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Across the Pond
As Seamus' row boat got closer and closer to the Baltic, he wondered how they were going to get from their tiny row boat all the way onto the deck of this enormous ship. As they pulled along side the Baltic he was grateful for the steps that he saw being lowered down the side of the Baltic towards the row boat. As soon as the steps were in place one of the sailors from the Baltic climbed down the stairs and greeted them with a cheerful,
"Welcome to the Baltic all of you!"
The sailor helped tie the row boat to the steps and the side of the ship so that the passengers could gather their belongs and climb onto steps safely. Just before he stepped out of the row boat Seamus looked over to Queenstown. He wondered if his family could still see him. He waved towards the shore and then headed up the steps with Pat following right behind him. As he climbed onto the deck of the Baltic an officer from the ship was there to greet Seamus and the other passengers and to direct them to their rooms. Seamus showed him the papers and he was sent down to the third deck, room 104. He was glad that Pat was sent to the same room.
As he headed towards the door leading to the third deck he saw some of the Baltic's passengers from first class, so he thought. They were finely dressed and seemed to be watching with amusement as the passengers from Queenstown boarded the Baltic. He wondered who they were and where they were going and why they had to watch his every move. Oh well, thought Seamus, I've got to get to my room and see what it is like.
All along the way there were stewards to direct Seamus and Pat down the correct hallways to Room 104. When he finally arrived at Room 104 he found that there were already four young men from England in the room. Oh my, thought Seamus, four Brits and at least two Irish, this is going to be an exciting trip! A few minutes after Seamus and Pat were settled on their bunks, two more boys from Ireland settled in Room 104. Michael Moriarity was from County Limerick while John Brosnan was from Dublin.
At first the silence seemed to overwhelm the residents of Room 104. Finally Seamus blurted out,
"Well, boys, here we are all together and all off to America. I'm Seamus Gilchrist from County Kerry and I am off to California, to a place called Port Costa. Who are you and where are you all off to?"
For a moment they all looked at each other not knowing what to say or do. Seamus then shoved his new friend Pat Mahon and he then introduced himself and said that he was heading for Oakland, wherever that was. John Brosnan was going to work from an uncle named Concannon who owned a vineyard in a place called Livermore. One of the English boys asked,
"What do you know about vineyards and wine? "
"Not much, but I guess I'll learn something soon enough!"
They all laughed as John just smiled at the group.
When Michael Moriarity introduced himself Seamus asked him if the old canon in Cahirciveen was related to him.
"Ah, indeed he is! He's my uncle, the older brother of my father."
"I know him! I've even been to Confession to him! Gave me a Rosary, a whole Rosary, for a penance the last time I went to him and I hadn't really done much of anything."
The four boys from Ireland all laughed while the English boys did not seem to know what was going on. Seamus thought that they must not be Catholics, but right now that was not important so he asked the English boys where they were from.
Paul and Tim Russel were from London and were twins while Frank Smith was from Essex and Lewis Trickey was from Morebath. All of them were on their way to different parts of California. The Russels were headed to Santa Cruz while Frank Smith was staying in San Francisco. Lewis Trickey said that he was going to Divinity School and had been invited to serve an internship at a church in Sacramento, the capital, so he was told, of California.
Seamus asked him what church he belonged and when he was told that he was Church of England, he asked if that was anything like the Church of Ireland. Told that they were sister churches, Seamus told him that his father had been a carpenter and had once worked for the Church of Ireland minister in Cahirciveen.
"My Pa always said that he was a fine man and the minister even came to the wake for my father when he died November last."
Lewis just smiled and said nothing more.
"So," Seamus wondered, "what do we do on this long trip to America?"
The Russels told them about the lounge room at the end of the corridor where they did have some books and cards to play games and Frank told them about the dining room. He thought that the meals were pretty good and all of the boys from England agreed. Seamus dared to hope that this trip might not be too bad. He did ask if there was someplace where they could go out on the deck and watch the ocean.
Frank Smith rolled his eyes and said,
"Oh yes, there is a deck where they keep the likes of us way from the fancy people in first class. I hear tell that those people up there have fancy rooms and chairs and servants to wait on them hand and foot, but we have a place on deck where we can relax too, or at least that is what I have been told."
Seamus thought that he was going to have to find that deck because he was so excited to see the world. He did not want to miss anything.
About ninety minutes after Seamus boarded the Baltic the ship blew its loud whistle. Seamus had dozed off, but at this noise he woke up immediately. Hearing that they were finally leaving Queenstown's bay, he ran out of his room and found his way up to the deck. Even though he knew that his family could not see him, he waved to the shore. What he did not know was that his family was still waiting by the railroad tracks. They too heard the ship blow its whistle as it started to move into position to head out to the open ocean. They waved good-bye to their new 'merican brother as Tomas called him. Even though the ship was way too far out for Seamus to see them, they waved their good-byes and prayed that he have a safe trip to his new home and life in America. Once the ship was out of sight they all seemed to sigh together and Constable Ryan said,
"Well, I think that it is time that we head back home to Kerry. Let's be off!"
The Gilchrists headed back to the constable's carriage and began a silent trip back to the Valley of Cummeragh. Everyone had the same though, finally voiced by Breda,
"Ma, do you think that we will ever see Seamus again?"
For the first few days the trip on the Baltic was uneventful. Seamus was grateful that he and the other seven residents of Room 104 got along so well. He was the youngest of the group while Lewis Trickey, at twenty-three, was the oldest. Already developing the dignity and manner of a preacher, Lewis tried to act like a father figure. He frowned at the Russels when they laughed at Pat Mahon's rather loud fart one evening.
"Oh, get off it, Parson! God made us that way and how can that be bad?"
"Well, I just do not think that polite people do these things, at least not publicly."
Lewis then tried to get Room 104 to agree not to disturb the dignity of the room with such indiscretions, but Michael Moriarity said that since the Queen was not here, he did not think that this was worth worrying about. Concerned that a fight might be brewing, Seamus piped up,
"Come on now, is this the way friends are? Let's talk some more about California where we are all going. I wonder what the weather is like. Do any of you know?"
This very quickly became Seamus' contribution to life on the Baltic. Whenever a fight seemed to be in the offing, Seamus used his unique talent calm things down and make life on the Baltic a little more pleasant. When they hit rough seas and everyone seemed to be getting seasick, Seamus tried to help them either to the toilets or to the railing of the ship.
"Better that you should throw up overboard than in our room!"
Several times when his roommates were too sick to go and eat, he got some food from the dining room and brought it back to them. He also shared some of the goodies that his mother had given him for his trip. All in all, it was agreed that Seamus Gilchrist was a decent fellow.
One day, when he finished cleaning up an accident Michael Moriarity had while trying to get to the toilet when he was very seasick, Michael told him,
"You ought to be a priest."
Seamus shook his head, laughed, and said,
"Me? A priest? You've got to be kidding, man! Your uncle the canon would laugh if he ever heard you speaking such foolishness. No, there's a girl waiting for me to show up in California and we are going to get married. That's for sure!"
"And what would her name be?" Michael demanded to know.
Seamus shrugged and said,
"Haven't a clue! I haven't met her yet, but when I do I'll know her name and I will invite you to the wedding and you can meet her then!"
"That's a deal, Seamus!"
Just then Michael began to heave again and made still more of a mess. All Seamus could do was to clean up the mess yet again and say "Damn" over and over again.
After tea on Saturday afternoon, Seamus asked the steward in the dining room if there would be Mass on Sunday. The steward said that he did not know about that, but that he would check and see. The next morning, just as Seamus was heading into the dining room for breakfast, he saw a notice tacked on the door informing the third class passengers that Mass would be said for the Catholics at 9:00 O'clock that morning in the lounge room of second class. Seamus wondered if he would be able to go to the second class area of the boat. So he asked the steward if he was permitted to go to the second class lounge for the Mass. Assured that he was, Seamus headed off to find the lounge on the next deck up. It was just above the third class lounge and when he went in he found several of the old ladies already saying the Rosary. Seamus knelt down and joined them.
When the priest came in for the Mass Seamus was glad to see that it was just like the Mass Father Kennedy said in Mastergeehy Church. The only thing missing was Mabel Povey's organ playing. Seamus did think, unkindly he feared, that he was glad that he did not have to hear Mabel Povey on the organ ever again. She was a nice woman, but her organ playing was enough to wake the dead and he thought that the dead in Old Dromod Cemetery were happy where they were. Leave them alone!
When the Mass on the Baltic was over, Seamus began to think about Mass at Mastergeehy Church, Seamus wondered what his family was doing just then. Maybe they were on the way to Mastergeehy for Mass. Were they thinking of him? He wondered what it was going to be like not to be able to Old Dromod Cemetery and tend his father's grave. He wondered about his mother and how she would get along without him. He thought that she and Constable Ryan would make a fine married couple. As he thought about his mother marrying again, he prayed to his father,
"Pa, I hope that you don't think that I don't love you any more by wanting Ma to marry the constable. You were the best father I could ever have, but I know that Ma would be happy with a husband. If you don't think this is too bad of an idea, can you please be asking our Lord about it? You're a little closer to Him than I am!"
As the days went by, Seamus and Pat Mahon spent a lot of time together. They walked on the decks and sat in the lounge playing cards. As much as he tried to get Pat to talk about his father, he could not get a word out of him. Seamus hoped that Oakland, the town where Pat was going, was somewhere close to Port Costa. Maybe they would be able to get together and they could become true friends, friends like he was with Brian and Harry McGinty.
As they headed towards the tip of South America, or so they were told, the weather began to get very cold. Seamus thought this was quite odd since it was springtime. This was more like winter weather and it did not make sense to him. Since Lewis Trickey had been to a University he asked him about that and Lewis explained to him that when you got to a certain part of the earth it was like the seasons reversed themselves. When it was summer in England and Ireland, it was winter in South America, and vice versa. Seamus was amazed when he thought about all of the new things that he was learning. Maybe Yvonne is right, he thought. Maybe I should go back to school.
As they headed up the western side of South America Seamus began to focus more and more on what he was going to do once he arrived in California. Would he remember what Paul Walsh looked like? Would Paul remember him? What would Paul's place be like. He hoped that he would have a comfortable bed to sleep in. The Baltic's beds were decent enough, but living with four other guys was not what he thought was the best thing in the world. He did not mind farting once in awhile, but Michael Moriarity really was disgusting the way he did it all of the time. Seamus dared to think that Michael needed to learn some manners from Lewis Trickey or maybe his uncle, Canon Moriarity. Of course, the old canon couldn't hear a thing so he'd be no help in this matter.
Seamus' journey on the Baltic was, at best, a monotonous one. There was really not a lot to do but eat and sleep and in between that to walk on the deck and spend some time in the lounge. He was glad that several passengers had taken their guitars and fiddles with them. Several times the third class passengers gathered in the lounge and sang different folks songs and hymns. A couple of times some of the younger passengers tried to give political speeches, but they were soundly booed by the entire lounge. While Seamus had hoped that he might meet someone on the Baltic that he knew or was related to, but he was left disappointed. He was all alone. He and Pat Mahon were becoming friends, but Seamus couldn't figure him out. He talked a lot about going to Oakland and how he would like to go to school and maybe become a teacher. Two of his uncles were teachers and he thought that this would be a fine job. But try as he might, Seamus could never get him to talk about his father. All he knew was that Pat's father had died quite young, just like his father Colm. But he did not even know his name. Whenever Seamus brought up the subject, Pat would immediately start to talk about something else. To Seamus this seemed so strange. When he was with Brian and Harry McGinty, Liam Crosby and Pat Fitzgerald, they would talk about anything and everything. He just could not understand why Pat Mahon would not talk about his father.
Several days after that first Sunday Mass, Seamus did hear that the priest was saying Mass every morning in the second class lounge. Most of the time the residents of Room 104 would be up to the wee hours of the night talking and laughing and sharing stories of their homes. Though Seamus would like to have gone more often to Mass, most of the time he was so tired that he almost missed breakfast. However, several times when he woke up before the rest of his cabin mates, Seamus quietly headed up to the Mass and prayed for his family back in Ireland. He hoped that they had not forgotten him.
Finally one morning at breakfast, just when Seamus was worrying that he was getting much too bored with this long, very long, journey, the steward announced that in a few hours time they would be entering in American waters and would be off the coast of California. Room 104 was sitting together drinking coffee and eating oatmeal mush. Hearing the announcement of the steward Seamus' head popped up and he cried out,
"Damn, boys! California! We're almost there!"
The news that they were finally approaching their destination in California even brought a smile to Pat Mahon's face. After breakfast,as they went outside to the deck of the Baltic, Seamus again tried to get Pat to talk about his father, but Pat just said,
"Not now, some day. Maybe we'll be close by and we can talk some day, but not right now, ok?"
Seamus just patted Pat on the back and said, "Ok!"
Unless they were serving a meal, Seamus now spent all of his time on the starboard side of the Baltic. He had thought that this was a stupid name to call the right side of the ship, but that is what the steward told him the right side was called and so he tried to use the right language. "I may not have finished school," he thought, "but no fool am I!"
Even though he was not able to see much, Seamus would not budge more than he had to from the railing of the deck. Seamus now never went to the lounge to play cards or sing with the other passengers. He spent his time trying to think what California would be like. He saw many new and strange animals in the sea. He would have to find out what they were all about and if they were good for eating. He saw different birds than he had ever seen before and he wondered what they were called. There were so many new things that Seamus was getting more and more excited about his new home in California.
Then he began to worry that he was being disloyal to his family and to Ireland by thinking that California might be a good place to live. He talked to his Pa about it and then felt that it was ok for him to start all over again in this new place. He just resolved never to forget that he was a Gilchrist and that he was from Ireland. He was going to make everyone proud, very proud of him and what kind of person they had sent to America.
Two days after entering American waters, after Seamus came down to the Dining Room for the main meal, after watching California's coast all morning, the steward announced that this would be their last meal on the Baltic. In about two hours time they would be sailing into the bay near San Francisco and then dock at a place called Angel Island. From there they would meet with the American Government officers and then they would be free to go to their new homes. This announcement was welcomed with much applause from all of the people gathered in the dining room. Seamus hurriedly ate his meal and then returned to Room 104.
His roommates were already gathering their things together and preparing to leave the Baltic. They all welcomed Seamus as he came into 104 and told him,
"Hurry up man! We're almost there!"
Seamus packed his few belongings for this final part of his trip. He was especially careful to make sure that he had stone from Dromid Church engraved with the names of his four best friends in the Valley of Cummeragh. As he looked at their names, he thanked them for everything, especially for being there for his dinner that Monday after Easter. He also told them,
"And listen you four, Pat and the rest of them may be my friends now too, but you were first and you will always be first!"
With everything packed safely in his satchel and cloth bag, he said to his roommates, his new friends,
"Come on, boys, no come on MEN! Let's go up and see our new home!"
With that they left behind Room 104 and headed to the starboard side of the deck. They fought their way to the railing and excited pointed out each detail of the coast of California. Finally they saw some buildings and they knew that this must be San Francisco! They did not know what to think! They wondered what they were seeing and what the people in San Francisco were doing there. What was their life going to be and how they would get along?
Just a few moments later the ship started to turn to the right and blew its whistle. As the Baltic sailed into San Francisco Bay all Seamus could think was,
"It's really happening! I'm going to America! No, I'm in America! It's really happening! I'm in America! Now I am an American!"