"Far upon the unknown deep,
With the billows circling round
Where the tireless sea-birds sweep;
Outward bound.

"Nothing but a speck we seem,
In the waste of waters round,
Floating, floating like a dream;
Outward bound."




CHAPTER II.


The G.S. Wright, on which we were embarked, was a screw steamer of two
hundred tons burthen, a sort of pocket edition of the new boats of the
Cunard line. She carried the flag and the person of Colonel Charles S.
Bulkley, Engineer in Chief of the Russo-American Telegraph Expedition.
She could sail or steam at the pleasure of her captain, provided
circumstances were favorable. Compared with ocean steamers in general,
she was a very small affair and displayed a great deal of activity.
She could roll or pitch to a disagreeable extent, and continued her
motion night and day, I often wished the eight-hour labor system
applied to her, but my wishing was of no use.

Besides Colonel Bulkley, the party in the cabin consisted of Captain
Patterson, Mr. Covert, Mr. Anossoff, and myself. Mr. Covert was the