watching for the tow, with the barge with my houses. The ship was at the
dock in the East river. About ten o'clock, A.M., I had the good fortune
to see the barge rounding the Battery. I cried out to the captain to cut
loose from the tow, employ the first steam tug and I would pay the bill,
which he did, getting on the side of the vessel by eleven o'clock, thus
saving my contract by one hour. But they did not commence taking them on
board, so the captain of the barge put a demurrage of $20 per day for
detention. In the meantime, I had bought my ticket to sail by the
steamer _Georgia_ to the Isthmus to go on the 1st of July which was but
a few days off. They, seeing that I had them on my contract, came to me
and said that my houses should go on their ship according to contract,
if they had to throw other freight out, and that they would sign a
regular bill of lading for all the material deliverable to me upon the
arrival of the _Prince de Joinville_ at the port of San Francisco, and
take my carpenters' specifications for the description of them, which
seemed all right to me.

The following is an article from the _Albany Evening Atlas_ of June 23,
1849:

"CALIFORNIA HOUSES.

"Our estimable fellow citizen Dr. Knower, who is to start
for California by the Crescent City _via_ Panama, is about
to ship to that place twelve houses, complete and ready to
put up on arrival at San Francisco. The venture is a costly
one, the freight on the material approaching the cost of as
many frame buildings in this quarter, and the projector, we
think, has managed the speculation with great foresight and
judgment. The best timber has been selected, and the best