My friend bid me good-by, and the next morning, leaving my " ranch" in the care of my old compadre, Jeff Bond, I went into San Antonio, and took the stage for Indianola. There I got on board a steamer that was just ready to start, and in two or three hours we were rolling and tossing on the Gulf. Anybody can have my share of the sea that wants it. I had rather have ten acres of the poorest ground in Texas than the whole Gulf of Mexico. I want something solid under me, and not miles of slippery, sloshy water, that is forever heaving and setting, and swelling, and sinking, and sliding and slipping from under a fellow, until his head grows dizzy, and his stomach is turned inside-out. I am very fond of oysters, and ate about a peck of 'em raw, and four or five dozen fried, for dinner, just before I left Indianola; but I returned them all to their native element as soon as we got over the bar.
How the sailors manage to live for six or seven months at sea, without ever seeing land, is a wonder to me. Two days were enough for me, and I was truly glad when at the end of that time I found myself on the " levee" in the city of New Orleans.
More information on Indianola
Indianola in 1850
Site of the Town of Indianola
Indianola in 1857
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