three in the morning
The end of the rope was carefully lashed to it ; and , left solely to the rise and fall of the billows , the buoy would not sensibly deviate from the spot . At this moment the engineer sent to inform the captain that steam was up and they could start , for which agreeable communication the captain thanked him . The course was then given north-northeast , and the corvette , wearing , steered at full steam direct for San Francisco . It was three in the morning . Four hundred and fifty miles to cross ; it was nothing for a good vessel like the Susquehanna . In thirty-six hours she had covered that distance ; and on the 14th of December , at twenty-seven minutes past one at night , she entered the bay of San Francisco . At the sight of a ship of the national navy arriving at full speed , with her bowsprit broken , public curiosity was greatly roused .