he de quererte
que el amor nace del alma
y esta no muere. Que si se muriera,
solo por no olvidarte no te quisiera.

Beyond this life I will love you
because love springs from the soul,
and it is immortal.  If it were mortal,
I would not love you just to forget you.

I know of no words that are more simple, compelling and expressive than these, and I therefore, hope you will excuse my little digression.)

On the wide road that winds down from Santiago, I see large shapeless masses moving along, accompanied by such heart wrenching music that one has to plug one’s ears when approaching them.  They are big, lumbering two-wheeled carts, the roof and side walls are covered with oxen hides.  They are drawn by six to eight oxen.  A man, by means of a twelve foot long pole equipped with an iron tip, very skilfully directs them.  The wheels run on wooden axles which are never lubricated and that is the reason they complain so loudly – and rightly so.  These carts usually carry 4,000 to 5,000 pounds, bringing flour and fruit from the interior and taking back goods from foreign countries.  A number of these carts are accompanied by several Huasos on horseback who present a curious picture with their coppery brown complexions; their pointed straw hats from which their glossy, black shaggy hair hangs out; their colourful ponchos; their short, wide, open trousers; their bare feet or sandals with enormous iron spurs and with lassos in their hands.  In front of a house in the Almendral, a lightly built cart drawn by two oxen, halts.  It is hung with brightly coloured and white blankets and decorated with green branches and flowers.  Inside is a carpet and four to six small, low chairs.  Several covered baskets containing food and beverages are set inside; four to six old and young women climb in.  Joining them on horseback are relatives and “Cortejos”, suitors for the young girls.  And now they drive (and ride) into the country to some valley one to two hours from the city, where they stop.  The women cook and they pass the time with guitars, singing and enjoying the shade of trees, which the city lacks.  In this way one spends “un día de campo” – a day in the country.

A lighter and better horse-drawn wagon stops in front of a house in the city.  It is a “Calesa” (calash) or covered “Gigh” (gig) but it has a large window in the rear, which can be closed with a curtain, and serves to provide a current of cooler air.  There are two horses hitched to it, one between the two shafts and on the other, sits the coachman.  In addition, two men on horseback accompany the calash.  They use their lassos to harness the calash when it is going uphill.  There is room for two persons, but not for much luggage.  The travellers are going to Santiago and plan to arrive there this evening, which is why they are leaving so early.  It is five o’clock in the morning now.  It is 25 “leguas” or 18 German miles (~130 km) to Santiago.  At noon they will rest for three or four hours, and will still arrive in Santiago between 9 and 10 o’clock in the evening.  They cover the entire distance in 12 to 13 hours with the same horses.  It should be noted that they must cross three mountain ranges, the first is about 1,200 feet high, the second is 2,500 feet high and the third is 4,000 feet high.  (Question: How long would it take in Mecklenburg and Lauenburg to cover such a distance?)

Now the bell rings for morning Mass and doors are opening.  Many devout women and girls come out to take advantage of the cool morning air and dutifully attend Mass.  Servants carry carpets for the wealthy families on which they kneel and sit in church.  The poorer people carry the carpets themselves or go without.  Among the servant girls there are very many brown and copper-coloured Indian faces.  There are many people from the Araucarian[59] and other Indian tribes in the south of Chile who constantly migrate, looking for work which is very easily found and is well paid.  There are young girls who, at the age of 5 or 6 are sold, so to speak, by their Indian parents because they receive gifts for them.  They usually never see them again.  Firstly, the children have no desire to live among the Indians again and secondly, they may have been brought to the north of Chile so that the distance makes the return impossible.  Like all servants in Chile, these children are always treated very well.  When the young girls have grown up, they may leave service at any time; there will certainly be no pressure to stay.  There has been no slavery in all of Chile for many years.  Everywhere, women are generally more devout and religious than men, but nowhere have I found this difference to be greater than in Valparaiso.  I see piety only when people attend church but I do not see it in their other actions or in any works of Christian charity.  Should women have more sins to confess and to atone for than men do?  When one sees these lovely figures carried on small, dainty feet taking them to Mass, one cannot suppress the desire to share their sins and to do penance together with them.

[59]  Historically, Mapuche or “people from the land” was the term used to designate the Araucanians occupying the south-central area of the Chilean territory, but now it is the term used by all Araucanians.

As well, many horsemen and horsewomen can be found in church.  They come from the countryside to hear Mass.  There comes a Huaso or peasant; his wife, daughter or lover sitting sideways behind him on the horse.  There come two women riding one horse, both sitting sideways but still galloping quite safely.

Look there!  A rich Huaso on horseback, his wife, two daughters and two servants or poor peasants, follow him.  Each woman has her own horse, of course.  The Huaso rides a beautiful horse.  The bridle is richly decorated with silver; his saddle is brand new and decorated with special care; his large, heavy, silver spurs jingle with a clear voice at every step of the horse; he wears a white poncho and a straw hat with a wide brim.  The women also wear ponchos and black or brown felt hats with wide brims and sometimes veils.  They ride in their ordinary clothes, not in those unsuitable long, heavy skirts as in Europe.  And if one sometimes sees their pretty little calves or even somewhat higher up, they will not be angry.  On the contrary, they are more likely to throw a friendly look of gratitude.  God did not make His masterpiece of creation in order to deprive the eye of it;  no, it should be admired!

Now it is time for Mass but the priest is still missing.  During the night he was called out to administer last rites to a patient, and he has not yet returned.  So the parishioners have a little more time to continue their conversations.  They eye one another, greet friends and relatives and in less than ten minutes, the “better part” of the parish has gathered so much news, that a plentiful amount of information will be carried home.  Here now, at an ambling pace, comes a fine mule and sitting on it is a portly, imposing man in white flannel habit.  He is wearing a large straw hat with a wide brim.  It is the priest.  He is welcomed with reverence and several people push forward to hold the mule and help him dismount.  He says a few friendly words to them, goes into the church and the parishioners follow.

At the same early morning hour, smoke is already rising from the houses of the Almendral and the ravines, because everyone who comes here from the countryside goes to the “Chinganas” (taverns) or “Pulperías” (corner stores); inns or pubs for the lower classes; to enjoy their favourite morning drink, Mate[60] and to smoke a cigar.

[60]  Mate is a traditional drink in some countries in South America.  The drink (a tea), which contains caffeine, is made by an infusion of dried leaves of the plant, yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis).

On the sea, it has now also become livelier.  The fishermen, who go far out into the sea with their small light boats, return soon after daybreak.  They have made a plentiful catch and hurry to bring their fresh and living wares to the market.  The sea, the inner bay and the nearby coast supply wonderful fish, eels and various species of crabs.  The boats of the warships and merchant vessels cross each other going in different directions and head for land in order to buy fresh food.  The English frigate “Stag” has just made various signals with flags which are immediately repeated by the two corvettes “Rover” and “Ily”, to confirm that they have understood correctly and will follow the given orders.  At the same moment, ten heavily manned boats are launched from the “Stag”, “Rover” and “Ily” and row rapidly out into the sea, soon to disappear behind the southwestern point which encloses the bay.  An hour later, one boat after another slowly reappears, rowing hard in a long line, one behind the other.  Look there!  A beautiful ship suddenly emerges from behind the promontory and slowly follows the boats.  They are towing her in.  She was lying out there in the calm and in the early morning, she showed her English flag.  It is a merchant ship from Liverpool, the “Ituna”, which has made the trip in 101 days.

At 8 o’clock in the morning all warships play the drums and raise their flags, and because it is Sunday, all merchant vessels do the same, as is customary.  English, North American, Chilean, French, Hamburg, Danish, Tahitian, Grenadinian, Mexican, Brazilian, and Argentine flags appear in a colourful mixture.  In addition, the English frigate “Stag” raises a white flag with a red cross which means that today at ten o’clock, a religious service will be held.  They have a minister on board, and close to 10 o’clock the commodore will send three large boats ashore and everyone who wishes, may attend the service.

Today I did not wait for this late hour, did not climb into an ox cart, did not mount a horse; instead, I took a walking stick in hand and climbed uphill with a travel companion.  At 6 o’clock I headed in a southerly direction from behind my house.  In the beginning the slope is moderate.  We passed several houses on the right and the left, and several corn fields and huertas with vegetables and fruits on both sides.   Then a valuable small stream flows down from above and spreads its artificial veins out in all directions.  We followed this stream for only a short time until it turns left.

Now we had to sort through the multi-branched mule’s trails and follow the easiest one.  The heavy winter rains have churned up the hard red clay and exposed the massive bones of the rock veins.  In spite of the summer heat, there are wonderfully verdant shrubs and many species of flowers everywhere.  Unfortunately, I am ignorant of botany and so they are unknown to me.  All these plants get their nourishment from deep within the earth.  I have seen small plants, 12 to 20 inches tall that have roots reaching down 15 to 20 feet and break apart stony layers in order to search for nutrients beneath.

The fog that had been lying on the sea in the early morning, has since moved closer to land.  It gradually covered the bay, first the boats disappeared and then, little by little the ships as well, until finally only the warships’ masts protruded above the sea of fog; but these too, went under.  And now began a strange battle between the fog and the sun.  In the valleys and especially in the deep and narrow ravines, the battle was fought with great tenacity on both sides.  The fog wanted to storm the mountains which were being defended by the sun.  This rise and fall of the fog, sometimes supported by gentle winds, then seemed to retreat, only to burst forth in ambush with redoubled strength.  The rapid alteration between light and shade afforded a magnificent sight.  Occasionally the sun’s rays burst through and a part of the bay with its ships, or the city with its houses, emerged as an illuminated island in the sea and then everything was flooded again.  It was the living picture of the Flood; how the water rose higher and higher and inundated everything until it also reached our position; the sea of fog poured over us, darkness enveloped us, the light seemed defeated.  But, it was not so.  Our view was befogged and we had not yet reached the highest point from where one should consider all circumstances of life and all world events in order to admire and honour the harmony and wisdom.

Finally, the light conquered the darkness, the sun suddenly burst forth with renewed vigour, the fog was devoured.  At least, during these battles, the hikers had made use of the fog’s coolness to climb to the summit of the mountain range.  This was not done without difficulty, for the path is sometimes very steep and there were no directional signs.  The height of this mountain range is about 3,000 feet above sea level and after we reached that point, by the sweat of our brows, we were wonderfully rewarded.  There was sunshine as far as the eye could see.  In the east, we saw a much larger section of the snow-capped Andes than can usually be seen from the Cerro Alegre or Valparaiso.  We could see several lower mountain ranges on both sides, the sea, the bay and the city.  Lying below me, the built-up Cerros above Valparaiso and on this, as if it were nothing, my little house on the Cerro Alegre takes on the same proportions as a man in creation.  From now on the path was on broken surfaces.  We came across houses or huts and many cattle on pastures.  And everywhere, where water can be found, the land is cultivated and the vegetation increases.  Other than a lot of shrubs and flowers which are unknown to me, I was especially delighted by the many flowering myrtle trees.  They do not actually grow like a tree but rather more like a shrub and spread out quite wide.  There is also the Cedron[61], a tree whose German name I do not know.  At home we grow it indoors and it has a wonderful lemon smell, especially when the leaves are bruised between fingers.  This Cedron reaches the height of our plum trees, the leaves are long and narrow, the flowers grow in grape-like clusters and are very small and violet coloured.  If 4 or 5 fresh green Cedron leaves are placed in a medium sized cup, boiling water poured on them and allowed to steep, a very tasty tea will result.  Doctors recommend it as a very effective means of promoting urination.  Heliotrope, cactus and aloe grow wild in the mountains.  In gardens, Geraniums and Floxia grow rampant.

[61]  This may be Aloysia citrodora.  It is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Peru.  Common names include Lemon Verbena and Cedrón.   Lemon Verbena is a deciduous open shrub growing to 2 –3 m high. The 8 cm long glossy, pointed leaves are slightly rough to the touch and emit a powerful lemon scent when bruised.  Sprays of tiny lilac or white flowers appear in late spring or early summer.

After about two hours we arrived at the destination of our hike, the Chacara of my friend, Don Sebastian Lezica.  The house is small.  It has a very large living room, two bedrooms and a very wide corridor that runs around three sides of the house.  In front of the house, there is a garden with many flowers, fruits and vegetables.  It slopes downhill and is intersected by small canals where water is constantly running.  Just to the left of the house, a deep, narrow valley drops down about 400 feet.  It is densely overgrown, the ground is very hillocky and broken up, and wheat, barley and alfalfa or lucerne grow alternately with each other.  From the house one can see, at about an hour’s distance away, the sea and all the ships sailing from the south toward Valparaiso.

After this walk, a rest in the shade and a good breakfast was very refreshing. The size of the entire Chacara is 1,190 cuadras.  1 cuadra is 5,470 square ruthen[62], so the Chacara is 6,509,300 square ruthen.  But only one third to one half of it can be cultivated, the rest is either too hilly and provides only lumber or there is no water to grow grains.  A Capataz or overseer operates the business and has taken it over in a joint account.  As payment, he receives half of the surplus revenue.  They keep 40 cows and the milk is sent to the city every morning with mules and donkeys.  In addition, they have 10 oxen for ploughing, 200 sheep, 20 horses, mules and donkeys.  Clover and firewood is also sent to the city every morning.   The name of the Chacara is “Quebrada Verde”, translated it means “Green Gorge”.  In one of the many valleys in which “Quebrada Verde” exists, arises a creek which is responsible for the richness of this property.  A half hour away from the house is the valley through which this creek flows and it is somewhat narrowed at one point by the mountains.  Here, Mr. Lezica has built a strong floodgate with which he has formed a small lake.  He accumulates so much water here, that he can daily irrigate the fields that require it.  For example, the water is sent to a field of lucerne through a canal which is 1 to 1½ square feet.  The field is sloped and the water conduit is located at the highest point.  Now, several openings are made in the conduit and the water trickles down over the whole field but it is collected by very many parallel ditches and held there.  Manure is neither collected nor used, the same soil is used all year without a break.  The lucerne replenishes itself continuously and water replaces all fertilizers.  The clover is cut throughout the year, about every 2 to 3 months, but that depends on the location, the soil condition and the type of irrigation used.  Until now, Mr. Lezica has not grown any more wheat and barley than he needs for his own use, i.e. barley for the cattle, wheat is sold.  I saw a wheat field that had grape vines along one side.  They had been planted three months ago and now every vine was full of grapes, unfortunately not yet ripe.  Sheep farming has so far been greatly neglected, as everywhere in Chile.  For example, the sheep are never washed.  I have given Mr. Lezica instructions on how the sheep must be flooded with water before being sheared.  He can easily do this because he has two large water tanks near the house.  The wool of the sheep, which has already been improved by using Merinos, is very good and I have been instructed to buy some fine rams for him.  Everywhere, there are climbing plants with very lovely flowers, the passion flower being one, among others.  The fuchsia[63] is a rampant grower.  The water pipes are usually completely covered with these climbing plants and thus protect them from the burning, destructive sun’s rays.  I was amazed to find so many different kinds of roses in Mr. Lezica’s garden and they thrive admirably.  Among the fruit trees such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, figs, etc., I found a chirimoya[64] tree, usually called the Queen of Fruits, because it is far superior to the pineapple.  The real homeland of the chirimoya is Peru.  It also grows in the warmest valleys of Chile, however, it never reaches the same quality as the Peruvian ones.  It is worth the effort of making a trip to Peru, just for this fruit alone.  It is also very likely that it was a chirimoya that Eve handed to Adam in paradise, and not an ordinary apple.  Who could resist Eve with a chirimoya!  Even though the best time for strawberries was already past, I found quite a few in the garden.  They are not well maintained but rather, grow about wildly.  Besides the usual poultry, chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys; I found a new kind of duck from Chiloe[65] there.  They are grey-brown, almost as large as a goose but have longer legs and necks, the beaks are shorter and more pointed.

[62]  The Rute or Ruthe (rod) was used as a land measure.  Many different kinds of Ruthe were used at various times in various parts of the German-speaking world and they were of many different lengths.

[63]  There is a vining fuchsia native to Chile.

[64]  The cherimoya, also spelled chirimoya, is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola.  The fruit is similar in size to a grapefruit, fleshy and soft, sweet, white in color, with a sherber-like texture, which gives it its secondary name, custard apple.

[65]  Chiloé Island  is the largest island of the Chiloé  Archipelago off the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los Lagoa Region.

Mr. Lezica had received some pheasants from France in order to breed them; however the young ones have not thrived, some were eaten by snakes and others by predatory birds.

Condors[66] are rarely seen so close to the coast; they prefer to stay close to the higher mountains.  There is a small species of eagle here which is very rapacious.  Condors are a great nuisance in some parts of Chile.  They steal sheep, calves and foals in large numbers and people try to kill them in every possible way.  The usual way is as follows:  A circular enclosure is built, about 10 to 12 feet in diameter and just as high with a door and a narrow 2 foot opening on top, left open.  A sheep or calf is tied inside because the condor eats only fresh meat.  As soon as the condor hunter has withdrawn, the condors appear.  Because of their large wings, they cannot fly in from above but must enter through the door.  As soon as several of them have gathered in there, the hunter comes out of hiding and closes the door.  The condors cannot escape, the space is too small and they cannot spread their wings.  In order to fly up, they have to use their feet to jump up several times while flapping their wings before they get enough aerodynamic force to carry them.  Mr. Aguayo, the overseer of Quebrada Verde, told me that on an Estancia where he used to work, they had 2,000 to 3,000 head of cattle and lost 100 head annually to condors.  There was a man there who had a special skill at catching condors.  At night, condors rest together in groups of 10 to 20.  They choose a very high, lonely area on a mountain and always return to the same place.  They sleep standing and put their heads under their wings.  The hunter tracks down such an aerie, lies down in ambush and waits for the night.  He has a long lasso securely tied somewhere and on this lasso there are 8 to 10 lighter lassos.  He then approaches very carefully.  As soon as he reaches the condors, he touches the first one very lightly with a stick, it wakes up and when it raises its head from under its wing, he throws the lasso over its head.  And as soon as the others wake up and raise their heads because of the noise, he quickly throws the lassos over their heads as well.  In this way, he often catches 6 to 8 in one night.  The condors cannot break the lassos so the hunter goes back to his hiding place and the next morning he easily kills the condors, usually they have already strangled themselves.

[66]  Andean condors are massive birds, among the largest in the world that are able to fly.  Because they are so heavy (up to 33 pounds) with a 4 foot body, even their enormous 10-foot wingspan needs some help to keep them aloft. For that reason, these birds prefer to live in windy areas where they can glide on air currents with little effort.

Chilean products are increasing every year and it requires no great human gift of prophesy to predict a very happy future for this country.  It is now just over 9 years ago that I left this country for the first time.  At that time, trade was insignificant compared to the present.  Then about 100 ships landed in the Valparaiso harbour annually, now it is over 1000 ships.  At that time Chile had to pay for all its European needs mostly in gold and silver, because the export of dried and salted hides was insignificant.  Of the 100 foreign ships, at least 80 to 90 had to leave with ballast, for there was nothing to be loaded.  Now the tide has turned completely.  Chile now has so many products to load that ships from Europe arrive with ballast in order to load here.  Following are the products:

Gold mines are not very productive, the government buys everything to mint gold coins.

Silver mines are very productive, especially the rich mines near Copiapó which were discovered in 1830.  The first rich yield bordered on the phenomenal.  The mines are all in private hands.  They pay the government a tax for every mine opening (boca mina[67]).  The governments of the three mine-rich countries along this coast, mint silver annually as follows: in Chile 1 million Talers[68], in Bolivia 2 million, in Peru 3 million, as well as gold coins of a uncertain number.   Furthermore, a lot of unrefined gold and silver is exported to Europe.  In Peru and Bolivia the miners (mineros) must hand over all the silver to the mint.  The government pays $8 (Taler) in minted coins for every Mark or 4 Lot[69] fine silver.  The government or the Bank of Recovery (of national resources) usually provides the miners with quicksilver in exchange for unrefined silver.  In Peru there are two such banks and mints, located in Lima and in Cuzco; in Bolivia there is only one in Potosí.  Up to now, quicksilver is the only known means of extracting the precious metal from the rock.

[67]  Boca mina is Spanish meaning mine mouth.

[68]  The Taler, Thaler, or Talir was a silver coin.  No currency currently in circulation is named taler.

[69]  The Lot was a unit of mass.  The old Lot, before about 1856, had varying masses but was usually 14 – 18 g.

To work the mines on the west coast:

Supposing that 7,000 hundredweight of quicksilver are used every year, it follows that 70 million pounds of ore are annually removed from the earth in order to extract the precious metals, as 1 pound of quicksilver is needed for 100 pounds of ore.  It is well known that Rothschild in London has in his claws, the only rich quicksilver mines in the world, namely those at Almaden in the province of La Mancha in Spain, which the Queen’s weak government has pledged to him.  In earlier times, the Spanish government sold the quicksilver in Cadiz for $44 per  hundredweight.  It was generally assumed that on that, they earned $6 to $8 per hundredweight.  They say that Rothschild accepted the contract from the government for $40 but he has gradually driven the price so high that he now sells quicksilver in Cadiz for $74 per hundredweight and in London he sells it even higher, so he earns $34 on each hundredweight.  The mines in Almaden produce about 15,000 hundredweight annually, so in this business, Rothschild makes at least 510,000 Taler annually.  This enormous profiteering is very detrimental to mining in South America, because a miner used to buy a hundredweight of quicksilver in Potosí for $80 to $100 and now he has to pay $180 to $200.

Copper mines are very productive and profitable.  For a century, blocks of  copper have been exported from Coquimbo, and these mines continuously provide a good yield.  Since 1832, new and very rich copper mines have been discovered in several places, like Copiapó, Pichidangui, Huasco and Herradura.  This ore is so rich that it contains 70% to 80% pure copper.  Since the fuel for the smelting furnace at the mines is very costly and even manual labour is much more expensive than in Europe, the unrefined copper ore is now sent to England to be smelted and refined.  These shipments started 3 to 4 years ago and are now the primary return cargo to England.  Almost all the ore is shipped to Swansea in Wales because it has large coal mines located nearby, which makes smelting and transport easier.  A little copper ore goes to Liverpool but none to the Continent.  The copper mines in England produce an ore that contains only 15% pure copper and in order to support these mines, foreign copper cannot be used in England but must be exported again after having been refined.  Therefore, England makes money on the shipping and on the labour of smelting and refining.  A Spanish proverb is: “With copper mines you get rich, with silver mines you have bread and water and with gold mines you starve.”  This is indeed the case because copper mines require almost no capital for processing; the ore is always the same and it  usually lies in large beds almost at the surface.  It is a safe business.  Gold and silver mines are as fickle as luck and the fairer sex, whose favours are seldom gained.

Lead mines have been discovered only very recently.  A shipment of lead ore was sent to England and the results are anxiously awaited.

Wool:  This important product has so far been badly neglected in Chile, but some of the sheep have already been improved by Merino rams.  Meanwhile, they dedicate so little care to the sheep that it will take a long time before the wool reaches the same quality as our German wool.  Our sheep breeders do not have to worry about it.  In Chile, as well as in Peru, they do not know about washing sheep.  Sometimes they do not shear the sheep for one or two years and this creates a lot of dead wool.  Incidentally, this wool has a great advantage over the Buenos Aires wool in that it has almost no burrs.  The common unwashed white wool can be purchased in Valparaiso for $7 per quintal, ordinary black and white unwashed wool for $6 per quintal, refined white unwashed Merino wool for $12 per quintal.  One quintal equals 100 pounds.  100 pounds in Chile equals 95 pounds in Hamburg.  For the first wool named above, the price would be close to 4 Shilling Courant per Chilean pound; for the second, about 3¹/3 Shilling Courant per Chilean pound; and for the third, about 6³/4 Shilling Courant per Chilean pound.

Hemp:  The cultivation of this useful plant has greatly increased in the last few years and its quality is excellent.  An Englishman in Valparaiso, Mr. Joshua Waddington has established a rope-making business.  His ropes are really very excellent and the British warships prefer to buy them.  They cost $12 per quintal or 100 pounds.  I sent a shipment of this hemp to Europe and I am anxious to learn how it will turn out.

Wheat, flour, barley and dried meat are exported to Peru in large quantities.  Wheat now costs 10 reales per fanega[70], 55 fanegas are 1 Last[71] in Hamburg.  Consequently, one Last costs 80.10 Mark Courant.  The normal price is 10 to 12 reales per fanega, however it sometimes drops down to 6 reales, but this will probably be the case very soon if the war with Peru continues and exports stop.  Or it will rise to 20 reales, as was the case some years ago when Buenos Aires required large supplies.  How the price of things sometimes rise and fall in this country, cannot be imagined in Europe.  When there is the demand, any price will be paid.  A barrel of flour which weighs 175 pounds usually costs $12 to $15 in Lima,  is quite often sold for $50.

[70]  A fanega is a dry measure in Spain and Spanish America, about 1.6 bushels.

[71]  A Last (the German word for “load“, a meaning which also survives in the English word “ballast“) was about 80 bushels or 4000 pounds.

Lumber and boards are also shipped to Peru.

Wine:  A very good wine grows in Concepción though only the lower classes drink it now.  But certainly in time, with better handling it will improve to such a level, that it can replace European wines.

Cheese:  Very good cheese is made in Concepción.

I believe that nowhere else is a house built as quickly as it is in Chile.  It will sound strange to the honourable readers (both female and male), that the most essential material required is water!  You have read that correctly, it is indeed water, whether it is rain from the sky or water that springs from the earth.  First. a small water line is brought to the building site.  The same red clay which is dug out to lay the foundation, serves to make clay bricks.  The clay is mixed with straw and after two days in the sun, they are so hard and firm that they resemble fired bricks.  The bricks are also connected together with fresh clay.  Their size is approximately 1½ feet long, 1 foot wide and 5 to 6 inches thick.  The roofs of the better houses consist of fired bricks and the roofs of the farm houses in the country consist of cane or hides.  The farm houses are built with Coligue and clay only.  This Coligue or cane is an extremely useful plant for Chile.  It is tubular and very beautiful.  It grows probably 30 to 40 feet high and the top always tends to bend down like a weeping willow.

Written by the sweat of my brow near the equator, temperature 24° on April 12^th, 1838.

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On Board the English Brig “Rimac”

(No. IV. Continuation of the Thoughts at Sea or The Olive Branch 1838)

Capt. Wm. Dixon on the voyage from Valparaiso to Liverpool

“Es bildet ein Talent sich in der Stille
“Ein Charakter in ______ der Welt.”
[Schiller]
oder
[Göthe]

possibly a variation on the following:

“Es bildet ein Talent sich in der Stille,
Sich ein Charakter in dem Strom der Welt.”
Johann Wolfgang von Göthe

translations:

Talent develops in silence
But character only in the stream of life.

Talent develops in quiet places,
character in the full current of human life.

Talent is nurtured in solitude;
character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.

On April 3^rd 1838 we sailed past the west side of the island of Trinidad[72] at a distance of 60 English miles without seeing it, and on April 13^th we passed east of the island Fernando de Noronha[73] at a distance of 70 miles.  The government of Brazil uses this island as a place of exile and therefore, keeps a garrison there.

[72]  Trindade and Martim Vaz is an archipelago of 5 islands in the South Atlantic located 700 miles off the Brazilian coast.  (It was named Trinidad at one period in its history.)

[73]  Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, 354 km (220 mi) offshore from the Brazilian coast.

It is actually incomprehensible to me why people in Germany, at least on the estates in the north, often torment themselves for 14 days with stale bread, when it requires very little effort to bake fresh bread daily.  During this voyage, I became convinced that this is really very easy.  In Valparaiso, I sent Friedrich to the German baker twice, from whom he received baking instructions. I took sourdough along (on this trip) and Friedrich at first baked fresh bread daily, and now every other day.  This bread is as good as any available in Hamburg.  The bread is placed in a square shaped tin in an iron oven where roasts are cooked.  It is heated with coal.  Question: Why do they not do the same thing on the farms in our country?

Answer: Because they shy away from the effort and because they prefer to stay in the old rut and torment themselves in pointless ways, before putting forth the effort to make improvements.  To be able to choke down this 14 day old, wood-like bread, they spread half an inch of butter on it, which is certainly not beneficial to health.  If fresh bread can be baked daily on board the “Rimac”, it should also be possible on an estate!  I hope that this broad hint (Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl)[74] will be understood at the proper place.

[74]  Eduard wrote “broad hint“ in English and then the German “Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl” in brackets.  It means to give a broad hint.

This bread, all the food, the wine, the cleanliness and order, and a good cook, are all things which elevate my stay on the “Rimac” to a blissful level, compared to the odious “Creole”.  And yet there are many things to be criticised here.  For example, the cabin is located below the foredeck which makes it dark, and now in the hot zone it is oppressively warm.  Also, very poor lighting from tallow candles, extremely dirty tablecloths, fleas, bugs, etc.  Captain Dixon is like all the other English Captains I have met.  Although they have not enjoyed a great education and upbringing, they certainly belong to a better class than any of our German Captains and especially the Danish ones.  I have not yet heard a single curse or swear word here on board and all of the crew are very well treated and fed.  The two helmsmen eat with the Captain.

*

Today, Easter Sunday, April 15^th, 12 o’clock noon, we find ourselves 27’ (minutes) south of the Equator, 30° 17’ west longitude according to the chronometer, and 30° 50’ according to the lunar calculation.  On excellent days like today, my thoughts, understandably, wander to the place where my loved ones gather at home.  I look into some family circles and see the busy housewife and the bustle of the children.  The children’s joy at the extraordinary holiday and the festive dresses with which the little girl’s innate vanity, is quite characteristically displayed.  At breakfast it is discussed whether it would be advisable to go to church in this cold, raw weather.  But the husband has collection duty, with that annoying collection bag, so the necessities are quickly located in the house.  The children are kept occupied, mainly with something that will tickle the palate, accompanied by some admonitions about good behaviour and then the mother accompanies the father.  Upon returning, do they find themselves uplifted and rewarded for withstanding the cold and wet?  Unfortunately this is rarely the case!  Now my thoughts wander to the country where the weather is even worse than in the city; snow, rain and wind compete with one another to see which one can be the wildest.  Nevertheless, the piety of the women wins; Johann has to put on the harness.  “We were not there on Good Friday, we have to set a good example for the lower class, the minister will certainly be pleased, the neighbours will certainly go.”  Those, and other sound arguments, defeat the son’s and daughter’s objections.  They wrap themselves in furs and foot muffs, drive to church, allow themselves to be properly indoctrinated and return home again, half frozen.  Will the piety of the women emerge so triumphantly at the other three places where my thoughts wander?  I think not!  My thoughts today do not rise to heaven from a cold church, but rather, from under the burning rays of the sun.  I am continuing to form my own theory of the Hereafter and hope that my good wishes for the health of my loved ones will be graciously received by the Almighty.  Today is the fourth time that I cross the line and I hope it will not be the last time.

According to the most reliable news about the current state of trade on the entire west coast, its value is estimated as follows:

Value of the goods shipped to the west coast and consumed there:

Of the goods annually consumed in:

The value of whales, seals and sea lions annually:

Whaling ships usually stay 12 or more months in the Pacific Ocean.  They all come to Chile for foodstuffs because it is cheaper here than anywhere on the entire coast. To support this traffic, the Chilean government has exempted all whalers from port duties.

The entire value of the European, North American, East Indian, Chinese, etc., trade on the west coast is almost 40 million Piasters.  At a moderate estimate, one can assume that the trade is increasing 10% annually.  Chile and especially Valparaiso is, so to speak, the Entrepôt[75]; the trading post for the entire trade along the west coast.  Half of North American and European goods which Peru and Bolivia consume and all of which Ecuador, Nueva Granada[76], Central America and the west coast of Mexico consume, pass through the hands of the merchants of Valparaiso.

[75]  An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported, often at a profit, without paying import duties.

[76]  Nueva (New) Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia.

According to the most accurate studies, the entire Chilean maritime trade can be estimated as follows:

Export of goods from Valparaiso:

[77]  idem is Latin meaning “the same“.

In January 1838, Chile owned the following ships, sailing under Chilean flags:

[78]  Barque or bark is a sailing ship with 3 or more masts.

I believe that one day I will be the founder of a new science, namely nubialogy or cloudology, i.e. to prophesy from the clouds.  My science must surely have as much probability as astrology, which for centuries has had the most unconditional believers.  I will establish my professorship of nubialogy below the equator in the Atlantic Ocean, or at least between the tropics.  As soon as 10 students have enrolled, I will begin the course.  Bathing in the sea will be included and free, but without insurance against sharks.  I am still not familiar with the equator in the Pacific Ocean.  But on this side I know that the design of the clouds together with the changes from light to shadow and the richness and diversity of colours, is such that any description or artificial imitation of a sunset remains a bungled job.  In a painting, the sharp line between light and shadow that is so often seen, would be censured as unnatural.  On the other hand, this incomparably beautiful interplay of colours blending into one another can never be achieved with a brush, because the painting is and remains dead, whereas the clouds are alive.  The gradations of the simple grey of the clouds; from the nimble white lamb-cloud to the dark, angry, black thundercloud; that alone would be worth Raphael’s study.  In addition, below the equator two winds usually prevail, so that the higher layer of clouds sometimes stays firmly in position or moves faster or slower in the opposite direction from the lower clouds.  I have often seen at sunset,  that the beautiful deep blue of the sky was covered with a white transparent veil of clouds, which hung motionless.  Driven by a zephyr, a second veil of clouds drifted into the lower regions.  The rays of the setting sun coloured it rose-red and through both layers, the blue sky could be seen.  Gradually the rose-red veil of clouds lost its colour, the sun’s rays no longer reached it.  However, the higher white veil of clouds took on the delicate rose colour des jungfräulichen Errötens (maiden blush)[79], until the night covered both.  Another time I saw this same show with white and dark grey broken clouds.  In the higher regions it is always more calm than in the lower regions.  At sunset in a cloudless sky, the vibrant deep blue of the firmament gradually turns to green, yellow, yellow-red, red and dark fire-red.  After a quarter of an hour these colours disappear and, as if in farewell, there appears a rose-red light which covers at least a quarter of the sky but soon must give way to the night.

[79]  “des jungfräulichen Errötens“ means  “of the virginal blush”.  Eduard wrote the English words, “maiden blush” in brackets.

When the sky is only partly covered with clouds, they take on all sorts of curious shapes and shades of those colours.  So, at sunset, 11° south of the line, I saw a lively representation of the eruption of Vesuvius.  The sky was besieged with clouds on the horizon, incidentally all the way to the west, below which a black cloud represented the mountain.  From this rose a huge pillar of cloud and from the glow of the sun’s rays shining through, it resembled a column of smoke and fire from Vesuvius.  As the sun moved behind this black cloud, the volcano took on its complete shape, and I do not believe that the actual eruption of Vesuvius could be more beautiful than what this magnificently sublime sunset represented.  At any rate, this imitation was created on a huge scale.  On March 30^th at 23° south latitude, I first saw the familiar constellation of the Great Bear again.  I greeted him as an old acquaintance, who also shines on those who are dear to me in the northern hemisphere.

The main disadvantage of sea voyages is that one lacks the company of the more amiable part of the human race.  Therefore, I sometimes regret that I did not take another ship that was offered in Valparaiso.  But unfortunately it flew a Danish flag and therefore, enough reason for me to avoid it.  Among the passengers were, Mr. Möller’s wife, a née Feldtmann from Lübeck and Mr. Kunhardt’s sister from Lübeck.  As well, there was Mr. Flint from Hamburg with a young, very beautiful woman from Triest who is a niece and now the adopted daughter of my friend Antonio Canciani, a wealthy, old, strange codger from Triest living in Valparaiso and married but with no children.  I am acquainted with all of them; they are very pleasant company and travel companions, especially at sea.  Besides the Danish flag, I also feared the children’s shrieking which is very unpleasant to me.  Mrs. Möller has a little daughter, two years old, who will probably allow her voice be heard often enough.  Furthermore, the ship was heavily loaded and I was afraid that the voyage would be very long.  During the 100, and probably more days,  small intrigues could developed, petty jealousies may arise, friction of the pleasant and unpleasant kind could follow, and who knows what else.  In any case, all that could have helped to make the solitude of ship’s life eventful, sometimes with strife and reconciliation, sometimes with war and peace negotiations.  The disgusting Danish flag has deprived me of this pleasure.  I will be happy, if I meet an amiable society woman on my next trip.  I find my present amusement only in books and self-created images, because my Captain Dixon is taciturn.  His mouth is more occupied with eating, drinking and smoking pipes, than with speaking.  This silence however, is far more pleasant than nonsensical idle chatter which I have often had to listen to on previous trips without being able to avoid it.

The motion of the sea is so strong that I can write only with difficulty.  But we sail with a favourable wind and today, May 7^th,  we find ourselves on the 87^th day of our voyage, at 34° north latitude and 35° west longitude.  Because we will now arrive in Liverpool, probably within 100 days, I fear that these lines will have to travel to Groß Thurow on June 2^nd without me.

In the northern hot zone the current is constantly from east to west, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker.  For two days we had not observed the sun and found that, in 72 hours, the current had drifted us 51 English miles to the west.  In this way, ships often become lost if they do not have a good chronometer.  Our Captain has two very good chronometers.  On board the “Creole” there was only one which, according to the Captain, was so bad that he did not know if he was east or west of the Falkland Islands.

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An Event in the Years 1827 and 1828

The fall of John Parish, Robertson & Co. in Buenos Aires had put me out of work at the beginning of the year 1827.  The war between Buenos Aires and Brazil continued and business was depressed.  I quickly decided on a land journey of three hundred German miles to look for work on the west side of the Cordillera de los Andes.

In May 1827, I arrived at Santiago de Chile and there I found my only friend on the west coast, Gustav Busch, who, 6 months previously narrowly escaped drowning near Cape Horn and who, 4 weeks later was close to starving in the snow of the Cordillera and who, 6 months later lost his life at the hands of murderers in the Banda Oriental near Montevideo.  In Santiago, this unfortunate friend introduced me to Mr. Dubern, the head of Dubern, Rejo & Co. in Valparaiso and Tacna.  Dubern was French, born in Nantes; Rejo was Spanish from La Coruña.  I soon came to an agreement with Mr. Dubern.  I was to work in Tacna (Peru) at a salary of $1,000, free travel, and free lodging and meals for me and a servant.  Dubern immediately took me in his confidence and asked me to write him confidentially from Tacna and give him accurate information about the state of the business, since his partner there did not have time to do so.  I realized at once that Dubern had some distrust of Rejo, which naturally displeased me.

In mid June 1827, I arrived at Tacna.  I found Don Fermin Rejo to be a very good and easy principal.  He gave me his complete confidence in business matters, gave me power of attorney and also turned all the work over to me.  I had three clerks under me.  The businesses of Arica and Tacna were very important at that time; the firm had the best connections in France, some in Holland, Spain and North America.  After I had been in the firm for several months, I found out how matters actually stood.

The firm Dubern, Rejo & Co. had existed only 3 to 4 years and had earned 40,000 Taler in commission annually in the last two years.  But the expenses were also exceptionally high.  In Tacna, as in all small towns, there were no inns so every trading firm had to be prepared to lodge and feed ship’s Captains, supercargoes[80] and French Pacotilleurs[81].   In our house there were always 8 to 10 of these noisy Frenchmen, but I was able to get along with them quite well.

[80]  A person employed on board a vessel by the owner of the cargo carried on the ship. The duties of a supercargo include managing the cargo owner’s trade, selling the merchandise at the ports to which the vessel is sailing, and buying and receiving goods to be carried on the return voyage.

[81]  Traders of junk or items of poor quality. 

About 1 1/2 years before my arrival at Tacna, a certain Don Fernando Exhelmes had arrived from Lima with a young, very beautiful woman named Doña Carmen.  One has to have seen the really lovely, and I must say, “aus Springfedern zusammengesetzten”[82], women from Lima with their beautiful eyes and other features (all of which I will not list here), to agree with the general opinion that when a Limeña[83] wants to captivate a man, it is impossible to resist.  It was quite natural that the arrival of Doña Carmen, in a small town like Tacna, was a joyful event.  All men sought to pay homage to the beautiful Limeña, and among them was Don Fermin Rejo.

[82]  The literal translation is, ‘composed of springs’, which may be intended to describe a certain graceful fluidity or sprightliness in her movements.

[83]  A female native of Lima.

Rejo was certainly not a handsome man and he did not have the finest education, but he had this gift of superficial small talk, which makes a great impression on the fair sex (at least in South America).  At that time, Rejo was indisputably the most respected businessman in Tacna and therefore, was considered to be the richest.  I do not know which of his characteristics made the deepest impression upon Doña Carmen, but the fact was that she granted Don Fermin (Rejo) her favour.   In a large city like Lima, such relationships were handled the same way as in Italy, i.e. the man follows the good example of the woman and each observes the outward forms of good behaviour; but for the rest, they follow their passion.  In a small town like Tacna, the husband, Don Fernando (Exhelmes) was an uncomfortable object and therefore, had to be removed in the best possible way.

So Doña Carmen induced Don Fermin Rejo to make the following proposal to her beloved husband: He, Rejo, had had to take over a consignment of goods to his account and now wanted to send it to Bolivia.  As Don Fernando was well very known in La Paz, Rejo would commission these goods to him if he was willing to stay in La Paz until the transaction was completed.  Both parties  agreed to these conditions and Don Fernando travelled to La Paz.  Rejo now remained in undisturbed possession of the beautiful Limeña, however she knew how to set an appropriate price on her charms.  Don Fermin had a major-domo or steward, a cunning Spaniard who worked entirely in the interests of Doña Carmen and so he saw that her entire household was paid by Rejo.  As well, she received almost $150 weekly in hard cash, which I was able to see in the firm’s books.  Don Fernando’s first sale in La Paz went very well and the money quickly flowed back.  This fact and Doña Carmen’s, as well as Don Fermin’s desire to keep the beloved husband busy in La Paz longer, prompted Rejo to continuously commission new goods to him, goods which he had taken over on the firm’s account.  Don Fernando now started to request goods, specific goods to provide a better assortment in his warehouse, then as a direct order from a foreign customer.  At the same time, Don Fernando recommended that his brother, Don Joaquin Exhelmes, be established in a similar manner in Potosi[84].  Of course, this petition supported by the beloved Carmen, could not be rejected.  So Don Joaquin also received goods on commission in Potosi.

[84]  A city in Bolivia.

That was the state of affairs when I arrived at Tacna in June of 1827.  The current accounts of the ship’s Captains and supercargoes that were consigned to Dubern, Rejo & Co., always had to be kept up to date because they received either hard cash for their goods or bought other goods instead, such as cinchona bark[85] or tin.  All the other firm’s accounts were in the greatest disorder.  After a few months of hard work, when I had worked through all the accounts, it was discovered that Don Fernando Exhelmes owed the firm $290,000 and Don Joaquin owed $50,000.  Rejo himself was shocked by this undeniable fact.  The flow of money returning from both the Exhelmes had been occurring very slowly for quite some time.  Bitter complaints were continuously received from various supercargoes and from the Valparaiso firm about the lack of remittances.

[85]  Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to the tropical Andes forests of western South America.  They are medicinal plants, known as sources for quinine and other compounds.

Following the instructions I had received from Dubern, I informed him about all of Rejo’s circumstances.  In my last letters, I told him straight out that the firm was in a very dangerous position; in my opinion, the only means of recovery was to immediately seize, from the two Exhelmes, all goods still stocked in La Paz and Potosí, sell them and use the money to pay the supercargoes as much as possible and for the remaining, use the firm’s established credit.  In this way the firm could maintain its excellent connections and, with proper management, the admittedly large loss could be replaced.  I added that to take such a bold step, it was necessary for Dubern to come to Tacna himself, because, without his personal influence, Rejo would never do anything against the Exhelmes.  Dubern answered my letters in a very friendly manner but did not come to Tacna.  Either Rejo had described the situation to him in a completely different light, or Dubern was afraid that taking this step would break the relationship he had with Rejo.  But Dubern’s admonitions must have been strong enough because in October of 1827, Rejo decided to travel to La Paz himself.  At my urgent advice, he took along a clerk, J. Weguelin, an honest Swiss who had already been with him for two years.  He was to take all goods that were still in stock and sell them on behalf of the firm.  Rejo decided to completely break it off with the Exhelmes.  I had serious doubts about the execution of these good decisions.  However, with this plan, Rejo mounted the mules.  I was left behind in Tacna with two clerks and several greedy supercargoes.

About 14 days after Rejo’s departure, Doña Carmen wrote me a note asking me to send her $200 on Rejo’s account.  I am certain that Rejo intentionally left me no instructions for such payments.  So I answered very politely, expressed my regrets that I was not able to fulfil her wish in this matter as Don Fermin had, most probably in the haste of his departure, forgotten to provide such instructions.  But I would write to him about this matter with the first post, and then make it my special pleasure to personally hand her the requested money.  At the conclusion, I did not fail to lay myself at her feet according to Spanish custom, saying: “y me pongo à los pies de Vmd como su atento y seguro servidor Q.S.M.B.”.  These four letters mean “que sus manos beso”.  In translation: “and I lay myself at your feet as your sincere, humble servant and kiss your hands.”  In spite of my humility, my little letter was received with the greatest indignation.  Doña Carmen replied very angrily: “Such an insult had never happened to her before and she would never ask anything from anyone if she did not have the greatest right to it.  She would complain to Don Fermin and I would soon have the opportunity to regret my rashness.”  I knew long ago that I was a thorn in her side.  A French supercargo, Descombes from Bordeaux, who was living in our house and who sought to console Doña Carmen during Rejo’s absence, assured me that she had told him she would not rest until I was out of the firm.  By return post from La Paz, I received an order from Rejo to pay Doña Carmen the requested $200.  All subsequent payments were done through the same direct instructions from La Paz.

The money from Bolivia came in very sparingly.  I was besieged by the following supercargoes: Don Francisco Yriarte, Spaniard; Don José Maria Castillo from Buenos Aires; Descombes from Bordeaux; J. Michel from Nantes; Adolphe Roux from Le Havre; the Captain of the “Reine Rose” of Balgueri & Co from Bordeaux; Charles Hertzog from Rouen; J. Thuriaux from Antwerp, actually from Verviers; and a few other Frenchmen of lesser importance.  With every cash remittance, these money-hungry men came flying in like ravens to a dead animal, each one afraid that his rival would be favoured and keen to know how the money was earmarked.  Thuriaux often caused me worry and annoyance.  He was the most unpleasant one of all of them.  He met his death six months later on his return voyage to Europe; at least that is most likely because nothing has been heard from him or his ship since he left.  In spite of the watchfulness of the above named persons, I managed, to some degree, to favour the Captain of the Dutch ship ”Wilhelmine” whose owner was Insinger & Co. in Amsterdam.  He was due about $50,000, however, he still had to wait at least a few months.

At that time I had only unrefined gold in bars and dust.  He was clever enough to accept it, although he had to smuggle it on board at his own risk, because at that time the export of unrefined gold and silver from Peru was prohibited.  He sailed from Arica to Islay.  Right after his departure, the smuggled gold was discovered or he was betrayed.  The governor quickly sent a courier to Arequipa and Lima with a message to confiscate the “Wilhelmine” in Islay or Callao.  As is usual in such cases, the government keeps the ship and cargo, so it was worth the effort of hunting down such a catch.  In Arica, the Captain of the “Wilhelmine” had taken on board two passengers heading for Lima.  Upon arrival at Islay they went ashore with the Captain.  He was told by a friend, that a courier had arrived from Tacna and that unfavourable rumours about the “Wilhelmine” had been spread.   The Captain, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, immediately went back on board his ship.  A boat with customs officers and guards followed close behind and the Captain had only a few minutes to give the orders necessary for the implementation of his decision.  The guards came on board and the officer accused the Captain of smuggling gold.  He denied this and requested the officer to inspect the ship.  Most of the customs officers went to the cabin, only a few soldiers stayed on the deck.  On a given signal from the Captain, the guards on the deck were attacked.   At the same time, a part of the armed crew entered the cabin and the Captain gave the surprised customs officers the choice of being shot or quietly climbing  into their boat and to returning to land.  Naturally, the surprised officers chose life rather than death.

The Captain cut the anchor and immediately sailed away; outside the harbour, the Captain allowed the prisoners to enter their boat and before they reached the shore, the “Wilhelmine” was outside the reach of the canons.  But instead of sailing to Lima, the Captain sailed to Batavia.  For the two passengers left behind, this situation was very troublesome as all their luggage went to the East Indies.  The ship-owner, Insinger & Co., sent everything back later of course, and compensated them amply.  This incident caused quite a stir, however it helped to free up the export of unrefined gold and silver – with the payment of a moderate duty.  The smuggling ceased and the government’s revenue increased with each passing year.

The liquidation of the business in La Paz went very slowly, or rather, it did not go at all.  The clerk, Weguelin, informed me in private about the state of affairs.  Don Fernando Exhelmes had not kept any books at all.  The value of the goods still in stock might be about 30,000 to 40,000 Taler and he had earlier remitted 40,000 to 50,000.  And now he began to make such terrible counter billings “for damaged goods”, “for badly sorted goods”, “for goods which were missing”, “for bad debts” and so on, that it aroused horror and disgust.  In spite of all this, Rejo did not dare remove the goods, still in stock, from Don Fernando.  He did not leave him alone with the goods, but put the clerk, Weguelin, under him without giving him (Weguelin) the slightest authority.  In Tacna, the arrogance of Doña Carmen and the already mentioned major-domo (or steward) became daily worse.  While Don Fermin (Rejo) was present, I did not trouble myself about it at all and paid whatever he ordered me to.  The daily expenses that the major-domo charged were certainly 50% too high.  I recall that he charged Rejo $30.00/month for his laundry, while I certainly had more laundry than Rejo and paid only $15.00/month.  But now that I was responsible for everything during Rejo’s absence, I could not long tolerate this behaviour with patience.  The following incident brought things to a head.  I had to make some necessary repairs in the house and wanted to have a plank floor laid in the office.  The carpenter had already prepared them in the yard of the house.  Early in the morning of the same day that the floor was to be laid, I got up with the sun, as usual, i.e. at 6 o’clock and heard a strange noise on the patio.  As I had reason to be suspicious, I immediately went outside and saw some people, in the presence of the major-domo, carrying away the planks which were intended for the floor.  Surprised, I asked what it was all about.  Upon which the major-domo replied: “La Señora Doña Carmen ha injunctive por ellas” – “La Señora Doña Carmen has sent us to fetch them”.  My patience was exhausted and a thunderstorm erupted.  I had the planks returned and dismissed the major-domo, who immediately went into his mistress’s (Doña Carmen’s) house.  I installed my servant as major-domo, and at least had certainty in the house.  The same day I again received a threatening letter from the beautiful Limeña, but I left it unanswered.  When I informed Rejo about all this, he said nothing at all.  One can easily imagine that in a small town, important events such as this are highly welcome because they provide an excellent topic for conversation.  The European and foreign merchants were delighted with my drastic measures and with the humiliation of the Limeña, but doubted that they would see my reforms last.

So five months of my reign passed with good work and hours of pleasant relaxation, in fun and seriousness, in war and peace.  Don Fermin Rejo returned from La Paz in February 1828.  It was near evening and he was very friendly toward me, but I saw him for only a few minutes because he immediately went to the beautiful Limeña.  The next morning, I received a very polite letter from Rejo in which he told me that “las circunstancias le obligasen” – “circumstances compelled him” to dismiss me, but I could stay in his house as long as I liked.  I replied in writing that I would follow his orders.  I requested only that, after I had returned the cash and books, he give me a letter which testified the way in which I had carried out the business, so that I would be able to justify myself to Dubern in Valparaiso.  Rejo gave me such a letter written in the most flattering terms.  He mentioned not a word, either verbally or in writing, about my hostilities with his mistress.  The very same day, I left Rejo’s house and accepted Mariano Vidal’s kind offer to live with him.  This Don Mariano was from Buenos Aires, but had been living in Tacna for several years.  He had significant business dealings in Bolivia and was one of the largest buyers and best payers in Tacna.  Rejo was, therefore, always very eager to remain friends with him.  Because he now saw that Don Mariano, through this move, had publically declared himself on my side and indicated his disapproval of Rejo’s actions; it seemed to me as if Rejo, for the first time, became conscious of his guilt.  I informed Dubern about everything and told him that he could now prepare for the worst.  The beautiful Limeña had won a complete victory.

I left Valparaiso in November 1828.  About three months after my departure[86], the firm Dubern, Rejo & Co. went bankrupt in Tacna with (a debt of) $350,000 and the firm in Valparaiso followed with (a debt of) $150,000.  The creditors did not get a penny.  During my current stay in Valparaiso I have had the pleasure of meeting my old friend, Don Mariano Vidal, from Tacna.  He has now given up his business.  From him I learned more details about the events which took place after my departure from Tacna in April 1828.  In Rejo’s firm, people gradually began to realise that the business was unsustainable.  Therefore, the clerks thought that it would be wise to take care of themselves because Doña Carmen would probably take most of it.  Thus began a true plundering system.  Those supercargoes or Captains who were present, naturally took the remaining stocked goods which were their property.  All the other consignors[87] received nothing.  Rejo did not even bother writing to them again.  One clerk, Armand Blondel, a Belgian from Ostend, who had been hired during my time there, came out on top.  He took the ruins of the Dubern, Rejo & Co. firm and continued the business under his own name.  It is said that he is doing well now.  Rejo is said to have provided little for himself; perhaps he relied on the thankfulness of the Exhelmes.  If he did so, he was completely disappointed, because they cleaned up as quickly as possible and returned to Lima.  The adage “ill-gotten goods never prosper” has proven to be correct with the Exhelmes.  Through poor management and extravagance, Doña Carmen has squandered all her acquired property.  They both still live in Lima, but in very limited circumstances.  Probably Doña Carmen’s charms are no longer the kind that earned her the epithet “Hermosa Limeña” (Beautiful woman from Lima), and she cannot catch a second Rejo in her net.  Don Mariano Vidal assured me that Exhelmes and his wife had jointly laid out and executed the whole plan against Rejo.  If this was the case, that would have been the crown on the drama.  Need forced Rejo to accept a job as Capataz (supervisor, manager) in the silver mines at Potosí where he supposedly still is.  In Valparaiso, Dubern, forced by trouble in the Tacna firm, engaged in dangerous and risky transactions.  He secretly escaped to France and is supposed to be working in an office in Paris.  That was the end of the Dubern, Rejo & Co. firm.  A beautiful woman had toppled it.  In Louis XIV’s court, Doña Carmen certainly would have defeated a Pompadour[88] and Maintenon[89].  The major-domo has managed the stolen goods best.  It is said that he has saved $10,000, has a shop in Tacna and is a well-respected citizen there.

[86]  Referring to the first time he left Valparaiso.

[87]  The consignor is the person sending a shipment to be delivered, whether by land or sea.

[88]  The lover of Louis XV of France. 

[89]  French consort of Louis XIV.

*

On the evening of May 10^th, we saw the two islands, Fayal and Pico which belong to Azores Islands.  On Pico Island there is an odd mountain in the shape of a bell with cone on it.  Because it was raining and very dark, the clouds prevented us from seeing it.  It is 6,600 feet high and the island is named after it.  The following day, Friday May 11^th, we enjoyed the sight of Terceira Island.  We sailed very close along the southern side, at a distance of about ½ to ¾ German miles.  On this side, the island rises gradually in height.  It is well cultivated and covered with houses. The fields are divided in a very regular way and are edged with trees.  The white houses peered through so kindly that, after a voyage of 91 days, I felt a great urge to step on the land and refresh myself with the wonderful fruits, which grow so abundantly on these islands.

If we had had reasonably good winds from these islands onward, this voyage would have ended within 100 days.  However, for 10 days we had to fight storms and contrary winds, which reminded us of the weather at Cape Horn.  This morning, May 23^rd, we saw the southern coast of Ireland at Waterford.  The country  looks kindly at us, the sea begins to show life, sailing ships and steamships cross each other in various directions.  It is noticeable that we are nearing the great international market – England.

May 24^th, calm. The closer one gets to the destination, the greater the impatience and restlessness becomes.

May 27^th, Sunday afternoon 4 o’clock, arrival at Liverpool.  The entire voyage – 107 days, 2,867 German miles.

*

So go forth, you pages, and display the figurative interpretation of your name![90]  Fulfill your destiny! Hurry and bring the honoured mother a friendly morning wish on the anniversary of her birth on June 2^nd !

[90]  i.e. extend the olive branch.  Das Ölblatt (The Olive Leaf or Branch) being the title of this diary.

Be the interpreter of my heart, speak my sincere good wishes for the health and happiness of the one who is honoured today!  Ask for shelter in her hospitable home.  I envy your fate, which today, allows you to enter this happy circle where children, grandchildren and faithful friends have come to join the donor of so much happiness!  If you are lucky enough to have gained the favour of the mother, use your influence to ensure that the fatted calf is in readiness for . . .

the son from South America.

This is the end of the book published by Ernst Hieke.

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The following pages were obtained by Bernd Sasse.
They were in his mother’s possession.

Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer
begins a thick, brown, leather-bound book 
“Mein Thun und Treiben” 
(My Deeds and Actions) 
as follows:

Hamburg 1822

For a long time it has been my intention to begin a diary or rather, only general remarks on matters concerning myself.  Lack of time was actually the main impediment.  Now at the beginning of the 1822, as I have just stopped being a slave to others, it seems to me that the right moment has come to execute this plan.

I will mention only a few details of my life up to the present time, which in later years, I may like to remember – the sad as well as the happy details.  This book will be written for only this reason and for my best friend J.[91],  but if I will entrust the same (J.) with it will depend on when and in what mood I was in when it was written.

[91]  “J“ may be Eduard’s cousin, Juan Böhl von Faber.

 I was born on November 21^st, 1798 on Neuenwall (street) in Hamburg.  My dear father had at that time, bought the estate Groβ Thurow, which is situated in Lauenburg.  What a number of happy days can be added up, just by thinking of this splendid Thurow!

My first teacher was Sophie Staack, the loving nurse of my ailing body.  Without her help I would perhaps no longer be breathing.  Later, my late brother, Adolph and I had a private tutor, Mr. Vieth who, in 1812, was headmaster of the school in Ratzeburg and after that a preacher in Seedorf.  It is unnecessary to mention my Uncle Böhl von Faber’s[92] estate, Görslow.  It has been too deeply engraved into my heart that I could ever forget it.  My cousin Juan (Böhl von Faber) had a small Scottish stallion, black with a star, but the description is unnecessary.  I will never forget him nor the happy trips and rides we took with him and our donkeys.  In 1813 my Uncle Böhl went back to Cadiz and I got the little horse in Thurow, the beautiful Vingal.  On March 20^th, 1813, my dear brother Adolph, while playing with other boys, was fatally struck on the head by the vanes of a windmill.  He was eleven or twelve years old.  He died two days later.  A severe loss for all of us and especially for me.

[92]  Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber was Eduard’s mother’s (Cäcilie Böhl’s) brother and Juan was his son.  There is more interesting information about him and his family in Agnes Berckemeyer’s memoirs “Family History Notes”.

On January 7^th, 1814 I arrived at Goldensee, where Dr. Wilhelm Wehber Schuldt had opened an educational institute for young people.  Wilhelm Haase from Schwerin and I were his first pupils.  Later Gustav and Otto von der Lühe[93] from Schwerin, Stanislaus and William Hintze from Lisbon, Juan Böhl and others joined us.

[93]  von der Lühe is a surname.

At the beginning of 1816, my dear, excellent father who had for many years suffered from a leg injury, became more and more ill.   At the end he developed fluid in his lungs.  On April 2^nd, 1816 at 7 o’clock in the morning, a stroke put an end to his precious life[94].  He was buried on Sunday, April 7 in the church in Mustin.  And with him went our comfort, our hope and the support for a widow with 6 under-age children[95].  Truly a hard, very hard, blow.

[94]  Eduard was 18 years old.

[95]  The widow is his mother, Cäcilie Böhl.  At the time of her husband’s death, 6 children were still living, 3 were dead and she was pregnant with the 10^th.

Because of illness, I left Goldensee on June 14^th, 1816.  I stayed in Thurow during the summer and on October 26^th, 1816, I traveled to Hamburg with my mother to have a fistula in my abdomen cured.  It had been giving me tremendous pain.  There I came under the able hands of Professor Spangenberg but still, I was not completely healed until May 1817.

Following the death of my good father, I had to give up my desire to become a farmer and make up my mind to become a merchant[96].  In November 1816, I started confirmation classes with my honourable and unforgettable friend and teacher,  the preacher Mr. Scheffler.  On March 30^th, 1817, I was publicly confirmed in the Reformed Church, together with several boys and girls.  Among them I recall with pleasure John Booth from Flottbeck and De Jong from Hamburg.  On Easter Sunday April 6^th, 1817, I received the first Holy Communion.  Before I leave my beloved Thurow and the whole beautiful area, I cannot help but once again mentioning my stay in Goldensee.  During my remaining years, I entered my legitimate fief (Thurow) only as a stranger (rather than as owner).  I spent happy days, very happy days in Goldensee under the loving leadership of Dr. Wehber Schuldt and his good wife.  I owe most of my scientific education to his excellent teaching.  It is often said and cannot be repeated too often:  “Do not embitter youth’s childhood years, especially not those of the boys”; that is, up to 15 or 16 years of age.  These are the most glorious years of life because one has no worries, which never fail to appear in later years.  From my own experience, I can truthfully say this.

[96]  Thurow was a fief at that time and so the property was to be inherited by the eldest son (Eduard) when the father dies.  Eduard was considered to be unfit because of some sort of physical handicap and so the property was passed to his brother, Ernst. It may have been a more complicated situation than this.  See Additional Notes at the end of “Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer (BP I) – Memoirs”.

Now I come to, what was for me, a very sad period in my life which I will quickly pass over.  If I could repeat those eight years in my life, I would not embark on that same road again.  Now that I have begun a merchant’s career, I hope that I can make it through with hard work and the assistance of the Almighty.  If the kind Father[97] had blessed me and I had succeeded in living in peace in my beloved Thurow, I would not know how to express my gratefulness to God!  Man proposes, God disposes!

[97]  Is he referring to God or to his own father?

Right after my arrival in Hamburg, my grandfather, my uncle and my mother tried to find a position for me in a trading company.  Because of my grandparent’s and my mother’s acquaintance with the Tornquist and Prösch families, it happened that on March 11^th, 1817, I, unfortunately, got a job with them; namely in the trading firm of Leers and Co.  I had to sign a scandalous contract of close to six years with them, to March 11^th, 1823 under the guarantee of 3,000 BF paid by my Uncle Berckemeyer[98].

[98]  His father had one brother, Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer.

From year to year, I realized ever more how unhappy I was with the choice of this trading firm.  What contrary, unnecessary and mean work I had to do during those five years of slavery.  How many thousands of times I cursed the day I entered that damned office.  How many sighs did I heave and how many complaints died away fruitlessly.  But, enough of this sad chapter.  I must say something about my other residence in Hamburg.

During my entire time there, between October 26^th, 1816 and April 11^th, 1822, I lived in my grandparent’s house[99] except for the first winter when I lived with my Uncle Berckemeyer (Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer).  I cannot praise enough the kindness and love my grandparents gave me.  In summer, I was always with them in the garden on the Alster.  At Pfingston[100], I usually went with them to dear Thurow, where I stayed 10 to 12 days.  These were the rays of sunshine upon dull winter days.  It has never been my concern to make friends or acquaintances because I was always afraid of falling into bad company, which, in the end, I luckily avoided.  My acquaintances and the homes that I visited were limited to a few, such as, Uncle Berckemeyer, the preacher Mr. Scheiffler, the pharmacist Mr. Waarz, Mr. Deppermann and a few others whom I visited on rare occasions.  This included those extremely boring and stiff family gatherings.  Some household inconveniences made my stay in Hamburg unpleasant, especially the fact that I did not have a room of my own, which was a great hindrance to my studying of languages, etc.

[99]  Eduard’s maternal grandmother, Cäcilie Ilsabe Böhl née Lütkens and her second husband, Martin Jacob von Faber.  (Her first husband, Eduard’s maternal grandfather, Johann Jacob  Böhl died in 1786.)  They had a house in the old Jungfernstieg, a street located in Hamburg’s centre on the Inner Alster Lake.

[100]  Pfingston is a public holiday in Germany, celebrated 7 weeks after Easter, in English it is Whit Sunday and Whit Monday.

(Written in pencil:  May 29^th, 1819  Juan (Böhl von Faber) went to Cadiz and returned with his sister Cecilia[101] on October 9^th.)

[101]  Cecilia Francisca Josefa Böhl von Faber (1796-1877) was a noted Spanish novelist who wrote under the pseudonym, Fernan Caballero.  More information about her can be found in “Agnes Berckemeyer – Family History Notes”.

This year was the most pleasant of my stay there.  On September 18^th, 1820 Cecilia traveled back to Cadiz.  I accompanied her as far as Cuxhaven.  It was a sad farewell.  On October 26^th, 1820 Juan came to Hamburg to prepare himself for studying in Rostock.  The half year he spent there was a particularly happy time for me.  What a joy, what a comfort to have a friend like him!  In my opinion one can have only one true friend with whom sentiments and opinions completely harmonize.

(Written in pencil:  With the help of his Uncle Böhl von Faber, he manages to find a position in the firm of Duff Gordon and Co. in Cadiz with 15 piasters a month pay).

I happily accepted the position and at the end of 1821, after the remaining one year of my contract had been paid off, I left the damned office of von Leers and Co.  Although nearly all my relatives voted against my choice, I managed with great difficulty, to see it through.  On March 2^nd, 1822 I traveled to Thurow to say good bye.  Unfortunately, the happy days passed too quickly.  Who knows if I will ever see my dear family and beloved Thurow again.  A sad thought!

From there I traveled to Lübeck and Cramon.  On March 23^rd, Juan arrived in Thurow after having completed his studies in Rostock.  I will say nothing about the farewell (to family in Thurow).  On March 29^th, I traveled to Hamburg with Juan, Stäuber and Krell.  We spent a few happy days with the latter two.  On April 4^th they went back to Thurow.  Meanwhile I had arranged my voyage to Cadiz on the Danish brig St. Cecilia.  I booked the passage at 30 Spanish Taler with the charterer, H.M. Perez de Lozano, which my good grandfather paid for me, to the broker, Brödermann.

(Written in pencil:  At 6 o’clock in the evening of April 10 (1822), Juan brings him (Eduard) on board (in Hamburg), after 12 hours (arrival in) Helgoland[102], after 34 days (arrival) in Cadiz.
From March 17 to May 31, 1824, the voyage from Gibraltar to Buenos Aires.  He gives a detailed description of a Störgefecht[103] and otherwise tells a lot about his stay in Puerto de Santa Maria near Cadiz[104]).

[102]  Heligoland (German: Helgoland) is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.

[103]  ? Some sort of a fight or battle.

[104]  This may have been time spent with his cousin Cecilia, aka Fernan Caballero.

The following appears first in Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer’s small bound diary, Seegedanken (Thoughts at Sea), and later in the letters to his mother that he named das Ölblatt  (the olive branch).

German Miles ((Lauenburg: 1 mile = 7.532 km)

A side note:  Of course, my present voyage has not been added to it.

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Letter to his Mother,
Cäcilie Berckemeyer née Böhl

Limache, September 1, 1842 to November 25, 1842

My dear Mother,

Two days ago, I made a little trip from Valparaiso to here.  Today, a rainy day surprised me and I find time to begin quite a lengthy report to you.  I have much to catch up on, for I see with horror, that five of your letters are lying unanswered before me: namely March 29, May 17, July 26, November 24, 1841 and April 21/25, 1842.  But you will have received news of me through my letters to my siblings.  Before I touch on the unanswered letters, I must tell you that since August 27^th, we have been living in the utmost anxiety and concern.  On that day a ship arrived from New York and the Captain reported that the entire city of Hamburg had fallen victim to flames.  Although this first report has proven to be exaggerated, two New York newspapers and several letters from friends in Hamburg have provided confirmation and even a map of the city on which the burned part is marked, so that the truth can no longer be doubted.  Until today, we had not received confirmation from any part of Europe.  According to one report the fire is said to have started on May 4^th and according to another one, on May 5^th[105].You finished your last letter on April 25^th in Hamburg and had arrived there the night before.  Therefore, this terrible fire started eleven to twelve days after your arrival.  So you will have witnessed all this horror.  Terrible!  God grant that you immediately went to the garden with the Semquels[106] because, according to one report, the entire Große Bleichen (a street in Hamburg)  burnt down completely and according to another report, the side where Semquel’s house is located was saved.  I am now left suspended with this considerable uncertainty and, with anxiety, I await the first letters.  Patience!

[105]  In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the “Great Fire”. This conflagration started on the night of  May 4, 1842 and was extinguished on May 8.  It destroyed three churches, the town hall, and many other buildings, killing 51 people and leaving an estimated 20,000 homeless.

[106]  His sister, Therese was married to Gustav Jenquel or Jencquel.  The name seems to be spelled incorrectly and differently in various documents but always begins with J, not S.  It may have been misread from the original handwritten document.  (Presumably, his mother was visiting her daughter, Therese in Hamburg.)

It remains incomprehensible to me how it is possible that the highly acclaimed Hamburg fire department could not suppress the fire right at the beginning.  Probably some unforgivable blunders were made, as is so often clearly evident in Hamburg; for example, quite recently in the construction of the new stock exchange where speculative builders were allowed to surround the new stock exchange with a ring of buildings that are taller than the stock exchange.  That the fire destroyed those buildings is truly a blessing for the honor of Hamburg, since neither in Krähwinkel nor in Schöppenstedt, has such a thing been allowed to happen.  The greatest and most irreplaceable loss is the beautiful, magnificent Petrikirche (St. Peter’s Church).  In our cold and calculating mechanized steam era, such structures are no longer built.  Now one invests money only where high interest rates are paid.  The kind of interest which one hopes to cash in on in the next life, i.e. the reward for good deeds, is not quoted on the stock market.  Consequently, the wise capitalist deems such an investment unsound.  In this respect, I think Hamburg is worse than any other city I know.

Now to answer some points in your letters:  Above all, I am delighted that your health is holding up so well.  A slight cold cannot stop you.  You would go for a walk with such a trivial thing, while others flee to their beds and call the doctor and pharmacist for help.  You are afraid that I will not be able to read your handwriting because your eyes are getting weak.  I can assure you that your handwriting is very clear and legible, if you use good paper.  But sometimes you write on blotter-like paper, which bleeds through to the other side.  On paper such as that, the most beautiful handwriting becomes unclear.  It must be very strenuous for your eyes to write on paper like that, and therefore, I ask you to avoid it in the future.  I read all your letters with utmost interest.  You mention so many things that others say nothing about, for example, the deaths of Doctor[107] Wehber and Sophie Staak (his first governess or teacher).  You are the only one who wrote any details.  Both are probably better off, especially the good Sophie.  Her suffering must have been very great.  She will have brought news about all of us to our good father.  What a joy it must be for all our dear relatives who have preceded us to eternity, when another member of the family or a friend follows and brings joyful news about all those left behind on earth.

[107]  Eduard wrote “Doktorin“ which is the feminine form of Doctor.  He is referring to Doctor Wehber’s wife.

I believe that I already mentioned on a previous occasion, that it is my firm belief that in the beyond, we will remember all people and all events as accurately as our memory allows; that we will have the same language as here; that we will have the ability to associate with our relatives and friends the same way as we do here; that we what we have learned here can be used equally well for our benefit or ruin as it can here.  For example, here on earth I studied the history of peoples and importantly, have never forgotten it.  I will arrive at the beyond and immediately seek my father.  After the first outpouring of joy at our reunion and after the answering of questions about the many who preceded me, I now begin making inquiries.   I try to become informed about every new subject and explore the  circumstances surrounding it at the time.  My father says, for example: “My son, you will be wondering if you will again see those highly praised and powerful people from earth.  Look at that penitent who is suffering horrible tortures.  For every human life he sacrificed in his ambition, a millipede is gnawing at his intestines.  He is unable to kill it and, for every human life he sacrificed, he must suffer a whole year.  Do you see the angry look he shoots at everyone who looks curiously at him?  Repentance has not yet penetrated his heart.  Let us hurry away from him!  He was Napoleon, who was known on earth as  ‘The Great’!  Come, my son and look to that side.  Do you see the noble figure who stands near the throne of God?  She was executed on earth for infanticide.  Her young and inexperienced heart succumbed to skillful seduction.  Mislead by a false friend, she gave in to the first emotions of love.  Driven to despair by hard-hearted relatives and persecuted to the utmost by so-called virtuous women, the miserable girl saw no other way of saving her falsely understood honor, than to destroy the evidence of her so-called disgrace.  God judges differently from man.  He looked into the heart of the unfortunate and found no fault.  He has requited the sins that humans bestowed upon this pure soul.  She rests now in the shadow of His justice.  Such are the judgments of mankind!”  Furthermore, my father will show me Moses and Pontius Pilate, Schiller, Elizabeth, my grandfather Böhl, Philipp II of Spain and Lalker.  If one knows all these people from history, making their acquaintance will be more attractive.  In this way, if we seek their acquaintance, we will get to know all the people who ever lived.   —Well then, the old preacher, Vieth has also died.  I did not learn much from him, but that may well have been more my fault than his.  Hopefully he will be a little cleaner in that other world, otherwise I will not visit him.

The views among mankind are quite divided about whether suicide is a sin or not.  Some claim that it is not permissible, because one should not destroy a life that one has not given to oneself.  Others argue against that and say that suicide is not illegal because one would be destroying  a life or gift that one did not ask for.  If one had been previously asked if one wanted to live and had consented, then such an action would be punishable.  I am of the first opinion, but where does the truth lie?  Even though suicide is wrong, I hold the opinion that the wish to die is by no means a punishable offence.  At least I have been harbouring this wish for a long time and, if I may say so, it is out of curiosity that I wish to die, in order to finally gain insight into our future state.  Here on earth, no truth can be found.  I see this more every day and every hour.  I can very well imagine that someone may take his own life out of curiosity and the desire for truth.  If my conviction had not been so strong that such an act is wrong, I would have stopped living nine years ago.  In such an exchange I could never lose but rather, would gain a great deal.

You seem to be very interested in my former traveling companion, Miss Amalie Pfeiffer, as you so often inquire about her.  Know then, that she is now my neighbor in Valparaiso and that I frequently visit her.  She is really very amiable.  She is prettier now than she was on board ship.  I think you would not dislike her as a daughter-in-law.  The difference in our ages is just too great.  She is 20 and I am 43.  What is your opinion about such a difference in age?  The old P. (Pfeiffer?) is a wealthy man.  Strange things often happen in the world.  Where it is least expected, one will be prompted to exclaim:  “Who would have thought?”  — At this time I can say no more.  You have to guess the rest!

(Written in pencil: He then reports on a very mean lawsuit which Hölterhoff  has been carrying on against him for four years and in which his brother-in-law Semquel  in Hamburg is representing him.)

Even in the worst case, Hölterhoff will not get a penny out of me, for Thurow is in Ernst’s[108] hands and you, hopefully, have disinherited me.  At least that was the agreement and the advice from Semquel.  And if this has not yet happened, I ask you to discuss it with Semquel in order to get it done, because the influence of a son of a mayor of Hamburg is everything to fear.  All judges must dance to his tune, otherwise the old cousins, servants, bawds[109] and so on, will get no employment with customs, Stempel[110], police, Sperre[111] etc.  Hamburg has the worst nepotism that one can find anywhere.  The sons of senators are elected right after the death of their fathers or they get one of the other lucrative jobs.  It would take too long to name all the examples.  However, one can easily go through the histories of various families and find confirmation everywhere.  In the State’s memoirs, it is just the same.  We learn nothing about the revenues and expenditures of Hamburg.  A few citizens who have an understanding with the Senate are privy to that.  One hand washes the other and both wash the head of the simple citizen who quietly pays and is too lazy or apathetic to remedy the evil.  The citizen smokes his pipe and asks his neighbour:  “Sag mir mal, min Jung, woas habt mie das süß mokt? – So …. Ja dann moat mie dat man wedder ebenso maken.”[112] (“Tell me my boy, how have we usually done that? – So …. Yes then we must continue doing it the same way.”)  So the old inefficiency is passed on from father to son, forever and ever.  Just as God’s goodness and wisdom permits no evil in the world, with some exceptions in order to tame mankind (i.e. permitting some suffering in order to tame mankind’s evil tendencies), so I think and flatter myself with the hope, that the great fire in Hamburg will have also burned out old father sloppiness.  I hope that a new spirit will rise from the ashes and that the active, strong and wise who follow will work with Hamburg’s great resources, which have until now been partly neglected and some have been completely unused.  I hope to see a new young Hamburg flourish in a few years.  From time to time, man needs a disaster in order to reform and motivate him to new activities.  When things go too well for man, he is like the donkey in the fable, who went on the ice and broke his leg.  Hamburg was in the same trap.

[108]  Ernst was Eduard’s brother who inherited Thurow when Eduard (the eldest son) was deemed unfit to do so.

[109]  A woman who keeps a brothel; a madam.

[110]  ? meaning – translation is mark, imprint, trademark, brand, postmark. 

[111]  ? meaning – translation is blockade, barrier, gate.

[112]  This is Low German (Plattdeutsch).  In High German it would be “Sag mir mal mein Junge, wie haben wir das sonst gemacht? – So …. Ja dann müßen wir das wohl ebenso weiter machen.”

To return to the aforementioned idiot or the Hölterhoff lawsuit, I must also add that a year ago I submitted the most conclusive evidence of Hölterhoff’s fraud, but so far no verdict has appeared.  The longer the lawyers stall and delay the case, the more their profits increase.  This is probably the reason why thousands of endlessly lasting lawsuits allow widows and orphans to starve while lawyers fatten.  There are many things about which I long to see the decision of the only true and impartial Judge, and one of them is Hölterhoff’s proceedings against me.  If my understanding of right and wrong has not been turned upside down, I can only call Hölterhoff a fraudster who took advantage of the mess or confusion in the business and administration of the Lezico firm in Buenos Aires, in order to minimize his losses in some way.  In my life I have already had to endure so many obstacles, so much adversity and humiliation, that half a dozen more or less will not matter to me.  Patience!  If the long-awaited day of reckoning also takes so long, it will eventually arrive!  So wait, patience, patience!  I don’t know why you imagine that I live here in pomp and extravagance.  I already expressed myself on this matter in my letter to Leonore[113] on January 30^th, 1842;  which you have, without doubt, read.  So I will not repeat this but only confirm what has already been said.

[113]  Leonore is Eleonore Berckemeyer née Manecke, his brother Ernst’s wife.  She was sent to mental institution in 1854, lived there for more than 30 years and died there.

Now it is already 4 o’clock in the afternoon.  The rain, that until now has fallen softly without any wind and at a temperature of 14° C  — I am writing with the doors open — has stopped.  The clouds accumulate like a belt around the Campaña and its sisters, their snow covered tops are just above the cloud.  The clouds are parting more and more, and one mountain after another appears from behind the veil.  The sun is going down and the mountain peaks are beginning to redden.  This spectacle created now at sunset, cannot be described in words.  I always enjoy such occasions and thank God that He has given me a receptive mind which is capable of seeing, understanding and feeling the wonders of His glorious creation; not only with the body’s eye but also with the mind’s eye.  It would be fruitless to try to describe in words or to represent in colors, a sunset like the one I am seeing today.  God can probably comprehend the spirit of man and bring him closer, but man, in his works, is only a pitiful bungler.  If one wished to paint a play of colours like the one I have just seen, nobody would acknowledge it as probable.  The alternating between light and shadow is incredibly fast and stark.  At certain times the mountains take on a very dark, rose-red colour which would look ridiculous on canvas. There is a very nice contrast between the snow-capped mountains and the beautiful orange trees with their magnificent ripe fruits, which stand outside my door.  Valparaiso has a southern climate; that is, southern in the European sense.  In my present hemisphere, thoughts of the south are associated with cold and Cape Horn’s weather.

Valparaiso, Cerro Alegre, September 24, 1842

Several weeks have passed during which I lacked the time and mood to continue my conversation with you.  Today, Sunday, we have the first day of unpleasant summer southerly winds which usually indicates the beginning of the end of the rainy season.  Before the end of April, that is 7 months from now, we will probably not see rain again and a partially cloudy sky will be a rarity during these 7 months.  This year the rain fell on April 26^th and this winter it rained on 23 different days.  It is striking that there is such a variety of climates in Chile.  In Chiloe and Valdivia it rains a lot and the region is full of lush vegetation and forests.  Those provinces supply almost the entire coast of Chile and Peru with lumber.  Livestock farming is profitable.

Concepción is mainly the wine country of Chile and there is no doubt that, in time, Chile will export wines to Europe, but just now the better wines are still obtained from Europe.  Someday I will send you a sample of the best Concepción wine.  The central part of Chile from Concepción to somewhat north of Santiago is the bread basket, the land of livestock and fruit.  It supplies not only the northern part of Chile but also the coastal areas of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and increasingly Sidney, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro.  The northern part of Chile from Coquimbo to Copiapo is the mineral region where copper, silver and gold is mined.  It is the arid part of Chile and it almost never rains there.  The rivers from the Cordillera supply water for irrigation.  The snow from the Cordillera is life’s necessity for every inhabitant.  The sun must melt the snow in summer, feed the rivers in the mountains, drive the water works of the mines and supply the irrigation water.  The more snow that covers the mountains in winter, the richer are the people of Chile.  In Chiloe and Valdivia it rains so much that people jokingly say it rains 13 months a year, just like in Hamburg.  The climate from Concepción to Valparaiso and Santiago is similar to the climate in southern Spain.  Up to here, Chile is rich in vegetation and animals and in the north are the rich mineral resources, so that if the vegetation should be poor in one year, the animals have to fill the gap; and when both are poor, the mines supply precious metals to buy what is missing.

In one of your letters you seem to disapprove of the many animals I keep.  When I count them, the number of twenty five thousand does appear to be great.  However, if they are properly classified I do not think anyone can accuse me of being extravagant.  I divide them up as follows:

Animals which I intentionally keep:

Of these 52 animals, only the three monkeys are actually dispensable.  If I wanted to get rid of them, I would have to bear the anger of all the children of Cerro Alegre because they always come here to play with the monkeys.

Animals which I feed against my will:

In addition, there are many other insects such as cellar worms, flies, mosquitoes and so on, which are difficult to count.  Therefore, I leave them out but still, I have to feed them.

The above (including animals I voluntarily feed) increases the already
high number to:                                                              25,852

I feel a noble pride when I think that I provide nourishment to so many beings.  In this case, I feel like a king or emperor who fancies that 20 million people live only by his will and his grace.

You inquire about Harry[114], Alfred Smith and Caesar Maaß.  Here then is my answer:  From Harry I received very good news which I have already passed on to Uncle Berckemeyer.  Harry is in La Paz, Bolivia.  The richest and most respected man in Bolivia, Dr. Emeterio Villamil, supports Harry with money and credit to enable him to do business.  I know from several good sources that Harry’s behavior is flawless.  Harry’s letters are composed in such a way that I sincerely believe them.  Whatever I can do to keep Harry on this path will, of course, be done.  I think that Harry will very soon earn a handsome capital.  I am now thinking of starting a business with Harry myself.  It remains unpleasant that Harry has married.  His wife and two children are in Cordoba.  His wife is from a poor but good family.  The children are named Oscar and Clementine.  So it is not likely that Harry can ever return to Europe.  At least it is good to tell his father this.  Harry writes me that wants to let his wife and children come to him.  But the journey from Cordoba to La Paz is over 300 German miles through a country torn by civil war, suffering under the hand of the Gaucho tyrant, Rosas.  Consequently, it will not be so easy to undertake such a journey.  Incidentally, I have encouraged Harry to have his wife and children come to him if at all possible, because I think they will help to keep him on the right path.

[114]  Eduard’s father had one brother, Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer.  One of his sons was Harry.  From Agnes Berckemeyer’s memoirs: “Harry also went to South America but he did not manage to acquire wealth.  He twice married Spanish women and had four children from the first marriage and four from the second.  He died there in poor circumstances.”

(Written in pencil: He then writes briefly about Alfred Smith and Caesar Maaß.)

A few day ago I received a letter from Ernst from Hamburg, written on April 29^th before the fire broke out.  Through a May 12^th letter from Mr. Adolph Schlem, I learned that you, Ernst and Semquels are well.  I am now very curious to hear something from you and Ernst, as you were eye-witnesses to this fire.  The more I think about it, the more my initial opinion that this fire is a blessing for Hamburg, is confirmed.  Hamburg was like one of its well-fed senators who became so fat and clumsy from prosperity and gluttony, that their blood stagnated and they became incapable of any work.  It was necessary to use extraordinary means to startle the patient out of his tremendous apathy.  All friendly means of persuasion to allow Hamburg to progress according to the spirit of the times, have so far been without effect.  Hamburg holds fast to its old friend, inefficiency.  Consequently, there was no other way but to carry out shock treatment on the patient.  The medicine was bitter but it will prevent death.

(Written in pencil: There follows a long story of about a sister of the postmaster, Don Pedro Bari, in Santa Rosa de los Andes.)

A few days ago someone claimed that there was no retribution in the afterlife.  He believes that any action receives its punishment or reward right here on earth and, above all, he does not believe that after death one will remember the things one did, saw or learned while on earth.  I have already expressed my belief several times, that we will be conscious of all the details our minds are able to retain.  Without retribution, immortality of the soul cannot take place; without memory or recollection there will be no retribution; without retribution there is no justice; without justice there is no omnipotence and omniscience.  It seems to me that those who do not believe in retribution, must not believe in God.  I have, very often, found people who have no clear understanding of this point.  They do not even bother thinking about it.

(Written in pencil:  There follows a series of stories, bloody deeds, etc. of the tyrant, Rosas in Buenos Aires)

November 20

Let us turn from the preceding bloody scenes and change to a more pleasant subject.  Namely, that yesterday I received your July 29^th letter from Hamburg.   With particular joy I see that you and all members of the family are in the best of health and that Therese’s family has increased by one – a little son.  The Berckemeyer daughters (his sisters) are all quite fertile.  Of the still living sons (Eduard and Ernst), Ernst is the first to have provided proof.  To date he has not done badly[115].  I have high hopes for my dear sister, Mathilde, as well.  I am impatiently waiting for the happy news that the spell has been broken.

[115]  In the autumn of 1842, when this letter was written, Ernst had 3 children.  3 more were born after 1842.

Thank God, that you and the Semquels luckily survived the horrible fire.  I would like to have been a spectator for 23 hours.  I thank you for all the news you sent me about it.  I organized a collection among Germans and other families here, which yielded 3,000 Pesos Fuertes.  I will send it to Hamburg today on the ship “Hieronymus”.  I only hope that this money will reach the hands of those who really need it and not be distributed by favour.  When I see the list of the amounts collected in Hamburg, I think we paid far too much.  I was annoyed by the meanness of some merchants in Hamburg.  For example, the rich L.H. von Hollen gave only 200 F whereas I gave 166.25 thousand PF, which amounts to BF 415.12 s.  When factoring in the proportions, I should have given only a sixth.

I have read all your reports with great concern.  Semquel must have started rescuing his belongings too late, otherwise I can not understand why he did not save more[116].

[116]  According to Agnes Berckemeyer’s memoirs, Jencquel’s lost their house and all its silver and furnishings in the Hamburg fire.

Give my kind regards to Therese and her children.  I am surprised that Mathilde (presumably Therese’s child) is already as tall as her mother.  She can soon be married and in a few years you will be great-grandmother.  That would be delightful!  I am extremely happy that hydrotherapy is having such a positive effect on Lotte (his sister, Charlotte).  She deserves a reward for her endurance.  I would never need such a cure because I place no value on life.  Upon re-reading this long letter, I find that I forgot an important thing when I wrote about my amiable travel companion on the ship, namely that she has been married to an Englishman, Mr. Charles Rocoe for six months.

I think it is probably time that I finish this little letter.  If it has served as a brief diversion, then my purpose has been achieved.  I beg your indulgence.  Farewell, dear Mamma, may God preserve you and grant you health and happiness.

With sincere love from your son,

E^d. W^m. Berckemeyer                                             November 26, 1842

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Letter to his Brother,
Ernst Philipp Berckemeyer

Valparaiso, November 2, 1843

My dear brother!

Before you face these lines, you will have already learned of the way in which I had to leave this world.  Rejoice with me that my sufferings on this earth have come to an end.  I cannot imagine that in the next world I will be at such a disadvantage as I have been in this one.  If I have to expect punishment, hopefully I will not stand stigmatized[117] before the others, as has been the case here.

[117]  Eduard uses the word “gebrandmarkt“ which means branded, stigmatized or denounced. 

There are only two things about my parting that worry me.  I am however, counting on your love, for it is in your power to dispel these concerns.

The first concern is that I am afraid you, Werner, my sisters and Leonore will mourn my death.  This may not and must not be.  If only you knew the state I have been in for the last six months and the adversity I have struggled with, you would be glad and wish me luck.  On Saturday May 27^th, I was in Limache with a friend.  We went hunting.  I took my rifle with me, having the firm intention of releasing my soul in a beautiful forest under God’s open, cloudless, blue sky and in the face of His beautiful sun.  When I came to that spot, the view was so magnificent, the snow-covered mountains shone so beautifully, the air was so balmy that I thought:  Why leave this laughing earth?  It is so lovely, things can get better, you have to continue to fight with renewed courage.  If at that time I had not been too weak, I would have spared myself endless suffering.  Toward the end of September, I was again quite determined to seize this last resort, when Oscar[118] unexpectedly arrived.  Under no circumstances, did I want to involve this dear cousin in my fate.  I lived one month longer and again severely aggravated my situation.  With each delay, I fell deeper.  Oscar will not have reported many pleasant things about me, even though I pulled myself together as best I could.  I mention these facts only to prove to you, that for me, the greatest blessing is in my dying.  Hopefully you will believe this and thus relieve me of this worry.

[118]  Eduard’s father had one brother, Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer.  One of his sons was Oscar or Oskar.

The second concern is that I owe about two thousand Taler to my faithful servant, Friedrich Hacker.  Since, through my death, you will now receive the benefits of my former inheritance and I fulfilled your wish concerning the fief, I hope you will not refuse me this last favour.  I urgently ask you to pay off this debt.  He will not need the money immediately.  If you pay him only the interest, he will be satisfied for now.  Later you will probably be able to gradually pay off the capital.  It is a sad legacy that I leave you.  I will be cursed and condemned.  Defend me as much as your conviction allows.  I am not aware of any wrongdoing but God has imposed more on me than I can bear.  I hope I will be able to defend myself before His tribunal.

Farewell, my dear Ernst.  May God be more merciful to you than He was to me.  I die with full consciousness and trust in the grace of the Almighty, that He will forgive me my sins.  I regret only that I cannot release my soul under God’s beautiful open sky, but that I must to do it enclosed by walls.

I leave reassured by the firm belief that you will faithfully fulfill my last two requests.  Forgive me the sorrows I have caused you.  In the firm conviction of a joyful reunion in the afterlife,

Your faithfully devoted brother
Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer

Soon I will learn what truth is.  Here on earth, we do not know it. —
Again, a thousand greetings to my beloved mother, sisters and Leonore.

The same day that he wrote this letter (November 2, 1843), Eduard Wilhelm Berckemeyer shot himself.  He was 45 years old.

Footnote in regard to Eduard’s suicide: 
One reads in other family member’s memoirs, that Eduard committed suicide because of having lost all his wealth through the betrayal of a friend, presumably referring to the Hölterhoff lawsuit.  Although it does seem that he lost all his wealth as evidenced by his inability to pay his servant, Friedrich, it is unlikely that this was the one and only cause for his suicide.  It should be noted that Eduard had been contemplating suicide for at least 9 years, i.e. about 5 years before the lawsuit began.  Other factors contributing to his suicide may have been his physical handicap (the extent of which is unknown) and perhaps mental illness such as depression or bipolar disorder.  When I read about the joy and pleasure he found in nature and in the peoples of Chile, and enjoy his marvelous sense of humour, I find myself very touched and saddened by his suicide.  It was a tragic end to a wonderful man.  PG

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Family pictures:

Eduard’s parents

Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer 1764 – 1816

Young Cäcilie Berckemeyer née Böhl (1778 – 1852)

Bernhard Philipp Berckemeyer (1764 – 1816)
Cäcilie Berckemeyer née Böhl (1778 – 1852)

Eduard’s Uncle Berckemeyer

Johann Heinrich Berckemeyer (1771 – 1860)
(no picutes of his sons, Harry and Oskar)

Eduard’s brother and his wife

Ernst Philipp Berckemeyer (1808 – 1879)

Eleonore Berckemeyer née Manecke (1816 – 1888)

Ernst Philipp Berckemeyer (1808 – 1879)
Eleonore (Leonore) Berckemeyer née Manecke (1816 – 1888)

Eduard’s four sisters

No picture of Charlotte (Lotte) Berckemeyer, born 1797, married Stauber, then Petersen

Therese Jencquel née Berckemeyer (1805 – 1891)

Mathilde Krüger née Berckemeyer (1812 –  ?)

Cäcilie Hoffschläger née Berckemeyer (1816 – 1893)

On Eduard’s mother’s side – the Böhl’s:

Eduard’s maternal grandparents
No pictures of Cäcilie Ilsabe Böhl née Lütkens and Johann Jacob Böhl (who died in1786 before Eduard was born and is Eduard’s biological grandfather.)
No pictures of Cäcilie Ilsabe Böhl née Lütkens′ second husband, Martin Jacob von Faber (whom Eduard calls Grandfather although he is not his biological grandfather).

Eduard’s uncles and cousins on his mother’s side
No pictures of his mother’s brothers – Fritz Böhl, or Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber who owned the estate Görslow mentioned in “My Deeds and Actions”.
No picture of Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber’s son (i.e. Eduard’s cousin), Juan Jacob Böhl von Faber but below is a picture of his daughter (i.e. Eduard’s cousin), Cecilia Böhl von Faber, aka Fernan Caballero (1796 – 1877)

(A copy of her novel “La Gaviota”, translated into English, is in my possession. PG)

Groβ Thurow

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