Note: For serious researchers only.  Very hard to read, as is the original.

Route as traced via Google Maps.

Audio excerpts from the entire letter (mp3 format) Voiceover by Nancy Burnett (burnetnc@oneonta.edu), Communication Arts Department, SUNY College at Oneonta.

1851 Letter from Harvey Seaman to parents in Delancey, Delaware County, NY describing a trip by sail from NY to California via Cape Horn.

Excerpts from page 3:

"...We had a sick man on board who from the commencement, had given symptoms of the Small Pox, now it was no longer a matter of doubt, but a decided fact that that contagious disease was in our midst, And I assure you that it needed but a little discernment to see realy sad, and truly woe begone, visages depicted in any countenance, And I think that an electric shock would not have frightened our nerves more than this news did..."

"We had three good fiddlers and having some twelve ladies our deck was frequently the scene of a jovial dance, especialy on the moon lit evenings in the Tropical Clime, which are the loveliest that I ever saw, the moon seemed to shine with a redoubled brilliancy...."

"Playing Cards checkers and other games employed the time of many, and often caused quarrels...."

Courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Association Archives, 46549 State Hwy 10, Delhi, NY, 13753.

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