Recently, I learned that my greatgreatgrandfather and his brother had gone from Independence, MO on a wagon train to the California gold fields. After a few months there, they returned to Arkansas apparently after arriving in New Orleans from Panama. The letter written by one of them states "I was sea sick 6 weeks on a start from San Francisco to Panama...and from Shagres (sic) to Oleans (sic)." Could someone give me a quick lesson on the journey that one would have taken in the 1850s from San Francisco to New Orleans via the Isthmus of Panama? Thank you. Sincerely, Charles Riner