ON BOARD THE "ROCKET."

ROBERT C, ADAMS.

**: Ships are but boards, sailors but men : there be land-rats

and water-rats, water-thieves and land-thieves."

-^Merchant of Venice,

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T " • . ■

-4«*-

BOSTON^ ^^
D. LOtHROP COMPANY,

OOPTRIOHT BT

RoBEUT C. Adamu,
1879.

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PREFACE.

ALL the incidents of this book are facts, occurring in the
writer's own experience. In a few cases names have
been altered, in accordance with his desire, neither to give
offence to the living, nor to cast discredit upon the dead. He
makes no apology for its imperfections ; for he issues it, not
as a contribution to literature, but as a needed exposure of
abuses on shipboard, which are too common, but too little
known. He refers with diffidence to his own methods of
discipline, believing that in the principles which prompted
them, lie the means of promoting the interests and good
repute of our Merchant Marine.

■^-■'i .,'■

(MI.)

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

The 12ocA:e« — The Cargo — Shipping the Crew— The Start—
Rolling — Discomfort — Quiet — Gale — Storm Music — Disci-
pline — Northeast Trades — Aye I Aye I — Doldrums — Sharks

— A Shark Story — Southeast Trades.

CHAPTER n.

ASaucy Sailor — Sailors' Treatment — An Easy Ship— Three
Kinds of Discipline — A Good Run— Proving the Reckon-
ing— Sea hirds. ^ .^;

..::v,>.;;,.;i^:,:^XHAPTER in.^:,;;^^: ■--;

The Voyage of the"Duhlhi"— Capt.Streeter— A Darkey Crew
—No Profanity — The Mates — A Bully— A Tobacco Cargo —

▼L CONTENTS.

Owner's Instructions — A Blower — No Sitting Down —
Pomposity — Brass Knnclvles — Flogging — Tlie Third Mat-e

— Reefing Topsails — Mr. Jones — A Smart OlDcer — The
Brick-wall Theory — Reflections —Good Advice — Land, ho!

' — Porpoises — Mother Carey's Chickens — Captain and Mate

— Land In Siglit — Overheard — Gibraltar — Information —
— Where Christ was born — In the Mediterranean — Jake —

— Gulf of Lyons — Genoa Bay — Quarantine — Discharging
Cargo.

CHAPTER IV.

The Voyage of the " Dublin" concluded — Genova La Superba-"
Leave of Absence — On Shore in Italy — Loading Marble —
Mates' Opinions about Driving Sailors Ashore — Women in
Ships — Anchor at Gibraltar — Through the Straits — Pumps
Choked — How to Clinch Buntlines —Cleaning the Spittoon

— A Sleepy Officer's Danger — Holystones — Beating a Boy
— Officers' Ambition — Eternal Vigilance — Old Jenkings —
A Breeze Aloft — The Pilot's Rebuff— Blood Tubs — Paying
Off — Promotion — The Mate and the Owner.

CHAPTER V.

John Shephard — My Model Sailor — Christmas — Ode to the
iJocA^ef — Grub — Doubtful Islands — Becalmed off Java —
Officers' Yarns— Off Java Head — Narrow Escape — A Float-
lug Light.

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Life in the East Indies — Carimata Passage — Singapore —Throe
Months' Extra Pay.

CONTENTS. • TlL

CHAPTER VIL

Penang — Penang IIlll —Nearly Wrecked — Deliverance —West '
Coast of Sumatra — Padang — Padang Thieves — Padang
Church — Malay Ordination — Padang Drives— Native* —
Captain Btowhard — Insolence.

CHAPTER VIII.

Another Voyage in the " Dublin" — Second Mate— Mr. Howard'i
Grievances — Mr. Howard Leaves — Leaking — The New
Mate — Second Mates' Duties — Ships' Work — Squalls —
Old Harry — At the Fore-truck —Amsterdam — Dutchmen

— The Captain's Relapse— Worrying the Second Mate —
Dreams— A Growl — A Cabin Conference — An Irish Sailor

— Two Finnish Sailors* - ^

CHAPTER IX.

Another Voyage In the "Dublin" concluded— A North Sea
Gale — The Lee Shore — In Distress — Good-bye to Old
Ilarry — Captain's Yarns — Bullies — Gothenburg —Another
Start — Decks Swept— Stopping the Leak — Hurrying the
Crew — A Hard Life — A Freezing Gale — A False Bearing
— Weather wise — Leaving the "Dublin" —Mr. Wright's
Letter— Capt. Streeter' 8 End.

CHAPTER X.

Land Again — The "Flying Dutchman"— A Cape of Good
Hope Gale — Gales — Rolling Down to St. Helena — Watch
and Watch — Tarring Down — Sailors' Growls — Sailors'
Opinions — Discontent in the Cabin — Ills of Sea Life.

vill.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XL

Sailors' Resources — The Tar Barrel — A Wild Ship — Board-
ing a Vessel — Ready for Port.

CHAPTER XII.

Sailors' Songs — Bully or Coax — Treatment of Sailors —
5 • ooner " Jane " — A Mackerel Shower — Fog on the Coast
—Taking a Pilot— Arrived— Paying off — Scraping Belay-
ing Pirn.

■;.■ '■','

. « V

"Once more upon the waters, yet once morel

And the waves bound beneath me, as a steed

That knows his rider."

— ByrorCi Childe Harold.

'*Who would not sell a farm and go to sea ? ^*^8ailar Proverb,

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•-«.'♦'

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ON BOARD THE "ROCKET/*

CHAPTER I.

IN Lloyds Register is recorded : — " Rochet^ Bk.
884, 135, 25, 16.5, 1851, Medford, W. O., icf.,"
which being interpreted means, Bark Rocket^
384 toDs, 135 feet long, 25 feet beam, 16| feet
depth of hold, built in 1851, at Medford, of white
oak, with iron and copper fastenings. To which
may be added, that she was a well known trader
to the East Indies, being called in those ports " the
green bark," on account of being painted a dark
green, or what the painters style tea color. She
was a good looking vessel, neatly finished about
the decks, and the masts and yards were all scraped
bright. The chief peculiarity was that she was
narrow in proportion to her length, being com-
pared by an old sailor to " a plank set on edge."
Tljs caused her to be reputed, and not unde-
servedly, a crank vessel, and many a gloomy
croaker has uttered the foreboding that like her
sister ship, the '* Dauntless," she would go to sea
sometime — never to return. Yet for many years

14 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

she had gone and come, and though occasionally
threatening to capsize, she had never really per-
formed this undesirable manoeuvre. The builder
and the subsequent owner were two of the most
practical merchants of Boston. She must there-
fore have been well put together and properly
cared for, as there was truth in the remark made,

that " what Nat G , and Dick B didn't

know about a ship wasn't worth knowing."

The Rochet was lying at Central Wharf in
Boston, loading a cargo for the East Indies. Bar-
rels of beef, pork, tar and pitch were stowed in
the bottom ; then followed in miscellaneous order,
lumber, sewing machines, kerosene oil, flour, bis-
cuits, preserves, ice pitchers, carriages, oars and
many other articles. - ' j

As the sailing day drew near, the important mat-
ter of choosing officers and crew had to be consid-
ered. The first person who applied was an aspirant
to the mate's berth.

" How long have you been to sea ? " was asked.

"Thirty years.'*

"Why I how old are you ? '*

" Twenty-nine."

"How do you make that out? "

" Oh, I was born and bred at sea."

He was thought to be too old a sailor for a
yoimg captain to manage, and was not engaged.
Soon a young man applied, with more modest

THE CREW. 16

demeanor, and he was secured. The rest: of the
crew were soon picked out. Wishing to choose
for mj^self who should sail with me for so many
montlj.s, the shipping master was told to send on
board any good men who -^^pplied to him, giving
the preference to Norwegians and Swedes, these
being, in my opinion, both in seamanship and docil-
ity, the best class of sailors that man our vessels.
Germans and Scotchmen he was told to favor next,
then Englishmen, and lastly Irishmen, for these,
though often capital seamen, do not as readily as
some others endiu^e privations without grumbling,
and are too strong republicans to be always sub-
missive subjects of a despotic government such as
that of shipboard. American sailors unfortunately
are not often in the choice. They are soon pro-
moted from the forecastle, if they enter it, or else
after short service find they can do better on shore,
than by leading a dog's life at sea.

One afternoon in September all the crew were
mustered on board. Captain Jack Frost came
alongside with his tug boat, and his cheery voice
hailed, " Are you all ready. Cap. ? Pass out your
lines ! " The owner said, " Good-by," and mov-
ing towards his yacht, added, " I'm going to give
you a race down the harbor." The fasts were cast
off, the bark was tugged out into the stream ; then
with topsails set before a strong nor'wester she
showed the towboat the advisability of getting out
of her way. We should have thought she was

16 ON BOAED THE ROCKET,

sailing fast, had not the yacht '' Vesta " overtaken
us, crossed our bow, and boomed away down Broad
Sound, under jib and raaiusail. Just inside of
Boston light we rounded to and let the pilot get
into the canoe from the station pilot boat ; then,
filling away, the course was shaped for Cape Cod
and the voyage had begun. The anchors being
secured, the topgallantsails were loosed, and leav-
ing all the accompanying fleet astern, away we sped,
ten knots an hour, and in four hours passed the
Race Light.

The crew numbered eight men and two boys
before the mast, a cook, cabin boy, two mates and
captain, fifteen all told, besides one passenger, a
young gentleman travelling for health. Owing to
the late hour in the day at which we sailed, the
men had taken several parting glasses with their
friends, and some were inclined to be troublesome.
The officers managed judiciously and kept them
quiet, but the mate remarked, he thought we had
*' a pretty hard crew." The watches were chosen
and the port watch sent below at eight o'clock,
in accordance with the old maxim " the master
takes her out and the mate brings her home." By
this rule the watch variously known as the second
mate's, starboard, or captain's watch, takes eiglit
hours on deck the first night outward bound, and
the mate's, or port watch, does the same the first
night of the homeward bound passage.

The wiad had dvawi) more northerly, becoming?

BOLLIKG. 17

rather "scant" for a course north of George's
Shoal, so we squared away down South Channel.
Being light before wind and sea, the bark, having
a large proportion of her heavy cargo m the lower
hold, began to roll most distressingly. She seemed
to nearly dip each rail alternatelj'' in quif*.k succes-
sion.. As the night wore on it grew worse and
worse, every drawer slid out in the state-rooms, the
doors of lockers swung open, their contents got
adrift, kegs of paint took to rolling, the turpentine-
can upset, scenting the air, and the pantry floor
showed a medley of tin ware, crockery, brooms,
edibles and sundry " small stores " engaged in
kaleidoscopic performances. After getting some
of these things secured more firmly than had been
possible in the haste of their reception, the weary
skipper went to his bed, but not to sleep. The
berth was fore-and-aft and he rolled from side to
side with every motion. Then, in distraction, he
removed to the transom sofa running 'thwartships
across the cabin, and here he slipped up and down,
standing now on his feet and then on his head.
0, the miseries of that night I The close cabin,
the smoky oil-lamp, the smell of turpentine and
the quick, incessant motion created suggestions of
sea sickness, even to a veteran mariner. The mind
sympathized with the body, and thus the captain
reflected : — " O, what a fool I am to go to sea,
there are the beautiful home, the spacious rooms,
the comfortable and steady bed, the beloved family

18 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

circle. What have I done ? Renounced them all
for a year. For what? To be shut up in thia
dismal den, with a crowd of rude vagabonds, de-
prived of everything that makes life enjoyable,
and visited with everything to make it miserable.
Only let me set foot on shore again and you'll
never catch me on board of a ship."

The morning light was welcome and George's
Shoals being well cleared, the vessel's course was
altered to the eastward, bringing the wind more
on the side and steadying her movements. This is
one of the pleasures of sea life, the cessation of
motion. " Then are they glad because they be
quiet." But as sea-life originates the evil, it
deserves no credit for the temporary relief. The
breeze moderated and we made easy progress,
while the crew were busily at work stowing
anchors and chains, putting on chafing gear, and
making the various preparations for a long voy-
age. A pilot boat came under our stern to satisfy
her curiosity as to our identity. As she disap-
peared, we felt that our last friend on American
shores had left us, and we set our faces resolutely
towards the regions beyond. The next day the
weather became threatening. Though October
had set in, no gale had yet occurred fit to be
named '' the equinoctial storm," therefore, one was
considered due by all who believed in that old-
fashioned institution. A gale did come, but ita
connection with the equinox was not clearly estab-

':•„:..._;;■•,■: GALE. \.:1 --.r'^^ --.-— ^^rl9

lished. It blew fiercely enough, however, to de-
serve that respectable title, and forced the vessel
to lie to under a close-reefed maintopsail, which
finally had to be " goosewinged " (one side of it
furled.) The mate went aloft himself to encourairo
the crew in braving the storm. For two hours it
blew with almost hurricane violence, or as the mate
expressed it, " a perfect screamer," and we began
to fear we should not escape unharmed, as the seas
were getting very " ugly." But the Rocket lay to
safely and behaved splendidly. All night the
wind held on with violence, but at daybreak it
began to moderate and we escaped with no other
damage than splitting a jib and foretopmast stay-
sail.

A gale of wind at night is a sublime, though
•earful, scene. The ship plunges wildly in the
darkness, and skies and waters are equally black,
only relieved by the foaming crests of the moun-
tain waves. But perhaps the most impressive feat-
ure is the music of the gale, nature's grand organ,
or, if any prefer the simile, its bagpipe. The sub-
)ass of the storm, as it sweeps over the waves
igainst the hull and through the lower rigging of
ihe ship, forms the great volume of sound, and
ibove, in constantly changing variety, come shrieks,
creams, wailings and whistlings of every pitch
-nd intensity, sounding from aloft as the wind
irives through sheave-holes, against the small rig-
jing, and into cracks in the spars. Few listen to

20 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET..

these sounds without an impression of awe or even
dread, and many a brave heart, which scarcely
. knows the meaning of the word fear, has felt a
thrill and shudder as the discordant screams and
liowlings of the midnight gale unite with the roar-
iiig and dashing of the breaking waves.

For the next three days we tumbled about in
the subsiding waves, and experienced the most un-
pleasant part of a storm, which is not positively
dangerous. The excitement and touch of romance
jjertaining to the gale have gone. The disagree-
able motion, as the ship, not steadied by the force
of the wind, is tossed to and fro on the waves,
which the gale leaves to testify of its vehemence,
causes much discomfort. Then we " reel to and
fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at our
wits end " how to maintain composure of mind,
amidst so much bodily disquietude.

At the commencement of the voyage, I took
the first opportunity to call the officers together
on tlie poop-deck, and privately instruct them in
my ideas of discipline. ■ ^ >: !^

This was the drift of my remarks: jr

For some years past I have made it a rule that
there shall be no cursing or blows used or given on
board of ni}^ ship. In saying this, I do not mean
tliat I wish sailors to be allowed to do as they like,
or that I do not wish good discipline maintained.
I have sometimes had to reprove officers for curs-
ijig the men and throwing belaying pins at them,

DISCIPLINE. 21

and they seemed to feel that I had curtailed their
rights. With a vindictive spirit, disguised by an
air of injured innocence, they then neglected tlieir
luty and made no effort to keep the crew in proper
irder, saying, " If the old man doesn't care, I'm
sure I don't.'' Let me tell you my plan of keep-
jiiig discipline.

When we start on a voyage the crew generally
Icome on board more or less under the influence of
iliquor. Some of them are all ready for a fight
and do their best to bring it on. If you choose to
Lave a row, it is the easiest thing in the world to
find opportunity for it, and you know how fre-
Iquently the occasion is seized, and the ship's deck
s stained with blood before she is clear of the land,
ow at the start, I say. Shut your eyes and ears to
|iiistances of personal disrespect, and do not use
■Qice to exact the performance of duty, unless as
last resort when the interests of the ship posi-
ively require it. As soon as you can spare men
:rom work, get into their bunks those who are so
ilrunk as to be troublesome and let them sleep
hem selves sober. You will often, or indeed gen-
rally, find that these are the best "sailor men " in
lie ship. It was the rum that made the trouble,
[Hid I believe the only successful way of fighting
um is to attack it before it gets inside of men.
'riinken men are more easily controlled than we
;hink, but it requires tact to deal with them, and,
bove all, kindness. I had a sailor last voyage

22 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

wlio was roaring about the deck, brimful of fight,
using his insolence to gain a chance to work it off.
1 stopped up to him, and he straightened back to
return tlie expected blow. To Iiis evident sur-
prise I just laid my hand upon his shoulder, and
in a kind but decided tone said, " My man, you go
to your bunk." He fired up, and said in a saucy
way, " Do you mean to say I can't do my duty ? " I
replied, " We don't need you just now, you'll feel
better after you've had a nap, and we will call you
to turn to just as soon as we want you." " All
right, sir," he growled, in a disappointed sort of
way, and tumbled into the forecastle. The next
morning he appeared on deck as quiet and civil as
any body, and during the voyage, after he got
over a touch of the horrors, he proved to be the
best sailor-man on board, and was always as re-
spectful as I could wish. There are many vessels
where he would have been off duty a week with
a broken head, and then have needed a second
thrashing to take the ugliness out of him. |^

After we are fairly at sea things generally go
on smoothly for about a fortnight and then the
sailors begin to try experiments, to feel their
officers' disposition, test their strictness, and decide
how much liberty they can take. The first sign of
this is the neglect to give an answer to orders, or
omitting the word " Sir " from their reply. They
watch to see if this is noticed, and if it is not,

DISCIPLINB. V SB

tlicy advance to other liberties, and the inch being
granted they very soon take the ell.

When you find this state of things beginning
and a man ceases to give a respectful answer
chock him for it in a manly way, and give him to
understand that such things will not be allowed on
Ijoiird of this vessel. Do not curse him, nor strike ;
him, nor threaten him in a way to make him ugly,
bnt rather seek while maintaining your authority
to give an impression of its justice. If he con tin- *
ues to repeat his offence after this, then punish,
him for it, by keeping him up in his watch below,
by giving him disagreeable work, by stationing him
aloft in the night, or by any little requirement,
which will make him feel that he is controlled and
compelled to do something against his will. If
this fails to subdue him, after a patient trial of it,
(for it is not to be supposed that every unruly
spirit is to be conquered in a moment,) the thing
to be done next is to report him to the captain.
He is tliQ only one to whom the law gives power
to inflict punishment. If you undertake to use
force you are in danger of prosecution when you
arrive in port, and you are well aware that our
courts are very jealous for the sailor's rights.
The captain should then take the matter up and
adopt such measures of correction as, in his judg-
ment, the case requires. Very often a simple re-
proof from him will be all that is necessary, as
showing his decided espousal of his officers' cause,

24 ON BOARD THE BOOKBT.

and determination to stand by them. When this
is proved, Jack will be apt to give in, but in au
obstinate case irons may be the necessar}^ resort.

Of course I don't wish to be annoyed with the
report of every little misdemeanor or sign of in-
subordination ; bnt when you fail to suppress them
by the means I have referred to, then let me know
about it. If you will adopt this course, although
at firfc:t it may be too slow a method for you, I will
promise you that when we reach home you will
say you never got more work out of a crew, and
never made a passage in which you took so much
comfort, or which you remembered with so great
satisfaction.

We gave the crew watch and watch, and Satur-
day afternoon was allowed them for mending and
washing clothes. Sunday at 9 A.M. services were
held in the cabin. Attendance was not compul-
sory, but as a rule all hands were present, except
the man at the wheel and the ofBcer of the deck.
We made tolerable runs down to hit. 30° N ,
whicli we crossed in Ion. 40° W., eleven days out ;
but here for a few days the "horse latitudes"
assailed us with their calms. We whistled for the
wind, wondered how Job would have acted if he
had ever been becalmed, tried hard to be patient,
and thought we were at the threshold of success,
when at last the wind settled at the eastward. A
steady freshening breeze proved we had got tlie
noithoast trades, and the log line, as it markei

KOBTH-EAST TRADES. - 26

nine knots over the taffrail, enabled us to be pa-
tient without further effort.

Kunning along by the wind at the rate of eight
and nine knots an hour, with a regular sea tliat
gave only a pleasing motion to the vessel, and a
blue sky enlivened by the swiftly flying, fleecy
trade-wind clouds, we understood the reality of
" the romance of the sea." Flying-fish continually
darted out from under the ship's bow, the beauti-
ful lleet dolphins ran races, constantly beating us
and coming back to try it again, the fat, puffing
porpoises occasionally tumbled across our hawse
and went snorting off to windward ; the sea was
strewn with patches of gulf-weed, and Mother
Carey's chickens tripped about amongst it as
though afraid of wetting their feet while searching
for food. There was always something to see, and
lile was never monotonous.

About this time I noticed that the first signs of
the relaxing of discipline were beginning to appear,
in the occasional neglect of the sailors to answer
when spoken to. 1 watched to see if the mates
attempted to correct it, as 1 desired they should
control the men in minor matters, and I was re-
lieved soon by hearing the mate call out, " Why
don't you answer when I speak to you? " A brief
''growl" followed, but the sailor, a Swede named
Peterson gave in, declared he meant no disrespect
and intended to do his duty.

The next thing that occurred in tho matter of

26 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

discipline was, that one night I heard " Old Brown "
reply, "Aye! aye!" to an order from the second
mate, omitting the word " Sir." This is considered
a great breach of ship etiquette ; trivial as it seems,
I was annoyed that the second mate took no notice
of it. The next day I spoke to both parties separ-
ately about it, and the sailor professed to be utterly
unconscious of his omission. He received a brief
lecture and gave all desirable promises of respectful
behavior, and "Sirs" were very clear and disthict
for a while. The sailors seeing that they were
kept up to the mark in these little matters, natur-
ally concluded that they would not be allowed to
do as they liked in greater concerns, and the routine
of watch and watch went on harmoniously and
efficiently.

When twenty days out we found ourselves
within seven degrees of the line, but here the
trades left us, and for nearly a fortnight the " dol-
drums " raged. The bark drifted about with light
airs from the southward, dead ahead, or else lay
like a log on the glassy sea, rolling lazily with the
swell, her sails slatting and spars creaking at every
roll.. . ., V.--

An officer of a ship must have good nerves to be
able to endure with patience that dreadful slatting
and creaking, even had he no interest in the prog-
ress of the vessel; but to one earnestly desirous of
making a quick passage, as is usually the case with
the captain, the doldrums are the' severest test of

I.Vi'

Im continues ! Utter disgust ! Captain's growl, " a sea life should
be avoided and excrated by all sensible Men. It is an utter stag-
nation of intellect and heart and only .Icvelopes hatred toward our
fellow-men and murmuring at God's Providence. I have tried it
from beginning to end and I solemnlvand deliberatelv pronounce
It a dog's life.

D0IJ)RUM3. 29

disposition that can be applied. As he walks the
quarter-deck, whistling through his teeth, search-
ing in all corners of the horizon for signs of a
I breeze, he discovers in the distance a rippling of
the water. It gradually comes nearer the vessel
and greets her with a gentle air. The captain
orders all sail to be set, and the canvas swells out
to the wind; the rudder stops its thumping, the
water begins to gurgle in the wake, and the cap-
tain, watching the rate of speed as he leans over the
lee-quarter, exclaims, "That's the breeze I go it,
old boat! good-by to the doldrums I" But the
wind lessens; there comes an ominous slat of the
spanker, and a jingling of the sheet blocks that
strikes dismay to the " old man's " heart. He starts
up to windward, looks for the breeze and finds it
to be but a catspaw. After the sails have Happed
about for a few minutes, if belonging to a certain
class of men, the captain in savage tones orders the
courses hauled up, the spanker lowered and jibs
and staysails hauled down. Then he tlirows his
hat on deck and jumps on top of it, cursing every-
tliiiig " from an inch high and a year old upwards."
Ho now casts his eye aloft and snarls out at the
mate, '^ Why don't you keep those gaskets made

Eip ; nobody seems to care anything for the ship,
he would go to destruction if it wasn't for me."
The mate gives an order to a sailor, and as in the
leat and dullness of the time he is not dis-
osed to move very briskly, the angered mate

80 ON BOABD THE EOCKET.

vents his spleen by a curse or opprobrious epithet.
Perhaps a fight follows, or merely a war of words ;
the rest of the crew become disaffected ; at dinner-
time they go to the galley and growl at the cook for
not giving them more or better grub ; and so from
stem to stern of the ship, bitterness, wrath, anger,
clamor, evil speaking, with all malice abound.

In the centre of this doldrum region clouds and
heavy rains prevail. Torrents sometimes fall so
continuously that the surface water becomes sensi-
bly freshened. The great " cloud belt " overhangs
this region of gloom. The air is sultry and oppres-
sive, making the body weary and the spu'it de-
pressed. I believe no region on the surface of
the globe sends to the Ear above such a volume of
murmurings, blasphemies and strife. .r

Concerning this place Lieut. Maury quotes from
the journal of Commodore Sinclair: "This is cer-
tainly one of the most unpleasant regions in our
globe. A dense, close atmosphere, except for a
few hours after a thunder-storm, during which
time torrents of rain fall, when the air becomes a
little refreshed ; but a hot, glowing sun heats it
again, and but for your awning and the little air
put in circulation by the continual flapping of the
ship's sails it would be almost insufferable. No
person who has not crossed this region can form an
adequate idea of its unpleasant effects. You feel
a degree of lassitude unconquerable^ which not
rven the sea-batlung wliich everywhere else proved

DOLDKUMS. 81

SO salutary and renovating can dispel. Except
when in actual danger of shipwreck I never spent
twelve more disagreeable days.

"I crossed the line and sooia found I had sur-
mounted all the difficulties consequent to that
event; that the breeze continued to freshen and
draw round to the south south-east, bringing witii
it a clear sky and most heavenly temperature,
renovating and refreshing beyond description.
Nothing was now to be seen but cheerful counte-
nances, exchanged as by enchantment from that
sleepy sluggishness which had borne us all down
for the last two weeks." Maury himself says of
it : " Besides being a region of calms and baffling
winds it is a region noted for its rains and clouds
which make it one of the most oppressive and
disagreeable places at sea. The emigrant ships
from Europe to Australia have to cross it. They
are often baffled in it for two or three weeks ; then
tlie children and tlie passengers who are of delicate
health suffer most. It is a frightful graveyard on
tlie wayside to that golden land."

The memory of days, nights and weeks repeated
at intervals through many years, when disappoint-
ment, depression, vexation and sadness have been
my companions, impel me to heap up testimony
against this dreadful place, the dark valley of the
waters. Far more cheerful to the sailor are the
ror ing gales of Cape Horn than the sluggish,
damp, provoking airs of the Doldrums.

82 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

But there is sometimes mirth in the Doldi'uma,
and one afternoon the capture of a shark gave us
diversion and amusement. A dead cahii prevailed ;
not a ripple stirred the water, and the dull, sluggish
swells of the sea looked like furrows of polished
steel. A sailor aloft spying a shark alongside gave
the information to the deck. The shark moved
slowly around the vessel, and as he passed under
the stern, the second mate threw the harpoon from
the taffrail and drove it right through his body.
A vast amount of splashing ensued, and it was
with great difficulty a slip-noose was throv/n over
his tail. This being jammed tight he was drawn on
board, tail first, by the rope. His motions on deck
were very violent, but a vigorous application of
handspikes quieted him somewhat, and he was
drawn forward to the main hatch and butchered.
It seemed impossible to kill him. After his head
and tail were cut off and all his entrails extracted,
the body still thrashed about so as to make the
Bailors jump clear of it. I took his back bone for
a cane, the carpenter appropriated the skin for sand
paper, and the cook begged for a little ball in his
head that he could "sell to the doctors on shore
for a quarter, it being fust rate for medicine."
Many were the theories, abusive remarks and jokes
indulged in around this fallen enemy of the sailors.
His long life was said to be owing to the fact that
sharks never died till sunset. The best joke was
Murphy's, who had been in the army, who sai«i

A rain squall in the Doldrums.

J SHABKS. ,. .^1^ 1 86

'' He'd make a good Northern soldier, he's so long
dying," The common theory, that a breeze always
fv)llows the killing of a shark, made everybody
more light-hearted, and the expectation was ful-
iilled after awhile.

That evening the usual yarn-spinning went on
around the booby-hatch, and among the shark-
stories that were related was the following by the
mate, given in his words as nearly as they can be
remembered. It was intended especially for the
passenger's enlightenment, but I overheard it :

" I once made a voyage in the ship "Laguna '' from
Boston to Cadiz and back with a cargo of salt.
Coming home we had a Cuban planter and his son,
a boy of nineteen, as passengers. The boy was
always whistling, and our mate, who was a regular
old sea-dog, who hated to hear whistling, except in
a calm when it would hei^^ to raise the wind, kept
prophesying that the nightingale, as he called the
boy, would be sure to bring some bad luck. One
day, when a heavy swell was running, but the
wind had nearly died away, a large shark came up
in our wake and followed the ship. The boy was
leaning over the taffrail watching the shark, and
his father was walking up and down the poop deck
with his pocket-knife in his hand, whittling a stick.
The ship suddenly gave a heavy pitch and the
boy lost his balance and tumbled overboard. He
screamed as he fell, and the father gave another
yell and jumped overboard after him. There was

86 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

a pretty kettle of fish then. Tlie main yard was
throv/n aback, though the ship wasn't making
much headway, and everything handy about decks
w^as tossed overboard — gratings, life-buoys, and
planks. Most everybody threw something, and
tlie carpenter, who was a stupid muff of a fellow,
wanted to do his share towards the rescue, so he
picked up his grindstone and threw that overboard.
The passenger^ disappeared immediately, and as
nothing could be seen of them from aloft it was
useless to get out a boat. We filled away again
with sad feelings, and the old mate said Nightingale
might whistle the whole passage if he would only
come back. In a little while the captain spied a
shark under the stern^ He got the shark-liook
and put a big junk of salt pork on it, and soon the
shark took hold. We slipped a running bowline
around his tail and hauled him on deck. After
we had smashed his head with handspikes we cut
him open, and there we found the man, the boy
and the grindstone. The boy was turning the
grindstone and his father was sharpening his knife
in order to cut a hole in the shark to get out of.
They were greatly astonished to find themselves
on our deck again, and the father said it was little
short of a miracle." f^

It is hard to tell how a vessel ever escapes from
this doldrum region; but by using her chances,
constantly spreading her wings to every fitful
breath and gaining a little day by day, she at last

SOUTH-EAST TRADES.

strikes an air that is not a catspaw. It gradually
increases, and soon is pronounced to be the S. E.
trades. Such was our lot when we reached hit.
3^ N., and the day after, we sailed swiftly across
llieliue hi Ion. 31° 30', thirty-four days out. Pass-
i:i;; to windward of the Island of Fernando Nor-
onlui, we sped along through the most charming
region of the sea, that of the south-east trades iu
the South Atlantic.

CHAPTER II.

A SAUOY SAILOE.

ONE night in the Trades, while the mate's
watch were bracing the yards, I heard the
sound of angry voices on deck. The next morn-
ing I asked the mate if he had any trouble with
any one in the middle watch.

He replied : " I had some words with Peterson,
that's all, sir.'

" What was the matter ? "

The mate answered: "For some time back
Peterson has been slack about giving an answer.
I didn't want to check him before the men, for he
has become religious this passage, and some of the
men are down on him about it. If I growled at
him, the men would have another handle on him ;
so, after we got through bracing, I called him one
side and told him I wished he would be more par-

A SAUCY 8AIL0B. 89

ticular about giving an answer. I thought that
was treating him pretty kindly ; I never conde-
scended to do as much for a sailor before, but he
got mad about it and was saucy. I gave him some
strong talk, and it was all I could do to keep my
hands off him. .He says he is going to complain
to you about my imposing on him. They say
foi'ard he is crazy, and I most thought so myself
last night. I got excited and threatened to knock
him down if he didn't shut up ; but all the time
he talked religion. Said he, " You can strike me
if you like ; Tve got all over fighting now ; if you
liit me on one cheek I'll turn the other to you."

Peterson had the wheel that forenoon from
eiglit to ten o'clock, and when I went up on the
poop-deck lie said, "Will you allow me to speak to
you, sir." " No," I replied, " I am going to speak
to you," and I gave him a sharp reproof for giving
the mate "back answers." His feelings were
very much hurt. I perceived the cause of his be-
liavior to be erroneous ideas upon religious mat-
ters. He had led a wild life and always sailed in
roiigli ships, and at the commencement of the voy-
age he was greatly impressed by the treatment
adopted, and by the instructions given at our Sun*
day service. He professed to have been converted
wlien a fortnight out, and had ever since been very
zealous in exhorting his shipmates. One remark
showed the whole trouble. He said to me, " Now
that Ave are Christian brethren we are all equal and

40 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

we ought to get along easily together." He evi-
dently thouglit this sentiment should level the
inequality of our stations, and there should natur-
ally follow a relaxing of discipline, and more famil-
iar treatment. Afterwards I called him below.
He dropped his cap outside the door, and we sat
down at the cabin table. I spoke to him about
our difference as fellow Christians, and as captain
and sailor, saying, "If you should insult me on
shore, I should take no notice of it wliatever, but
if you do so on board of my ship, while personally
I forgive you, yet as master of the ship I am
obliged to resent it, for the sake of discipline.
Suppose a man struck me in the street, to throw
contempt upon me as a religious man, why then J
would turn the other cheek to him ; but if, when
I entered my house, my boy should strike me in
the face, I would punish him for it, because I con-
sider it a christian duty to rule my own house well
and keep my children in subjection. Just so on
board ship it is my duty to be faitliful to the
owner's interests, and to guard the trusts com-
mitted to me, subject of course to the spirit of
Christ's teachings. These interests require that
there should be good discipline in the ship, and
tlicrefore the mate does right to notice any disre-
spect that is shown him." s ^:^|.
A day or two after this, Peterson said to me at
the wheel, " I've been thinking over what you said
to me. I see that I was wrong, and it sha'n't

sailors' TBEATMEiST. 41

happen again." For the remaining ten months of
the voyage no one had a word of complaint against
Peterson, and his influence over his shipmates was
most excellent. ; .- , ^

In the evening after this occurrence, when the
mate came aft at eight o'clock to relieve the sec-
ond officer, we began talking about the affair.

" There is one thing," said the mate, " that I
haven't quite settled yet, and that is whether you
can treat sailors well or not. At any rate, if a
man is a Christian he had better not go on board
of a ship as officer. I feel so mad sometimes I'd
like to slaughter the whole watch." - ; •

I replied, " It's a matter that I settled a long
time ago. You cannot treat a sailor well without
his taking some advantage of it. Inferiors will
presume upon a kind disposition in their superiors,
all the world over. It is human nature. I made
up my mind to that in the very beginning. But
I there is another question. Is it best to treat
sailors well, all things considered ? As a matter
of principle there can of course be but one
answer: — Christ's teachings entirely settle that.
A divine precept must be of universal application ;
there can be no exceptions, and if sea life were
proved to be a sphere where Christ's commands
could not be obeyed, it would also be condemned
as an occupation no one could follow guiltlessly.
As a question of policy there seem to be different
opinions, though whatever is good principle must

42 ON BOAKD THE liOCKET.

be good policy. I say most decidedly it is best ;
best for the ship, for the owners, for the officers,
and of course best for the men themselves. It is
very poor policy to make sailors the enemies of
the ship. How many vessels have been set fire to
by an enraged crew ! How many spars and sails
have been lost, because, just out of spite, a sailor
neglected to report the first stage of an accident
A\ liich he alone observed in a dark night ! How
many ships have remained in port for weeks after
they were loaded, because they had so bad a repu-
tation no one would go in them, and they only
sail at last with a kidnapped crew ! How much
running gear has been cut, and how many sails
ripped with sheath knives on the night of arrival
at the port of destination, by men thus taking
revenge for harsh usage ! How many refusals of
duty, mutinies, murders, and lawsuits have their
beginning in a foul word or blow ! Just sum
these up and look at the other side. I am no
apologist for those who let sailors do as they like.
The results of inefficiency do not belong to our
side of the account. But take this vei:^sel for an
example. We are not treated with the strict def-
erence the sailor gives to a severe ruler, but we
secure his enduring respect and a good name on
shore. We hear more growling about ' grub,' for
if the cook doesn't make 'bread scouse ' to suit
them, the men are not afraid to come aft to the
cabin to complain about it. In ordinary work we

sailors' treatment. 43

have not quite so much drive and smartness, but
all important duties are done as well if not better.
I think of no other disadvantages, and all tliat
can be said of what I have named is, that our dis-
cipline is not as rigid as that of ships where men
;i re abused; but no one can deny that we have
^M)od discipline. As to your remark about Chris-
tian ofiBcers^ I must say I think it a very cowardly
speech. If shipboard is a place of trial it is just
the place for a Christian, for who has such re-
sources as he? "

The mate took exception to one part of my
admissions and paid me the compliment of say-
ing, " I never sailed with a captain that received
as much respect from sailors as you do. I notice
whenever you come for'ard how the men straighten
themselves up to their work, and the respectful
manner in which they step out of your way."

One moonlight evening, when the trade-wind
was driving us briskly along, we were sitting in
our easy chairs on deck enjoying the, romance of
the sea, and the passenger asked me, if sailors
always behaved well when they were well treated.
In answer I told him the story of

AN EASY SHIP.

When a lad of nineteen years, in company with
a friend of my own age, I made a voyage from
Boston to Cronstadt and back to New York aa
passenger in the ship " Volant." She was a fuU-built
vessel of about six hundred tons register and car-

44 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

ried a crew of fourteen before the mast. The
captain was a Swede named Nelson, a good nat-
urpd, worthy man. Mr. Smith, the first mate, was
an Englishman, a man with a very kind lieart and
easy disposition. The second mate, Mr. Kumj),
was an old sea dog, hailing from New Hampshire.
He was a hard drinker when on shore and appeared
to be wholly destitute of ambition. His sea char-
acter depended entirely on that of his superiors.
If they were severe he could be as great a tyrant
as any one, and if they were inclined to take their
ease he could be as quiet and unconcerned as
though he had nothing to do with the ship. Of
the sailors, five were Irish, three were "Dutch-
men," two English, two American and two from
Nova Scotia. They were of rather a low grade,
but Avere for the most part a well disposed set of
men, though half of them were very deficient in
seamanship. For the first week of the passage
they seemed very peacable, with the exception of
one man who called himself " Brock," and was
one of the vilest sort of " Liverpool Packet Rats."
He was always grumbling and cursing, no sailor,
and a miserable shirk. His talk, by degrees, affected
the others, the poison gradually spread and the
rest of the crew became surly and discontented, —
ready to join in with whatever "growl" Brock
might start. It was hard to see what they could
find fault with, for there was scarcely ever a
"hurrah" or "bear a hand " uttered by the officers ;

AN EASY SHIP. 45

the men took fifteen or twenty minutes to " turn
out," and the mate had been forward the second
night after leaving Boston, and had told the watch
on deck that there was no need of more than one
remaining on deck, and the rest might lie down on
their chests in the forecastle and be ready for a
call. The result was that the men usually stayed
in their bunks all night.

The captain hardly ever opened his mouth in
hearing of the crew. At seven o'clock in the
morning he got out of his berth and came to the
breakfast table. After winding his chronometer
and taking the usual observation for longitude, he
lighted his pipe and sat down to read the New
York Herald^ of which he had a large pile on the
riglit hand side of his chair, and the voyage was
principally devoted to building a pile on his left
hand with the papers that had been read. The
observation for latitude was taken at noon, then
followed dinner, a smoke and a nap till about half-
past four, and then came another smoke and sup-
per. The evening was cliiefly devoted to his pipe
and the favorite newspaper, and if the weather
was unsettled he sometimes appeared on deck once
or twice in the night. It was seldom this routine
was disturbed by anything more serious than an
attack on him by his young passengers with box-
ing gloves or fencing foils.

When half way across the Atlantic the captain
went on deck one evening to take a look at tha

46 ON BOARD THE TwOCKET.

weather before " turning in." Casting his eye to
windward he saw that a heavy sqnall was about to
strike the ship, and looking around for the second
mate, he discovered that wortliy fast asleep on the
after bitts wholly unconscious of the two squalls
that threatened him. The captain showed the pos-
session of some temper by catching the sleeping
officer by the neck and sending him sprawling to
the deck. " You good-for-nothing," said he, " I
didn't think an old sailor like you would serve me
such a trick. Call all hands to shorten sail ! "
The second mate picked himself up and got to the
forecastle as quickly as his confused senses would
allow him, and called to the men to " tumble out "
as quickly as possible. His own watcli were in
there as well as the watch below, and all were
soundlj'- asleep. They had got so accustomed to
slow movements that even a squall would not
hurry them much, but a few got out on deck and
had just let go the topgallant halyards and hauled
down the flying-jib, when the squall struck the
ship and laid her almost on her beam-ends, for she
had a cargo of cotton and was very crank. The
topsail halyards were then let go, the spanker low-
ered and the ship was got off before the wind.
The rain poured in torrents and the work of short-
ening sail was certainly not very agreeable.
Through all the work Brock's voice could be
heard swearing and grumbling, — '"-If any ono
ever asks me to go another Russian voyage," s;il<l

AN EASY SHIP. 47

he, " if I've got money enough to buy an old rusty
pistol I'll shoot him." Several of the sails were
split and two hours of the passage were lost by
the second mate's nap. The captain tliought best
to keep a stricter eye on him after this and ordered
that tlie watch on deck should keep out of the
forecastle. For a few days they did so, but one
by one they tried the experiment of going in there,
and finding it created no uproar, they soon got
back to old habits.

When four weeks out we passed the Orkney
Islands and the same afternoon sighted Fair Island
off the port bow. We passed within five miles of
the Island, and two boats with six men in each
pulled off to meet us. The men were small and
thin and with only one exception had light com-
plexions and sandy hair and beards. The^ ?ame
on board and begged, in whining tones, to be
allowed to exchange their fish for bread and salt
meat. After a trade, made very much in their
favor, they produced woollen mittens and socks,
knitted by the women of the island, and made
another trade. These being exhausted they pro-
ceeded to beg, with a stock of appeals to charitable
motives. When all the clothes had been obtained
that seemed likely to be forthcoming, they asked
for '' rel-ee-gious books and tracts." Two days
after this we made the Coast of Norway. Then
beating against a head wind for two days more we
got through the Skager Rack, passed the Scaw

48 ON BOARD THE ROCKET,

of Denmark, and steered through the Cattegat
towards Elsinore.

The cook of the ship was a negro — a lazy, dirty
fellow he was ! Neither the captain nor the officers
paid any attention to the state of things in the
galley, except that the " old man " gave an occa-
sional admonition to be economical, and " Cuffey "
lived in ease and slovenliness. The "grub" was
poorly cooked, and scanty at that ; and the tea
was so weak that when one night " Doctor," as the
cook is always called, forgot to pnt any tea into
the coppers, the men drank the warm water and
molasses without any idea of the omission. A
barrel of beef was intended to last twelve days at
least, but owing to the gifts to the Fair Islanders
the barrel at this time was about exhausted on the
tenth day. The cook thought he could eke it out
one day longer, and the consequence was that in
the evening, " Bill," a short, stout Nova Scotian,
with a very lugubrious countenance, marched aft
carrying a large tin pan, containing a very small
piece of boiled salt beef. The mate was stand-
ing by the weather-rail, just forward of the poop.
Bill deposited the pan at his feet. Folding his
arms he exclaimed in a very meek and mournful
tone, "Mr. Smith, I wish you'd take a belaying
pin and beat my brains out." '

"What good would that do you?" said the

mate. ' -■• :--v;V-':v-:.r;. .--■:,.

AN EASY SHIP. 49

** rJ rather die at once than starve to death,"
the sailor answered.

"Who's going to starve you to death?"

'^ We don't get food enough for a dog, let alone
a man," said Bill.

The mate then endeavored to prove that Bill
was not a man; the main point of his argument
being that a few days before he had " made a splice
in the foretopmost studding-sail tripping-line that
would be a disgrace to a loblolly boy." This
argument went on for a while, till the man became
convinced that the mate was neither disposed to
accept his polite invitation as to the disposition of
his brains, nor to furnish any more beef that even-
ing. So he thought it best to be contented with
the promise of a hirger allowance in the morning,
and make use of the small supply at hand.

The cook was sulky because the men had com-
plained about him, and the next evening he made
the tea with salt water. This imposition was more
than they could swallow, and brought about an-
other complaint, in consequence of which the cap-
tain summoned the " Doctor " aft, and in a great
rage stuttered out a string of phrases, the burden
of which seemed to be, "I — I'll swab the decks
with you."

We had a good passage up the Baltic and Gulf
of Finland, and got to our moorings in Cronstadt
Mole, where we discharged our cotton and loaded
a cargo of sheet-iron, hemp, cordage and crash.

60 ON BOAED THE P.OCKET.

One of the meu was taken ill with cholera and
died in the hospital, and a good deal of discussion
took place among the crew as to whether liis i)lace
would be filled. Great efforts were made to dcs-
patcli the vessel by September 20th, as after that
day the premium of insurance on vessel and cargo
would advance one per cent., owing to the increased
dangers of navigation later in the season, making a
difference of one thousand dollars to the owners.
On the morning of the twentieth the last of the
cargo was put on board. The captain went on
shore to obtain his clearance papers, leaving word
with the mate to be all ready to haul out of the
Mole at noon. Upon his return he found the ship
fast at her moorings, with no signs of any intention
to move. Coming over the gangway in a rage he
was met by the mate, who prevented the explosion
that was about to take place by informing him that
the men had refused duty. ^

" Refused duty 1 " said the captain ; " what can
that mean ? "

" Why, sir, they say they won't go to sea unless
you ship a man in the place of the one that died."

" But I can't now," said he ; " the ship must go
right to sea, and no one would go on such a short

iiolice." ■' ■■■:v."-v-.^ ■' ■■;...■■■■-• .-'-:-■:■'■■.---.

" Fve told them that, sir, but that villain, Brock,
has made the rest ugly."

Capt. Nelson returned on shore and spent half
an hour in a vain attempt to find a sailor who

AN EASY SHIP. 61

would go immecliiitely to sea. Returning on board
he asked me to go into the forecastle and try to
persuade the men to turn to. I did what I could,
but of course a boy's talk was not much heeded,
and I got rather scared myself by their curses and
tlueats. Then the mate came to the door and
asked in a shaky voice, " Are you going to turn

to?"

"When that man comes aboard," was Hrock's
defiant answer. .

Mr. Smith hastened back to report that they
still refused duty, and the captain hailed a passing
bout and procured some Russians from the " Cap-
tain of the ' Bran vault,' " as the harbor-master is
called. With their assistance the ship was hauled
to the Mole-head, and gave her hawser to the tow-
boat that was waiting outside. Then the Russians
stepped ashore, I took the wheel, the mates cast
off the lines, and we proceeded in tow of the
steamer. , . . -

When fairly off, the captain told the mate to
call all hands aft. Standing by the cabin door he
made an address to them, offering to divide among
them the wages that would have come to the dead
sailor, had he lived to complete the voyage.

Some of the men were inclined to give in, but
Brock muttered, "We don't want a dead man's

wages." ■..:•. ;.,..- ---\.v-;;.. ,:::::.■:- " ^-r .. ■'■ .-.^^f:-';:

*' Well," said the captain, " I'll give you what

52 ON BOAltD THifi KOCIUST.

I ahould have paid another man if I had sliippcd

one."

" Oh, we've been humbugged that way before,
(yap'n," said Brock, who turned and went forward,
i'oJ lowed by the rest of the crew, leaving the cap-
lain in the midst of another conciliatory haraijguc.

The ship was soon abreast of ToUbaken, ten
miles from Cronstadt. The wind was dead ahead ;
and having nominally sailed, the captain decided to
come to anchor and wait for the wind and crew to
favor him.

The mate asked the men if they would turn to
and let go the anchor; and thinking they would
thus gain their point, and also their dinner, they
consented. The steamer was cast off and the ship
brought to anchor.

The crew were then allowed to get their dinner,
but when called on to work, they again refused.
The captain was greatly troubled, and so much at
a loss what to do, that he appealed to me for advice.
I felt rather flattered by his consideration, and
suggested that he should put the men in irons.
He was afraid to try that, so I proposed that he
should give them nothing, to eat till they resumed
duty. When supper-time came they went to the
galley, and being refused. Brock marched aft with
his tin pot in hand, and with the coolest impudence,
asked the captain if they were not to be allowed
any supper. *^,;.^ ^^^^^ ' ''

" Not till you turn to," was the reply.

AN EASY SHIP. 63

The mail then put on an air of injured innocence
iuid declared it was a shame to try to starve inrsi
to death. But he sauntered forward, and the nun
turned in, hiughing at the way they had "waxed
the old man,!' but feeling a little concerned on the
L^core of eating.

At nine o'clo <k in the evening, the wind Iiauled
fiiir. The captain went to the forecastle, and after
fifteen minutes spent in argument upon the pro-
priety of their going to work, the promise of some
tea, and other fair words, prevailed upon the men
to get the ship under way, and the passage was
i'tiirly begun.

W'e passed through the Baltic and by Elsinore
without any remarkable occurrence, except the
increased independence and insolence of the crew.
They felt that the Cronstadt disturbance had
proved there was no fight in the officers, and some
of the crew showed more zeal in taking their com-
fort than in obeying orders.

Brock particularly distinguished himself. He
boasted in the forecastle that he was going to try
to induce an officer to strike him, in order that he
might raise some money by a lawsuit on arriving
in New York. One day the ship was running
before a strong breeze, under the main-topgallant-
sail. Brock was at the wheel, and, being a misera-
ble helmsman, was letting the ship yaw about two
points each side of her course. ;;■

"Keep her straight," said the captain. - ^^

64 ON BOARD TILE ROCKET.

**I should like to see any one keep her any
straighter,*" was Brock's answer; and upon this
tlie captain took hold of the wheel to prove tluit it
coui/" be done. Instead of stopping to witness the
proof, Brock started forward.

*' Come back here ! " shouted the captain.

" One's enough to steer the ship," was the polite
answer, and the fellow made for the forecastle,
leaving the captain working the wheel, unable to
leave it until relieved. The mate, finding out the
trouble, went to the forecastle and saw Brock
leisurely lighting his pipe.

'' Go aft and take the wheel again ! What busi-
ness have you got here ? "

"Don't you fret; 111 come out when I get
ready," said Brock. The mate turned away and
sent another sailor to relieve the captain. After
Brock had finished his smoke, he appeared again on
deck, and politely asked Mr. Smith if he had a job
for him. The mate gave him a few of his opinions
about his behavior, and set him at work aloft.

Tliat night, in the first watch, I was keeping the
mate company on deck, and hearing Mr. Smith's
complaints about Brock. "Wh}^ don't you knock
him down?" said I. "That's the only kind of
treatment such a man can understand."

"I'll tell you why I don't," said the mulo.
"About five years ago I was mate of the ship
"Neptune " in the Liverpool trade. We hove up our
anchor in the River Mersey and were being towed

AN EASY SHIP. 66

out to sea. I was anxious to get the anchor catted
as soon as possible, as the pilot wanted sail made on
the ship, and 1 had all the crew on the forecastle,
heaving on the capstan. An ugly-looking Liver-
pool Irishman, called Jim Kelley, was holding the
turn, and just as the anchor was about up to the
cat-head he let go the rope ; it flew around the
capstan at a lively rate, and the anchor went down.
I growled at him for it, and he said it slipped
away from him. We went at it again, and had
the anchor half-way up, when Kellc}^ surged the
fall and let it go again. It was raining at the
time, and things were very slippery, and he pleaded
that as his excuse ; but I thought I saw mischief in
his eye. The end of the fall had hit two of tho
men j)retty severe blows, as it flew around tlie
capstan. I was pretty mad by this time, and told
him if he did that again I'd knock his head off. I
thouglit he'd hold on the next time, but just as I
was going to say, *' Heave a pawl ! " down went the
anchor for the third time. I heard the pilot rattling
off a string of oaths as long as the maintop-bowline,
and I stepped up to Kelley and gave him a touch
of my fist that sent him head first off the topgallant
forecastle on to a pile of chain cable. He didn't
feel like holding any more turns for a day or two,
you may bet, and the rest of the crew said it served
him right. But when we got into New York I
was hauled up in court for it, and had to pay fifty
dollars fine. Now I've got a wife and five childreiii

66 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

and as good-looking ones as you'd wish to see they
are, too, though I say it, and my wages a~3 all
they have to support them. That viUain Brock, is
a good deal of a sea-lawyer, and if I lay my hand
on him, it's only taking the bread out of my little
ones' mouths and giving him rum money. I made
a vow after that time that I'd never strike a man
again."

"But what can you do," said I ; "you ought to
keep good discipline. Hasn't the captain got any
legal power to punish ugly sailors ? "

" Yes," said Mr. Smith, " the captain has power,
but he doesn't want to be troubled, and it's con-
sidered the mate's place to keep the men straight.
Once I went to a captain and reported an impudent
sailor, and the only satisfaction I got was, " What
did you come here for if you can't take care of the
crew," and I got turned out of the ship at the end
of the voyage. I made a vow then that I'd never
complain to the old man again ; so between my
two vows I don't see that I've got much chance
with a sailor that's bent on making a row. If this
ai'n't a dog's life, I'd like to know what it is."

All the way across the Atlantic the sailors niay
be said to have had charge of the ship, and did
about as tht.y pleased. Brock's insolence was be-
yond all bounds, and it seemed incredible that it
should be submitted to by the captain and officers.
He was evidently in a desperate mood to get
struck, and one evening at eight o'cLjck, when the

AN EASY SHIP. 67

captain kept his watch up a few mhiutes to take in
the topgallantsails, as a stormy night was coming
oil, Brock steppe*d up to him and said, "Cap'n, it's
too late for you to try and humbug us now. It's
our watch below." The captain sputtered some
bad words at him, and told him he was no sailor:
but the hoped-for blow was not given.

The passage ended at last, and New York was
reached, none too soon for all on board., The day
after arrival, the crew came to the ship to be paid
off, and Brock called the mate aside and made this
startling speech: "Mr. Smith, I want to beg your
pardon for the way I behaved on this voyage.
You're the kindest man ever I sailed with, and I
know I ought to be ashamed of myself. I can
show you the marks on my head where the last
mate I was with split it open with a bela^'ing pin,
and I deserved it too. You'd have done right if
you had served me the same way. What would
my good old mother have said if she had known
what a wretch I have been! She used to pray
with me, and beg me to be a good man. Now
that she's dead, her words sometimes haunt me,
and I have made up my mind that I'll be a differ-
ent man for the rest of my life." A tear stood in
his eye, and good Mr. Smith took his hand and
said, '^I don't bear j^ou no ill-will. Brock. I don't
harbor malice towards nobody living. If a man
should cut my throat, I believe I'd forgive him the
next minute." Aj^ he turned away, he caught a

58 ON BOAKD TUE UOCKET.

whiff of Brock's breath, and the suspicion came
sadly to his mind that this repentance was not so
much the result of piety as of whiskey.

This story reminds me of a little incident that
occurred in Bombay when 1 was mate of the " Lizzie
Oakford." There were two English ships anchored,
one on each side of us. It was a calm morning,
and we could hear some of the words spoken om
board these vessels. A little after breakfast our
attention was attracted to the ship on the port
side, by the sound of angry voices. The captain
was having an altercation with some of his crew,
and ver}^ soon passed from words to blows. Ho
"ended" four or five of them over, and with every
stroke of his fist we could hear him swear about
the Act of Parliament. In the course of half an
hour we heard a row on board the ship on the
starboard side, and looking towards her we saw a
number of her crew on the poop-deck. One of the
sailors had seized hold of the mate's coat-tail, and
was whirling him around in a circle, while another,
with a folded strip of canvas., belabored his back
every time he flew past. Our second mate was so
indignant at this insult to his cloth that he wanted
to board the vessel and fight the sailors on his own
account, but he said he should want to "lick the
mate too." "There," said he, "are the two ex-
tremes, and we are tlie middle. In one ship the
officers abuse the sailors, and in tli« other the
bailors abuse the officers. Here there hasn't becu

BRAVE WESTERLIES. 59

mucli of either yet awliile, though I think the old
shell-backs have got a little the best of it."

We ran down the trades, and keeping well to
the southward in oider to catch the " brave wester-
lies" as soon as possible, we came in sight of
Tristan d'Acunha, a noble, symmetrical mountain
island, 8,326 feet high, its top covered with snow.
We were becalmed in sight of it for several hours, ,
and enjoyed resting our eyes, wearied with gazing
for weeks upon the dancing water, by fixing them
on this grand, immovable mass. Books gave an
interesting account of a colony formed here ; but
we were not near enough to perceive any signs of
human life. The lazy rolling of the bark in the
swell, made even the idea of a residence on the
snowy peak seem attractive, and there was comfort
in thinking of a future world which is to be all
land.

A breeze, springing up from the north-east,
gradually freshened. The sea being quite smoothed
down by the calm, we were able to carry a press of
canvas; and with all sail set and the yards braced
up, the bark lay down on her side, and made a run
of 261 miles in 24 hours, and the day after, she
made 252 miles. The fore topgallantmast was then
found to be sprung, and a new one had to be put
in its place. While sending it up, we overtook
and passed a brig, loafing along under reefed top-
Sciils, evidently seeming to think it was blowing a
gale of wind, whereas we had our main-royal set.

60 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

This showed why some vessels make long passages.
We sped along swiftly, passing the Cape of Good
Hope when 61 days out, and running along cne
parallel of 40° S., a succession of gales helped us
onward. The weather was chilly, often wet and
disagreeable, but our good progress kept us cheer-
ful. One night was especially exhilarating, when
running in a north-west gale, witli the wind quar-
tering, under reefed canvas, the bark flying awaj%
at the rate of 14 knots, from wind, rain, thunder,
lightning and towering waves. There is some
sublimity in a sailor's life, and this wild scene was
a good specimen of it. I enjoyed standing by the
bitts and singing at the top of my voice some
hymns expressing trust in the Creator, knowing
that the noise of the elements made the sound
inaudible to the crew. As we neared Amsterdam
Island, the weather continued rainy, and there was
no chance for observations by which to verify our
position. On the day I expected to pass it, the
sun appeared, most providentially, just at noon for
a moment. I caught the altitude with my sextant
and found the latitude. But I had no means of
determining the longitude. We were a few miles
south of the latitude of the island, so I steered due
east, keeping a hand on the lookout to watch for
the land, as I desired to sight it to verify the
reckoning and the chronometers. No land ap
peared; a dark night was coming on, and I felt
anxious at running down so nearly in the latitude

SEA BIRDS. 61

\ ■ . . ... . , :,. ■ ,

-*» < ■' - ■

''- ,'

- -- ■ ^^"■- ■-■ "■■'■" ~" "'"" '""^ ""'■". . "* '

of the island ; but at evening-time it was light, and
at 6, P.M., we saw the noble mass of land, nearly
three thousand feet high, bearing off the weather-
quarter. We had already sailed by it, within five
miles distance.

One feature of great interest in these latitudes
is the presence of sea-birds. The noble Albatross,
the king of sea-birds, is almost always in sight,
floating in the air about the vessel, no matter how
fast she goes. Its wings seldom move, and what
its propelling power is, no one can tell. It seems
to depend only on its volition. The Stormy Petrel
or " Mother Carey's Chicken," is here and every-
where else on the ocean. The pretty white and
black Cape Pigeons flock in the wake. We caught
several of these with small fish-hooks, and tried
their value as component parts of a pigeon-pie, but
the flavor was rather strong and oily. The homely,
black Cape Hens are numerous also. They always
bring to my mind a scene witnessed on a former
voyage. Coming on deck one Sunday, I found
the mate and passengers engaged in tying pieces
of pork and bits of red flannel at each end of a
string and throwing them overboard. The Cape
Hens greedil}^ swallowed the pork, and several of
them were flying about with streamers hanging
from their mouths ; another trick was to tie several
pieces of pork to the same string. Two or three
birds darting at these, and each swallowing a piece,
^iiey would rise in the air tied together. I took

62 ON BOAltD TRE ROCKET.

the part of the hens on this occasion, and let tlie
mate brace the yards for a wliile.

The weather was cool in these latitudes, and it
was no longer agreeable to sit on deck. Our
evenings were usually passed in the cabin, and I
employed some of the hours in reading to the pas-
senger an account of my experiences in the ship
Dublin, I explained to him that it was written
while I was oflBcer of a ship, and had no leisure to
attempt literary embellishment. Its sole object
was to record the events relating to the manage-
ment of the crew, and I requested him to forbear
criticism of its style.

CHAPTER III.

THE VOYAGE OF THE " DTTBLTN.

MY first voyage, as officer, was made in the gc rl
ship " Dublin." She was six Imndred to" a
register, and of the style said to be built, Dovn
East, by the mile and sawed off. Her bow az.d
Si'ern were so square, they gave an impression of
truth to this statement, but for all that she was a
staunch, well built vessel, and though twenty-one
years old was still an able and truitworthy ship.
Her worthy owner, one of the merchant princes of
Boston, used to go down on the wharf and rub his
hands with delight when the old " Dublin" came
into port. She was his favorite ship, and her blunt
bow was more attractive to him thai* the rakish
model of the modern clippers. He would tell
how the copper bolts were driven v/.o her, only

one inch a day, to make them " fit iolid ; " how

.63

/ '•

64 OK BOARD THE ROCKET.

the timbers were "scarfed" and "dowelled," and
many other things that it would need a ship
builder's manual to interpret. lie considered a
great honor had been done me, by tlic permission
to go to sea as third mate of her, and shook liis
head with misgivings when he heard that the cap-
tain had engaged so young and inexperienced an
officer. I had been to sea four voyages, one of
them over fourteen months around the world,
before the mast. I could hand, reef and steer, and
do the ordinary work on the rigging, as well as
most sailors, so I did not consider my presumption
very great.

Captain Streeter, her commander, was a fine-
looking man of about forty j^ears. He was tall
and well formed, with dark complexion, black hair,
beard and moustache, and a coal-black, flashing
eye that bespoke a strong will and a passionate
nature. He was very fluent in speech, and gave
the impression oji a first hearing that he was what
sailors call " a blower."

When he engaged me, he gave a long and im-
pressive harangue. He didn't want an officer that
was afraid of sailors, but at the same time he
allowed no one to abuse the crew, and especially
objected to the use of profane language, which he
condemned as the most foolish of practices. He
appointed the day for me to come on board and I
left him pleased with my success, but with a lurk-
ing suspicion that my fair-talking captain might

A DARKEY CREW. 66

prove to belong to the class known as " shore-saints
and sea-devils." The owner, however, was one of
the best men living, a noble philantliropist, and a
vice-president of the Seamen's Friend Society. I
therefore felt some assurance that his ship would
have a respectable captain and be well conducted.

At six o'clock, one dark morning in the end of
November, my fond father bade me farewell at the
door, as I left my pleasant home and its gentle
occupants, and trudged to East Boston, in a storm
of sleet, to enter upon a sphere and mingle with
associates so contrasted, that I needed no other
illustration, for the next few months, to impress
upon my mind the two extremes of the future
life.

The ship was bound to Richmond, Virginia, in
ballast, there to load a cargo of tobacco for the
Mediterranean. In the forenoon, a negro crew of
fourteen men and two boys came on board. They
were mostly fine " strapping " fellows, with bright
eyes and shining " ivories," and as we proceeded
down the bay they made the decks ring with their
songs ; the maintopsail going to the mast-head to
the tune of " Come down you bunch o' roses, come
down," and the foretopsail halyards answering to
the strong pulls following the sentiment :

" Sally Brown's a bright Mulatto,
She drinks rum and chews tobacco,"

A man who was loosing the mizzen-topgallant-

16 ON BOARD THE ROCKET. "

sail was heard to utter some profane exclamationg
over the bunt gasket, which was made fast with a
knot that resisted all his efforts at untying, being
what sailors call " an anti-gallican hitch/' As I
have mentioned, Capt. Streeter had remarked a
few days before that he allowed no profane lan-
guage on board of his ship, and I wondered if he
would take any notice of this ; but I did not wait
long before having my curiosity satisfied. The
same thought [)robably came to the captain's mind,
for he stepped to where he could get a good look
at the man, and then began : " Button your lip
up, or I'll knock spots out of you. I don't allow
swearing on board of this boat ; " with more to the
same effect, accompanied by several profane epi-
thets. It was evident that the captain's fluency of
speech was not limited to polite conversation, and
his consistency was explained by his remarking, at
a future time, that his rule on board ship was, " do
as I order, not as I do."

The Pilot left at Boston Light. All hands were
busily employed putting things to rights, for a
ship is seldom in order except when at sea. There,
men are constantly laboring to keep everything
" ship-shape " and tidy, and the moment the vesseil
is moored at the wharf, crew and officers generally
go over the side, stevedores, riggers and carpenters
take possession, and the decks are in a turmoil
until she is again out of the range of visitors.

It surprised me to see the captain interesting

TUB MATES. **^

himself in all the work, for in previous voyages
its execution had been left entirely to the officers.
While the mate was securing the anchors, the ca[)-
tiiin visited the topgallant forecastle and offered
suggestions, which the high-spirited first officer
treated with a contemptuous silence. The black
eyes shone with suppressed rage, and their owner
transferred his interference to the second mate's
liibor?s which were being employed in putting on
chafing-gear. He soon worked this officer into
such a flurry, that he hardly knew whether he
stood on his head or his heels, and then after put-
ting a stop to a job the carpenter had undertaken,
and peeping into the cook's boilers to see how
much beef they contained, to the delight of all, he
disappeared into the cabin, but in a few minutes
his loud tones showed that the steward was the
object of his attentions.

In the evening, after the watches were chosen,
the captahi joined the officers on deck and talked
familiarly v/ith us, illustrating his remarks by anec-
dotes and comparisons more amusing than refined.
We were obliged to confess to each other that he
was a very agreeable man in private, and for a
time forgot all the mental imprecations we had
bestowed on him during the day, on account of
his interference with the wor\.

The mate and second mate had a talk by them-
selves concerning their duties, and the second
mate, while expatiating upon his own good qualifi-

68 ON BUAED THE KOCKEV.

cations, put his hand in his pocket and pulling out
a pair of brass knuckles put them upon his hand.
Holding his fist up, he said: "I always carry my
tools with me, and if you ever want any work
done, you have only to say the word, and you'll
find me on hand like Day and Martin's blacking."

" I don't want you to let me see those things
again, while you're on board of this ship," said
the mate.

"Why so; do you intend to let those sailors
play Isaac and Josh with you ? "

"No," said the mate, "but when I can't keep
men in order, without using such weapons as that,
I'll give up to some one who can. I never knew
a man yet who carried such things but he proved
to be a coward at heart."

"No man can call me a coward,^' replied the
second mate in an angry tone.

" Well," said the mate, " I hope you are not one,
but I shall think better of you if I hear nothing
more about brass knuckles."

This was not a very pleasant opening of ac-
quaintance, and both parties took at the outset a
dislike to each other.

1 gained from each of them a brief account of
their antecedents.

Mr. Morrison, the first mate, was a Scotchman by
birth, about forty-two j^ears of age. He had been
captain of English vessels, but having met with
misfortunes, concerning which he was very reti-

A BULLY. 6)3

cent, he had begun to seek his fortune in the
American merchant service. He was a short,
thick-set man, with a ruddy complexion and a cast
of countenance expressing courage and determi-
nation. His bearing was significant of " Scotch
pride." He was a man of much intelligence and
had received a good education.

Mr. Howard, the second mate, hailed from the .
State of Maine. He was of medium height and
well built, but had a brutal look and seemed ordi-
nary in intelligence. He frankly confided to mo
the immediate occasion of his shipping in the
" Dublin."

" Last voyage I was second mate of the
' Minerva.' We had a nigger crew and used 'em ,
pretty rough I must say ; but I had 'em in such
good discipline that one day I got mad with a
^moke ' about something and I told him to lay his
head down on the hatch for I was going to chop
it off. He did just as I told liim, and though he
thought I was going to kill him, he didn't dare to
move or say his soul was his own. That's what I
call good discipline.

'' We kept them under well enough at sea, but
when we got into Rio Janeiro, what did the scamps
do but set fire to the ship, and burn her up ; and ,
two days after a gang of 'era caught me one even-
ing in the street, and gave me such a pounding
that I couldn't see out of my eyes for a fortnight.
I believe they'd have killed me if the police hadn't

70 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

come along and rescued me. I vowed then 1
would sail just once more with a nigger crew, and
from what I hear of this captain, I think he's just
the man that'll suit me."

The " Dublin " had a fair start. In three da3^s
we sighted the Capes of Virginia and in two more
worked up the James River to City Point. City
Point then consisted of about twenty dwelling
houses beside the negroes' cabins, and had wharves
at which the vessels lay while receiving their
cargoes of tobacco, which came to them in
lighters from the city of Richmond, about thirty
miles above, the shallowness of the river prevent-
ing anytliing but vessels of light draft from pro-
ceeding there. The tobacco was packed in large
hogsheads, weighing from one thousand to eigh-
teen hundred pounds, and as the crew hoisted
them in they kept up a song from morning till
night. Negro stevedores from the shore stowed
them in the hold, and the captain spent almost all
his time down there, watching that they saved all
the room possible, frequently making them *' break
out " again, to the great disgust of the negroes.
I heard one of them saying to the others : " I neb-
ber see such a man as dis cap'n afore ; he tinks he
knows eberjting and nobody else don't know
nuffin."

There was of course nothing here to interest us
beyond receiving our tobacco, and whc^n the ship
was loaded to sixteen feet draft slie dropped down

OWNERS INSTRUCTIONS. Tl

the river ten miles, into deeper water, and there
completed her cargo.

On a fine clear day in the end of December, we
left the shore of Virginia astern and steered for
the Straits of Gibraltar. Fresh and favorabh)
winds prevailed for several days and we niacK;
good progress on our voyage.

One evening the captain in a confidential mood
read us some extracts from the owner's letter of
instructions, and was particularly merry over the
latter part of it, which read : " You will distribute
to the men the books and tracts which are supplied.
You will endeavor to suppress all vice and immor-
ality on board of your vessel and use your best
efforts to promote the welfare of your crew."

The inmates of the ship now felt acquainted
with each other, and as a general thing their good
opinions were very much modified.

Capt. Streeter having no taste for reading, and
being a man of energetic and active temperament,
could not content himself in his cabin, and was
almost constantly on deck roaming about the ship,
criticizing every job of work, "in every body's
mess and nobody's watch."

When bracing yards, making or taking in sail,
he would stand on top of the house, and accompany
his orders with volleys of oaths, provided things
were not done exactly to his mind. If the crew
did not move quite actively enough, and nothing
in this way would suit him but the " clean jump/'

72 ON BOAKD THE KOCKET.

every blackguard epithet that his fluent tongud
and inventive brain could command was heaped
upon them : Scoundrels, black scorpions, and
names too filthy for utterance were their common
titles at such times, and when the men and oflicers
did so well that he could not find a point to cen-
sure, he seemed rather disappointed at losing an
opportunity for this favorite employment. Sailors
call such a man, " a blower."

At night no one was allowed to sit down on
deck, and though no work was to be done, the
sailors had to keep on their legs. Such strict rules
of course gave the officers a good deal of disagree-
able work. From eight to twelve at night the men
would have to walk the deck, unless engaged in
working ship, and when at four o'clock, A.M., they
were roused out, after four hours slumber, they
could not always resist the temptation to sit down
on a spar, or lean over a water-cask. In spite
of their efforts to keep awake, their heads would
drop upon their arms and they would fall asleep.

If any-one wishes to experience something which
in liis recollections will serve as a synonym for
misery, let him sail in such a ship and stand the
morning watcli. In the hour from four to five as
he stumbles about the deck, endeavoring to drive
away the drowsiness that weighs down his eyelids,
he will feel a wretchedness, which, unless he is a
very unfortunate man, will seldom, if , ever, be sur«
passed during his life. v

., "WRITING THE LOG. 73

The mate failed to carry out these orders very
strictly, as he knew it could onlj^ be done by harsh
measures ; for though his fiery temper often led
him to strike a blow at some unlucky sailor, he
despised all premeditated schemes to abuse or
oppress them. Besides this, he thought he saw
through the captain's character. He imaghied
that he was anxious to gain for the " Dublin" the
reputation of being a " hard " ship, provided his
officers would do all the necessary " dirty work,"
but was unwilling to expose himself to the present
dangers of fighting, or the future disgrace of lawsuits.
Their relations to each other were not very pleas-
ant, for the mate was jealous of the captain's inter-
ference with his work, and the captain, perceiving
his state of mind, attempted to retaliate by little
acts of oppression, of which one will be sufficient
to show the spirit.

The mate's room was very small. His only con-
venience for writing up his log book was at a nar-
row standing desk, where he was too much cramped
to do it neatly.

At the beginning of the passage he sat down at
the table in the forward cabin to perform this pait
of his duty, and the captain coming from his spa-
cious after-cabin found him there at work. Upon
seeing him he drew himself up, and in a pompous
way said: " Mr. Morrison, I want 3^ou to understand
that my cabin table isn't a writing desk for of-
ficers." '..H:v.'- . . -.: . •.\.-. ■>-•■■ -■:-.-- -. ^-^"-: ■■■.- -,-&

74 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

" Oh, indeed," said the mate. " I've always been
accustomed to have the use of it even for my
private writing, and I had no idea you would object
to my writing the ship's log here."

" You must learn you ai'n't aboard one of your
lime-juice ships now," was the courteous response,
and the mate retired to his room, his Scotch pride
and temper almost overcoming his desire to respect
the captain.

But the second mate was a man after the cap-
tain's own heart. It was only necessary to show
him the way to the captain's good graces, and his
subservience joined to his own brutal passions
made him an earnest disciple.

The crew were a pretty independent and saucy
set of negroes, and required a strict hand to keep
them under. From the very first there had been
almost daily little difficulties, and at one time at
City Point a general knockdown was only pre-
vented by the mate's interfering between the sec-
ond mate and a sailor, to the great wrath of the
former.

A few days after leaving the Chesapeake, Mr.
Howard was going around the deck at about half-
past four in the morning, and found a man called
Brooks sitting down and nodding. He awakened
him very suddenly by raising him up by the ears,
and then set the whole watch to work bracing the
yards " in " a little. The men were sleepy, and
cross at this "humbugging," for they knew the

BKASS KNUCKLES. 76

wind had not altered at all, and this was merely a
" work up job." They were not very prompt with
their Aye, aye, sir.

"' Haul in the topgallant-brace " said the oflScer.

No answer followed, but he saw the order was
obeyed.

" Belay ! *'

Still no answer.

" Sing out," said he ; " if you don't open your
gills I'll slaughter you. Haul in the royal-brace ! "

No answer.

He turned in a rage and catching hold of
Brooks, who was nearest him, gave him a blow with
his brass knuckles that would have unsettled any
ordinary head. But the darkey's skull was not
very sensitive, and he at once drew his sheath-
knife, and stabbed Howard in the abdomen. He
had on thick clothes, and the knife after cutting
through them inflicted only a small flesh wound.
Howard was rather frightened by this episode, and
not knowing how badly he was cut, upon seeing
the other men seize handspikes and belaying pins
ready to join Brooks, in case of any further attack,
he thought it best to retreat. After breakfast he
reported the case to the captain, who sent for
Brooks to come into the cabin, where he took his
position with a pistol and a fathom of ratline stuff.
Having shut the door, so that there should be no
witnesses, he made the man take off his shirt ; and
then flogged him till the blood flowed down hia

76 ON BOABD THE BOCKET.

back, and the man's cries and promises made him
desist.

The captain's prompt espousal of the second
mate's cause showed that he would stand by his
ofHcers, and it had the effect of making tlie crew
more respectful and careful.

Being the third mate, I was of course in the
mate's watch ; my duty was to follow up the execu-
tion of the mate's orders, and look after the little
details of work. I must know the place for every-
thing and see that it was in its place. When the
decks were cleared up at night, if the mate in his
inspection spied a stray marlinespike or serving-
board, it was the third mate who had to answer
for it. If a sailor wanted spunyarn or seizing-
stuff to work yyith, it was the third mate who must
know where to find it and run and get it, or if the
lockers were not in order or the tar-barrel fetched
adrift he was the first looked at for blame. In his
turn of course he could growl at thu sailors, but
that was rather poor satisfaction, and he had not
filled his office many days before he came to tlie
conclusion that it was a most thankless billet, and
that a third mate's portion contained '' a larger share
of kicks than of coppers." I was onl}' nineteen
j^ears old. The sailors looked upon me as a
}'oungster, and were not inclined to be particularly
respectful, thinking I wouldn't dare to use foice
with them.

llEEJblNG TOI'SAILS. 77

The captain watched me very closely, wisHing
to traiu me up in the way I should go, and many a
liarsh-sounding order or rebuke I got from him on
deck, all the more galling because given in the
presence of the men. But personally the captain
seemed favorably inclined toward me, or else he
feared lest I might make a report of his doings to
the owner, and thus sought frequent opportunities
to talk with me and smooth over my ruffled feel-
ings. It is not customary for a captain to have
any conversation with a third mate, and I was not
quite sure as to his motive, though I leaned to the
latter opinion, judging from the tenor of all his
stories, talk and advice, which was to the sole end
of discipline, or, perhaps more exactly, of fighting
sailors. In consulting with the mate as to this he
gave me a decided opinion. "All the old man
wants," said he, " is to have you tarred with the
same brush as himself, and then he thinks you
^A'ouldn't injure him ashore, for you know it doesn't
do for the pot to call the kettle black."

One day we were reefing the mizzen-topsail and
I was astride of the yard-arm hauling out the
weather earing. The captain saw from the deck
that th^, men had not gathered up all the slack
sail on top of the yard, before tying the reef-
points ; and he at once set up a roar of mingled
oaths and orders, which, with a storm howling
past my ears produced a bewildering effect.
With some difficulty I divined the pith of his

78 ON BOABD THE ROCKET.

remarks, and gave the necessary directions; but
this was not enough for the captain, who sang out
to me, " What's the use of sitting there and talk-
ing to them, get up on the yard and kick their
heads off." A good deal more followed, but I was
too angry to hear anything else and paid no atten-
tion.

The captain saw that I was rather out of sorts
for the rest of the day, and in the dog-watch came
up to me as I was leaning against the booby-hatch
and began in his pleasant fluent way to tell me a
story.

*' You never met Mr. Jones of Baltimore did
you?"

" No sir, I never did."

** Well, he was my second mate, when I had the
ship ' Daphne ' in the China trade."

I had heard from good authority on shore that
the ''Dublin" was the only ship Capt. Streeter
had ever commanded, and since being at sea with
him I had learned that Mr. Jones was his ideal
officer, and whenever he wished to give a hint to
liis present mates upon points where he felt he
could not command, his favorite and usual method
was to convey it in a story about Mr. Jones, and
Mr. Jones' name had already become a by-word
among the officers. I knew what was coming and
prepared to receive instructions.

" Mr. Jones," continued the captain, " never
went aloft to reef topsails without having a belay-

MB. JONES. 70

ing pin stuck into the leg of liis boot, lie used
to take his stand in the slings of the yard, and if
the sail wasn't picked up pretty lively, before you
could count twenty he would liave been out on
both yard-arms, and hit every man a tap on the
head that made 'em take hold like young tigers.
Then when the sail was reefed he'd sing out, 'lay
down,' and as every man got into the rigging^
if he wasn't mighty spry, he'd get helped along
with a kick, and then he followed the last man
down and jumped on his head and shoulders, if he
could overtake him. I tell you it was fun to see
them scatter when he said 'lay down.* They
would come sliding down the backstays like a par-
cel of monkeys, and once a Dutchman, who hap-
pened to be the last man, and saw the second
mate's boots just above his head, got so frightened
that he jumped down from half way up the main-
rigging and broke his leg. I had to scold Jones
though a little for that, as the galoot was laid up
the rest of the voyage."

''I should think that was rather poor economy,"
said I, "to lose a man's labor for several months,
for the sake of gaining a few seconds time in get-
ting down from aloft."

'' It paid though, after all," answered the cap-
tain, " for Jones could get as much work out of six
men as some could out of a dozen. It's worse
economy to be too humane with sailors."

80 ON BOAJiD THE ROCKET.

*' If that is being a smart officer I hardly think
I shall become one/' said I.

*' ril tell you what it is, you'll never make one
unless you give up some of your conscientious
scruples. 1 must say you do very well about your
work, but you're too humane a man to go to sea,
and if you want to get along in this profession
you've got to leave youi* nice principles on shore.
There's no religion off soundings. The captain of
a ship has got to be a liar, a cheat, a swearer, a
fighter and a tyrant ; in fact, if you mean to be a
good mate or a good captain you've got to be a
rascal."

" If good principles are good for anything rhey
are good for ever}^^ thing," I replied, "and if what
you say is true, either this is a profession no one
ought to follow or else religion is a sham and
ought to be hove overboard entirely. A good
God would never have imposed laws upon us
which would interfere with our necessary occupa-
tions, and I don't believe he meant the Golden
Rule to be confined to the shore."

" That all sounds very fine " said the captain,
" and perhaps you'd better knock off going to sea
and set up for a parson. But you mark my words,
if you go to sea, you'll have to give up your prin-
ciples sooner or later, and you may as well make
up your mind to it now. I've seen a good many
that started as fair as you've done, but it didn't
last long. But here we've got proof 'right along-

THE BRICK-WALL THEOllY, 81

Side of US. Just look at Mr. Howard's watch
there. Every time he opens liis mouth you see
them piling along like greased lightning, and he
gets half a dozen answers for every order. But
your men don't answer you half the time, and
they move slower than real estate in Chelsea.

Now if you saw a man walking alongside of a
high brick wall, and you politely asked him to step
along a little faster, lie'd stop and look at you ;
but if you told him the brick wall was tumbling
down over his head you'd see how quick he'd
make the dust fly. It's just so with a sailor, if
you are civil to him he won't care a curse for you,
but if you lot him know there's something coming •
down on his head he'll move quick and respect
you. A man didn't answer Mr. Jones once, and
he just picked up the carpenter's caulking mallet
and hit hira over the head. He never had to
spej\k twice to him after that."

Finding the captain had got back to his favorite
Mr. Jones, I thought it was of no use to prolong
the talk, and it being my watch below I went to
my room. Sitting down upon my chest I thought
of the contrast between the captain's instructions
and the teachings of home, and wondered if I
must abandon the latter. It was very evident
that there was not the strict discipline in the
mate's w^atch that there was in the second mate's,
and the captain's comparisons galled me ; but it
seemed to me that the discipline in oiu- watch wajf

82 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

good enough ; the men did their duty well and
were respectful, except that they were not always
particular about answering «n.nd sometimes walked
along the deck to ordinary work, whereas the sec-
ond mate's men always ran, knowing that a belay-
ing pin or stick of firewood would be hurled after
them if they didn't. I felt the captain was right
in saying that such strict discipline could not be
maintained, except b}' working on the fears of the
men, but the question with me was whether it was
necessary to be so strict. Our men in a squall, or
gale of wind, would be just as smart as the second
mate's. It was only in ordinary and comparatively
unimportant work that they were at all behind-
hand, and I made up my mind that a system which
necessarily required inhumanit}^ and a sacrifice of
honorable principles must be wrong, and I would
have as little to do with it as possible. Opening
my chest I took out a bundle of letters and se-
lected one from my father. It was an answer to
one I had written from City Point, in which I
spoke of the severe discipline which was main-
tained on board the " Dublin," and the course
which was required of the oflQccrs, and asked for
advice.

The reply was as follows : " I see that you are
partaking of the responsibilities of life. I should
wink at some things — not see them. I would not
be what they call a ' martinet ' in discipline, making
much of little things, and enforcing little rules

LAND, no! 83

with an air of authority. But I would establish
my character with the men for good nature, making
them feel that in not obeying they offend against
kindness. I do believe that the Gospel contains
all the principles necessary to guide us in govern-
ment, and that the ways in which God treats us
may often safely be adopted. Men are very sensi-
tive to kindness. If you have opportunity to show
it without risking authority, it is well. I do not
believe that it is necessary to speak always in a
tone of stern authority. I would be very slow to
strike if I were you. But remember that you are
now one of the 'powers that be,' and they are
'ordained of God.' He will help you govern if
you look to him, for government is a divine ordi-
nance ; and a third mate is as really government as
Lords of Admiralty or Secretary of the Navy."

After reading this over again, I imagined how
Capt. Streeter would sneer at the idea of influenc-
ing sailors by kindness, and could almost hear him
saying, " The only thing that will influence a sailor
is a belaying-pin. Be kind to them and they'll
only laugh at you."

When twelve days out the welcome cry of
" Land, ho ! " was heard in the morning, and in
the horizon, above a low, narrow bank of clouds,
appeared the top of the mountain on Pico, one of
the " Western Islands," or Azores, at least sixty
miles distant. This mountain is over 7,500 feet
high, and can be seen in a clear day one hundred

8-i ON BOARD THE KOCKET.

miles at sea. In the afternoon we passed to tlie
southward of, and near to, Fayal, then by Pico,
catching a glimpse of St. George's Island in the
distance between them. The rich verdure of these
islands and their elevations — for Fayal has a moun-
tain of three thousand feet — were pleasant changes
from the blue and level waters ; and all enjoyed
that beautiful afternoon as we glided swiftly by
these mid-ocean oases. Even the captain and sec-
ond mate laid aside their accustomed scowl, and
not an oath polluted the balmy atmosphere. St.
Michaers was passed on the starboard hand in
the evening, and the next day we came up with
an Encrlish schooner bound from London to St.
Michaers, but steering for Spain. Capt. Streeter
told the skipper that he had sighted the island the
evening before, and gave him his longitude. The
schooner turned about and steered in the other
direction.

It was blowing a pleasant westerly breeze this
day ; but at noon a school of porpoises came dash-
ing along, passed the ship's bow without stopping
to play around.it, as they are so fond of doing, and
made away towards the north-east. The captain
said it was a sure sign that the wind was coming
from that quarter ; for sailors regard it as an estab-
lished f u: t that porpoises either go " head to the
wind," or else towards the quarter of a coming
breeze. »

The porpoises and the captain were right this

MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKEN. 86

time. The wind gradually hauled around by the
N. to N.E., and by night tlie ship was braced sharp
up on the port tack. The Mother Carey's chickens
were flitthig about in the ship's wake very actively,
uttering their feeble chirps with more animation
than usual. The captain, noticing them, and at
the same time perceiving a low bank of clouds to
windward, predicted a speedy advent of the gah).
He proved a correct interpreter of the signs. We
were called out in the night to shorten sail, and for
twenty-four hours were hove to under the close-
reefed maintopsail. Speaking of the Mother Carey's
chickens, the captain asked me if I ever had smelt
one, and said: r

" I once caught one with a hook and line, and
killed it, thinking I would stuff it ; but I had not
got far along with the work before the odor made
me sick, and I hove it overboard. Though it was
eight years ago, the smell is on my hands still.
You know they say, that all the sailors that die at
sea turn into Mother Carey's chickens, and the
captains into albatrosses; and I expect this odor
hangs on to me because I love sailors so well. But
I must give you a chance to judge for yourself."

A day or two after, in a calm, he shot oLie at a
little distance from the ship, and made one of the
boys jump overboard and swim for it, in spite of
his dread of sharks. When he had obtained it he
roused me out of a sound nap to come out aud

86 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

smell of it, yotj much to my disgust. I found its
odor was, to say the least, rather disagreeable.

The afternoon before making the land, the cap-
tain ordered the mate to get the anchors on to the
rail and bend the chains. Mr. Morrison proceeded
to carry out the order, but to his great annoyance
Capt. Streeter came forward and kept putting
in his oar, giving suggestions and directions. This
was a thing so peculiarly in the mate's province,
which, if one did not understand it, would prove
him lacking in the lowest qualifications for a mate's
situation, that the worthy official's temper was
greatly aroused. He suppressed it for a time ; but
at each interference his face grew redder and
redder, and when at last the captain told him that
the ring of the anchor ought to be brought closer
up to the cat-head, the storm burst forth, and turn
ing around with a fiery face and defiant eye, he
said, " Capt. Streeter, just go aft and mind your
own business ; I can take care of the anchors."

" I want you to know that I am captain of this
ship, and 111 do what I please," answered the
captain, pale with rage.

" I know you're cap'n ; but I want you to know
the owners put me aboard to be mate, and I've let
you do my work long enough."

All the men stood amazed at the mate's daring
in thus confronting our ferocious captain, and
looked for nothing short of his being murdered ;
but to our great surprise the captain cooled down,

CAPTAIN AND MATE. 87

and in a mild, persuasive way said: "But, Mr.
Morrison, just look at the philosophy of the thing,"
(a favorite phrase with him), "you see if that
anchor — "

" There's no philosophy about it," burst out the
mate's sharp voice. " I don't want to have any talk
with you. I'll only treat you with the contempt
you deserve," and turning his back towards him, he
drowned another mild reply by shouting : " Lower
away the fish-tackle ! " and giving continuous orders
to the men. The captain, finding himself literally
checkmated, walked aft, apparently calm, but with
a tempest raging within. He sat down on the
booby-hatch, and tried to devise some means of
humiliating the mate. His schemes always reached
their culminating point in his brick-wall theory,
but when he thought of tlie expediencj' of applying
it in this case, and letting the brick-wall come
down on Mr. Morrison's head, he muttered : " He's
such a fiery tempered man, I guess it won't do."

As soon as the mate had got the anchors placed,
lie told me to secure them and to clear up, and
then went aft, thinking he might as well settle
matters now, if they needed any more settlement.

The men all took sly glances after him, and
whispered to each other that they thought there *d
be a fight now ; and some offered to bet the mate
would come out best. The captain was very much
the mate's superior in size and build ; but the
latter was a perfect tiger when aroused, and was

88 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

just as fearless, in fact, as the captain in his
harangues to his officers pretended to be.

As soon as he got aft tlie captain caught a glance
of his eye, and his brick-wall plans were entirely
dispelled. In a conciliatory tone he began, "Mr.
Morrison, I think there's no need of your getting
so excited about a little thing. You know every
one has their little ways."

"I know you have," said the mate, "and very
contemptible ones they are. I came aboard of this
ship with as good a will as ever a man had, and
meant to do my duty faithfully, but you've inter-
fered with all my work ; you stop every job that I
get under way, and though I've been twenty-five
years to sea, I'm not trusted even to bend a jib or
brace the fore-yard."

" But you know I'm captain of the ship, Mr.
Morrison."

" Then you ought to keep in the captain's place,
unless there's nobody below you that knows any-
thing. But from the first day I came on board,
you've undertaken to do my work, and you don't
know whether I am capable of it or not ; and
you've done it so poorly, I'm ashamed to have the
ship go into port. I've always seen a captain show
some respect to his mate ; but you never have a
civil word for me on duty, and your silly, lying
stories don't make up for it."

"You must make allowances," replied the cap-
tain ; " you can't expect a man always to be smooth-

ROPE-YARN TEA. 89

tempered. When Mr. Jones was with me, I — "

"Mr. Jones was a fool, if all you say of him i«
true," interrupted the mate. '* No one with any
respect for himself can make allovrance enough tor
you ; your knock-down principles and vile language
are disgraceful."

For every word the captain advanced, the mate
brought out two dozen, and so fast there was no
interrupting him. At last the captain found a re-
treat by noticing that the sails were lifting, and he
gave tlie order to brace forward the yards and take
in the lower-studdingsail. Going to the cabin he
for once left the mate to work alone, and after-
wards found some relief to his pent up rage by
calling the two boys to come aft with a watch-
tackle and taughten up the ropes.

There was kept hanging up in front of the cabin
a fathom of ratline stuff, doubled up and seized,
so as to make a loop for the hand and bring the
two ends together. Slipping this over his hand
and shaking the ends, he called out the ropes to
the boys, and if they made any mistake, or were
not quite lively enough, he gave them what he
called a dose of rope-yarn tea, by bringing the
"' cat " down on their backs. This treatment made
them so bewildered and frightened that they made
all the more blunders, and half of the time got
hold of the wrong ropes, giving the captain iin
excuse for beating them to his heart's content.

He found this such a good relief for a pent-up

90 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

temper that lie frequently put it in practice, wlien
galled by the mate's contempt and indifference,
and all through the vo3^age the boys were made
the scape-goats for Mr. Morrison's sins against the
captain.

That evening the captain told me that if the
night was fine he expected to sight Cape Spartcl,
the point of the African coast at the entrance of
the Straits, before morning, as it was mountainous
land and could be seen sixty or eighty miles. At
2, A.M., the lookout discovered it on the starboard
bow. I went into tlie cabin, and waking up the
captain said to him :

" Cape Spartel is in sight, sir ! "

" What ! " said he, in a very sharp tone.

I repeated it, and went on deck.

Soon the captain came out and after looking at
the land, without addressing any one, began to
swear in a loud tone, saying, " I expect my officers
will take charge of the ship soon, for (3ven the
third mate undertakes to tell me what land we
make." A good deal more followed about "mak-
ing them know their place."

When he had gone below I asked the mate,
what all this breeze meant ? The mate asked me
what I said to the captain when T called him, and
then said to me, " The old man must be raving
because you said Cape Spartel is in sight, instead
of saying ' there's land in sight.' "

" Well, I must say, he is stuck up," said I. " I

OVEBHEiVED. 91

asked hi in the other day what the longitude was,
and I thouglit he was going to eat me up, he gave
me such a savage look, and all the satisfaction I
got was the information that it was the first time a
third mate had ever asked him such a question,
lie makes so free with me telling his dirty stories
and spinning yarns about Mr. Jones, that it didn't
occur to me I was going to insult his dignity by
asking such a question.

'- 1 could tell him," said the mate, " that he is
the first captain I ever knew to spin yarns to his
third mate. His dignity begins at the wrong
place. If he wants his officers to respect him, he
must show himself worthy of respect, histead of
being the blackguard that every true man must
loathe."

There was this peculiarity about the cabin, that
sounds from the deck could be heard there very
distinctly, and as the mate was in the habit of
holding forth to me in a night-watch concerning
the captain's character, that individual often got
the benefit of it. It was contrary to his idea of
discipline also to have any conversation carried on
between officers on duty, and only a few days
before he had told me that he did not wish me to
talk with the mate.

All these remarks just made found their way to
the captain's opened ears. To put a stop to it he
came out on deck, and passing by us walked aft
vvithout saying a word. Upon looking in the bin-

92 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

nacle he saw by the compass that the ship was a
point off her course, and jumpiiig to the rail he
drew out a behiying pin and struck the man at the
wheel two or three blows on tlie head. He then
went around the lee side into the cabin, and the
mate coming aft found the helmsman crying, and
learned the cause.

The next forenoon brought the ship into the
Straits of Gibraltar, and the interesting scenery did
a little towards relieving the ill-humor which had
settled on all both fore and aft, in consequence of
the events of the last twenty-four hours. The
wind was from the eastward, dead ahead, and as
the ship beat from shore to shore through its length
of fifty miles, striking and constantly changing
views were presented by the rugged African
mountains on one hand, the more fertile Spanish
hills on the other, and ahead, the noble and world-
renowned Rock of Gibraltar, three miles in length
and 1600 feet high. Its outlines well represent a
crouching lion, an appropriate symbol of its silent
batteries, ready at a moment's notice to pour forth
destruction upon an approaching foe. A strong
current runs almost alwaj^s from the Atlantic into
the Mediterranean, though modified by an easterly
wind, and this helped the " Dublin " to windward,
so that at night she passed Gibraltar looming up
high and dark against the starlit sky.

That evening the captain tried his usual panacea
upon my moodiness, I being the only officer he

WHERE CHRIST WAS BORN. 93

seemed anxious to propitiate, for reasons best
known to himself. His conversation comprised
stories about " Mr. Jones," and explanations of the
^' philosophy of the thing" as applied to currents,
which in this case he demonstrated, that as water
cannot alwa3's run into a place unless some runs
out, there must be a hole underneath the Isthmus
of Suez to let it run through into the Red Sea.
And then he evidenced that he was not insensible
to the influence of the noble scenes and historical
interest which had surrounded us that day, by
remarking how much of a charm it gave to sea-life
to visit such interesting localities, and he added :
'' How pleasant it is too, to think that we are going
to visit the land where our Saviour was born ! "

I was almost as much astonished by the fact of
the captain's mentioning that name calmly and
soberly, as at the information that Christ was born
in Italy. I had already measured his stock of
knowledge, and had received many similar pieces
of information before, which, knowing the captain's
conceitedness and temper, I thought it good policy
not to contradict ; though even my usual reply of,
''Is it so, sir? '' sometimes aroused his ire, as im-
plying a doubt of his correctness in making asser-
tions ; such, for instance, as, that Gibraltar belonged
to France, or that the clouds were six hundred
miles above the earth, or that the moon had no
Influence over the tides. I felt inclined to try the
experiment, if it was possible to convince him of

94 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

an error, or rather to make him acknowledge one
— a matter upon which I had great doubt. I cau-
tiously said : " Christ wasn't born in Italy, was he,
sir?" -r'^y-:..:.^ ., ■ v.- ; .:.■.;•,.

"' Of course not," said the captain ; " haven't you
read the Bible enough to know that? I mean
Europe ; doesn't Italy belong to Europe? "

" Yes, sir," I replied ; " but I've always under-
stood that Christ v/as born in Palestine, which is a
country of Asia." > ^^ .

" Of course he was," said the captain. " I know
that very well ; and that's just what 1 meant to
say. We're going to visit that part of the world
where Christ was born. Europe, Asia and Africa
make one hemisphere, don't they ? "

"Yes, sir."

" And isn't America a separate one ? "

"Yes, sir: one is called the Eastern, and the
other the Western hemisphere."

" OF course it is," said the captain. " I believe if
you got two ideas in your head at once, it would
bu'st." Re- turned haughtily away as though he
had convinced me of the ignorance of not knowing
either where Christ was born, or which hemisphere
the " Dublin '* was sailing in ; but for the next few
days 1 heard nothing more about "Mr! Jones,"
" philosophy," Scripture or geography, but had a
good share of harsh* sounding orders and snarling
rebukes when about my work, ^nd the reason of it
I well understood.

JAKE. 96

The winds were rather light and baffling in the
Mediterranean, and the ship made slow progress.
But the weather was charming. Sea and sky were
of that deep blue which is world-renowned, and
which make this sea empjiatically " the blue Medi-
terranean." Some days, so clear ^vas the air as
almost to impress one with the idea of the vast n ess
and emptiness of space, and when, commonly speak-
ing, the sky seemed to have disappeared. But at
evening little clouds would gather about and lend
their bright hues to adorn the sunset.

For a week after leaving Gibraltar tilings went
on quietly on board ship, and I had great hopes
that the passage would end peacefully. But it
must needs be that offences come at sea, and o^e
more row had to be passed through before the
harbor ot Genoa was reached.

There was a man on board called Jake, a power-
ful "six-footer," and one of the best sailors and
most cheeiful and active of the crew.

One afternoon, the second mate pointed him out
to the captain, and said: ''That's a good man; he's
as smart as a steel trap, and a willing fellow, too."

" Yes," said the captain, '' I think he is : but
don't you tell him so, for if you do, it won't last
much longer." ; , • : «- ^ .

'' No fear, sir," said Mr. Howard, " I don't give
compliments to sailors very often."

That night Mr. Howard had the first watch on
deck, and at about 11 o'clock the wind hauled at't

96 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

a little, giving opportunity to set the studding-
sails. He gave the necessary orders at once ; and
Jake was the first one to get into the rigging and
mount to the foreyard to cast the heel-lashing of
the boom adrift. He was not ready with it when
the others came up with the ropes to reeve, and
the second mate hurried him up with frequent
phrases, such as. " Bear a hand ; " " Let's hear from
j^ou there ; " •* What do you say, now? " and then
asked : " What's the matter, there ? "

'' The heel-lashing 's jammed, sir," was answered.

" Bear a hand and clear it then," said he.

'' Vm doing it as fast as I can," said the man, in
a sharp, surly tone. .

Mr. Howard was not accustomed to have sailors
talk to hiiu in that style, and he gave him a round
of curses, and asked him if he knew who he was
talking (o.

Jake made no reply, but worked away at the
lashing. •

In a little while Mr. Howard hailed him again:
" Are you most ready there ? " '

No answer came, and a repetition of the question
followed, with sundry additions, and, as the officer
thought, embellishments.

The reply this time came in the shape of a loud,
clear "No!"

It is considered almost as great an insult to an
officer as a man can offer, to omit the little word
"Sir," in replying to him; and this Is at the

JAKE. 97

bottom of many a tale of severity, or even murder
at sea.

Only stopping to utter one oath, Mr. Howard
sprang into the rigging, ran aloft and swung him-
self with one hand on to the Ibreyard. Jake, seeing
liiui coming, had laid out towards the yard-arm, and
called out to him : " If you strike me I'll cut your
heart out I ''

Ever since the stabbing affray, Mr. Howard had
enlarged his stock of pocket-tools, and now pulled
out a slung-shot. GoiPig out on the yard, he stood
on it holding on to the fore-lift with one hand,
while with the slung-shot in the other he attempted
to strike Jake on the head. He missed his mark,
however, and the shot flew out of his grasp and
fell on deck. He had on a pair of thin and well-
worn shoes; but with these he kicked the man
until they flew off his feet overboard. By this
time Jake had crawled in past him, and started for
the deck. Upon reaching it, he picked up a cap-
stan bar and took his stand with it over his shoul-
der, until the second mate was nearly down the
rigging, then he suddenly aimed a blow at him
with all his force, intending to knock him over-
board. He was too niuch excited to take exact
aim, and the bar struck a ratline and broke it,
grazed Mr. Howard's leg and broke another ratline.
Mr. Howard jumped upon deck, and the man turned
furiously upon him, striking at his head with the
heavy oak capstan bar, and swinging it about

98 ON BOARD THE KOCKET.

him in a most determined way. The second mate
dodged and retreated aft, closely pursued by Jake;
and one of the boys was so terrified that he ran
into the cabin and called out to the captain : " One
of the men is trying to kill the second mate."
Capt. Streeter never slept in his bed at sea, or
removed his clothes at night ; but always lay
stretched out on a sofa in the cabin, with a pistol
near him, ready for a call. He at once sprang up
and rushed on deck, and there found Jake swinging
the capstan bar from side to side, and Mr. Howard
eluding his blows and making vain attempts to
close with him.

" Put down that handspike ! " shouted the cap-
tain.

But it swung as fast as ever; and the captain
now showed more courage than Mr. Morrison had
given him credit for, by rushing at him just as he
swung his weapon to one side, and seizing it before
he could return a blow. With Mr. Howard's help
he wrested it from him, and telling that officer to
hold on to him, he seized the end of the crossjack-
brace (a two and a half inch rope), and beat him
over the back, until he cried most piteously for
mercy, and made many promises of future good
behavior. This did not satisfy Mr. Howard, who,
as soon as the captain had let him go, put his brass
knuckles on his right hand, and striking Jake a
heavy blow, threw him to the deck. He then
kneeled upon him, clutched his throat with the left

GULF OF GENOA. 99

lumd, and with the knuckles beat him in the face.
The man gasped out cries and entreaties, saying :
'^Take him off, cap'n; take him off. Don't let him
kill me.'' And at last the captain had to catch
Howard's arm and say to him : '' I guess that'll do,
Mr. Howard. He's got enough for this time."'

Jake's face was a sorry-looking object the next
day, and for some days after ; and he told the mate
he thought one of his ribs was broken. But he
kept at his work as well as he could, and always
was particular about answering Mr. Howard with
a -Sir!*'

Things went on again quietly, and in three or
four days more we were off the Gulf of Lyons.
The prospect of soon reaching port cheered all on
board, and all but Jake seemed lively and even
happy.

We signalized the ship " Martha Dutton," Capt.
Cheever, when a day's sail from Genoa ; and it
immediately after came on to blow a heavy gale
from the south-west. Capt. Cheever was an old
sea-captain, and adhered to the prudent rule of not
approaching a lee shore in a gale of wind, within
less than the distance of a day's drift (say sixty
miles), and after awhile he hove his ship to, and
waited for a better chance to make the land.

Capt. Streeter kept the " Dublin " running before
the wind into the Gulf of Genoa ; and as the next
morning brought a head vv^nd when he was in sight
of his port, he was very much the gainer for hia

100 ON BOABD THE ROCKET.

attempt. When Capt. Cheever arrived three days
after him, he shook his head and told Capt. Streeter
he had done the most hair-brained act he ever knew
the master of a ship to commit.

The " Dublin " had yet one day more to wait
before dropping her anchor. The head wind lasted
until she had beat up Avithin two miles of the mole
of Genoa, and then it died away calm and con-
tinued so, with occasional light airs from the shore.
There was no anchorage, and as the ship slowly
drifted from one side of the bay to the other, we
had a fine chance to take a sea-view of the renowned
city of Genoa.

It is situated at the head of the Gulf of Genoa,
and at the centre of an amphitheatre of high liills,
which rise quite abruptly from the sea. On either
hand the mountainous coast stretches away in a vast
semi-circle beyond the range of vision. The snow
capped Apennines tower behind and around it,
making a noble background to the beautiful picture.
The city itself rises on the steep hills, whose tops
for seven miles are lined with forts, so that from
the sea almost every street can be seen, and the
tall houses and palaces mount one above the other,
giving one an impression that a slight convulsion
might send them all sliding down into the sea.

The harbor, or mole, is formed by a sea-wall
extending across the semi-circle made by the imme-
diate hills, securing anchorage wh^re the vessels
moor stem and stern with their own anchors.

QtrAHANTlMff. 101

This evening as the sun went down behind the
mountains, a scene was formed never to be for-
gotten. The beautiful blue sky was lit up l.>y
brilliant clouds which, reflected in the still waters,
made the sea almost as glowing as the sky. The
mountain sides took every shade of the darker
colors, while their snow-capped peaks blushed with
the crimson tints of sunset. The next morning's
sunrise was also a charming scene, but with it
came what was far more acceptable, a good breeze,
and the ship was pointed towards the city. A
pilot came off to meet us, but refused to come on
board, as the healtli officers had not yet ascertained
whether the ship had any infectious disease on
board ; but he told the captain to follow his boat,
and leading the way into the mole, pointed out
the spot in the quarantine ground where she should
drop anchor. The captain went ashore in a boat,
and was rowed to a flight of steps, which led into a
small room with no other egress than the door by
which he entered. A niirrow window opened from
it into another room whore were several officials,
and one of them approached the window with a
pair of tongs, and reaching them out took from
the captain the ship's papers. After smoking them
in the chimney for a minute, he ventured to in-
spect them. Capt. Streeter was then ordered to
return to his ship, and after a visit from the health
officer, who found everything satisfactory, order
was given to air all the bedding and clothing, iQ

102 ON BOARD THK KOCKET.

hoist the yellow flag, and remain in quarantine for
three daj^s, when, if things still appeared well with
regard to the sanitary condition of the ship, she
would be permitted to discharge. Capt. Streeter's
Yankee energy and impatience chafed a little at
this delay, but in spite of growling and swearing,
he had to remain in solitary confinement for three
days, and when at last the ordor for release came,
and the ship was allowed to take her place in the
tiers, he went to work at discharging with an en-
terprise and will that created astonishment, not
only to the Genoese, but to all the fleet. Every
morning they were waked up by the song of the
crew, as they commenced at five o'clock in the
morning to hoist out the tobacco, for it is not cus
tomary in port to " turn to " until six, and all day
long such choruses as " Walk along my Sally
Brown," and '' Hoist her up from down below,"
rang over the harbor, with all the force that a
dozen hearty negroes could give them. When the
" shanty man " became hoarse, another relieved
him, and thus the song and work went along, and
in a fortnight tlie captain astonished and vexed
the consignees by reporting his ship as all dis-
charged and ready for her outward cargo, whereas
they had allowed her a month's time for this, and
the intended cargo of marble had not yet arrived
from the quarries at Carrara.

CHAPTER IV.

VOYAGE OF THE "DUBLIN." — (Concluded.)

GENOVA la superha is renowned for its pal*
aces, but, as seen from the harbor, the build-
ings of the city, apart from their grand and
picturesque location, do not inspire one with much
admiration.

After a visit on shore to the palaces and churches
I was so charmed with what I had seen, that I was
Beized with an intense desire to see more of the
renowned wonders of Italy, and I proposed to
Mr. Morrison a plan for visiting Rome, and asked
him what he thought of it?

" I don't see why you can't go, if you want to
Bpend your money in that way," said Mr. Morrison.
"The cargo is all discharged, and we've got to
wait two or three weeks for our marble, so I think
you can be spared as well as not. The only thing

103

104 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

is to get on tlic right side of the old man, and you
seem to understand that pretty well." ,

The next day with some fear and trembling I
made my proposition to the captain, and excited
the breeze I quite expected.

** I thought something of that sort would be
coming soon," he said. " I believe nobody cares a
curse for the ship except myself. I like to see my
officers take an interest in their vessel, but I sup-
pose it's of no use to hope for it. I was mate of
a ship once for two years without setting foot on
shore but once, and that was when I was sued for
breaking an old shellback's head and had to go to
court. I never knew Mr. Jones to ask for liberty
all the time he was with ine. He was a man who
took pride in his ship."

" I am sure I feel an interest in the ship," said I,
" but I've often heard you say yourself that going
to sea is a dog's life, and I don't see why a man
should be blamed foi getting clear of it when he
can do so without occasioning any disadvantage ;
and in this case I am sure I shall not be missed
much, for Mr. Howard and Mr. Morrison both say
they can get along ^vithout me." -

" How long should you want to be gone ? "
asked the captain. ^^ ^ " '.

" About a fortnight, sir." I

" Well, I'll give you a week's liberty. You may
start next Monday morning, and be on board
again the Monday after."

ON SUORE IN ITALY. 105

** But that wouldn't give me time to visit
ilome," said I.

" 1 don't care where you go to, but that's all the
line you can have," answered the captain.

The next day I went to the Consul, and got
lilm to procure a passport from the minister at
Turin, and on the day appointed by the captain I
procured tickets through to Rome, altliough I
found the steamers did not connect at Leghorn
and I should have to remain there three days.
But this would give me time to go to Florence ;
I also knew the captain's only motive in limiting
me to a week was the usual one of discipline, and
1 felt no hesitation at transgressing a little, if the
question to be decided was whether I shoi'ld see
liume or not.

1 went to the captain with my through tickets
and told him that I should not be able to return in
time. He relented a little and said : " Well, get
back as soon as you can."

I took this last remark for my instructions and
starting on mj'' journey, visited Leghorn, Pisa,
Florence and Kome, spending eight days in the
Eternal City, and rushing about over its ruins and
tlu'ougli its galleri^>8 in a way that astonished the
more deliberate tivvellers whom I met. On the
Beventeenth day I ;igain entered the harbor of
Genoa, in the mornii g, and being a little in dread
of an explosion of the aptain's wrath I used my
knowledge of his character to concoct a little

106 ON DOAKD TEE ROCKKT.

plars for shielding myself. It worked admirably,
I had made the acquaintance on board the
steamer of a gentleman, tlie U. S. Consul at Ven-
ice, and I invited him to go on board the " Dublin"
with me and take breakfast, assuring him of a
cordial welcome from Capt. Streeter. .^ ^

I walked into the cabin and found the captain
seated there. " Good mornings sir," said I.

" Oh ! 3^ou 3^oung blackguard, " the captain broke
forth, and pausing here one second as he noticed
the stranger in uniform who had followed, I
seized the chanee to say, " This is the American

Consul at Venice, sir,"

" Ah ! how do you do, sir ; I'm very glad to see

you, sir. Welcome on board the ' Dublin ;' take a

chair, sir," and in the profusion of his attention to

the consul the captain quite forgot the "blessing"

he had been hoarding up for poor me during the

past week, and when he at last had time to hear

my story, he only said, " I thought you'd come

back with some old sailor excuse."

I felt I had earned my visit to Rome at a cheap
rate after all, and was highly pleased at this finale.
The trip made a good hole in my earnings and ai
the end of a six months' voyage I found myself in
debt to the vessel.

The ship was now taking in marble in blocks,
weighing from three to five tons each. These
were hoisted on board from the lighters by a large
" pontoon," which had a great pair of sheatis and

LOADiKG AlAKBLE. 107

iininense tackle at one end, and at the other a
wheel and axle to heave with. The blocks came
up slowly, sometimes two or three at a time, one
luuiging below the other, and as they swung over
the ship and were lowered down the hatchway,
tiiey were watched with almost breathless silence
lest something should give away and let them go
down through the bottom. But the five hundi'ed
tons were taken on board safely, and then the
ship tilled up with bales of rags, cases of olive oil
and boxes of maccaroni.

Capt. Streeter managed to pick a quarrel with
almost every man in port that he had dealings
with. He always seemed to act on the supposition
that those he dealt with were trying to cheat him,
and was not at all backward about telling them so.
The consequence was that he was always in hot
water, had a lawsuit with the consignee of his
cargo, and got the reputation, as far as I could
ascertain from those who had business with him, of
being either a fool or a liar, or both.

But after all he was a shrewd man, and the
result of his bullying and lying was, that his
owners had a moderate disbursement account, and
he thought that would cover a multitude of sins.

His special antagonist on shore was a Mr. Pasa-
niotti, and having a great inaptitude for getting
hold of names, he used to amuse me sometimes at
night by relating his grievances during the day, and

108 ON BOABD THE ROCKET.

giving vent to invectives against " Mr. Smashem-
potter/' * "

There were a few American vessels in port.
Every evening visits were exchanged among the
ships, and each officer became informed of the
exact character of every ship, whether she was a
''wild boat," " workhouse," or "good ship;" and
of every captain, whether he was a " hard ticket,"
"fool," "skinflint," or "gentleman."

There were three or four regular visitants to the
"Dublin." The mate of the "Eagle" came with
long yarns about his captain's daughter, a romping
lassie, who had a flirtation underway with five
different captains, all supposed to be bachelors.
The second mate of the " Example " had curious
tales of the means his captain was using to make
the crew desert the ship ; and others brought stories
of meanness, tyranny, or debauchery, which made
one blush for the honor of his profession and
nationality; while on- the other hand, we some-
times were favored with commendations of captains
in the highest terms.

" What was that man doing hanging in a bowline
over the side of your ship, to-day and yesterday ? "
asked our mate of Mr. Winthrop, the second mute
of the " Example," as several of us were seated oii
the poop-deck of the "Dublin" one evening, wliile
the captain was on shore.

" What ! did you notice him?" .

DRIVING SAILORS ASHORE. 109

"Yes;" said Mr. Morrison, "I'm no friend to
Bailors, but I think it's a shame to hang a fellow
out all day long in that way."

"When he's got a broken back, too, eh?" said
Mr. Winthrop.

"A broken back! "

"Something or the sort. But Til tell you all
about it. We've been away from home now about
nine months, and the sailors get fourteen dollars a
month, so they've got near a hundred dollars due
them. Sailors are plenty here now, and wages are
only twelve dollars. Our ship can't get a freight
at present. I don't know how true it is, but one
of our consignee's clerks told me that last time our
old man was here, he cheated his broker out of a
commission ; and this same man is now doing all
lie can to prevent the ship from chartering. He
gives bad reports about the seaworthiness of the
ship, I believe ; but it's a lie if he does, for she's as
able a craft as there is in these waters ; I don't care
where the next comes from. When the old man
found he'd got to stay here some time, he wanted
to get rid of his crew, but the consul wouldn't let
him pay them off, unless he gave them three
month's extra wages, and he thought it would be a
nice thing if he cod Id make them run away, and
put a thousand dollars or so in his own pocket, or
his owner's, I don't know which. So about a
month ago he began to work them up. He made
us cockbill the lower and topsail-yards, and then

110 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

the sailors had to scrub them with a piece of
canvas and a bucketful of salt water, beginning at
the lower yard-arm and scrubbing above them all
the time as they crawled up. The water of course
ran down on them, and six of them he made us
keep soaking and steaming for about a week.
This made most of 'em sick, and Saturday night
four of 'em came to the old man and told him if
he'd give them ten dollars apiece, they'd go ashore.
This he did, and made four hundred dollars out of
the operation ; and I tell you what, if ever men
earned their wages those fellows have done it since
they've been aboard of that packet, for they've
been worked like jackasses day and night.

" The next week we drove five more out of the
ship by hard work and poor grub. The old man
was greatly tickled by his good luck, and he
thought if he could get rid of one more he'd let
the rest stay, because he thought the ship might
get too bad a name if every one left.

" The fellow he picked out was an English chap,
and he told us to " keep him going." One even-
ing, after we had knocked off work and put on the
hatches, I sent him down in the 'tween decks to
see if there wasn't a stray broom left down there ;
and it being dark and the 'tween deck-hatches off,
the chap walked right down the main hatch and
fell on the stone ballast in the hold. We heard
bim singing out blue-murder, and got the hatches
off and hwled Jiiiu up on deck in a bowline. Ii<'

DElvrNQ SAILOES ASHORE. Ill

said liis back wai3 broken ; but T guess it was only
badly bruised. When the old man got aboard,
and we told him of it, he tore round as though
there was something to pay and no pitch hot. The
man wanted to go to the hospital; but the captain
didn't relish giving him his pay and three month's
extra, so he let him Ke in the forecastle a week
and have his back rubbed with soap-liniment.
But the man swore there was some bone out of
place in his back ; and the captain got mad and
told the mate yesterday morning to sling the fellow
ill a bowline, and make him scrub the copper all
round the ship outside. I wish you could have
been aboard to hear the rest of the fun, for the
mate stepped up to him and said:

" ' Capt. Murphy, I've done enough of your dirty
work ; if you want that job done you had better
ship a new mate to do it.'

"- The old man cursed him a few, I tell you, but
the mate stood his ground, and at last the captain
told him to go to an unpleasant locality.

"' I've been there the last nine months," said the
mate, "and got enough of it; so if you please, FU
take my wages and leave."

"- You don't say your mate left? "

'" Yes ; the old man tried to pay him off aboard
ship, but the mate said he wasn't going to be put
down on the articles as a deserter, and he made
him pay him off at the Consul's with two months'

112 ON BOAKD THE EOCKET.

extra for himself and one for the Consul. I guess
the old man won't smile again for two weeks."

*' How about the sailor ? "

" Oh, I got orders to do what the mate had re-
fused, and I wasn't too high-toned to do it, seeing
I want to get put in mate. I pitied the fellow,
though I don't believe he's as much hurt as lie
tries to make out. At knock-off time to-night the
old man happened to be aboard and the sailor came
aft and said he was willing to go ashore, so the old
man gave him a few dollars and he cleared.
We've only got six men aboard now, just enough
to keep her in good order."

''We got clear of sixteen men out of our ship
at Singapore," said the mate of the " Tempest."
''The whole starboard-watch left one night bag
and baggage and not one of us knew it aft till
morning. We kept 'em holystoning and scraping
from dawn to dark, and licked 'em about every
other day on an average. They left about ninety
dollars a piece, I believe ; at any rate I heard the
old man say he had made $1500 by the opera-
tion." ..

''There's been a law passed lately" said Mi.
Morrison, " which I suppose is meant to put a stop
to this driving saiiors out of ships. When a man
deserts and leaves any wages due him, they have
to be handed over to the governnient when the
vessel arrives home, that is, after taking out enough
to pay any extra expense the ship has been put to

DRIVING SAn.OKS ASHORE. 113

in getting other men. The wise he<ads in Congress
thought that if they could prevent captains from
making any money by it, they would have no
inducement to run their crews ashore."

" But they weren't smart enough," said the mate
of the " Tempest." " They might have known
that if a man is rascal enough to rob sailors in that
way, for that's just what it amounts to, he won't
make any bones about telling a lie to save the
stealings. Now our old man put down on the
articles about seventy dollars paid to each man,
and fifteen dollars expense incurred by the deser-
tion, leaving about four or five dollars, which may
be the Custom House will get.

" It seems rather hard," said Mr. Morrison, " that
a ship shouldn't have the benefit of what wages a
runaway sailor leaves behind him. No matter how
well sailors are treated, some will almost always
desert, just on account of their love of change,
and often will leave a little money due them."

''I expect it is hard for the captains to make up
their minds to pay it," said the mate of the
"Tempest." "But sailors don't often run away
from a good ship, when they have much money
due them, except when they want to go to the gold
mines, or some such thing. I've seen as much of
this driving men out of ships as most men agoing,
and done a good deal of it myself too, but I must
say I think it's a shame, and the sailors need some
protection such as this law means to give, and I'm

114 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

not sure but this will come as near to doing it as
anything can, except abolishing the three months'
pay law, which is the greatest cause of sailors
being driven ashore." ^ '

Another evening three or four mates came visit-
ing, and the burden of our conversation was lady
passengers.

" It is always bad luck," said one., " to have
either a woman or a minister aboard. I never
knew it to fail yet. It is either a long passage, or
getting dismasted, or short of provisions, or there's
a terrible row in the camp. It's bad enough to
carry one woman, as the ' Eagle ' is going to do,
but when it comes to taking four or five of them
and two missionaries beside, as the ' Tempest '
does it's the very mischief. I don't believe she'll
ever reach port."

'' You're an old owl," said the mate of the
" Tempest." " There's no better luck that can
happen to a ship than to have a lady on board,
mind I say a lady. As to missionaries, I've noth-
ing to say, for I never sailed wdth an}^ yet, but I
stand up for the women. I'd be willing to go for
five dollars a month less wages for the sake of
being in a ship that carried them."

'' Tell us your reasons," said Mr. Howard, " be-
fore you expect us to believe you. What good is
there in having a woman on board ? I don't be-
lieve there's any bad luck in it, nor do I see why-
you should be quite so enthusiastic about it."

WOMEN IN SHIPS. 115

" ril tell you my reasons. I've a great opinion
of woman's influence in keeping the edge on
men's good manners and principles. A crowd of
men shut up together on a long voyage are con-
tinually degenerating into barbarism. They need
some restraint on their selfielmess, and a curb to
their brutal natures. A woman's presence in some
measure supplies this. The captain feels bound to
respect her, if there's anything of the man about
him, and he's careful how he swears or uses bad
language. The oflScers take their cue from the old
man, and they're not as rough with the crew, and
the sailors in their turn feel the influence and keep
on their good behavior when they're around aft;
it puts Jack in good humor to see calico fluttering,
and ribbons flying in the breeze, for I believe
every true sailor is at heart a ladies' man, though
he may not have much grace in displaying it.
The man at the wheel keeps his weather-eye lifting
when she comes on deck to take an airing, and has
both his ears unbuttoned to catch any of her
words, and when he gets into the forecastle he
says : ' Boys, what do you think the old woman
said this morning,' and then there's a long argu-
ment about it all dinner time, whereas if they
didn't have that to talk about, they'd be growling
about the ship, the work and their grub. The
good influence has begun already in our ship just
from knowing ladies are coming."

" How's that," said the mate of the " Example/*

116 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

" Why, my second mate is a great eye-servant.
He's as mild as a kitten when tlie old man's out
of the ship, and doesn't care whether school keeps
or not; but just as soon as the cap'n gets hold of
the man-ropes to come up the side, he begins curs-
ing and heaving belaying pins. The old man
steps over the rail and says to the captain that has
come on board with him, as they go into tlie cabin:
' That's the boy to take care of 'em. He makes
'em toe the mark.' Last evening the cap'n came
aboard after knock-off time, when the men were
at supper, but the 'shocking dickey ' wanted to
shew off, so he went to the starboard forecastle
door, and began raving at somebody about leaving
a marline-spike at the main fife-rail. The cap'n
heard him as he came over the gangway and sung
out: ' There, that'll do Mr. Brown ; we've got to
knock off all such talk as that — we're going to
have lady passengers.' I've sailed with the old
man three years, and that's the first time ever I
heard him find fault with bad language. So I
think I've proved my case, haven't I?" ' ^

" Yes," said Mr. Howard, " you're a good cham-
pion for the ladies. You'd do to present their
cause before a meeting of shipowners."

" If it's such a good thing for a ship to carry
women, why is it that shipowners are so down on
it, and they so seldom allow captains to carry their
wives?" asked the mate of the bark ", Vulture."

" One reason," said Mr. Morrison, " is the extra

WOMEN IN SItlPS. 117

expense , it costs something to feed them on a
long voyage, and they must have more d unties.
Another is that they sometimes cause detention to
the ship or occasion a deviation from the V03'age.
Tiiere was a ship belonging to a Boston firm that I
used to sail for, that was kept waiting in Calcutta
for a week after she was loaded, on account of the
captain becoming a happy father. When the news
came home, one of the partners handed the letter
over to the other, and said, ' What do you think of
that?' * Think,' said he ; 'I think we won't make
baby-houses of our ships any more.' They made
the rule, and after that captains had the choice to
leave their wives at home, or leave the emplo3\"

" It's a hard place for a woman on board of a
ship any way," croaked the " owl " again. *' It
isn't natural for them to be shut up for months
with a crowd of rough ' barnacle backs,' without
any of their sex to gossip with, and no chance to
go a-shopping, except two or three times a year."

"A ship is a hard place for anyone," said I.
" Going to sea is an unnatural life and a hardship
to everybody. It's pretty clear from the Bible
how its Maker regards it, for there it is frequently
used as a symbol of evil. ' The wicked are like
the troubled sea,' and ' raging waves of the sea ; '
' he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea ; ' the
beast of Revelation is represented as rising out of
the sea, and we read in the description of the per-
fect state ' there was no more sea/ It is not good

118 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

enough to be allowed in heaven. But in spite of
all its trials and unpleasant features we all like to
go to sea."

" Vast heaving there, my friend," said the mate
of tlie " Example." '* I don't like to go to sea, and
I never saw a man yet that would own up to liking
it."

" We must be judged by our actions, not by our
words," said I. "Sea life gets people into such a
way of ' growling ' that they never know when to
stop finding fault ; and if you ask them about any
of their circumstances they'll generally give an
unfavorable account of them. But after you've
been growling about sea life for a whole voyage,
you'll get on shore, and in three weeks' time you'll
be fretting to be afloat again, and if you don't find
a ship pretty soon, you'll growl worse even than
you did at sea. But I'll meet you half way and
say we 'prefer to go to sea, in spite of its hardships.
Against these we have the offset of seeing foreign
countries, the excitement of constant change of
place, and the great pleasure of arrivals at home.
Now, although what was said about the women
may have some truth in it, yet a woman, who loves
her husband, may consider his company more than
an equivalent for the privations of life on ship-
board; and then, in foreign ports she's always
made a good deal of, and gets a chance to see
everything that's to be seen, and enjoy all the
pleasures of foreign life, so that when you compare

C?IPRALTAR. 119

her life for a year's voyage, witli the hum-drum
existence she would lead by herself in a small
country town ; fretting about her good man every
time the wind blew hard, being the only excite-
ment she would have in the whole time he was
away, and I tell you the seafiiring woman has
tlie best of it/'

" Pretty well argued," said Mr. Morrison, " for a
youngster that knows nothing about it."

After two months in port the ship was again
ready for sea ; and after a parting growl with Mr.
Smashempotter, the captain came on board with
oi'ders to get under way. With a fresh southerly
wind we sailed into the Bay, and the City of
Genoa disappeared astern, just as the sun went
down behind the Apennines.

Moderate breezes and pleasant weather brought
tlie ship again in sight of Gibraltar ten days after
leaving port, and then a calm took possession of the
Straits, and the ship lay helpless at the entrance,
slowly drifting back with the current.

During this time Capt. Streeter had been re-
markably pleasant. He spun long twisters to the
second mate and myself, chiefly about his experi-
ences in fighting sailors, and even made advances
towards favoring Mr. Morrison in the same way;
but was not very successful in this attempt, for
whenever the mate detected a lie or misstatement
in the captain's narrations, and this was not seldom,
he always felt it his duty to contradict it, whereas

120 ON BOAKD THE ROCKKT.

we appeared to accept everything as gospel. Noth-
ing provoked the captain so much as to have hia
veracity or knowledge questioned, and this course
of the mate's threatened to bring on a relapse of
the captain's " tantrums."

Toward the close of the day on which we had
sighted Gibraltar, a breeze set in from the west-
ward, dead ahead. By nightfall we got abreast of
the harbor, and all through the night we made
short tacks across the Straits, only to find ourselves
in the same place in the morning ; and in the next
few hours we rather lost ground, as the current
gained strength with the increasing breeze. So
the captain abandoned the useless attempt, and
came into the harbor of Gibraltar and anchored.

The harbor is on the west side of the rock, and
is protected by a sea-wall. On all other sides the
rock ascends bare and steep from the sea-level, but
to the westward it presents a pleasant slope, and
on this is the town of Gibraltar with 16,000 inhabit-
ants, besides a garrison of soldiers ; a narrow sandy
isthmus connects the rock with the continent.

The next day I had to go ashore with the cap-
tain to get some blacksmith's work done for the
ship, and found a chance to take a hasty glance at
tlie place, and was surprised to find so much
verdure, upon what I had imagined was wholly a
barren rock; but to the south of the town is a
very attractive esplanade. On the north side I
stood within a stone's throw of the base of tlie

THROUGH THE STKAITS. 121

rock, and looking aloft, saw it towering above me
in almost a straight wall of 1400 feet. Througl
port-holes near the top, the black muzzles of cannon
pointed to seaward from the excavated galleries in

tlie rock.

Capt. Streeter was told there was no chance for
an easterly wind for the next fortnight, and, he
must make up his mind to stop contentedly until
he saw the rock " put on it's nightcap," as they
style the cloud that hangs over it, as the certain
precursor of a "Levanter."

The prophets and signs failed this time, and the
next morning a strong easterly breeze was blowing,
and getting under way, the ship passed through the
Straits under reefed topsails, and was once more in
the Atlantic.

The ship was bound to Baltimore, and the dh-ect
course would have been nearly west, but as westerly
winds prevail in that latitude, the longest way
around was the shortest way home, and the ship
was headed to the S. W. in order to take advantage
of the N. E. trades.

We passed between the Canary Islands, enjoying
their verdure and bold mountain scenery, and saw
the volcanic Peak of Teneriffe lifting its head above
the clouds, 12,000 feet from the ocean. Then with
moderate trades we ran down to lat. 22° N., and
kept along to the westward, having beautiful
weather, but rather lighter winds than the captain
expected.

122 ON BOARD THE llOCKET.

The short detention at Gibraltar seemed to break
up the captain's good mood, and Mr. Morrison's
provocation soon brought him back to his former
role of '* sea-devil."

The ship had carried sand-ballast on a former
voyage and the " limbers " not having been proj)-
erly cleaned out, vdienever the ship rolled heavily,
the sand washed to the pumps. As they were (Jd-
fashioned wooden affairs they had not power enough
to raise it, and it settled on the lower boxes and
choked the pumps. The vessel leaked a good deal
and we spent considerable time drawing the boxes
with the pump hook, which sometimes it was diffi-
cult to work through a foot or more of sand.
Then we had to hoist the pump on deck and ram
out the box with an iron rod. The captain prided
himself on his skill in hooking the pump box, and
whenever he heard the warning sounds, he invaria-
bly came on deck, mounted the fiferail and took
charge of operations. His patience would soon be
exhausted if not successful, and then his profanity
was really awful. Every conceivable phrase of
bad language was summoned to express his petu-
lance, and once, when baffled for a long time by
the sanded box, he rattled off a string of twenty-
three words which haunt my memory as the worst
utterance I have ever heard.

In the fine weather of the trades the old ^uit of
sails was bent, as the capiain said, " She must have
on her old clothes to tar down in *'

HOW TO CLINCH BUNTLINES. 123

The mainsail was bent one afternoon, and in the
inevitable inspection and criticism which followed,
the captain informed Mr. Morrison that the biint-
liiies were clinched into the foot of the sail the
wrong way.

" How so, sir ?" said the mate.

" Why, they ought to be rove from forward aft,"
said he.

" I don't think so, sir," answered the mate ; " they
ought to be rove from aft forward."

" But look at the philosophy of the thing," said
tae captain ; " don't you see there'd be more chafe
on the sail your way?" i^ '?

" No sir, I don't," said the mate ; " the philoso-
phy is all the other way. They've been bent after
your fashion before, and the sail we've just taken
down is about chafed through in the wake of the
clinches."

" I've heard the thing argued by intelligent men
and they all agreed with me," said the captain.

" If you want to have it done your way of
course you can have it," answered the mate, " but
it's wrong, and no intelligent man ever said differ-
entl3\"

The captain, during this conversation gradually
worked himself into a furious passion, but there
was something in Mr. Morrison's demeanor which
always kept him from giving the vent to his rage,
as he did with every one else, and after the con-
versation had been continued a while longer in a

124 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

isimilar strain to the above, he quietl}'' turned away
and walked towards the cabin, but as he passed me
he muttered in an audible tone, " I've never been
insulted before in my life, as I have been hy tluit
man.'^ "■.■'■,",' 7v '"-"/' "

He worked off some of his spleen that evening
by exercising the boys with the watch-tackle, and
giving them a bountiful allowance of his favorite
prescription, " rope yarn tea." : ' .. ^ ^

But he did not get back into his pleasant mood
very soon, and he snarled at and picked on the
officers and made them ugly, and they relieved
their wrath by growling at the crew, and the men
in their turn got cross, and pretty soon all hands
and the cook were in hot water. There was a
great deal of work going on, and if any of Mr.
Morrison's men blundered they were very apt to
get a rope's-ending, and if Mr. Howard's men were
at fault, and sometimes when they were not, they
had to dodge their heads for a belaying pin or stick
of wood.

Sailors, if they ever chew tobacco, always use it
when steering, and some can do without it at all
other times, but must have a " chew " at the wheel.
One ef Capt. Streeter's rules was that every man
w^ho used tobacco should clean out the spittoon,
when he went away from the wheel. One fore-
noon the helmsman said to me : " The man that I
relieved didn't clean out the spit-box, sir." He
called attention to it from fear of being taken to

CLEANING THE SPITTOON. 125

task for it himself. I asked who it was, and was
told it was Jake. I was about to call him oiit on
deck to do the job, when the captain who was
standing near and hsard what had been said, called
to me and said : " Let Mr. Howard regulate his
own watch. Give him a call and tell him about it."

The second mate had just gone to sleep, having
had eight hours on deck the previous night, and
when I waked him up, and gave him the captain's
message, he was not in very good humor. He
understood in a moment what the order meant, and
stepping out on deck he saw the captain standing
by the weather mizzen-rigging, and so went for-
ward to the weather forecastle door. As he passed
the galley he picked up a stick of the cook's oak
fire-wood, and holding it in his hand called for
Jake. Jake turned out promptly and came to the
door to see what was wanted, and just as he
stepped on deck, Mr. Howard charged him with
the neglect. Before he had a chance to reply he
aimed a blow at his head with the stick of wood.
Jake warded it off with his arm and acting on the
defensive was driven aft by the second mate, who
aimed blow after blow at him, which the man suc-
ceeded in avoiding or throwing off. He was driven
aft in this way until he reached the cabin.

A sailor in going aft on the quarter-deck is
always required to take the lee side, and as Jake,
rather against his will it is true, was thus trans-
gressing rules, the captain took the opportunity to

126 ON BOABD THE ROCKET.

come to Mr. Howard's assistance, and drawing a
belaying pin from the rail he stepped forward
and said to Jake : " How dare you come aft on the
weather side of my quarter-deck," finishing his re-
mark by a gesture, which brought the belaying pin
down on Jake's head with great force. Being now
between two fires, he was unable to defend liimself,
and had to take a good pounding before he was
released to perform the neglected work.

In the middle watch that night Mr. Howard was
sitting on the rail leaning against the boat's davit,
and he fell asleep. Jake perceived his condition,
and vowing to one of the men he would push him
overboard, started towards him to do it. The
other man sprang . after him and held him back,
and in the little struggle that ensued the second
mate was awakened, and sung out to them to "stop
that skylarking." For some time after this Jake
was punished by being ordered never to walk on
deck, but always to move at a run ; and it became
a rather ludicrous sight to witness Jake's half-gal-
Icp, as he careered around about his duties.

Great efforts were made to have the ship look
well. The rigging was set up, rattled down and
tarred, the ship was painted, and every morning
the crew were exercised at holystoning the deck.
To do this the men knelt down, sprinkled sand
and water on the deck, and then rubbed the holy-
stones to and fro to wear the dqck smooth and
white. The stones that were used in this ship

HOLYSTONES. 127

were of the shape of a brick, only somewhat larger.

One morning this work was going on, and ilie
second mate found one of his men had disappeared.
He picked up his holystone and went in searcli of
liiin. Just as he got to the forecastle door ihe
man, a young sailor called Dan, was just coming
out on deck with a plug of tobacco in his hand.

" What are you doing in there ? " said Mr.
Howard.

" I've been to get a chew of tobacco, sir," said
Dan.

The second mate gave him a few rounds of
curses, and then struck him over the forehead with
the holystone, which flew into pieces, breaking in
the middle from the force of the blow. Dan's
head was not much the worse for it though, and he
went back to his work apparently unharmed.

The captain came on deck soon after, and wliile
overseeing the work as usual, he spied the broken
stone.

" How did that stone get broken ? " he asked of
Mr. Howard.

" I just broke it over that nigger's head, sir."

" Did you, really ? He must have a tough head.
What was it for ? "

*' Because he left his work and went into the
forecastle," said Mr. Howard.

" That's right. Keep 'em up to the work ; don't
take a word from 'em, or if one of 'em dares give

128 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

you a black look, just pick up the cook's axe and
split his skull open 1 "

All this was said in a loud tone for the benefit
of the men, and the second mate was so much en
couraged by this endorsement, that the same day he
broke a deck-bucket against another sailor's head,
who gave him a " black look," and as a boy was
coiling up a rope in a larger coil than he fancied,
he sang out to him: V

" What sort of a way is that to coil up a rope,"
and hurled an iron belaying-pin at him with all his
might. It missed its mark and made a deep scar
in the wood-work of the forward house. If the
captain did not value his sailors' heads very much,
the same imputation did not apply to his buckets
or the appearance of the ship ; and this last occur-
rence was so manifestly unjust, and resulted more-
over in such an injury to the house, that it brought
the second mate a mild rebuke from the captain,
who told him he ought to be careful or he'd kill
somebody. He seemed to forget that splitting
skulls open with the cook's axe might probably
lead to that result.

All these affairs, which are but samples of many
others, made the mate and myself still more un-
friendly to Mr. Howard, and scarcely any conver-
sation passed between us. But the captain seeing
this coolness, befriended Howard all the more in
private, though one night when all hands were on
deck, he got so furious at the mate's neglect to an-

BEATING A BOY. 129

swer his orders, that he hauled oflF his coat and
offered to fight the second mate, greatly to How-
ard's bewilderment, who thought it was rather poor
business to do all the " captain's dirty work " for
him and then get paid with the abuse, which be-
longed to the mate, but which the captain was
afraid to give him.

Howard's cruelty and cowardice culminated in
an act which even the captain had to condemn.
One of the two boys was named Taylor, and had
formerly been a servant in the house of a well-
known senator in Washington. If not one of
the brightest boys in the world, he was one of the
most well disposed, and though he had felt the
captain's " cat " on his back pretty often, nothing
seemed to interfere with his good nature. It was
he who called the captain when Jake was attack-
ing the second mate. . : ^ -

One evening at clearing-up time^ Taylor was sent
aft on the poop with a broom to sweep the deck
down. But after sweeping a little while, he rested
his broom against the house, and commmced mak-
ing some motions for the benefit of the man at the
wheel, which seemed to tickle him very much.
Just then the captain happened to look around the
corner of the house, and spying master Taylor's
proceedings, he put an end to the fun by shouting :

" You imp, what are you doing there ? "

" Nothing, sir," said Taylor, beginning to move
liis broom very assiduously.

180 ON BOARD THE HOOKET.

" If that's what you call nothing, Til teach you
not to do nothing again I " and taking him by the
neck he hauled him along to where the cat was
hanging at the front of the cabin, and taking it
down, gave Taylor's back such a dressing as it had
not received that voyage. He was amply pun-
ished, to say the least, but not enough to suit Mr.
Howard, who followed the boj^ forward, and getting
him forward of the foremast said to him :

« What did I send you aft for? "

" To sweep the deck, sir," answered Taylor.

" Yes ; so I did," said Mr. Howard, " and instead
of doing it you must go to skylarking with the
man at the whee^ The 'old man' has licked 3'ou
for fooling on the poop, and now I owe you some-
thing for not doing what I told you to."

Without further words he struck Taylor on the
face with a belaying-pin, and followed it up with
several blows in the same place. The boy's shrieks
brought the mate forward ; but by the time he had
reached the spot, the damage was done, and the
boy lay fainting upon the fore-hatch with his face
covered with blood.

The worthy mate, as soon as he comprehended
the matter, burst out with some expressions more
forcible than elegant, and said to the second mate :

"'' Mr. Howard, there's nothing of the man about
you. You're a disgrace to the very name of a
man. An officer that would treat a boy like that
ought to be keel-hauled."

' BEATING A BOr. 131

The second mate siicjiked away aft, leaving the
mate to take care of the boy.

The next day the captain missed Taylor fiora
the deck, and hearing that he had laid np, sent for
liim. He appeared with his face so swollen and
discolored that no one could have recognized him.
Ca[)t. Streeter was quite shocked by the case, and
gave him proper lotions from the medicine-chest.
He took a private opportunity to tell Mr. Howard
that he had been rather too severe this time ; but
avoided any public reproach of him, not wishing to
give any further encouragement to Mr. Morrison's
hostility.

In all this time I was getting along pretty well.
The crew had fighting enough from the other offi-
cers to keep them in respectful awe of " the powers
that be " without much need of my using my fists
against them, though the captain kept up his system
of alternate persecutions and insinuating stories, all
designed to make me such an officer as he thought
I ought to be.

The mate was treated with all the contempt that
the captain dared to show him, and his naturally
irritable temper was by no means soothed by this
feature of his situation. I sometimes had good
proof of this by receiving a snappish rebuke for
some fault or omission detected by the mate's keen
eyes. But apart from a momentary exasperation,
this had no great effect on my spirits, for I accepted
such occurrencej as the inevitable portion of a

132 . ON BOAllD THE ROCKET.

third mate, and "was only thankful that my share
was no larger than it was.

As for actual pleasure in the course of my
duties, that was something I Iiad learned not to
expert on board the *' Dublin." The sole idea of
the ship as the captain endeavored to direct it, was

• work, work, and every job, whether of putting on
a seizing or Sweeping the deck, was to be done
with the interest and thoroughness which would
attend a matter of life or death. Nothing that
was ship's duty could be called trivial, and if a
shaving took refuge under a spare spar, escaping
the boy's broom, it demanded as great an outcry
as one would suppose belonged to one, who had
scuttled the ship. In fact it generally received it,
for if the shaving escaped the officer's eye, it \\ as
pretty sure to meet the captain's glance, for he was

; very particular after clearing-up time to search for

something, which would give him opportunity to

' find fault with his officers, and show them they

• had not done their duty.

. The second mate and I had a room in the star-
board side of the after house, opening out upon
the deck. The weather being warm, I usually left
the door open when I turned in, and one morning
at about five o'clock I was awakened by a tre-
mendous string of oaths, uttered by the captain in
a very loud tone just in front of my room. " That
shows the ambition of my officers," said he.
. ** Nothing can be done unless I see to it myself. I

A l?ALT FISU BOW. 133

believe if I sliould keep in my room one day the

• fc'.hip would go clear to destruction, (only he used a

more explicit name,) and he went on with minglctl

curses and denunciations about the ambition of

. his officers, iii a way that made me tremble. The
occasion of this displa}'", I learned, was the falling
ot* a bundle of salt-lish from underneath one of the
bouts, and it happened that I . had sent a man the
evening before to see that it was well secured, as
there was an appearance of. more wind coming
during the night. Being before the wind, the ship
roll*}d a good deal, and the salt-fish fetched away

, in spite of the sailor's effort at securing it. There
was no damage done to the fish, but it showed to
the captain's mind that his officers had no ambi-
tion, and he made use of it to let off the cross
feelings which mates know as a general thing at-
tend a captain's getting up in the morning, and
seem to be a sort of morning bitters — an appetizer
for his cup of coffee. All these things gave me a

;. vivid impression of the meaning of the phrase
" eternal vigilance ; " for no matter how hard I
tried or closely watched, every little while there
would be discovered some job which a sailor had
slighted, or a gasket would get adrift on a yard
while I was busied with work which required my
whole attention, and the captain, who had nothing
else to do but look for such things, would liappen

* to spy it, and then would begin his taunting, aggra-
vating remarks: "Nobody sees anything, but me*

134 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

I don't know what they'd do without the old
man," and so on, in a way that sometimes goaded
me almost beyond endurance. When the captain
saw this effect, in the next leisure moment he
would have a yarn to spin or a word about home
to soothe me again, for he seemed quite concerned
about my ultimate impressions of my captain.

I philosophized over all this and comforted my-
self with the reflection that it was good training
for me to be under such strict surveillance, and
then I fell back upon the memory of pleasures
which nad been the result of this voyage, my
travels in Italy; and often in the nightwatch, I
sought refuge from my intense broodings over the
captain's tyrann}'- and harshness, by standing, in
imagination, by the Coliseum or under the dome of
St. Peter's, or in gazing with memory's eye upon
the almost living figures of Raphael and Guido, or
the statues of the Vatican. The whistling of the
wind recalled to me the beautiful echoes of tha
Baptistry of Pisa, and the inclining masts, its
leaning tower ; or, in more sober moods I remem-
bered my sensations as I stood by the tombs of
Galileo, Michael Angelo and Dante at Florence.

After passing the longitude of Bermuda the
course was shaped more to the northward, and
losing the trades, southerly winds and variables
took their place, and helped the good ship along
still further. A few days more, would end the

OLD JENKINGS. 135

voyage , and I hoped tlie disagreeable features of
it might prove to be ah^eady ended.

There was an old negro on board called Jenkings,
who was nearly sixty years of age. He had been
to sea a good part of his life, but was now not
much more of a sailor than when he first started.
Being in the mate's watch, poor Jenkings was hauled
over the coals every day for some bad job or mis-
take; and the mate had expended more words
upon him than upon any two men in the crew.

Tlie captain was very fond of calling Jenkings to
him and giving him an errand at the other end of
tlie ship, telling him to run as fast as he could, and
the captain stood and laughed at his movements ;
for his feeble legs made strange work of it, and
though they moved up and down pretty often,
made a slow business of forging ahead. One day,
while watching these movements, he remarked to
me, as I was sitting on the deck near him, strap-
ping a block: "A man would be a wretch that
would strike that old thing." And I remembered
it as evidence that the captain had some tender
mercies with regard to sailors after all.

The mate never went farther with him than to
pull his white beard, or tie him up in the rigging
by his thumbs. But it was very hard for him to
do anything to the mate's satisfaction ; and every
day Mr. Morrison's shrill tones and Scotch accent
were bestowed most liberally upon old Jenkings, who
always received his rebukes in perfect silence, but

136 ON BOARD THE KOCKET.

with his thick, pouting lips stuck out beyond their
usual great prominence.

In crossing the Gulf Stream we found unsettled
weather, as is apt to be the case in the region of
this wonderful current, and were busied in taking
in or setting sail, as occasion required. The cap-
tain had given orders in the afternoon to set the
cro' jack; and having just had a dispute with the
mate, he went into the cabin in a cross mood, to
get out of the way while the sail was being set.
When the work was about finished, he was just
btepping out of the cabin, as I sung out to old
Jenkings, who was on top of the house : " Let go
that buntline; what are you hauling it taut for?'^

"Aye, a3"e, sir," was the response, uttered in
rather a testy voice.

Capt. Streeter was just shutting the cabin door
at this time, and did it with a force that ex-
pressed his temper, and this prevented the " sir '*
from reaching his ears. He sprang to windward,
and seeing me standing by the mizzen-rigging,
called to me: "Get up on the house and knock
that old nigger's head off ! "

I stared at him in amazement, wondering if he
had gone crazy.

" Get up there," he repeated, " and give him a
rope's-end over his back. Don't take an insult
from anybody."

Instead of obeying his direction, I walked towards
the captain and passed him without saying a word.

OLD JENKINGS. 137

Capt. Streeter saw the work must come upon
him if he wanted it done ; and with a few bounds
was on top of the house, and snatching a rope
away from old Jenkings, that he was coiling up,
gave him some vigorous blows over the back with
the end of it. " Will you ever speak to one of my
officers again without saying ' Sir ? ' " said the cap-
tain, as he paused a moment for breath.

'' I always do, sir," answered Jenkings, who was
wholly at a loss to understand what all this meant.

"You're a liar," said the captain, with a few
more expressions peculiarly Capt. Streeter's, and
gave him another flogging.

When he had finished, he turned and walked to

the edge of the house and said : " Mr. A , if

you ever let a man say aye, aye, to you again, I'll
serve you in the same way."

"No one ever said it to me since I've been
aboard of this ship, sir," I replied.

" Yes, there has," said the captain. *' This man
just said it."

" You're mistaken, sir ; he didn't," said I.

"You call me a liar, do you?" said Capt.
Streeter, in a furious passion. " I'll teach you to
know your place. I've treated you so well, you
think you can take charge of the ship ; but I'll let
you know I'm captain of her yet." He continued
with such a string of words that there was no
chance to reply, and I walked forward to set the
fljing-jib, leaving him to talk to the mizzen-mast,

138 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

which he did for some time after, to the edification
of the man at the wheel, raving and cursing about
white-livered officers, religion, sailors, and ending
at last with an anathema on his own eyes.

Two days after, the water changed from its deep
blue to green, and the deep sea lead found bottom
at eighty fathoms. The wind died away as we
approached the land, and we lay becalmed for some
hours ; but at last the ship began to move along,
though there was scarcely a breath of v^ind to be
felt on deck. I Iiove the log in a little while, and
reported to the captain that the ship was going
seven knots. He would not believe it, and told
me to try it again ; but the same result was shown,
and having occasion to go aloft immediately after,
I found a fresh breeze blowing there. The top-
gallantsails and royals were pulling hard, and the
topsails "stood " most of the time, but the "courses"
were hanging up and down, without taking a breath
of wind. ' ' ^

That night found the ship again in Chesapeake
Bay, with a Baltimore pilot on board, having been
fifty days on the passage from Genoa, and a little
over five months and a half on the voyage.

It was now the beginning of June. The weather
was mild and beautifully clear, and a pleasant
westerly breeze enabled the ship to lay her course
ap the bay.

When the pilot comes on board, he is always
supposed to take sole charge of the ship ; but Capt.

THE pilot's P.KBUFF. 139

Streeter could not bear to think of any one super-
seding him, and so kept about deck, frequently-
giving orders about the sails or yards. The pilot
was somewhat surprised by this conduct, but said
nothing. In the morning, while he was walking
on top of the house, the captain stepped out of the
cabin, and seeing that tlie wind was a little free,
called out in a loud, pompous tone : " Mr. Morrison,
set the forctopmast studding-sail ; " his manner im-
plying that he would show the pilot he didn't allow
his ship to go loafing along, when it could be helped.
The pilot kept on with his walk, and the sailorj?
rove off the gear, rigged out the boom, and hoisted
the sail up. The captain promenaded about with
a self-satisfied air, scarcely deigning to notice the
pilot. But a minute after the sheet had been
trimmed down and before the ropes were coiled up,
the pilot altered the ship's course a little, and sang
out : '' Haul down that topmast studding-sail ! "

The captain disappeared into the cabin very
suddenl}', and let the pilot take care of the ship
afterward without any interference. .

A calm set in in the afternoon, and we anchored
off Point Lookout, at the mouth of the Potomac ;
but in the early hours of the morning, a breeze
enabled us to get under way again, and meeting a
steam-tug, the captain struck a bargain, and the
little boat took us in tow and brought us by Fort
McHenry into the harbor of Baltimore, just before
the sun went down. As much as twenty miles

140 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

below the city we met sailor boarding-house runners,
cruising in their boats, but refused to allow them
on board, and the refusal in each case called forth
a volley of curses aud the foulest language. When
near the city a perfect swarm of boats had collected
about the ship, hanging on to her channels or sail-
ing along by her; and every little while some
adventurous person would climb up the side and
attempt to come on board, and if refused, as they
always were, would use most insulting language.
One fellow, who persistently took his stand in the
main channels, and refused to get into his boat,
was accosted by the captain with a belaying-pin ;
but he coolly drew out a revolver and threatened to
blow the captain's brains out if he dared to touch
him. The pilot cautioned the captain not to quar-
rel with these men, for they belonged to an organ-
ized gang of rowdies called " blood-tubs," and his
life would not be safe on shore if he took any harsh
measures with them.

I thought Capt. Streeter had attained to the
highest perfection possible in the use of profane
language, but these men quite equalled him, using
epithets and comparisons, shewing that human in-
genuity had been taxed to the utmost to invent
new phrases and combinations of oaths.

After a good many threats of murdering the
captain and officers when they caught them ashore,
they one by one pulled in to the wharves and left
the ship unmolested. The next clay the " Dublin '

PAYING OFF. 141

hauled in to a wharf, at Fell's Point. The sailors
had formed great plans for sueing the captain and
second mate, and anticipated a sweet revenge in
this way ; but unfortunately they had arrived in ii
slave state, where a black man's testimony would
not be taken iu court, and where also a black sai-
lor could not be discharged from his ship, unless
some white man became his bondsman that he
should leave the state within twenty-four hours.
So there was nothing to do but postpone their re-
venge to the indefinite time, when they might
catch them in New York or Boston.

A tailor, for the sake of their custom, entered
into bonds for the men, and after making a pretty
good bill out of each, shipped them by railroad to
New York. '■

After the sailors were all settled with, Capt.
Strecter called the mate into the cabin and said to
him : " Mr. Morrison, I suppose you want to leave,
since you've told me you're ashamed of the ship."

*' I'm not ashamed of the ship, sir," answered
the mate ; " I'm only ashamed of the captain. I
like the ship very much ; I only wish she had a
master worthy of her."

The captain brought about this conversation
hoping that in their last interview he might have
the advantage, and pour out on Mr. Morrison some
of the hatred that had been boiling within him
since they had quarrelled off Gibraltar. But the
Bhi'cwd, sensible Scotchman was too much for liim,

142 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

and lie saw that if he got Mr. Morrison's tongue
into full course he should get a greater worsting
than he had had during the voyage, so he said:

'' Well, if you want to leave, hand in your bill.
I've had talk enough with you."

" It's the captain's duty to hand in accounts,"
said the mate, " and I should like to have you do
it."

Here he was cornered again; so he went into his
room and got the "portage bill," and paid down
the wages due him without another word.

The mate then packed up his things, bid me a
hearty and feeling good-by, and as he drove away
from the ship his handkerchief went up to his eyes
to wipe away a few tears, which came in spite of
his self-control, as he thought of the contrast be-
tween the high purpose and worthy determination
to do his duty faithfully, which inspired him when
he joined the ship, and the disappointment and
hatred which marked the close of the voyage.

The mate being disposed of, to the captain's
great relief, and a deeply muttered curse sent after
him, Mr. Howard was summoned to his presence,
and received the reward of all his subservience
and brutality, by being asked to remain by the
ship and go as mate the next voyage.

" I should like to go with you, sir," he answered,
" for I like you better than any man I ever sailed
with, but J don't know anything about naviga-

tion."

piiOMarioi:^ 143

*' That doesn t matter," said the captain. " I

want Mr. A to go second mate, and he's a

good navigator, and if anything happens to me, he
could get the ship into port."

I was then called in and to my great surprise
was asked to remain by the ship until she was dis-
chiirged, and go next voyage as second mate.

"I'm much obliged to you, sir," I said; "but I
don't think I should suit you very well, and I*m
not sure that I shall go to sea again. I dare say I
can find something to do on shore that I am better
fitted for. I've been brought up to act as a gen-
tleman, and an officer's life, as it is here, would
force me to be a very different character,"

" I've always told you, you know," said the cap-
tain, " that you've got to give up your nice notions
if you go to sea. But you'll come to it in time.
I'm not the worst man that goes to sea, and if you
try to find a better one, you may jump from the
frying-pan into the fire. If you're determined to
leave, of course 3'ou can go. I never beg anybody
to go with me, but give me your address, and by
the time we're ready for sea again, I'll write to
you and see if you haven't changed your mind.
You may think better of it after you've been
ashore a few weeks. I want you to understand
there are plenty of second mates to be had, and
good ones too, but I've taken an interest in you^
and think 1 can make a good officer out of you, so
for your own sake I'd like to have you go again,"

144 ON BOABD THE BOCKET.

I went home the next day. Mr. Morrison had
preceded me by one day and had reported himself
at tlie office of the owner, who received him very
cordially, and, giving him a chair, told him he was
very sorry he had left the ship so soon, and asked
what was the reason. Mr. Morrison said to him :

"I left because I was not willing to sail with
Capt. Streeter, and I consider no man with any re-
spect for himself could sail with him a moment lon-
ger than was absolutely necessary. His knock-
down principles, the language he used, and the
example he set on board the ' Dublin ' were such
as would shock even a Water-street bully."

" Dear me, dear me," said the good man ; " I'm
sorry to hear that. I don't like to have such a
man in my ship. I'll talk to him and tell him he
must do differently if he wishes to stay in my em-
ploy. He never takes an officer a second voyage,
and I expect something is wrong. I'll look into
it."

Mr. Morrison went into no details, but merely
said enough to excuse himself for leaving the ship,
and having apparently satisfied the owner that
there was no blame attaching to him for not re-
maining by the ship^ he bade him good-morning.

When I got to the end of the story, the pas-
senger gave a sigh of relief and said : " I'm glad
I'm not on board the "Dublin." I think I prefer
the Brocket r

CHAPTER V,

JOHN SHEPHABD.

AFTER passing Amsterdam Island we gradu-
ally turned our course to the northward,
and without any delay in the debatable ground
north of the westerly wind region, we struck the
sou til east trades. One evening the vessel was
slipping along at the rate of seven knots, with the
wind two points free and the sea so smooth that
motion was scarcely perceptible. A hush per-
vaded the ship, that seemed indicative of as much
peace within the vessel as without. At six o'clock
John Shephard came to the wheel, and the quiet
sailing and steady steering inclined me to break
the usual custom — "no conversation with the man
at the wheel." " She steers well to-night, does'ut
she, John ? "

145

146 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

John blushed up to his eyelids, as was his wont
when addressed by the " old man."

" Yes, sir, she steers like a pilot-boat."

'* This is pleasant sailing," 1 added, " if going to
sea was all like this we would have the old women
for sailors."

" It*s the pleasantest going to sea ever I saw,"
said John, " and things are first rate all the time
now; I never in all my going to sea knew things
go on so well in the forecastle; we don't have any
growling or rows w^ih eacn other, and if thuigs
could be like this I wouldn't mind going to sea all
my life." - v

'' You don't expect to go all your life then, I
suppose?" '

" No sir, I came near knocking off some time
ago, but I had bad luck."

" How was that? " I asked.

" Well, sir, I'm most ashamed to tell you, but it
was this wa}'' : I was at Bombay in an English ship
when the Sepoy war broke out, and I left the ves-
sel and joined the army. I was at Delhi, and when
we took the city I went through the palaces and
got a good deal of plunder. I had a diamond ring
that was worth two or three thousand dollars and
I got a lot of gold coin and jewels that I sewed
into a beJt and wore around my waist. When
the war was over I was discharged in Calcutta
and engaged passage in a steamer for England.
I meant to go home to Hanover, buy a farm

MY MODEL SAILOR. 147

and live there with my old mother, and I had
money enough to keep us there in comfort. But
the night before I was to sail I got on a spree, and
the next morning 1 found myself lying in a gutter.
Somebody had taken the ring off my finger and
stolen the belt from my body, and I hadn't a cent
left in the world. So I had to give up going Iionie,
and ship before the mast again. What little
money I have earned since, I have sent to my
mother , but I can't get ahead any, and every hour
in the day I think about that awful night in Cal-
cutta and what I lost."

This explained the pensive look that John con-
tinually wore. I was much touched by his story,
told with child-like simplicity, his speech with its
slight German accent striking musically upon
the ear.

John was my favorite sailor. He was a Han-
overian by birth, and I suppose had some German
name, but what it was I never knew. "John
Shephard" was the false flag he sailed under.
He had made a previous voyage with me and after-
wards sailed on a third. On the first voyage he
had been selected by the mate as the scape-goat
for his ill temper. Many mates who aspire to the
reputation of being "bullies" thus pick out a
good-natured, inoffensive man, and hurrah, shout
and curse at him, while the men whom they know
would resent such conduct are treated mildly and
their faults are overlooked. Soon reports came to

148 ON BOABD THE KOCKET.

me about that *' green diitcliman, John," " a per*
feet galoot," who didn't " know B from a bull's
foot," didn't "know enough to go into the house
when it rains," was " enough to make a minister
swear," and so on. He was sent to do all the dirty
work, pound the v^on rust, slush the masts, do
"rope-yarn jobs"alort in a gale of wind, often
being sent aloft without any explanation of what
he was to do, and when he got above the top where
he could scarcely hear, a volley of orders and
abuse was yelled at him with bewildering effect.
He certainly at such times did seem stupid, but all
through the voyage I saw no resentment shown,
heard no " back answers " and only noticed the
flush of the cheek that betraj^ed the wounded
spirit he so submissively controlled. I began to
love that quiet, faithful sailor and to protect him
from abuse whenever I could do so without disor-
ganizing discipline.

On the present voyage I noticed that John was
always placed at the best work. If a cringle was
to be put in a sail, or a cloth let in, a seizing to be
squared, or a ratline to be straightened, John was
called on oftener than anyone else to do it. I
asked the mate one day : " How is it you put John
at such good jobs ; do you consider him a good
sailor-man? " S

" Yes, sir," said the mate ; " he's just as good a
sailor-man as there is in the crew. It doesn't do to
watch him too closely though. If I stand over

MY MODEL SATLOB. 149

him he often gets flustered and does things back-
handed, but let him try his own way and he'll do
things shipshape."

I was delighted to hear a good word spoken for
John, and thought much better of the mate for
his perception and wise dealing. Often have I
said : " If all sailors were like John it would be only
a pleasure to go to sea." He lives in my memory
as my model sailor, in spite of his deficiencies.

He was a well-formed man, of medium size,
straight and compact, with light, curly hair, good
features, a very clean face with rosy cheeks, and
blue eyes that were really beautiful in their soft
expression. His clieerful smile and modest blush
made it a pleasure to accost him. He was always
neat in his dress, and though four bells struck
when he was riding down a stay " up to his eyes "
in tar, he would dive into the forecastle and in a
few minutes appear to take his trick at the wheel
with clean dungaree pants and hickory shirt. As
his clear voice repeated the course, " Nord, nord-
east, half east," I would go below saying to myself,
*' The ship will be well steered these two houi's."

Where is John now ? Has he bought his farm
yet in the Faderland ? Or has he fallen over board,
or died in a foreign hospital ? Has he been dis-
heartened by the harsh treatment of cruel mates
and become degraded in his habits on shoie ? May
God bless him wherever he is, and through all his
wanderings bring him safely to the Fatherland I

160 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

We attempted a Christmas dinner in the cabin,
while the sailors had their plum duff in honor of
the festival. Our table bore a goodly display of
articles, as regards name, but probably their qual-
ity would be less attractive to landsmen's palates.
We dressed in our " shore togs ; " appropriate sen-
timents were uttered, and an original ode was re-
cited, as follows :

ODE TO THE ROCKET.

tuixk: ^* Van Amburgh^ 8 Menagerie.**

The iJocfce^ ifl our vessel's name,
, A noble Boston bark.

Her qualities are known to fame,

As I need not remark.
For fourteen years she's ploughed the wave,
And sailed through every clime;
c Though billows roar and tempests rare, .

. ' She always comes to time.

C/ioru«: The Uocfcei now we'll praise,
For she's as good a craft
: As ever dashed aside the sprays

Or at the storm-king laughed.

The captain, first and second mate,

A passenger beside.
Are lads as true as ever ate

Plum duff upon the tide.
The Straits of Sunda is our goal

To which we're speeding free;

ODE TO THE KOCKET. 161

And now we fill Ibe flowing bowl
Tolife upon the sea.

Chorus : Here comes the fiery Rocket

With sportsmen smart and gay;
If birds would not be shot at
They'd better keep away.

When with fresh wind and flowing sheet

We're flying through the foam,
Our hearts with joy and 'gladness beat,

As round the world we roam.
Or in the calm and tropic night,

The stars recall to mind
The eyes, as beautiful and brigh*

Of girls we've left behind.

Chorus : Speed on thou noble Boeket i
Until the voyage ends,
And our good fortune brings us
Once more to home and friends*

Roll on ye waves, ye breezes blow,

Swift speed us on our course,
And soon to Asia's shores we'll show

The Ensign and Black Horse.*
And when we step on Java's strand,

Our double toast shall be
The glorious old bark Rocket j and

The Romance of the sea.

Chorus: The Rocket now we'll praise,
For she's as good a craft
As ever dashed aside the sprays,
- - - Or at the storm-king laughed.

•The owners* private signal.

152 ON BOAllD THE IIOCKET.

The vessel had received a Ubcral outfit from the
owners, who expressed the wish that the sailors
should not be restricted to a diet of salt beef and
liard bread, believing this to be the most expensive
way of provisioning a ship, as well as an unsatis-
factory one to the crew. Accordingly the men
were allowed " soft bread " every night ; there was
a good supply of potatoes, onions, and beets on
board, and mackerel, herrings, tongues and sounds,
dried apples, corn meal, and pickles were provided,
in addition to the usual supplies of rice, beans,
split peas, salt codfish and the inevitable beef, pork,
and " hard-tack." Molasses and vinegar weie
freely served out, these condiments often making a
plain meal quite palatable, and one evening in a
week molasses ginger-bread was furnished in place
of the " soft bread." In the cabin we had a toler-
able supply of canned provisions and had no reason
to complain. I find, however, the following entry
in my journal :

" I feel a strong desire to get ashore and have
something new to eat. We have a good supply of
stores, but there is so much sameness necessarily in
our table fare, that the very thought of meal times
takes away one's appetite. We had a large stock
of vegetables and still have potatoes, onions and
beets, so there is no fear of scurvy. I have some-
times said that the only advantage I ever discov-
ered in going to sea, was the ability to eat onions,
without fear of offending one's associates. But

DOUBTFUL ISLANDS. 153

after indulgence in this respect every day for three
montlis, I feel willing to renounce this luxurious
privilege of sea life, and endure the privations of
civilized society for a while."

Very small incidents become noteworthy at sea
and one day was enlivened by the appearance of
the Malay cabin boy before me, with very solemn
face, exclaiming, in tragic tones : " Sir ! the ginger
Wvon't live long." It proved that a jar of preserved
ginger, having been left open in the pantry, the
oflBcers had treated themselves in a night-watch,
thus fc^hortening its life.

Some little anxiety was caused by some doubt-
ful islands being set down on the chart, but we
sailed over their supposed locality without striking
anything, or seeing any sign of shoal water.

Those who have examined charts of the sea,
have noticed frequent interrogation points, which
indicate that dangers have been reported in the
localities designated. The charts of the Pacific
Ocean especially abound with these reputed rocks
and shoals, and keep the navigator in continual
alarm, lest one should prove to be a reality. It
was a wonder to me how these false alarms, as
most of them are now known to be, could ever
have been given, but an occurrence, by which I
myself was deceived, has suggested a plausible ex-
planation of some of the instances. -^ ^^-

I was sailing in the South Pacific (in the ship
"California,") in lat. 24^ 20' south, Ion. 125" 6'

154 ON BOAllD TKB KOOKBT.

west. We were steering south, with the wind
north, the sky clear, and the ship going about two
knots through the water. At 1, p. m., the officer of
tlie deck reported to me that there were breakers
ahead, and on the port bow. I went on deck, and
saw what appeared to be an extensive field of
breakers, and also a low island or sand bank, thirty
feet high, and three miles long, without trees or
verdure, and with shoals, on which the sea broke,
extending five miles from it to the north and west.
The island bore southeast, eight miles distant,
and the nearest breakers were two and one half or
three miles distant from the vessel.

The mate went aloft with me to the mizzen-top-
sail yard, and with my marine glass we took a
good look, and were both entirely convinced that
what we saw were genuine breakers. The sea was
very smooth and we could see the swell rolling
towards us, then cresting, and spreading thin
sheets of foam upon the water. The island also
appeared very distinct as seen through the glass.
I went down on deck with the intention of alter-
ing the ship's course, but deciding to run a little
nearer to the breakers, I went up to the foretopsail
yard to watch them and steer the ship past them.
I soon noticed that they changed their position
somewhat, that the ship drew no nearer to them,
and that there was a perfect calm where they pre-
vailed. Finally I found the whole appearance was
an optical delusion, caused by the sun shining

DOUBTFUL ISLANDS. 155

upon the glassy swell of the sea, and a peculiar
state of atmospheric refraction.

I kept the ship on her course, and sailed through
the spot where the first breakers appeared, finding
blue water there, but still observing the breakers
in the calm spots at varying distances for the next
three hours, until 4, P. M., when the breeze fresh-
ened at the west, and the illusion was dispelled.
The island vanished after being in sight for an
hour, and I presume was caused by the looming of
the swell of the sea in the horizon.

The whole ship's company were deceived by this
remarkable appearance, and if circumstances had
not favored my prolonged inspection of it, I should
certainly have made a report which would have
added another to the list of doubtful dangers, which
are combined puzzles and terrors to navigators.

Fresh south-east trades brought us north at an
average speed of over nine knots, for a few days,
and carried us to lat. 12"^ 30' S. Here, according
to books, we should find the N.W. Monsoon, and
anticipating it I had followed the sailing directions
and kept to the westward of the direct course, in
order to be sure of fetching into the Straits of
Sunda with the north-west wind. Instead of this,
eleven successive days of light south-east airs and
calms attended us. Coming at the end of the
passage, this delay was very hard to bear, and we
saw daily the hopes of a " crack passage " dwindling
away. The tropical sun poured down, upon us.

156 ON BOAKD THE IIOCKET.

and with no breezes Stirling to alleviiite its eflfects,
discomfort of body was added to the distress of
mind. The attitudes assumed on one of these calm,
hot days, are so expressive of the mental emotions
entertained, that the reader for further information
as to how we felt, is referred to our artist's por-
trayal of the scene.

The Rocket'' s cabin was below the poop-deck,
built in the style called a " trunk," that is, sunk
part way into the between decks. My room was
in the forward end, on the starboard side, and a
small window opening through the " break of the
poop " admitted sights and sounds from the deck.
This was often very serviceable in keeping track of
what was going on when the " old man," as the
captain is always styled, was supposed to be safely
out of the way. I also overheard many conversa-
tions not intended for my ear, and was some^^'mes
entertained by the officers' yarns as they sat c he
booby-hatch in the dog-watch, six to eight o' 'K
in the evening. As this was the passenger nrst
experience of sea-life, they very kindly supplied
him most liberally with information on that topic.
Some of the items were of considerable interest.
The mate gave most of the stories, but ih^ second
mate sometimes " put in his oar." One e(;ening, 1
heard the mate describe, in terms that wouxd have
done honor to a city-press reporter, the construction
of a new steamer that was to combine two means
of locomotion. A railroad was laid on her deck^

Dead calm.

mates' yarns. 159

auvi when she left New York, a train containing the
passengers started from her stern. When the bow
of the sliip reached Liverpool, the train would just
get to that end of the ship, having been rushing
ahead all the time that the steamer was crossing
the Atlantic. If I remember rightly, the passen-
gers were only three days in crossing by this double
method of travel.

The second mate followed this up with an ac-
count of a sailing-ship that he was in, which had a
gangway built around the ship, and the captain
used to ride around the vessel on horseback with a
speaking-trumpet, giving orders. The ship was
lighted by gas. Pipes with hot tea and coffee ran
to the captain's state-room from the galley, and a
small railroad was laid on deck to carry the hands
fore and aft, but it was a horse-car affair, and so
on.

Tlie most remarkable story, I felt worthy of
record, and I will give it in the mate's words.

" When I was mate of the clipper ship " None-
such " (she had three decks and no bottom) w©
were sailing in the Indian Ocean bound from
Mauritius to Calcutta, in ballast. One day, look-
ing to windward I saw a great splashing in the
water, which rapidly approached the vessel. I ran
up the mizzen-rigging and discovered that a large
whale was coming towards us pursued by a sword-
nsli, which made attacks upon it whenever it could
overtake the whale. As they ueared the ship the

160 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

whale sank a little below the surface of the water,
and then, seeing the hull of the vessel in tlie wa}', it
rose to the surface, gave one twist of its tail, and
with a tremendous effort leaped into the fiir, and
went clean over the royal-mast liead. I never was
so astonished in my life, and the swordfish appeared
to be equally surprised, for he stopped and looked
aloft for half a second, and then making a dive he
went under the keel of the ship. As he rose to
the surface on the other side, he pointed his sword
up straight in the air, and when the whale fell he
caught it on the point and whirled it round and
round for nearly a mi^iute. Then the whale got
off, the swordfish being wearied out, I suppose,
and both started on another race. After going a
little distance the whale turned towards the ship,
and being too feeble now, from loss of blood, to
take another leap, he struck the ship and swung
alongside, broadside on. The swordfish came ou
with such force that his sword pierced the body of
the whale and we felt the jar as it struck the ship's
side. There they lay thrashing and bleeding. We
were surprised that the whale didn't move off, as
we had been going five or six knots, and we also
noticed that our speed was reduced. The carpenter
went down into the hold, and found that the fish's
sword had cut right through the side of the ship,
and whale and swordfish were made fast to us.
He got his hammer and bent the end of the sword
BO that it couldn't be pulled out ; and the whale soon

A WHALE STORY. 161

dying, we turned into a whale-ship for a while, cut
it up and tried out several barrels of oil. We shot
the swordfish with a rifle, but left his sword in the
plank, and it was cut out wiien we got home and
put in a museum for a curiosity. We found the
greatest lot of trash in the whale's stomach that
you can imagine — pieces of sailor's shirts, old
boots, tin pans, glass bottles and preserve-cans.
There was a very fine linen handkerchief with
some queer letters in the corner, which no one
could make out. The captain carried it home and
showed it to a minister, who was a great scholar.
He said the letters were Hebrew and spelt Jonah I
There seemed to be no doubt that this was tlie
very whale that swallowed the prophet, when lie
cut sticks off to sea and got hove overboard in a
gale of wind. It's said Jonah felt down in the
mouth after the whale took him in, and no doubt
he cried and took out his handkerchief to wipe his
eyes. Then he came out pretty sudden, and must
have dropped it in his surprise. I've always be-
lieved in Jonah since then."

One afternoon, when ninety-eight days out, we
sighted Java Head, the south-western point of
Java, and at sunset were just fifteen miles west of
it. This seemed almost like arrival at our destina-
tion. It is a great relief to the navigator, after
months of steering by the stars, to find his reckon-
ing proved correct by seeing the dry land appear,
just where his calculations lead him to look ^or it.

162 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

It thrillj his mind to think that he has been enabled
to find his way thro^jgh pathless wastes, over half
the circumference of the globe, to a little head-
land in the eastern seas. He feels a reverence
for the noble science whose deductions have led to
this result, and also usually indulges in some self-
complacent emotions at his own successful applica-
tion of its rules. Having bearings of the land
he now knows where he is by sight, and gladly
leaves his life of faith. He finds, however, that
this element of security is offset by a vast increase
of danger. In proximity to the land are rocks and
shoals, and around them sweep ever varying cur-
l rents. Dark nights and storms envelope and assail
him, and hours of anxiety are passed, such as are
wholly unknown in the deep sea sailing.

This night I was destined to experience the haz-
ards of coast navigation and to recognize the pre-
^ serving hand of God in preventing our shipwreck.
Knowing my position so exactly, I felt emboldened
to attempt to work into the Straits of Sunda in
the night, In the evening a fresh breeze sprang
up ahead varying from E. S. E. to E. N. E., ac-
companied by heavy rain-squalls. The night was
very dark and I remained on deck the whole time,
except for the few moments occasionally required
for marking the supposed position on the chart
and planning the movements of the vessel. We
made several tacks and at thxee o'clock in the
morning, when I supposed we were well into the

• A DANGEROUS REEF. __ 163

Straits, after a rain-squall had passed, the cloudd
broke away, revealing the old moon just getting
out of bed from behind a high hill directly ahead,
towards which we were hastening at a rate of
speed which would have oa,?t us upon its shores in
another quarter of an hour. The bark was imme-
diately hove to, while I tried unsuccessfully to
verify my position. Daylight revealed that we
had been about running into Java Head, the cur-
rent having set us back S. W. by S. B2 miles in
twelve hours. So here we were, instead of being
in the Strait, still at its entrance, not having
secured any gain from all the night's work, the
insidious current having robbed us of the fruits of
our toil. I had been frcttii?g all the night because
the wind would not haul and allow us to steer in a
certain direction. I was thrilled and instructed by
noticing on the chart that, if I had been permitted
to take the course I desired, we should have eer
tainly been wrecked on the dangerous reef extend-
ing from Prince's Inland. How near we came to
it I cannot say, but that we avoided it was not
owing to my ov/ii skill, but to Him whose hand led
me in the uttermost parts of the sea. Many a suc-
cessful navigator iu these Eastern waters could
join me in acknov/iedging that in some instances
his safety has been owing "more to luck than
^ good mana'^emont " as the common phrase goes, or
as one had better say, to a kind Providence. This
event gavt* me an illustration of " Prayer answered

164 . ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

by crosses " and in later trials has belped me to
say : " Thy will be done."

The next night, being in very close quarters
among islands and rocks, I took bearings of a
light to test iny progress, the darkness hiding the
dangers from view. A light breeze was blowing,
and the bark moved at the rate of about two knots
through the water. The light however remained
on the same bearing, showing that we gained noth-
ing on it, and I supposed the same strong current
was neutralizing all the power of the wind. I
was about to come to anchor to avoid the peril of
drifting about in the darkness amid so many
dangers, when o. close inspection of the light with
the marine glass, showed it was not on the land,
but on board a vessel in shore, sailing with us, and
on the other side we soon discovered a rock,
which we were passing quite swiftly, the current
evidently having changed in the opposite direction.
This event supplied another moral reflection : the
importance of measuring by a right standard.

CHAPTER VI.

LIFE IN THE EAST INDIES.

** It is a goodly sight to see

What Heaven hath done for this delicious land," — Byion%

** And, oh I if there be an Elysium on earth,
It is this, it is this.'* — Thomas Moore.

THE East Indies is a name generally applied
to the archipelago lying S. E. of Asia, con-
taining the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Cel-
ebes and others. It was visited by voyagers from
the Western World in the 16th century, and since
that time Portuguese, Dutch, English and French
have controlled parts of its domain.

I wish I could affect the reader's imagination as
my own senses were impressed, when, after the
stormy night, in which we barely escaped ship-

166 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

.■''.,, - . ,

'■■'■; . ■- ■- ■%• /- ^ ■'■-■'■.,■■.■','■ ■

wreck, we sailed in the early morning along the
shores of Java, an island so beautiful in its aspect,
so luxuriant in its productions, and so delightful
in its varied climates, as to have been claimed by
many as the veritable locality of the Garden of
Eden. As we sail along, monkeys chatter at us
from the trees and rocks that girt the shore ;
bright plumaged birds are seen on the wing, and
the dewy air floats off to us so loaded with odors
suggestive of delicious fruits, that one instinctively
opens his mouth to devour it. This makes plain
an idiom of the Malay language. " To take a walk "
is expressed in that tongue by words meaning to
eat the air. I can hardly recommend thio chame-
lion diet as a staple food, but it is most excellent
for dessert.

Sailing up the Straits of Sunda, the waters at-
tract the notice by the curiosities floated on their
surface. Cuttlefish bones, such as our canaries
use, cocoanuts, a great variety of fruits and leaves,
and even floating rocks, which are found to bo
pumice stone, pass the vessel in continued proces-
sion. Besides these an evidence of civilization is
usually noticed in the form of square-faced gin
bottles, for these abound in the neighborhood of
the Dutch settlements.

At Anjer, a little village nestled among dense
foliage, *' bumboats " come off to supply the ships
with fruits and provisions. One of these makin
fast to a vessel, a man climbs up on deck, dressed

LIFE IN THE ^AST INDIES. 167

in jacket and pants of striped red and yellow cot-
ton and introduces himself as Paul Jones ; but if
he visits an English ship he, perhaps, knows enougli
to select a name less offensive in its allusions.
This boat contains yams (the eastern substitute for
potatoes), cocoanuts, bananas, fowls, shells, Java

sparrows, and always monkeys. A sailor some-
times sets these last loose, and they escape on
board the ship and retain their liberty. The last
time I passed Anjer homeward bound, my previous ' :
experience with monkeys led me to send word to
the crew that they might buy as many monkeys as
they wished, but I should charge $10 for each
one's passage to New York. The consequence was
that no monkeys were bought; but after getting
to sea, I found the crew had invested in squirrels,
which had the art of taking very long leaps
through the air, so that one was often startled by :
hearing a whiz, and feeling an animal alight on the '
back of the neck. I resolved that in future squir-
rels should also be excluded from the free passen-
gers' list.-

Rounding St. Nicholas Point into the Java Sea,
we sail among small islands, each a perfect gem of
landscape beauty. All have read of the formation
of these coral islands ; how the little insects rear
the structure and die at the water's surface when
their work is done. Then the drift of the sea col-
lects upon the coral, earth slowly accumulates;
cocoanuts are washed up, and taking root, send up

168 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

the tall palm-trees ; finally, the whole island be-
comes a mass of luxuriant verdure. A glistening
white sand beach sui rounds it, and at a little distance
it is encircled with a wreath of foam, as the sea
ceaselessly breaks over the surrounding reef. These
are the jewels of the eastern seas — the emerald
brooch with silver setting, fastened upon the bosom
of the deep.

Anchoring in Batavia harbor, native boatmen
row us ashore, giving monotonous grunts as they
ply their oars ; and pulling up a long canal, we
land at the " boom," or Custom House. A car-
riage is secured, a sort of barouche, having four
wheels, and one seat with projecting hood. A driver
sits on the box, wearing a loose bright-colored
frock, his head covered with an enormous gilt hat,
in shape like an inverted wash-bowl. Two ponies
are attached to the carriage ; the driver cracks his
whip and beats them to enforce a start, but in
vain. This carriage, in the Malay tongue, is called
a "oritur," but an Irishman would certainly apply
that term to the horses, for of all created animals,
donkeys not excepted, these East Indian horses are
the most erratic and unaccountable in their move-
ments. In this case an appeal to the bystanders
brings a crowd to push the vehicle ahead, until the
ponies, through fear of being run over, decide to
get out of the way, and start off upon a gallop,
which is maintained till the destination is reached ;
unless they should happen to stop suddenly, stand

_ LIFE IN THE EAST INDIES. 169

on their heads and Vick their heels at the driver's
wash-bowl hat; or else, turning at right angles,
dash off the road into a hedge. I was once driv-
ing in Penang, in the Straits of Malacca, with a
gentleman, in an American buggy drawn by a
Sumatra pony ; a Iiorse passing at a gallop infuri-
ated the animal, and he rushed at his utmost speed
along a smooth, wide road. At its sides were
ravines fifteen or twenty feet deep, at the bottom
of which ran streams of water. No obstruction
was in sight save a solitary buffalo cart on the left
hand side of the road ; and because that was the
only point where he could not have the freedom of
the whole road, there that pony deemed the path
of duty to lie. As he approached the cart he
bolted off to that side of the road, tottered a mo-
ment on the edge of the bank, and over it we
went. Flying through the air, I struck my head
on the opposite side of the ravine, and rolled down
into the stream under the pony, who looked as
though he wished he hadn't done it. Some natives
helped me up into the road, and when I appeared
on board ship the next morning with my bruised
and battered face and soiled clothing, the sailors
cast suspicious glances, and I learned afterwards,
.were quite elated at having detected their moraliz-
ing captain in the indulgence of a night-long spree
with such results. This injury to my reputation
niay account for my prejudice against East India
ponies; but now that I have given them a bad

170 „ ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

name I have had my revenge. It must be admitted
that they are indispensable to comfort, with all
tlieir ills, for the fierce tropical sun forbids noon-
day walking, and some covered conveyance is an
essential of life in the East ; so, in China, each
person has his sedan chair carried by two coolies ;
in the Straits' Settlements, his one-horse gharry,
and in the Dutch places his cretur. Some security
is given against the waywardness of the ponies by
the frequent practice of building embankments at
the sides of the roads ; and some escape their
dangers by using good horses from Australia, or,
occasionally, fine Arab steeds. '

The hotel at which we arrive is a two-story
building, and in the rear extend lines of one-storied
structures, with wide walks covered by verandahs,
upon which the rooms all open. Upon my first
arrival at this hotel I entered the office, but saw no
person there, unless Mr. Darwin's friends should
insist that I applied that term to a large monkey,
who was seated upon the table engaged in pouring
the contents of a capacious inkstand upon the
open pages of the hotel register. My presence
ended this evidence of a dawning fondness and
aptitude for the fine arts.

Allow me to describe a day's life as a sample of
the mode of existence among the foreign residents.
In the morning one is awakened b}' a servant en-
tering the room with a cup of tea ; looking out
upon the verandah, another servant maj^ be seen

LIFE IN THE EAST INDIES. _ 171

engaged in cleaning t!ie shoes. He plucks a flower
from a plant close at hand, rubs it over the shoe
and then applies the polishing brush, with brilliant
efifect. This is called the shoe-plant; and nature
makes another appropriate arrangement in produc-
ing the sGctp tree, with the fruit of which the
hands may be cleansed. Seizing the towels, one
next proceeds, in his sleeping costume, across the
court 3^ard to the bath house ; this is a room paved
with tiles, containing a large tank of water. The
mode of bathing is that practised by the natives.
Standing alongside the tank the person dips out
water in a small bucket and pours it on the head.
This becomes a very ftivorite method of perform-
ing ablution. Returning to the room, the sleeping
costume is laid aside for the habiliments of the
day; but it demands a description, for few things
are more peculiar or essential to a comfortable life
in the East. It consists of loose trousers, called
pajamas, and a jacket, called bajou. The pajamas
are made of colored calico, the more brilliant in
color and startling in pattern the better. They
are gathered about the waist with a string. The
bajou is of white calico, buttons closely about the
throat and reaches to the hips. This dress is worn
not only at night, but whenever in the day one is
free from business or society. The first morning I
spent in Java I encountered a lady robed in white.
I averted my eyes, but saw another lady approach-
ing, and then another ; and finding them uucon-

172 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

cerned, I gained assurance enough to inspect their
costume. I learned that in the Dutch settlements
in the East Indies ladies adopt a dress correspond-
ing somewhat to that of the native women, which
they wear during the heat of the day, and only
nppear in European costume in the evening. This
dress consists of the " sarong," or loose skirt of
colored calico reaching to the ankles, and the
'* cobai3^a," a white sack descending to the knees.
Sandals are worn, but no stockings. Tne first im-
pression upon the masculine beholder is not pleas-
ant. It seems a decidedly slipshod attire ; but we
soon become accustomed to it, and admire, at least,
the good sense that leads to the con uderation of
comfort, rather than fashionable appearance.

After the bath the gentleman dresses for the
day, either all in white or with a loose black sack
coat. Breakfast is served, consisting of broiled
fowl, eggs, fruits, &c., and at about ten o'clock the
carriage takes him to his office. Between twelve
and one a lunch is served on the business premises,
the chief item of which is curry. This demands
description. We ha\e all seen bottled curry pow-
der, but what is used on the spot is made fresh
every day. The ingredients are ground upon a
stone and mixed together. The meat of a cocoa-
nut is grated, moistened with water and squeezed
by the hand over the curry powder. Into this,
prawns, or bita of fowl oi' meat," are placed and the
dish is read3\ Rice is first taken upon the plate

LIFE IN THE EAST INDIES. 173

and curry is added. A tray is handed containing
a dozen little plates, each holding some kind of
poppers, pickles, spices or chutney, and one is sup-
posed to take a little of each, or else to make a ju-
dicious selection. A dried fish, called a Bombay
(luck, is broken up over the pile and more meat or
fowl may be added, or else some fricadel, a
delightful compound of bread, eggs and minced
fowl. Finally all is thoroughl}'- mixed together
and eaten with the aid of a spoon or fork. This
tastes better than it, probably, sounds to the
reader's ears, and there is no recollection of the
East more suggestive and fascinating to a former
resident than the curry. It seems strange, how
ever, that in such warm climates nature should
crave such heating and stimulating food.

If it is not steamer-day, the gentleman will prob-
ably drive home at about four o'clock ; the paja-
mas and bajou are donned, a book or short nap
occupy an hour ; another bath is taken, and the
evening dress is assumed, which usually will be of
white, with a short jacket, such as is worn by
waiters in our hotels. A walk or drive is taken in
the cool of the evening, ladies and gentlemen ap-
pearing without headdress or hats ; or if hats are
worn, they are light articles, made of cork or pith,
with good ventilation. They meet where the
band may be playing, or drive along the charming
suburbs, or saunter to the club-house. Between
seven and eight they sit down to dinner, and get

174 ON liOARD TUE ROCKET.

up at some indefinite period between nine and day
light. The men smoke their cigars between the
courses, drink liquors throughout the meal, and
afterwards take a night-cap of brandy and water.
They retire finally to beds covered with rattan
mats, and devoid of bedclothes. A lamp remains
lighted all night in the room, and consists of a
glass tumbler half full of water, with cocoanut oil
poured in, and a small wick floated on top in the
centre. This is the lamp of the East.

The houses of the foreign residents arc one-
story structures, raised a few feet from the ground,
built of brick or stone, covered with plaster and
whitewashed. A broad flight of steps leads to a
wide verandah, which is supplied with furniture,
especially easy chairs of luxurious model, and this
place is the sitting-room and reception hall of the
family. Within are parlor and bedrooms, and at
the back of the house is another verandah, gener-
ally used as a dining-room. One who takes an
evening's walk, and as he passes each house, looks
through the dark foliage at the brilliantly lighted
verandah, with its family and social groups, will
get a series of most enchanting tableaux. When
the residents wish to be "not at home," they
darken the front verandah and get further into their
houses, so callers are spared useless inquiries. In
the rear of the house, the servants' lodgings,
kitchen and bath-house are placed. The kitcliens
are a novelty. A raised platform runs the IcMigtli

LIFE IN THK EAST INDIES. 175

of the building, and on top of it, or in arclies near
the top, several fires are built as needed, one for
each dish to be prepared. There is no chimney ;
the smoke not absorbed by the food, escapes
through the doors. The servants are numerous,
and each has his separate sphere. There is no
'' maid of all work '' in t;uO East. Every person has
his ''bo3%" who hovers about him in all his waking
hours, and cares for him much as a nurse for a
child. The boy is called for every trivial service,
and I have heard the master shout repeatedly for
the '' sup[)ada," as servants are called, and when
he came running breathless from the rear of the
house, he was ordered to move a chair that stood a
few yards off, in order that the luxurious master
could put his feet on it.

The vegetation of the East impresses the travel-
ler with its luxuriant growth and beauty of form
and color. There is no " Fall ; " all is evergreen.
The cocoanut trees abound, perhaps, most com-
monly. The loru! of its straight stem, with
branches spreading from the top, and the fruit
nestling at the summit, are familiar to all. It is
interestinix to see the natives climb these tall
trunks to gather the cocoanuts. Sometimes thej'
ascend by stepping upon notches cut in the tree,
and at others they put a loop of rope around both
ankles, and seize another loop with both hands,
their arms encircling the tree ; then alternately
grasping the trunk with feet and hands they ascend

176 ON BOARD THE llOCKET.

swiftly, and soon the thump of the nuts on the
ground is heard. Pickiiig up a green one, and
cutting a hole, you nmy obtain a delicious drink of
sweet water. The " flame tree " attracts especial
notice in Batavia. Its lower leaves are of a dark
green, and grow gradually lighter until at the top
they are straw-colored, forming a pyram^'d of light.
Outside the limits of the town one comes to the
jungle, which may thus be described, partly in
another's words: Imagine a forest of gigantic
trees standing together almost like the stalks in a
wheat field. They are smooth and branchless for
four-fifths of their height, and then spreading out,
interlacing, form a complete canopy. Then a
growth of shorter trees springs up, winding their
branches in and out among the trunks; then
comes a growth of ferns, palms and plants, and
finally, the whole mass is woven together by a net-
work of creepers and parasites, from tlie slender
rattan to the vine as thick as a man's body In
the elbows of the trees are many orchidaceous
plants thriving on the air and sending down their
shoots into the network below. This jungle is ab-
solutely impenetrable b}^ man, but the tiger roams
through it, and lurks on its border for the un-
wary passer-by. Be3^ond tlie jungle may be seen
the " Paddy-fields," the light green color of the
growing rice, pleasing the eye in contrast with the
copper-colored beeches and the purple mountains
beyond the plaiii. The graceful bamboo waves in

LIFE IN THE EAST INDIES. 177

every direction, and gains respect as being the
most useful growth of the East, though botanists
term it only a grass. Its uses are innumerable;
but two extremes may be mentioned. With it the
natives build their houses and beat their children.
The tropical fruits require a word of mention.
There is the durian, the favorite of the natives,
smelling, it is said, like a dead elepliant, and tast-
ing, to ni}'- palate, like a mixture of nuts and
onions. The maiigosteen, the choicest of fruits ; the
delicious mango, the pummalovv, rambutan, ducoe,
and banana, — all awaken pleasant memories as
the favorites of the table.

The natives are short, homely and copper-col-
ored, or, as they like to describe themselves, " the
color of gold." The men dress in jacket and
pants, with the sarong wrapped about the waist, or
hung loosely from the shoulders. Tiie women
wear the sarong and cobaiya previously described,
and their general appearance so much resembles
that of men, that it is sometimes difficult for an
impartial eye to distinguish the sexes. The teeth
ure filed and stained black from chewing the betel
nut, as it is deemed unbecoming to liave " white
teeth like a dog." The liouses are of bamboo,
covered with a tliatched roof, and mounted on
posts, and the front-door steps consist of a ladder.
The food is chiefly rice ; but if report is true
many revolting creatures are devoured, and worms
and white ants are occasionally taken "as a relish."

178 ON BOAllD THE KOCKET.

The buffalo is a member of society that deserves
notice. A hump on his back serves to hold the
yoke, and he is driven by a string tied to a ring of
rattan passed through the nose. After work they
delight to stand in the river or canal, and with
only their heads above water, enjoy a cooling off. ,
The Dutch Government requires every native, who
walks after dark, to carry a torch. This is com-
posed of stems from the cocoa-nut tree, and is
fanned into flame as the holder hears an approach-
ing footstep. They vie with the fireflies in making i
the night attractive.

Many customs are striking to the visitor. The \
woman walks in front of the man, so that she may
regulate the pace as she desires, a refinement we
might copy. After marriage the husband goes to
the bride's home and resides. A man leaves his
property to his nephews and nieces, not to his own
children, for he casts a slur upon female virtue by
saying : " A man may be sure his sister's chil- C
dren are of his own blood, but who knows that liis
own are?"

Descriptions of life so luxurious as that of the
East Indies may seem attractive and fascinating to
dwellers in the harsh, northern climes ; but there
are compensations. The enervated East Indian
resident sighs for the cold winter, the bracing
r.leigh ride, the animating change of seasons, culti-
vated society, the intellectual stimulus of scientific
iiivestigation and literary criticism, and though

CAEIJVIATA PASSAGE. 179

myself partial to the East in manj'- respects, I
would say with Engiancrs poet:

"Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay."

In six days the cargo destined for Batavia was
landed, and on a Saturday the vessel cleared for
Singapore. The wind was ahead and it was a dif-
ficult and dangerous task to work out among the
nian^" shoals that lie in the harbor. No pilot could
be obtained, and every one advised me to wait till
Sunday morning, and start with the fair breeze
that was sure to blow in its earlv hours. I had
scruples about sailing on Sunday if it could be
avoided i yet feared censure if I detained the ves-
sel, so I resolved to make a start. We got under
way, shot between the shoals and cleared the ship-
ping in safety. We passed our Sunday quietly
sailing across the Java Sea with the fresh N. W.
Monsoon.

We had the task before us of beating up the
Carimata Passage against a head monsoon and an
opposing current. It was a difficult undertaking,
often requiring weeks of fruitless labor, and a
month was allotted for the passage to Singapore by
our friends in Batavia. On a previous voyage I
had found a disadvantage in having the crew en-
gaged in work, which sometimes prevented prompt
attention to the manoeuvering of the vessel, indeed
I considered once that I lost a day or two by being
prevented from tacking ship at the moment de-

180 _^ . : ON BOARD THE ROCKET. V

sired. Now I gave orders that no jobs on the rig-
ging, that were unnecessary, should be undertaken,
but that the crew should be kept standing by to
work ship. This then received sole attention.
The sails were always trimmed, the yards braced,
and with every favoring variation of wind we

. tacked and retacked, fighting oui* way with inces-
sant vigilance by day and night, slowly gaining

. ahead in spite of the opposing forces. We steered
by rocks and shoals, shot through the narrow
Panambanga Channel off the west coast of Borneo,
and then, with a steady beat through the Southern
China Sea, we gained the Singapore Strait, and
anchored in the harbor of Singapore eleven days
and a half from Batavia. • This was an exciting
passage. Sailing night and day in those narrow
waters, occasioned a great tension of nerves and
limited the opportunities for sleep. One night in
particular remains in vivid remembrance, when
near dangerous shoals, out of sight of land, and
uncertain where the current might have drifted
us, the hours of anxiety seemed like years, and in
the morning I looked in the glass with a half-
serious apprehension lest my hair had turned grey,
according to stories we read of such effects being
produced by strong emotions. But there were
pleasant days, when gliding slowly by the ever-
green islands, through the smooth blue waters
i'uil of minute objects of interest, with distant
mountain ranges to rest the eye upon, life seemnl

The midnight catastrophe.

SINGAPORE. ' 183

as full of romantic enjoyment aj the imaginations
of fabled story.

Upon arrival at Singapore my first indulgence
was in a good all-night's sleep in bed, which one
learns to appreciate after days and nights on deck.

On one of the few occasions during this passage,
when I had an opportunity to catch a nap on the
cabin sofa at night, I was greatly alarmed by being
aroused from dreams of shipwreck, by water pour-
ing over me from a jug upset by the swinging open
of a locker door. Anything that happens to " the
old man " is considered important on shipboard,
and this was deemed worthy of illustration.

At Singapore we discharged the rest of our
cargo and loaded a quantity of tin, gambler and
gutta percha. We remained twenty-three days
here, most of the time being spent in waiting for
the merchants at Penang to purchase cargo, as the
vessel's appearance at that port vhile they were
buying would have made the native traders put
up their prices. So we hid away at Singapore, and
a very pleasant hiding place it was.

The first novelty that greeted our arrival was an
assemblage of canoes and boats. From tha former
small boys dived for coin, thrown from the vessel,
catching them before they descended far below the
surface of the water. From the latter were offered
us fruit, birds, monkeys, shells and corals, the last
named being especially beautiful. A whole boat;
load of these at " a hard bargain " was secured for

184 * J>N BOARD THE KOCKET. _"^"_

seventy-five cents. The appearance of the town
is very picturesque, luxuriant foliage appearing
amidst the collections of white houses, and hills
rise in the rear covered with nutmeg and fruit
trees, while near by the fertile jungle dips its abun-
dant growth into the sea. jNIany pleasant hours
were passed on shore ; the fascinating hospitalities
of luxurious homes were enjoyed ; a picnic in the
midst of the jungle nine miles from the city af-
forded a splendid view of tropical scenery ; and a
drive to a cocoanut plantation of five hundred
acres showed how European enterprise is econO'
mizing the fertile products of the East. One even-
ing especially remains prominent in agreeable
recollection, when I dined with an old Boston
friend. The table was spread on the rear veran-
dah where tho trees waved close to us, and the air
was full of delicious odors and the singing of in-
sects, their differing notes seeming like tunes.
Truly life in Singapore is fascinating.

There were a number of American vessels here
waiting for freights to improve in different port?
of the East. In order to save expense they desired
to discharge their crews, but, three months' extra
pay being required by the consul, they either had
to add to the lack of employment the further in-
fliction of supporting an unprofitable crew, or
drive the men to desertion by acts of cruelt}^ and
oppression. Every day almost thfere was some row
in the harbor on board an American s])ip, and this

THREE months' EXTEA PAY. 185

law and its results was a conHnual topic of tlis*
cussion.

In a work entitled " Among our Sailors," the
author, Di. J. Grey Jewell, formerly Consul at
Singapore, speaks at some length about the law
requiring three months' extra pay for seamen dis-
cluirged abroad, and concludes : " I am convinced
that the law is a good one and that it should
stand."

During some years' experience in command of
vessels 1 formed the opinion that this is not a good
law, and further that there is no enactment con-
cerning our merchant marine so injurious to sailors,
so vexatious to shipmasters, so unjust to shi^)-
owners, or so corrupting to its executors in its in-
fluences. I believe most of those familiar with its
operations will approve of my pronouncing it a
great curse. This law was made in the beginning
of the century, when Americans manned our ships,
and when these vessels visited ports seldom fre-
quented, where the discharge of a seaman might
often leave him in destitution, with no means of
returning home. Now our ships are chiefly
manned by foreigners, who are more at home in
foreign ports than in those on our own shores,
where only we may discharge them; and com-
merce has become so extended that few places are
visited by ships whence ready exit may not be ob-
tained, —

Some instances of the operation of this law will

186 ON BOARD THE ROCKET, ^

best explain its evils. A European crew were
shipped in an American vessel at San PVancisco

for a voyage to Liverpool, the shipping articles
containing tlie clause, made customary by the law
prohibiting discharge of seamen abroad, ''and
thence to a final port of discharge in the United
States." At Liverpool the men wished to leave
and return to their homes in Norwaj'- and Ger-
many, or sail on other voyages. The ship was to
remain for several weeks in Liverpool and then
sail for San Francisco again, and the men had no
desire to go in that direction. Wages in Liver-
pool were lower than those paid this crew from
California, so the shipowner's interest demanded
that he should not be obliged to support and pay a
useless crew for the weeks his ship was idle, and
that he should be allowed to man her for a new
voyage at the lowest rate of wages. On applica-
' tion to the Consul by the captain and sailors, in-
formation was given that the crew might be dis-
charged, but one month's pay must be given to the
Consul, and two months' pay extra to each sea-
man. The crew, in order to be released, offered to
return the two months' pay to the captain, after
signing a receipt for it, but the captain, desiring to
avoid the unjust imposition altogether, gave the
wages to the mate, who privately handed them to
the sailors, and they took their departure. The
captain next reported to the Consul under oath,
that his crew had deserted without his knowledge

TUREE MONTHS' EXTRA PAY. 187

or consent, but the Consul, finrling out that the
wen had received tlieir money, insisted on the pay-
ment of one month's wages at his ofBce. Another
vessel shij^ped a crew at San Francisco to be dis-
cliiirged at Liverpool, but still this extra payment
was required.

A few years since a dozen American ships, one
of them inder my command, arrived at a port in
Asia. The trade they were engaged in was de-
pressed and they were doomed to remain idle for
several months. The ships were manned by for-
eigners, and the captains deemed it tlieir duty to
tlie owners to avoid paying and feeding full crews
for several months, when they had no need of their
services. Steamers and vessels in various trades
were arriving and departing daily, affording oppor-
tunity for the men to obtain employment and leave
tlie port. Application was made to the Consul for
permission to discharge the crews, which was given
oil condition of compliance with the three months' •
pay law. This no one cared to do; and the "fair
moans" being deemed unfair to the owner foul

means were employed. The captain of the S

told his men they had better leave, but, hoping to
Reciire the two months' extra pay, they declined.
Orders were given to the mate to work them up
and drive them out of the ship. He accordingly
hung planks over the ship's side, one foot under
water, and made the sailors stand on them and
scrub the ship's copper with sand, keeping them

188 ON BOARD THE KOCHET.

always on the sunny side of the ship. It was the
month of June. The tropical sun poured upon
the men's heads, while their feet were in the water,
and glanced upoA their bodies from the copper
they were polishing, giving no small torment.
One man ventured to go on deck and complain,
hut the smart mate soon thrashed him into submis-
sion. That night half of the crew deserted.

Attached to the Consul's office was a shipping-
master, who gave personal attention to all details
of business connected with crews, the Consul
merely expounding the laws to inquirers in his
inner office, and maintaining the dignity of tlie
U. S. Government in a general way. The ship-
ping-master was in close alliance with the police of
the place, and the arrest of the deserters from the

S was soon reported to him. He thereupon

informed the captain that the men must be re-
ceived on board again, but by mutual agreement
a certain sum was paid to the shipping master for
each man, and they were reported to the Consul as
deserters. The remainder of the crew were soou
got rid of, and the rest of the ships followed suit,
paying $10 to $15 per man to the shipping-master.

My o\vn crew were much attached to their sliip
and were. unwilling to leave. I would not allow
them to be oppressed in order to drive them away,

and the owners were forced to submit to the
expense of maintaining a large ci*ew, besides the
loss occasioned by the idleness of the ship. After j

THREE months' EXTRA PAY. 189

some time, half of the crew, knowing that they
were not wanted*, and were only a burden, con-
sented to leave ; but the Consul, in reply to the
application, held up the three months' pay law, and
my choice was to keep the men or pay six^ dollars
each besides the wages due.

In this dilemma the shipping master offered to
allow the men to " desert," upon my paying him
fourteen dollars apiece, which was to be called
" two weeks' board."

I felt compelled in justice to my owners' interest
to adopt this plan, and connive at the rascality by
which an unjust law was evaded by those entrusted
with its enforcement. The matter was arranged so
as to do no violence to my conscience in the matter
of oath and declaration of desertion.

This shipping master, after a short term of ser-
vice was able to buy a half interest in a large
ship, and probably approves of the three-months*
pay law. The previous Consul is said to have
taken away eighty thousand dollars after a few
years' residence.

The owners of the ship I commanded are a firm
on whom Dr. Jewell, in the above-mentioned work,
has cast severe aspersions, and it is due to them to
say that at the close of the voyage, while admitting
that a less humane captain would have made a
more economical voyage, they thoroughly approved
of my principles, and said they did not mind losing
a thousand dollars now and then in support of

190 ON BOARD THE ROCKET,

them. They however remarked that Capt. ^

who was a notorious sailor driver, sailed his ships
cheaper than any other captain in their employ, as
he never had a sailor remaining by the vessel in
port. A^few weeks after this conversation it hap-
pened that news was received that Capt. 's

ship had put into Rio Janeiro with a mutinous
crew, and some of the sailors had been shot by the
captain. Considerable expense and delay to the
voyage was caused by this, and the owners were

overheard to say that Capt. should never have

another chance to put one of their ships into port
in distress. They saw that the question of economy
was not always against the " humane captain."

The above facts, selected as samples from a
multitude, illustrate the assertion that the three
months' pay law is :

First, An occasion for the exercise of much
cruelty to the sailor, and often obliges him to have
the disgrace of desertion attached to his name, in
order to secure the release from his ship which his
interests demand.

Secondly, It obliges captains to resort to wrong
or questionable acts to secure their owners' in-
terests, and involves them in many unpleasant
controversies.

Thirdly, It is a heavy tax on the ship-owner,
and is one among several causes of the decay ot
our commerce.

Fourthly y It furnishes great temptation to corrupt

THEEB months' EXTRA PAY. 191

action on the part of consuls, and has, in too many
cases, brought disgrace upon the flag they represent.

What remedy is there ? will be asked.

In 1840 an Act was passed authorizing consuls
to use discretion in enforcing the law in cases of
discharge by mutual consent. This in 1856 was
repealed and the law is now strenuously insisted
on. Some other nations permit the free discharge
of crews where good reason or mutual consent is
shown, and where the Government is assured of
freedom from expense. Let the present law be
wholly repealed, and give consuls power to dis-
charge men freely, where satisfaction is given that
they will not become a burden upon the United
States. This satisfaction should be a proof of the
employment or shipment of the sailors, or else a
deposit of money for a limited term, or a bond for
the payment of any future expenses incurred, which
might be collect«^d at the port of entry in the
Um'ted States.

CHAPTER VIL

8INGAF0BE.

LEAVING Singapore in the early morning, we
turned into tlie Strait of Malacca, and with
perfectly serene weather and light but varying
winds we slipped easily along through its smooth
waters. The land was always in sight, with its
eternal verdure, and often we glided by gems of
islets that were beautiful enough to grace a para-
dise. " Ete/nal sunshine gilds " these shores, and
one who would enjoy the dolcefar niente to per-
fection, should have his easy chair on a good ship's
deck, with sheltering awning overhead, and sail in
the N. E. monsoon season in the Eastern Archi-
pelago.

Occasional puffs of wind favored us, and in the
short time of four and a half days we sighted Pulo
Penang, and ran through the narrow South Chan-
nel into its harbor.

192

PENANO. 193

Penang may be described as lovely and hot. It
is situated on a plain, and to the westward and
seaward rises a high mountain, shutting off the
sea breezes, which might refresh the heated brow.
This mountain, however, is a noted sanitarium, and
on its top a cool climate may be found, which is
often eagerly sought for its bracing effects upon
the heat-debilitated frame. The American Consul,
a worthy Scotchman, had rented a bungalow on the
summit for a month. He kindly invited the pas-
senger and myself to spepd a night there in turn.
The passenger went first, but soon the sad tidings
were brought that he had been thrown from his
horse and broken his neck. The authority for this
statement was that a soldier had told a sailor so.
Both professions, fortunately, were at fault and the
passenger returned in due time with his neck in
good order. His only explanation of the report
was the statement, that his pony was so small that
he placed his feet on the ground and let the ani-
mal gallop away from under him.

In my turn I ascended the hill, and spent the
night, returning in the cool of the morning.
The deep ravines with their walls of verdure,
the bi^nutiful views of the island, the sea and
the main land beyond, the delightful coolness of
the air, the wonderful specimens of vegetation,
such as the air plants, hanging luxuriantly from
the branches of trees, fed by the air and rain on
ihcir surfaces, the traveller's palms, with stores of

194 ON BOAliD THE ROCKET.

fresh water kept in their hollowed leaves for tlie
thirsty wayfarer, aud the tree-ferns, twenty feet in
height, all these with the strangest bird melodies
imaginable made the trip one of enchantment.
One bird and a beetle made noises like a sawmill,
another bird sang the scale descending — five notes
at least, and still another sang it ascending. One
more imitated the sound of a bell. At the foot of
the waterfall that descends the mountain, baths
are established. The Europeans assemble there in
the evening and after the external application of
water, too frequently take an internal application
of " brandy cocktails."

The military band plays weekly on the " Sepoy
Plain," back of the town, and a pleasant gathering
of the residents takes place.

An orphan-house and mission was being carried
on here by some devoted English missionaries, who,
like their friend Mr. Miiller of Bristol, working
independently of Societies, looked to the Lord to
provide. Their Christian fellowship, and the hours
spent in searching the Scriptures with them, were
precious privileges.

We were a fortnight here, loading tin, nutmegs,
mace, tapioca and India rubber, and then sailed for
Padang, where we were to complete our cargo
with coffee and cassia.

We beat out from Penang against a head wind,
and with a slant reached across ' the Strait of
Malacca. We then found light breezes to waft us

NEARLY SIIIPVVrwECKED. 195

along the north coast of Sumatra, "the Pepper
Coast," as it was known to our East India mer-
chants of Boston and Salem in earlier days. A
pleasing change here occurred in the landscape.
It is so rare to see ground not covered with verdure
in these regions, that the sight of Golden Mountain
near the north-west point of Sumatra was quite a
treat. It is a finely-formed peak and has much
bare ground on its sides, which appears golden in
the intense sunlight. This was an enjoyable day,
but an anxious night followed. We were sailing
pleasantly, with all studding-sails set, through the
passage between Pulo Way and Pulo Rondo, twelve
miles wide, when at midnight the wind died away
and the current swept us toward the island. There
was no wind to make the vessel steer, a cast of the
lead proved there was no bottom at sixty fathoms,
so we could not anchor, and an inspection of chart
and sailing directions showed that the rocks arose
perpendicularly from deep water. No human de-
vice could save us frcu shipwreck, and unless a
breeze sprang up off-shore our bark would soon
break in pieces against the rocks. For this breeze
I earnestly prayed. All hands were called on
deck ; a long length of chain was overhauled with
the intention of letting go the anchor at the last
moment, in the forlorn hope of its finding bottom,
and then the crew were stationed at the bracea
ready to trim the yards the moment a breath of air
might be perceived. I stood at the stern watching

196 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

the Hearing approach of the dread rocks, which now
loomed through the darkness in frightful proximity,
and wetting a forefinger I held it out to catch the
first trace of a l^reeze, but in vain ; until, when the
last hope was about to expire, and a few minutes
more were expected to seal our doom, I perceived
the faintest air imaginable breathing off the land.
The yards were immediately braced, and the effect
was to turn the vessel's head from the shore. I
dropped a fishing-line over the stern, and watched
to see if it would trail out ; but it hung up and
down showing that the vessel had no headway.
Soon, however, an additional breath came, then a
little puff, and to my exceeding joy, I felt the line
give a slight pull at my fingers as it stretched out
into the wake Then the water rippled along past
the rudder and we slowly but surely glided away
from the dangerous coast. Among many recollec-
tions of peril and anxiety, that calm hour, when in
utter helplessness we looked destruction in the
face, will remain prominent for its intense emotion,
and the occasion it gave for thanksgiving to the
Hearer of prayer.

The West coast of Sumatra is faced by an in-
numerable number of islets, rocks and shoals, out-
side of which lie a chain of larger islands. We
kept out in the open sea until off Padang, pre-
ferring a more circuitous but safer route than the
direct passage along shore. Here we could sail
day and night, without anchoring when darkness

C vrC;-'

Despair— Off ru(lun<r for six duvs

WEST COAST OF SUMATRA. 109

or squalls hid the way. But our progress was
slow and the passage became tedious and trying.
In the day time light airs and calms prevailed,
the hot sun poured down its rays with scorching
intensity, and the air was so clear that we once
saw a peak one hundred and six miles distant.
At night heavy squalls of wind burst upon us,
with torrents of rain and terrific peals of thunder ;
the balls of fire, called by the sailors corposants,
blazed at the mast-heads, and the lightning was in-
cessant. When sixteen days out from Penang we
sailed through Siberet Straits, and the next even-
ing just at dark we were within fifteen miles of our
anchorage at Padang. A dark squally night pre-
vented our running in, and a heavy N. W. gale
and southerly current drove us a few milei^ south
of the port. For the next six days we were hard
at work trying to make these few miles, but as soon
as we gained a little, a calm prevailed and the cur-
rent set us back again. The water was too deep
for anchorage and we were entirely dependent on
the wind, which, however, coquetted with us till
endurance almost ceased to belong to our virtues.
The captain's state of mind as he descended bare-
fo ced to the cabin after having stood on deck in a
rain squall, which was vainly expected to bring a
breeze, may be suspected by a glance at our artist's
sketch of the posture assumed upon the cabin
sofa.
Six days of this harassing work made me so des*

200 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

perate that I took advantage of a long continued
squall to run in a dark night along the dangerous
reefs, and guided only by the roar of the breakers
gained a position, from which the next day we
were able to woik into Padang Roads and anchor
inside of the beautiful Island '' Pulo Pisang," or
Banana Isle.

After safely anchoring afc our long desired
haven, a crew of native boatmen manned the
bark's boat and pulled me to the town of Padang
two miles distant. We rounded Apenberg, the
hill to which its chattering monkeys have given a
name, and ascended a river a short distance to the
landing place.

When the preliminaries of business were trans-
acted, ray consignee kindly invited me to reside at
his house, and I enjoyed the change from a cabin
to a luxurious home. At daylight I visited the
vessel, returning on shore after breakfast. The
house was built of wood with wide verandahs in
front and rear. Posts about six feet high sup-
ported it from the ground, leaving a space under
the house for air to circulate, and rogues also as it
proved ; for a few weeks before my arrival a rob-
bery occurred, and it is supposed, in this way.
The thieves went under the house and bored holes
in the floor of the sleeping room, through which
they introduced the smoke obtaiijed by burning
the leaves of a narcotic plant. The inmate being
stupefied, the thieves broke in at the front door.

PADANG. 201

robbed the house and took awa}'^ an iron safe that
was chained to the bed of the sleeper. They were
so sure of their work that they stopped in the
garden to open the safe, but being unable to do
this, they carried it to the beach and buried it in
the sand, where it was found the next day with its
contents intact, except a few small articles of jew-
elry, which the thieves had managed to shake out
through a small opening they had made. New
York or London could hardly surpass this. Many
thought the house servants must have been abet-
tors, as they were accustomed to sleep on the ver-
andahs outside the thresholds of three entrances
to the house, so that anyone entering must step
over them. Nothing could be proved against them,
and we repeatedly had occasion to step over their
bodies at night and open the doors when returning
at late hours, and at such times entrance was often
effected without disturbing their sound slumbers.

The first Sunday in port, I left the officers to
conduct the services and attended the Dutch
church on shore. I asked the captain of a Dutch
vessel to accompany me, but he said: "N'o, it is
not respectable to -go to church here, and I am
ashamed to." I told him our Lord's words about
those who are ashamed of Him; but that didn't
trouble him, so I went alone. I found one Euro-
pean civilian present, but not one lady, and some
sokliers and half castes. They first sang with
gHiut deliberation a Psalm from a book which had

202 ON DOAliD THE ROCKET.

the notes printed over each line ; then followed a
prayer, hymn, half of the sermon, two contribu-
tions, the remainder of the sermon a hymn and
benediction. During the sermon any one, who felt
tired of sitting, arose and stood for a while. After
service I spoke to the minister in the ante-room.
He and all the men lit their cigars, and after a
short chat and smoke they all went puflBng towards
home. The next Sunday I gladly went on board
and was refreshed by the cheerful vigor with which
'i'he sailors sang the hymns: '' When I survey the
V7ondrous cross," and, ''Just as I am, without one
plea." The services were held on deck and the
singing must have rung over the harbor. Return-
ing on shore, I called^ on board of a Dutch bark
and found a party assembled, among whom was
the organist of the church, all drinking brandy
and smoking, the minister being absent from town
that day.

One day I attended the ordination of a Malay
(Mohannnedan) [vriest. The Mohammedan religion
is here intermingled with many of the ideas and
[)ractices of heathendom, and it is the custom to
test the worthiness of the candidate for the priest-
hood by placing around his waist a band contain-
ing long needles with the points against his abdo-
men. He then at a given signal runs toward an
appointed goal. The people give chaso and en-
deavor to strike the needles inwards and kill him.
If he escapes, he is deemed to have established his

THE HEATHEN. 203

fitness for the office, thus making legs and not
heads or hearts the necessary qualifications. On
this occasion the Dutch soldiers were present in
force to prevent this barbarity, and the ceremony
was restricted to a procession, praying and reading
the Koran.

There are few places in the world as lovely as
Padang. The evening drives along the roads
bordered b}^ the tall arcliing "arrow trees," with
views of ocean and mountains on citlier hand, are
amongst the most charming recollections I retain
of any land where I have wandered. Kindly hos-
pitalities join to heighten such charms.

The interior of Sumatra is most wonderful.
There you enjoy a temperate climate, Swiss and
tropical scenery combined, an eternal spring and a
fertility of soil almost beyond belief. The sugges-
tion made to me, of taking a plantation, raising
coffee and leading a life of exile in a paradise,
might have been very tempting, but for the restric-
tions the Dutch government imposes upon all
trade and enterprises, and the obstacles presented
by the uncouth Dutch language.

Here " every prospect pleases " and man is no viler
than he is elsewhere. Contact with the natives of
Asia and the East Indies has raised my opinion of
*'the heathen." The average of them appear as
virtuous and upright as the mass of men in Chris-
tian lands. I have really seen less frequent display
of vice than I have in our cities, and have noticed

204 ON BOARD THE KOGKET.

many pleasant exhibitions of family affection,
kindness and honesty. The people in the interior
of Sumatra are represented as being remarkable
for virtue, temperance and integrity; and even on
the coast they must be admitted to compare very
favorably with the foreigners about them, whom it
is said they speak of contemptuously among them-
selves as "drunken Europeans;" but they readily
contract their vices. Christianity unquestionably
elevates all whom it reaches, but our civilization
alone has proved no moral blessing to those who
have experienced its influences in the distant
regions of the earth.

After lying at Padaixg for a few days a bark ap-
peared in the oflBng, and with the spy-glass I dis-
covered that she had our owner's flag at the main.
I started for her in my boat, introduced myself to
the captain and piloted him into an anchorage.

Capt. Blowliard was a stranger to me, but I was
much pleased to have the companionship of a
countryman in this far-off port. As we passed the
Ho elect,, he remarked she looked very well, only she
was rusty outside. We had finished painting her
the day before, so this comment excited my sur-
prise; but I soon discovered the captain's eye-sight
was defective, and I had the pleasure of supplying
him with a pair of spectacles. We went on shore
together, and I introduced him to his consignee;
but the polite Dutchman was startled at seeing the
captain swing his legs over the arm of the chair

CAPTAIN HLOWHAllD. 20t5

and monopolize all the talk with boasts about his
clipper bark and her performances. In the even-
ing I took him to drive, and attempted to point out
the sights of the place and the beauty of the
scenery, but his attention was not to be secured ;
dujing the whole of the drive he kept his face
toward me, and poured forth a continuous stream
of narrative aud self-adulation. I learned that he
had resigned the command of one of the finest
ships in the world to serve his country. He passed
highest in examination on Navigation, was ap-
pointed executive officer of a large frigate, and
soon, for his valor, was given the command of a
gunboat. After a celebrated naval battle his ves-
sel was so riddled with shot, that she was sent to
Alexandria for the Government to inspect as a
curiosity. President Lincoln and a committee from
the Senate visited her and gave the captain public

thanks for his brave conduct. Commodore

remarked that there were only three gentlemen in
the Volunteer Navy : Smith, Jones, and Blowhard.
At the close of the war he was offered a position
in the regular Navy, with a splendid command, but
he declined, saying he only had desired to serve
his country, and he wished no reward. I was
much impressed with all this information, and his
invitation to breakfast on board the next morning,
with so brave, polite and magnanimous a man,
inspired me with gratitude and awe. I went on
board to breakfast and was politely received. Hia

206 ON BOARD THE ROCICET.

politeness was then exercised towards his steward
who, being unable to find the napkins (which prob-
ably were not often used,) was led around the
cabin by the ear until they were discovered, the
captain remarking to me, "He's a good-natured
nigger or he'd have been killed long ago." The
meal was enlivened by frequent abuse of this poor
darkey, and I was not sorry when it was time to
go on shore. We went in the same boat, and as
the captain continuall}^ talked with his face toward
me, I perceived, what I certainly thought were the
fumes of whiskey ; but I discovered the injustice I
luid done him, after a while, when he remarked, "I
bought some Cologne at Batavia, and it's the queerest
stuff I ever saw ; it smells just like whiskey. I put
some on my handkerchief just before I left the
vessel, and I tho^ight I'd mention it to you lest
you might think I'd been drinking, which I never
do." This should be a warning to temperance
men to be careful in their choice of eau de co-
logne. We dined together at the hotel that day,
and the captain entertained the whole company
with his conversation. At one time, addressing a
remark to a young Dutch officer, the latter replied:
"No speak Engleesh,'' when the captain rejoined:
"Every gentleman speaks English.'* The officer
understood this and accepted it as an insult.
Withdrawing from the table he found friendly
assistance in concocting an English' note, challeng-
ing the captain to fight a duel with broadswords.

HOMEWARD BOUND. 207

But this met with no response from the captain.

Our friendship did not grow, and the sentiment
of kindred nationality failed to continue in its
first ardor.

On Sunday afternoons we had services on deck,
under the awning. I invited Capt. Blowhard and
his crew ; but the captain said he didn't approve of
letting the crews of different vessels mix together,
so we held our meetings by ourselves, with the ex-
ception of a few Dutch sailors from a neighboring

vessel. As the Rocket and the " F " were both

homeward bound and in the same employ we felt
much rivalry about the passage and some interest-
was excited among the merchants over the anticipa-
ted race. As the " F " was reported the fastest

vessel and her captain was certainly the most dash-
ing man, the bets were in her favor. Having less
cargo to take in, she was loaded first and got three
days start of us.

One calm morning we drifted out of Padang
Roads and slowly worked our way southward in
searcii of the Trades : but when obtained, pleasant
breezes and fine weather favored us. After pass-
ing Mauritius we took " a streak " of strong S. E.
and E. winds which put a new face upon matters.
Our dull start had made us feel hopeless about the
nice, but now we seemed to be gaining time and

the thought of the "F "ahead kept sail from

coming in many a time when prudence suggested
it. Every thing was cracked on and two topmast

208 ON nOAUD THE ROCKET.

studdingsail booms were carried away within
twenty-four hours. But they were immediately re-
placed, and on we sped ten kiiots an hour, feeling
we were going very fast, except when now and
then an English tea clipper came up astern and
passed out of sight ahead.

I learned at sea that there had been one disagree-
ment on board during my absence on shore at
Padang. A sailor, called Harry, being reproved
for something by the mate, gave a back answer.
Then being threatened, he said : *' I'm not afraid ;
you ain't bigger than a pint of cider, anyway."
This was an insult that seemed warrant enough
for a fight, and few officers could have resisted it.
I was pleased to learn, that in spite of this great
provocation, the mate had restrained his impulses,
in obedience to my orders, and had succeeded
eventually in controlling the man.

When the cooler weather again drove us to the
cabin in the evening, the passenger lent his patient
ear to the story of " Another voyage in the ' Dub-
lin.' "

CHAPTER VIII.

ANOTHER VOYAGE IN THE "DUBLIN.

ABOUT three weeks after I left the " Dublin"
a letter came on from Capt. Streeter, saying
that the ship was going to load a cargo of tobacco
and staves at Baltimore for Amsterdam, and asking
me to go with him as second mate. I had almost
hoped the offer would not come, for v/henevor the
scenes of the last voyage had been recalled to my
mind, in the midst of the delightful and elevated
associations of home, I had shuddered as though
the veil of a lower world had been drawn aside,
and its enormities and fiendish spirit had been
disclosed to me. 1 could scarcely summon courage
to return to it, and I also felt that it might be my
duty to avoid a sphere of such temptation and bad
influences. On the other hand, I had scarcely

enough confidence in my abilities to ship as second

209

210 ON BOARD THE EOOKET,

mate with a stranger, and felt from what I had
seen and heard of other ships that there was a
great uncertainty as to whether a change would be
for the better, and this could only be proved by
experience. With some misgivings I decided to
go. I liked the owner so much, and was so pleased
by the interest which he showed toward me, that 1
thought it desirable to keep in his employ, even
though I found things were not just to my mhid
on board ship ; and the owner's assurances that the
captain would improve, relieved my apprehension
«, little, though I knew Capt. Streeter's smooth
way of talking too well to place much dependence
upon it. Still the captain was shrewd enough to
know on which side his bread was buttered, and if
the owner had told him as he said, that his remain-
ing in the ship was dependent upon his good
behavior, it was reasonable to suppose that his
conduct might be influenced somewhat by this
motive.

A week later witnessed my arrival on board the
'' Dublin." The captain seemed glad to see me,
but Mr. Howard was not so cordial, and appeared
very much under the weather. '

" I tell you what it is," said he, as we walked
forward together to have a chat, " I've been second
mate of a ship a long time, but I never had a man
treat me so like a dog as Capt. Streeter 's done since
we've been in port. He wanted the ship scrubbed
around outside as soon as the copper got out of

MK. Howard's co^rPLAiNT. 211

water ; an J a man offered to do it, and paint her
beside, for ten dollars, when the regular price that
other ships pay is twenty dollars. But the old
man kicked up ' Bob's a dying,' and swore he
wouldn't pay no such price ; and then he gave me
so many hints, and told me so many stories about
what that cursed Mr. Jones of his used to do in
port, that at last I offered to do it myself. So he
hired a raft, and a boy to help me, and then I
scrubbed the ship and painted her bends all round.
I thought that would satisfy him, but as long as I
had got my hand into dirty work, he thought he
wouldn't let me take it out, and he had the face to
tell me to go over the bow and coal-tar the bob-
stays, and all the rest of the iron-work. I was
just fool enough to do it, and he's kept me going
ever since at jobs that any decent captain would
hire a man to do ; but it's about played out now.
He's so mean he'd skin a louse for its hide and
tallow ; and his soul is so small you could punch
the pith out of a horse-hair and put his soul inside,
and then it would rattle if you shook it."

I did not try to soothe him very much, and
rather hoped he wouldn't be soothed ; for the pros-
pect of his leaving the ship, which was suggested
by the tenor of his remarks, w^as not at all unpleas-
ant to me.

The next morning Mr. Howard had a talk with
the captain in the cabin after breakfast, and then
came out on deck to where I was standing and

212 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

said: " Mr. A , Tra going to leave the ship.*'

*'Are you?" said I, greatly astonished but
equally pleased. " What is that for? "

"Well, I'll tell you why. One thing is, IVe got
si«k of the old man, and another is that I know
Tm not competent to go mate of a ship, for I don't
know no more about navigation than that windlass
does, and the first time the old man got mad with
me at sea, he'd heave it up in my face, for all he
talks so fair now about it's not making an}^ differ-
ence. But another thing I'll tell you, and I don't
want you to get mad with me for saying it, for I
never met a man on board of a ship that I liked
any better than I do you ; I don't think we can
get along together. I'm bound to, make the old
shell-backs toe the mark, and if they don't do it I
can't talk polite to 'em. I wasn't brought up to
that business. But whenever I've had a row at
sea you've hardly spoken to me for a week after.
Now if I go in this ship again, I know we shall be
at loggerheads all the time, and it's a bad job for
officers of a ship if they can't sail alongside of
each other. I've got a chance to go second mate
of the ship " Robert Stan wood," and the mate's a
man just like myself, and we can hitch horses.
The fact is, I've too much respect for you to sail
with you. You're too good a man to go to sea.
It's a life only fit for a rascal, but if you're bound
to go, I hope you'll get along wfell, and have a

MK. HOWARD LEAVES, 213

mate to your liking, though I think they are scarce
fish in these waters."

I was certainly pleased at Mr. Howanl's decision,
but was much touched by his way of announcing it.

"I don't wonder that you want to leave, Mr.
Howard,'* I replied ; " but it would be more for
your interest to stay, and if you make uj) your
mind not to be quite so hard on sailors, I think we
can get along pleasantly. You must remember it
isn't the most important thing in a man's life to
make sailors run the mile in less than three minutes,
when a four-minute pace would be just as good for
the ship and the owners. I believe in making
sailors work and keep in their place, but I don't
believe in giving up all one's good principles to do
it, nor do I think it is necessary." •

" Perhaps not ; you and me has been brought
up very different, and vv^e must go our own way.
I've got an ugly temper, I know ; but it's there,
and it's got to come out. When you've seen as
much of sailors as I have, maybe you'll think the
best way to deal with 'em is to knock 'em down.'

Mr. Howard left the ship, much to the captain's
sorrow ; for he was a man after his own heart, and
he hoped he had at last found officers that were
willing to sail with him on a second voyage.

The ship leaked a good deal even in port, and
by the captain's orders another man and myself
hud to pump her out, involving half an hour's
work morning and night on a straight wooden

214 ON BOABD THE ROCKET.

pump handle. After the trouble we had on the
lafst passage, I was astonished that new pumps had
not been procured, and as I was in correspondence
with the bookkeeper in the owner's office, in the
course of a friendly letter I slipped in a word about
the pumps. By return mail a letter came from the
owner, telling the captain to get the best pumps
that could be obtained. He told me this without
suspicion of my agency in the matter, but re-
marked: "The owner is very ready to say gei: this
or that, but when the bills come in he would find
fault about the heavy disbursements.'' The ship
went to sea without them and I felt very loth to
go in her, for the only explanation that occurred
to me was, that the captain wanted to get the ship
into a port of distress, and have an underwriter's
job, which would give him a chance to enrich his
pockets with percentages.

The person, who came to undertake the mate's
duties for the voyage, was a young man of twenty-
five years, named Wright, a native of Baltimore.
He had received a liberal share of his education in
the streets, and was familiar with the peculiarities
of '* Blood-tubs " and "Plug-uglies." But besides
these questionable accomplishments he possessed
a tall, manly form, a handsome, expressive face, and
a clear eye, which, while it impressed one with its
determination, also implied a nature that despised
meanness. His manners were quit^ gentlemanly,
and after a short intercourse with him I felt con*

A TIPSY CREW. 216

vinced that he was superior in natural gifts to any
man I had yet sailed with ; and I was much pleased
with the change of mates.

The ship had loaded a full cargo of Maryland
tobacco, wliich comes in smaller casks than the
Virginia, though still of good size, weighing up-
wards of nine hundred pounds. Several thousand
staves had also been stowed away, to fill up all the
spare room, and the ship's stores and water having
been taken on board, she was ready for sea, and ac-
cordingly received the crew, and proceeded down
the Chesapeake towards the sea.

The crew, as usual upon the commencement of
a voyage, were for the most part under the influ-
ence of liquor. The mate was very reserved in
talking about sailors, and told no fighting stories,
which I thought must be evidence that he was a
peaceable man, and as they came over the rail and
staggered into the forecastle, he had remarked to
me: " We'll have 'em air straight in a day or two
I don't like a drunken row, and we must shut our
eyes to some things the first day."

He carried out these precepts, except upon
finding a young Irishman sitting on his chest in
the forecastle while all the other sailors were at
w ork, when the answer that was given to the order
to come out on deck was the brandishing of a
sheath-knife and the declaration that he wasn't go-
ing to work "on board the bloody hooker." The
mate settled this question by snatching away the

216 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

knife, hauling the man on deck, and hitting hiiu
two or three cracks with a belaying pin, and the
captain seeing it showed some signs of reform by
shouting: "That'll do, Mr. Wright, that'll do till
we get outside."

Leaving the pilot off the Capes of Virginia, the
voyage was fairly begun, with a fresh S. W. wind,
which increasing to a strong breeze blew after us
for seven days, and took us half way across the
Atlantic.

I now stood watch alone for the first time, and
it ►seemed a tremendous responsibility to be left Id
charge of the ship on a dark, squally night. How
a person could become so unconcerned as to fall
asleep, as I knew Mr. Howard had sometimes done,
was more than I could understand. I found a
great difference between a second and third mate's
position. When I was in the latter, I had only to
obey orders and see to the execution of work de-
signed by my superiors. But now I had to decide
upon such matters for myself, and it sometimes set
me at my wits' ends to find work to keep my eight
men constantly employed, particularly in wet
w^eather when sails and rigging could not be
worked on. It had seemed easy enough when
third mate, for whenever at a loss I could fall back
on the mate for a job. But now when the watches
were changed the mate would start me with some
work and going below would leave me to get along
as well as I could.

ship's work. 217

It IS customary, as a general thing, for the mate
to take special charge of the foremast and jib-
boom, and the second mate of the mainmast and
niizzenmast, as far as keeping them in order is
concerned. But the mate keeps the general super-
vision of the work, and the second mate would not
make any changes of consequence without the
mate's approval. This obliges him to resort to
small jobs to keep his men employed when more
extensive work fails, and they are apt to be of the
character denominated "humbugging" by sailors,
and of which the exponent is sawing wood with a
hammer. Ifc must be admitted that a great deal
of work is done on board ship, which will hardly
bear the test of necessity. But the men must be
constantly employed, and if other things fail the
chain-cable will always have rust enough on it to
admit of cleaning, as a last resort ; and if some who
wonder " what they find to do on board ship,"
could have spent a day in one of the flash Califor-
nia clippers of a few years' ago, they would have
seen a large crew busied not only in the day-time,
but through the night, scraping eye-bolts and iron
belaying-pins till they shone like silver, smoothing
off the paint work by rubbing with stones, scraping
other parts bright, as also the masts and yards, and
wearing away the deck with holj'-stones, as well as
the more legitimate work of making and taking in
sail, bracing yards and repairing sails and ^igging.

The rule of labor in such vessels is compilsied ia

218 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

the sailor's " Philadelphia Catechism : "

" Six days thou shalt labor and do all thou art
able ; and on the seventh, holystone the decks and
pound the cable."

I found, too, that it was rather harder to get
along with the sailors. Having entire control of
my watch I took much more interest in their per-
formance of work, and any laziness or stupidity
excited my pugnacity in the like greater proportion.

The crew, with two or three exceptions, were a
poor set of men ;. ^ot particularly ugly in disposi-
tion, but ignorant, thick-headed and lazy, and very
trying to an officer's temper.

The captain behaved wonderfully well, and
seemed so sincerely endeavoring to restrain his
usual sea indulgences, that I had no regret at my
decision in making the voyage.

The mate got along rather quietly, and proved
himself to be a very eflBcient officer ; and there was
something in his calm, decided bearing which gave
the captain great confidence in him, and also kept
liim somewhat from his customary interference
with mate's duties. He bestowed pretty liberal
attention on the second mate's affairs, however,
and used to make me understand sometimes what
Mr. Morrison had endured the previous voyage.

The mate was not harsh with the sailors, and
carried on his work with very little noise, giving
ordinary orders in a mild tone. But still he was
strict, and the men had to move at a lively pace

SQUALLY WEATHEB. 219

and be wide awake ; and sometimes wLen they
failed to do this, he did not resist the temptation
of sending a cnrse and a belaying-pin after them,
or perhaps giving them a touch of a rope's end.
There was nothing, however, like Mr. Howard's
abuse of men, and if a sailor did come in for a rap,
he was pretty sure to be in the wrong. His rela-
tions to me were very pleasant. When relieving
each other at night, if no work was going on, we
had a short chat, or the mate told some little yarn
about the Liverpool packet trade, which he had
sailed in a good deal.

There was no third mate this voyage, so we had
to depend on each other for sociability.

Though it was the month of August the weather
was blustering and changeable. The S.W. wind
which had favored us so well gave place to north-
erly and easterly winds, with unsettled and squally
weather. At times nearly all sail would be set to
a steady breeze, when suddenly the black, threaten-
ing clouds would spring up from the horizon, and
with only a few minutes' warning, spread over the
sky, bursting upon the ship in a furious gust, while
all hands would be at work clewing up and hauling
down the slatting, booming and rustling sails;
and officers and sailors increased the noise by what
would seem to a landsman a perfect Babel of harsh
orders and shrill cries.

Those are the times that try officers' souls, and
vhe times that test the sailors' merit. In fine

220 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

weather a little laziness or ignorance may perhaps
be borne patiently, but in a squall there is no for-
giveness for a man who "hangs back," or '* doesn't
know what he's about."

In the confusion attending these squalls some of
the sailors seemed to forget what little they knew,
and were frequently letting go the wrong ropes or
running everywhere except to the place where they
were wanted. The captain's good resolutions suc-
cumbed to this pressure so far as to allow his tongue
to regain its old fluency at cursing ; the mate was
pretty active both in words and deeds ; and as for
the second mate, he used to bite his lips pretty
hard to keep his tongue quiet.

There was an old sailor on board who had greatly
attracted my interest, partly owing to the circum-
stances attending his coming on this voyage, and
partly because of his good nature and willingness
to work as well as his feeble energies Avould permit.
He was now fifty-two years old, and a confirmed
drunkard. The day after leaving Baltimore he
came to the steward, as he was about going into
the galley with a pan of dough, and asked him if
he knew where the ship was bound to.

" Certainly," said the steward, " don't you ? "

He shook his head, and the steward told him :
" We're going to Amsterdam."

Old Harry's story was this: He was the son
of a clergyman in Virginia, and when, quite young
had run away to sea. He fell into bad habits

OLD HARRY. 221

which prevented his rising in his profession, and
for years he had been drifting about, sometimes in
the navy, and again in merchant vessels. Though
he had occasionally returned to his friends, his appe-
tite for strong drink had always overcome his good
resolutions, and he had long ago been given up as a
hopeless case. He had a brother in Norfolk, well
to do, who, after several unsuccessful efforts of
late years to find traces of Harry, had discovered
his last voyage. Upon the arrival of the ship at
Baltimore he had sent him a sum of money to
defray his expenses home, and offered to give hira
a shelter and support him for the rest of his days.
Old Harry was glad enough to accept this offer,
for he was now quite broken down in health, and
in his sober hours at sea had many anxious thoughts
as to what would become of him in the future.
But he could not resist the inclination for another
good drink before he started, and his next sensible
moment found him removed from the den in Balti-
more, where he had been carousing, to the fore-
castle, out of sight of land, and with only fifteen
cents in his pocket. These he offered to the stew-
ard for a glass of whiskey, with most imploring
tones, but failed to obtain it. He had a touch of
delirium tremens^ and after getting rid of the devils
who, he fancied, were tormenting him, he was in a
most thoughtful and penitent mood.

A twenty-two days' passage brought the ship
into the English Channel. Passing through the

222 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

Straits of Dover into the North Sea, the wind
hauled to the northward and increased to a fresh
gale. The topsails were double-reefed, and the
ship slowly forged ahead, though making some lee-
way, causing the captain to feel anxious about the
lee shore, which was in sight not far distant.

The Dutch pilots usually cruise about Dungen-
ess, at the entrance of the Straits, but not hap-
pening to run across one, Capt. Streeter was in too
much of a hurry to wait, and so kept on. Now he
became very anxious to procure one, and being off
Antwerp he ordered he me to set the " Jack " at
the fore royalmast-head as a signal for a pilot. I
gave the signal halyards to one of the men, and
told him to lay aloft and reeve them at the fore.
The man slowly climbed up the rigging, but when
he got to the royalmast his courage gave out. The
ship was lymg over very much and jumping heavily
in the sharp sea, so that it was a matter of diffi-
culty to hold on, and much more so to shin up the
long mast-head. I cheered the man on, who made
two or three unsuccessful attempts to reach the
truck, but after ascending a short distance invari-
ably slid back to the eyes of the rigging. Another
man was now sent up to help him, or do the work
f(7t him, and I travelled aloft also to drive them up.
But both men were thoroughly frightened; so
much so that I feared they might lose their hold
altogether, and I did not like to force them at this
risk, so at last I took the halyards myself and soon

AT THE FORE TUUCB:. 223

was at the mast-head. Just at this moment Capt.
Streeter came out of the cabin and walked for-
ward to see if his order had been executed. There
he beheld his second mate at the fore truck, and
two sailors in the crosstrees looking at him per-
forming their work. This . was rather opposed to
his idea of things, so he armed himself with the
long unused cat, which had been out of service
since the negro-boys escaped from its tutelage, and
when the men reached the deck he gave them each
a good flogging ; and when I appeared he said to
me : " If I ever see you do sailors' work again for
them, ril treat you in the same way."

But the flag did not bring the pilot, though the
wind moderated enough to quiet the captain'ii
fears of the lee-shore. Laying off and on during the
night, in the morning the spires and windmills of
Holland appeared risiiig out of the sea before the
land was visible. A pilot boat came along side
and a rosy-cheeked little Dutchman clambered
over the rail. In his short sailor's jacket he looked
like an overgrown boy; but he proved himself a
good pilot, by bringing the ship into the Zuyder
Zee and then entering her in the canal at New
Diep, the port of Amsterdam.

Vessels formerly sailed up the Zuyder Zee to
Amsterdam, but were often detained two or three
weeks for water enough to carry them over a cer-
tain bank. The enterprising merchants, to obviate
this delay, dug a canal fifty miles long, from Am-

224 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

fsterdam to New Diep, making it wide enough for
two frigates to pass abreast, and the ships are
drawn through this to the city in about eighteen
hours; or, if preferred, they can discharge at New
Diep into canal-boats, which convey the cargo to
the city. Another deeper and shorter canal has
been made since then.

Capt. Strccter chose the latter plan and speedily
got to work at discharging the tobacco and staves.
With two men I worked in the hold, breaking out
and slinging the cargo, and the rest on deck, afc the
tackle, hoisted it out.

Though the ship lay alongside the quay, the
captain refused permission to any of the sailors to
go on shore in the evening, saying all they wanted
was to get drunk, and the sailors not relishing this
restriction, and thinking they had done enough
hard work on board the " Dublin," took leave of
absence on their own account, and for awhile every
morning found two of the crew missing, until only
three or four were left.

In a fortnight the ship was all discharged and
ballasted, the captain went to ihe city, settled his
freight and cleared for Cronstadt. I had to curb
my love of sight-seeing, as my duties would not
allow me to visit the city. In New Diep I saw
the Dutch people, the women with their gold bands
nung across their foreheads, and metal head-dresses
ending in front in two little cullenders holding

DUTCHMEN. 225

curls, and the men with their pipes, even the min-
sters walking to church on Sunday smoking.

The clean swept pavement and- the white walled
houses with their red tiled roofs confirmed the rep-
utation of that p*eople for order and cleanliness.

The captain upon returning to the vessel shipped
some men, and put to sea, having a final '* growl "
at the captain of the steamboat that towed him
out, bestowed upon him rather because he was the
last Dutchman lie should see for a while, than be-
cause of any special fault in the person. But he
had to take Capt. Streeter s opinion of his countiy-
men, and to say the lea^t they were not very flat-
tering to his national pride. " Slower than real
estate in Chelsea ; " " don't know enough to go into
the house when it rains ; " *' put two ideas in their
beads and they'd bu'st," were a few of the favor-
ite phrases made to apply to the subject under con-
sideration, as many times before they had heen
a[)plied by Capt. Streeter to such unfortunate peo-
ple as came into the world outside of the limits of
" free and enlightened America."

In three days we rounded the north of Denmark
and squared away through the Cattegat with
a fresh north-west wind. Before we reached Elsi-
nore we had a change of wind to the southward, and
were all day beating up the roads, where we
anchored at dark. The next morning we started,
with a fleet of one hundred and fifty vessels, to beat
into the Baltic. All hands were on deck, and we

226 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

tacked every fifteen minutes. As the Dublin waa

flying liglit, and most of the fleet nere coal-laden,
she soon distanced them all, and at sunset we
weathered Falsterbo and squared away up the Bal-
tic.

After leaving New Diep, a change came over the
captain ; the restraint which he had seemed to im-
pose upon his passions during this voyage, van-
ished, and ho acted as though intent upon making
up for lost time, and relieving himself of an accu-
mulation of malice and profanity. In a head wind
or calm he would throw his hat on deck and jump
on it, pouring forth abundant curses, and once even
went so far as to shake his fist aloft and swear at
" Him who made the calm." The sailors shook their
heads and remarked to each other that the old man
wasn't helping things much, and in the forecastle
they told stories about ships being becalmed until
the crew starved, or until the grass grew so long
on her bottom that it took root at the bottom of
the sea and held her fast when at last a breeze
came.

The crew behaved pretty well, were very civil
and prompt in obeying orders, and proved them-
selves good " sailor men " withal.

After the captain had about exhausted his voca-
bulary on the calm, he felt the need of something
or person else to vent his spite upon ; and as the
crew, who usually received these attentions, hardly
gave tlie excuse in this case, he very suddenly

DREAMS. 227

turned upon the second mate, watched me every
moment, and criticised every act that could be
in any way twisted so as to bear it.

He had always appeared more friendly to me
than to any one else, and this sudden change took
everyone by surprise. It could hardly be account-
ed for except by supposing it to be the expression
of his displeasure at my failure to develop into an
offiijcr after liis own heart.

It was soon evident that he had returned to the
worst phase of his last voyage. I, of all others,
had occasion to notice it, for the captain's peculiar
attentions were bestowed upon me. Ilis piercing
eye was fastened upon me during the greater part of
the day, and often in the night he crept stealthily
on deck in hope of discovering some neglect of
duty, but always found me awake, and the yards
and sails trimmed as they should be, unless it hap-
pened that he came out within a few moments of a
little change of wind, and on one or two such oc-
casions he declared it had been so for half an hour,
and taunted me with inattention, or threw out a
hint that he suspected me of having been asleep
— the greatest fault an officer can be guilty of.
His principal reason for the latter suspicion on
one occasion was that he had a dream about wild
horses, which never occurred except when an offi-
cer was asleep. He had proved it several times,
and never knew it to fail. Mr. Jones never went
to sleep but once on deck, and that time the cap-

228 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

tain woke up in the midst of this dream and caught
him.

These things were very galling, but I was able to
avoid any disrespectful response, until one morning
his taunts were heaped upon me beyond endurance,
and I had to answer back.

My watch came on deck at 8 A. M., and the
captain told me to take a pull of the main tack.
He stood superintending the work as usual, and h-s
we hauled on the rope he shouted out what weie
supposed to be encouraging orders : " Haul, you
wicked rascals." " Lay out your beef on it ; —
bend your backs to it ; you wouldn't haul a mackerel
off a gridiron ! " Finally, upon his calling out :
" Haul away I " I understood him to say " belay, "
and giving that order to the men the rope was
made fast.

"How dare you belay a rope when I'm looking
out for it ? " shouted the captain in a rage.

" I thought you ordered me to," said I.

This was an unfortunate speech, as Capt. Street-
er had a decided animosity to anyone's using the
word thought.

" What business have you got to think, I'd like
to know, " he replied. " You didn't ship for that,
ill make you know your place. I'm the only man
that's allowed to think aboard of this ship. You'll
try to take charge, if I let you keep on with your
airs a little longer. You swing about the deckn
now as though the ship belonged to you. "

A GROWL. 229

These phrases and several others were rattled off,
one after the other, and interlarded plentifully with
oaths. Meanwhile I and the whole watch stood
gazing in wonder at the captain, scarcely knowing
what to make of this great ado iibout nothing. He
walked aft a few steps and turned to watch my
movements as I set the men at work. The mate
was standing by the main hatch, and lie told me to
let one of my watch sew some canvas on the foot
of the mainsail, and directed me to let him sit in
the bight of a main buntline while he worked at it.
I started the man at his job exactly as the mate
wished, but as the man caught hold of the bunt-
line to swing himself up to the desired position,
the captain burst out upon me again :

'* What kind of backhanded work is that?
Why don't you lower the man down in a bo's'n's
chair? I believe if you got two ideas in your
head it would bu'st. I'd like to know w^hat is the
matter with you ? "

'' The matter is," said I, " that I've alwaj^s been
treated decently till I came here, and I'm not used
to be cursed about and snarled at as if I was a lob-
lolly boy. Because I'm good natured you're try-
ing to impose on me, but I can't stand every-

thing."

'' If you say another word I'll knock your head
off," said Capt. Streeter, shaking his huge fist in
my face. " Don't undertake to dictate to me
what kind of talk I use. I'd swear if the owner

230 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

and God Almighty were here." Then he said.
" No 1 I won't fight you, if you were a man of my
size I woula, but I'll treat you like a boy tliat's
beneath my notice that way. But after this 111
keep you in your place. Go set your men to work,
and mind you behave yourself."

That day Capt. Streeter paced the deck a good
deal, evidently in deep thought, and in the evening
after supper he calle 1 me into the cabin.

" Mr. A "saic" he, " do you know that a man

who has had any ed acation can give a slur that'll
hurt a good deal nore than another man can.
Now, I feel one wc d from you more than I do a
dozen from any c//3 else, and I feel hurt at the
way you spoke to me this morning."

" I've always Ined to be respectful to you, sir,"
I replied, " and 1 think I've been more so than any
boay else wmjll have been, because I've been anx-
ious that no one should think I put on any airs on
account of your familiarity with me. For the last
week you've done nothing but snarl at me and
pick upon me. I know, of course, that I'm at fault
sometimes, but not as much as you try to make
out."

" You can't expect a sea captain to be as mild as
a parson all the time," said Capt. Streeter. " You
must make allowances. If I'm not quite perfect I
want you to respect me as your captain I "

"I always mean to respect you. as my captain;
but, if you'll allow me to speak the plain truth, it's

IN CRONSTADT. 231

impossible to respect you as a man^ and I'm not
always able to conceal my private feelings."

" If you can't respect me as a man, I want you
to as your captain," said Capt. Streeter, biting his
lips and looking as though he had received a slur
that cut pretty deep. " That'll do."

Capt. Streeter felt that the account stood rather
against him, and took continual opportunities to
annoy me, and occasionally repeated the sentence
which closed his cabin conference, showing that
my remark had taken strong hold upon him.

The night before we reached Cronstadt I had a
good talk with the captain, and he came to the
conclusion he had better turn his attentions to
somebody else, and we gradually got to better
terms with each other.

In Cronstadt we discharged ballast and loaded a
cargo of iron and hemp. The crew were called
every morning at half past four, which of course
was not very agreeable, and one morning an Irish
sailor growled so much about it, the mate went
into the forecastle and struck him two or three
blows with his brass knuckles. A half hour after-
wards the mate picked up a handspike and struck
him a blow across the stomach, and after break-
fast he told the captain of it, and the man was
called aft and severely beaten on the back with
the end of the main clew-garnet, a good sized rope.
No more complaints were made about early rising.
The mate had a row with another sailor one day,

232 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

and receiving some insolence, tlircw a heavy piece
of wood at his head, which fortunately missed its
mark. The man was so frightened that he de-
serted that night with one of his shipmates.

The ship was loaded so deeply and was leaking
so much, and moreover had such wretched pumps,
that many misgivings were expressed as to her
ever crossing the Atlantic safely. The supersti-
tious among the crew were still more disaffected
when two Finnish sailors came on board, for a Finn
is believed to have dealings with the evil one, and
to be a dangerous shipmate. We sailed for Bos-
ton one September morning, and beat down the
Gulf of Finland. The crew that were shipped at
New Diep were to get fifteen dollars a month, but
wages were higher in Cronstadt, and the two Fin-
nish sailors had shipped for twenty dollars. They
had signed articles to that effect, drawn up by the
American Consul. This grieved the captain's eco-
nomic soul, and the day after we sailed, he called
one of the Finns into the cabin and summoned me
for a witness. He told the man that if he didn't
prove to be a first-class, able seaman, he should cut
his wages down to ten dollars a month ; but, if he
would sign the articles that the rest of the crew
were on, and accept fifteen dollars, he would say
nothing about his seamanship. The man was confi-
dent of his abilitj', and had every appearance of a
thorough seaman. He understood 'English imper-
fectly, and was somewhat bewildered by this prop

TWO FINNISH SAILOBS. 233

osition, but he realized it was a scheme to defraud
him of five dollars a month, and he respectfully
declined to sign the new articles, saying, he had
signed once before the consul and that was his bar-
gain. After a little useless argument, the captain
rose and shut the cabin door ; then he caught the
man by the neck with his left hand, and gave hira
a blow with his right fist that knocked him down.
He jumped on his chest two or three times with
his whole weight ; and then kneeling on top of him
pounded his face severely. The man cried out for
mercy and promised to sign. He was then helped
to the table and wrote his name on the fifteen dol-
lar articles. The other Finn was at the wheel at the
time, and whether he heard anything of what wa©
going on or not, he seemed to lose his head just
then, and ran the ship off her course. The mate,
perceiving it, struck him and put another man in his
place. He was just coming forward as the captain
and his shipmate stepped out of the cabin. The
bruised face of his comrade startled him, and when
the captain told him to go into the cabin he
refused, supposing he was going to be beat;en for
his bad steering. The captain, without further
words, seized a belaying pin from the rail and hit
him a powerful blow on the head, which cut a deep
gash on the side of his forehead, and in a moment
liis face was one mass of blood. The steward and
myself carried him into the cabin, by his head and
lieels, and seating him on a stool in a state-room,

234 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

bound up his broken head with strips of sail cloth
in lieu of rags. The captain brought a pen to him
and told him to write liis name on the old articles.

" What ish dis ? " he asked.

"Do as you're told, " said the captain, and the
man signed.

The captain then put a pair of handcuffs on the
man's wrists, though he was as quiet as possible,
and he was left to meditate on the privileges of
sailing under that symbol of freedom and justice,
the American flag.

CHAPTER IX.

THE "DUBLIN" — CONCLUDED.

WHEN eight days out from Cronstadt the ship
was in the North Sea about forty miles S,
W. of the Naze of Norway. The weathe/ was
rainy and the sky dark and threatening. The ?nd
gradually increased to a gale from the westward,
and in a few hours the ship was hove to under the
close-reefed maintopsail, laboring heavily in the
ugly confused sea. Careful attention to the
pumps showed that the ship was leaking more
than usual, keeping the pumps constantly going.
The sand washed to the well-room and choked the
pumps, which had not force enough to throw it
out. It was blowing a living gale, the ship was
leaking badly and the pumps were useless, the
alternative that was presented was to founder at
sea, or run for some port. Accordingly, in the

285

286 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

afternoon, the captain ordered the yards to be
squared, and the ship scudded before wind and sea
towards the Cattegat. Getting one pump clear,
the crew, by constant work, kept the water from
gaining rapidly ; but a new danger was now before
us. The captain had not seen the sun for twent}^-
four hours and was not very confident as to the
ship's position ; she was running towards the land,
and an error of a few miles in the reckoning might
result in the loss of all on board before the next
day-break. The Coast of Denmark is very low
and cannot be seen far at sea even in clear weather,
and though Captain Streeter hoped to fetch to the
northward of it, still he felt very much concerned,
as the distance would probably be run before day-
light. I shall never forget my feelings as I stood
by the wheel that night, in the middle watch, while
the ship scudded before the howling tempest in
the pitchy darkness, perhaps towards sudden and
certain destruction.

The negro steward had the best eyes of any
man in the ship, and at the first dawn of day he
went forward and looked anxiously and earnestly
aliead. In a moment the cry, " Land, ho ! " sounded,
and he ran aft and reported to the captain that he
could see the land not more than five miles off.
Calling all hands the captain hauled the ship by
the wind and crowded all the sail possible in order
to keep the ship off the lee-shore and weather the
northern point of Denmark, which, as the day

IN DISTRESS. 287

broke, appeared on the lee bow. He found that he
had missed his course by only eight or ten miles,
but had it not been for the steward's eyesight, or
had day dawned fifteen minutes later, the error
would have proved fatal. The ship struggled
bravely against the gale under double-reefed top-
sails, a preks of canvas that threatened " to take
the sticks out of her," but she seemed inspirited
by the nearness of the dangerous coast, and when
bhe finally fetched by the Scaw and squared away
across the Cattegat, all on board felt that the
qnestion of life and death was decided in their
favor, and cheerfulness and thankfulness took pos-
session of them. One hundred and fifty vessels
and three hundred lives were reported lost in that
gale. That afternoon the ship took a pilot off the
Swedish coast, and proceeding seven miles up the
River Gotha, anchorod at Masthugget, a suburb of
Gothenburg.

The next day a survey was held and it was decided
that the ship must discharge and be hove down,
though the leak was no more than good pumps
could have kept under. Here was a dismal pros-
pect. It was October and three months must pass
before the " Dublin " could be readj'' for sea again,
and then it would be January, and probably the
river would be frozen over, so that she would be
ice-bound till spring. The dreary looking country
and the low unattractive town which was in sight
presented little temptation to a long residence, and

238 ON BOAllD T1IJ2 ROCKET.

great discussions went on in the forecastle, whetbc:
the " old man " would discharge the crew or not.

By law, sailors discharged from an American ship
abroad are entitled to three months' extra pay, one
third of which goes to the Consul. This made the
crew still more anxious to leave and they impa-
tiently awaited the decision. The Consul, with un-
usual liberality, told Capt. Streeter that if his crew
wished to be discharged and would at once take
passage in the steamer for England, he might let
them go without any extra pay. The men were a
little disappointed at this, but were so dissatisfied
with the ship that they preferred to leave on these
terms, and were accordingly paid off and took the
steamer for Hull, England. As they passed the
'' Dublin " on their way down the river they
waved their hats and one of them shouted '' Bad
luck to the old hooker."

One evening in New Diep, old Harry went into
the between decks on some duty, and as it v/as
rather dark there he fell through the hatchway
into the hold and broke his right arm. Captain
Streeter was too economical to employ a doctor,
and too strict a disciplinarian to allow the sailor to
go on shore to see one ; he also believed that he
knew more than all the medical fraternity put to-
gether. He therefore set the bone himself, but did
it so badly that the arm was nearly useless after the
bones had knit. Harry was very downhearted
about it, for now he could no longer ship as an

GOOD-BY TO OID HARRY. 239

able seaman and, as usual, when hb was discharged
at Gothenburg lie sought relief from his sorrows in
drink. In a few days ho was picked up in the
gutter, one cold morning, penniless and almost
naiced. The United States Consul kindly gave
him some clothes, and wished him to accept a very
serviceable coat which had belonged to his coach-
man. But the sailor said : " Old Harry is an
old man-o'-wars-man and he can't wear a coach-
man's coat. Cut those big buttons off and I'll
take it. " In his buttonless coat he was put on
board the steamer for England and disappeared.

One Sunday I went up to Gothenburg, in one of
the little steam launches that ply up and down
the river. In the evening after my return I told
the mate of my visit ; and after hearing my de-
scription of the city, he said :

" I wish you'd been aboard this afternoon when
Capt. Mann of the brig " Hong Kong " was down in
the cabin, visiting the old man. They talked so loud
I couldn't help hearing all they said, though I didn't
listen. You know you told me Capt. Streeter never
commanded a vessel before he had this one ; but
if you had heard his yarns, you'd have learned that
he's had charge of a whole fleet of ships, and he
had such a great reputation that the Emperor of
Russia wanted him to command one of his " cravats,"
as he called it, but I suppose he meant corvettes.
He told the Emperor that if he took charge of her,
the first thing he'd do would be to run her into

2-^10 ON BOAllD THE UOCKET.

action and get the crew killed off, in order to make
room for true-born Americans — the onlj'' men who
could get two ideas in their heads without burst-
ing. The Emperor didn't like this plan of dispos-
ing of his subjects very well, but he knew that
Capt. Streeter was such a smart man that he still
urged him to accept, until the affair ended by the
captain telling him he wouldn't take one of his
ships if he'd give her to him.

"That wasn't the yarn I started to tell you
though. Capt. Stree er said that he commanded
the ship " Seaman's Bride." (I'm pretty sure he's
been second mate of her). He was loading teas at
Shanghae on owners' account, and they wrote to
him to make the quickest passage home he possibly
could, and not to spare either spars^ sails or rig-
ging, in eighty-four days after leaving Shanghao
he dropped anchor off the Battery; the quick-
est passage ever made. lie had carried away a
set of top-gall an tmasts, sprung the fore topmast,
mainmast-head, and fore and main topsail-j^ards,
and blown away two suits of sails. On discharcfiiig
her, they found two of her deck beams broken, five
knees started in the between decks, and four hang-
ing knees in the lower hold broken, and so on till
he ran up a list longer than a bill of repairs on an
underwriter's job. When he got the ship's damages
told, he began on the damages to sailors, and I tell
you they were still worse. He killed two men
outright and in New York nineteen men went

captain's yarns. 241

ashore with broken heads, all fixed to order by him-
self, for his mates didn't know anythi\i<jr, arid fearecj
cvcrytliing in the sliape of sailors, and he had to
lick them too. I never heard a man tell a straight-
er story in my life. I believe the old man would
beat Tom Pepper at a yarn, and they say he was
more tl: m a match for the Old Nick at lying. I'd
like to be behind the door when the match was
going on, anyway. I never thought he told the
truth very hard, but I believe novir he's forgotten
how, if he ever knew."

" Why, " I added, " you know he said himself
cne day, ' I never tell the truth e rcept when a lie
won't aiisv er,' and I thought he oame nearer tell-
ing the truth tlian usual when he said that."

"My opinion of Capt. Streete;," said the man,
" is that he would be a thund 3ring rascal if h i
dared to be, but he hasn't got 1 he pluck, and he
tiies to get the credit of it by laaking up in lies
what he hasn't courage to do. "

" He's a pretty hard man though," said I ; " I've
seen him handle some sailors very roughly."

"Hard man, " said the mate ; "I wish you could
have seen the work in some ships I've been in.
What courage does it take for a great two-fisted
fellow like him to handle a single sailor. There
was old " Blower Aiken, " who used to keep a
bucket full of coal on the poop to heave at tha
sailoi:s, and when they were at the main braces, if
they didn't haul hard enough to suit, and it wasn't

242 ON BOARD THE KOCKET.

•

very often they did, he'd get up on the after-house,
and jump down on top of one of the men, and then
tin 1 to and lick the whole watch. When I was in
the packet-ship " Mountaineer," along with ' Bully
Nat Johnson,' I was with what I call a hard man.
If the man at the wheel got the ship a little off her
course, I've seen him pick up a boat-hook and run
it through the man's cheek, and keep him standing
at the wheel till his trick was done.

" We were coming home from Liverpool once,
and went out of the North Channel ; but then the
wind came from the northward and blew a living
gale. This brought the Irish coast on our lee, and
the ' old man ' carried sail pretty hard to claw off.
Our fore-topsail blew all to ribbons, and while we
were up bending another, a boy fell off the lee
yard arm. Only the man next to him noticed him,
and it was blowing so hard he could not make any
one hear to windward. The mate, who was on
deck, saw it, and beckoned to me to come down. (I
was third mate of her). When I got on deck, he
told me what had happened, and he had just thrown
a rope which the boy had got hold of ; for the ship
of course was only just drifting. We tried to haul
him in, but when he was nearly up, he slipped his
hold and fell into the water. He floated aft, and
caught hold of the main chain-plates ; and just as
I was going to get a rope round him the old
man yelled out to me : " Go up on that fore-topsail
yard."

A HARD MAN. 243

" * There's a boy overboard, sir,' " said I.

*'• ' I don't care,' said he ; ' let him help himself.
If we don't get that fore-topsail bent we'll all be
lost."

''While I stopped for this talk, a sea had washed
the boy away, so I went up aloft.

*'The sailors were so frightened at the force of
the gale and flapping of the remnant of the old
sail that they had all laid in off the yard, and
wouldn't go out again. The old man came up and
kicked them, and jumped on their heads as they
stood in the rigging and top, but they wouldn't
stir, and at last the second mate and I crawled out
on the weather yard arm, and he lashed me on to
the yard with a gasket, and then I cut away the
old sail and hauled out the head of the new one,
for the men came out when they found some one
to take the weather earing.

" Old Johnson is dead now. They called him
one of the smartest men that sailed out of New
York, and he could always command his own
wages, but I guess old Jimmy Squarefoot is put-
ting him over the road now for — four bells I you
don't say an hour's gone a'ready ; you must want
to turn in."

The cargo was discharged into lighters and
stored on shore. Then the " Dublin " was hauled
into the shipyard and her inmates, captain, two
mates, cook and steward moved to boarding houses
on shore. The ship was hove down on her side,

244 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

caulked and sheathed, and all day long we stood
on tlie rafts alongside and went through the form
of watching the workmen. We had a vacation
from the captain's society in the evening, except
when I had to go up to his lodgings and write his
business letters for him.

The beginning of January fou id the ship again
loaded and ready for sea, only waiting for saiLrs,
who were very scarce ; partly so, because the cap-
tain had told so many fighting stories in the ship-
chandlers' stores that the bad reputation the old
crew had gi^'tn the vessel had been confirmed and
increased. The river froze over, and though a
channel was kept open by steamers, this might
be expected to close any night, and unless the ship
desired to remain until spring it was time for her
to leave. So she was towed down to an outer har-
bor through seven miles of ice and in a few days
the captain joined her with a crew of young
Swedes — no old sailors being willing to join the
vessel. The river was now frozen entirely over,
and even in this harbor ice had formed for two
miles out amongst the islands towards the sea.
Accordingly the captain made a bargain with the
fishermen of the place to break out the ship, and
they assembled in force with their ice boats.
Tliese were built with sharp bows which the men
lifted and struck upon the ice, and as it gave way
they jumped on to the boat. When a space had
been cleared ahead of the ship, her fore-topsail was

A SWEDISH CREW* 245

set, and she crashed along until brought up by the
firm ice, when the boats again went to work while
the ship held on by a line toggled into the ice
astern. In this way we worked all of one day,
and at its sunset found ourselves in open water ;
then we made sail and steered to the westward,
delighted to be at last homeward bound.

Ten out of fifteen of the crew could not speak
English and most of them were young men and
very poor sailors. But they were "willing" and
well disposed, and the knowledge of Swedish I
had acquired in the long winter evenings enabled
me to work ship with them quite easily.

The captain had not improved his opportunity
to master the language, and it nearly drove him
distracted when the men ran to the wrong end of
the ship to execute an order. He tried on his
" tantrums " at first, and issued his volleys of
curses and blackguardism from the top of the
afterhouse, but the sailors only turned and stared
at him with their mouths open in wonder. He
gave this up after awhile and we had quite a peace-
able passage.

The ship made good headway in spite of this,
and soon again passed Fair Island and the inevi-
table boat-load of beggars^, and commenced battling
with the Atlantic. Lat. 60° N. in the month of
January is not a very agreeable locality to sail in,
and gales of wind were frequent visitors. We
were about half way across the ocean, when one

246 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

evening the captain, anxious to finish his passage,
was " carrying on " to the ship with the double-reefed
topsails, steering west, with the wind north. The
ship was thus right in the trough of the sea and as
it blew a fresh gale, and the seas were beginning
to roll higher and higher, the men cast many un-
easy glances to windward. At a little before eight
o'clock, while the watch was pumping ship, a sea
broke on board forward, and breaking down the
bulwarks and tearing away the water-casks from
their lashings, swept aft, and catching up the crew
at the pumps carried them down into the lee scup-
pers. As I was washing about with the surges of
the water I at first thought I was overboard, but
after awhile managed to get on my feet and was
pleased to find the deck still under them. Half a
dozen men were standing up to their necks in
water howling Swedish exclamations, declaring
they had broken arms and legs and so on, and
when I got around to windward the moon broke
out through the clouds and showed a scene of the
greatest confusion. Boat, spars, and ropes had
been washed off the house, and the decks were
piled up with the debris of watercasks and bul-
warks. As soon as the frightened sailors could be
got to work sail was reduced, and upon surveying
the damage done, it was found that the ship's stem
was started away from the " wood ends " and the
water must be pouring into the hold. Some hands
at once were set to work to prepare for throwing

DECKS SWEPT. 247

overboard cargo from the forehatch and the rest
sent to the pumps. To the great relief of all, the
noble pumps that had been furnished in Gothen-
burg worked splendidly and freed the ship from
water. As soon as the mate could get time he
began to count the men, fearing that some had
been washed overboard, and failing to make out
the number he took a look into the forecastle and
discovered five sailors snugly ensconsed in their
bunks. When they spied the mate they all began
to groan and cry, and upon inquiry he learned that
one had broken his back, two had broken legs, and
the other two broken arms. He called the captain,
who made a hastv examination which convinced
him they were more frightened than hurt, and he
said : " 111 give you all just five minutes to get
out on deck, and if you ai'n't out in that time I'll
come in and drive you out with a handspike."
This threat brought the broken legs and arms into
action and they all made their appearance within
the prescribed time, somewhat bruised but none of
them seriously injured.

Two daj^s after this the water was quite smooth
and the captain desired to do something to stop
the leak forward, which kept the pumps going
nearly all the time. It was necessary for some one
to go over the bow in a " bowline,'' and as the
weather was cold and the person would dip in the
water, it was an unpleasant as well as a danger-
'^us task. The captain disliked to order any one

248 ON BOARD THE PwOCKET.

to do it, but the mate volunteered to the work.
A bed-quilt was cut up into long strips, and being
lowered down over the bow in the bight of a rope
with a stick, the mate proceeded to stuff the quilt
into the open seam and then nailed canvas over
it down to the water's edge. At every dip he was
nearly submerged in the cold waves, but manfully
did his work until the last nail was driven, and
then the hammer dropped from his benumbed hand
and he was drawn on board thoroughly chilled.
He was taken to the cabin and treated to a stiff
drink of whiskey. He soon recovered from the
immediate effects of his exposure, though for some
time after he felt the drain it made on his powers
of endurance. The leak was reduced one half by
his labors and he was regarded as a hero.

All felt very anxious upon approaching the
coast, fearing to encounter heavy weather while
the ship was in this crippled condition. But in
spite of our hopes the gales were destined to
come.

A few days after this, another gale set in at mid-
night, and at one o'clock in the morning all hands
were called to double-reef the topsails. It was a
dark, wild night, blow^ing hard with rain and sleet,
and verv cold. The crew were so worn out with
exposure they were not very lively, and we were an
hour and a quarter before we got below again. In
reefing the fore-topsail we were aloft twenty min-
utes, the sail being wet and stiff and the yard not

HURUYINO THE CHEW. 249

being properly braced to the wind so as to " spill '*
the sail. The captain swore we had been up there
two hours, and said he would see if tlie main-top-
sail couldn't be worked quicker. He got his rope's
end, and at the order '' lay aloft," he flew around
the deck and beat every man into the riLrging ; then
he followed them aloft, thrashing at every one ho
reached. When they laid out on the yard, he
walked out to each yard arm holding on to the top-
gallant studdingsail booms, which were triced up,
and .beat each man over the head and shoulders.
Standing in the maintop he struck at each sailor as
he passed down. We were five minutes longer than
we had been at the fore-to[)sail, but the captain flat-
tered himself he had hurried matters. In memor}^,
tliis dark night, the fierce storm, the cold blinding
sleet, the weak and disheartened crew and tlie worst
storm of rage, curses and blows from the captain,
form an abiding impression of a demoniacal event.

The ship was so deep her decks were always wet,
and seas broke over her continually when tlie wind
attained to any force. Even if protected with oil-
clothing a sea would often knock one down and soak
him. To stand on deck four hours in a cold, stormy
night, soaked to the skin and with boots saturated
and partly filled with water, makes one's life seem
to be oozing away. No wonder sailors are short-
lived ; sea exposure and shore degradation soon
use them up !

When about in the longitude of Cape Sable we

260 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

took a fresh southerly gale with warm rainy wcatlwr,
and the same afternoon it suddenly hauled to tlie
northwest, increasing in force, and the weather be-
coming very cold. The wet sails froze so stiff that
it was with the greatest diflBculty that the crew
could furl them, and while trying to close-reef the
fore-topsail five of the men had their hands frozen
and with difficulty got safely on deck. The " Dub-
lin " had the old-fashioned whole topsails and it was
a dreadful job to handle them. The plan of making
two handy sails out of one large one as in the
"Howes' Rig," which is now almost imiversally
adopted, is one of the greatest blessings of the
age to the mariner, and yearly saves numbers
of lives and a vast amount of hardsliip. Some of
the men, whose hands were frozen, restored the cir-
culation by rubbing them in the icy water whioli
washed over the deck, but two of them were dis-
abled, and upon arrival in port had to submit to the
amputation of some of the fingers and toes. I had
both hands frozen, but soon thawed them out in the
cold sea water.

The ship was now hove to on the starboard tack,
the gale was blowing fiercely, and ice making on the
ship. The clothes of the men were frozen upon
them, and when the watch was ordered to go below
I took the last dry clothes I had from my chest and
turned into my bunk. I was only just going to
sleep, when above the noise of the gale sounded the
rustling and slatting of the fore-topsail, which ha()

A FREEZING GALE. 251

blown adrift, and then came the mate's cry, " all
hands ahoy 1 Rouse out here and furl the fore-top-
sail." This was a moment of real hardship, and it
required a great deal of heroism to spring from
one's bunk and face the freezing gale aloft. I con-
fess I shirked duty and waited for a second call,
which fortunately did not come. A few sailors
soon appeared on deck, and the rest too much ter-
rified or too irresolute to meet the harsh duty were
dragged out of their bunks by the mate and driven
aloft, with threats of blows from a handspike he
carried in his hands.

For fifteen minutes the crew battled with the stiff
icy sail. Again and again they had it gathered up
and the blast would sweep it from their benumbed
liands, but finally the gaskets were passed around
it and the order was given to "lay down." The
sailors then turned in and rolled themselves up in
tlieir blankets to try one phase of a sailor's life,
" turn in wet and turn out smoking."

All the next day the gale raged with fury, the ice
was a foot thick on deck, and the ropes and rigging
were masses of ice. It was impossible to work ship
or make sail and we let her lie and drift to the
southward. The day succeeding, the gale modera-
ted and the thermometer suddenly started up. Try-
ing the temperature of the water alongside, we
found ourselves in the Gulf Stream. All that day
we were employed drawing up the warm water froia
alongside, pouring it over the rigging and beating

252 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

off the ice. At night we got it sufficiently cleared
to allow us to make sail. Fine weather succeeded
and in a few days we found ourselves on George's
Bank. The captain liailed the fishing schooner,
" Eliza A. Proctor," to find out our position, as he
was somewhat distrustful of the accuracy of his
chronometer.

" Schooner ahoy I "

" Halloa," answered a shrill voice.

" Wliat is your longitude ? "

*' We hai'n't got no longitude ; we*re after fish I "

" How does George's Shoal bear ? "

" Nor' West by North."

As we passed the schooner Capt. Streeter dis-
covered that the skipper was his mate of two voy-
ages previous — Mr. Foster, whom he had quarrelled
with and discharged from the ship in Mobile. The
bearing he gave did not at all agree with the reck-
oning ; the captain had some misgivings as to the
skipper's information and decided not to trust to
it. The schooner " Emporia " afterwards gave us
another bearing and when we sighted Cape Cod
we found Foster had deceived us, and given a
course that would have wrecked the ship if it had
been followed. He evidently did it out of spite to
his old commander.

Capt. Streeter was weather-wise, and contin-
ually prophesied the changes of the wind. Once
when it had been blowin^r from the northwest lor
two or three days, it began to moderate and give

WEATIIEll-WISE. 25B

evidence that this wind had had its day. The
captain said in the evening : '^ This wind is about
done now, it will haul around to the eastward,
going by the north, or it may die away calm and
haul around by the south." At four in the morn-
ing I called him and told him there was an easterly
breeze.

" Which w-v did it haul?"

" By the north, sir."

" Didn't I tell you so ? " said the captain.

The evening we made Cape Cod, the sky began
to clear in the westward and a light breeze came
from that direction. "Now," said the captain,
" we are in for it. It's just my luck. It's going
to blow a living gale of wind from the nor' west ;
'A^e shall be driven off the coast and not fetch
back here for a fortnight." This was rather dis-
heartening and I couldn't help replying : " If I
thought so I wouldn't say it, for I think we have
had quite trouble enough without borrowing any."

'' I tell you what it is young man," said the
captain '^there's a difference between borrowing
trouble and being weather-wise."

A light westerly breeze blew all the next day.
We beat up the bay with fine weather and off
Boston light took the steam-tug " R. B. Forbes,"
wliich towed us quickly up to Lewis' Wharf, just
as the day had ended. I heard a familiar voice
through the darkness, and the ship was no sooner
fast, than I went over the rail and for two days

254 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

abandoning myself to the joys of home I tried to
forget that there ever was a "Ship Dublin."
Then I visited the ship, and the captain at once
inquired " Did you notice how it blew last night ?
I knew it was coming; I'm not often deceived
about the weather." I received the compliment of
being asked to make another voyage in the ship
and the black eyes snapped at my rather perempt-
ory refusal.

The owner was offended with me for leaving,
and finding that I had suffered in his good opinion
by doing so, I ventured after some days, to excuse
myself by saying just enough about Capt. Streeter
to justify my conduct. He was very indignant,
wouldn't allow such a man to sail for him, but
didn't see how he could discharge him just then.
He would tell him to do differently though. One
of the partners remarked, " Oh, they all swear and
fight, and Capt. Streeter is the smartest com-
mander we have ever had."

He sailed again on another Russia voyage with
the old instructions to " use his best efforts to sup-
press all vice and immorality on board and promote
the welfare of his crew." How he did it the fol-
owing letter from Mr. Wright the mate, written
from Cronstadt will tell :

" I suppose you would like to hear how this old
boat gets along and what kind of a voyage we've
had so far. When we left the wharf at Boston,
I called the men to come out of the forecastle and

Mil. wuraiiT's LKTTi:ii. 255

go to wurk, but the answers I got weren't very
polite. Tliey called out, 'we want to make our
beds up ; don't get your temper in an uproar ; doiTt
iret' and some other remarks that you can fancy.
I got pretty mad, and I just picked up an iron
belaying-pin and went into the forecastle and made
Rome howl. All hands turned on me, and I liad
all the fighting I wanted. Things got too hot for
me and I had to go aft and ask the old man to
come in and help me. I thought he would be very
glad to have such a chance for " spiflicating
sailors " as he calls it, and some men I've sailed
with wouldn't have asked for better sport than to
walk into those sailors and make them take the meas-
ure for their coffins on deck. The wav the old
man showed the white feather surprised me. He
got on top of the after-house, with a pistol in his
hand, and called to the men to come aft, and talked
to them as mild as a sucking parson. They were
pretty sullen, and five men swore they wouldn't do
a hands turn of work on board. The old man told
me to put them in irons, and I did it without much
trouble, for they had too much headache to make
any more fuss. I put a rope through between
their wrists and triced them up with the main lift
tackles till their feet only just touched the deck.
It wasn't long before the ' wanted to turn to.
One was hurt so bad that we thought he would
die, and he has been laid up thv. whole passage. I
have had several sprees with the men since, but

256 ON BOAllD THE ROCKET.

now I only have to hold up my finger and they
mind me. The old man doesn't say much to the
Bailers, but he's down on the second mate, who is a
youngster, and doesn't know much, and he hazes
him when he wants to let off steam. We are
loading for Boston, and I hope we will get there
soon, for I've been about long enough in the " Dub-
lin." I hope you'll get a good ship and a captain
that'll suit you, but they are scarce fish to find."

The ship was sold on her return, and the captain
entered another employ. His vessel finally went
to Australia. When riding horseback he was
thrown, and broke his ankle. The doctors declared
amputation was necessary. With his usual con-
tempt for medical opinions he drove them away,
and thought he could appl}^ to his own case the skill
he had exercised on Old Harry, but in a few days
he died of lockjaw. His end appeared significant
to those who knew how his powers of speech had
been misused. .^ ,,,

CHAPTER X.

COAST OF MADAGASCAR.

•* A strong nor' westerns blowing, Bill;

Hark I don't ye hear it roar now?
Lord help 'era, how I pities them

Unhappy folks on shore now! " — Wm, Fill,

**In noble mhids some dregs remain.

Not yet purged off, of spleen and sour disdain.*' — ^ope^

WE sighted the coast of Madagascar about Fort
Dauphin, but at a distance of nearly fifty
miles, so that our view of it was not very distinct.
But it is always a pleasure to a sailor to see land,
and a great relief after many days of wearisome,
changing, wave scenery to let the eye rest upon the
everlasting hills. The mountains symbolize stabil-
ity and unchangeableness, and as the aspirations of
the heart are ever towards those things most in con-
trast with present experience, so the sailor's life of

257

258 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

unrest and variableness disposes his dream of liap-
piness to be one of enduring repose. Tliis idea
the Land as contrasted with water expresses to his
mind. A thrilling sensation always accompanies the
sound of "Land, ho!" and longing glances are
directed to the faintest loom of land in the horizon.
Our easterly winds continued and took us to the
coast of Africa, which we sighted about Algoa Bay.
Then the wind became light and variable and with
smooth water we sailed slowly along in sight of the
land for four days. One evening we sighted the
light on Cape Agulhas, the southeast point of Africa,
and with the wind freshening at N. N. E. soon ran
it out of sight '^n the starboard quarter. Before this
breeze sprang up we were in company with a large
ship showing Dutch colors. She sailed alongside of
us for a considerable time, then slowly gained ahead,
crossed our bow and in a few minutes disappeared
from sight, though the twilight gave a long range to
the vision. Many were the conjectures about her,
and some of our crew will always believe they saw
the veritable "Flying Dutchman," the phantom
ship that is supposed to cruise off the Cape of Good
Hope. The legend concerning her, as many will
remember, is, that a l^utch captain, who had en-
countered very severe gales, was advised to put the
ship back to a port of distress, but swearing a ter-
rible oath he declared he would beat around the
Cape if it took him till the Day of Judgment. In
punishment for his sin he is doomed to battle with

A LOW BAROlSrETETl. 259

the elements until that day, and his battered hulk,
with threadbare sails and skeleton crew haunts the
southern sea.

At eight in the evening we passed another ship
bound the same way, but under close-reefed top-
sails, whereas we had the royals set. We hailed her
and found she was the " Meteor " from Batavia, but
whither she was bound, or where she hailed from,
we failed to learn, for we went by her so fast there
was no time for further questions.

" What can she be doing under that sail ?" asked
the mate.

" O, she has got a prudent captain," I replied.
*' The barometer has been down low for the last two
days and no doubt there is a gale of wind coming
on. I can't take in sail though in this country, with
a fair wind blowing, until I see the breeze coming.
Every mile here is precious and as long as there is
a chance to gain ahead we must use it. But you
must keep your eyes peeled to-night for nor'west
squalls."

At ten o'clock I carefully inspected the wind and
weather. It was a bright starlight night, with not
a cloud to be seen, except that ahead in the horizon
was a low streak that looked like a fog bank. A
fresh breeze was blowing from the northward driv-
ing the ship along nine knots, with the yards just
clear of the baeksta3'^s, all sail being set. The mate
bad the watch on deck, and I said to him, '* This is
tiue, I only hope it will last, but the glass says, No.

260 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

However, very likely we'll have good warning be-
fore the change comes. Keep a sharp lookout and
if it breezes on, or the weather looks threatening,
get the light sails off of her and give me a call."

In half an hour after that, the mate shouted
*' clew up the fore royal," but no sooner had they
let go the halyards than a furious blast from the
north-west struck her flat aback. The helm was
put hard up and having a good deal of headway
the vessel fortunately "fell off." None of the
watch below needed a call for every one was out
of his bunk in a few seconds as the bark, nearly
on her beam ends, and the shaking sails, gave their
own summons. I was on deck promptly and
shouted, " Lower down the spanker ; " but the
mate had his men forward hauling down the jib
and flying-jib, for the sheets had parted and the
sails were blowing hito ribbons. The second mate
got his watch along aft as soon as possible, and in
the meantime I jumped on top of the after-house
to let go the spanker thruat-halyards. As I passed
forward of the mizzen-mast to go to leeward, the
wind and the inclination of the vessel gave me a
slide, and away I went head foremost off the house
on to the main deck. I had on rubber boots with
my pants tucked into them, and as I fell the belay-
ing-pin of the main brace went up the right boot
leg and there I hung, heels up and head down in
the lee-scuppers, while the good bark was lying
beam on to the hurricane, which threatened every

A CATB OF GOOD HOPE QALE. SiOl

moment to dismast her, and in the meantime was
blowing to pieces a number of her sails. The
night was pitchy dark and the rain poured in large
drops which, with the force of the wind, struck like
hail, while the storm roared with a sound such as
that with which the express train affrights one
who stands on the platform of a country station
past which it flies. I managed to extricate myself
from this awkward position, and crawling to wind-
ward renewed the directions for shortening sail.
The vessel was run off to the S. E. for two hours
while we took in and furled every sail except the
close-reefed main-topsail and then she was brought
to the wind on the port tack. ,

That was a night we long remembered, and a
hard time the crew had furling the wet sails in the
cold rain, but there was one alleviation to their dis-
comfort, for I had the cook " roused out " and
ordered him to make coffee for all hands ; and as
soon as she was hove to, a mug of hot coffee and
a cake of hard bread gave them one of the greatest
treats they ever had in their lives.

" The prudent captain got the best of it this
time,*' I said to the mate.

'^ I'm not so sure of that, sir," said he ; " if he's
been waiting two days for the wind to blow we've
gained enough distance on him to pay for a good
deal more damage than we've got."

"But it's a lucky job we did not lose our
masts," I said ; "if 1 icre had been a flaw anywhere

2G2 ON BOARD TFTE ROCKET.

they would have gone. Things held on well.
Didn't it give you any warning ? *'

"No, sir,*' said tlie mate. " That bank that was
hanging there ahead, when you were on deck, was
wliat did tlie mischief. It seemed to hold about
so and didn't look very threatening, but in five
minutes it spread right up over the sky. I made a
start to get sail in before it struck her, but I
wasn't in time."

The gale blew very hard through the night and
continued for seven da3^s, but it moderated at
times so that we set the whole topsails for a few
hours. Four different times we were obliged to
heave to under the close-reefed main-topsail and
once it was " goose-winged." This time it blew a
fearful gale. There was a black overcast sky,
hanging so low down that it seemed not far above
the mast heads, and driving across with great
rapidity. Hard hail-squalls now and then passed
over, and every face had to be shielded from the
stinging violei ce of the hailstones. The sea was
tremendous. k.t times there would be but one
wave in sight, that, the whole ocean, and towering
high up above the rail almost even with the tops
it would come rolling on seeming to bear inevitable
destruction ; ^^ut as it approached, the good bark
would gradi//.dly mount up its side, and then be
whirled up ord lifted over its summit like a little
toy. As th<\ waves broke, the wind lifted the
whole pvo'/y into its arms and bore it onward

Fishing off the Cape.

THE TUACK.

2G5

mingling sea and air, driving the spray in hori-
zontal lines high aloft across the ship. At about
two o'clock in the afternoon a sea broke alongside
and a good portion of its top came tumbling in
over the weather rail. Nothing could resist its
force. In went the galley and forecastle doors,
the water-cask lashings gave way, the pig-pen on
the main hatch was smashed all to pieces, the spare
main-yard broke adrift, and the sea, having spent
its force, found a passage for itself through the
lee ports.

After this gale a calm prevailed for a few hours
and we heeded Horsburgh's praise of the fishing
on the Banks of Agulhas, by trying our fortune
with the line. The only result, however, was the
accompanying sketch of the performance.

By these gales we lost eight days on our passage
and only gained one hundred miles in nine days,
an inspection of our track for ten days will show
how hard it is sometimes for sailing vessels to make
quick passages.

Tlr^t. cicuj

266 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

When fifty days out we sighted the revolving
light on Cape of Good Hope, and the next day hav-
ing a light westerly wind we stood along the coast
to the northward and enjoyed a fine view of Table
Mountain.

This turning of the corner was a joyous event.
Now we pointed the ship's head towards home and
realized that we were actually bound there, which it
was hard to do while our course had any southing
in it. Fine weather regions lay before us, and an
immense load was removed from the captain's mind
by the safe " doubling of the Cape."

South-east winds set in next, and we went " roll-
ing down to St. Helena" before fresh trades,
with very fine weather.

The steady winds and settled weather of the
South Atlantic are always taken advantage of by
the homeward bound ships to tar down the rigging,
pjrint and " fix up " generally for port. It is cus-
tomary to keep all hands then, even in ships where
it is not the continual practice. That is, instead of
having only half of the crew at work at a time and
alternating every four hours, all hands are kept on
deck in the afternoon from one o'clock until six.
They all get dinner together at twelve and no work
is done from noon until one. At one all " turn to,"
and either all hands get supper together at six, or
one watch gets their's at half-past five and the other
at six. Under the watch and watch system a sailor
is on deck ten hours out of the twenty-four on one

WATCir AND WATCFT. 2G7

day and fourteen hours on the next, making twenty-
four hours of work and twenty-four of rest in forty-
eight. In tlie all-hands system a man is on deek
thirteen hours one day and fourteen and a half the
next, making twentj^-seven and a half hours of work
and twenty and a half of rest in forty-eight. To
the advocates of the eight-hour system, this may
seem an undue proportion of working hours, but
it is to be remembered, however, that half of these
hours occur in the night time, when, if the wind
is steady and weather fine, there is no work to be
done, and if the helmsman and the lookout are
wide awake and the crew answer promptly to a sum-
mons, it would not be noticed in most ships if the
men stole a nap on deck between times. But in
"Iiard ships" the men are always kept moving.
The officers of cOwTse at all times in their watch on
deck must be wide awake and, it is presumed, on
their feet, so that keeping all hands is more of a
privation to them than it is to the sailors.

The mate asked me one night after we got past
the Cape, if he should begin now to keep all hands
until the work was done.

** Do you think you could get the work done with
watch and watch ? "

** I suppose we could," said the mate, *' but we
shall have to keep driving at it right up to Boston
Light."

" Did you ever go through the trades with watch
and watch ? " I asked.

268 ON BOARD THE llOCKET.

" No, sir, I never did," said the mute.

*' Well, I never did myself till last voyage, then
I was so well pleased v/ith tlie result that I shoulJ
like to try it again. The voyage before that, I came
oil deck one night, while we were keeping all hands,
and found the second mate sitting on the bumpkin,
his arms on the rail and his head buried down in
them, while he was snoring after the style called
' driving the pigs to market.' The next day I had
a talk with him about his neglect of duty. He
acknowledged his fault, but said it occurred in spite
of all he could do. He said he had tried every
way he could think of to keep himself awake. He
had walked the deck until he was compelled from
sheer exhaustion to sit down, for it was a hot sultry
night, and he had been on his legs all day long.
He assured me very earnestly that he had not neg-
lected his duty intentionally. Said he : ' Cap'ii,
did you ever have any fault to find with the way I
kept the night watch before we had all hands ? '

' No,' I answered, ' none whatever.'

* No, sir,' he said, ' and I am sure you had no
occasion to. Excuse me,' said he, ' I don't mean to
growl at your way of doing things, but I can't feci
that an officer is greatly to blame if he is drowsy
at night in an all-hands ship. I was studying it
all out last night while I was dragging myself fore
and aft the deck trying to keep awake, and this was
what I made out : I get nineteen hours to myself
out of forty-eight, and when yoii take out meal

WATCH AND WATCH. 269

timed, dog-watch, a little time for keeping clothes
iu order and what time I give up to the ship in my
watch below to holp things along, I can't get more
than twelve hours' sleep in two days. Six hours a
day is thought a small allowance on shore where a
man can sleep it right through. But our rest is so
broken I don't believe it does as much good.
Three hours and a half or four hours is the longest
sleep one can get at a time, and then he has to
stand four hours on deck before he has a chance to
get another cat nap.'

*'I felt he had a good deal of truth on Ids side,
though I didn't like to tell him so, and I thought
a good deal about it afterwards. The next voyage
I resolved to try how watch and watcli would
work, and when we got into the S. E. trades, home-
ward bound, I told the mate to say to the men :
' There's just so much work that's got to be done
before this ship reaches port ; now if you can do
it with watch and watch, you shall have it, but if
there's any ' sogering ' or loafing youll be kept up
in the afternoon.'

'' We began it. The men all worked with a will,
and I am certain that as much was done as on tlie
previous voyage. 1 took special pains to compare,
and all through I noticed that there was more
drive, and less loafing, going for a drink, turns
round the foremast, and long spells at the grind-
stone. On some of the large jobs, too, I had a good
chance to judge. I suppose there's vo job that ad-

270 ON BOAKD THE KOCKET.

mits of as many 'soger moves' as scrubbing sliip
outside. The men come up on deck every little
while to haul up or ' fleet ' the stages they are
working on, and then they spin out the time before
they get back by sharpening knives and scrapers,
or getting a drink, and a good many other moves
that every one knows, who has ever had to follow
up old sailors.

" When we had all hands we scrubbed the ship
around outside in one day and thought we had
done a smart piece of work ; but with watch and
watch we scrubbed her and cleaned the chain-
plates below the channels, beside, in the same time,
and as far as I could see the work was done fully
as well. The difference was, that the men all felt
an interest in showing how the watch and watch
system would work, and there was no dodging, or
loafing, or spinning j^arns on the stages.

*' Now I shoidd like to have vou do the same
thing this passage, and the fact is, I want to see it
proved a second time before I go over to it alto-
gether."

The *iext Monday the sailors supposed that we
should begin of course to keep all hands in the
afternoon, and when eight bells was struck at
noon, they all opened their ears and looked out of
the corners of their eyes at the mate, waiting for
the expected and dreaded order, " All hands get
dinner." But nothing was said, and the men kept
on with their work, with their brains full of sur-

SecoLid officer settMi- for his portrait.

WA.TCII AND WATCH. 273

mises as to what it meant. At one bell, when the
watch came out, the mate mustered all hands at
the main-hatch, and said to them : " Men, the cap-
tain says he's willing to ;^ive you watch and watch
all the time, if you can get the work done. But
this bark has got to be put in just as fine order as
any ship that ever went into Boston harbor. Now
we'll try you arid see what you can do. But if
the work lags, or there's any hanging back, I'll
have you out."

So we went to work with the watch, fitting the
rigging, and tarring down. The men did as well
as we could wish, things went on quietly, and the
work disappeared day by day faster than we had
expected. - ■

The crew presented a rather uncouth appearance
on deck during this period, for one suit of clothes
was devoted to serve through the tarring and then
go overboard. The officers were not much more
attractive in appearance, as the second mate's
portrait will testify.

It had a good moral effect to secure one day's
cleanliness out of sevehi, the result of our system
of services in the cabin on Sunday.

The sailors in the Rocket were favored with good

living, watch and watch, and kind treatment. They

were never cursed, nor called by hard names. In-

Btr action was given to tliose who desired it, and

1 religious influences pervaded the vessel. The voy-

274 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

age was a pleasant one. Fine weather and favoring
breezes usually prevailed, and the fairest regions of
earth were visited. If sailors could ever be happy
and contented, these circumstances, which probably
were in marked contrast to the experiences of many,
bliould have produced this result upon that crew.

When the voyage commenced they had no praise
too good to bestow. They allowed they were in a
good ship ; the captain was the best man they ever
sailed with ; the officers were perfect gentlemen ;
the " grub " was first-rate. But, on the homeward
passage, although everything was the same as when
outward bound, the sailors sat down on their chests
in the forecastle with their feast of " soft-tack " and
apple-sauce in their pans, and, as the saying is, they
growled like bears with sore heads. Their behavior
on deck and manner of working was unexception-
able, but if their life and talk in the foiecastle were
chronicled it would convey the impression that
they considered themselves an ill-used, poorly-fed
and oppressed set of men.

The mate one evening practised an eaves-dropping
in which he proved the truth of the old proverb,
''listeners never hear any good of themselves."
Old Nielson, a Swede, the best sailor-man in the
ship, with his moutli stuffed nearly full of molasses
gingerbread, was leading the growl. Said he, " I've
been to sea thirty-two years and I never sailed in
a worse ship than this is. Nobody aft knows what

sailors' growls. 275

vre get to eat, and that nigger gives us just as little
as he likes. Last ship I was in the cap'n or mate
: went into the galley every day and saw things were
cooked right and plenty of 'em, but here we don't
get any more notice taken of us than though we
were a parcel of dogs. If the old man had som^
crews with him I bet he wouldn't impose on them.
But sailors don't seem to have any spunk now-a-
days, same as they used to. There's a whole barrel
of vinegar down below, and yet we can't have but
two bottles full a week. What does he want to
carry it home for ? He's keeping it back just to
spite us. Do you call that being a Christian ? I
call him a mean old skin-flint ; if he's going to
heaven, I don't want to g^o there."

Now what did all this mean ? Why, just this.
They had found some of the gingerbread not done
quite through. That was all. On board of most
ships they would have been hard at work with " all
hands on deck," all the afternoon, and had hard
bread and beef only for supper. No doubt they
would have enlivened the meal by growling about
that in just the same way. In spite of all his mut-
terings in the forecastle, this man Nielsen would
come out on deck and be a model man in his be-
havior. His cheerful, "Aye, aye, sir!" would
ring out to every order, and his respectful manners
joined to his good seamanship had made him a
favorite with captain and officers.

The explanation of this unreasonable conduct ia

276 ON BOARD THE KOCKET.

that expressed in tlie well-known lines of Dr.
Watts:

" Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For His their nature to.'*

So it is with an old sailor, he must growl. Officers
of ships often say, they would not give a snap for a
sailor that didn't growl, and there is a good deal of
truth in the remark. It by no means follows that
all who growl are good men, but it is certainly a
fact that most of the thorough-going old sailors are
inveterate growlers.

This growling is a natural result of the life they
lead. * Spleen enters more or less into the consti-
tution of every one's character, and all, at times,
desire an opportunity of exercising this latent spite
npon some person or thing.

The man on shore has a wide range of objects
upon which to scatter it. There are his household
and family arrangements, his employment and bus-
iness relations, the religious tenets of others, the
affairs of his city and the politics of the country.
He comes home from his day's business with an ac-
cumulation of spleen, resulting from numerous
annoyances. His good breeding and consideration
perhaps keep him from venting it upon his family,
and he holds it in until after tea ; then he takes up
the evening paper, glances over its contents and
entertains his patient wife or a friendly neighbor
with a good, hearty growl about the .stupidity of
the cabinet officers, the shortrsightedness of the

SAILORS GROWLS. 277

President, the abs'irdity of the financial policy, and
then berates a politician for his foolish speech. Now
his pent-up wrath has escaped. He feels easier.
Gradually cheerful conversation creeps in as his
shrewd companion notices his subsiding temper.
Soon all his vexations have escaped his mind or
become far lighter burdens, and the next morning
he walks down town with a good courage and joy-
ous heart.

But as for Jack, what are his diversions of mind?
What does he care for politics or religion or finance ?
Or, if he does care, where are the newspapers and
tlie evening caller ? Where are the public amuse-
ments or the endearments and consolations of social
life ? There are almost no occurrences to direct
his thoughts away from a continual contemp'.atiuu
of, and brooding over the unpleasant circumstances
of his life, and for lack of these he must continue
to dwell upon the sole objects which interest him,
and as a natural result their importance is magni-
fied and the habit of such contemjDlation increases
with every voyage.

When the mate reported the " growl " he had
overheard, I said, "If I was a betting man I would
lay a heavy wager that the day old Nielson arrives
in port he will say I am the best captain he ever
sailed with, and he never in his life sailed in such a
good ship before." An exact verification of this
remark occurred on arrival. It happened that the
mate was riding in a horse-car, when old Niolson

278 ON BOARD THE EOCKET.

came in and sat beside him. He began to talk over
the voyage, and soon excLiiraed, " I've been to sea
thirty-two years and that's the best ship ever I
sailed in, and if I go to sea all my life, I never expect
to find another man like our captain." This speech
was very likely as far from the truth as were the
growls uttered at sea, but it illustrates a proverbial
habit of the sailor, to complain of his present cir-
cumstances and speak well of the past. Amidst
the growling of the forecastle it is seldom that " last
ship that I was in " is mentioned without praise.
This fact ought to be remembered to the sailor's
credit. However ungrateful and unappreciative he
may appear with regard to his lot, in his memories
the bright things are uppermost, and he is not
prone to speak evil of old scenes and associates
without good reason.

Reflections upon the incident narrated led to the
attempt to illustrate the subject in rhyme, by verses,
to be called " Sailors' Opinions," which were to be
divided into two parts, entitled " This Ship," and
*' Last Ship." In this effort it was designed to por-
tray a sailor's comments upon the ship he was then
sailing in, and the same man's expressions concern-
ing the same ship, uttered during his next voyage
in another vessel. They are produced here, as they
may be recognized as truthful by some who have
lived in a ship's forecastle. It may be premised
that sailors in the watch below generally talk in
the evening from eight till half-past eiglit (one bell),

sailors' growls. 279

and this is a favorite time for " growls.'* When
one bell strikes, pipes drop from the mouth, growla
cease and snores begin.

SAILORS' OPINIONS.

Part L

"this ship."

SCENE,— A ship* 5 forecastle — Crew in their bunks •
Jack loquitur »

TvE followed the sea over thirty-two years,
In the Navy, hard Packets and wild Privateers ;
'' But of all the old vessels that ever I cursed,

Just shiver my timbers if this ain't the worst.

The bloody old wall-sided cranky concern —
- I think every squall she is sure to overturn.

And the way that she rolls and goes pitching about
"Would have made all the patience of Job fizzle out.

' It's enough to provoke a good parson to swear,
To see the bad way her old rotten sails tear.
And I never go higher aloft than the top
Without fear that the foot-ropes will give me a drop.

I wonder those own ers are suffered to live
Who send out a ship that will leak like a sieve.
Which every time that she gives a bad jump
Makes fifty more strokes to be worked at the pump

We ought to arrest the old man as a cheat

For bringing us here where there's nothing to eat ;

280 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

It's a terrible shame for an old Yankee tub
To feed her good men with such horrible grub.

To be sure, he now and then gives us some flour;
But the m-jan dirty rat, it's because it's gone sour,
And as for his pies and the dried apple sauce,
I'd a precious deal rather have good old salt horse.

We slave every week day on board of the craft,
But on Sunday the hypocrite makes us come aft —
He preaches an hour about Christian hopes.
Then sends us on deck to give swigs at the ropes.

There's a heap of good sense in the famous old rule
Always choose a big rascal before a great fool.
And one thing I promise, whatever may happen,
I'll not sail again with a psalm-singing Cap'n.

The ship must have been in amazing great straits
When she took such poor things as these men are for

mates.
It worries one's temper beyond all its bounds
To be bossed round the decks by such humbugging

hounds.

Now I shipmates, you know I'm not given to growl.

And I hate a bad temper with all of my soul ;

But worked and most starved till one scarcely can

crawl,
A man that won't growl is just no man at all

SAILORS' OPINIONS.

Part ii.

*'LAST SHIP."

Last time I went to sea
I sailed on board the Rocket \
Those were good days for me
And money in my pocket.

She was a perfect boat,
An easy one to handle —
For speed no ship afloat
Could hold to her a candle.

She tacked just like a yacht
And lay to like a duck ;
If others thrived or not
She always was in luck.

The owners fitted out

In such a liberal way.

All things were trim and stout

From keel to royal stay.

281

282 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

The captain was a trump —
A perfect ** saint in boots " ;
He never gave a thump
To greenhorns nor galoots.

The mates were tip-top men.
Gave us our watch below ;
No oaths and curses then
Though it blew high or low.

We mustered aft to prayer
And navigation classes —
We had the best of fare
And lots of duff and lasses

I've sailed for many a year
And soon will have to dock it ;
But while I've breath I'll cheer
And brag about the Rockets

Even in the cabin there was a tendency to dis-
satisfaction, and the passenger expressed his weari-
ness of our simple and restricted fare by compos-
ing a parody on the " Ode to the Rocket," in
which she was abused as heartily as any old sailor
could have done it. His pencil v/as also called
into requisition, and the scantiness of fare on the
cabin table was graphically portrayed.

Sea life is a severe test of disposition, and it
must be a remarkable amiability which can endure
its vicissitudes without complaint.* Lord Byron's
prescription for truly knowing a man : " Go to

passenger's gbowls. 283

sea with him,'* is certainly correct, as regards
knowledge of a man's temper.

The first verse of the Parody will serve as an
example of its sentiment :

«IN THE DOLDRUMS — HOMEWARD BOUND.

The Rocket is an old tub's name,

An aged Boston bark ;
Her lack of speed is known to fame.

As I need not remark.
For fifteen years she's rolled and pitched,

And leaked in every clime.
She's worn out two old captains

And a young one in his prime.

Chorus, — The Rocket we won't praise.
For she's a wretched bark,
Homelier than Joe Bowers' dog.
And slower than Noah's ark."

Our stock of conversation got low after so long
a season of intercourse, and many trivial arguments
were sustained for lack of better material. Per-
haps the most frequent of these minor themes was
the question, whether the dish which sailors always
call " Hash," was properly hash or minced meat.

One of our greatest causes of annoyance, and

284 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

a frequent occasion of growls was the presence of
cockroaches, in numbers which can only be ex-
pressed by millions. The vessel for some time past,
had been making yearly voyages, which brought
her home in the summer and kept her in the Trop-
ics in the winter, so this army had never been ex-
posed to the potent destroyer, cold weather. They
were not the little creatures that housekeeepers
are unpleasanly familiar with, but were almost more
like birds than insects, and carried out this resem-
blance in certain conditions of the atmosphere,
when they took to flying, tempting one to jump
overboard to escape their attacks against his head.
They^ were omnipresent day and night, alive, dead,
whole or in parts. They eat the bindings of books
and everything that had paste in its composition,
and their especial relish seemed to be for pomade.
In spite of all precautions so many had encamped
in the sugar, we had to pass our tea through a
strainer, and there was but little food free fiom
their presence or flavor, after it was sweetened.
Were it a less disgusting subject I could fill a
volume with accounts of these creatures. I will
only add one of the many experiences with them.
They were very fond of frequenting my cabinet
organ, and often while I was playing a note would
become dumb. An inspection would usually show
a cockroach leg caught by the reeds as its proprietor
passed over them and left it behind liim. A ship
at San Francisco had to pay twenty thousand del-

Illustrated bill of fare.

COCKROACHES. 287

lars for damages done to the cargo by cockroaches.
The organ on leaving Padang had a more agreeable
inmate, which remained in it for several weeks, a
cricket, who entertained us with his evening chirp,
and lulled one to sleep with the pleasing fancy that
he was on shore.

CHAPTER XI.

'AILORS' RESOUBCBS.

" Nocesw Hi% "f ,e mother of invention." — Farquhar.

• A. kuook-dovM argument; 'tis but a word and a blow."

— Dry den.

1 "T^ERTILITY of resources is one of the most de-
X. sirable traits of character to the seaman.
His limited means and appliances beget contrivance
and invention, and he naturally acquires a facility
in accomplishing work under difficulties. His
whole mode of life is an exemplification of the
possibility of making much out of little. The
sailor, with his '' chest " for a chair, his knees for a
table, the sheath-knife and spoon his only utensils,
secures his food Tvith all the necessary benefit.
With the scanty sew^ag materials, buttons, pins and
knicknacks jumbled together in his " ditty box,''

288

sailors' besoubces. 289

he contrives to mend his clothes or rig the model
of a ship in his spare hours.

The carpenter, with his hammer and hatchet, does
an amount of execution astonishing to the shore arti-
zan, who has well filled tool-racks. The cook woukl
likewise startle, perhaps offend, the ladies sensibil-
ities by the manner in which his appurtenances do
manifold duties, besides those considered appropri-
ate. The mate racks his brain daily to discover how
to repair a sail without canvas, mend a chain with-
out spare links, paint ship without brushes, or tar the
rigging without tar. Tiie captain is as much put to it
as any one in contriving for all the departments un-
der his care. So they become Jacks of all trades,
and too often masters of none. One incident of a
personal nature will illustrate the manner in which
necessity often becomes the mother of invention
on ship-board. One day when off the west coast
of Sumatra, the carpenter was caulking and pay
ing the deck-seams. I picked up a little bit of his
pitch and put it in my mouth, but soon removed it
with the gold fillings from two teeth attached.
Severe toothache soon followed. At Padang I en-
quired for a dentist, but to learn that none of those
kindly torturers had yet located there. The sur-
geon of the place would extract the teeth for
twenty dollars apiece, but the pleasure of paying
this moderate sum was no inducement to lose the
" ivories." But the cavities must be filled to ex-
clude the air. Boy Frank had been in a dentist'?

290 ON BOARD THE SOCKET.

oflSce, so he was summoned to the council on the
old man's toothache. He put in a filling of pitch
and then of rubber, but they were not destined to
remain. Finally, at sea the pain induced the reso-
lution to part with the teeth. Frank was called
again. There were no forceps in the ship, and an
investigation of all the implements led to the selec-
tion of my spring-punch. The tooth of this was
removed, the carpenter filed the lips to make them
tenacious of grip, the big Webster's dictionary was
laid on the cabin table, and resting my head back
upon this. Dr. Frank made a desperate effort to
pull out teeth, gum and jaw at one attack. He
was speedily driven on deck, and warned not to try
that again. At last he thought of an amalgam
filling, but how should it be obtained ? I possessed a
silver ten-cent piece, saved from the obliterating
ravages of the age of Greenbacks. This I filed
into dust, and after a serious consideration my
thermometer-tube was broken, the mercury was
extracted and mingled with the silver. Then lay-
ing my head once more on the dictionary, the cav-
ities were effectually filled, the only instruments
used by the dentist being a crotchet needle and a
screw-driver. It was not till three vears after, that
other fillings were substituted by an American
dentist in China, who laughed as much at my story
of the previous operation, as I did at his account
of the way the King of Siam tested the set of teeth
made for him, by putting this worthy dentist's hand

sailors' resources. 291

in his mouth, and nearly biting off the fingers. He
was not so much injured, however, as to be uauble
to carry off the bag of a thousand dollars in gold,
the price of his work.

Speaking of tarring without tar reminds me how
this difficulty was overcome. Having had a great
deal of work, turning in and fitting the rigging,
the supply of tar gave out, and v/hen we reached
the south-east trades in the Atlantic, and were
rolling down to St. Helena, an inspection of the
tar-barrel showed it was onlv fit for a bonfire on
the next dark night. How should we make the
rigging black and shiny? was the query of
thoughts, dreams and discussions in succeeding
days and nights. I will confess what I did, but
do not recommend the process. Two bundles of
rattans were chopped up and consumed in the
cook's stove with the draft checked. The ashes
were placed in a barrel and pounded fine with
an impromptu pestle, then linseed oil and varnish
were added, and with this production, well stirred,
all the ropes were ''tarred " with such good effect
that many old sailors admired the black gloss of
the rigging as they inspected the vessel at Central
Wharf. But using up the paint oil for this, brought
about another crisis. How should we paint ship ?
That was most essential to our good appearance.
After many experiments the kerosene oil was se-
lected to serve as the substitute, the sailors' whale
oil was appropriated to cabin use, and Jack was

292 ON BOAIiD THE KOCKET,

invited to illuminate his premises with a elush
lamp, a wick floated in beef fat contained in a tin
can. So the ship was painted ! These are samples
of the makeshifts of sea life.

The first moonless evening was appointed for
the final ending of the tar-barrel. It was sawn in
two, the smaller half being chopped up and depos-
ited with the carpenter's chips and shavings in the
remaining part. A bit of old rope from the
"shakings barrel " suspends it over the side, while
the cook with a fire-brand ignites the contents.
As the flames gather volume the barrel is dropped
into the sea. The sailors spring to the rail or into
the rigging to watch it as it emerges from under
the ship's counter and is left astern in the wake.
For awhile it blazes fiercely and continuously,
then it disappears — ah, it's gone ! No, the swell
hides it. There it is again ! Its disappearances
^and reappearances occur at gradually lengthening
intervals till it no longer can be seen from deck.
The second mate runs half way up the mizzen-
rigging and exclaims, "I see it." Soon he shouts
" I can just see it from the topmast cross-trees.''
Then it is given up, faces are turned :^rom the
stern to the bow, for the gaze on shipboard is
always forward, seldom backwards, and as the ship
presses on into the dark night, we think with sub-
dued feelings of the lost light, and fall to moraliz-
ing or musing as the disposition of each inclines
bim.

A WILD SHIP. 293

The south-east trades took us to the line and tlien
the doldrums raged again, but instead of giving a
repetition of the miseries of this region I will re-
lafe the second mate's yarn about a " Wild Ship.'*

One calm night in the doldrums I went on
deck in the middle watch to see if there were anj*
signs of a breeze. The moon " had scoffed the
clouds," and shone brilliantly upon the glassy sea.
The courses were hauled up, jib and stay-saila
hauled down, and the vessel made no motion
ahead. I felt that I could not sleep till a breeze
came and thought I would stay on deck and help
. the second mate keep his watch ; so I called him
to me, and us we leaned over the rail, I said, " Mr.
Bangs, I believe you told me you sailed in the
* Bloodhound ' once. I should like to heir about
» your voyage."

So he told the following yarn :

" When I got home from Australia in the ' Grace
Darling,' after I'd had a lively time on the Cape,
and my money began to get low, I went up to
Boston to the Sailors' Home and began to look for
a ship. My chum Bill Holmes and I made up our
minds we would sail together again, and as we
cruised about the wharves, we came across the
ship ' Bloodhound ' lying at India wharf. She
was an extreme clipper, eighteen hundred tons
register, and the handsomest vessel I ever clapped
eyes on. I was told she was bound out to ' Frisco,'
and that evening I asked the ^Superintendent of the

29-1 ON BOAUD TUE KOCKET.

Home about her, for I felt rather shv of those
crack California clippers. I had been shipmates
with a man who was with Bully Woodman in the
' Sea Witch.' He had a fashion of shooting at
the men aloft with a revolver, or would let go the
topsail halyards when men were on the yard and
shake them overboard. His owners paid him five
thousand dollars a year and fighting expenses, and
sometimes these were pretty heavy. They used to
clear the ship out with another captain, and put
Woodman aboard at Sandy Hook, for it was hard
to ship a crew to sail with him. There were sev-
eral men of that style in those clippers, and I
thought the Superintendent would know if the
* Bloodhound ' was a safe boat to go in. He said
she belonged to Jones and Thompson oue of the
most respectable firms in Boston. Deacon Jones
was a member of Old South church, a tip-top man.
He often gave lectures to young men about good
principles and success in life, and it was certain he
wouldn't allow any ' bullyragging ' in one of his
ships, for he was a good friend of sailors.

" We went to the shipping-office next da,y and
found the articles just opened, and Bill and I were
the first ones that signed. In a week we went on
board, and just as we hauled out from the wharf
the mate came over the rail with his duds.

' Halloa ! ' said one of the men ; ' I'll be blowed
if we haven't Johnny Clarkson for mate, and he's
the biggest rascal that ever walked a ship's deck.'

A WELD SHIP, 295

" It seemed that the reason why tne mate didn't
join the ship any sooner, was, because he was such
a notorious scoundrel that it would be very hard
to ship a crew if it was known that he was to go
in her ; so the captain or owners kept him out of
sight, until the last moment, when all the crew were
on board, and the steam-tug alongside, and then
he made his appearance.

" The ship came to anchor in the stream as the
wind was ahead, and when we got below that night
into the forecastle, there were great yarns a-going
about the mate. The Dutchmen got scared half out
of their wits, and made up their minds to be mur-
dered before they were a month older.

" There was a man named Jackson on board, who
was boatswain of the 'Flying Cloud,' in Hong
Kong, when Clarkson was there, mate of the ' Black
Squall.'

" He was the chap that first spotted him when he
came on board, and he told hard stories about hia
carryings on and the number of sailors he had mur-
dered.

" The old man stayed ashore, and that night the
mate and passenger got to drinking in the cabin,
and about ten o'clock the mate came forward, ' three
sheets in the wind, and the fourth shaking.' He
couldn't find any one on the watch, and while he
was prying about forward, he tumbled over the
chain-cable, and hurt himself some, I guess, by the
noise he made. Then he called all hands, and got

296 . ON BOARD THE HOCKET.

the whole thirty of us out on deck. He gave us a
lecture in rather a different style from the owner's
speeches. He called us all ' the sons of sea-cooks/
that he could twist round his tongue, and cursed
us in a way that made our blood run cold ; about
all we could make out was, that he was Johnny
Clarkson, and was going to jump down our throats,
drive us around, play the mischief, and kill Injuns
generally. At last, he set the watch and sent us
below saying, ' Remember, I'm Johnny Clarkson.'

" We thought we'd got enough of an introduction,
and if we could have helped ourselves we wouldn't
have continued the acquaintance ; but there was
no backing out then.

" The next morning the captain and his wife came
off in a steam-tug, and we got underway and
tov/ed out past the light.

" The ' old man ' was a Dane, or some kind of a
Dutchman, named Johnson; that's all I know
about him or his wife, except that the passenger
told me in ' Frisco,' that he wrote home to his
friends, that the captain was a demon and his wife
was a she de\dl.

" While we were making sail on the ship, the
mate travelled about the decks, raving like a
madman. He thought one man didn't haul hard
enough on the main-topsail halyards, so he cursed
him and called him a bad name. The man gave
him a ' black look ' in return, and Clarkson knocked
him down senseless, with a big gash cut in his head,

.-t-feJjtta-j %^3k^iS^S\

A WILD SEUP. 297

with an iron belaying-pin. When the yard was
mastheaded he sung out, 'haul that thingout of the
way and belay.'

" All hands were kept up in the afternoon and, if
there was any excuse to be found for doing it, the
watch below would often be called out in the fore-
noon. Every order was accompanied by an oath,
and belaying-pins, and leading-blocks were hurled
about the deck at any one that didn't move on the
' clean jump.' Things went on this way for about
a fortnight, without anything very particular hap-
pening, except that somebody got licked nearly
every watch, and then we had a little the biggest
row that ever I saw aboard of a ship.

" We were running down the north-east trades
with all our port stu'n'sails set, and at eleven o'clock
one night in the second mate's watch, a very heavy
squall struck her. The mate jumped out on deck
and called all hands, without saying anything to
the 'old man.' We didn't get out of the fore-
castle quick enough for him, and he and the third
mate stood by the door on one side, and the second
mate and boatswain on the other side of the deck,
and every man as he came out got struck.

" Jackson said to me, ' Hold on, Bangs, don't you
go out till I do.'

" Just then the mate looked in and said, ' Bangs
you hurry, get out on deck ! '

' He's coming out when I do,' said Jackson.

' Jackson,' said the mate, ' when you're ready

298 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

come out on deck, and he went away. He never
tried to impose on Jackson, and I thought I'd keep
close to him to secure my own safety. . As the
third mate struck one of the sailors, the man drew
his sheath-knife and cut him slightly. Then there
was a race. The man ran aft and the third mate
after him. Away they went around the poop and
forward again, until the third mate tumbled over a
man that the second mate had knocked down, and
so lost the chase.

" When Jackson and I got out there was a general
fight going on ; some of the watch on deck had
pitched in, and belaying-pins and handspikes were
flying round at a lively rate. The ' old man ' got
on deck in the midst of all this, and I guess he
thought the Old Nick was let loose, or else his
officers had gone crazy. The man at the wheel
had run her off before the wind to save the sails,
but there hadn't been the first thing done about
taking in anything.

' Haul down that main-topmast studding-sail,'
shouted the captain ; for the tack had parted and
the sail was blowing all to pieces.

'* The fighting stopped now, I hardly know how.
But several of the sailors were 'ended over' on
deck with broken heads, and some of us were at
the main-hatch keeping clear of the ' muss.' I be-
lieve the rest gave it up and ran forward of the
foremast.

" The ' old man ' kept singing out his orders, and

A WILD SHIP. 299

at last the mate went aft and liad some words with
him, while we went to work aod saved the pieces.
The man at the wheel said the mate cursed the
'old man' all up in a lieap, and told him toga
below and he'd look out for the ship, and after a
little jaw, the captain backed down and went into
the cabin. We blew away a lot of sails that night ;
one topmast and two topgallant stu'n'sails, a flying-
jib, main-topmast staysail, fore royal, and broke off
the fore-topmast stu'n'sail-boom, which tore an
awful big hole in the foresail. I guess if the
owner knew how much that fight cost him he
would be still more of a sailors' friend. I never
could quite account for the officers not taking in
sail sooner, unless it was they had been drinking.

" Besides having all hands, we used to be kept
going all night long in the watch en deck, and
after we got round the Cape into the south-east trades
we had to work every minute, either doing neces-
sary dut}^ or else performing military drill with
handspikes, or something of that sort. Night
times our principal work was polishing the iron
belaying-pins and eye-bolts, for when we went into
' Frisco ' every piece of iron-work about deck
shone like silver. We all had our stations rub-
bing the iron with our sheath-knives, and every
half hour, when the bell struck, we had to call out
like sentinels. This is the way it would go :
First, the man on the forward house, who was
polishing the cook's stove-pipe, would sing out :

300 ON BOAKD THE ROCKET.

' Cook's stove-pipe, one bell and all's well ! ' Then
would come, ' Starboard main-topmast staysail
sheet iron belaying-pin, one bell and all's well ; '
' starl)oard eye-bolts main-rigging ; ' ' strap of main-
topsail halyard block ;' and so on. When all the
workmen had sung out, you'd hear, 'Starboard
handspike gangway sentinel, one bell and all's
well ; ' and then the port side the same. These
were two men . that had to walk with shouldered
handspikes on the bridges that went from the top
of the after-house to the boat's gallows. At the
last the mate would hail the skysail-yard, and a
voice would come down, ' Man in the moon, one
beil and all's well.' This would be some unlucky
chap who was lowest down in the mate's good
graces, but got kept highest up in the air.

" That was the way every half hour at night
when we were not pulling and hauling. You
wouldn't think men would stand such nonsense ?
I assure you they did though, and they didn't dare
to growl even in the forecastle, for there was some
one prowling about outside, pretty often, listening
to what was said ; and if a man growled he was
very apt to get licked next watch. The second
mate gave one man an awful thrashing, for no
other reason I believe than because he overheard
him saying in his watch below, ' This is a humbug-
ging old workhouse.'

" There were lots of other moves they put up
with* There were five or six men in our watch

A WILD SHIP. 801

that didn't know much, and the mate took a par-
ticular fancy to hazing them. One morning he
came forward with some canvas for fools' caps, and
made these men sew them in tlieir watch be-
low. Then he took some empty flour barrels,
knocked the heads out, and cut holes each side of
the top. We all wondered what was to pay now,
and at night we found out. He called these men
aft, made them put on the fools' caps and dismount
one of the guns that stood by the after-liatch.
Then each ihun got into a barrel and ran his arms
through the holes, so that he had a kind of wooden
shirt on. The mate made a rope fast to the gun-
carriage, and taking his seat, he made the men
grab the rope and haul him fore and aft the deck.
He sat on the carriage, holding a long stick with a
sail-needle in the end, with which he pricked up
all the men he could reach, wherever the barrels
didn't protect them, and he cursed the rest in a
way that hurt most as bad."

" Mr. Bangs, didn't the captain have anything
to say to all this? " I asked.

" Not that I know of. I believe it just suited
him. He didn't do any fighting himself, but he'd
get on top of the house and everlastingly curse

us."

" Did you ever get struck ? " I asked.

"No sir."

" I suppose not," said I. " I never heard a man

802 ON BOAKL. THE ROCKET.

tell a yarn yet about a wild ship, but he always
went clear himself."

" But it's a fact," said the second mate, " Bill
Holmes and I were about the only ones in the crew,
except Jackson, that didn't get a rap on the head
before the sJiip got to ' Frisco.' I expect we got
spared because we were Yankee boys, but I came
pretty near catching it once or twice.

" Some of the men were shamefully beaten for
no cause whatever, except that they were good-
natured Dutchmen. The mate used to fight with
a belaying-pin, or else use his fists, but the second
and third mates always carried brass knuckles in
their pockets, and when they cut a man's face open
it sometimes made an ugly sore. But the fighting
didn't worry me as much as the blackguardism,
for sometimes we'd go along a few days without a
blow being struck- There was no let up, though,
to bad words. Every order was followed up with
oaths and vile language. All the officers from
mate to boatswain were tarred with the same
brush, and when all hands were on deck shorten-
ing sail, or tacking ship, I don't believe hell could
have furnished worse talk. I often wondered
what Mr. Jones would have thought if he could
have dropped down aboard, and Bill Holmes used
to say that he thought Mr. Jones would have done
service to the cause of humanity if he'd taken a
little pains to pick out a decent captain and mate

A WILD SHIP. 303

to oversee his sailors in the ' Bloodhound/ in
addition to his speech-making.

" We had a quick passage of one hundred and
five days, but we didn't get to Frisco any too
soon to suit us, and we all cleared out bag and
baggage as soon as the ship got to the wharf.

''The ship anchored in the stream first; the
mate got a boatman to take him across the Bay,
and he hid up country somewhere for awhile, to
keep clear of the police. Tlien he got aboard of
a ship, just as she was going out of the harbor,
and went second mate of her over to China.

" When we hauled into the wharf on a Sunday
afternoon, there were about a thousand people
down to see ' the blood boat ' as they called her,
for the boarding-house runners had reported her
character. The men got out warrants against the
officers, but none of them were arrested, for they
kept out of sight for awhile and the sailors all had
a good drunk, and what didn't go up to the mines
were all shipped off again in less than ten days,
and tlie affair blew over.

" The next I heard of Clarkson he was mate of
the ship " Fantail " with Capt. Harry Saunders,
and went from Boston to Frisco in her. One day
he punished the ' galoots ' by making them jump
overboard in a calm, and straddle a long plank
made fast at one end by a rope from the ship.
He had made them some paddles and they had to
work them as though they were towing the ship

304 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

ahead. Another time he lashed six of them, liead
and heels together, laid them along the deck in a
line, lashed the heels of the last one to a ringbolt
and putting a rope around the shoulders of the
first one he took it to the capstan and made some
of the sailors heave taut till the poor fellows on
tlie stretch cried out blue murder.

'' Clarkson could always get more wages from the
religious shipowners of Boston than any mate sail-
ing out of the port ; he was considered such a
smart officer.

" The}^ complain that there are no American sea-
men to man our ships, and if the truth were known
it would be found that the decent lads are driven
out of the service, in disgust, by the brutality of
the ofiBcers, or if they get through the forecastle
they find it useless to become officers unless they
are qualified to be prize-fighters. The boys on
Cape Cod are going into stores in the cities, or on
to farms out West, instead of going to sea as they
used to do.

'' I've often wished I could have a word with
Mr. Jones about that voyage. I don't profess to
love sailors much and I think sometimes that the
better you treat them the worse they are. But if
a man really wants to do them good, I should think
he would do it at sea as well as on shore."

" Rather," I said, " he should do more at sea
than on shore. A sailor spends three-fourths of
his life on board ship and, if one wishes to subject

BOAKDIKG A VESSEL. 805

him to good influences, it would seem reasonable
to bring' them to bear upon him where he i)asses
most of his time. But Mr. Jones' style seemed to
be to build bethels and homes for him to benefit
by in the two weeks he is on shore, and then leave
him for months in entire neglect to hear only
curses and blackguardism, and suffer tyrann3^

" Besides, a sailor is more open to good impres-
sions at sea than he is asliore. There, his mind is
full of novelties and pleasures and has little room
for good counsels, but on board ship in a long
dreary voyage, he reflects upon his past life, sees
his follies and is disposed to make resolutions of
reform."

" Well," said I, " that yarn seems to have raised
the wind ; there appears to be a light air on the
port-quarter. You may square in the yards."

The second mate assured me so positively that
his story was true, that I wrote it out while fresh
in my memory, word for word as he told it.

The last day of the " doldrums " brought about
an event which had a great effect in reviving our
spirits. In the morning we made a ship ahead,
bound the same way, and at noon we caught up
with her and spoke her. It was the *' Renown,"
from Calcutta bound to New York, ninety days
out. After dinner we spied a sail on our starboard
bow bound to the southward. She slowly drew
down towards us and at two o'clock we saw a boat
put off from the " Renowr " to board her. It was

306 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

now nearly calm and I thought I would imitiite
the example. So our quarter-boat was lowered,
and the mate and four men pulled away towards
the stranger. They reached her in about an hour
and at four o'clock were agam on board, with a
large roll of Boston newspapers, and what was
still better in the sailors estimation, a few pounds
of tobacco. The mate reported her to be the
bark '' Nonantum," from Boston, bound to Buenos
Ayres, twenty-six days out. He said the cap-
tain was in a dreadful stew about falling to lee-
ward of Cape St. Roque. He had only had E. S.
E. winds in place of north-east trades and had
been unable to gain any longitude. Now he ex-
pected nothing less than a fortnight's dead beat.
This had not put him in very good humor, and our
men were told by his sailors that one of the crew
had just upset a tar-bucket on deck, and the " old
man '' had been making the mate clean it up him-
self. The mate said the captain had his wife
aboard and that she was cross-eyed and " as homely
as a hedge-fence," but for all that he enjoyed mak-
ing his best bow to her, and asking her how she
liked going to sea, which he said was the only
polite speech he could think of.

"What a little world a ship is," I thought.
" There they are in that bark shut up by them-
selves and engrossed with their own concerns as
though there were nothing and nobody else in ex-
istence. They have their trials and growls and

READY FOR PORT. 807

disagreements, just as we do and as the " Renown'*
does, but each of us as isoUited as is one star from
another. Well, poor fellow, I hope he'll fetch by
St. Roquel"

There were fifteen newspapers in the bundle,
and for the next week we all took something of a
vacation from our little world and enjoyed a view
of the larger one. A multitude of topics were
discussed both aft and forward, and had a good
effect in stimulating our minds, and diverting our
thoughts from their well-worn channels, in which
they were moving with but a sluggish drift.

The same evening that we boarded the bark, the
north-east trades came in a squall, and started us
again on our homeward course. They brought
with them also a more bracing air, which had a
great effect in restoring the elasticity of our spirits.
On we sped, averaging two hundred miles a day
until we reached lat. 26° N. in Ion. 65° W., where
the trades left us and the variable winds of the
" horse latitudes " set in.

The bark was now in fine order. She had been
tarred down, painted inside and out, and her
masts and j'ards were all scraped bright and had
received good coats of oil and varnish. The yards
we had scraped in Padang when the sails were un-
bent, but the masts were done on the passage. We
all declared she looked as fine as a new fiddle.
But there was still plenty of work to be done in the
way of small jobs, and in keening in order what

308 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

was finished, though the main work being com-
pleted we all felt easier in mind and more pleased
to see her move rapidly towards port. The sailors
were very lively and every occasion was seized for
a song at their work.

CHAPTER Xn.

SAILOBS' SONQS.

" Odd's life I must one swear to the truth of a song .**

— Matthew Pryor*

THE songs of the sea offer a field for research,
and one who could trace the origin and use
of some of them would doubtless discover inter-
esting, romantic histories. No information can be
obtained from sailors themselves on this point.
No one knows who their favorite " Reuben Ranzo "
was, or whether " Johnny Boker " ever did what
be is so often requested to " do," nor can any one
say more concerning the virtues and vices of
" Sally Brown " than is declared in song.

Sailors' songs may be divided into two classes.
Firsts are the sentimental songs sung in the fore*

309

810 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

*castle, or on the deck in the leisure hours of the
dog-watch, when the crew assemble around the
fore-hatch to indulge in yarns and music. Dibdin's
Bongs, which the orthodox sailor of the last half
century was supposed to adhere to as closely as
the Scotch Presbyterian to his Psalter, are falling
into disuse, and the negro melodies and the popu-
lar shore songs of the day are now most frequently
heard. The second class of songs is used at work,
and they form so interesting a feature of life at
sea, that a sketch of that life would be incomplete
without some allusion to them. These working
Bongs may be divided into three sets :

First, those used where a few strong pulls are
needed, as in boarding a tack, hauling aft a sheet,
or tautening a weather-brace. "Haul the Bow-
line," is a favorite for this purpose. The shanty-
man, as the solo singer is called, standing up

"beforehand," as high above the rest of the crew
as he can reach, sings with as many quirks, varia-
tions and quavers as his ingenuity and ability can
attempt, " Haul the bow-line, Kitty is my darling;"
' then all hands join in the chorus, " Haul the bow-
line, the bowline AawZ," shouting the last word
with great energy and suiting action to it by a
combined pull, which must once be witnessed by
one who desires an exemplification of "a long
pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether." This
seldom fails to make the ropes " come home J

bailors' songs.

811

HAUL THE BOW-LINE.

^^^

ft— N-

Haul the bow-line, Kit - ty is my dar-Iinp; ;

Chorus,

-0

-G

-e-^

Haul the bow -line the bow -line haul.

Then the song is repeated with a slight change
in words, " Haul the bow-line, the clipper ship's a
rolling," &c., and next time perhaps, ," Haul the
bow-line, our bully mate is growHng."

Great latitude is allowed in the words and the

shantyman exercises his own discretion. If he be

a man of little comprehension or versatility, he

will say the same words over and over, but if be

possesses some wit, he will insert a phrase alluding.

to some peculiarity of the ship, or event of the

time, which will cause mouths to open wider and

eyes tc roll gleefully, while a lively pull follows

that ro-ises the sheet home and elicits the mate's

order " Belay I " A good shantyman is highly

prized, both by officers and crew. His leadership

saves many a diy pull, and his vocal effort is be-
lieved to secure so much physical force, that he is

sometimes allowed to spare his own exertions and

reserve all his energies for the inspiriting shantv.

812

ON BOABD THE BOCKBT,

Another common song is : —

HAUL AWAY, JOE.

-N— N-

V-N-N-HS

Way, haul a- way ; 0, haul away, my Ro - sey.

.Chorus* /^TS

Way, haul a - way j 0, haul a - way, Joe.
And another : —

JOHNISTY BOKEE.

■ff— ^—

^7t -J-

■0 — — 0-

■0 4 0-

Oh do,my Johnny Boker,Com0 rock and roll me

Chorus.

Q - ver, Do, my Johnny Bo - ker, do.

In both of these, the emphasis and the pull come
at the last word of the chorus : " Joe " and " do,"
as they end the strain, put a severe strain on the
rope.

In the secotiJ set of working songs, I woiiU

sailors' songs.

813

place those that are used in long hoists, or where
so large a number of pulls is required that more
frequent exertion must be used, than is called for
by the first set, lest too much time be occupied.
The topsail halyards call most frequently for these
songs. One of the most universal, and to my ear
the most musical of the songs, is " Reuben Ranzo."
A good shantyman, who with fitting pathos re-
counts the sorrows of " poor Reuben " never fails
to send the topsail to the masthead at quick notice,
nor to create a passing interest in the listener to
the touching melody : —

EEUBEN EANZO.

-N-\-

H (-

Chorus,

PSiS.

H 1-

7-*-^

r-^::3i

S-« — iS>-

&■

Oh,poor Keuben Ranzo, Eanzo, hojSfEanjso /

/CN

Oh, poor Reuben Ran-zo, BanzOj boys, Banzoi

Oh, Reuben was no sailor,

Chorus, and repeat with chorus.
He shipped on board of a whaler,

Chorus, &o.
He could not do his duty,

Chorus, &0.
The captain was a bad man,

Chorus, &o»
He put him in the rigging,

Chorus, &o.
He gave him six and thirty.

Chorus, &o»
Oh, poor Reuben Ranzo.

814

ON BOAED THE KOCKET.

In this song the pulls are given at the first word
" Ranzo " in the chorus, sometimes at its next
occurrence in addition.

Of all the heroines of deck song Sally Brown's
name is most frequently uttered, and a lively pull
always attends it. She figures in several of these
songs; one has as its chorus "Shantyman and
Sally Brown." But it is used more frequently, I
think, in connection with the song : —

BLOW, MY BULLY BOYS, BLOW.

■^

Oh, Sal - ly Brown's a bright mu-lat - to \

Chorus.

1^-^

-e^

-^'

Blow^ boys, hloiv! Oh, she drinks rum

Chorus, /Tn

-^-

and chews to-bac-co, Blow, my bully boys, blow!

Ob, Sally Brown's a Creole lady,

Chorus, and repeat with chorus.
Oh, Sally Brown, I long to see you,

Chorus, &c.
Oh, Sally Brown, Fll ne'er deceive yoiu

Chorus, &c.

It will be noticed that neither rhyme nor senti

SAn^OES* SONGS.

816

ment has much place in these songs. Each line is
usually repeated twice, even if there be a rhyme
impending, for the shantyman's stock must be care-
fully husbanded.

A favorite and frequently used song, in which
IJonaparte's fortunes are portrayed in a manner
startling to the historian, as well as to those who
may have the fortune to hear it sung at any time,
is: —

JOHN FEANCOIS.^

N-

-0-

Oh, Bo-ney was a war-rior, A- way, h^y^Viyl

Oh, Bo - ney was a war - rior, John Francois.

Oh, Boney went to Eoo-shy,

Chorus.
Oh, Boney went to Proo-shy,

Chorus.
He crossed the Rocky Mountains,

Chorus.
He made a mistake at Waterloo»

Chorus.
He died at Saint Helena.

Chorus,

* Pronounced Frans-war.

316

ON BOABD THE BOCKET.

Where Tommy actually proceeded to when he
went " a high low " nobody knows, but the fact is
related with continual gusto nevertheless : —

TOMMY'S GONE, A HIGH LOW.

My Tom -my's gone

Chorus.

— N — I N' — N'T — N"

and I'll go, too 5

-iV— N— N-— I-

g— #

■a-

^ — i g

Hur-rah, you high low.

Chorus.

For with-out Tom-

- my I can't do. My Tommy^s gone a high low.

My Tommy's gone on the Eastern Shore,

Chorus.
My Tommy's gone to Baltimore,

Chorus.

A person who knows a little of geography can
send Tommy around the world according to his
own discretion.

One of the best illustrations of the absolute
nothingness that characterizes the words of these
songs, is given by the utterances attending the
melody called " Shanadore," which probably means
Shenandoah, a river in Virginia. , I often have
heard such confusing statements as the foUow-
uig: —

8AIL0BS BONOS.

817

SHANADOKE.

■N N-

-*? —

Sha - na - dore's a

Chorus,

roll - ing riv - er,

N— N— N— ^•

Hiir-rahj you roll - ing riv - er. Oh,Sha-aa-dore's

Chorus.

—\-

~N-

"*— i'

a roll - ing riv - er, Ah hah, Vm bound

V~^

^ — wt—:^

a - way o'er the wild Mis - sou - ri.

Shanadore's a packet sailor,

Chorus.
Shauadore's a bright mulatto,

Chorus.
Shanadore I long to hear you,

Chorus,

and so the song goes on, according to the ingenuity
of the impromptu composer.

Sailors are not total abstainers as a rule, and
one would suspect that a song like "Whiskey
Johnny " might find frequent utterance : —

818

ON BOABD THE ROCKET.

WHISKEY JOHNNY.

-c

Whis-key is

Chorua,

^ ^

the life of man,

■(^-T

^•-

Wliis . key John - ny. We'll drink our whis

Choru».

key when we can, Whis-key for my John-ny,

I drink whiskey, and my wife drinks gin,

Chorus,
And the way she drinks it is a sin.

Chorus.
I and my wife cannot agree,

Chorus.
For she drinks whiskey in her tea.

Chorus.
I had a girl, her name was Lize,

Chorus.
And she put whiskey in her pies.

Chorus.
Whiskey's gone and Til go too,

Chorus.
For without whiskey I can't do. .

Chorus.

SAILORS* SONGS.

819

Another popular song is :—

KNOCK A MAN DOWN.

/C\

Chorut.

V •! h. - '

y fS ^

■ »

fe^3^

:i=f:

ij-*

M • ^*

I wish I was in Mo - bilo Bay. Way, hey,

N— -V-~N-

ji=i=ji

t=:^

^— ¥

knock a man down. A-roll-ing cot-ton night and day.

Chorua*

This is the time to knock a man down.

The word^ already quoted will enable a person
to sing this and nearly all the songs of this set.
He can wish he was in every known port in the
world, to whose name he can find a rhyme. If
New Orleans was selected, he would add, " Where
Jackson gave the British beans." At " Boston
city," his desire would be, "a-walking with my
lovely Kitty." At " New York town," he would
be, "a-walking Broadway up and down," or at
Liverpool he would finish his education, " a-going
to a Yankee school."

The third set of working songs comprises those
used at the pumps, capstan and windlass, where

820

ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

continuous force is applied, instead o^ the pulls at
intervals, as when hauling on ropes. Many of the
second set of songs are used on such occasions,
but there are a few peculiar to this use and of such
are the following :

mo GRANDE.

/^ Chortia,

1^:^

■^-!

*=i

I'm bound a-way this ve-ry day. Oh,youRi-o!
rm bound a-way this ve-ry day, I^m bound for the

/T\ Chorus,

-N— N-

\— is

Hi-- ".iT -^

^^" -^f

Ri - Grande. And a - way you Ri - o ! Oh, you

-N— >■

N-n

-tf-

-N— N-

Ri - o, I'm bound a - way this ve

-N-\-

^_^_^

N— N-

#— ^

ry day, I'm bound for the Ri - o Grande.

'eAILOBS' SONGS.

821

PADDY, COME WOEK ON THE KAILWAT

— \-

H-

Q ^-- ' I #

In eigh - teen hun-drcd and six - ty three,

-N-

•# I i

\=M.

I came across the stormy sea. My dung'ree breech-

Chorua*

• es I put on To work up-on the rail - way,

-H

the rail - way, Toworkup-on the rail - way.

iV — N

N— N

Oh, poor Pad-dy, come work on the rail- way.

Many other songs might be named, some of
which, peculiar to the Liverpool packets, are of a
rowdy nature.

One cannot but regret that a more rational set
of words has not been introduced to this service of
80ng. A sphere offers for some philanthropic poet

822 ON BOAUD THE BOOKET.

to provide a more elevating style of composition.
On the old theorj'-, the ballad-maker may accom-
plish more reform than the law-giver.

In addition to these songs are the unnaraeable
and unearthly howls and yells that characterize the
true sailor, which are only acquired by years of sea
service. There is the continuous running solo of
" way-hey he, ho, ya," &c., &c , accompanying the
hand-over-hand hoisting of jibs and staysails.
Then for short " swigs " at the halyards, we have
such utterances as " hey lee^ ho lip^ or ?yw," the
emphasis and pull coming on the italicized sylla-
bles on which the voice is raised a tone. Then
comes the more measured " singing out," for the
long and regular pulls at the "braces." Each
sailor has his own " howl " peculiar to himself, but
fortunately only one performs at a time on the
same rope. The effect, however, v/hen all hands
are on deck at a time, and a dozen ropes are pulled
on at once, is most suggestive of Babel. One
learns to recognize the sailors' method of singing:
when lying in his berth in the cabin he can tell
what man is leading and by the measure of his
cadence can judge what class of ropes is being
pulled. He thus can often divine the changes of
wind and weather without going on deck. The
wakeful captain with nerves harrassed by contrary
winds will recognize the hauling in of the weather
braces by the cry, and with only this evidence of a
fair wind will drop off into the slumber he so

BULLY OR COAX. 823

greatly needs. At other times he will be impelled
to go on deck by the evidence that the outcries
betoken the hauling of clew-lines and buntlines at
the approach of a threatening squall. By atten-
tion to these and other sounds, and the motions of
the vessel, an experienced mariner knows the con-
dition of affairs above deck without personal
inspection.

The songs of the sea, as I have said, invite at-
tention and research, and I shall be glad if this
brief sketch may incite another to more thorough
investigation.

How do you get along with your sailors?. is a
question often asked, to which I will now endeavor
to give a practical answer. The first captain that
I went to sea with remarked to a gentleman in my
hearing : " If it were not for sailors it would be
only a pleasure to go to sea." Maiiy a time have
I heard this echoed sinca and perhaps have re-
peated it myself. No one has ever suggested how
to do without sailors, so the most rational question
is. How shall we manage them? The only ap-
proach to a quarrel on this passage was with " Lit-
tle Hans," a diminutive Swede, who was very
great in temper and irritability. He was ordered
to do some work, but pleaded illness in excuse.
Some passionate words ensued, as the mate doubted
his sincerity, but in the end Little Hans made most
ample apologies and confessed with tears what a
bad temper he had.

824 ON BOAED THE EOCKET.

There must be these frictions on shipboard.
They occur in every vessel. They cannot be pre-
vented entirely, and the only question is how to
deal with them. Shall authority be maintained on
the instant by the assertion of brute force, or shall
the man by patient, judicious, but firm treatment
be in time subdued. The latter is the course I
advocate. It involves momentary mortification
and great self-control, but gives more abiding
peace and great self-satisfaction.

Who overcomes by force
Hath but half overcome his foe.

An officer once said to me, " There are only two
ways to treat sailors ; you must either bully them
or coax them." Accepting this definition of my
theorizings I would say :

" By all means, coax them 1 "

But our success in controlling the men was not
due alone to the method of discipline adopted. In
many ways they were made to feel that a friendly
spirit existed towards them, and that a desire to
benefit them ran through all the rules and customs
of the ship. Some of the methods I have tried
successfully are the following : Saturday afternoons
were given up to the crew as a time for mending
clothes and cleaning themselves, and on Sunday
morning when called aft to attend religious ser-
vices they had no excuse for not putting in a neat

CLASSES AND LECTURES. 825

appearance. The effect of this was often notice-
able in creating more cleanly habits, and I have re-
peatedly been complimented upon the unusually
good looks of my sailors when on shore or attend-
ing services. Wednesday evenings a Bible Class
was held, at which the men were encouraged to
read aloud the passages in the Bible which they
were directed to search out, illustrating the topic
in hand. The valuable libraries furnished by the
Seamen's Friend Society, with other reading mat-
ter, were placed at the disposal of the crew. Fre-
quently on Saturday evenings lectures were given
Mpon matters of interest to the sailor, as. The
Winds, The Currents, The Stars, The Sea Serpent,
&c. In the afternoons, when weather permitted,
the young men of the crew in their watch below
attended a navigation class, and took the first les-
sons in a science which many of them will prac-
tice when commanding vessels in time to come. I
never found that such familiarity bred contempt,
for all this intercourse was dignified. On the con-
trary it rather heightened their respect for the
captain, as was evidenced by the remark of one
after a lecture, " I tell you when a man sees what
a head our old man's got, it makes him feel what
a little pimple he's got on his own shoulders."

I have narrated methods of control which I
have used with tolerable success, but I am well
aware that government cannot be reduced to an
exact science. With the help of the best systems

826 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

•

some will fail to control those under them, and
others from the simple character and energy of
their natures, without extraneous aid, will com-
mand the respect and obedience of those subject
to them.

While human nature is what it is there will ex-
ist a conflict between service and power. As the
mind and heart are elevated and renewed these
conflicts will decrease, but it is only to a higher
and purer sphere, where sin will not exist and
where all is perfect as God is perfect, that we can
look for continued and entire harmony.

Lest my reader should be tempted to yawn at
this rather prosy effusion, I append our artist's
sketch of the result of such an indulgence on
shipboard.

When near the latitude of Bermuda, one after-
noon when it was nearly calm, we spied a schooner
ahead drifting toward us. Visions of Nova Scotia
potatoes excited our enthusiasm ; the boat was got
ready and when the vessels were near each other,
the mate, passenger and two sailors went off to
board her in search of news and supplies. The
passenger had on a new cap of white duck made
in naval style, and his imposing appearance perhaps
accounted for the trepidation of the captain of the
schooner, who stood on deck in his stockings
trembling, as though he might be fearing the attack
of a pirate. When the mate politely presented
my compliments and asked for a few potatoes, his

■mwrn-

i'i " « J »i P»»WWB11^|W

^Jw ' ^ ' .^ ' -J- ' J ' t. ' . l I. I WJ I .I»/ i J ^P' » »i iJJ I .-, I ., l ^..- 'f -i" ' ." llt ' lH ' -

^^i^i)^i»

The effects of a yawn.

r.\

-*;.yiBr-

SCHOONER JANE. 829

assurance returned and lie was enthusiastic in his
desires to serve us.

The schooner was the " Jane " of Shelburne,
Nova Scotia, ten days out for Barbadoes. The
supplies obtained were salt-fish and a few potatoes.
But the captain, in the kindness of his heart, sent
me a jar of preserved wild strawberries gathered
and prepared by his wife, which he repeatedly
assured the mate were " real nice," and, as though
he might not be believed, he turned to the man at
the wheel and said, " Ai'n't they, John." They
certainly proved deserving of his encomium. We
got a little country newspaper, that gave a few
items of news, and a " New York Ledger," which
proved to be a year old.

She reported a heavy gale two days before,
when we had been in calm weather.

Discussions of this event, the news obtained,
and a salt-fish dinner enlivened a few days.

The last Saturday afternoon of the passage, the
decks were washed down early and at four o'clock
all hands were called aft. The captain took his
stand at the capstan and the crew sitting on boards
laid upon deck-buckets, listened attentively to a
temperance lecture, and some warnings and in-
structions about the dangers of life on shore soon
to be encountered. Several signed the pledge
afterwards, " Old Brown " among them.

The first sign of our approach to land was the
meeting with some fifty achooners mackerel fishing,

830 ON BOABD THE EOCKET.

south of Nantucket Shoals. As we came among
them one put his helm up, and running down on us
till his bowsprit seemed nearly to touch us, he
sheered alongside and shouted, " Cap'n, do you
want some fish? "

" Aye ! aye " ! I replied.

Tlien the air was filled with mackerel aimed at
my liead by a half-dozen men, and some of them
came near the mark. Three schooners in suc-
cession paid us this compliment, and all hands
had a good supper and breakfast of mackerel in
consequence.

We generally expect a gale when coming on the
coast and always promote our fears by recalling
the old rhyme :

" If the Bermudas let you pass,
Oh then beware of Hatteras ;
If safely you get by Cape May
You'll catch it sure in Boston Bay."

This time our fears were not realized.

We bent the chains and put the anchors in the
shoes, and on a Friday evening were almost within
range of the Highland Light when a dense fog set
in and deferred our hope of seeing it. The wind
was moderate from the southward and we rounded
to every two hours for soundings, and then kept
on the course. A man was stationed on the top-
gallant forecastle with a fog* horn, which he
sounded vigorously, and now and then received

Foa. 831

similar reaponses from neighboring vessels. The
blasfc of one horn continued to draw nearer until
it seemed close by us, then we heard a dog bark-
ing and a hoarse voice sounded through the fog,
" How are you steering ? "

" No'th by west," said I.

" I'm heading east south east," said the
stranger.

Then close alongside of us we saw a schooner.

" How does Cape Cod bear ? " I asked.

" Nor' nor' west thirty miles," replied the skip-
per, as his craft vanished in the fog.

'* Just agrees with the chronometer," said I to
myself. " That's doing well."

" Pretty soon came another approaching blast of
the horn, and in time came the same question,
" How are you steering ? " and a voice shouted,
" Keep her to the no'th'ard and east'ard ; I'm just
going in stays."

"Hard a-port," I shouted to the man at the
wheel, and just as the ship's head began to answer
to the helm, a cry sounded from right under our
bow, " Hard a-starboard, or you'll run into me." I
sprang to the wheel and lent the man a hand to
shift the helm over, and then we saw a large three-
masted schooner with her jibboom almost grazing
our fore channels.

• " All right, Cap'n, you'll go clear ; I've got my
jibs aback," shouted a cheery voice, and then he,
too, drifted away into the darkness.

832 ON BOAED THE ROCKET.

In the morning the fog lifted and the wind came
out dead ahead. Two pilot boats came running
down from the Cape Ann shore, and the leading
one, being intent on securing both our vessel and a
ship to leeward, dropped a pilot in a " canoe " while
sailing ten knots an hour, and sped on to the other
ship, thus successfully cutting out her rival. The
pilot pulled alongside of us, and we took both him-
self and his boat on board. Many eager questions

were asked, one of the first being, if the " F "

had arrived ? We were told she had not, and we
had the satisfaction of beating her eight days on
the passage. All day we were beating up the Bay,
and at 10 P.M. took a tow boat off Boston Light
whigh soon brought us alongside Central Wharf,
where we made fast early on a Sunday morning
after ninety-three days passage from Padang. In
the morning I stepped on to the wharf to take a
survey from a new point of view of what had been
my hom« for so many months. As I was standing
near the stern I noticed some sailors belonging to
the Revenue Cutter, sitting down with their backs
toward me and their legs hanging over the edge of
the wharf. They were discussing the looks of the
vessel, and I heard one of them say, " I wouldn't
want to go to sea in that bark. She must be a
regular workhouse. Everything aboard of her is
scraped bright from her trucks to her fenders.
Just see how that royal-yard shines I '■

PAYING OFF. 833

I walked up to them and said : " Boys, does she
lookweU?"

" Yes," answered the one that had just spoken ;
" a neater looking vessel than that never came into
this harbor."

"Well," said I, "her crew haven't lost a watch
below the whole voyage."

" Oh I that's a different thing then," said he ;
" if a man has watch and watch he's got no right
to complain. Of course he expects to work in his
watch on deck."

The next day the crew were paid off, all being
sober except Murphy. I handed hira his money
and said, " Take good care of that and don't throw
it away." Murphy was already well past a condi-
tion to take care of anything. He had indulged
in one good spree the night before, and was now
what would be called " ugly drunk." His thick
black hair was tossed about in confusion over his
head, and his dark eyes fairly snapped with pas-
sion. Holding his money in his clenched fist he
brandished it aloft and said, " Cap'n, all that's go-
ing for rum,"' and off he went with a waiting land-
shark, who no doubt sent him to sea within a week,
penniless and ragged. But everybody else was
sober, and on the whole the crew made a very cred-
itable appearance, so much so that it excited re-
marks from many who saw them.

As I went on shore I met the shipping master,
old Capt. Harding. "Your crew make a good

834 ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

show for themselves to day," said he. " I never
saw a more orderly set, or heard any crack their
ship up quite so much. There was one man stand-
ing by me while I was talking to a gentleman, and
hearing me say something about the bark he put
in his handspike and said he, ' That's the best ship
tliat sails out of this port. The captain of her is
a gentleman and a sailor and a Christian. We
obeyed him just out of the respect we had for him.
There's nothing of the humbug about him. He
does'nt go round the decks trying to scare up
work just to haze men. The officers were good
men, too. They've kept us at work pretty sharp,
but we had watch and watch the whole time,
south-east trades and all. She's in fine order and
we did all the work up except to scrape the belay-
ing pins. We had to let those go. I'm sorry we
didn't have time to scrape thp/mJ* "

" After he went away the gentleman said, * That
sounds well, doesn't it ? That's better than broken
heads and curses and lawsuits.' I told him I
thought I knew all the ins and outs of a sailor,
but it was something new to me to h^ar one regret
he ' didn't have time to scrape the belaying-pins.' "

The crew all went to the Sailors' Home, except
Murphy, and behaved well. Old Brown was a
well-known character in Boston, and I was told
this was the first time he had ever kept sober in
port. His friends were quite astonished at such
good conduct. He went to San Francisco on his

IN PORT. 835

next voyage, and I heard afterwards that the mate
of the ship had selected him as a good man to
** bully," he being quiet and inoffensive. He beat
him and drove him about the decks in a way that
completely disheartened him, and on reaching port
he took to drinking again and was " beastly drunk "
all the time he was on jhore.

In a few weeks the crew all scattered on differ-
ent voyages, excepting four who waited to sail
again with me in another ship. I remember them
with affectionate interest and am sure they hold
fast a pleasant recollection of the days

ON BOARD THE ROCKET.

THE x^iND.