^«i/ojnvo-jo^ ^fCAllFO/?^ ameuniver% ^;v\. Ill; A/Ml ' u/. .\W£UNIVtK5/A > ^OfCAiifO% ^ .^\^E•UNIVERy/A o 57 ^TiUONVSni^ mi;i ^^WEUNIVERS"/^ ^lOSANCFlfj-;^ ^^lUBRARYQ/; I Lir; I o ^ 1 «^- ^3 6 ' -' t 1 .'I M vW i '0«JJ/>IMII J M ..^■ ,^ •v^UIBKAK -vj: 33 £-1 ,OFCAUFO% ^- < oc CO \«tUNlVtffi//i SMI V HIT 111 j//^ ^HuyHnuucj^ -i^ruonrtnrf U 1 % 4 %„ 5 L b New Editions of Popular Books. IN SETS. THE NEW ADVENTURE LIBRARY, CONSISTING OF Rocky Mountain Life, Perilous Adventures in the Far West. By Rufus B. Sage. Jack in the Forecastle. Incidents in the life of Hawser Martin- gale. RoviNGS ON Land and Sea. By Captain Henry E. Davenport. 3 vols., i2mo., Cloth, in a neat box ?3-7S THE YOUNG LADIES' LIBRARY, CONSISTING OK Papers for Thoughtful Girls. By Sarah M. Tytler. The Young Woman's Friend. By Daniel C. Eddy, D. D. Christian Heroines. By Daniel C. Eddy, D. D. This series of books is presented to the trade in a new dress, and the volumes confi- dently offered as being among the most popular thoughtful and religious books for girls and young ladies ever published. More than one hundred and thirty thousand vohunes of the series have been sold. 3 vols., i6nio., Cloth, black and gold, in a box, . . $4.50 THE CARLE TON SERIES, CONSISTING OF Winning his Way, Following the Flag, My Days and Nights on the Battle Field. By Charles Carleton Coffin, author of "The Boys of '76," "The Story of Liberty," "Our New Way 'Round the World," etc. These remarkably interesting 'books 'having^jeen long out of print, and there being a large demand for them, we shall issue new and uniform editions in an attractive form. 3 vols., i6mo., Cloth, in a neatliox, J3.7S THE LEGAL ADVENTURE LIBRARY, CONSISTING OF The Experiences of a Barrister. By Samuel Warren, author of "Ten Thousand a Year." Recollections of a Policeman. By Thomas Waters, of the London Detective Corps. The Adventures of an Attorney in Search of Practice. By Sir James Stephen. 3 vols., i2mo.. Cloth, in a neat box ^3.7S Sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publishers^ ESTES ^ LA URIA T, Boston, Mciss. ' His queue took a ' round turn ' over the lift, and stuck fest." Page 25. JACK IN THE FORECAST JjIj ) OB INCIDENTS IN THE EARLY LIFE OP Hawser MAETI^GALE.rt?se>-i %V\v\ SlAerti^rvie Die^^er jPft BY THE AUTHOR OF "TALES OF THE OCEAN," "SALT-WATER BUBBLES," ETC. BOSTON : ESTES AND LAURIAT, 18 8 0. t J PREFACE. This book contains a plain and faithful account of the cruises, rambles, and adventures of the writer during eight years of his early life — between the years 1809 and 1817. It may not contain much which is extraordinary or exciting; but the pictures it furnishes of "life at sea," the illustrations it gives of the character of the sailor, the temptations by which he is surrounded, and the moral as well as physical dangers which beset him on every side, have at least the merit — I had almost said the novelti/ — of truth. JOHN S. SLEEPER. ILLUSTRATIONS. PAOB . 1. INCONVENIENCE OF A QUEUE AT SEA, 25 2. DUEL BETWEEN TWO SPANIARDS, . 83 3. A BOAT-CHASE IN BOSTON HARBOR, 152 4. MRS. JOHNSON IDENTIFYING THE BREASTPIN, 191 5. CATCHING A TURTLE AT SEA, 203 6. DISTURBING A COLONY OF BATS, 320 7. ATTACK ON THE GENERAL ARMSTRONG PRIVATEER, . .397 8. HAWSER PRACTISING GYMNASTICS, 429 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. rhe Author's Ancestors — Early Education and Nautical Tastes. — Thrown a Waif upon the Waters. — An Opportunity to go to Sea. — A Kinsman's Kindness. — Brig Dolphin, of Portsmouth, — " My Native Land, Good Night." Page 9 CHAPTER II. A Deck-load in Olden Times. — Cabin Accommodations. — Calling the Watch. — Seasickness and the Blues. — A Squall at Sea. — Old Man-of-War's-Men. — Serving out Grog. — Serving up Dinner. — Queues. — A Cabin Boy's Duties and Kecrcatious 17 CHAPTER III. Porpoises. — Sail, ho ! — A British Man-of-War. — How to man the Wooden Walls of Old England. — The Doldrums. — Food for Curiosity. — Catching a Shark. — Pilot-fish. — A Sad Incident 31 CHAPTER IV. Excuse for steering wildly. — The Trade Winds. — Keep well to Windward. — Hats off. — Ocean Novelties. — Land, ho ! — A Sea Serpent on the Quarter- deck. — A Dcmarara Pilot. — Market Day on Sunday. — Sailors on Shore. — A Row on Shipboard. — A Stand-up Fight 47 CHAPTER V. Captain Shackford's Lone Voyage. — Stowing Molasses. — A Tragedy. — ^ Hoisting a Pennant. — An Escape from a Man-of-War. — Homeward bound. — The Gulf Stream. — A Gale of Wiud and a Leaky Ship. — Arrival at Charleston 61 (3) 4 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. Fall in with a Land-shark. — A Tempting Offer. — A Sridnight Assassination. — Sailors in Limbo. — Bound for Cayenne. — An Unseasonable Xap. — Adrift on the Waters. — A Valuable Admonition Page 66 CHAPTER VII. A Leaky Vessel. — The Mystery explained. — An Unthankful Sers'ice. — Arrival at St. Pierre. — How to make Lumber hold out. — Unsuccessful Smuggling. — Combat between two Spaniards. — Sailors on board the John. — Exchange of Vessels. — Sail for St. Bartholomew 76 CHAPTER VIII. " Eight of Search " exemplified. — Sailing among the Windward Islands. — Suggestion to Pleasure-seekers — Island of St. Bartholomew. — A Ship in a Hurry to leave Port. — French Privateer Superior. — Meet with Captain Tilton. — Shipwreck of the Edwin 87 CHAPTER IX. Wretched Fare. — Island of Sombrero. — Landing without Ceremony. — Inci- dent in the English Channel. — Peculiarities of the Gulf Stream. — Chased by a Water Spout. — Frightened by a " Corpus Santo." — Arrival at Savannah. — Seizure of the Schooner 99 CHAPTER X. Enjoying a Hearty Meal. — Stripping a Schooner. — A Duel. — How to swell an Account. — A Lesson in Morals. — Thoughts of Home. — Embark in the Lydia, of Barnstable. — Rough Quarters. — Fourth of July in Hyannis. — Barnabas Bates. — Fever and Ague. — Arrival at Boston 109 CHAPTER XI. Join Brig Clarissa, of Salem. — An Old-fashioned Forecastle. — A Storm on the Coast. — Frost-bitten. — Catching Dolphin. — All Hands at Work. — A Sailor's Religion. — Sleeping in the Watch 119 CHAPTER XII. Crossing the Line. — Description of Keel -hauling. — Value of a Nose. — Tur- keys or Turkey Buzzards.' — St. Louis de Maranham. — A Tintinnabulary Clatter. — Civility to Foreigners. — Adventure in the Kiver — Para. — A Bedof Mosquitoes. —Monkeys. — The Comet of 1811 130 CONTEXTS. CHAPTER XIII, The " Xorth-wcst Coast." — Ship Packet, of Boston. — Bound for Liverpool.— A Boat Chase. — Seasick at the Mast-head. — Unsuccessful Experiments. A Knock-down. — Petty Malignity. — Arrival in the Mersey. . . . Page 145 CHAPTER XIV. Liverpool Docks in 1811. — Press-gangs. — Preparations for Sea. — A Frac- tured Limb. — Liverpool Infirmary. — Gruffness of the Porter. — Inmates of my Apartment.— Rations. — A Mournful Scene. — Frightened at Shadows. — Food at a, Premium 162 CHAPTER XV. Once more erect. — Original Characters. — Sources of Amusement. — A Race on Crutches. — Practical Lessons in Surgery. — Discharged from the Hos- pital.- A Cool Reception. — An Emptj Chest.— Seek the American Con- sul. — Find his Deputy 171 CHAPTER XVI. Lingering in Liverpool. — Limping through the Streets. — Consuls abroad. — Ship Lady Madison, of New York. — Unreasonable Prejudices. — An Old Friend. — Ice Islands. — Arrival in New York 179 CHAPTER XVII. Intense Excitement. — An Embargo expected. — A Forlorn Condition. — Rebuff from an Old Acquaintance. — Find a Prize. — Swindled out of it. — Look for Work on Long Island. — Interview with Captain Thompson. — Join the Schooner Mary -.186 CHAPTER XVIII. We pass Sandy Hook. — The Mate lost overboard. — Make myself usefiil. — Cochran's Pamphlet on the End of the World. — How to catch a Turtle. — Ocracoke Inlet. — Inhabitants of that Region. — Epicurean Indulgences — Effects of Cochran's Prediction. — Arrival at Newbern 197 CHAPTER XIX. Excitement in Newbern. — Reading to a Select Audience. — A Trip to Balti- more. — Visit a Kinsman. — An Old Sailor's Advice. — Return to Newbern. — Cochran's Prediction a Humbug. — A Reaction. — Proof of the Sincerity of Cochran 208 1* 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. A Trip to New York. — War declared. — Tarring and Feathering. — A Fight- ing Spirit. — Yankee Privateers. — Refused my Discliarge. — A Thunder Squall off Cape Henry. — Transferred to the Young Pilot Hey, for the Spanish Main 1 Page 217 CHAPTER XXI. Officers of the Young Pilot. — Reflections. — Find myself Cook and All Hands. — Sleeping at the Helm. — Chased by a Seventy -Four. — Fall in with a Patriot Privateer. — Mr. Campbell looks out for " Number One." — A Fair Exchange no Robbery. — Pulling for Life. — Luminous Appearance of the Ocean 227 CHAPTER XXII. The Mona Passage. — The Rocas. — Beating to Windward. — Running down the Coast. — A Guarda Costa. — Caught in a Trap. — A Felucca Privateer. — A False Alarm — Ill-timed Courage, — Arrival at Porto Cabello. — Poor Mr. CampbeU ! 238 CHAPTER XXIII. Join an American Ship. — Discipline on board. — Frederick Strictland. — Sick almost unto Death. — Saved by the Supercargo. — A Schooner with French Emigrants. — British Frigate Hermione. — Sail for St. Bartholomew. — Vive la Bagatelle. — Boarded by a Sloop-of-War. — Arrival in St. Barthol- omew 243 CHAPTER XXIV. Hard Times for Sailors. — Making the most of a few Dollars. — Roughing it on Shore. — Kidnapping by Wholesale. — News of the Surrender of Detroit. — A Privateer blown up. — A Hurricane in the Harbor 200 CHAPTER XXV. A Sloop in Jeopardy. — Is saved from Destruction. — Ingratitude and Ras- cality. — Stripped to a Guntline. — The Lapwing, of St. Bartholomew. — Island of Saba and its People. — Logic of Expediency. — Take " a Purser's Name." — Become a Creole 273 CHAPTER XXVI. Sail for Grenada. — Discussion with the Supercargo. — Town of Roaseau. — . News of the Capture of the Guerriere. — A Night in an Open Boat. — Caribs of St. Vincent. — The Volcano. — The Grenadines. — Dutch Courage. — Boarded by the Ringdove. — Harbor of St. George. — An Awkward Pre- dicament. -~ Lies by Wholesale 283 CONTENTS. 7 CHAPTER XXVII. Besume my Name and Nation. — Nail to the Mast the Flag of Truth. — Inter- view with the Owner of the Lapwing. — Decide to remain in Grenada. — Journey across the Mountains. — Tropical Scenery. — The "Grand Etang." — Sugar Plantations. — Treatment and Condition of the Slaves. . . Page 300 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Upper Pearl Estate. — My Reception. — I'npleasant Intelligence. — In a fair Way of becoming an M. D. — Character and Social Condition of the Planters. — Rambles in the Mountains. — A Glimpse at Natural History. — Paid for Peeping. — A Noble Tree. — The African Black Ant. — Good Effects of a Hurricane 314 CHAPTER XXIX. The Caribs and the French. — A "War of Extermination. — Insurrection of the Blacks in 1795. — Massacre of the Whites. — General Fedon. — Mount Quaqua. — The Insurrection suppressed. — Jack Shadow. — His Mountain Home. — Betrayed by his Wife. — His Fate 324 CHAPTER XXX. A Bloodless Duel. — Prostrated by Fever. — Removed to Bel- Air. — Find myself in Debt. — A Good Resolution. — Hold an Office. — The Hermitage Estate. — Capture of the Corunna. — Trouble amon^ the Slaves. — Inter- view with Governor Riall. — Pay off my Debts, and prepare to quit Grenada 334 CHAPTER XXXI. Embark for Martinico. — A Fighting Frenchman. — Touch at St. Lucia. — Effects of a Hurricane at St. Pierre. — Yellow Fever .among the French Emigrants. — Captain Parker and his Projects. — Take Passage in Brig Betsy, of New Orleans. — Yellow Fever on board. — Deaths at Sea. — A Norther. — Arrival at New Orleans 352 CH API ER XXXII. Gratitude of Captain Ricker. — Noble Conduct of a Commercial Agent. — Morals of New Orleans in 1817. — Disturbances on the Levee. — A Wooden- legged Victory. — A Rough-and-tumble Fight. — A Duel with Small Swords 367- CHAPTER XXXIII. Captain Ricker deposed. — .Toin the Brig Casket. — A Wide-awake Captain. — A Narrow Escape. — Hydropathic Treatment. — Saturday Night at Sea. — A Sailor's Devotion to Woman. — Songs of the Forecastle. — Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties. — A Martyr to Cleanliness. — Arrival at- Havre 375. 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. The Lie given and resented. — The Scilly Isles. — Arrival at Savannah — Cruise after a Boarding House. — Prejudices against Sailors. — " My Schools and Schoolmasters." — Sign of the General Armstrong. — A Sailor Land- lord. — The General Armstrong Privateer at Fayal. — A Noxious Atmos- phere.— A Boxing Match.— A Butting Match Page 389 CHAPTER XXXV. Join Brig Joseph, of Boston. — Names of Vessels. — Sail for Gottenburg. — Death of the Second Mate. — Mr. Bo wen. — Rockal. — Natives of Fair Isle. — Gar-fish. — Arrive at the Outer Harbor of Gottenburg. — Ordered into Quar- antine 405 CHAPTER XXXVI. Absurdity of the Quarantine System. — Port of Gottenburg. — Receive a Pris- oner on board. — Schooner Plattsburg, of Baltimore. — Mutiny and Murder. — Arrest of the Criminals 415 CHAPTER XXXVII. Leave Gottenburg for Boston. — Superstition in the Cabin. — Miles Petersen the Mutineer. — Execution on Boston Neck. — A Feat on the Slack Rope. — Castles in the Air. — Bank of Newfoundland. — The Bank Fishermen in Olden Times. — Unsuccessful Cruise of Uncle Jonas. — Fog Banks. — Excite- ment on making the Land. — Return to the Home of my Childhood. . . . 426 CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Sea : its Immensity ; its Configuration ; its Depth ; its Beauty ; its Dangers. — The Sailor : his Failings ; his Virtues. — An Appeal in his Behalf. 436 JACK L\ THE FORECASTLE; OR, INCIDENTS IN THE EARLY LIFE OF HAWSER MARTINGALE. CHAPTER I. FAEEWELL TO NEW ENGLAND. I WAS born toWcards the close of the last century, in a village pleasantly situated on the banks of the Merri- mack, in Massachusetts. For the satisfaction of the curi- ous, and the edification of the genealogist, I will state that my ancestors came to this country from England in the middle of the seventeenth century. Why they left their native land to seek an asylum on this distant shore — whether prompted by a spirit of adventure, or with a view to avoid persecution for religion's sake — is now un- known. Even if they " left their country for their coun- try's good," they were undoubtedly as respectable, honest, and noble, as the major part of those needy ruffians who accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy in his successful attempt to seize the British crown, and whose descendants now boast of their noble ancestry, and proudly claim a seat in the British House of Peers. From my earliest years I manifested a strong attach- ment to reading; and as matters relating to ships and sailors captivated my boyish fancy, and exerted a magic (9) 10 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. influence on my mind, the "Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," "Peter Wilkins," "Philip Quarle," and vagabonds of a similar character, were my favorite books. An indul- gence in this taste, and perhaps an innate disposition to lead a wandering, adventurous life, kindled in my bosom a strong desire, Avhich soon became a fixed resolution, to go to sea. Indeed, this wish to go abroad, to encounter dangers on the mighty deep, to visit foreign countries and climes, to face shipwrecks and disasters, became a j^assion. It was my favorite theme of talk by day, and the subject of my dreams by night. As I increased in years my long- ing for a sailor's life also increased ; and whenever my schoolfellows and myself were conversing about the occupations we should select as the means of gaining a livelihood hereafter, I invariably said, "Z will be a sailor." Had my parents lived, it is possible that this deep-seated inclination might have been thwarted; that my destiny might have taken another shape. But my father died while I was quite young, and my mother survived hira but a few years. She lived long enough, however, to con- vince me that there is nothing more pure, disinterested, and enduring than a mother's love, and that those who are deprived of this blessing meet at the outset of their pilgrimage a misfortune which can never be remedied. Thus, before I had numbered fifteen years, I found myself thrown a waif on the waters of life, free to follow the bent of my inclination to become a sailor. Fortune favored my wishes. Soon after the death of my parents, a relation of my mother was fitting out a vessel in Portsmouth, N. H., for a voyage to Demarara; and those who felt an interest in my welfare, conceiving this a good opportunity for me to commence my salt-water career, acceded to my wishes, and prevailed on my rela- tive, against his inclination, to take me with him as a cabin boy. FAREWELL TO NEW ENGLAND. 11 With emotions of delight I turned my back on the home of my childhood, and gayly started off to seek my fortune in the world, with no other foundation to build upon than a slender frame, an imperfect education, a vivid imagination, ever picturing charming castles in the air, and a goodly share of quiet energy and perseverance, modified by an excess of diffidence, which to this day I have never been able to overcome. I had already found in a taste for reading a valuable and never-failing source of information and amusement. This attachment to books has attended me through life, and been a comfort and solace in difficulties, perplexities, and perils. My parents, also, early ingrafted on my mind strict moral principles ; taught me to distinguish between right and wrong; to cherish a love of truth, and even a chivalric sense of honor and honesty. To this, perhaps, more than to any other circumstance, may be attributed whatever success and respectability has attended my career through life. It has enabled me to resist temp- tations to evil with which I Avas often surrounded, and to gra])ple with and triumph over obstacles that might other- wise have overwhelmed me. When I reached Portsmouth, my kinsman. Captain Tilton, gave me an ungracious reception. He rebuked me severely for expressing a determination to go to sea. "Go to sea!" he exclaimed, in a tone of the most sov- ereign contempt. "Ridiculous! You are a noodle for thinking of such a thing. A sailor's life is a dog's life at best ! Besides, you are not fit for a sailor, either by hab- its, taste, or constitution. With such a pale face, and slight figure, and sheepish look, how can you expect to fight the battle of life on the ocean, and endure all the crosses, the perils, and the rough-and-tumble of a sailor's life ? Hawser, you are not fit for a sailor. You had much better go home and try something else." 12 JACK IX THE FORECASTLE. Finding me unconvinced by his arguments, and unsha- ken in my determination, he conchided his remarks by asking me abruptly the startling question, " Are you ready to die ? " I replied, that I had not bestowed much thought on the subject; but frankly admitted I was not altogether pre- pared for such a solemn event. " Then, Hawser," said he with marked emphasis, " if you are not prepared to die — to die oi yellow fever — don't go to Demarara at this season of the year ! " And he left the room abrubtly, apparently disgusted at my obsti- nacy. On the following day. Captain Tilton took me on board the brig Dolphin. I did not mark her imperfections, which were many. She was a vessel, bound on a voyage to a foreign port, and, therefore, I was charmed with her ap- pearance. In my eyes she was a model of excellence; as beautiful and graceful as the celebrated barge in which Cleopatra descended the Cydnus to meet Mark Antony. The captain led me to the mate, who was busily en- gaged about the decks. "Mr. Thompson," said he, "here is a lad who wants to go to sea, and I have foolishly engaged to take him as a cabin boy. Keep him on board the brig; look sharp after him; don't let him have an idle moment ; and, if possible, make him useful in some way until the vessel is ready for sea." Mr. William Thompson was a worthy man, who subse- quently became a shipmaster and merchant of great respectability in Portsmouth. He treated me with con- sideration and kindness, and took pleasure in teach- incf me the details of the business I was about to under- take. During the few days in which the Dolphin lay at the wharf I gained much nautical information. I learned the names of the different parts of a vessel ; of the different masts, and some portions of the rigging. But the great FAEEWELL TO NEW EXGLAND. 13 number of ropes excited my admiration. I thought a life- time would hardly suffice to learn their different names and purposes. I accomplished successfully the feat of going aloft ; and one memorable day, assisted the riggers in "bending sails," and received an ill-natured rebuke from a crusty old tar, for my stupidity in failing to under- stand him when he told me to "pass the gasket" while furhng the fore-topsail. Instead of j^assing the gasket around the yard, I gravely handed him a marlinspike ! In the course of my desultory reading, I bad learned that vessels at sea were liable to " spring a leak," which was one of the most dreaded perils of navigation ; and I had a vague notion that the hold of a ship was always so arranged that a leak could be discovered and stopped. I was, therefore, not a little puzzled when I found the hold of the Dolphin was crammed with lumber ; not a space having been left large enough to stow away the ghost of a belaying pin. Finding the captain in a pleasant mood one day, I ventui-ed to ask him what would be the conse- quence if the brig should spring a leak in her bottom. ■ " Spring a leak in her bottom ! " he replied, in liis gruff manner ; " why, we should go to the bottom, of course ! " The brig was now ready for sea. The sailors were shipped, and I watched them closely as they came on board, expecting to find the noble-looking, generous- spirited tars I had become so familiar with in books. It happened, however, that three out of the five seamen who composed the crew were " old English men-of-war's- men," and had long since lost any refinement of character or rectitude of principle they originally possessed. They were brought on board drunk by the landlord with whom "they boarded; for the "old tars" of those days — fifty years ago — had no homes; when on shore all they cared for was a roof to shelter them, and plenty of grog, in which they would indulge until their money was gone, when they would go to sea and get more. 2 14 JACK IN THE rORECASTLE. "Now ensued the bustle incident to such occasions. Captain William Boyd, who had volunteered to pilot the brig down the harbor, came on board ; the sails were hoisted ; the deck was crowded with persons to take leave of their friends, or gratify a morbid curiosity ; and what with the numerous questions asked, the running to and fi'O, the peremptory commands of the mate, the unmusi- cal singing and shouting of the crew as they executed the various orders, together with the bawling of the hand- Tcartmen and truckmen as they brought down the last of the trunks, chests, stores, and provisions, my brain was in a whirl of excitement ; I hardly knew whether I stood on my head or my heels. At last the captain came down the wharf, accompanied by Joshua Haven, one of the owners, and some friends, who had made arrangements to proceed in the brig so far as the mouth of the harbor. The single rope which con- nected the Dolphin with the shore was cast loose; the pilot gave some orders, that Avere Greek to me, in a loud and energetic tone; the men on the wharf gave three cheers, which were heartily responded to by the tempo- rary passengers and crew ; and with a pleasant breeze fi-om the westward, we sailed merrily down the river. Some few persons lingered on the wharf, and continued for a time to wave their handkerchiefs in token of an affectionate firewell to their friends. I seemed to stand alone while these interesting scenes were enacted. I took no part in the warm greetings or the tender adieus. I had bidden ftirewell to my friends and relatives in another town some days before ; and no one took sufficient inter- est in my welfare to travel a few miles, look after my comforts, and wish me a pleasant voyage as I left my native land. Although from the reception I had met with I had little reason to expect present indulgences or future favors from my kinsman who commanded the brig, I did not regret FAREWELL TO NEW ENGLAND. 15 the step I had taken. On the contrary, my bosom bounded with joy when the hist rope was severed, and the vessel on whose decks I proudly stood was actually leaving the harbor of Portsmouth, \inder full sail, bound to a foreign port. This was no longer " the baseless fabric of a vision." The dream of my early years had come to pass ; and I looked forward with all the confidence of youth to a bold and manly career, checkered it might be with toil and suffering, but replete with stirring adventure, whose wild and romantic charms would be cheaply won by wading through a sea of troubles. I now realized the feeling which has since been so well described by the poet : — " A life on the ocean wave, A home on the rolling deep, Where the scattered waters rave, And the winds their revels keep. " Like an eagle caged, I pine On this dull, unchanging shore ; O, give me the flashing brine. The spray, and the tempest's roar." CHAPTER II. INCIDENTS AT SEA. The Dolphin was what is termed, in nautical par- lance, an " hermaphrodite brig," of about one hundred and fifty tons burden ; and had been engaged, for some twelve or fifteen years, in the West India trade. This vessel could not "with propriety be regarded as a model of grace and beauty, but gloried in bluff bows, a flat bottom, and a high quarter-deck; carried a large cargo for her tonnage, and moved heavily and reluctantly through the water. 16 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. On this particular voyage, the hold of the brig, as I have already stated, was filled with lumber; and thirty- five thousand feet of the same article wei-e carried on deck, together with an indefinite quantity of staves, shooks, hoop poles, and other articles of commerce too numerous to mention. On this enormous deck-load were constructed, on each side, a row of sheep-pens, sufli- ciently spacious to furnish with comfortable quarters some sixty or seventy sheep; and on the pens, ranged along in beautiful confusion, was an imposing display of hen-coops and turkey-coops, the interstices being in- geniously filled with bundles of hay and chunks of fire- wood. The quarter-deck was "lumbered up" with hogs- heads of water, and casks of oats and barley, and hen- coops without number. With such a deck-load, not an unusually large one in those days, the leading trucks attached to the fore- rigging M^ere about half way between the main deck and the foretop. It was a work of difliculty and danger to descend from the deck-load to the forecastle; but to reach the foretop required only a hop, skip, and a jump. The locomotive qualities of this craft, ~ misnamed the Dolphin, were little superior to those of a well con- structed raft; and with a fresh breeze on the quarter, in spite of the skill of the best helmsman, her wake was as crooked as that of the "wounded snake," referred to by the poet, which " dragged its slow length along." It was in the early part of July, in the year 1809, that the brig Dolphin left Portsmouth, bound on a voyage to Dutch Guiana, which at that time, in consequence of the malignant fevers that prevailed on the coast, was not inaptly termed "the grave of American seamen." The crew consisted of the captain and mate, five sailors, a, green hand to act as cook, and a cabin boy. There was also a passenger on board, a young man named Chadwick, who had been residing in Portsmouth, and INCIDENTS AT SEA. 17 ■was going to Demarara, in the hope — which fortunately for liini was not realized — of establishing himself in a mercantile house. The forecastle being, for obvious reasons, untenable during the outward passage, these ten individuals, when below deck, were stowed away in the cabin and steerage, amid boxes, bales, chests, barrels, and water casks, in a manner somewhat miscellaneous, and not the most com- modious or comfortable. Indeed, for several days after we left port, the usual and almost only access to the cabin was by the skylight; and those who made the cabin their home, were obliged to crawl on all fours over the heterogeneous mass of materials with which it was crowded, in order to reach their berths! The owners of the brig must have calculated largely on favorable weather during the passage; for had we experienced a gale on the coast, or fallen in with the tail-end of a hurricane in the tropics, the whole deck-load would have been swept away, and the lives of the ship's company placed in imminent peril. The weather, how- ever, proved remarkably mild, and the many inconven- iences to which the crew were subjected were borne with exemplary patience, and sometimes even regarded as a capital joke. We passed the Wliale's Back at the mouth of the iPiscataqua, and the Isles of Shoals loomed up through the hazy atmosphere ; and although the wind was light, and the sea apparently smooth, the brig began to have a motion — an awkward, uneasy motion — for which I could not account, and which, to my great annoyance, continued to increase as we left the land. I staggered as I crossed the quarter-deck, and soon after we cleared the harbor, came near pitching overboard from the plat- form covering the sheep-i^ens. My head was strangely confused, and a dizziness seized me, which I in vain 2* 18 JACK ES" THE FORECASTLE. struggled to shake off. My spirits, so gay and buoyant as we sailed down the harbor, sunk to zero. At length I could not resist the conviction that I was assailed with symptoms of seasickness; a malady which I had always held in contempt, believing it to exist more in imagination than in fact, and which I was determined to resist, as unsailor-like and unmanly. Other symptoms, of a less equivocal description, soon placed the character of my illness beyond a doubt. My woe-begone looks must have betrayed my feelings, for one of the men told me, with a quizzical leer, that old Neptune always ex- acted toll in advance from a green hand for his j^assage over the waters. Mr. Thompson, who seemed to pity my miserable con- dition, gravely assured me that exercise was a capital thing as a preventive or cure for seasickness, and advised me to try the j^ump. I followed his advice : a few strokes brought up the bilge water, than which nothing at that time could have been more insufferably nauseous ! I left the pump in disgust, and retiring to the after part of the quarter-deck, thrcAV myself down on a coil of rope, unable longer to struggle with my fate. There I remained unnoticed and uncared for for several hours, when, the wind having changed, the rope which formed my bed, and proved to be the " main sheet," was wanted, and I Avas unceremoniously ejected from my quarters, and roughly admonished to " go below and keep out of the way ! " I crawled into the cabin, and, stretched on some boxes, endeavored to get a little sleep ; but the conglomeration of smells of a most inodorous character, which, as it seemed to my distempered fancy, jjervaded every part of the vessel, prevented my losing a sense of suffering in sleep. As I lay musing on the changes which a few days had wrought in my condition, and, borne down by the pangs of seasickness, was almost ready to admit that rXCIDENTS AT SEA. 19 there was prose as well as poetry in a sailor's life, I was startled by a terrific noise, the announcement, I supposed, of some appalling danger. I heard distinctly three loud knocks on the deck at the entrance of the steerage, and then a sailor put his head down the companion-way, and in a voice loud, cracked, and discordant, screamed in a tone which I thought must have split his jaws asunder, " La-ar-bo-a-kd wa-t-ch a-h-o-o-y." In spite of my sickness I started fi'om my uncom- fortable resting-place, scrambled into the steerage, and by a roll of the brig was tumbled under the steps, and suffered additional pains and apprehensions before I as- certained that the unearthly sounds which had so alamied me were nothing more than the usual mode of " calling the watch," or in other words, the man with the unmu- sical voice had gently hinted to the sleepers below that " turn-about was fair play," and they were wanted on deck. To add to my troubles, the wind in the morning shifted to the south-east, and thus became a head wind, and the old brig became more restless than ever, and pitched, and rolled to leeward occasionally with a lurch, per- forming clumsy antics in the water which my imagina- tion never pictured, and which I could neither admire nor applaud. For several days we were beating about Massachusetts Bay and St. George's Bank, making slow progress on our voyage. During that time I was really seasick, and took little note of passing events, being stretched on the deck, a coil of rope, or a chest, musing on the past or indulging in gloomy reflections in regard to the future. Seasickness never paints ideal objects of a roseate hue. Although I was not called upon for much actual work, I received no sympathy for my miserable condition ; for seasickness, like the toothache, is seldom fatal, notwithstanding it is as distressing a malady as is 20 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. found in the catalogue of diseases, and one for which no preventive or cure, excepting time, has yet been discovered. Time is a panacea for every ill; and after the lapse of ten or twelve days, as the brig was drawing towards the latitude of Bermuda, my sickness disappeared as suddenly as it commenced ; and one pleasant morn- ing I threw aside my shore dress, and with it my lands- man's habits and feelings. I donned my short jacket and trousers, and felt every inch a sailor! The Bermudas are a cluster of small islands and rocks lying in the track of vessels bound from New England to the West Indies. The climate is mild, and the atmos- phere remarkably salubrious, while the tract of ocean in the vicinity has long been noted for severe squalls at every season of the year. A squall at sea — no unu- sual occurrence — is often the cause of anxiety, being at- tended with danger. Sometimes the rush of wind is so violent that nothing Avill resist its fury, and before the alarm is given and the canvas reduced, the masts are blown over the side or the vessel capsized. There- fore, on the approach of a squall, a vigilant officer will be prepared for the worst, by shortening sail and mak- ing other an-angements for averting the threatened danger. I hardly knew how it happened, but one afternoon when we w-ere a little to the northward of Bermuda, and should have kept a lookout for squalls, we were favored with a visit from one of a most energetic charac- ter. Its sudden approach from under the lee was either unnoticed or unheeded until the captain accidentally came on deck. He was instantly aware of the perilous condition of the brig, for the "white caps" of the waves could be distinctly seen, and even the roar of the wind could be heard as it rushed towards us over the water. Before any orders could be executed — before the sails could be taken in, the yards braced round, or INCIDENTS AT SBA. 21 even the helm shifted, the tempest broke over us. The rain fell in torrents, the wind blow with tremendous violence, and a scene of indescribable confusion en- sued. The captain stood near the companion-way, much excited, giving directions with energy and rapidity. " Hard up your helm ! " said he ; " Hard up ! Lower away the mainsail! Let go the peak halliards! Why doiHt you put the helm hard up ? Let go all the hall- iards fore and aft ! Clew down the fore-topsail ! Haul in the starboard braces! There — steady with the helm!" The mate and sailors were running about the decks, looking frightened and bewildered, eagerly casting loose some ropes, and pulling desperately upon others; the sails wei-e fluttering and shaking, as if anxious to quit the spars and fly away to unknown regions; the brig felt the force of the wind, and for a few moments was pressed over on her side until her beam ends were in the the water; and what with the shouting of the captain, the answering shouts of the mate, the unearthly cries of the sailors, as they strove to execute the orders so energetically given ; the struggling of the canvas, the roaring of the winds and the waves, the creaking of the cordage, the beating of the rain against the decks, and the careening of the vessel, it is not remarkable that I felt somewhat alarmed and excited, as well as deeply interested in witnessing for the first time in my Ufe a squall at sea. The squall was of short duration; although the rain continued for a time, the wind, after a few minutes, gave but little inconvenience. In the course of an hour the murky clouds had disappeared, the sun shone out brightly as it was sinking towards the horizon, and the brig was again pursuing her way towards her destined port, urged slowly along by a light but favorable breeze. Having got my sea legs on, I could proudly strut 22 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. about among the lumher and sheep-pens without fear of rolling overboard. I found the sailors a rough but good-natured set of fellows, with biit little refinement in ideas or language. Although they amused themselves with my awkwardness, and annoyed me with practical jokes, they took a pride and pleasure in inducting me into the mysteries of their craft. They taught me the difference between a granny knot and a square knot; how to whip a rope's end ; form splices ; braid sinnett ; make a running bowline, and do a variety of things peculiar to the web-footed gentry. Some of them also tried hard, by precept and example, but in vain, to in- duce me to chew tobacco and drink grog! Indeed, they regarded the ability to swallow a stiff glass of New England rum, without making a wry face, as one of the most important qualifications of a sailor! The " old men-of-war's-raen " had passed through strange and eventful scenes ; they were the type of a class of men which have long since passed away ; they could spin many a long and interesting yarn, to which I listened with untiring eagerness. But no trait in their character astonished me more than their uncontrollable passion for intoxicating drinks. As cabin boy, it was my duty to serve out to the crew a half pint of rum a day. These old Tritons eagerly looked forward to the hour when this interesting ceremony came off; their eyes sparkled as they received their allotted portion of this enemy to the human race ; and they practised every art to procure, by fair means or foul, an increased allowance. If by accident or shrewd management one of them succeeded in obtaining half a glass more than he was fiirly entitled to, his triumph was complete. But if he imagined he had not received the full quantity which was his due, ill humor and sulky looks for the next twenty four hours bore testimony to his anger and dis- appointment. These men ignored the good old proverb INCIDENTS AT SEA. 23 that "bread is the staff of hfe," and at any time, or at all times, would prefei* grog to bread. In those v;ays it was believed that ardent spirit would strengthen the constitution, and enable a man to en- dure hardship and perform labor to a greater extent than would be the case if he drank nothing stronger than water. Rum was, therefore, included among the ship's stores as an important means of keeping the ship's com- pany in good humor, reviving their spirits and energies when overcome with fatigue or exposure, and strengthen- ing them for a hard day's work. Those days have passed away. It is now known that those doctrines were fahe ; that spiritous liquors, as a drink, never benefit mankind, but have proved one of the greatest scourges with which the human race has been afflicted. It is no longer believed that grog will insure the faithful performance of a seaman's duty, and it is excluded from our ships, so far as the forecastle is con- cerned ; and if it were never allowed to visit the cabin, the crews, in some cases, would lead happier lives, — there would be fewer instances of assault and battery, revolts and shipwrecks, and the owners and underwriters would find the balance at the end of the voyage more decidedly in their favor. Among the customs on shipboard which attracted my particular attention, was the manner in which the sailors partook of their meals. There was no tedious ceremony or fastidious refinement witnessed on these occasions. At twelve o'clock the orders were promptly given, " Call the watch ! Hold the reel ! Pump ship ! Get your dinners ! " With never-failing alacrity the watch was called, the log thrown, and the ship pumped. When these duties were performed, a bustle was seen about the camboose, or large cooking stove, in which the meals were prepared. In pleasant weather it was usual for the sailors to take their meals on deck ; but no table was arranged, no table-cloth 24 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. was spread, no knives and forks or spoons were provided, no plates of any description were furnished, or glass tum- blers or earthen mugs. The preliminary arrangements were of the simplest description. The signal being given, the cook hastily transferred from his boilers whatever food he had prepared, into a wooden vessel, called a kid, resembling in size and appearance a peck measure. The kid with its contents was deposited on the spot selected ; a bag or box, con- taining ship's biscuits, was then produced, — dinner was ready, and all hands, nothing loth, gathered around the kid and commenced operations. The usual fare was salt beef and bread, varied at stated times or according to circumstances ; and this has prob- ably for centuries been the standing dish for the fore- castle in English and American ships. On this passage, the Sunday dinner varied from the usual routine by the addition of fresh meat. Every Sabbath morning a sheep, the finest and fattest of the flock, was missing from the pens. Portions of the animal, however, would appear a few hours afterwards in the shape of a luscious sea-pie for the sailors, and in various inviting shapes during the fol- lowing week to the inmates of the cabin. This loss of property was recorded by Mr. Thompson in the ship's log-book, with his accustomed accuracy, and with Spartan brevity. The language he invariably used was, "A sheep died this day." Among the crew of the Dolphin were two weather- beaten tars, who were as careless of their costumes as of their characters. They recked little how ridiculously they looked, excepting in one respect. They could each boast of a magnificent head of hair, which they allowed to grow to a great length on the back of the head, where it was collected and fashioned into enormous queues, which, when permitted to hang down, reached to the small of their backs, and gave them the appearance of INCIDENTS AT SEA. 25 Chinese mandarins, or Turkish pachas of a single tail. These tails were their pets — the only ornaments about their persons for which they manifested any interest. This pride in their queues was the weak point in their characters. Every Sunday they performed on each other the operation of manipulating the pendulous ornaments, straightening them out like magnified marlinspikes, and binding them with ribbons or rope-yarns, tastily fostened at the extremity by a double bow knot. Queues, in those days, wei-e worn on the land as well as on the sea, and were as highly prized by the owners. On the land, they were harmless enough, perhaps, and seldom ungratefully interfered with the comfort of their benefixctors or lured them into scrapes. On shij^board the case was different, and they sometimes proved not only superfluous but troublesome. On our homeward passage a case occurred which illus- trated the absurdity of wearing a queue at sea — a fashion which has been obsolete for many years. A gale of wind occui'red on the coast, and the crew were ordered aloft to reef the fore-topsail. Jim Bilton, with his queue snugly clubbed and tucked away beneath his pea-jacket, was first on the yard, and passed the weatlier ear-ring ; but, unfor- tunately, the standing rigging had recently been tarred, and his queue, escaping from bondage, was blown about, the sport of the wind, and after flapping against the yard, took a "round turn" over the lift, and stuck fiist. Jim was in an awkward position. He could not immediately disengage his queue, and he could not willingly or con- veniently leave it aloft. All hands but himself were promptly on deck, and ready to sway up the yard. The mate shouted to him in the full strength of his lungs, to "Bear a hand and lay in off the yard," and unjustly berated him as a "lubber," while the poor fellow was tugging away, and working with might and main, to djs- 26 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. engage his tail from the lift, in which he at length suc- ceeded, but not without the aid of his jackknife. I was greatly troubled during this passage by the impure character of the water. I had been taught to place a high value on water as a beverage ; but when we had been three weeks at sea, and had entered the warm latitudes, on knocking a bung from one of the water casks on the quarter-deck, there issued an odor of " an ancient and fish-like " nature, which gave offence to my olfac- tories. On tasting the water, I found to my disgust that it was impregnated with a flavor of a like character, and after it was swallowed this flavor would cling to the palate Avith provoking tenacity for several minutes. The sailors smacked their lips over it once or twice, and pro- nounced it "from fair to middling." When boiled, and drank under the name of tea or coflee, it might have deserved that character : but when taken directlv from the cask, and quaffed in hot weather, as a pleasant and refreshing beverage it was a signal failure. To the inmates of the cabin, myself excepted, the pecu- liar flavor of the water served as an excuse, if any were required, for drawing liberally on the brandy kegs and liquor cases. A little " dash of spirit " removed the un- pleasant taste by adding anothei*, which, to my unsophis- ticated palate, was equally offensive. The water in every cask proved of a similar character ; and I could hardly imagine how use, or even necessity, could reconcile a person to such water as that. The problem was solved, but not entirely to my satisfaction, on my next voyage. The duties of cabin boy were of a nature different from my occupations in previous years. They engrossed a con- siderable portion of my time ; and though they were not the kind of duties I most loved to perform, I endeavored to accommodate my feelings to my situation, comforting myself with the belief that the voyage would not be of THE •WOODEN -WALLS OP OLD ENGLAND. 27 long duration, and that I was now taking the first step in the rugged path which led to fame and fortune. I devoted the hours which I could spare from my appropriate duties to the acquisition of a knowledge of seamanship, and developing its mysteries. I was fond of going aloft when the vessel was rolling or pitching in a strong breeze. I loved to mount upon the top-gallant yard, and from that proud eminence, while rocking to and fro, look down upon the sails and spars of the brig, take a bird'seye view of the deck, and scan the various operations; look at the foam beneath the bows, or at the smooth, eddying, serpentine track left far behind. I also loved to gaze from this elevated position x;pon the broad ocean, bounded on every side by the clear and distant horizon — a grand and sublime sight. And then I in- dulged in daydreams of the most pleasing description, and built gay and fantastic castles in the air, which my reason told me the next moment would never be realized. CHAPTER III. MANNING THE WOODEN WALLS OF OLD ENGLAND. One morning, soon after daybreak, as I was lying asleep in my berth, I was awakened by a trampling on deck and loud shouts. Aware that somethinrocess of taking in and stowing a cargo of this description is a peculiar one ; and as I shall recur to this subject hereafter, I avail myself of this opportunity to describe, briefly, the mode of operation. The empty casks are carefully stowed in the hold, Avith small pieces of board between the quarter-hoops of each cask, so that the bilge of a cask shall touch no other sub- stance whatever. The bungholes must also be upper- most ; thus, in the brief but expressive language of com- merce, " every cask must be bung up and bilge free." A "molasses hose" is then procured, consisting of a half barrel with a hole in the bottom, to which is attached a leathern hose an inch and a half in diameter, and long enough to reach to the most distant part of the hold, A hogshead filled Avith molasses is then hoisted over the hatchway, bung down, and the hose-tub is placed directly 56 JACK IN THE FOEECASTLE. beneath ; the bung is taken out, and the molasses passes through the hose to any cask in the hold that may be wished. When the cask is filled the hose is shifted to another, and in this way the casks are all filled and the cargo stowed. The process is tedious ; and although a sweet, by no means a pleasant one, to those engaged in it. It may be imagined that the crew, after working all day among molasses in that hot climate, should wish to bathe in the evening ; and the river alongside, although the element was neither pure nor transjiarent, ofiered, at high or low water, a tempting opportunity. To the very natural and proper inquiry whether the harbor of Dema- rara was infested with sharks — a man-eating shark not being the most desirable " companion of the bath " — we were told that a shark had never been seen in the harbor ; that the river water, being turbid and fresher than the ocean water, was offensive to that much dreaded animal, which delights in the clear waters of the salt sea. We were further told that up the river, in the creeks and pools which abound in that region, alligators were met with in large numbers ; some of them of large size, and had been known to attack a man in the water; but they never ventui-ed down the river among the shipping. The reports being thus favorable, the crew of the Dol- phin, being good swimmers, were induced, whenever it was "slack water" of an evening, to take a sAvim in the river ; and the crews of other American vessels followed the example. One evening, at twilight, there were swim- ming about and sporting in the water, deriving the highest enjoyment from this healthy and refreshing exercise, some fifteen or twenty American sailors. On the following day an incident occurred, which operated as an impressive wai'ning asrainst bathing in the waters of the Demarara. On the afternoon of that day, a sailor at work on the mizzen-topsail yard of an English ship, moored within the distance of a cable's length from the Dolphin, accidentally DEMARAEA. 57 fell from the yard. As he fell he caught hold of the main brace, and was suspended for a minute over the water. There was quite a commotion on the deck of the ship, which attracted the attention of the crews of neighboring vessels. On hearing the distressing cry of the man, and witnessing the tumult on board the ship, the crew of the Dolphin ran to the side of the brig and gazed with inter- est on the scene. The poor fellow was unable to retain his hold of the rope until he could receive assistance. He fell into the water alongside, but rose to the surface almost immediate- ly, and being, apparently, a good swimmer, struck out vigorously towards the ship. Some of his shijjmates jumped into the boat to pick him up, as, notwithstanding his exertions, he was swept away by the tide ; but none of the lookers-on apprehended any danger. While we were intently watching the result, the un- fortunate man gave a shrill and piercing shriek ; and we then saw by the commotion in the water, and the appear- ance of a large fin above the 'surface, that a shark had seized the unlucky sailor, which caused him to give utter- ' ance to that dreadful cry. He immediately sank with his prey, and the muddy state of the water prevented the ruthless monster or his victim from being seen. We were still gazing on the spot where this fearfal tragedy was enacted, transfixed and mute with horror, when the shark again rose to the surface, bearing in his jaws the lifeless body of the English sailor, and for a brief period we beheld the voracious fish devouring his human food. The cargo of the Dolphin being completed, there ensued the usual bustle and confusion in making preparations for sea. Owing to the lateness of the season. Captain Tilton was unwiUing to encounter the storms of the New Eng- land coast in a vessel hardly seaworthy, and expressed an intention to proceed to Charleston, in South Carolina. 58 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. About a week before we left Demarara a small Enjjlish brig-of-war arrived in the liarbor, causing much consterna- tion among the sailors, and not without reason. The brig was deficient in her complement of men, and this defi- ciency Avas supplied by impressment from crews of British vessels in port. The commander was a young man, who, in common with most of the British naval ofiicers of that day, had an exalted opinion of his dignity and imjaor- tance, and held the Yankees in contempt. The pennant at the main is a distinguishing mark of a man-of-war, and it was considered disrespectful on the part of the master of a merchant vessel to wear a pennant in the presence of a cruiser. But on the Sunday follow- ing the arrival of the gun brig the captain of a fine-look- ing American brig, who did not entertain that resj^ect for John Bull which the representatives of that dignitary were disposed to exact, hoisted his colors, as usual, on the Sabbath. He did not confine his display of bunting to the ensign at the peak, a burgee studded with stars at the fore, and a jack on the bowsprit, but ran up a pennant of most preposterous length at tlie main, which ]iroudly flaunted in the breeze, as if bidding defiance to the Eng- lishman. The young naval commander foolishly allowed himself to be annoyed by this j^roceeding on the part of the Yankee, and resolved to administer an appropriate re- buke. He sent an officer alongside the American brig, who, in a peremptory tone, told the mate to cause that Yankee pennant to be hauled down immediately. The captain, hearing of the mandate, made his appear- ance on deck ; and on a repetition of the order from the officer, exhibited unequivocal symptoms of a choleric temper. After letting off" a little of his exuberant wrath, he declared with emphasis that he had a right to wear a pennant, and would wear it in spite of all the officers in the British navy. DEMAKAEA. 59 The midshipman, finding it of no avail to continue the parley, told his cockswain to go aloft and " dowse the pen- nant and leave it in the cross-trees." This was done, re- gardless of the protest of the captain, and his threats to lay the subject before the government and make it a national matter. The boat had hardly reached the man- of-war, when the pennant was again flying on board the American brig, and seemed to wave more proudly than before. The man-of-war's boat was sent back, and some sharp words were exchanged between the British officer and the Yankee captain ; but the former, possessing superior physi- cal force, was triumphant. The pennant was again hauled down, but this time it was not left in the cross-trees. The cockswain took it with him and it was carried on board the English brig, in spite of the denunciation hurled against men-of-war's men, in which the epithets "thieves," "robbers," and "pirates," were distinctly heard. A few nisfhts after the above-mentioned occurrence we received an unexpected addition to the number of our crew. It was about an hour after midnight, when the man who had the watch on deck was comfortably seated on a coil of rope beneath the main deck awning, and probably dozing, while sheltei'ed from a heavy and pro- tracted shower of rain. The night was dark and gloomy ; the ebb tide made a moaning, monotonous noise under the bows, and rushed swiftly by the sides of the vessel, leaving a broad wake astern. The sailor was roused from his comfortable position by a sound resembling the cry of a person in distress. He started to his feet, and stepped out from beneath the awning. He listened, and again dis- tinctly heard the cry, which seemed to come from the water under the bows. Supposing it might proceed from some person who had fallen overboard and wanted help, he went forward to the knight-heads, and called out, "Who's there?" 60 JACK rsr the forecastle. A voice from below the bowsprit faintly replied, " Ship- mate, for God's sake bear a hand, and give me help. I can hold on but a few minutes longer." He was now aware that a man, in an exhausted con- dition, was clinging to the cable, and required immediate assistance. He called up his shipmates, and with little difficulty they succeeded in hauling him safely on board. He proved to be a fine-looking English sailor ; and as soon as he recovered strength enough to converse, explained the cause of his perilous situation. He belonged to the brig-of-war, which was lying at anchor about half a mile above. He had been impressed two years before ; and being treated with cruelty and harshness, had been eagerly watching an opportunity to escape from his inhuman bondage. At length he formed a plan with one of his messmates, to slip overboard quietly the first dark night, and relying on skill in swimming, at- tempt to reach some vessel at anchor in the harbor. The plan was carried into effect. They succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the sentries, dropped gently into the water, and were soon floating astern. But their situation was one of extreme peril. The current was stronger than they anticipated, and the darkness of the night prevented them from distinguishing any vessel in time to get on board. As soon as they were swept out of hearing of the man-of-war, they shouted loudly for help ; but the mur- muring of the tide, the pattering of the rain, and the howling of the wind prevented their voices from being heard, as, notwithstanding their exertions to stem the tide, they floated rapidly down the river towards the bar. What risks will a man encounter to secure his liberty! It was not long before these friends separated, never to meet again. One of them sank beneath the waters. The other had given up all expectation of being rescued, when he beheld an object, darker than the murky atmosphere DEMAKARA. 61 by wliich it was surrounded, rising, as it appeared to him, out of the water. His heart beat quicker within his bosom. In a moment more he had seized the cable of the Dolphin, and shouted for help. This man was grateful for the succor he had received, and expressed a wish to work his passage to the United States. To this suggestion Captain Tilton offered no objection ; and he subsequently proved to be one of the best men on board. That very morning the black pilot made his appearance, grinning as he thrust his dark muzzle over the gunwale. He was greeted with answering smiles, for we were " homeward bound," and all hands cheerfully commenced heaving up the anchor and making sail. With a favora- ble breeze and an ebb tide we soon passed the bar, and entered upon the broad ocean. The fresh trade wind was welcome after sweltering for weeks in the sultry and unwholesome atmosphere of Demarara ; and the clear and pellucid waters of the ocean bore a cheerful aspect, con- trasted with the thick and opaque Avaters of the river in which we had remained several weeks at anchor. Nothing remarkable occurred during the homeward passage, until we reached the Gulf Stream, — that ex- traordinary current, sixty or seventy miles in width, and many degrees warmer than the ocean water on either side, and which reaches from the Gulf of Florida to the Shoals of Nantucket. There can be no doubt that this current of the Gulf Stream is owing to the trade winds in the tropical seas, which, blowing at all times fi'om the east- ward, drive a large body of water towards the American continent. Vessels bound to India invariably meet with a strong westerly current within the tropics, and particu- larly in the vicinity of the equator. This volume of water is thus forced along the shores of Brazil and Guiana, until it enters the Caribbean Sea, from which it has no outlet excepting through the strait bounded by Cape Catouche 6 62 JACK IN THE FOEECASTLE. in Yucatan, on one side, and Cape St. Antonio, in Cuba, on the other. Through this strait, after a strong trade wind has been blowing for a time, the current sets into the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of two or three knots an hour. Here the waters of the tropical seas are mingled with the waters of the Mississippi, the Balize, the Rio Grande, the Colorado, the Alabama, and other large streams which empty into the Gulf of Mexico ; and turning off to the eastward, this body of water is driven along between the coasts of Cuba and Florida until it strikes the Salt Key Bank and the Bahamas, when it receives another consid- erable addition from the currents, which, fi-oni the same causes, are continually setting west through the Old Ba- hama and New Providence Channels. It is then forced northward along the coast of Floi'ida and the Middle States. The stream becomes wider as it extends north, diminishes its velocity, and gradually changes its tempera- ture, until it strikes the shoals south of Nantucket and the Bank of St. George, when it branches off to the east- ward, washes the southern edge of the Bank of New- foundland, and a portion of it is lost in the ocean between the Western and Canary Islands ; and another portion, sweeping to the southward past the Cape de Verdes, is again impelled to the westward across the Atlantic, and performs its regular round. The current always moving in the same circuitous track, forms, according to Mr. Maury, to whose scientific labors the commercial world is deeply indebted, an imtnense whirlpool, whose circuit embraces the whole North Atlan- tic Ocean. In the centre of the whirl is a quiet spot, equal in extent of area to the whole Mississippi valley, unaffected by currents of any kind. And here, as a matter of course, the greater part of the gulf-weed and other floating materials, which are carried round by the current, is eventually deposited. This is the " Sargasso Sea " of DEMARABA. 65 the ancients. Columbus crossed this "weedy sea" on his quest after a western passage to India. And the singular appearance of the ocean, thickly matted over with gulf- weed, caused great alarm among his companions, who thought they had reached the limits of navigation. A current of a character similar to the Gulf Stream — only not so strong — is experienced along the east coast of Africa, from Mozambique to the Lagullas Bank, off the Cape of Good Hope. This current is undoubtedly caused by the trade wind forcing the water towards the coast of Africa. But in this case it is not driven into a narrow passage, like the Gulf of Florida, which would greatly increase its velocity. The temperature of the water in the current off the Cape of Good Hope is also several decrees higher than the ocean waters in the neighborhood of the current. On the afternoon on which we entered the Gulf Stream the wind hauled suddenly to the eastward, and the heav- ens were obscured by clouds. The breeze also increased, and the sea became rough, causing the brig to assume various unseemly attitudes, and perform gymnastic exer- cises wonderful to behold. As the wind increased and the sea became more turbulent, the Dolphin tumbled about like an elephant dancing a hornpipe, insomuch that it was difficult for a person to keep his perpendicular. Indeed, as I was passing along fi-om the camboose to the cabin, with a plate of toast in one hand and a teapot in the other, the brig took a lee lurch without giving notice of her intention, and sent me with tremendous foi'ce across the deck, to leeward, where I brought up against the rail. But the tea and toast were ejected from my hands into the sea, and I never saw them more. At twilight. Captain Tilton came on deck, and looking around the horizon, said, addressing the mate, " Mr. Thompson, the weather looks greasy to windward ; I fear 64 JACK EST THE FORECASTLE. a gale is brewing. You may furl the top-gallant sail and jib, and take a reef in the mainsail." This work was soon accomplished. The captain's pre- diction was verified ; for the wind continued to increase, accompanied with fine drizzling rain, until about nine o'clock, when orders were given to take another reef in the mainsail, and double reef the fore-topsail. It was not long before the wind swept across the waves with almost resistless force, when it was found necessary to strip the brig of all canvas, excepting a storm main-staysail and close-reefed fore-topsail ; the yards were braced up, the helm lashed a-lee, and the brig was laid to. The gale continued unabated all night. Our vessel rolled heavily to leeward, and strained considerably, her bulkheads groaning and her seams opening, making it necessary to keep one of the pumps in constant operation. As soon as it was daylight I went on deck, anxious to wit- ness a spectacle I had often heard described — a gale of wind at sea — and it was a sight to call forth my wonder and admiration. The wind, blowing furiously, whistled wildly among the rigging ; the waves, of alarming size and threatening appearance, came rushing in swift suc- cession towards us, as if eager to overwhelm our puny bark, which nevertheless floated unharmed, now riding on the crest of a wave, and anon plunging into a deep and angry-looking gulf, taking no water on deck, except- ing from an occasional spray. I asked one of the sailors, who had just taken a spell at the pump, if this were not a humcane. "Hurricane!" said he, ^\\i\\ a good-natui'ed grin. "Non- sense ! This is only a stiff breeze. 'Tis as different from a hurricane as a heaver is from a handspike. When you see a hurricane, my lad, you will know it, even if the name is not lettered on the stai-n." " Then I suppose there is no actual danger in a gale like this, although it does not look very inviting ? " DEMAEAKA. 65 "Danger! — I don't know about that. In a good sea- worthy vessel a man is as safe in a gJile of wind as if he was cooped uj) in a grog-selling boarding house on shore ; and a thousand times better off in other respects. But this miserable old craft is strained in every timber, and takes in more water through the seams in her bottom than ' the combers ' toss on her decks. If her bottom does not drop out some of these odd times, and leave us in the lurch, Ave may think ourselves lucky." After uttering these consolatory remarks, accompanied with a significant shrug, he resumed his labors at the pump. The wind blew with violence through the day, and the leak kejjt increasing. There is probably no exercise more fatiguing than "pumping ship," as practised with the clumsy, awkward contrivances called pumps, which were generally in use among the merchant vessels of those days. It being necessary to keep the pumps in constant operation, or in nautical parlance, "pump or sink," the crew, although a hardy, vigorous set of men, became exhausted and disheartened, and, to my astonishment and disgust, instead of manifesting by their solemn looks and devout demeanor a sense of the danger with which they were threatened, alternately pumped, grumbled, and Bwore, and swore, grumbled, and pumped. Change is incident to every thing ; and even a gale of wind cannot last forever. Before night the tempest was hushed, the waves diminished, and in a few hours the brig was under full sail, jogging along to the westward at the rate of six or seven knots. The next day we got soundings on the coast of Carolina, and, with a fair wind, rapidly approached the land. Off the mouth of the bay which forms the harbor of Charleston extends a long line of shoals, on which the breakers are continually dashing. These shoals are in- tersected by narrow channels, through which vessels of 6* 66 JACK IN THE FOEECASTLE. moderate draught may pass at high water wdth a smooth sea. The principal channel, or main passage, for ships over the bar is narrow, and never attempted without a pilot. About three miles fi'ora the bar is the hghthouse, which stands on a low, sandy shore. Indeed, the whole coast is low and sandy, abounding in mosquitoes, sand- flies, and oysters. Inside the bar there is good anchorage, but the tide at certain periods ebbs and flows with great velocity. "We crossed the bar, and, without anchoring, proceeded to the city. We passed Sullivan's Island on the right, — a long, low, sandy island, which is the summer residence of many of the inhabitants of Charleston. On this island Fort Moultrie is situated, which commands the passage to the city, about four miles distant. This fort proved an awkwai'd obstacle to the capture of Charleston, Avhen that feat was rashly attempted by Sir Peter Parker, during the revolutionaiy war. On all the surrounding objects I gazed with a deep and intense interest, which was not relaxed until the Dolphin dropped anchor oflf the wharves of this cele- brated city. CHAPTER VI. SCENES IN CHARLESTON. Soon after the Dolphin arrived in Charleston the crew were discharged, with the exception of one of the seamen and myself. We retained our quarters in the brig. Mr. Thompson, the mate, took passage in a vessel for Boston, and not long afterwards sailed from Portsmouth in com- mand of a ship. Captain Tilton took up his residence at a fashionable boarding house, and I seldom had any com- SCENES IN CHARLESTON-. 67 munication -with him. I supposed, as a matter of course, that he would soon enter on another voyage, and I should go with him. In the mean time, having provided me with a temporary home, he left me to associate with whom I pleased, and struggle single-handed against the many temptations to which a young sailor in a strange mari- time city is always exposed. About a week after our arrival in Charleston, as I was passing through one of the principal streets, clad in strict sailor costume, I met a good-looking gentleman, who, to my surprise, accosted me with great politeness, his pleas- ant features lighted up with a benevolent smile, and inquired if I had not recently returned fi-om a voyage to sea. Upon being assui-ed that such was the case, he remarked that he liked my appearance, and doubted not I was a smart, capable lad, who would be a valuable acquisition to the crew of a good ship. I was flattered and pleased with the conduct of this genteel looking stranger, — convinced .that he was a person of good judg- ment and nice discrimination. He further inforaied me, with a patronizing air, that he was the captain of a fine fast-sailing vessel, bound on a pleasant voyage, and should be delighted to number among his crew some active and intelligent young men, like myself He even went so far as to say he was so well satisfied with my appearance, that if I would accompany him to a counting-room on an adjoining wharf, he would ship me without asking fur- ther questions, and advance a month's wages on the spot. But the amount he offered as monthly wages was so much greater than I, being but little better than a very green hand, had a right to expect, that a person acquainted with human nature would have suspected this pleasant-spoken gentleman to have some other reason for his conduct than admiration at my appearance and interest in my welfare. I was eager to place myself at once under the protection of my new Mend ; yet I could not forget that I was still 68 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. under the care of my kinsman, Captain Tilton, and that it would be neither decorous nor proper to make this new engagement without consulting him. But I did not for a moment doubt he would give his consent to the pro- posed arrangement, and be rejoiced to get me fairly off his hands. I communicated my objections to the stranger, but assured him that I would meet him in the afternoon at the place he designated, and in all probability sign " the articles." He seemed, neveitheless, disappointed at the result of the interview, and bidding me not fail to come, turned away, and walked slowly towards the wharf As I left this kind-hearted stranger, brim full of new- born confidence and hope, and exulting in the fact that I had fallen in with a man of influence and position, who could appreciate my merit, I met a couple of sailors of my acquaintance, who had been standing at a corner of the street witnessing our interview, with which they seemed greatly amused. One of the sailors, with a deficiency of respect for my would-be patron which I could not ap- proA^e, said, " Hawser, what were you talking with that fellow about ? " I explained, with great glee and at full length, the nature of our conversation, to which they greedily lis- tened, winking mysteriously at each other. When I had concluded, they indulged in a hearty laugh. It was some time before they could sufficiently restrain their merriment to enlighten me on the cause of their mirth. I was then told, to my mortification, that my kind friend, the gentleman on whose benevolence and protection I had already built hopes of success in life, was neither more nor less than the captain of an armed clipper bi-ig, — a slaver, — anchored in the outer roads, which had been for a fortnight ready for sea, but was detained in consequence of the desertion of three several crews, who had been induced by false representations to SCENES EST CHAELESTON. 69 ship, and had deserted en masse as soon as they learned the true character of the vessel and the voyage. He was now using all possible means to entrap a crew of men or boys for this abominable traffic, and was by no means par- ticular in his choice. This was a severe blow to my vanity. I felt not a little indignant at being so easily cajoled, played uj^on, and almost kidnapped by this unprincipled scoundrel. It was a valuable lesson, however ; for exj)erience is a good, although expensive, teacher. A few days passed away, when, one morning about three o'clock, as some members of the city patrol were passing through Church Street, they discovered a man, apparently in a dying state, lying in the street. He was conveyed to the guard house, or patrol station, where he died in the course of half an hour, without being able to articulate a syllable. Several wounds in different parts of his body, made by a small penknife, which was sub- sequently found, were undoubtedly the cause of his death. The unfortunate man thus murdered was the captain of the slaver, who had sought to entrap me by his honeyed words. A pool of blood was on the spot on which he was first discovered, and his steps could be traced by the blood on the pavements for several rods. The marks of blood were found only in the middle of the street ; and none of the persons residing in that part of the city heard any disturbance, brawl, or cries for assistance in the course of the night. This mysterious tragedy caused a great excitement. The police were unceasing in their efforts to discover the circumstances connected with this assassination, but in vain. The veil which concealed it was not lifted, and no clew was ever given by which even conjecture could develop the mystery. It was supposed by some that the unfortunate man fell a victim to the rage of a jealous husband whose honor he 70 JACK IN THE FOKECASTLE. had outraged, or of a lover whose affections he had sup- planted. Others thought the fatal injuries he received were the result of a drunken quarrel, commenced in a gaming house ; while many believed that private revenge inflicted the stabs, which, from their number and direc- tion, appeared to have been given under the influence of ungovernable fury. Some thought the wounds were in- flicted by a vigorous man, others, that a woman had imbrued her hands in his blood. The first, and perhaps most natural supposition, was that some negro, knowing the character of the voyage which the murdered man had contemplated, had taken this desperate mode of arresting his proceedings. This theory, however, was soon generally abandoned for another. It was suggested that one of the sailors who had shipped in the slaver and subsequently deserted, knowing the captain was seeking them in every direction, had met him in the street, and fearful of being arrested, or seeking to revenge a pei'sonal wrong, had committed the terrible crime. This hypothesis was, doubtless, as false as either of the others, and more absurd. It was, never- theless, adopted by the city authorities, and promptly acted iipon, with a disregard to the rights of individuals which seems strangely at variance with republican insti- tutions. The police force was strengthened, and on the evening succeeding the discovery of the murder received orders to arrest and place in confinement eveiy individual seen in the streets wearing the garb of a sailor. This arbitrary edict was strictly enforced ; and Jack, on leav- ing his home in the forecastle or a boarding house to visit the haunts of dissipation, or perhaps to attend to some pressing and important duty, was pounced upon by the members of the city guard, and, much to his astonish- ment and anger, and maugre his struggles, exjDostulations, and threats, was carried off without any assigned reason, and securely placed under lock and key. SCENES IN CHARLESTON. 71 Some two or three hundred of these unoffending tars were caught, captured, cribbed, and confined. No respect was paid to age, color, or nation. They Avere huddled together in rooms of very moderate dimensions, which precluded, for one night at least, any idea of rest or com- fort ; and such a confusion of tongues, such anathemas against the city officials, such threats of vengeance, such i-are specimens of swearing, singing, and shouting, varied occasionally by rough greetings and jeers whenever a new squad of blue jackets was thrust in among them, would have commanded the admiration of the evil dwell- ers in Milton's Pandemonium. This arbitrary measure failed of success. The kid- napped sailors, on the following day, were separately examined in the presence of the mate of the brig, but no reasons were found for detaining a single individual. A few days after this occurrence. Captain Tilton told me he had sold the brig Dolphin to a Captain Turner, of New York, a worthy man and his particular friend ; that Captain Turner intended proceeding immediately to some neutral port in the West Indies. The non-intercourse act, at that time, prohibited all trade to places belonging to either of the great belligerent powers. He also said he had made no arrangements in regard to himself ; that he was undecided what course to pursue, and might remain on shore for months. Anxious, howejM*, to pro- mote my interest by procuring me active OT^loyment, he had stipulated with Captain Turner that I should have " a chance " in the Dolphin, on her next voyage, before the mast. I had not a word to say against this arrangement, but gave my cheerful consent, especially as it was represented that Captain Turner would " treat me with kindness, and helj) me along in the world." I was thus unceremoniously dismissed by Captain Til- ton from his charge. Under the plea of promoting my interest, he had procured me a situation before the mast 72 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. in an old, leaky vessel, which he had got rid of because she was not seaworthy, and commanded by a man of whose character he was entirely ignorant. I expressed gratitude to my kinsman for his goodness, notwithstand- ing I had secret misgivings in regard to his disintei-ested- ness, and signed with alacrity " the articles " with Captain Turner. A new and interesting scene in the drama of life was about to open, and I looked forward with im- patience to the rising of the curtain. The brig was laden with a cargo of lumber, rice, and provisions, and her destination was Cayenne, on the coast of Guiana. In January, 1810, we left the wharf in Charleston, and proceeded down the harbor. The wind was light, but the tide ebbed with unusual velocity, sweeping us rapidly on our way. We had nearly reached the bar when it suddenly became calm. The brig lost steerage way, and the current was setting towards the shoals. The pilot, aware of the danger, called out, " Let go the anchor ! " The order was promptly obeyed, and the small bower anchor was let go. The tide was so strong that when a sufficient quantity of cable was run out, the attempt to " check her," and to " bring up," resulted in capsizing the windlass, and causing, for a few minutes, a scene of inde- scribable confusion. The windlass, by its violent and spasmodic motion, knocked over two of the sailors who foolishly endeavored to regain control of its actions, and the cable, having commenced running out of the haAvse-hole, would not be "snubbed," but obstinately persisted in continuing its course in spite of the desper- ate exertions of the captain, mate, pilot, and a portion of the crew, who clung to it as if it was their last hoj^e. But their efforts were vain. Its impetuosity could not in this way be checked ; and as the end of the cable, by some strange neglect, had not been clinched around the mast, the last coil followed the example of " its illus- SCEJfES IN CHAKLESTON. 73 trious predecessors," and disappeared through the hawse- hole, after having, by an unexpected whisk, upset the mate, and given the captain a rap across the shins, which lamed him for a week. The " best bower " anchor was now let go, and the end hastily secured around the foremast, which fortu- nately " brought up " the brig " all standing," within half a cable's length of the shoal. No buoy having been attached to the small bower anchor, the anchor and cable were lost forever. This accident, of course, prevented us from proceeding immediately to sea ; and the wind having changed, the anchor was weighed at the flood tide, and the brig removed to a safer anchorage. Night came on, and as the brig was riding in a roadstead, at single anchor, in a tempestuous season, it was necessary to set an anchor watch. It fell to my lot to have the first watch; that is, to keep a look out after the wind, weather, and con- dition of the vessel, and report any occurrence of im- portance between the hours of eight and ten in the evening. The crew, fatigued with the labors of the day, took possession of their berths at an early hour the mate and the captain also disappeared from the deck, after having instructed me in my duties, and cautioned me against falling asleep in my watch. I was thus inti'usted with a responsible charge, and realized the importance of the trust. I walked fore-and- aft the deck, with a step and a swagger that would have become a Port Admiral in the British navy. I felt that I had gained one important step ; and, bound on a pleas- ant voyage, with kind and indulgent officers, had every thing pleasant to expect in the future. As Captain Tur- ner would undoubtedly treat me with indulgence and overlook any shortcomings on my part, for the sake of his intimate friend, Captain Tilton, I determined, by 7 74 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. my attention to duty, and my general conduct, to de- serve the favors Avhicli I was sure I should receive. Communing thus with myself, and lost in the rosy vagaries of a vivid imagination, I unhappily for the moment forgot the objects for which I was stationed on deck. I seated myself involuntarily on a spar, which was lashed alongside the long boat, and in a few minutes, without any intention or expectation of being otherwise than vigilant in the extreme, was transported to the land of dreams I A check was suddenly put to my vagabond thoughts and flowery visions, and I was violently dragged back to the realities of life by a strong hand, which, seizing me roughly by the collar, jerked me to my feet! At the same time, the voice of my kind friend and bene- factor, Captain Turner, rung in my ears like a trumpet, as he exclaimed in a paroxysm of passion, "You little good-for-nothing rascal! This is the way you keep watch! hey? Wake up, you lazy ragamuffin! Rouse yourself! " and, suiting the action to the word, he gave me two or three severe shakes. "Let me catch you slee]Hng in your watch again, and I'll send you to the cross-trees for four hours on a stretch. I knew I had got a hard bargain when your uncle shoved you upon me, you sneaking, sanctimonious-looking imp of Satan ! But mind how you carry your helm, or you will have cause to curse the day when you shipped on board the Dolphin ! " This was a damper, with a vengeance, to my aspirations and hopes. The ladder on which I was about to ascend to fame and fortune was unfeelingly knocked away, and I was laid prostrate — flat on my back — almost before I began to mount ! I was deceived in Captain Turner ; and what was of greater consequence to me, my self-confidence was tei'ribly shaken — I was deceived in myself My shipmates, nevertheless, sympathized with me in my abasement ; gave me words of encouragement ; bade me be of good cheer ; keep a stifi" ui^per lip ; look SCENES IX CHAELESTOIT. 76 out sharper for squalls in the future, and I should yet "weather the cape." An awkward accident happened to me the following day, which tended still further to diminish the self-confi- dence I had so recently cherished. The small boat had returned about sunset from a mission to the city, and as I formed one of the boat's crew, the mate ordei-ed me to drop the boat astern, and hook on the tackles that it might be hoisted to the davits. But the tide running furiously, the boat when under the quarter took a sudden sheer. I lost my hold on the brig, and found myself adrift. I shouted lustily for help, but no help could be af- forded ; the long-boat being snugly stowed amidships, and the tide sweeping me towards the bar at the rate of several knots an hour. Sculling was a manoeuvre of which I had heard, and seen practised, but had never practised myself. I therefore took one of the oars and made a desperate attempt to paddle towards the brig. The attempt was unsuccessful ; the distance between the brig and the boat was rapidly increasing, darkness was coming on, a strong breeze was springing up, and I was in a fair way to be drifted among the breakers, or swept out to sea over the bar ! It happened, fortunately for me, that a large brig was riding at anchor within a short distance of the Dolphin. This was the very slaver whose captain was so mysteri- ously assassinated. The mate of the brig was looking around the harbor at the time ; he espied my misfortune, and forthwith despatched a boat, pulled by four men, to my assistance. They took me in tow, and, after an hour of hard work, sitcceeded in towing the boat and myself safely alongside the brig. I was soundly rated by the mate for my carelessness in allowing the boat to get adrift, and my shipmates were un- sparing in their reproaches for my ignorance of the impor« 76' JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. tant art of sculling. I was completely crest-fallen ; but during the few remaining days we remained in port I applied myself with zeal to gain a practical knowledge of the art, and could soon propel a boat through the water, with a single oar over the stern, with as much dexterity as the most accomplished sailor. A new cable and anchor were brought on board, the wind became favorable, and the brig Dolphin proceeded to sea, bound nominally for Cayenne. I carried with me, engraven on my memory in characters which have never been efiaced, the art of sculling a boat, and the admonition '•'• never fall asleep in your watch P^ CHAPTER VII. DELIBERATE ROGUERY. After we reached the blue water, and the wind began to blow and the sea to rise, the old brig, with correspond- ing motion, tossed and wallowed about as if for a wager. Although while in port her bottom had been calked and graved, the leak, which gave so much trouble the previous voyage, had not been stopped. In a fresh breeze and a head sea the seams would open, and a good " spell at the pump," every twenty minutes at least, was required to keep her free. The captain grumbled and swore like a pii*ate ; but this had no perceptible effect in stopping the leak. On the contrary, the more he raved, denouncing the brig as a humbug, and the man who sold her to him as a knave and a swindler, the more the bi'ig leaked. And what was re- markable, after the first ten days, the brig leaked as much m a light breeze and a smooth sea as in rough weather. SCENES TN CHAELESTOIT. 77 It was necessary to keep one j^nrnp in action the whole time. But when the men, wearied by their unremitting exertions, talked of abandoning the vessel to her fate, and taking refuge in the first vessel they might fall in with, the leak seemed suddenly to diminish, until the bottom of the old craft was comparatively tight ! No sooner had the crew recovered from their fatigue than the water again poured in, allowing them but little repose from the labor of pumping it out ! All this was inexplicable to me, and the mystery caused much philosophical discussion and sage remark among the ship's company. As we were in a part of the ocean which abounded in flying fish, it was the general opinion that the stoppage of the leak was caused by the involuntary action of a flying fish ! The theory was, that an unfortunate fish, swimming beneath the bottom of the vessel, in the neigh- borhood of the crevice through which the water rushed^ unsuspicious of danger, was suddenly " sucked in," and plugged up the hole until it was drawn through or re- moved by decomposition ! One day the cook, a negro not remarkable for quickness of apprehension or general intelligence, received such an unmerciful beating from the captain that he was unable to attend to his manifold duties, and a portion of them fell to my share. Among them was the task of drawing off the regular allowance of rum, half a pint to each man, and serving it out to the crew. The rum was in the after part of the vessel, beneath the cabin, a jjlace designated as " the run." It was approached by a scuttle in the cabin floor, and of course could not be explored by any of the crew without the especial permission of the captain or mate. I entered the dark hole, aided by the glimmering light of a lantern, groped my way to the ban-el which contained the liquid so highly prized by the sons of Nep- tune as the liquor of life, — the pure aqua vitce, — and filled my can with the precious fluid. 7* 78 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. When I inserted the spigot I still heard a gurgling sound, as of the rush of water through a narrow passage. I listened, and examined further, and became convinced I had discovered the leak. I hastily emerged from "the run," and passed up on deck. The captain was taking a meridian observation of the sun, when, with a radiant countenance and glistening eye, my whole frame trem- bling with joy and anticipated triumph, 1 communicated the important information that I had discovered the leak : it was in the run, could be easily reached, and with a little ingenuity and labor stopped. Instead of rewarding me for my intelligence and zeal with a smile of approbation and a word of encourage- ment, the captain gave me a look which petrified me for a time, and would have killed me on the spot if looks could kill in those degenerate days. Seizing me roughly by the shoulder, he addressed me in a hissing, hoarse voice, yet so low that his words, although terribly intelli- gible to me, could be distinctly heard by no other person • — "Mind your own business, my lad, and let the leaks take care of themselves ! Go about your work ; and Lf you whisper a syllable of what you have told me to any other person, I loill throw you overboard^ you officious, intermeddling little vagabond ! " and he indorsed his fear- ful threat by an oath too impious to be transcribed. This unexpected rebuke, coupled with the fact that I had seen in " the run " the large screw auger which had been missing from the tool-chest for more than a week, furnished a key to unlock the mysteries connected with the leak. The captain, for some purpose which he did not choose to reveal, with the connivance and aid of the mate, had bored holes through the bottom of the brig, and could let in the water at his pleasure ! A few days after this interesting incident which thi-ew a new light on the character of the man to whose charge I had been intrusted, we reached the latitude of Martinico. SCENES IN" CHAKLESTON. 79 As the brig now leaked more than ever, and the men, one and all, were worn out with continued pumping, the cap- tain proclaimed to the crew that in consequence of the leaky condition of the brig, he did not consider it safe to proceed further on the voyage to Cayenne, and had de- termined to make the first port. This determination met the approbation of ail hands, without a dissenting voice. The yards were squared, the helm was put up, the course was given " due west, " and, with a cracking trade wind, away we bowled oflf before it for the Island of Martinico. Captain Turner, although not remarkable for the strict- ness of his principles, was a shrewd and intelligent man. On shore he had the semblance of a gentleman. On ship- board he was a good sailor and a skilful navigator. If to his energy, talents, and intelligence had been added a moderate share of honesty, he would probably have been successful in his struggle for wealth, and might have at- tained respectability. I have often had occasion to note that " a rogue in grain " finds it more difficult to achieve success in life than an honest man. Shakspeare, the great exponent of human nature, makes the unscrupulous Cardinal "VVolsey say, when crushed by the hand of royalty, deserted by his friends, and a prey to disgrace and ignominy, — " Had I but served my God -with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies." On the morning after this change in our course, the high land of Martinico was seen in the distance ; and in the afternoon, before the sun had reached the horizon, we were snugly anchored in the roadstead of St. Pieri-e. This port, at the bottom of a wide bay, with good anchorage close to the beach, is open to the sea. But being on the lee of the island, it is protected from the trade winds, which, with rare exceptions, blow throughout the year. 80 JACK IN" THE FORECASTLE. From a westerly temiDest there is no protection, and a hurricane always carries destruction among the shipping. The reason why the brig was made to spring a leak was now evident. Captain Turner never intended to go to Cayenne, but wished to be justified in the eye of the law in proceeding to what he considered a better market. The non-intercourse act being in operation, American vessels were prohibited from entering an EngHsh or a French port, excepting in cases of distress. It was therefore de- termined that the Dolphin should spring a leak, and seem in danger of foundering, in order to furnish a pretext for entering the harbor of St, Pierre ! Captain Turner expected to find no American vessels in port, and of course no American produce. He calculated to realize a high price for his cargo, and was surprised and disappointed to ascertain that other Yankees wefe as shrewd and unscrupulous as himself. The anchorage was thickly sjjrinkled with American vessels, and the market was overstocked with American produce. These vessels had been driven into St. PieiTC by " stress of weather " or " dangerous leaks, " and their commanders cherished as little respect for the revenue laws, or any other mandates of the United States government, as Captain Turner. A protest, carefully worded, and signed and sworn to by the mate and two seamen, and a survey of the vessel made by persons Judiciously selected, acted as a protecting shield against any subsequent troublesome interference on the part of the American authorities. The wisdom of the "Long Embargo," and the "Non- intercourse Act " is greatly doubted by the statesmen of the present day. Besides crippling our own resources, and j)aralyzing the whole commercial interest of the United States, a craven spirit was thus manifested on the part of our rulers, which exposed us to insults and outrages from the belligerent powers. And if the policy of these ex- traordinary measures can be defended, it must be admitted SCENES IN CHARLESTON. 81 tliat they were the direct cause of more roguery than would compensate for an immense amount of good. Having arrived at Martinico in distress, we were pre- cluded from proceeding to any other port in search of a better market. The cargo was sold at prices that would hardly pay the expenses of the voyage. In delivering the lumber, however, an opportunity offered in making up in quantity the deficiency in price, of which our honest cap- tain, following the example, I regret to say, of many of the West India captains of those days, eagerly availed himself. The lumber was taken to the shore on large rafts, and hauled up on the beach by men belonging to the brig. The mark on every separate board or plank was called out in a clear voice by the man who dragged it from the raft to the beach, and was noted down by the mate of the brig and a clerk of the mercantile house that purchased the lumber. Those parties were comfortably seated beneath the shade of a tamarind tree, at some distance, smoking cigars and pleasantly couA'^ersing. They compared notes fi'om time to time, and there was no difference in their ac counts. Every thing on our part was apparently con- ducted on the strictest principles of honesty. But each sailor having received a hint from the mate, who had been posted by the captain, and a promise of other indulgences, often added from fifteen to twenty per cent, to the mark which had been actually scored by the surveyor on every board or plank. Thus, if a board was marked twelve feet, the amount given was fifteen feet ; a board that measured only eighteen or twenty feet, would be represented as twenty-five ; and sometimes a large, portly-looking board, measuring thirty or thirty-five feet, not only received an addition of eight or ten feet, but was suddenly transformed into a plank, which was counted as containing double the measurement of a board of the same superficial dimen- sions. Thus a board actually measuring only thirty feet 82 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. was passed off upon the unsophisticated clerk of the pur- chaser as a piece of himber measuring seventy feet. In. this way Captain Turner managed, in what he contended was the usual and proper manner among the Yankees, to make a cargo of lumber "hold out ! " Another attempt which this gentleman made to realize a profit on merchan- dise greater than could be obtained by a system of fair trading was not attended with so favorable a result. A portion of the cargo of the Dolphin consisted of bar- rels of salted provisions. This part of the cargo was not enumerated among the articles in the manifest. Captain Turner intended to dispose of it to the shipping in the harbor, and thus avoid the payment of the regular duties. He accordingly sold some ten or a dozen barrels of beef and pork, at a high price, to the captain of an English ship. The transaction, by some unknown means, was dis- covered by the government officials, who, in a very grave and imposing manner, visited the brig with a formidable posse. They found in the hold a considerable quantity of the salted provisions on which no duty had been paid; this they conveyed on shore and confiscated to the use of His Majesty the King of Great Britain. The brig also was seized, but was subsequently released on payment of a heavy fine. The merchant vessels Ipng in St. Pierre are generally moored head and stern, one of the anchors beino- carried ashore, and embedded in the ground on the beach. A few days after we were thus moored, a large Spanish schooner from the Main hauled in and moored alongside, at the dis- tance of only a few fathoms. Besides the captain, there were several well-dressed personages on board, who ap- peared to take an interest in the cargo, and lived in the cabin. But harmony did not characterize their intercourse with each other. At times violent altercations occurred, which, being carried on in the Spanish language, were to us neither edifying nor amusing. Duel between two Spaniards. Page 83. SCENES IN CHARLESTON. 83 One Sunday morning, after the Spanish schooner had been about a week in port, and was nearly ready for sea, a fierce quarrel took place on the quarter-deck of the ves- sel, which, being attended with loud language, menacing looks, and frantic gesticulations, attracted the attention of all who were within sight or hearing. Two of the Spaniards, large, good-looking men, were apparently very bitter in their denunciations of each other. They suddenly threw off their coats, which they wrapped around the left ann, and each grasi:>ing a long Spanish knife, — the original of the murdei'ous "bowie-knife," — attacked each other with a ferocity terrible to behold. Every muscle seemed trembling and convulsed with pas- sion, their eyes flashed with desperation, and their mus- cles seemed endued with superhuman power, as they rushed upon each other. Many fuiious passes were made, and dexterously parried by the left arm, which was used as a buckler in which to receive the thrusts. At length one of the combatants received a wound in the chest, and his shirt bosom was instantly stained with blood. This served only to rouse him to more desperate exertions if j^ossible ; and, like two enraged tigers, these men no longer thought of defending themselves, but were bent only on assailing each other. Such a combat could not last long. One of the Span- iards sank to the deck, covered with wounds and exhausted with blood, while the victor, who, from the gory condition of his linen, his pallid cheeks, and staggering stejDs seemed in little better f)light, was assisted into the cabin by his companions. Duels of a similar character, fought on the spot with knives, the left arm protected with a gaiment used as a shield, were by no means unfrequent among the Spaniards in the New World, and the barbarous custom is not yet obsolete. The vessel, on whose decks this horrible scene of butch- 84 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. ery was enacted, left the harbor on the following day, to the great gratification of her neighbors ; and a rusty, ill- looking schooner, called the John, hauled fi-om anothei part of the roadstead, and took the berth vacated by the Spaniards. Like other American vessels that had been coquetting with the revenue laws, neither the name of the schooner nor the place to Avhich she belonged was painted on her stem. A close intimacy, intended doubtless for their mutual advantage, existed between Captain Tunier and the master of the John. The crews of the two vessels also became acquainted, and when the day's work was ended, often assembled on board one of the vessels, and indulged in singing, conversing, skylarking, or spinning yarns. Swimming was an agreeable and refi-eshing exercise, in which we often indulged, notwithstanding the harbor of St. Pierre was an open bay in a tropical climate ; the very place which the shark would be likely to frequent. It was said, however, that sharks were seldom seen in the bay, and never among the shipping. This statement was regarded as a sufficient assurance of safety ; and although I retained a vivid recollection of the dreadful tragedy I had seen enacted a few months before in Demarara, with all the recklessness of a young sailor I hesitated not to indulge freely in this pleasant and healthy exercise. in the harbor of St Pierre. I was careful, however, to follow the advice of a veteran tar, to Jteep in motion ^chile in the icater. The shark, un- less very ferocious and hungry, will not attack a man while he is swimming, or performing other aquatic evolutions. At such times he will remain quiet, close at hand, eyeing his intended victim with an eager and affectionate look ; but the moment the unsuspecting swimmer throws him- self on his back, begins to tread water, or discontinues the exercise of swimming preparatory to getting on boar4» this man-eating rascal will pounce on a leg or an arm, drag SCENES IN CHARLESTON. 85 his victim beneath the surface, and accomplish the di-ead- ful work. After the many unfavorable specimens of " old salts " I had met with, I was agi-eeably surprised to find that two of the crew of the John were educated men. One of these was the son of a wealthy merchant of Boston, who lived in the style of a prince at the " North End." This young sailor had been wild and dissipated, and had lost for a time the confidence of his relatives, and as a matter of course, went to sea. He made a good sailor; and while I knew him in St. Pierre, and during the subsequent years of his life, his conduct was in every way correct. His con- versation was improving, and his chest was well stored with books, which he cheerfully loaned, and to which I was indebted for many happy hours. The other was an Irishman by birth, prematurely aged, of diminutive stature, and unprepossessing appeai'ance. He had been many years at sea ; had witnessed perilous scenes ; had fought for his life with the savages on board the Atahualpa on " the north-west coast ; " had served in an English man-of-war, from which he escaped by swimming ashore, a distance of several miles, one night while cruising ofi'the island of Antigua. He reached the land completely exhausted — more dead than alive — and was concealed for a time among the slave habitations on one of the plan- tations. Little Jack, as he was familiarly called, was a type of the old sailor of those days, so far as his habits and gen- eral conduct was concerned. He was reckless, bold, dis- solute, generous, never desponding, ever ready for a drunken frolic or a fight, to do a good deed, plan a piece of mischief or head^a revolt. He seemed to find enjoyment in every change which tas strange destiny presented. And this man, who seemed at home in a ship's forecastle, or when mingling with the lowest dregs of society, had been edu- 'Bated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was well read in 8 86 JACK nr THE T-OKECASTLE. the classics, and familiar with the writings of the old Brit- ish poets. He could quote elaborate passages from the best authors, and converse fluently and learnedly on almost any subject. Notwithstanding his cultivated mind and intellectual powers, which should have placed him in a high position in society, he appeared satisfied with his condition, and aspired to no loftier sphere than that of a common sailor. We often meet with anomalies in the human character, for which it would puzzle the most learned psychologist to account. What strange and sad event had occurred in the early part of that man's career, to change the current of his fortune, and make him contented in a condition so humble, and a slave to habits so degrading? His story, if faithfully told, might furnish a record of ambitious projects and san- guine expectations, followed by blighted hopes which pal- sied all succeeding exertions, and plunged him into the depths of dissipation and vice. Caj^tain Turner and the worthy master of the John, the better to conceal their iniquities from the lynx-eyed satel- lites of the law, agreed to make an exchange of vessels, both having been officially condemned as unseaworthy. For an equivalent, the schooner was to be laden "vvith a cargo, principally of molasses, and properly furnished with stores, provisions, and water, for a passage to the United States by the way of St. Bartholomew. The crews of the two vessels were then to be interchanged, and Captain Turner, his mate and crew, were to take up their quar- ters in the John. The arrangement was carried into effect; but two of the Dolphin's crew, dissatisfied with the proceedings on board the brig, and thinking matters would not be im- proved by a transfer to the schooner, and being under no obligation to follow Captain Turner to another vessel, de- manded their discharge. In their stead he shipped a boy, about fourteen years of age, whom he had persuaded to THE WINDWARD ISLANDS. 87 run away from an English merchant ship, in which he was an apprentice, and an old Frenchman, who had served many years in the carpenter's gang in a French man-of- war, and who understood hardly a word of the English language. We sailed from St. Pierre the day after we had taken possession of the schooner, bound directly for St. Bar- tholomew. CHAPTER VIII. THE WINDWARD ISLANDS. It is well known that one of the principal reasons for the declaration of war against Great Britain in 1812, were the insults heaped on the American flag, in every sea, by the navy of Great Britain, The British government claimed and exercised the right to board our ships, impress their crews when not natives of the United States, ex- amine their cargoes, and subject our citizens navigating the high seas, to inconvenience, detention, and conduct often of an annoying and insulting character. The British govern- ment contended that the flag which waved over the decks of our ships should be no protection to our ships or seamen. For years our merchant vessels were compelled to submit to such degrading insults from the navy of Great Britain. The mode of exercising this " right of search," so far as relates to the impressment of seamen, I have already had occasion to illustrate, and the incident which I now relate will explain with tolerable clearness the mode in which the British exercised this right in relation to property. Previously to the war with Great Britain, a profitable trade was carried on between the United States and the English West India Islands. The exports from the 88 JACK nf THE FORECASTLE. islands were limited chiefly to molasses and rum ; sugar and coflfee being prohibited in American bottoms. Accord- ing to the British interpretation of the " right to search," every American vessel which had taken in a cargo in a British, or any other port, was liable to be searched, from the truck to the keelson, by any British cruiser when met with on the high seas. And this inquisitorial process was submitted to as a matter of course, though not without murmurs loud and deep, from those who were immediately exposed to the inconveniences attending this arbitrary ex- ercise of power. On the afternoon succeeding the day on which the schooner John l?it Martinico, as we were quietly sailing along with a light breeze, under the lee of the mountain- ous Island of Gaudaloupe, we saw a large ship at anchor on a bank about a mile from the land, with the British ensign at her peak, and a pennant streaming from her mast-head, — sufficient indications that we had fallen in with one of John Bull's cruisers. But Captain Turner, con- scious that his schooner was an American vessel, and had been regularly cleared at St. Pierre, with a cargo of rum and molasses, and there being no suspicious circumstances connected with her ajspearance, her cargo, or her papers, apprehended no detention or trouble fi'om the British man- of-war. A boat was soon seen to put oif from the frigate, and it was not long before it was alongside the John. An officer stepped on deck, and politely asked the privilege of exam- ining the ship's papers. This was accorded. After hav- ing ascertained we were from a British port, the officer coolly remarked it would be necessary to take the schooner nearer the land and bring her to anchor, in order to in- stitute a thorough search into the true character of the cargo. He added that the frigate was stationed there for the express purpose of intercepting and overhauling such Yankee vessels as might j)ass along. THE WUfDWABD ISLANDS. 89 A signal was made to the frigate, and two additional boats were despatched, which took our small vessel in tow, and in less than an hour we found ourselves at anchor, in thirty fathoms of water, within half mus- ket shot of an English man-of-war. The launch was soon alongside, the hatcliways were taken off, tackles were rove, and a gang of the frigate's crew went to work breaking out the cargo and hoisting it into the launch. After the launch and other boats were laden, they hoisted the casks on deck, and continued the operations in no gen- tle manner until they reached the ground tier. They thus examined every cask, but found nothing but molasses and rum. They then commenced "stowing the cargo," as they called it ; and the hogsheads of molasses were tossed into the hold, and handled as roughly as hogsheads of tobacco. It was about sunset on the following day when the last cask was stowed. The anchor was then weighed, the sails set, and the lieutenant, having put into the hands of the captain a certificate from the commander of the frigate that the schooner had been searched, for the purpose of preventing a repetition of that agreeable ceremony, told him he was at liberty to go where he thought proper, and politely wished him a pleasant voyage. Our vessel was thus detained tAventy-four hours; and in consequence of this detention, the passage to St. Bar- tholomew was lengthened several days, as a calm com- menced soon after we were liberated, which lasted that time. The cargo also received injury from the rough handling of the British tars, insomuch that before we reached St. Bartholomew several casks had lost nearly all their contents ; and if we had been bound directly to the United States, it is probable that a considerable por- tion of the cargo would have been pumped out with the bilge water. This is only one of a thousand cases which might be 8* 90 JACK IN THE FOKECASTLE. cited to show the iwinciple on which the Britisli acted towards neutral jDOWers on the broad ocean, as well as in the British waters, at that time. The British govern- ment, since the war of 1812, have attempted by negotia- tions to reestablish this principle. But the attempt has been firmly and successfully resisted ; and it may be safely predicted that this "right" will never again be claimed by Great Britain, or conceded by the United States. Our government, which is a government of the people, and supported mainly by commerce, cannot be too vigi- lant and firm in its endeavors to protect the persons and projierty of our citizens on the ocean against the oppres- sion or outrages of any naval power. Let us, as an hon- orable, high-minded nation, cordially cooperate with any other nation in attempts to check and destroy the trafiic in slaves, so revolting in its character, which is carried on between Africa and places on this continent. Let us be a party to any honorable treaty having this for its object ; but let us never listen to the idea that the American flag, waving at the peak or masthead of an American vessel, is no protection to the property on board, or the liberties of the passengers and crew. Captain Turner promptly availed himself of the per- mission so graciously given by the commander of the British cruiser, and we proceeded on our way to St. Bar- tholomew. Thei'e is probably no saihng in the world more pleasant and interesting than among the group of beautiful islands reaching from Trinidad to St. Barthol- omew. With a smooth sea and a gentle, refreshing trade wind, as the vessel glides past these emerald gems of the ocean, a picturesque and ever-varying landscape is pro- duced, as if by the wand of some powerful enchanter. Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Mar- tinico, Dominica, Guadaloupe, Montserrat, Saba, St. Kitts, Ne^^s, and St. Bartholotnew, all seem to pass in swift suc- cession before the eye of the observer. THE WnfDWAKD ISLANDS. 91 These islands are all, with the exception of St. Bar- tholomew, more or less cultivated, but being moun- tainous and of volcanic origin, the productive lands lie on the base of the mountains, or on the spacious inter- vals and valleys near the sea shore. Studded with planta- tions, each of which resembles a little village planned by some skilful landscape gardener ; with crystal streams dashing down the mountain sides ; with dense forests cov- ering the high lands and mountain summits ; with bays and indentations along the coast, each with a thriving village at the extremity, defended by fortifications ; with ships at anchor in the roadsteads, and droghers coasting along the shores ; with an atmosphere richly laden with sweets, and all the interesting associations connected with a tropical climate ; these islands furnish an array of attractions which are hardly surpassed in the Western Hemisphere. The beautiful description in the song of Mignon, in the " Wilhelm Meister " of Goethe, of a land of fi'uits and flowers, will apply with singular felicity to these Windward Islands : " Know'st thou the land where the pale citron grows, And the gold orange through dark foliage glows ? A soft wind flutters from the deep blue sky, The myrtle blooms, and towers the laurel high. Know'st thou it well ? " I have sometimes wondered why the capitalists of New England, in search of recreation and pleasure for them- selves and families, instead of crossing the Atlantic to visit the oft-described and stale wonders of the Old World, do not charter a yacht or a packet schooner, and with a goodly company take a trip to the West Indies, sail around and among these islands, visit places of inter- est, accept the hospitality of the planters, which is always freely bestowed, and thus secure a fund of rational enjoy- ment, gratify a laudable curiosity in relation to the man- ners and habits of the people of the torrid zone, and bring 92 JACK IK THE FORECASTLE. away a mnltitiide of agreeable impressions on their minds, which will keep vivid and fresh the remainder of their lives. After leaving Martinico, we found, on broaching our provisions, that they were of bad quality, — of the worst possible description. The bread, deposited in bags, was of a dark color, coarse texture, and French manufacture. It must have been of an inferior kind when new and fresh, and a long tarry in a tropical climate was not cal- culated to improve its character. Besides being mouldy, it was dotted with insects, of an unsightly appearance and unsavory flavor. The quality of the beef was, if possible, worse than that of the bread, and we had no other kinds of provisions. Before we arrived at St. Bartholomew the water began to give signs of impurity. The casks, stowed in the half-deck, had been filled through a mo- lasses hose. In all likelihood, th3 hose had not been cleansed, and the saccharine property of the molasses mingling with the water in that hot climate had caused a fermentation, the effect of which was nauseous to the taste and unpleasant to the eye. We consoled ourselves, however, with the idea that the passage would be a short one, — only a few days, — and that better pro- visions would be fui'uished when we reached St. Barthol- omew. The Island of St. Bartholomew is a mountainous rock, three or four miles in diameter, with here and there a few patches of verdure, but destitute of trees or cultivated lands. The inhabitants are dependent on the neighbor- ing islands, and importations from distant countries, for the means of sustaining life. Even water for drinking and culinary purposes is brought from St. Martin, Nevis, or St. Kitts. It has a snug harbor on the western side, easy of access, in which many vessels can lie safely moored, excepting in a hurricane. Indeed, there is hardly a harbor in the Windward Islands, north of Grenada, THE WINDWARD ISLANDS. 93 where a vessel can be secure during the humcane months. These tempests, when bloAving from any quarter, seem to defy all tlie efforts of man to withstand their violence ; twist the ships fi'om their anchors, force them on the reefs or drive them out to sea, sometimes without ballast or the fraction of a crew. It may appear singular that St. Bartholomew, with no productions whatever, and lying almost in the midst of the most fertile and productive of the Windward Islands, should nevertheless have been a place of great trade, and at certain times the most important depot for merchan- dise in those islands. St. Bartholomew has belonged to Sweden during the whole of the present century ; and Sweden having been occasionally exempted fi-oin the wars waged against each other by England and France, this island, of no intrinsic value in itself, became a sort of neutral ground ; a port Avhere all nations could meet on friendly terms ; where traders belonging to England, France, the United States, or other powers, could deposit or sell their goods, purchase West India produce, and transact business of any description. At the time to which I refer, — in 1810, — the " Orders in Council " of England, and the " Berlin and Milan Decrees " of Napoleon, were in force. As a counteracting stroke of policy, the Non-intercourse Act, to which I have already alluded, was passed by our government, and the neutral port of St. Bartholomew suddenly became a place of immense importance. When we entered the harbor in the John, it was with difficulty that a berth could be found ; at least two hundred and fifty vessels, a large portion of which were Americans, were in port, dis- charging or taking in cargo. Captain Turner found no trouble in selling his molasses. He dared not run the risk of taking it to the United States, lest his roguery should be discovered through some flaw in his papers, and his vessel and cargo seized by revenue officers. He re- 94 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. tained only a few casks of rum, sufficient to pay port charges, and prepared to sail for a southern port. Shortly befox-e we arrived at St. Bartholomew, a ship belonging to Connecticut, in consequence of some irreg- ularity in her proceedings, was seized by the authorities and taken possession of by a guard of ten or a dozen sol- diers. The ship was about ready for sea when this event took place; and on the following day, according to a preconcerted plan between the captain and Mr. Arnold, the supercargo, the officers and crew rose upon the sol- diers, depiived them of their arms, and forced them be- low. Then they quietly slipped the cables, and let the ship drift gradually out of the harbor, until past the ship- ping, when every sail was instantly spread, as if by magic, and before the mystified garrison of the fort could under- stand the curious manoeuvre, realize the audacity of the Yankees, and get ready their guns, the ship was beyond the reach of their shot. In the offing the ship fell in with one of the large boats trading between St. Bartholomew and St. Martin, and put the soldiers on board, who were thus promptly returned to their barracks. The Swedish authorities were -justly indignant at such high-handed proceedings. Arnold remained behind to transact some unfinished business, but was arrested and thrown into prison, where he remained several weeks. Seeing no prospect of being released, he feigned insanity, and acted the madman to the life ; insomuch that the authorities were glad to discharge him on condition that his friends would send him from the island. During the year 1809, a French privateer, called the Superior, a large schooner of the " Baltimore pilot boat " model, was the terror of the British in the Caribbean Seas. The pilot boats built at Baltimore, to cruise off the mouth of the Chesapeake, have ever been celebrated for their sailing qualities, especially their ability to beat to wind- ward; and vessels of larger size than the pilot boats, THE WmDWARD ISLANDS. 95 reaching to the capacity of three hundred tons, but built according to this peculiar Baltimore model, were for many years acknowledged the swiftest class of sailing vessels in any country at any period. At what particular time this model was introduced, it may be difficult to ascertain ; but as early as the period to which I refer, the term "Baltimore clipper" was a familiar term. Num- bers of them were sold to individuals residing in ports belonging to the belligerent powers, and commissioned as privateers ; others were purchased for slavers ; and during the wars carried on by Spain and Portugal with their provinces in South America, the "Baltimxjre clip- pers " made a conspicuous figure, — being fitted out as privateers and manned in the ports of a nation which held out to them the olive branch of peace. The privateer Superior was commanded by a brave and energetic Frenchman, who took a singular pleasure in inflicting injuries on British commerce. This privateer, fitted out at Port Royal in Martinico, was said to have been the fastest vessel ever known among the islands, and her commander laughed to scorn the attempts made to capture him by the finest vessels in the English navy. Indeed, the Superior seemed to be ubiquitous. One day she would be seen hovering off the island of Antigua, and after pouncing on an unfortunate English ship, would take out the valuables and specie, if there were any on board, transfer the officers and crew to a drogher bound into the harbor, and then scuttle the vessel. On the day following, a ship would be seen on fire off Montserrat or St. Kitts, which would prove to have been an English merchantman captured and destroyed by the Superior; and perhaps, a few days afterwards, this privateer would be pursuing a similar career on the shores of Barbadoes, far to windward, or levying contributions fi-om the plan- ters on the coasts of Grenada or Trinidad. Indeed, the sailing qualities of this privateer were a 96 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. marvel to all " old salts ; " and many an honest man who had never heard of a " Baltimore pilot boat built " craft, was sorely puzzled to account for the success of the Supe- rior in avoiding the many traps that had been set by the long-headed officers of the British ships on that station. By many it was believed that the French captain had unlawful dealings with the enemy of mankind, and for the pleasure of annoying the English, and the gratifica- tion of filling his pockets with the spoils of the enemies of France, had signed away his soul ! The com2:)any of men-of-war seemed to be no protection against capture by this privateer. A fleet of merchant- men, convoyed by several armed ships, would be intruded on during the night, and one or more of them captured without alarm, and then rifled, and scuttled or burned. On one occasion, after combined efibrts had been made to capture the Superior, and it was believed that vessel had been driven fi*om those seas, a homeward bound fleet of merchantmen, on the first night after leaving Antigua, was ajjproached by this privateer, and in the course of a couple of hours three different ships, in different stations of the squadron, had been captured, plundered, and fired by that indefatigable enemy of the English. At last, one after another, every French port in the islands was taken by the British, and there was no longer a nook belonging to France to which this privateer could resort for protection, supplies, or repairs. It was further- more rumored that this vessel was not regularly com- missioned ; and that, if captured by an enemy, the officers and crew to a man, and the captain more especially, would be hanged at the yard arm, as j^i^'dtes, without any very fonnal process of law. The privateer was by this time well laden with spoils, having on board, in silks, specie, gums, and bullion, prop- erty to the amount of nearly a million of dollars. One fine morning, a British sloop-of-war, cruising between THE WENT>WA.KD ISLANDS. 97 Nevis and St. Bartholomew, was astonished at beholding the Superior, — that " rascally French privateer," as well known in those seas as the Flying Dutchman off the Cape of Good Hope, — come down from the windward side of St. Bartholomew under easy sail, jiass round the southern point of the island, hoist the tri-colored flag, as if by way of derision, and boldly enter the harbor belonging to the Swedish government, and a neutral port. It was not many hours before the sloop-of-war, having hauled her wind, was off the harbor, lying off and on ; and the captain, in full uniform, his mouth filled with menaces and denunciations of British vengeance, and his cranium well crammed with quotations from Vattel, Gro- tius, Puffendorf, and other venerable worthies, was on his way to the shore in a state of great excitement. When he reached the landing, he found only the Tvull of the privateer, with the spars and rigging. The officers and crew had already disappeared, each can-ying off his por- tion of the spoils. The captain was not visible ; but it was said he left the island a few days afterwards for the United States, under an assumed name, whence he subsequently proceeded to France, with an immense amount of property, which the fortune of war had trans- ferred from British subjects to his pockets. The schooner was hauled up to the head of the careenage, and on exam- ination it appeared that every part of the vessel had been so strained by carrying sail, and so much damage had been done to her planks and timbers by worms, that she was good for nothing. The spars, sails, and rigging were sold ; but the hull, which soon filled with water, remained for years, admired by every genuine sailor as the most perfect model of a fast-sailing vessel that could be devised by the ingenuity of man. When the schooner John was nearly ready for sea, my uncle. Captain Tilton, whom I had left in Charleston, arrived in port in a clipper schooner called the Edwin. 9 98 JACK IN" THE FOKECASTLE. He was bound foi' Mobile, where he intended establishing a mercantile house in connection with a gentleman named Waldron, a native of Portsmouth, who had resided several years in Charleston. I had one brief interview with him, but no opportunity offered of entering into the details of my iinenviable position on board the John. On a hint fi'om me that I was dissatisfied, and should not object to accompany him in the Edwin, he gravely shook his head, and remarked that such a course would be unusual and improper ; that he was about to retire from the sea ; that it would be best for me to stick by Captain Turner, in whom I should always find a friend, and perform the whole voyage I had undertaken. He left the port on the following day, bound for the Gulf of Mexico, and I never saw him again. He encoun- tered a " norther " on the coast of Cuba, and the Edwin struck on the Colorado Reef, and all on board perished ! It was believed that Captain Turner, as a matter of course, would procure a sufficient quantity of good water, and some tolerable provisions for the forecastle hands, be- fore we proceeded on our voyage. But our worthy cap- tain, who was a great worshipper of the " almighty dollar," in whatever shape it appeared, had no intentions of the kind. Water was scarce, and cost ten dollars a cask. Beef and bread also cost money, and we left St. Bartholo- mew with only the wretched apology for provisions and water which were put on board in Martinico. Probably no American vessel ever left a port with such miserable provisions for a voyage. Bread, beef, and water constituted our variety. We had no rice, beans, Indian meal, fish, or any other of the numerous articles usually furnished by merchants for the sustenance of the sailors who navigate their ships ; and such beef, bread, and water as we were doomed to live upon for three successive weeks after we left St. Bartholomew, was surely never prescribed by the most rigid anchorite and exacting devotee as a punishment for the sins of a hardened transgressor. AEEIVAL AT SAVANNAH. 99 CHAPTER IX. ARRIVAL AT SAVANNAH. Captain Turner, on being urged to provide some pala- table food and drink, declared with an oath that he did not select the provisions or fill the water; that this was done by others who knew what they were about ; that every thing on board was good enough for us, and if we did not like it we might starve and he hanged ! This was a clincher — it ended the argument. There was nothing left for us but to put the best face, even if it should be a wry face, on troubles we could not over- come or diminish. In a choice of food there is a wide difference in taste. One people will regard as a luxury a viand or condiment which is repugnant to another. Locusts have been used from time immemorial for food by different tribes of Arabs. Snail soup was once regarded in Europe as a delicious dish. In the West Indies and South America the guano, a species of lizard, is devoured with gusto. Bird's nests com- mand enoi-mous prices as an edible in China, where also dogs and cats are ordinary food. At Rome camels' heels were a tidbit for an epicure. Whale's tongues ranked among the delicacies feasted on by the Europeans in the middle cen- turies. The bark of the palm tree is the abiding place of a large worm, which is sought for, roasted, and devoured as a delicacy. In Brazil, a monkey pie is a favorite dish, and the head of the monkey is made to protrude and show its teeth above the crust by way of ornament. In- deed, habit, we are told, will reconcile a person to unsavory diet. But neither habit nor necessity could reconcile me to the food and drink which, to sustain life, I was com- pelled to swallow on board the John. 100 JACK IX THE FOEECASTLE. The water, owing to causes to which I have ah-eady alluded, was exceedingly offensive to the palate and the olfactories. It was also slimy and ropy ; and was drank only as a means — and a wretched one — of prolonging life. For the inmates of the cabin the water was boiled or diluted with brandy, which, in a slight degree, lessened its disgusting flavor. But this was a luxury that was denied the seamen, who had to quaff it in all its richness. Our beef, in quality, was on a par with the water. It was Irish beef, so called, wretchedly poor when packed ; but having been stored in a hot climate, probably for years, it had lost what little excellence it once possessed, and acquired other qualities of which the packer never dreamed. The effluvia arising from a barrel of this beef, when opened, was intolerable. When boiled in clean salt water the strong flavor was somewhat modified, and it was reduced by shrinkage at least one half. The palate could not become reconciled to it; and the longer we lived upon it the less we liked it. • But our bread ! What shall I say of our bread ? I have already spoken of it as mouldy and animated. On several occasions, in the course of my adventures, I have seen ship bread which could boast of tliose abominable at- tributes, remnants of former voyages put on board ships by unfeeling skinflints, to be " used up " before the new provisions were broached, but I never met with any wliich possessed those attributes to the extent which was the case on board the schooner John. Although many years have passed since I was supported and invigorated by that " staff of life," I cannot even now think of it with- out a shudder of disgust ! On placing a biscuit by my side when seated upon deck, it would actually be put in motion by some invisible machinery, and if thrown on the hot coals in order to destroy the living works within, and prevent the biscuit from walking off, it would make an an- gry sputtering wondrous to hear ! ARRIVAL AT SAVANNAH. 101 Such was the character of our food and drink on our passage to the United States. It initiated me, even at the beginning of my sea-going career, into the most repulsive mysteries of a seaman's Hfe. And whenever, in subse- quent voyages, I have been put upon poor diet, I mentally contrasted it with the wretched fare during my second voyage to sea, smacked my lips, and called it luxury. Steering to the northward we passed near the Island of Sombrero, glided from the Caribbean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, and wended our way towards the Caro- linas. Sombrero is an uninhabited island, a few miles only in circumference. It oiFers to the dashing waves on every side a steep, craggy cliff, from thirty to fifty feet high. Its surfoce is flat, and entirely destitute of vegetation ; and at a distance, a fanciful imagination can trace, in the outline of the island, a faint resemblance to the broad Spanish hat, called a " sombrero," from which it takes its name. This island, as well as all the other uninhabited islands in that part of the world, has ever been a favorite re- sort for birds, — as gulls of several varieties, noddies, man- of-war birds, pelicans, and others. It has recently been ascertained that Sombrero is entitled to the proud appella- tion of " a guano island," and a company has been organ- ized, consisting of persons belonging to New England, for the purpose of carrying off its rich deposits, which are of a peculiarly valuable character, being found beneath a bed of coral limestone several feet in thickness, and must consequently possess all the advantages which antiquity can confer. It was on this island, many years ago, that an English brig struck in a dark night, while " running down the trades." The officers and crew, frightened at the dashing of the breakers and the gloomy aspect of the rocks which frowned upon them from above, made their escape on shore in " double quick time," some of them marvellously 9* 102 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. thinly clad, even for a warm climate. As soon as they had safely landed on the cliffs, and congratulated each other on their good fortune, the brig, by a heave of the sea, became disengaged from the rocks, and floating off, drifted to leeward, to the great mortification of the crew, and was fallen in with a day or two afterwards, safe and sound, near Anegada Reef, and carried into St. Thomas. The poor fellows, who manifested such alacrity in quitting " a sinking ship," suffered greatly from hunger and exposure. They erected a sort of flagstaff, on which they displayed a jacket as a signal of distress, and in the course of a few days were taken off by an American vessel bound to Santa Cruz. The feeling which prompts a person, in the event of a sudden danger at sea, to quit his OAvn vessel and look abroad for safety, appears to be instinctive. In cases of collision, portions of the crews are sometimes suddenly exchanged ; and a man will find himself, unconscious of, an effort, on board a strange vessel, then arouse himself, as if from an unquiet sleejj, and return to his ship as rap- idly as he left her. It sometimes happens that vessels, which have run into each other in the night time, separate under circumstances causing awkward results. The ship Pactolus, of Boston, bound from Hamburg through the English Channel, while running one night in a thick fog near the Goodwin Sands, fell in Avith several Dutch galliots, lying to, waiting for day- light, and while attempting to steer clear of one, ran foul of another, giving the Dutchman a terrible shaking and carrying away one of the masts. The captain, a young man, was below, asleep in his berth, dreaming, it may be, of happy scenes in which a young and smiling "Jung frow" formed a prominent object. He rushed from his berth, believing his last hour was come, sprang ujDon deck, and seeing a ship alongside, made one leap into the chain- wales of the strange vessel, and another one over the rail ARRIVAL AT SAVANNAH. 103 to the deck. A moment afterwards the vessels separated ; the galliot was lost sight of in the fog, and Mynheer was astonished to find himself, while clad in the airy costume of a shirt and drawei's, safely and suddenly transferred from his comfortable little vessel to the deck of an Ameri- can ship bound across the Atlantic. The poor fellow jabbered away, in his uncouth native language, until his new shipmates feared his jaws would split asunder. They furnished hira with gai-ments, enter- tained him hospitably, and on the following day landed hira on the pier at Dover. We met with no extraordinary occurrences on our pas- sage to the United States until we reached the Gulf Stream, noted for heavy squalls, thunder storms, and a tur- bulent sea, owing to the effect on the atmosphere produced by the difference of temperature between the water in the cun'ent and the water on each side. The night on which we entered the Gulf Stream, off the coast of the Carolinas, the weather was exceedingly suspicious. Dark, double-headed clouds hung around the horizon, and although the wind was light, a hurricane would not have taken us by surprise at any moment ; and as the clouds rose slowly with a threatening aspect, no calculation could be made on which side the tempest would come. The lightnings illumined the heavens, serving to render the gloom more consjiicuous, and the deep-toned rumblings of the thunder were heard in the distance. At eight o'clock, when the watch was called, the schooner was put under short canvas, and due preparations were made for any change in the weather. The starboard watch was then told to go below, but to " be ready for a call." This watch, all told, consisted of the old French carpenter and myself, and we gladly descended into the narrow, leaky, steaming den, called the forecastle, reposing full confidence in the vigilance of our shipmates in the larboard watch, and knowing that if the ship should be J!04 jack in the forecastle. dismasted, or eren capsized, while we Avere quietly sleep- ing below, it would be through no fault of ours, and we could not be held responsible. In five minutes after the forescuttle was closed, we were snugly ensconced in our berths, oblivious of squalls and gales, and all the disa- greeable duties of making and taking in sail on a wet and stormy night, enjoying a comfortable nap and dreaming of happy times on shore. We were soon aroused from our dreams, and brought back to the reaUties of life, by the rough voice of my old shipmate, Eastman, yelling out in tones which would have carried terror to the soul of an Indian warrior, "All HANDS AHOY ! Tumble up, lads ! Bear a hand on deck!" I jumped out of my berth, caught my jacket in one hand, and my tarpaulin in the other, and hastened on deck, closely followed by the carpenter, and also the cook, whose office being little better than a sinecure, he was called upon whenever help was wanted. The wind was blowing a gale, and the rain was falling in heavy drops, and the schooner was running off to the southward at a tremendous rate, with the wind on the quarter. " There is a waterspout after us," exclaimed Captain Turner, as we made our appearance, " and we must give it the slip, or be grabbed by Davy Jones. Be alive for once ! If that fellow comes over us, he will capsize, perhaps sink us ! Stand by ! " I looked astern, and saw, about a point on the larboard quarter, a black, misshapen body, which seemed to reach from the heavens down to the surface of the sea. Al- though the night was dark as Erebus, this mass could easily be distinguished from the thick clouds which shut out the stars, and covered the whole surface of the sky. It moved towards us with fearful rapidity, being much fleeter in the race than our little schooner. The captain, who, to do him justice, was not only a good sailor, but cool and resolute in the hour of danger, would AERIVAL AT SAVANNAH. 105 fix his eye one moment on the waterspout, and the next on the compass, in order to ascertain the course which this unwelcome visitor was taking. A minute had scarce- ly elapsed, during which every man breathed harder and quicker than he was wont to do, being in a state of ago- nizing suspense, when Captain Turner deci-ded on his plan of operations ; and it was time, for the waterspout was but a few hundred yards off, and came rushing towards us like a ferocious monster intent on mischief. " Stand by to gibe ! " cried the captain. " Hard a-port your helm ! Look out for that foi'esheet." As the schooner fell off and again came gradually to the wind, she shot across the hawse of the watersj^out, which swept closely along under our stern, almost spatter- ing the water in our very faces, and tearing and roaring like the cataract of Niagara ! We watched its progress with thrilling interest, and when it got upon our quarter, and we were convinced it could not come on board. Captain Turner called out in exalting tones, " We have dodged it handsomely, boys, and cheated Davy Jones of his prey this time. Hurrah ! " It is hardly necessary to say we all breathed easier as the waterspout sailed majestically away, and in a few minutes was out of sight. This was one of those occur- rences which might well shake the nerves of the most firm and courageous tar. Indeed, the whole scene on that memorable night was far more akin to the sublime than the beautiful. There were the heavy black clouds piled upon each other near the horizon, or hanging loosely and dripping overhead, portending a fearful conflict among the elements ; there was the wind, which came in fitful gusts, whistling and singing in mournful cadence among the blocks and rigging ; there was the agitated and fur- roAved fiice of the ocean, which had been lashed to fury by successive storms, and lighted up in every direction by innumerable brilliant phosphorescent particles, in which, it 106 JACK I2f THE FORECASTLE. is well known, the waters of the Gulf Stream abound ; there were the rolling echoes of the thunder, and the zig- zag, chain lightning, which every few seconds enveloped the heavens and the ocean in a frightful livid garment ; and, as if to cap the climax, there was the giant column, darker, much darker than the dark clouds around us, reach- ing from those clouds and resting on the waters, and threat- ening to sweep our whole ship's company into eternity. On the day succeeding our adventure with the water- spout, the wind died away, although the heavy clouds still hung about the horizon. The schooner, lying in the trough of the sea, was fearfully uneasy ; but towards night a regular gale of wind commenced, and our vessel was hove to under a double-reefed foresail. It was near the close of the first watch when the fore-topsail getting loose on the lee yard arm, I went aloft to secure it. After I had accomplished this work, I lingered a few minutes on the yard to enjoy the beauty of the storm. The waves, urged by the fury of the gale, were breaking around us in ma- jestic style ; the schooner was rocking to and fro, and oc- casionally took a lee lurch, which made every timber in her bottom quiver. I had finished my survey of the wind and weather, and was about to descend to the deck, when I carelessly cast my eyes aloft, and there beheld a sight which struck terror to my soul. On the very summit of the main-topmast — on the truck itself, was a huge hall of fire ! It seemed a mass of unearthly light of livid hue, which shed a dismal radiance around. The rain fell at the time, but quenched it not ; and the heaviest gusts of wind served neither to extinguish it, nor increase its brilliancy. It kept its station immoved, shining terribly through the storm, like some dread messenger, sent by a superior power to give warn- ing of impending disaster. I was appalled with terror at the sight. Although by no means credulous or superstitious, I could hardly resist ARRIVAL AT SAVANNAH. 107 the belief that this globe of fire, which appeared thiis sud- denly in the midst of a furious storm, at dead of night, and on a spot where it could not have been placed or kindled by the hand of man, was of supernatural origin. I shuddered with fear; a strange giddiness came over me; and I had hardly strength to cling to the shrouds as I de- scended to the deck. I pointed out the object of my terror to my watch-mate, the French carpenter, who gazed at it earnestly, and then, turning to me, nodded his head emphatically two or three times, like a Chinese mandarin, and grinned. This panto- mimic display was intended to convey much meaning — more than I could interpret. But it convinced me that the carpenter was familiar with such sights, which, per- haps, were not very remarkable, after all. When the watch was called, I pointed out the fiery ball to Eastman, and to Mr. Adams, the mate, and learned that the object which gave me such a fright was not of very unfrequent occurrence during a gale of wind. It was known among seamen by the name of corposant^ or com- plaisant^ being a corruption of" cuerpo santo," the name it received from the Spaniards. It is supposed to be formed of phosphorescent jDarticles of jelly, blown from the sur- face of the water during a storm, and which, clinging to the rigging, gi-adually accumulate, and ascend until they reach the truck. The mass remains there for a time, and then disappears. Sometimes it is seen on the topsail yard or at the end of the flying jib-boom. A few days afterwards, having crossed "the Gulf," we made the land off the mouth of Savannah River; saw Tybee Lighthouse ; took a pilot, and proceeded up to the city. When we left St. Bartholomew, it was given out that we were bound to Wilmington ; on the passage we spoke a vessel, and Captain Turner, on being questioned, said we were bound to Charleston. For good and suffi- cient reasons, known to himself, he did not think proper to gratify idle curiosity. 108 V JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. But while our slireAvd captain was dexterously managing to deceive the revenue officers, and obtain all the advan- tages of the fair trader, a circumstance occurred through his own ignorance or neglect, which brought about the very catastrophe he was taking such pains to avoid. The cargo, as I have stated, consisted of only a few puncheons of rum. A permit was obtained, and one morning they were landed on the wharf. At that time there was a law of the United States which forbade the imjiortation of rum in casks containing less than ninety gallons. The officer appointed to gauge the casks that were landed from the schooner ascertained that one of them measured only seventy-eight gallons. He proclaimed the fact, and hastened to the Custom House to notify the collector. In the mean time, Mr. Howard, the mer- chant who transacted business for Captain Turner, heard of the affair, and, accompanied by the captain, came on board. Instead of acknowledging an involuntaiy violation of law, and explaining to the collector the cause of the en*or, these gentlemen very imprudently ordered the ob- jectionable cask to be rolled in on deck, and all hands were set at work to transfer its contents to an empty water cask, which was of greater capacity than ninety gallons. The trick might have succeeded had the revenue officers allowed sufficient time. The work was commenced, and the liquor was running out, making a gurgling noise, when down came the collector with a numerous posse at his heels ! "We were caught in the very act. A war of words en- sued ; but the explanations given under the attendant cir- cumstances were so unsatisfoctory, that the vigilant chief of the customs clapped his broad mark on the mainmast, and seized the vessel and the unfortunate cask of rum in the name and behalf of the United States ! " HOME ! SWEET HOME ! " 109 CHAPTER X. "home! sweet home!" The afternoon of the day on which we arrived in Sa- vannah, after the vessel was secured to the wharf, and the decks put in j^roper condition, the four half-starved indi- viduals, composing the crew of the schooner John, gayly stepped ashore, and jDroceeded in quest of some wholesome and palatable food. Our pockets were not well lined, and we sought not for luxuries ; but we yearned for a good, full meal, which would satisfy our appetite — a blessing we had not enjoyed for several weeks. After passing through a couple of streets, we came to a humble but neat-looking dwelling house, with an apology for a garden in fi-ont. Tables and seats were arranged be- neath some trees ; " spruce beer " was advertised for sale, but there were indications that other kinds of refi-eshments could be obtained. The place wore a comfortable aspect. We nodded smilingly to each other, as much as to say, " This will do ! " — entered the gateway, which stood in- vitingly- open, and took seats at a table. Eastman, who was a native of New Hampshire, had resided many years on a farm, and knew what was good living, inquired boldly of the master of the establishment if he could furnish each of us with a capacious bowl of bread and milk. The man replied that he could. On in- quiring the price, we found, to our great joy, that it was within our means. He was told to bring it along ; and in a few minutes, which seemed an age, the bread and milk were placed before us. The milk was cool, and of good quality. The bread was in the form of rolls, newly baked, and manufactured of the finest flour. The aspect of these " refreshments " was 10 110 JACK IN THE FOKECASTLE. of the most tempting character ! To our excited imagi- nations, they equalled the nectar and ambrosia which furnished the feasts on Mount Olympus. We did not tarry long to gaze upon their beauties, or contemplate their excellence. Each one broke a roll into his basin of milk, seized a spoon, and without speaking a word, commenced operations with exemplary energy, with cheeks glowing with excitement, and eyes glistening with pleasure ; while our good-natured host gazed in wonder on our proceed- ings, and grinned approbation ! Our gratification was complete. We returned to the schooner in better spirits and in better health, after having partaken of this invigorating meal ; and although I have since dined with epicures, and been regaled with delicious food prepared in the most artistic style, I never tasted a dish which seemed so grateful to my palate, which so completely suffused my whole physical system with grati- fication bordeiing on ecstasy, as that humble bowl of bread and milk in Savannah. The schooner having been seized by the government for unlawful transactions, the crew were compelled to wait until the trial took place before they could receive the wao-es due for their services. If the vessel should not be condemned, they wei'e to look to Captain Turner for their pay. But on the other hand, if the vessel should be con- fiscated, the United States authorities would be obliged to pay the wages due at the time the seizure took place. In the mean time we were furnished with board, such as it was, and lodging in the schooner, and awaited with im- patience the result of the trial. Captain Turner, being a shrewd business man, was not idle during this intermission. Having reason to beUeve his vessel would be condemned, he resolved that the government authorities should obtain possession of noth- ing more than the bare hull and spars. Under cover of the night he stripped the schooner of the cables and "home! sweet home!" Ill anchors, the running rigging, the spare spars, water casks, boats, sails, cabin furniture, blocks, compasses, and hand- spikes. The government got " a hard bargain," when the naked hull of this old worn-out craft came into theu' hands. One beautiful morning while lying at the wharf in Sa- vannah, two barges, each having its stern-seats occupied by three well-dressed gentlemen, looking as serious and determined as if bent on some important business, left the landing place astern of the schooner, and proceeded rapid- ly down the river. A throng of inquisitive observers, who knew the nature of their errand, collected ere they started fi-om the wharf, and gazed intently on the boats until the intervening marshes concealed them from view. These gentlemen were to act as principals, seconds, and surgeons, in a duel for which all proper arrangements had been made. At a ball the evening before, a dispute had arisen between two high-spirited youths, connected with highly-respectable families, in relation to the right of dancing with a beautiful girl, the belle of the ball-room. Irritating and insulting language was indulged in by both parties; a challenge was given and promptly accepted. They proceeded in the way I have related to the South Carolina bank of the river, there to settle the controversy by gunpowder logic, and shoot at each other until one or both parties should be fully satisfied. Having seen the duellists fairly embarked, I felt a deep interest in the result, and eagerly watched for the return of the barges. In the course of little more than an hour, one of the boats was seen ascending the river, and rapidly approached the wharf One of the principals, fol- lowed by his friend, stepped ashore with a ti'iumphant air, as if he had done a noble deed, and walked up the wharf. But no satisfactory information could be obtained respect- ing the result of the duel. In about half an hour the other boat made its appear- 112 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. ance. It moved slowly along, proj)elled by only a couple of oars. The reason of this was soon explained by the sight of a man, extended on the thwarts, and writhing with pain. This proved to be one of the duellists, who was shot in the groin at the second fire, and dangerously wounded. The boat reached the landing place, and the surgeon and the second both went up the wharf in search of some means of transporting the unfortunate man to his home. Meanwhile he lay upon his inide couch exjDOsed to the nearly vertical rays of the sun ; his only attendant a negro, who brushed away the flies which an- noyed him. His featui-es were of a deadly pallor; he breathed with difficulty, and appeared to suffer much from pain. Some ten or fifteen minutes elapsed ere the friends of the wounded man returned, bringing a litter, mattress, and bearers. He was too ill to be conveyed through the streets in a coach. A mournful procession was formed, and he was thus carried, in a bleeding and dying condition, to his relatives, a mother and sisters, from whom he had parted a few hours before, in all the strength and vigor of early manhood. As I gazed upon this wounded man, the absurdity of the custom of duelling, as practised among civilized na- tions, struck me in all its force. One scene like this, taken in connection with the attendant circumstances, is more convincing than volumes of logic, or a thousand homilies. For a few hasty words, exchanged in a moment of anger, two men, instructed in the precepts of the Chris- tian religion, professing to be guided by true principles of honesty and honor, who had ever borne high characters for worth, and perhaps, in consequence of the elevated position they hold among respectable men, meet by ap- pointment in a secluded spot, and proceed in the most deliberate manner to take each other's lives — to commit murder — a crime of the most fearful magnitude known "ho3ie! sweet home!" 113 among nations, and denounced as such by the laws of man and the laws of God. In due time the fate of the schooner John was decided. The vessel was condemned, and the crew received notice to bring in their bills for the amount of wages due. Cap- tain Turner kindly offered to make out my account, and shortly afterwards handed me my bill against the United States government for services on board, the amount of which overwhelmed me with astonishment. " There is surely a mistake in this bill, sir," said I; "the amount is far more than I am entitled to. You forget I shipped for only fifteen dollars a month, and including my advanced month's pay, I have already received a consid- erable portion of my wages." "I forget nothing of the kind. Hawser," rejilied the captain, with a benevolent smile. "You may just as well receive fifty dollars as five and twenty. The government will be none the poorer for it." " But, sir, will it be right for me to carry in an account so greatly exceeding in amount what is my due ? " "My lad," replied the captain, a little emban-assed, " you must not be so scrupulous in these trifling matters, or you will never make your way through the world — at any rate you will never do for a sailor. The rest of the men make no objections to putting a little money in their pockets, and why should youf Even Mr. Adams, the mate, will receive double the amount of money which rightfully belongs to him ! " " But, sir," I replied, greatly shocked at this intelligence, and my features undoubtedly expressed my abhorrence of this strange system of ethics, " do you expect me to go be- fore a magistrate and take a solemn oath that the account you have just put into my hands is a just and true one ? You surely would not advise me to commit such a crime!" The captain's face glowed like a firebrand, and his eyes sparkled with wrath, as he loudly exclaimed, " What differ- 10* 114 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. ence does it make to you, you ungrateful cur, whether the account is true or false, so long as you get your money ? Bring none of your squeamish objections here. Either take the account as I have made it out, and swear to it, without flinching, or " — and here he swore an oath too revolting to transcribe — " not a cent of money shall you receive." He stepped ashore, and walked with rapid strides up the wharf. I went forward, and seatmg myself on the wind- lass, burst into tears ! It struck me as hard and unjust that I should be de- prived of my well-earned wages, unless on condition of committing an unworthy act, at which my soul revolted. My decision, however, was taken. Although the loss of my money would have subjected me to inconvenience — perhaps distress — I resolved to submit to any ills which poverty might inflict, rather than comjily with the wishes and advice of this unprincipled man, who should have acted towards me as a faithful monitor and guide. I remained in this disconsolate condition for about an hour, when Captain Turner returned on board. As he stepped leisurely over the gangway, he greeted me with a benignant smile, and beckoned me to the quarter deck. " Well, Hawser," said he in his blandest manner, as if he sought to atone for his coarse language and dishonora- ble conduct a short time before, " so you refuse to do as others do — take a false oath ? You are too sanctimonious by half, and you will find it out some day. You are an obstinate Uttle fool, but may do as you like. Here is another paper ; look over it, and see if it will suit you." I opened the paper; it was a true statement of my claim against the government for wages. In the course of the day, the ship's company proceeded in a body to the ofiice of the government agent, swore to our several ac- counts, and received our money. The amount which fell to my share was not large. I "home! sweet home!" 115 purchased some clothes, paid a few trifling debts that I had contracted while subjected to the "law's delay," which Shakspeare, a keen observer of men and manners, classes among the most grievous of human ills, and had a few dollars left. After my experience of a sailor's life, after the treat- ment I had received, the miserable fare on which I had barely existed during a portion of the time, and the dis- gusting specimen of nautical morality I had met with in Captain Turner, it will not be considered surprising if my views of a sailor's life had been a little changed during my last voyage. I entertained some doubts whether " going to sea," instead of being all poetry and romance, was not rather a jDrosy aflSair, after all; and I more than once asked myself if a young man, of correct deportment and industrious habits, who could find some good and respecta- ble business on shore, would not be a consummate fool to "go to sea." I deliberated anxiously on the subject, and finally determined to return to my home in New Hamp- shire, and visit my friends before I undertook another voyage. The schooner Lydia, of Barnstable, commanded by Captain Burgess, an honest, noble-hearted son of Cape Cod, was the only vessel in Savannah at that time bound for Boston. I explained to him my situation, told him I was anxious to get home, and asked as a favor that he would allow me to work my passage to Boston. He replied that he had a full crew for his vessel, even more hands than could be properly accommodated below, as the cabin and steerage were both encumbered with bales of cotton. But if I was willing to sleep on deck, and assist in working ship and doing other duty, he would cheerfully give me a passage. I accepted his ojQEer on these conditions, and thanked him into the bargain. We left Savannah on our way to Boston. My heart beat quicker at the idea of retui'uing home. The wind 116 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. proved light and baffling on the passage, and as we drew towards the north, the weather was foggy with drizzling rains. My quarters on deck, under the lee of a bale of cotton, were any thing but comfortable. I often awoke when the watch was called, shivering with cold, and found it difficult, without an unusual quantity of exercise, to recover a tolerable degree of warmth. I uttered no complaints, but bore this continual exposure, night and day, and other inconveniences, with a philo^ soi^hical spirit, conceiving them to be a part of the com- pact. If the passage had only been of moderate length, I should, in all Ukelihood, have reached Boston in good health; but nineteen days had passed away when we sailed through the Vineyard Sound, and anchored in the harbor of Hyannis, on the third of July, 1810. Some days before we reached Hyannis, I found myself gradually losing strength. I was visited with occasional fits of shivering, succeeded by fever heats. But on the moi-ning of the glorious Fourth, I felt my whole system renovated at the idea of celebrating " Independence Day " on shore. The captain and mate of the Lydia both be- longed to Barnstable, where their families resided. They both left the schooner for their homes as soon as the an- chor reached the bottom, boldly predicting head winds or calms for at least thirty-six hours, at the end of which time they calculated to rejoin the schooner. On the morning of the fourth, the crew, to a man, fol- lowed the example of our trustworthy officers, and deter- mined to have a jovial time on shore. We left the good schooner Lydia soberly riding at anchor, to take care of herself. There were several other vessels in the harbor, all of which were deserted in the same manner. Not a living animal was to be found in the whole fleet. After passing weeks at sea, the temptation to tread the firm earth, and participate in a Fourth of July frolic, was too strong to be resisted. "home! sweet home!" 117 Hyannis was then quite a humble village with a profu- sion of salt works. Farm houses were thinly scattered around, and comfort seemed inscribed on every dwelling. There seemed to be an abundance of people moving about on that day ; where they came from was a problem I could not solve. Every one seemed pleased and happy, and, with commendable patriotism, resolved to enjoy Independ- ence Day. The young men were neatly apparelled, and bent on having a joyous time; and the girls — Cape Cod girls, ever renowned for beauty and worth — gayly decked out with smiles, and dimples, and ribbons, ready for a Fourth of July frolic, dazzled the eyes of the beholders, and threw a magic charm over the scene. And a frolic they had; fiddling, dancing, fun, and pa- triotism was the order of the day. In the evening, how- ever, the entertainments were varied by the delivery of a sermon and other religious exercises in the school-house by a young Baptist clergyman, who subsequently became well known for his praiseworthy and successful efforts to reduce the rates on postage in the United States. This good man accomplished the great work of his life — and died. A simple monument is erected to his memory at Mount Auburn, with no more than these words of inscrip- tion : — "BARNABAS BATES, FATHER OF CHEAP POSTAGE." Hardly a person visits that consecrated ground who has not reaped enjoyment from the labors of that man's life. And as the simple epitaph meets the eye, and is read in an audible tone, the heart-felt invocation, " Blessings on his memory ! " is his oft-repeated elegy. It was about nine o'clock in the evening when the crew returned to the schooner. After we gained the deck I was seized with an unpleasant sensation. A sudden chill seemed to congeal the blood in my veins ; my teeth chat- 118 JACK IN THE FOKECASTLE. tered, and my frame shook with alarming violence. After the lapse of about thirty minutes the chills gave j^lace to an attack of fever, which, in an hour or two, also disap- peared, leaving me in a weak and wretched condition. This proved to be a case of intermittent fever, or fever and ague, a distressing malady, but little known in New England in modern times, although by no means a stran- ger to the early settlers. It was fastened upon me with a rough and tenacious grasp, by the damp, foggy, chilly at- mosphere in which I had constantly lived for the last fort- night. Next morning, in good season, the captain and mate were on board. The wind was fair, and we got under weigh — doubled Cape Cod, and arrived alongside the T Wharf in Boston, after a tedious and uncomfortable pas- sage of twenty-two days from Savannah. I left my home a healthy-looking boy, with buoyant spirits, a bright eye, and features beaming with hope. A year had passed, and I stood on the wharf in Boston, a slender stripling, with a pale and sallow complexion, a fi-ame attenuated by disease, and a spirit oppressed by dis- appointment. The same day I deposited my chest in a packet bound to Portsmouth, tied up a few trifling arti- cles in a handkerchief, shook hands with the worthy Cap- tain Burgess, his mate and kind-hearted crew, and with fifteen silver dollars in my pocket, wended my way to the stage tavern in Ann Street, and made arrangements for a speedy journey to my home in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. EMBAEKING FOR BEAZIL. 119 CHAPTER XI. EMBARKING FOR BRAZIL. It seemed to be generally conceded that I had got enough of the sea ; that after the discomforts I had ex- perienced, and the unpleasant and revolting scenes I had witnessed, I should manifest folly in trying another voy age. My friends took it for granted that in my eyes a ship had lost all her attractions, and that I would hence- forth eschew salt water as zealously and devoutly as a thrice-holy monk is wont to eschew the vanities of the world. Indeed, for a time I reluctantly acknowledged that I had seen enough of a sailor's life ; that on trial it did not realize my expectations ; that if not a decided hvimbug, it was amazingly like one. With my health the buoyancy of my spirits departed. Hojae and ambition no longer urged me with irresistible power to go forth and visit foi-eign lands, and traverse unknown seas like a knight errant of old in quest of adventures. While shivering with ague, and thinking of my wretched fare on board the schooner John, and my uncomfortable lodgings during the passage from Savannah, I listened, with patience at least, to the suggestions of my friends about a change of occupation. Arrangements were accordingly made by which I was to bid adieu to the seas forever. It cost me something to abandon a vocation to which I had looked for years as the stepping-stone to success in life; and as my health and spirits returned, I began to doubt whether I was acting wisely ; but having embarked in a new pursuit, I determined to go ahead, and to this determination I unflinchingly adhered, — for at least thi'ee moyiths^ — when I fell in with a distant relation, Captain 120 JACK IN" THE FORECASTLE. Nathaniel Page, of Salem, who was about proceeding on a voyage to the Brazils. After exjjressing surjjrise at my course in abandoning the sea, he more than hinted that if I wished a situation before the mast with him, it was at my service. This was appljdng the linstock to the priming with a vengeance. My good resolutions vanished like a wreath of vapor before a westerly gale. Those longings which I had endeavored to stifle, returned with more than their original force. In fancy's eye, I saw a marlinspike where Macbeth saw the dagger, and snuffed the fragrance of a tar-bucket in every breeze. At the expiration of three days after my interview with Captain Page, I took the stage coach and proceeded to Salem. The brig Clarissa was then preparing to take in cargo for Maranham and Para, — ports on the north coast of Brazil, — which had just been thrown oj^en to American commerce. The Clarissa was a good-looking, substantial vessel, of about two hundred tons burden, belonging to Jere. L. Page, Abel Peii-son, and others, and had recently returned from a successful voyage to Calcutta. The sight of the brig, and the flurry about the wharves, where several Indiamen were discharging cargoes or mak- ing ready for sea, confirmed me in my resolution to try the ocean once more. Indeed I began to be heartily ashamed of having seriously entertained the idea of quietly settling down among " the land-lubbers on shore," and felt that the sooner I retrieved my eiTor the bettei'. Filled with this idea, I sought Captain Page, and with- out further consideration, and without daring to consult my friends in New Hampshire, lest they should overwhelm me with remonstrances, I engaged to go in the Clarissa as one of the crew before the mast. I returned home with all speed, gathered together my few sea-going garments and nautical instruments, again bade adieu to my relations, who gravely shook their heads EMBARKHSTG FOR BRAZIL. 121 in doubt of the wisdom of my conduct, and elated by vis- ions of fairy castles in the distance, hastened to join the brig, which was destined to bear Coesar and his fortunes. This may have been the wisest step I could have taken. It is not likely I should have been long reconciled to any other occupation than that of a mariner. When a boy's fixed inclinations in the choice of an occupation are thwarted, he is seldom successful in life. His genius, if he has any, will be cramped, stunted, by an attempt to bend it in the wrong direction, and will seldom afterwards expand. But when a person, while attending to the duties of his profession or occupation, whether literary, scientific, or manual, can gratify his inclinations, and thus find pleas- ure in his business, he will be certain of success. It was at the close of January, 1811, that the brig Oa- rissa was cast loose from Derby's Wharf in Salem, and with a gentle south-west breeze, sailed down the harbor, passed Baker's Island, and entered on the broad Atlantic. Our cargo was of a miscellaneous description, consisting of flour and salt provisions, furniture, articles of American manufacture, and a large assortment of India cottons, which were at that time in general use throughout the habitable parts of the globe. The Clarissa was a good vessel, and well found in almost every respect ; but like most of the vessels in those days, had wretched accommodations for the crew. The fore- castle was small, with no means of ventilation or admis- sion of the light of day, excepting by the fore-scuttle. In this contracted space — an equilateral triangle, with sides of some twelve or fifteen feet, which was expected to furnish comfortable accommodations for six individuals, in- cluding a very dark-complexioned African, who filled the respectable and responsible office of cook — were stowed six large chests and other baggage belonging to the sailors; also two water-hogsheads, and several coils of rigging. The deck leaked badly, in heavy weather, around the 11 122 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. bowsprit-bitts, flooding the forecastle at every plunge ; and when it is considered that each inmate of the forecastle, except myself, was an inveterate chewer of the Indian weed, it may be imagined that this forecastle was about as uncomfortable a lodging place, in winter's cold or summer's heat, as a civilized being could well desire. It imdoubt- edly possessed advantages over the "Black Hole of Cal- cutta," but an Esquimaux hut, an Indian wigwam, or a Russian cabin, was a palace in comparison. And this was a type of the forecastles of those days. After getting clear of the land the wind died away; and soon after came from the eastward, and was the commence- ment of a snow storm which lasted twelve hours, when it backed into the north-west, and the foresail was- set with the view of scudding before the wind. It soon blew a heavy gale ; the thermometer fell nearly to zero ; ice gathered in large quantities on our bowsprit, bows, and rigging, and the brig labored and plunged fearfully in the irregular cross sea when urged through the water by the blustering gale. To save the vessel from foundering, it became necessary to lay her to under a close-reefed main-topsail. It was about half past eleven o'clock at night, when all hands were called for that purpose. Unfortunately my feet were not well protected from the inclemency of the weather, and became thoroughly wet before I had been five minutes on deck. We had difficulty in handing the foresail, in conse- quence of the violence of the wind and the benumbing efiect of the weather, and remained a long time on the yard. When I reached the deck, my stockings were frozen to my feet, and I suffered exceedingly from the cold. It was now my " trick at the helm," for notwithstanding we were lying to, it was considered necessary for some one to remain near the tiller, watch the compass, and be in readiness for any emel-gency. I stamped my feet oc- casionally, with a view to keej) them fi'om freezing, and EMBARKING FOB BRAZIL. 123 thought I had succeeded ; and when at four o'clock I went below and turned into my berth, they felt comfortable enough, and I fell into a deep sleep, from which I was awakened by burning pains in my feet and fingers. My sufferings were intolerable, and I cried out lustily in my agony, and was answered from another part of the fore- castle, where one of my watchmates, a youth but little older than myself, was extended, also suffering from frozen feet and hands. Our united complaints, which by no means resembled a concert of sweet sounds, aroused from his slumbers our remaining watchmate, Newhall, an experienced tar, who cared little for weather of any description, provided he was not stinted in his regular proportion of sleep. In a surly mood he inquired what was the trouble. On being told, he remarked with a vein of philosophy and a force of logic which precluded all argument, that if our feet were frozen, crying and groaning would do us no good, while it would annoy him, and prevent his sleeping; there- fore we had better "grin and bear it" like men until eight bells, when we might stand a chance to get some assistance. He moreover told us that he would not put up with such a disturbance in the forecastle ; it was against all rules ; and if we did not clap a stopper on our cries and groans, he would turn out and give us something worth crying for — he would pummel us both without mercy ! Thus cautioned by our compassionate shipmate, we en- deavored to restrain ourselves from giving utterance to our feelings until the expiration of the watch. When the watch was called our wailings were loud and clamorous. Our sufferings awakened the sympathy of the officers; our condition was inquired into, and assistance furnished. Both my feet were badly frost-bitten, and in- flamed and swollen. Collins, my watchmate, had not escaped unscathed from the attack of this furious north- wester, but being provided with a pair of stout boots, his 124 JACK IN THE FORECASTLE. injuries were much less than mine. In a few days he was about the deck as active as ever. The result of my conflict with the elements on " the win- ter's coast " was of a serious and j^ainful character ; and for a time there was reason to fear that amputation of a portion of one, if not both feet might be necessary. Cap- tain Page treated me with kindness, and was unremitting in his surgical attentions ; and by dint of great care, a free appUcation of emollients, and copious quantities of "British oil," since known at diflEerent times as "Seneca oil," or " Petroleum," a partial cure was gradually effected ; but several weeks passed away ere I was able to go aloft, and a fi-ee circulation of the blood has never been re- stored. A few days after this furious gale, we found ourseh^es in warm weather, having entei-ed the edge of the Gulf Stream, We proceeded in a south-east direction, crossing the trade winds on our way to the equinoctial line. Were it not for the monotony, which always fatigues, there would be few undertakings more interesting than a sail through the latitudes of "the trades," where we meet with a balmy atmosphere, gentle breezes, and smooth seas. In the night the heavens are often unclouded, the constellations seem more interesting, the stars shine with a milder radiance, and the moon gives a purer light, than in a more north- ern region. Often in my passage through the tropics, during the night-watches, seated on a spare topmast, or the windlass, or the heel of the bowsprit, I have, for hours at a time, indulged my taste for reading and study by the light of the moon. Fish of many kinds are met with in those seas ; and the attempt to capture them furnishes a pleasant excitement ; and if the attempt is successful, an agreeable variety is added to the ordinary fare on shipboard. The dolphin is the fish most frequently seen, and is the most easily caught of these finny visitors. He is one of the most beautiful EMBARKrVG FOR BRAZIL. 125 of the inhabitants of the deep, and presents a singularly striking and captivating appearance, as, clad in gorgeous array, he moves gi-acefully through the water. He usually swims near the surfoce, and when in pursuit of a flying- fish shoots along with inconceivable velocity. The dolphin, when properly cooked, although rather dry, is ncA^ertheless excellent eating ; and as good fish is a welcome commodity at sea, the capture of a dolphin is not only an exciting but an important event. When the word is given forth that " there's a dolphin alongside," the whole ship's company are on the alert. Business, unless of the last importance, is suspended, and the implements required for the death or captivity of the unsuspecting stranger are eagerly sought for. The men look resolved, ready to render any assistance, and watch the proceedings with an eager eye ; and the wonted grin on the features of the delighted cook, in anticipation of an opportunity to display his culinary skill, assumes a broader char- acter. The captain or the mate takes his station in some con- venient part of the vessel, on the bow or on the quarter, or beneath the bowsprit on tho martingale stay. By throwing overboard a bright spoon, or a tin vessel, to which a line is attached, and towing it on tho top of the water, the dolphin, attracted by its glittering appearance, and instigated by curiosity, moves quickly towards the deceiv- ing object, unconscious that his artful enemy, man, armed with a deadly weapon, a sort of five-pronged harpoon, called a granes^ is standing over him, with uplifted arm, ready to give the fatal blow. The fish is transferred from his native element to the deck ; the granes is disengaged from the quivering muscles, and again passed to the officer, who, it may be, soon adds another to the killed. It is sometimes the case that half a dozen dolphin are captured in this way in a few minutes. A hook and line over the stern, with a flying-fish for bait, 11* 126 JACK rS" THE FORECASTLE. will often prove a successful means of capturing the beau- tiful inhabitants of the deep. The dolphin is a fine-looking fish. Its shape is sym- metry itself, and has furnished a valuable hint for the model of fast-sailing vessels. It is usually from two to three feet in length, and is sometimes met with of nearly twice that size, and weighing seventy-five or a hundred pounds. One of the properties for which the dolphin is celebrated is that of changing its color when dying. By many this is considered fabulous ; but it is strictly true. After the fish is captured, and while struggling in the scuppers, the changes constantly taking place in its color are truly remarkable. The hues which predominate are blue, green, and yellow, with their various combinations : but when the fish is dead, the beauty of its external appearance, caused by the brilliancy of its hues, no longer exists. Falconer, the sailor poet, in his intei-esting poem of " The Shipwreck," thus describes this singular phenom- enon : — «' But while his heart the fatal javelin thrills, And flitting life escapes in sanguine rills, What radiant changes strike the astonished sight ! "UTiat glowing hues of mingled shade and light ! Not equal beauties gild the lucid west, "With parting beams all o'er profusely drest ; Not lovelier colors paint the vernal dawn, When orient dews impearl the enamelled lawn, Than from his sides in bright suffusion flow, That now with gold empyreal seem to glow ; Now in pellucid sapphires meet the view, And emulate the soft, celestial hue ; Now beam a flaming crimson in the eye. And now assume the purple's deeper dye." The second mate of the Clarissa, Mr. Fairfield, was a veteran sailor, and a very active and industrious man. He was always busy when not asleep; and, what was of more importance, and frequently an annoyance to the ship's company, he dearly loved to see other people busy. EMBAEKING FOR BRAZIL. 127 He regarded idleness as the parent of evil, and always acted on the uncharitable principle that if steady employ- ment is not provided for a shijj's company they will be constantly contriving mischief Unfortunately for the crew of the Clarissa, Mr. Fair- field had gi-eat influence with the captain, — having sailed with him the previous voyage, and proved himself a good and faithful officer. He, therefore, had no difficulty in carrying into operation his favorite scheme of keeping all hands at work. A large quantity of " old junk " was put on board in Salem, and on the passage to Brazil, after we reached the pleasant latitudes, all hands were em- ployed from eight o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening in knotting yarns, twisting spunyarn, weaving mats, braiding sinnett, making reef-points and gaskets, and manufacturing small rope to be used for " royal rigging," — for among the ingenious expedients devised by the second mate for keeping the crew em- ployed was the absurd and unprofitable one of changing the snug pole royal masts into " sliding gunters," with royal yards athwart, man-of-war fashion. Sunday on board the Clarissa was welcomed as a day of respite from hard labor. The crew on that day had " watch and watch," which gave them an opportunity to attend to many little duties connected with their indi- vidual comforts, that had been neglected during the pre- vious week. This is exemplified in a conversation I had with Newhall, one of my watchmates, one pleasant Sun- day morning, after breakfast. " Heigh-ho," sighed Newhall, with a sepulchral yawn ; " Sunday has come at last, and I am glad. It is called a