While Edward Singleton Holden’s 1883 expedition report to the National Academies was written with all due respect, a handwritten manuscript from one of the U.S.S. Hartford’s crew suggests that the party had its lighter moments, especially during the 4,000-mile return voyage to San Francisco via Honolulu.
Written in rhyme, the sailor’s manuscript (pictured above) includes the lyrics of songs that Holden and the sailors made up and performed on the ship’s deck, including a line suggesting their cargo had included “bricks” and enough “liquor to make a regiment sick.”
