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Show 362 PERSONAL ADVENTURES richly-freighted Spanish galleons; and extensive fairs 'vere held in the town for the sale of every description of goods sui table for the n1arkets of the Indian Ocean. The distance from Acapulco to l\1:exico is about 1 04 leagues. The substantial ruins of brick and stone, which everywhere meet the eye, and which stretch far beyond the boundaries of the site of the town, prove that the place must have been formerly one of great importance. The number of vessels that are likely to touch here on their way to and from San Francisco 'viii, I have no doubt, soon restore it to something like its original greatness. The church stands in the Plaza, which occupies the centre of the town. The interior is as plain as it can possibly be; but on j8te days, it is customary to ornament it with palm-branches and flo,vers. Observing a miniature ship suspended from the ceiling, I inquired the object of it, and was informed that it had been placed there in compliment to the sailors, of whom great nun1bers frequent the town, the port being one of the chief recruiting places for whalers. The inhabitants, it seems, have an eye to their inte· rests, even in their devotions ; and certainly I kno'v of nothing in the way of ecclesiastical adornment mor.e likely to tickle the fancy of Jack. IN CALIFORNIA. 263 The weather being exceedingly hot, and fruit being known to abound here, a good deal of sickness was apprehended· from the indiscretion of the passengers. In San Francisco, fruit had been so scarce during the whole of the time that I remained there, that an apple readily fetched fifty cents, ·whilst peaches frequently brought from two to three dollars a piece. There was some reason, therefore, to fear the effeets of over-indulgence in the delicious tropical fruits which were here so cheap and plentiful. I own that, personally, I had great difficulty in restraining my appetite, so refreshiug did I find then1 after the heated atmosphere of a crowded ves~el. I was told that when the first steamer touched here, on its way to San Francisco, it created a prodigious sensation, and brought down the po~ulation in immense numbers to the shore. N otlnng could persuade some of the most superstitious of the natives but that his Satanic Majesty had arrived in propria pe1·sona. . Cock-fighting seems to be one of the chief amusements of the inhabitants; and at the door of almost every house may be seen one of. those pugnacious birds, tied to a stick sunk In t~e ground, and sending forth now and then a shnll challenO'e to his opposite neighbours. I 0 rerna1• ne d b u t ,a shot·t time on shore, and on R2 |