On board the steamer Crescent, Atlantic Ocean,
January 12, 1865.
We are steaming on that rolling deep we’ve heard so much of, and which I have already seen and felt enough of. There is but little air stirring and the water is quite smooth, but so near the shore there is always a ground swell, which is to me somewhat demoralizing. We are out of sight of land and just before dark we saw a school of porpoise which looked just like a drove of hogs in the water. Some of the men wanted to go foraging when they saw them. This makes me quite dizzy, but I would not miss it on any account. I saw the full moon rise from the water about 6:30 p.m.