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SECTIOPIAL VIEW OF TIM E ARK. —Page 22.




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:ELjM  ISLiAND  STORIES.
THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
BY
REV. ELIJAH KELLOGG,
AUTHOR OF "SPARTACUS TO TIIE GLADIATORS,"
"GOOD OLD TIMES," ETC.
BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD.
1870.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by
LEE AND SHEPARD,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
ELECTROTYPED AT THE
BO8TON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY,
NO. 1 SPRING LANE.




TO
MY YOUNG FRIEND,
ARTHUR P. DANA, OF WELLESLEr,
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.




ELM  ISLAND STORIES.
1. LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND,
2. CHARLIE BELL, THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND.
3. THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
4. THE BOY FARMERS OF ELM ISLAND.
Others in preparation.




PREFACE.
THIS volume of the " Elm Island Stories"
chronicles the success of " Lion Ben," in his
bold endeavor to supply, by inventive shrewdness, the lack of money, and make his lumber
carry itself to a foreign market. It illustrates
the manner in which our ancestors, possessed
of little or no capital, in the absence of a
protective policy, struggling with the difficulties
of a deranged currency, in the face of foreign
competition, notwithstanding, conquered difficulties, and wrung from the very necessities
of their position a competence, and even
affluence; showing also the wonderful versatility and power of combining different kinds
(5)




6                  PREFACE.
of labor, which pertain to American character;
the gradual growth of temperance principles
from  inferior  beginnings; the  influences  by
which those resolute spirits, who laid the
foundations of our immense commerce, and
fought in the war of' 1812, to protect it, were
trained; and that industry, integrity, and selfreliance as surely lead to success on the sea
as on the land.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER                                     PAGE
I. THE ARK IN A GALE.........   9
II. ISAAC MAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF...  31
III. ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.........    41
IV. ORANGE KEYS...........   62
V. AN EXCITING INCIDENT.........  77
VI. DEAD MAN'S KEY...                       86
VII. HAVANA............   1 00
VIII. WARPING UP............   112
IX. SELLING AND DISCHARGING....... 140
X. A SUNDAY IN HAVANA..                  159
XI. THE GOOD NEWS........... 203
XII. HOMEWARD BOUND..........   221
XIII. JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS......   242
XIV. ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST......   261
XV. TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS... 271








THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
CHAPTER I.
THE ARK IN A GALE.
IT was midnight in the Gulf Stream: the Ark,
under reefed sails, was doing her best to keep out
of the way of the sea, which, following, threatened
to break over her; twisting like a basket, she
groaned and creaked in the heavy surf, and seemed
alive in every board.
" I believe the jade will spill us," said Joe Griffin.
"What'll you take for your venture, Seth Warren? I'll sell mine for a pistareen. She works
like an old logging sled among the' cradle-knolls."'
It was raining as it can rain only in the Gulf;
the lightning came not at intervals, but seemed to
fill the whole horizon with one continuous blaze,
accompanied by heavy peals of thunder.
The starboard watch was on deck, consisting of
only two men, -Joe Griffin and Seth Warren, —
(9)




10        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
with a boy of seventeen, by the name of Murcha nephew of Uncle Isaac, and named for him.
Isaac, though a boy in years, was by no means
green; and, by the time he was ten years of age,
he had been accustomed to paddle about the
shores, often going on gunning expeditions with
his uncle and Captain Rhines. Whenever Isaac,
who lived at the other extremity of the town, paid
a visit to his uncle, he always came over to Captain Rhines's to play with John. The captain was
very fond of Isaac, and predicted that he would
make a very smart man. His prediction was
grounded on the following circumstance: Isaac
had spent tlie afternoon at Captain Rhines's, and
was returning after supper to his uncle's; it was a
bright moonlight evening; and, as he was crossing
a large, clear field, skirted by a deep gully heavily
wooded, he saw a skunk just before him, striving
to gain the shelter of the gully; he endeavored to
find a stone or a club, but in vain, for it was late
in the year, and every stone was fastened by the
frost; nor was a stick to be found in the mowing
field. All this time the skunk was nearing the
gully; Isaac saw that, long before he could go to
the log fence, the animal would be beyond his
reach; he reflected a moment, for he had on his




THE ARK IN A GALE.             11
go-to-meeting best. It was but for a moment. Crying out, "One, two three; three times goes it!" he
broke into a dead run, and jumped both feet on to
his antagonist. Had Isaac received his enemy's
fire in his eyes, as he did on his clothes, it would
probably have made him blind for life. He soon
despatched the skunk with his heavy boots; but
after excitement came the hour of sober reflection:
he could scarcely breathe, and his approach was
readily perceived at the distance of half a mile.
There were other circumstances that rendered his
reflections more pungent; his parents were rather
poor, had hard work to clothe a large family, and
he was seven miles from home on a visit.
" What a fool I was! " said Isaac; " but I'm glad
I killed him: who's going to take a stump from a
skunk?"
"' Hannah," said Uncle Isaac, coming in with an
armful of wood, "did you put those late chickens
in the barrel?"
" No; I forgot it."
"Then I will, for there's skunks round."
As he proceeded to the barn to discharge this
duty, Isaac cried out, "Uncle, I've killed a skunk!
I ain't coming into the house; I'm going right
straight home."




12        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
But Uncle Isaac would by no means consent to
this, but directed.him to go into the barn, where'he;brought him a shift of clothes, soap, and hot
water.
"What shall I do with my clothes, uncle?"
asked Isaac. "Mother wove'em this fall;'twas
the last cloth she had in the house."
"There's no trouble about that;" and, cutting
through the frozen ground, he made a hole of sufficient size to contain the clothes, and buried them,up, assuring his nephew that the ground would
take every mite of the smell out in three days.
The summer the Ark was built, this youngster
had been on a fishing voyage to the Bay of Chaleur. After his return, he had an opportunity to
go in a vessel from Portland with a relative; he
was to meet the captain at Wiscasset to arrange
matters; on his way there, he stopped a night at
his uncle's. Ever since the encounter with the
skunk, Captain Rhines had considered Isaac's success in life as settled.
In the evening, going over with his wife to Uncle Isaac's, he found the boy there.
"Well," said the captain, "are you going to
school now?"
"No, sir. I'm on my way to Wiscasset, to see




THE ARK IN A GALE.           13
Captain Savage. I've had some talk about going
with him in the Leonidas."
"You'd better go with me. I want just such a
chap, so smart, that when he goes to jump on a
horse, he'll jump right over him."
"But how shall I get home? "
" I'll find you a chance to get home, or, in a good
ship, to go somewhere else."
" There'll be nothing to do in the Ark, except to
haul boom-tackles and tend jib-sheets. I want to
go in a square-rigged vessel, and learn seamanship.:
"I'll learn you navigation and the use of instruments."
The boy longed to go. All the crew were his
neighbors; and, as for Captain Rhines, he worshipped him; but there was one difficulty which
seemed to him insuperable.
At length he said, "Captain Rhines, I'm very
much obliged to you for your good opinion of me,
but the stick is just here; my parents are not very
well off, and there's a large family of us. I am
the oldest boy, and must earn all I can to help
them; you give very small wages, and allow your
men a privilege. Now, I've got nothing to carry
to sell in the West Indies to make out my wages."
"But," said his uncle, "I'll give you something




14        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
to carry, and as much as any man before the mast
in that vessel, for you're a good striving boy, if
you are my nephew."
"Then I'll go, with all my heart and soul! " cried
Isaac, unable to contain his delight. "I'll go right
home in the morning, and go to school till the Ark
is ready."
When Captain Rhines rose to go home, he
missed the boy. ".Where is he gone?" asked the
captain; " to bed? "' To bed! " said Uncle Isaac; " he'll not shut his
eyes this night, till he's been to Joe Griffin's, and
told him, and all the rest, that he's going with'em
in the Ark."
Seth Warren, indeed, was called second mate,
by which was merely meant, that he took charge of
the captain's watch whenever he saw fit to go
below, for Captain Rhines stood his own watch.
In the larboard watch were Robert Yelf and
Sam Edwards; the cook also -a negro of great
strength, and a thorough seaman —mustered with
the mate's watch, but was not called, except in
bad weather.
"Ay, that thrapping does the business," said the
captain, contemplating with great satisfaction, by
the glare of the lightning, the voluminous turns of




TIHE ARK IN A GAILE.           1
the hawser; "if these sails and masts only stand,
she'll make very good weather of it. Call the watch,
Isaac, and then go to the galley, and rouse out the
cook —not but what Joe steers well enough, but
it will blow harder after twelve o'clock, and there's
not the equal of that darky to scud a vessel in
bad weather. Now, Flour," said he, "I've got you
at the tiller, I'm going to turn in. Call me, Mr.
Strout, if the weather gets any worse."
"' Nebber you fear this nigger, massa; she go all
right when ole Flour get the stick. Me steer anything but my ole woman; she one Guinea nigger.
I give her much wheel or little wheel, make no
odds, she'come to' on me anyhow."
He had slept about an hour, when the mate
waked him, and said, " Captain Rhines, I wish you
would come on deck; it's screeching right out;
there's a very bad sea, and I fear it will board us
over the stern. We must shake out these reefs,"
said the mate, as the captain came on deck; "this
sail will never keep her out of the way of the sea."
"It can't be done; the sails are second-hand,
all of them; and, if we start them, they will go to
ribbons in a moment. The foresail is much worn;
if we should split it, she would broach to."
" Why not heave her to? "




16        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"I don't think she would lay well. Besides, we
are going on our course."
"But if we should ship one of these seas, it will
clear our decks, if it don't tear her to pieces."
"Well, Mr. Strout, these seas ain't a-coming in
here. I don't want'em, and won't have'em.
Why, here are your horses, Charlie's baskets and
turnips, Joe Griffin's sheep, and half the old women's stuff in town. What a muss it would make
to have that all overboard together!"
"I don't see how you will help it," replied the
mate, who began to think that the imminence of
the peril had turned the captain's brains.
"Sam  Edwards," cried the captain, "do you
and Bob roll that barrel of ile aft here as quick as
possible, and bring a long lashing with it."
While the barrel was coming along, he went
below, and came up with a nail gimlet, with which
he bored a hole in the head of the barrel, and ordered
the men to lash it on the taffrail and amidships.
The mate looked on in amazement, feeling now
assured that the captain had lost his wits; but he
had little time for speculation. Scarcely was the
barrel secured, when, looking astern, he saw an
enormous wave, rising far above the vessel, and
knew from experience that it was going to break.




THE ARK IN A GALE.             17
"Look out for yourselves! " he shouted, catching
hold of the after shroud; "it's coming!"
"Don't leave the helm, Flour!" cried the captain.
"No dodge about me, massa," replied the noble
fellow, taking a firm grip of the tiller-ropes.
Along came the wave, with white foam on its
edge, black and terrible below, while each man held
his breath, all, except the captain, expecting to lose
their property, if not their lives.
To their astonishment, when the breaker met the
thin films of oil spread over the surface of the
waters, after lifting the Ark almost on end, it subsided without breaking.
" Why didn't that sea come in? " asked the mate,
rubbing his eyes with amazement, while he drew a
long breath.
"That's what I should like to know," said Joe
Griffin, who had come up at the alarm.
"Because it couldn't," replied the captain; "it
wanted to bad enough, but the ile wouldn't let it.
Didn't I tell you I wouldn't have Flour's onions,
and old Aunt Molly Bradish's butter, spilt here in
the Gulf?"
" Well, that beats all my going to sea," said the
mate. "I was in the Fairtrader, of Nantucket,
2




18        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
homeward bound, all our butts full of ile -enough
to have greased the whole Pacific at the rate you
put it on to-night. We shipped a sea over the
stern -that swept her decks, started the stern-post
and whole stern frame. We were forced to leave
her with what we stood in, glad to save ourselves.
If we had only known that! But how does that
keep the sea from breaking?"
" Is it not hard work to hold a greased pig?"
" Yes."
"Well, I greased the water, so that the wind
couldn't get its fingers under it so well to take it
up and fling it on us."
"That barrel of ile has been the greatest puzzle
to me," said Joe Griffin. "Did you bring it out
just for that purpose?"
"Just for that purpose, Joe, and nothing else. I
knew, that being low in the water, and less lively
than a regular built vessel, with none too much
sail, she would be liable to ship a sea astern. I've
known of a sea taking the masts out of a ship, and
ripping up the decks."
"But how did you know the ile would have that
effect? "
"When I was a boy, I went cook in the pinkie
Good Content with old Skipper Brown. We had




THE ARK IN A GALE.            19
a terrible gale on the Banks in shoal water; the sea
broke all around us; scores of poor fellows —our
neighbors —found their graves in the ocean that
night; but the old man saved himself and all of us
by just so simple a thing as that. You don't think
I would be likely ever to forget it?"
"But how did he find it out?"
" He told us, after the gale was over, that when
he was a boy, there were two things he loved best
of all to do; one was, to catch lobsters in a hoopnet, and the other, to sail his little boats in the
cove before their house. One day he wanted some
flounders very much to bait his traps; but there
was a breeze that made the water so rough that he
couldn't see them on the bottom so as to spear
them. His grandfather was down there, sitting
on a rock watching him.'Put a leetle ile on the
water, Bobby,' said the old gentleman,'and you
can see the bottom.'  He did so, and found it
made the water calm. The cove lay right open
to the sea, and was quite a rough place, even when
there was not a great deal of wind, which troubled
him very much, as the sea upset his boats. He
thought he would try the ile, when he found that
it kept the sea down; but he used so much that
his father put a stop to it. But he never forgot it,




20         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
and when that gale came on, thought he would
try it."
"The day we took the Ark over to the main
land," said Joe, "everybody in town came to look
at her, and were passing their opinions, some for,
and others against. I heard old Uncle Pettigrew
ask Uncle Isaac Murch what made him feel so sure
she would go safe.'Because,' he said,'a lucky
man's going in her.' But it seems to me, after all,
the luck is in a good lookout."
Joe had opportunity to become still more satisfied of the soundness of that opinion before the
end of the voyage. We would remark, for the
benefit of our readers, who may be unacquainted
with seafaring matters, that the only waves which
seamen dread are those that break- that is, that
rise up perpendicularly, and then curl over. The sea,
as sailors say, has no foot to it, that is, no gradual
rise for the vessel to mount on. When a wave has
a regular rise to it, like a bill, if it is forward of
the ship, she will rise upon it: if it comes after,
it will run under her stern, lift and force her ahead;
but if it breaks, comes up, and curls over, before
she can get out of the way, it will come on board
and make mischief enough.  Such seas scarcely
ever board a ship without doing more or less dam



THE ARTI IN A GALE.           21
age, and are sure to swamp an open boat. Those
" ugly combing seas," as sailors call them, only come
occasionally; so that, if a vessel escapes one or
two, she may go safely through a whole gale.
Some years ago, the vessel of a friend of miIle,
deep loaded with plaster, was struck by one of
these seas, and her whole stern shattered almost
to the water's edge. He said, after that there was
not another sea that would have hurt a yawl, and
had that single one fallen short of them, he would
have gone safe, whereas he had to leave her.
Oil does not prevent the heave and swell of the
sea; the waves rise and fall as before, but they
don't comb and break into the vessel.
Captain Rhines, now feeling that everything was
going on well, went below again.
As in the previous volume,- -" Charlie Bell," —
no description was given of the accommodations
of the ship's company, let us go below with the
captain, and see where and how our good friends
lived and berthed.
First, however, in coultesy to those of' our readers who may not have seen the previous volume,
we will briefly refer to the manner in which the
Ark was built, and the reasons which prompted to
this hazardous experiment. It was not with Lion




22         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Ben, the originator of it, a mere matter of dollars
and cents, though pecuniary reasons, no doubt, had
their due weight in the plan.
With very limited resources, he had married a
beautiful and energetic woman, bought Elm Island
on credit, giving a mortgage, and hoping to pay
for it by cutting and selling the masts, spars, and
other lumber of rare quality and enormous size,
which it produced; thus obtaining the land for a
farm, together with that portion of the growth,
not suitable for manufacture, for his fire. But Ben
loved this little gem of the stormy Atlantic; and,
in order to obviate the necessity of stripping it,
diminishing the fertility of the soil, exposing it to
tempests, drying up the springs, and defacing its
beauty, he built the Ark, that by this wholesale
economy in the carriage of his lumber, and by selling it himself, without the aid of middle-men, he
might liquidate his debt, by clearing only so much
of the island as was required for tillage.
The Ark was merely the partial skeleton of a
vessel, built in the strongest manner, at the least
expense compatible with strength, as, upon her
arrival at Havana, she was to be sold with her
contents, or broken up and disposed of in piecemeals.




THE ARK TIN A GALE.           23
Her bow and stern were sheathed to diminish
the friction. She had a few frames; was decked
over at the extreme ends, and at the masts, with
very heavy wales; an enormous breast-hook forward, to which was secured some large timbers,
which ran the whole length of the vessel, and
were fastened to the stern frame, to secure her
friom bending, or, in carpenter phrase, "hogging,"
and was rigged like a fore-and-aft schooner. Into
this frame was piled the lumber, with some cedar
and a few empty hogsheads, to increase the buoyancy; and she was frapped over all amidships
with a hawser.
It was, indeed, a risk of no ordinary magnitude
to encounter in this clumsy structure the waves of
the Gulf Stream - a portion of the Atlantic, which,
though often calm as a summer lake, is proverbially
treacherous, and quickly wrought into fury. Our
surprise, however, is moderated when we consider
the period and the people.
It was just after the Revolution. The contriver
and executor of this enterprise belonged to that
race of whom Burke said, in the House of Commons, "We know that while some of them draw
the line and strike the harpoon on the coast of
Africa, others run the longitude, and pursue their




24         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. Neither
the perseverance of Holland, the activity of France,
nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English
enterprise, ever carried this most perilous mode
of hardy industry to the extent to which it has
been pushed by this recent people -a people who
are but still, as it were, in the gristle, and not yet
hardened into the bone of manhood."
These men were the gristle; many of them had
borne arms in the war of liberty, and all had been
accustomed to struggle with difficulties and conquer them.
Let us now speak of the accommodations of our
novel vessel. When it was loaded, a space was left in
the stern the length of a board, and running back
to the place left, for working the helm, and of sufficient width and depth. Within this space was
built the cabin, of rough boards, with a raised floor,
in order that the water which came aboard might
run under it, and go down through, into the sea.
The roof was made of boards, and shingled, and
was lighted by windows with sliding shutters, to
prevent the sea fiom breaking them in bad weather. The berths were built against the sides in the
after end; those farthest aft belonging to the captain and mate, the others to the crew. They all




THE ARK I1N A GALE.           25
ate at the same table, though at different times,
just as though they were in each other's houses at
home.
The place was lighted in the night by a great
-tin lamp with a large, flat wick, and fed with fish
oil. There was lampblack enough on the rooft'
above where it hung to have painted Charlie's
boat inside and out.
In the middle was a long, cross-legged table,
which Uncle Isaac had made after the fashion of
Ben's kitchen table on Elm Island. As the cabin
was more than twenty feet in length, the spare
room in the forward end was taken up with bread,
beef, and such articles as it was important to keep
dry.
Just aft of the foremast was the galley - a house
built in much the same way, only smaller, with two
slide doors abreast of each other, the roof flat,
and covered with canvas. In the middle of this
was built a fireplace of brick (stoves were not in
use then), with a crane and pot-hooks; the chimney above was made of boards. In front of the fire
was a bench, and on the starboard side, the cook's
berth; on the other, shelves where he kept his pots,
pans, mortar to pound coffee, and other matters.
This was Flour's empire, where he cooked, ate,




26        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
and slept. Just outside the door was his slush
barrel. All the fat, skimmings, and other grease,
which is not wanted to slush masts, and for other
uses, is the cook's perquisite, which he sells at the
end of the voyage. The only thing that looked
much like any other craft was the long boat in her
chocks, which Captain Rhines had bought in Wiscasset, to save themselves with in case of disaster.
There was also a log canoe to serve common purposes.
This fashion of getting along, which would not
have done at all with a common crew, worked like
a charm on board the Ark, since it was just our
folks going to market; and where all were interested, there were none disposed to take undue
advantage of such treatment.
Captain Rhines, who had been all his life at sea
with large crews, was a strict disciplinarian; but,
with the noble spirit and excellent judgment for
which he was distinguished, he laid all such notions
aside, and enjoyed himself like a father among his
children; yet the commands of' the Great Mogul
were never obeyed more promptly and implicitly
than the least intimation of the captain by that
crew.
Never did a ship's company live as they did;




THE ARK IN A GALE.             27
for, in addition to the ventures of fowls, butter,
cheese, apples, and what not, each one had brought
little niceties from home, and they had in the
"black" a glorious cook to prepare those things.
Uncle Isaac had given them a pig and a barrel
of cider, and Joe Griffin's father a fat sheep. Captain Rhines was calculating to kill the pig and have
a sea pie the day they made the land. Many a
smother was made, and many a chicken roasted, in
that galley: such high living made grease plenty,
and Flour contemplated with great satisfaction the
rapid increase of his slush barrel.
Just as Captain Rhines came on deck, a flying
fish, driven by the gale, struck Flour's hat, and fell
on deck. The captain, picking it up, said, "I'll
put that in the pork barrel, and catch a dolphin
with it, some day. The next morning, two or
three more were picked up on deck, one of which
Joe put in a bottle of spirit to take home to Charlie. These fish can only fly as long as their wings,
or rather fins, are wet; and, in trying to fly over a
vessel, they are either blown against the rigging
and stunned, or else their wings get dry, and they
fall on deck. They fly to escape the dolphin, which
pursues and feeds on them. Just after sunrise the
gale broke, and by night it was nearly calm, with




28         TIIE ARK OF EL3 ISLAND.
a great swell, in which the Ark, with no wind to
steady her, rolled heavily. It was very hard work,
indeed, for Joe Griffin to keep still and repress his
love of mischief, especially as they lived well, and
had very little to do; his fingers itched, and his
heart ached, to be doing something; but he stood
in much awe of Captain Rhines.
At length he could contain himself no longer.
A seaman will sleep with men tramping, blocks
creaking, sails slatting, and even cannon firing,
over his head, so long as they are the ordinary
noises of the ship, while the least unaccustomed
sound will keep him awake. Taking advantage
of this fact, when Joe went below at eight o'clock
(we won't say bells, because the Ark had none), he
turned his chest, which sat on the floor beside his
berth, round, placing the keyhole next the berth,
so that, while lying there, he could reach and lift
the cover; he then took everything out of the
till. When all was still, except the usual noises on
shipboard, he put a large bullet in the till; the
constant heavy rolls and lurches of the Ark set the
bullet rolling.
"W"hat's that?" cried Captain Rhines.
No answer; for Seth Warren and the boy were
sound asleep, and Joe pretended to be.




THE ARK IN A GALE.            29
"Isaac!"
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"What's that noise?"
"Noise, sir? "
"Yes, something rolling about. Look in the pantry, and see if some of the dishes, or something,
ain't fetched away, and stuff some canvas round
them."
When Isaac had performed the duty, the captain
said,
" That's what it was; I don't hear it now."
There was a very good reason why he did not,
for Joe had taken the bullet out; he now put it
back.
"There it goes again! On deck there!" shouted the captain.
" Ay, ay, sir!"
"Mr. Strout, I wish you would look round and
see if there's anything rolling about, or anything
on top of the house. We can't sleep. Perhaps
there's a belaying pin under foot."
"There's nothing here, sir."
Still the noise continued.
"It's in the cabin, and I'll knew what it is!"
cried the captain, jumping out of his berth. In an
instant Joe took out the bullet.




30        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Taking down the lamp, he made a thorough
search, but found nothing that could, by any possibility, make a noise. At length he found a potato
on the floor.
"I can't find anything but a potato. I shouldn't
think that was hard enough to make so much
noise;" and he turned in. After a while, he said, -
" I guess it must have been the potato, Joe, for I
don't hear it now," and went to sleep.
There was no more disturbance during the
watch, as Joe did not dare to carry the joke any
farther; for, though the captain was very fond of
practical jokes, Joe well knew he did not like to
have them perpetrated at his own expense, especially as he had been deprived of his usual amount
of sleep during the gale.




ISAAC MAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF.  31
CHAPTER II.
ISAAC MAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF.
WHEN Captain Rhines and his wife went from
Uncle Isaac's, on the evening to which we have
referred in the previous chapter, he said to his
friend, -
" Tell your nephew to come over to our house in
the morning before he goes home."
Captain Rhines found he had an excellent knowledge of arithmetic, and was very quick in figures,
having always been at school winters. Indeed, he
had spent several winters at his uncle's, taking
care of his cattle, and cutting the wood, for his
board, while his uncle was logging or doing some
joiner or mill work. The captain then gave him
the necessary books, and, after showing him how to
commence, said, -
" Isaac, it may be some time before the Ark goes,
as I shall not weigh anchor without it looks like a
first-rate chance to run us clear from the coast.
Take these books home, and go to world. Every




32        TIHE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Saturday come over here, and I'll look over your
week's work, correct it, and give you further instruction; thus you will get a good start before
we go to sea. There the time will be broken, and
there will be other things I shall want you to
learn."
Thus the boy had about four weeks uninterrupted study before the vessel sailed.
On board of sea-going vessels there is always
work enough - splicing ropes that part, blackleading blocks, preventing chafes, painting, tarring
down rigging, mending sails, setting up rigging,
making and taking in sail, to keep the men busy
during their watch on deck in good weather; but
in the Ark there was little or nothing of this kind
to do.
It was Isaac's duty, as boy, to feed and water
the fowl and cattle, give the hens gravel, make the
beds in the cabin, and keep it clean, take his trick
at the wheel in good weather. This took up but a
small portion of his time; and, when his work was
done, he studied in the daytime during his watch
below. -He also contrived to get the greater portion of the time to himself.
It was the custom in those days on board all
vessels to give the men grog at dinner, and, when




ISAAC MAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF.  33
they reefed sails in bad weather, an extra allowance. Isaac gave his to the cook, who, in return,
did all his work in the cabin, permitting him to
study.
Joe Griffin, also, who always liked to be about
cattle, would often take care of the stock for him;
besides, Captain Rhines would often send him below to study, when there was nothing to do, even
in his watch on deck.
He also kept the vessel's way; and every day,
when it was clear weather, and Captain Rhines
took the sun, Isaac stood by him, and at length
was allowed to take an observation himself. Thus
he learned navigation thoroughly and practically.
But Isaac had another instructor in the person of
Flour, the cook.
He was a most accomplished seaman in all the
minutiae of sailor craft. The reason he went cook
was, he got more wages, and stood no watch, being called only in bad weather, and not even then
on board the Ark, except in an extreme case to
steer.
Isaac had now mastered navigation so thoroughly that he began to attend to other matters connected with his profession. The progress of invention has wrought a vast change in the fitting and
3




34        THE ARK OF ELMI ISLAND.
navigating of ships. There is not more difference
between the plough of olden time and one of
Ames's patents, than between the vessels with
which our fathers ploughed the ocean, and a firstclass ship of the present day. Iron has, to a vast
extent, superseded rope in the fitting out of vessels. This has largely done away with that vast
number of knots of curious, intricate structure,
mats, sennit, coach whip, grafting, hitching, and
the like, upon which seamen of the olden time
prided themselves, but, at the period of which we
speak, these matters were all considered essential,
and, indeed, were so.
Every afternoon, as soon as the cook had washed
his dinner dishes, you would see Isaac, sitting by
the galley, with a piece of nine thread, ratline, or
some larger rope, learning to make single and
double walls, Matthew Walker's diamond knot,
Turks' heads, and all the hitches in common use.
At another time, he would be at work with rope
yarns making nettles for grafting, round sennit,
and plaiting gasket, going to Flour for instruction
whenever he was puzzled, or passing his work to
him for inspection and approval. When Flour was
busy he went to Captain Rhines or the mate. He
also learned to sew with a sailor's thimble, which




ISAAC MAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF.  35
is called a palm, because it is put in the palm of the
hand.
There was considerable old junk -some pieces
of rope, foot-ropes, and Flemish horses — which
came from the yards of the ship whose mast came
ashore at Elm Island; also many blocks that were
not used in the rigging of the Ark. These things
were all on board, and afforded plenty of material
for Isaac to work upon.
Thus he learned how to strap blocks and pass
seizings with an old piece of shroud that was on
board, with which the captain taught him to turn
in a dead eye; in short, he learned all that could
be learned without square sails and yards to work
upon.
The cook was mightily pleased with his pupil's
proficiency, and expressed his approbation in very
enthusiastic terms. One day he said to him,"What for you no get Joe Griffin to make you
needle-case to keep your sail needles in? not keep'ein stuck in a rag; that's no ship-shape; no sailor
man do dat; den I show you how to hitch it."
"Well, I will," replied Isaac, and ran away to
ask Joe.
Joe, taking a piece of soft pine, bored a hole
in it three fourths of an inch in diameter, and four




36        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
in depth; in another piece, he made a hole an
inch in diameter, and the same in depth; then
made them both round, whittled them down to
the same size, and rounded the ends, cutting a
shoulder on the largest piece, in which the small
hole was bored, so that the other one would shut
over it like the cover of a box.
Isaac now took the longest part, and put two
turns of twine around the end at the edge of the
shoulder, drew it tight, and fastened it; then running his needle between this band and the wood,
he passed the twine through its own bite, making
thus a half hitch (as sailors call it), or loop; this
he repeated till he went round the case, placing his
hitches as nearly as possible at equal distances from
each other. When he had completed the circle, he
went round again, putting his needle through the
loops he had made before, and bringing one hitch
over the other: this covered the wood, and ribbed
the work, where the knots came, in spiral lines,
which prevented the case from splitting, and looked
very neat.
Flour now set him to making a pair of beckets,
or rope handles, for his chest, which was a good
deal of work, and. very neat work, too, as they were
to be laid up from a single strand of rope, and




ISAAC MIAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF.  37
grafted. This consists in taking many pieces of
small line, placing them  on the rope side by side,
and close together, till they cover it, when they
are fastened; half of them are now laid back, and
a piece of strong twine passed around over the
pieces of line that are left; this is the warp; then
the upper pieces are brought down over the twine,
and the others carried back, and the twine put over
again. It is simply weaving by hand, and looks
very neat when well done, as the warp is so small
it don't show. Sailors call these pieces of small
line, nettles, and twist them from rope yarn; but
Joe gave Isaac some small fishing line, which looked
much neater.
The next thing he made was a clothes-bag, which
had a great deal of fancy work about the mouth
of it; he also learned to make splices, and even a
a thrum mat. When Isaac had completed the
needle-case, beckets, and clothes-bag, to Flour's
satisfaction (for he had to undo his work many
times to satisfy the black's critical eye), his instructor was in high glee, and expressed himself in no
measured terms.
"Who eber seed a green hand afore with needlecase, fancy clothes-bag, grafted beckets, all made
by hisself? When you go in big ship, what ole




38        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
sailors tink see boy make dimon' knot, thrum mat,
pint rope, take de work right out dar hands? 0,
was we only in square-rigged vessel, me show you
ebery ting; den you jes like one monkey furl royal,
reeve studdin'-sail gear, learn pass earing! When
you go board big ship, mate open his eyes; he no
set dat boy sweeping decks and slushing topmasts,
- t'udder boy be slushing topmasts,- tarring down
riggin', tarrin' parcellin', passin' ball for ole sailor,
pickin' oakum, scrapin'; my gintlemun, he set on
de fore-hatch makin' bunt-gasket. Kye, massa,
kye!"  In the exuberance of his feelings he began
to sing,"'Born in de frying-pan,
Raised on de shobel.
Tiddy-iddy, ah, tiddy-iddy.'
"Now, boy, go right'long dis minute, show'em
all to Massa Rhines; he judge of work; he know
what nice job is. Cause why, he sailor man from
de crown of his head to de sole of his foot.
"Den you get some salt out of de beef barrel,
and wash him for me. I want to dry him, and
pound for relish de chicken. Den you go study
you book."
Isaac took the salt, and, drawing a bucket of salt
water, put in the salt, stirring it round with his




ISAAC MAKING THE MOST OF HIMSELF.  39
hand; he let it stand a few moments; but when he
drained the water off, there were not two spoonfuls of salt, only some pieces of meat and bits of
bone.
In amazement he took the bucket to the cook.
" Look here, Flour; what has become of the salt?
I put three quarts into this bucket, and washed it;
now there isn't two spoonfuls."
"' What water you wash him in, - salt or fresh,
- hey? "
" Salt."
"Ho, ho! bee, hee!" shouted Flour, with that
peculiar noise, —a combination of laugh, yell, and
sneeze, which no beings except a full-blooded negro can utter, -and in respect to which Joe Griffin (who could imitate any other sound, human or
animal) said, -
"You might as well try to put the fuzz on a
carrot seed as to mimic it."
"Now, dis nigger show de white boy someting.
You read, you write, you take de sun, so grand
you big scholar, dunno put salt in salt water, he
run'd way. You call de watch; he no answer; ay,
ay, sir; he no dar. Go'long, you white boy; you
no know much; go study book."




40        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Isaac did not know that there was a chemical
affinity between the salt and substances held in
solution in the sea water; but the black had
Jearned it by practice, and was in no small degree elated by reason of his superior knowledge.




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.           41
CHAPTER III.
ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.
BoYs must have some amusement; and, in any
vessel, they will be sky-larking, and extract pleasure from something, even when they are harshly
treated by officers, and kicked and cuffed by old
sailors, as they often are. But in the Ark Isaac
was not only happy from being kindly treated, and
from the consciousness that he was every day fitting himself for usefuluess and promotion, but he
had plenty of downright fun.
In the dog-watch he was sky-larking with Joe,
who was his instructor in wrestling, as Flour in seamanship, and the captain in navigation.
"Isaac," said the captain, " if I were you I would
not hang round Joe quite so much."
"Why not?" inquired the boy, surprised.
"Because he will play you some trick or other
one of these days. I don't see how he has kept
quiet so long."
"0, sir, he likes me. Besides, I don't believe he
could play a trick on me very easily."




42         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"He never loved anybody yet too well, to play a
trick on them, and if you get to the windward of
Joe Griffin you'll have to get up very early in the
morning."
As though to verify the captain's words, while
he was talking with Isaac on deck, Joe was cutting
a hole with his jack-knife in the bottom boards
of Seth Warren's berth, that was directly over his
own.
Admiral Cologne, though one of the bravest men
in the world, was so much afraid of a mouse, that
he would not sit in a room with one without a
drawn sword in his hand. Peter the Great was
afraid of a beetle, and the Marquis De La Roche
Jacquiline could not look a squirrel in the face
without trembling, though renowned for courage.
Seth Warren, a strong man, and fearless in all
other respects, had a mortal dread of a rat; he
would as soon have been shut up in a room with
a lion as a rat. This Joe well knew, and took his
measures accordingly.
That night the starboard watch had the middle
watch from twelve to four. When all the rest were
sound asleep, about two o'clock, Joe ran a little
sharp-pointed stick up through the hole he had
made in the tick of Seth's bed, into the straw, and




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.            43
began to stir him up. As soon as he perceived by
Seth's uneasy movements that he was half awake,
he put his mouth to the hole, and began to squeal
like rats, with variations.
You would have thought a dozen rats were fighting in the straw bed right under Seth's back. With
a wild yell of anguish, in the utmost horror, he
sprang fiom his berth into the cabin floor. Roused
fiom a sound slumber by the cry, the others followed suit, and the watch on deck came running
below.
There was Seth, crouching on the floor, his eyes
starting from their sockets, and bathed in perspiration.
" What is the matter, Seth?" asked the captain.
"What ails you?"
"There's rats in my berth! "
"Rats!  There's not a rat nearer to you than
Cuba. I reckon that's the nearest land to us now,
except the Bahamas."
" There is, sir; I know there is; I'm jest as sure
of it as I am I'm alive."
"Did you see'em?"
"No, sir, but I felt them running about in the
straw right under me, and I heard them squealing;
you might have heard them all over the vessel."




44         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"He was dreaming, sir," said Joe; " he's so
scared of rats he dreams about'em."
"He didn't dream the squealing," said the mate,
"for I heard it myself on deck."
"I won't get into that berth again," said Seth.
"I'll lash myself to the masthead, and sleep there
first."
"You might as well try to make me believe the
moon is made of green cheese, as that there a.re
rats in this vessel," said the captain. "You had
the nightmare, and dreamt it."
c" No, I didn't dream it; it's not in the power of
man to make me believe that; the mate says he
heard it on deck."
"Let's have a look," said the captain; and, taking down the lamp, he gave it to Isaac to hold, while
he removed the blankets. At length he took out
the bed, and espied the hole and stick.
"You was right, Seth; there was a rat; I've
found the hole, but he gnawed up from Joe's berth.
Ah, Joe! I'll give you lumber enough to drag in
Havana to take some of the mischief out of you.
I'll have you out before day towing rafts of
lumber."
"I'm  real sorry, Seth," said Joe; "but it came
into my head, and I couldn't help it. If you'll




ISAAC S AMUSEMENTS.           45
think no more about it, I'll give you that handsome
powder-horn of mine; it's so clear you can see the
powder right through it."
Isaac now perceived the object of the captain's
caution in respect to Joe, and, fearing his own turn
might come at any time, was ever on the watch.
WVe have in previous volumes alluded to the captain's extravagant fondness for shooting, and, indeed, sporting of all kinds. That he might be in
readiness for whatever should turn up, he had
brought with him two guns, two harpoons, a pair
of grains (a harpoon with five barbed points, made
for striking smaller-sized fish). He put up some
wooden crotches in the galley, on which he hung
the guns and powder-horns, as being the dryest
place in the ship.
Isaac was allowed to use the lines and the guns
whenever he pleased, which, you may be assured,
was quite often.
He caught rudder fish over the stern. These are
small fish that keep on top of the water, close
to the rudder, and, though not more than three
inches in length, no matter how fast the ship goes,
they will keep along with her. They are probably
attracted by the slime that collects on the rudder,
and perhaps by small shells or insects not visible to




46        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
the naked eye. They are brown on the back, with
spots of dusky yellow; the belly a yellowish white,
with red at the extremity of the tail.
It was a pleasant forenoon, the wind quartering.
Coming on deck at twelve o'clock, the captain
said, --
" Ike, go up on the fore-crosstrees and see if you
can smell any oranges." By his reckoning he was
well up with Abaco, and desirous to make it. Isaac
did as he was ordered, looking and smelling with
all his might, but in vain, till he was called down.
In a short time he was sent up again; soon the
cry was heard,"Land, ho!"
" Where away?"'" Right ahead, sir."
"What does it look like?"
"Hills, sir."
"XWhen you see it plain, sing out."
By and by the boy said, -
"I see a long, high point, and there's a hole in
it. I can look right through it."
"That will do; come down."
This was the land Captain Rhines desired to
make. It was the south-east point of Abaco, one
of the Bahamas. Through this point is a hole




ISAAC S AMUSEMENTS.           47
from water to water, through which the sea breaks,
called the Hole in the Wall, and a noted landmark
for all vessels bound into any of the Gulf ports.
It was customary, in those days, when there
were no lights on any of these islands, after making the Hole in the Wall, to run during the day, and
lie by nights; but, as the wind was fair, and the
night clear, Captain Rhines, who knew the road,
took his departure at sunset, and shaped his course
for the Berry Islands.  The next morning, the
captain, after looking over Isaac's reckoning, began
to point out to him on the chart the course over
the Banks.
The chart was not much like those of the present day,-mathematically accurate as to soundings,
distances, and rocks,- for it was made long before
the Revolution, and by no means accurate in itself considered; but Captain Rhines, and those
fiom whom he had received it, had made it so; for
it had passed through many hands. It was written
all over with corrections, both of soundings and
courses, and on the back of it was one he had made
himself.
While they were thus engaged, the mate, coming to the gangway, called out, -
"Land to leeward, sir! "




48         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
This proved to be Stirrup Key, one of the Berry
Islands. The water now changed from the deep
blue of the ocean to a milky white. They were on
the edge of the Great Bahama Bank, and, heaving
the lead, found seventeen fathoms. The Great
Bahama is a most singular spot, being a vast sand
bank more than three hundred miles in length, and
eighty in breadth, rising up almost perpendicularly
fiom the deep water of the ocean, and directly in
the track of vessels bound from the United States
to Cuba.
This great marine plain is diversified with islands
(keys, as they are called when small) of all shapes
and sizes, abounding in turtle and fish, most of
them affording wood and water. The edges, and
many other parts, are full of dangerous reefs; the
bottom is sand and minute shells, and in some
parts are sponges and fan coral, with larger and
beautiful shells. The depth of water over a great
portion of it is only from two to four fathoms, and
vessels drawing more than thirteen feet of water
cannot cross the Bank, but must go around to the
westward of it. There are not many fish on the
Bank, as there seems to be nothing for them to
feed on, and, probably, too great exposure to the
sun and light; but around the keys, and on the
edge, in the deep water, they are plenty.




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.            49
Across this Bank is a regular and well understood course, with barely water enough for vessels
of moderate draft, and with dangerous shoals and
rocks on each side, by which hundreds and thousands of vessels find their way to Cuba and the
Gulf ports.
A great proportion of the forests of New England, in the shape of spars, boxes, shingles, and
staves, have been carried by this road to Cuba,
and from thence to all parts of the world. The
object in crossing this Bank is to avoid the current of the Gulf Stream, which runs between it
and Cuba at the rate of four or five miles an hour,
and also to make a more direct course. Thousands
of red-cheeked New England boys, in the flush of
youth and health, with the most sanguine expectations of the future, have threaded these keys, and
escaped. their meshes, only to lay their bones in
Havana —-whole crews at some seasons dying like
sheep in the pestilential climate. They were now
on the edge of the Bank, shaping their course for
Orange Keys, on its western side.
" Isaac," said Captain Rhines, "it's time now that
we were among the fish. After you finish your lesson, fling a line over; perhaps you'll catch a bonita,
a'baracooter,' or a dolphin. I must finish some
writing."         4




50         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Isaac tended the line for a while very carefully,
making the end fast, and leaving a good bit of spare
line to play the fish with, if it should chance to be
a large one.
But the sun was hot; the boy felt listless with
the change of climate, and, occupied in watching
the bonitas chasing flying-fish, permitted the line
gradually to slip through his hands till there was
not much slack left.  In an instant, snap went
the line, whizzing through his hands, and well nigh
pulling him overboard. At the same time a great
fish leaped ten feet in the air, and fell on the water
with a splash, stirring it to a foam with his tail.
Isaac was no novice in fishing, and knew very
well, if the slack ran through his hands till the
line brought up at last with a jerk, it would part
in a moment. He locked both legs-around the
mainsheet, held on with all his might (while the
struggles of the fish were gradually drawing the
lines through his hands), and screamed, —
"Captain Rhines, come quick! I've got a shark!
He'll part the line! I can't hold him!"
The captain ran on deck, and, casting off the
end of the line, bent a piece of small rope to it,
letting the fish run till he became quiet, when he
began to haul in. By and by the fish renewed




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.          51
his struggles, leaping out of the water, and then
plunging down into the depths below. At these
periods the captain, who, by hauling in when the
fish was tired and quiet, had abundance of slack
line, let him run. He now relinquished the line to
Isaac, who, by keeping the fish's mouth open, finally
drowned him, and hauled him alongside, belly up
and dead.
" It's a baracoota " (baracuda), said the captain,
"' and a whopper he is, too."
The baracuda was ten feet long, brown on the
back, with a white belly; the mouth was very
large, the eyes prominent, and the under jaw
longer than the upper one. In the mouth were
large, tearing teeth, like those of a dog, and a
single large one in the forward part of the under
jaw. The captain told Isaac that they would when
hungry attack a man, and often bit the coral divers
and people who were at work in the water getting
sponge.
Slipping a running bowline over him, they hauled
him on board. They are very good eating, and
Flour lost no time in cutting slices to fry for dinner. In the course of the afternoon, Isaac shot a
frigate bird and two gulls; and, baiting a hook
with one of the flying-fish the captain had in pic



52        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
kle, caught a bonita. This was a beautiful fish,
about two and a half feet long, resembling a mackerel; the back and sides were a bright blue, with
shades of green and pink; the belly a silver white;
four brown stripes on each side extended from the
head to the tail. The captain kept his harpoons
and grains rigged and in constant readiness, and
gave Isaac orders to call him, whether he was
awake or asleep, if a porpoise came alongside.
The captain dearly loved to strike a porpoise —
indeed, it is very exciting sport; they are very
strong, and will sometimes bend a harpoon double,
or tear it out of their flesh; besides, they show
themselves but a moment above water, and it requires no little skill to hit them.
Isaac longed to strike a porpoise, but the captain
liked the sport too well. himself to afford him an
opportunity, and also feared he might fall overboard.
As boys are sure to be the most eager to do that
which they are forbidden, his desire was set on
edge by the prohibition. To get rid of his importunities, and by way of compromise, the captain
permitted him to use the grains, which are lighter
than a harpoon, and used for striking smaller fish.
Isaac had heard a great deal said about the dol



ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.          53
phin, and was very anxious to catch one, that he
might witness the change of hues he had so frequently heard spoken of when they were dying.
Both the captain and himself had tried to catch
one by baiting with flying-fish; but they used all
their bait, and caught only bonitas.
Meanwhile he practised with the grains by flinging a log of wood into the water, and striking it;
he also practised with the harpoon in the same
way, till he was fully persuaded in his own mind
that he could kill a porpoise if the captain would
only let him try.
One pleasant morning, when Captain Rhines was
asleep below, and Seth Warren had charge, they
came across a very large cedar, that had been torn
from the bank either by the winds or waves, but
probably undermined by the latter, as the whole
mass of roots and the limbs were attached to it,
and spread out upon the surface of the water. It
was completely incrusted with limpets, barnacles,
sea-slugs, snails, star-fish, and a shell-fish resembling a clam, but much smaller, that attaches itself
to floating bodies. It has a very white, thin shell,
that is easily bitten through by a fish, while they
are not too large to admit of being swallowed
entire.




54        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
The old tree presented a most singular spectacle.
Its freight of animal life attracted myriads of rudder and flying-fish, while they, in their turn, attracted the larger fish that feed on them. In the
twisted meshes of its roots were groups of these
fish huddled together, and playing hide and seek
with the dolphins, who were swimming around
outside, endeavoring to thrust their noses between
the network of roots, and beneath the long fringes
6f seaweed that, attached to the roots, and falling
down in heavy masses over their recesses, still more
completely sheltered their victims.
Had they been porpoises, Isaac would have
gone to the gangway and  shouted, Porpoise,
porpoise! but as the captain had never said anything in respect to other fish, he determined to have
all the fun to himself: Catching up the grains, he
flung them at a dolphin, who, with nose stuck in
between the roots of the tree, and his body half
out of water, was trying to get hold of a rudderfish, and had him on board in a moment. But
they were gradually passing the tree, and the idea
of losing such sport the moment it began, made
the boy perfectly wild.
" O, Mr. Warren! " he cried, " stop her! do stop
her!"




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.            55
"Who ever heard of a vessel with a fair wind
heaving to, to catch dolphins?" he replied.
"But I'll stop the tree," said Joe, who was no
less interested than Isaac, for he was a born hunter,
and as keenly alive to any kind of sport, by land
or water, as an Indian.  As he spoke he drove the
harpoon into the body of the tree, and brought it
alongside. He then made a rope fast to one of the
roots, and, taking a small spar, ran it over the bow,
lashing it to the rail and windlass bits; to the end
of this he made fast the tow-line, which drew the
old tree along with its living fieight, a little aft of
the fore-chains, and at a distance of ten feet from
the vessel.
While he was making the rope fast, the large
fish struck off; but they soon returned, when the
arrangements were completed, and all was quiet
again.
The Ark, being open except at the bow and stern,
full of crevices between the edges of the boards,
which afforded a lodgment fbr marine animals and
vegetation, furnished food for fish; and thus the
water between the Ark and the tree was filled and
plashing with dolphin, some nosing around the
roots and limbs of the cedar, others rubbing alongside of the vessel, and eating the marine substances
there.




56        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
The temptation was so great that the dolphin
(who are generally shy, and disappear the moment
one of their number is struck or caught) only retreated to the other side of the cedar at every
throw of the grains, returning as soon as the stain
of blood on the water had disappeared in the vessel's wake.
Isaac had already secured three dolphins, when,
just as they were lifting the fourth from the
water, a baracuda bit it in halves, leaving the head
and shoulders hanging to the iron. In an instant,
the harpoon, flung by the strong arm of Joe, went
crashing through him; and, with his prey in his
mouth, he also was added to the roll of captives.
Not a dolphin was to be seen after the baracuda
appeared; fleeing from their dreaded foe, they vanished in a moment.
Isaac, dropping the grains, seized the harpoon,
rejoicing in the opportunity to use it.
The baracudas, meeting with so warm a reception, and missing their prey, now began in their
turn to depart.
At length Captain Rhines was roused by the
flapping of the fish, and the shouts of Isaac, who
cried out, —
"0, Joe! O, Mr. Warren! I've sent the iron




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.           57
clear through this fellow! Ain't he a bouncer?
How much do you suppose he weighs? See him
bleed! O, Flour! do come here just one minute I "
"I can't, boy; I must see to Massa Cap'n's dinner. You boy nuffin do but skylark. I got someting else to do."
" O, do come just one minute! You see that big
fellow with his fill out. Well, just see how I'll pin
him."
Captain Rhines came on deck just in time to
catch up the grains and strike a fish, that, loath to
leave the prey, lingered behind his fellows.
Some days before these events Isaac had made a
large coop, put in some hay for nests, and transferred some of the hens from the other coops,
where they were crowded, to this. He now fed
them on fish in addition to their grain, and once in
a while obtained an egg.
Captain Rhines now ordered the lead to be
thrown, and put Isaac in the channels with Sam
Edwards, in order that Sam might teach him to
throw it, and give off the marks properly. The
channels are pieces of plank bolted to the outside
of the vessel edgewise, which make a convenient
place to stand while heaving the lead. Captain
Rhines, according to the custom of that day, had




58         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
the lead thrown nearly all the way across the
Banks, the watch taking turns; thus Isaac had
plenty of practice. The rest of the crew had
crossed the Banks many times, and, with them, it
had ceased to be a novelty; but to Isaac it was a
new world, - a strange scene, indeed, - no land in
sight; all broad ocean; and yet all around he could
look down and see the white bottom glaring in the
sun, till the eye was dazzled. The water, when
calm, was so clear that you could see the least
thing on the bottom, which appeared almost to touch
the keel. Indeed, vessels that are a little too deep
laden do often scrub along the bottom, sometimes
sticking fast, and are compelled to lie till the tide
makes, or a strong breeze comes, to force them over
the shoal.
All hands went in swimming except Isaac, who
had never learned how.  There are not many
sharks in the middle of the Bank, although abundant at the edges; besides, the water is so clear that
you can see them; and they had two to keep watch
for John Shark while the rest bathed. The boy
was not long in finding out that on the bottom were
clumps of fan coral and sponges. He instantly resorted to all manner of expedients to obtain them,
- made nooses, sunk bights of rope on the bottom,




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.           59
and dragged them along, fastened hooks to ropes
and poles, but without obtaining any. He might,
perhaps, have succeeded, but a breeze springing
up caused the vessel to go too fast, and disturbed
the water, that he could not see them.
Captain Rhines had constructed what he called
his pump well. This was a box, only about two
inches square, made by nailing three strips of board
on to the mainmast, and running to the keel, the
mast forming one side of the box. A spruce pole,
shaved smooth and white, ran down in this box to the
keel; it was divided into feet, and marked, by pulling up the pole and noticing what portion of it was
wet. He could tell how deep the Ark was in the
water, and how much she settled, by the soaking
of the lumber, as he had marked her draught when
she was first loaded.
" Look here, MIr. Strout," said he, holding the rod,
which he had pulled up in his hand; " there's what
she drew when we finished loading at Elm Island.
There's what she settled up to the time we took
that gale in the Gulf, which is only a few inches; and
since that she has gone down nearly two feet. There
never could be all that difference in so short a time
by soaking. Either the air chest on the keelson, or
some of the hogsheads, must have sprung a leak;




60        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
but we can't help ourselves, and must make the
best of it."
This was quite a serious matter, as it exposed the
Ark to being boarded by the sea in the event of a
gale, diminished her buoyancy, made her like a raft
on the water, and hindered her sailing.
"This was done," he continued, "by knocking
about in that gale; the working of the lumber has
taken the hoops off some of these casks, and let
the water into them."
He was evidently somewhat troubled by the discovery, and, after pacing the deck a while, and
chewing a great deal of tobacco, took a marlinespike, and, going below into the forward part of the
cabin, where the spare rigging was stowed, spent the
greater part of the day there busily at work upon
something. He also ordered a spare spar, that he
had taken on board at Elm Island, and that was
under the cattle stalls, to be got out. He told Joe
to flatten one side of it with his broadaxe, and
treenail a wide plank by one edge to the flat side.
He then had it lashed forward of the foremast,
where it could be readily got at.
"What do you suppose the old man is going to
do with that, Seth?" asked Joe.
"I'm  sure I don't know. I suppose he does;




ISAAC'S AMUSEMENTS.          61
perhaps it's something he wants to make use of in
Havana."
The wind, which had up to this time been fair,
and for the most part sufficient, now died away,
as the day broke, to a flat calm, when they found
themselves within a mile and a half of Orange
Keys, and came to an anchor.




62        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
CHAPTER IV.
ORANGE KEYS.
THE Orange Keys are a collection of barren rocks
and sand shoals on the western edge of the Great
Bahama Bank, which, at a little distance from
them, drops off into a fathomless channel. The
proximity to deep water causes it to abound in
fish of many kinds; and, like all these islands, it is,
in the spring and summer months, the resort of
turtles, which, at that period of the year, approach
the shores to deposit their eggs; while they live in
deep water through the other parts of the year.
The main rock is three fourths of a mile in
length, and more than three hundred feet in
breadth, surrounded by other rocks, which rise
perpendicularly from the water, and are connected
with it by reefs running beneath the surface.
No sooner was the anchor down than Flour said
to Isaac,"Now, boy, if you want coral, ask Massa Cap'n
to let-you take the boat, and go to dat key."




ORANGE KEYS.              63
He lost no time in acting upon the suggestion,
when Captain Rhines said he would go himself,
and any of the crew might go who liked.
The nmate and Yelf were all who cared enough
about it to pull a mile and a half; but Joe, to please
Isaac, made something to fish up the coral with.
Having provided themselves with fishing-lines,
ropes, and other materials, which were necessary,
they set out.
They landed Captain Rhines on the large rock,
from which he designed to fish, while the others
went on to the reefs near by to search for coral and
sponge. These rocks, being much of the nature
of limestone, and soft, are so abraded by the action
of the waves as to be worn away underneath, leaving their upper portions jutting over, which renders them convenient to fish from.
They brought with them a boat's anchor, from
which the stock had been removed, and the machine made by Joe. This consisted in fastening
six tough pieces of white oak, eighteen inches long,
two inches wide, and an inch thick, to a long pole.
The lower ends were made sharp, and a barbed
shoulder cut on the inside of each one. As they
were nearly four inches wide across the shoulder,
they spread out at that end like a fan.




64        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
They dragged the anchor along the bottom, and
with it tore the coral from the rocks; and then,
pushing down the wooden fingers, sprung them
over it, when it was held by the spring of the
tough wood and the shoulder, just as the prongs
of an eel-spear hold an eel.
Isaac was very much surprised when the first
piece of coral came up, it being covered with yellow slime, smelt most disagreeably, and was, in
some degree, soft and flexible. The mate told
him not to handle it more than was needful, as the
slime would make his hands sore; that, after being
washed and bleached in the sun, it would harden
and lose its offensive smell. Coral is the work of
a small zoophyte, which perishes as its work goes
on; and, being succeeded by others, it is, therefore, composed to a greater or less extent, when
first obtained, of living animal matter. As the
anchor was a rough instrument, and broke the
coral more or less, when they found a very beautiful piece, and wished to obtain it entire, they put
the bight of a rope around it, with the pole close
to the bottom, then put in a stick and twisted it
together, thus pulling it up.
The sponge they obtained by diving; and Yelf
brought up one that had attached itself to a conch.




ORANGE KEYS.               65
Some, of small size, were in such shoal water
that they could wade to them.
"I never should think this was sponge," said
Isaac, taking up a large one, and squeezing it,
while the jelly, with which all the cells in it were
filled, hung from his fingers. I shouldn't want my
mother to wash my face with this. How it
smells! "
" You'd better let it alone," said Yelf; "it'll make
your hands sore, and turn them as black as ink."
"But how can anybody ever get it fit to use,
like the sponge we buy?"
That slime will dry up after a while, and turn to
dust; then you can beat it out, and wash it, till it
becomes white and clean. The people on these
keys, that get their living by diving for coral,
conchs, sponges, and catching turtle, take it and
bury it up in the sand two days, then wash it and
pound it with a flat stick on a rock, and let it dry
in the sun, beating it at intervals, till it is fit to sell;
and then the merchants that buy it have some way
to whiten it.
While they were thus occupied, a stone struck
the water near the boat. Looking up, they perceived it had been thrown by the captain, who
was making signs for them to come to him. As
5




66        TIlE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
they approached the rock, he said, in a whisper, -
"There's a big turtle asleep over to the westward of this rock. Did any of you ever catch a
turtle in the water?"
"I have," said the mate.
"Then get into the canoe with me. If I only
had my little boy Ben here, he'd pick him up as
though he was a bull-frog."
When they were within a few yards of him, they
took in their oars, and the captain said, -
"Will you turn him, John, or shall I?"
"You are a stronger man than I am, captain.
I'll paddle the canoe, and get hold of the starboard
flapper the instant you turn him."
The mate paddled the canoe noiselessly across
the sleeping animal's stern, whose hind flappers
were spread out on the surface of the water, when
the captain, seizing one in each hand, whirled him
on his back; and the mate instantly seizing one of
them, they jerked him into the boat in a moment.
They were greeted with a round of cheers from the
party on the rock, who had been most interested
spectators of their movements.
" I think that turtle must be somewhat surprised," said the mate; "for I don't believe he
waked till he was in the boat."




ORANGE'KEYS.              67
"He's a green turtle, as I'm a sinner!" said the
captain, "and weighs six hundred, if he weighs a
pound. It is not often you see them round the
keys this time of year, but I suppose he came out
of the Gulf. Won't we have a good time eating
himn?" he continued, rubbing his hands with delight.
When they reached the rock, Isaac, who had
never seen a sea turtle, viewed him with great
curiosity. He sat on his back, and the turtle
crawled along as though he was a feather.
"Will he bite?" he inquired.
"Bite!" was the reply; "they will dent a piece
of iron."
While they sat resting and chatting on the rock,
Isaac plied the captain with questions in respect to
the nature and habits of turtles.
"What do they eat, sir?"
"The green ones eat a kind of grass that grows
on the bottom; the other kinds feed on fish and
shell fish, crabs, oysters, and conchs —they can
grind up anything with their strong jaws. The
loggerheads feed on any foul stuff, like a carrion
crow. I think they eat coral when it is young and
tender, for I've found pieces of it in them."
"Do they always sleep on the water? "




68        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Yes; they are very helpless creatures on the
land, and they know it, and are very timid about
coming to it, except when they are about to breed,
then they are bold enough. They spend the winter in the deep water, where it is warm; but in
April they begin to crawl out along the shores, to
search for a good place to lay their eggs."
" 0, my! do they lay eggs? What kind of looking things are they? "
"Did you ever find any snake's eggs under a
rock?"
" Yes, sir."
" They look like them, only more round; have a
tough skin instead of a shell, and are two or three
inches in diameter."
"Do tell me some more. Please tell me all about
them."
"Well, some calm moonlight night in May or
June, you sit down on the shores of these islands,
as I often have in Matanzas, and keep perfectly
still, and you'll see the turtles poking their heads
up out of the water as thick as frogs in a pond,
looking and listening. If they hear any noise,
down they go; but if all is still, they crawl up on
the beach, out of the tide's way, and dig a hole in
the sand with their hind flappers. You've no idea,




ORANGE KEYS.              69
how they'll make the sand fly. They'll dig a hole
two feet deep in ten minutes. After they have
made the hole, they begin to drop the eggs, putting them on top of the other as regular as you
could pack them with your fingers. Then, when
they have dropped a hundred or more, they cover
them up in the sand for the sun to hatch, and leave
them. In a month they dig another hole, and lay
as many more. Some kinds breed later than others, so that they are round the shores all summer;
either laying or getting ready to.
"When the young ones are about the size of a
dollar, they dig out, and crawl into the water."
"What will they do if you go to them when
they are laying?"
"Won't take the least notice of you, but keep
right on. They can't stop after they begin. I've
got on their backs, and sat there. It didn't make
any difference. You may hold your hat under
them, and they will lay in it. Why, if the fish
didn't eat them when they are small, and men when
they are large, and their eggs were not destroyed
by thousands by men and animals, they would soon
fill the ocean, they breed so fast."
"How do the folks that make a business of it
get them?"




70        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"They catch some asleep on the water, as we did
this one; some they harpoon when they come up to
breathe; but they get the most of them when they
come on shore to breed. Two men will go along
and turn over on their backs as many as they can
find, - sometimes a hundred in a night, - and, after they are turned over, they are helpless. Then
they pick them up, and put them in pens, where
the tide flows in, and keep them till they sell
them."
" But where does the turtle shell come from that
they make combs and snuff-boxes out of? This
don't look like it. What do they do to it to make
it look so handsome?"
"That comes from another kind of turtle, called'hawksbill,' because the bill is curved, like a
hawk's."
" I wish we could get one of them. If I could,
I'd get the shell, and have a comb made for mother
and our Kate, and a snuff-box for grandfather and
Uncle Isaac. But how do they get the shell off?"
"They kill them, and take the large, thick shell
off first; then they make a fire under it; and,
when it is warmed through, the outside, which is
what they want, becomes loose, and cleaves away.
The old classic account of the turtle is,'that he




OPANGE KEYS.               71
once wore his bones inside of his skin, like other
folks; but being invited, with all the other animals,
to Jupiter's wedding, he was so much attached to
his house as to be unwilling to leave it, being the
only animal that refused to go; upon which the
angry god said, if he was so fond of his house, he
should never leave it; and he has carried it on his
back ever since.' You must not forget, my boy,.
that Columbus threaded his way through these
shoals with no chart, or knowledge derived from
others; for he was the first who ever sailed these
seas; and one of these islands was the first portion
of the new world he discovered."
"0, Captain Rhines, how much you do know!"
"Indeed, Isaac," replied the captain, laughing,
"I am an ignorant man; never had any privileges
when I was young, as boys have nowadays. I
never was in a school-house in my life, except to a
meeting. We old sailors, who have been all our
lifetime knocking about the world, seeing and hearing what is going on in all parts of it, must be very
stupid not to pick up something; but I often feel
mortified, when in company with larned people,
because I can't tell what little I do know in a
proper manner. It's a great thing, Isaac, for a boy
that's growing up to have the privilege of going to




72        THE ARK OF ELMI ISLAND.
school that you have had, and your father shows
his wisdom in sparing you to go as much as he has.
But there's John Savage, my cousin; his father sent
him to school at Wiscasset, because our schools
wal't good enough; and this fall he's gone to Salem, and, though he speaks very properly, and uses
big words, and wears nice clothes, there's nothing
in the words, nor in him either. I've heard Uncle
Isaac say that the money spent on his schooling
was all thrown away; that he was not capable of
getting his living, and don't know enough to know
when his feet are cold. You see, Isaac, the best
workmen in this world couldn't make a handsome
piece of work out of the shell of this turtle, because the material ain't there; but give him the
raal article, and he'll do it. He'll polish it, and
bring out all the beautiful colors and nice shades
there are in it, and shape it into handsome forms;
but he only briags them out; it passes his power to
put them there. It's just that way with education;
the raal article must be there; the schoolmaster
only brings it out and polishes it up. It's a great
deal better to have sense without the polish, than
the polish without the sense; but it's better still to
have both. If a man has the capacity and resolution, he can do a great deal for himself. When a




ORANGE KEYS.               73
good, striving man, in a new country, can't get a
mechanic to make his plough, he cuts down a tree,
and makes it himself. Though rouglh, it answers
the purpose, turns the furrow, and enables him to
raise bread for his children. That's the way with
your Uncle Isaac and myself; we did the best we
could under the circumstances, and, perhaps, by so
doing, we may be the means of enabling those who
come after us to do better than we have.
"I have given Ben good larning, and he has
always made a good use of it; and I mean to do the
same by John. There's noble sprouts sometimes
come from an old, ugly stump - a great deal better
than the original tree."
"Will John go to sea?"
" Not if' I can help it; for it's a dog's life. Not
that I should prevent him, if his mind was bent
upon it, because that would be just the way to kill
his courage; but I hope he won't take that turn.
When he found you was going to start, did he say
anything about it?"
" No, sir."
"John's a good boy, and I've endeavored to do
all I could for him. I know that children ought to
love and honor their parents, because the'good
Book' says so, and it's right; but there is two sides




74        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
to it, as there is to most everything; and where
parents don't take any pains to give children larning (if they are able), give thenl a trade, larn
themn to work and get a living in the world, and
don't concern themselves any more about them
than these turtles do about their eggs, after they
cover them up in the sand, I can't help thinking
the children's debt is very small."
"Then I'm  sure I owe a heavy debt to my
parents, for they will pinch themselves to benefit
me; and I mean to do all I can to help them,
though I know I never can pay it."
"That's right, my boy; do you all you can for
your parents and yourself; pick up all you can
everywhere, and remember it; keep good company, and do all you can to keep yourself up;
don't let anybody go ahead of you, if you can
help it. Ask for information. No reasonable person will find fault with you for asking proper questions at proper times."
"I have been afraid sometimes that I should ask
you too many questions."
" Not a whit of' it. You can see yourself that I
didn't need you on board this craft any more than
a spare pump. There's nothing to do till we come
to discharge; but I knew you was a good, resolute




ORANGE KEYS.               75
boy, for I remember the scrape you had with the
skunk. I knew that you must be a boy of good
principles, because John liked you (for I know that
he can't like anybody that is not); I saw that you
was dutiful to your parents, and tried to make the
most of yourself, and I determined to help you."
" Indeed, Captain Rhines, I am  very much
obliged to you. I see already that I had much
better have come with you for nothing, than gone
anywhere else, and had high wages. I'm sure I
don't know how I can repay you for all your kindness, and the pains you have taken with me."
" I'll tell you, my boy. When I first shipped aboard
a square-rigged vessel, I was some older than you,
could neither read nor write, and made my mark
on the vessel's articles; but I did the best I could.
I did my duty.  The mate took notice of me,
larned me to read and write, and taught me navigation, just as I am teaching you. When I left
that vessel to become first officer of a ship, through
his recommendation, I said to him,'Mr. Brown, how
can I ever repay you for all you've done for me?'
HIe replied,'Ben, I'm paid twice over in seeing the
good progress you have made, and, if you still feel
under obligations, do by other young men you may
fall in with, and who are starting in the world, with




76        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
nobody to help them, as I have by you.' Thus,
you see, I'm only doing as I was done by; and
when you get up, as, no doubt, you will, you can
repay me by helping your neighbor. If there was
time I could tell you a great deal about coral that
I have seen in the Pacific and other places. It
grows much larger than this, into reefs that will
cut through the plank of a ship like a knife. It is
red, black, and gray, and grows into much handsomer shapes. But it is time we were on board;
the wind may spring up with the flood tide."
Just after two o'clock the wind came, but scant,
and the Ark, close-hauled, shaped her course for
Salt Key Bank.
"Boy," said Flour, " that sponge, he smell bad.
Put some water and ashes in de tub. Soak him,
and de coral, too."
Isaac did as the cook directed, and found that
the ley removed all the offensive smell.




AN EXCITING INCIDENT.         77
CHAPTER V.
AN EXCITING INCIDENT.
THEY now began to see many schools of porpoises; and the captain, who had become satiated
with striking them, told Isaac if he would be careful, and keep the end of the line filst, and be sure
not to get tangled in it, he might try them, and
need not call him.
Isaac practised night and day, getting Yelf to
call him when they came along in the night. The
porpoise leaves a luminous track in the water in
the night, which renders it easy to see them.
He made a tail-block fast to the anchor-stock,
and rove the warp through it, to haul the porpoise
in with. The harpoon was ground to a sharp edge,
and in constant readiness. He also made a sheath
to cover the point and prevent its being dulled;
but, notwithstanding these excellent and formidable preparations, and though he had darted the
harpoon some hundreds of times, no porpoise was
struck, except once in the while when the captain




78        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
or the mate (who was an old whaleman) took a
fancy to a porpoise-steak, and struck one.
The boy found that fastening to a porpoise was
quite another thing from striking a log of wood.
The porpoise is five feet or more in length, and exceeding active and strong. They lift the nose out
of the water, and breathe through an orifice in the
top of the head, then plunge under again. This
occupies so little time that one must be very quick
to strike them. They are very fond of running
directly across a vessel's bow, and, no matter how
fast she goes, they will pass and repass, without
ever permitting the vessel to strike them. A sea
porpoise weighs four or five hundred; and they are
strong enough to bend a harpoon double. They
suckle their young ones, producing two at a birth.
Their flesh resembles beef, and over it is about an
inch of blubber, which affords excellent oil. Their
jaws are long, with forty or more sharp, curved
teeth, which are sometimes used by sailors for
combs. The Indians shoot them from their canoes,
cut out the jaws, and hang them up in cool weather; and the oil, which drips from them then, will
not congeal, and is used to oil clocks and watches.
"I will tell you what you must do, Isaac," said
the captain; "you must'forelay' for them, and




AN EXCITING INCIDENT.           79
then you will hit them. When we want to shoot a
bird flying, we aim just before their bills. These
porpoises go almost as fast as a bird; aim a little
ahead of them."
The next day a school came along. Isaac, determined to be guided by the captain's advice, stationed himself at the lee. bow.  After several
abortive attempts, he at length struck one, and
shouted for help to haul him in; but the iron
pulling out of his flesh, he escaped, leaving a trail
of blood on the water, and pursued by the rest,
who, Joe said, would eat him. This partial success
excited him to redoubled efforts.  In about an
hour another school came along, frolicking in the
water, passing and repassing before the bows by
scores.
Whenever Isaac was attempting to strike a porpoise, some one generally kept watch over him, as
he was a universal pet, and they were apprehensive he might fall overboard. But at this time
every one seemed to have lost sight of him. It was
near noon, and Flour was busy getting dinner. He
was making a chicken stew and an apple pudding
(not a very common thing on shipboard); but, as
they all fared alike, each one contributed of his venture when they occasionally wanted an extra dinner,




80        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
some of apples, others chickens, onions, or butter;
and, as the captain had expressed a wish for some
soft bread, he was also baking biscuit in the Dutch
oven. Captain Rhines and the watch below were
asleep. Joe was busily at work stuffing some
oakum under a piece of canvas that he had nailed
upon the side of a stall for the benefit of a horse,
whose hip had been chafed by the pitching of the
vessel, while the sails and the cattle-pen completely concealed the boy from the man at the helm.
He singled out a very large porpoise, and flung the
harpoon with such good will, and the vessel giving
a lee lurch at the same moment, he went after it
head foremost into the sea.
Uttering a scream of agony, he instinctively
grasped the warp, and sunk beneath the surface.
When he came up, the warp was taut, by reason
of the vessel going in one direction, and the porpoise struggling to proceed in another. It was
quite rough, and, being dragged through and
against the sea, sometimes four or five feet under water, and then coming for an instant to the
surface, unable to swim, and ignorant of the
method of husbanding his resources in the water,
he almost instantly lost all consciousness, but,
with the instinct of a drowning man, still clung








I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_._._~ —__~~
1t.~-'~~I ~ 
i i ~   ~     -'
i_.~
~_ I-~( —-~ —I~~-.~p-r~~;~~-:=-'-~/~ ~~~~~~~~~ ---
AN ~ ~  ~ ~ ~          - EXCITIN  INIEN. ag 1




AN EXCITING INCIDENT.         81
to the rope. The black heard the cry, sang out,
"Hard down," and not dreaming of the boy's
catching hold of the warp, and drifting under the
counter, but expecting to see him somewhere to
windward, and abreast of the vessel, flung over a
board, and rushed to cut the lashings of the boat.
He was instantly joined by Joe and Seth, who had
put the helm in the lee becket, and brought the
vessel to; but some precious moments had been
lost, when Captain Rhines, who had come on deck
at the alarm, cried,"' Hold on! He's towing astern by the harpoon
warp! Haul in oni the line! "
They brought him alongside, while the captain
was shouting to ears that could not hear, encouraging him to hold on.
It was with difficulty they unclinched his fingers
from the rope.
"He's dead, poor boy!" said Joe, as they laid
him on deck. His face was deadly pale, the eyes
half closed, and his tongue protruded from his
mouth.
" No, he ain't dead," replied Captain Rhines.
"He ain't a going to die. He's too good to (lie.
Roll one of them empty casks along here."
They laid him across the cask, and rolled him
6




82        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
gently from side to side (it was the old way), in
order to get the water out of him. They then
stripped off the wet clothing, rubbed him dry, and
wrapped him in blankets. Captain Rhines set him
on deck, and, putting a board slanting behind,
leaned him back against it, and told them to slap
his hands and the bottoms of his feet.
" Why don't you lay him down?" said Joe.
"What makes your father, when he has the
asthma, sit up all night in a chair, instead of lying down in his bed?"
" He can breathe better."
"So can this boy, poor fellow! if he is not past
breathing."
They continued their efforts to restore consciousness, but there was no motion of the heart or pulse
perceptible, nor could it -be perceived that he
breathed.
" It is all my fault," said the captain; "nobody
to blame but myself. I ought not to have let him
meddle with the harpoon. How shall I ever face
his mother and Uncle Isaac? She trusted him to
me. She, and his father, and Uncle Isaac were all
down to our house the week before I came away,
and she seemed so pleased and happy to think he
was going with me! Forty years I've followed the




AN EXCITIN( INCIDENT'.         83
sea, and never lost a man overboard. Had scores
of our boys with me, and to think this should happen to him!"
He now, closing the boy's mouth and one nostril, blew into the other till the lungs were filled
with air; the mate, pressing upon the chest, expelled it again. This they repeated for some time.
At length there was a faint gurgling.
"Hark! what's that?" said Joe; "it sounds like
breathing. Hie's coming to."
" Give me a feather," said the captain. He held
it to Isaac's mouth. "Look, some of you; your
eyes are younger than mine. See if it moves."
"Yes; I believe it does," said Joe. "There, it
moved then - didn't it, John?"
" Yes, but it was your own breath that moved it."
" But it moves now," said Sam  Edwards.'There, look for yourselves. See how he draws
it into his mouth."
As he spoke, the boy drew a long breath, filling
the chest, and expelling the air, with a feeble
moan.
"Thank God for that! " said the captain, dropping upon his knees, while a murmured amen arose
fiom the rest.
"The clock ticks," he continued, placing his
hand on the region of the heart.




84        THE ARK O]F ELM ISLAND.
The fingers, which had retained their bent position, now relaxed; the lips quivered, and the blood
returned slowly to the cheeks. He was now put
into the cook's berth, as being near the fire, and
the most convenient place in which to make hot
applications. Breathing was now established; but
the pulse fluttered, the eyes were staring, the body
was cold, and there was no consciousness.
"Flour," said the captain, "have you got any
dry salt?"
"' Plenty, massa."
" Heat some hot in a kettle, and put it to his feet
and hands, and wring out a cloth in hot water, and
lay it on his stomach."
In a short time after these applications were
made, the tongue was drawn into the mouth, the
eyelids quivered, expression returned to the vacant features, and in a feeble voice he said, —
"Where am I?"
" You are in this world, and will see your mother again, dear boy," replied the captain, with tears
of joy streaming down his cheeks; and completely
mastered by the reaction of his feelings, he kissed
the boy again and again.
"What's the vessel about?" he asked, recalled
to a sense of his duties.




AN EXCITING INCIDENT.          85
"She's lying to," replied the mate, " with a fair
wind; for here's'Dead Man's Key' right ahead."
"That's a first-rate land fall. It's good luck all
round. Keep off south-west."
He now gave the boy somne brandy and water,
and told Flour to kill a chicken, and make him
some broth. He also told Isaac that he never
would be drowned now, but have a long life, and
die in his bed, for that people who came so near
being drowned always did.
"How pleasant the sun and everything looks! "
said he, stepping out from the galley. "It never
looked half so pleasant before. Somebody's praying for us, I know. I guess it's my wife."
"Flour," said the boy, greatly revived by the
stimulant and the broth, "can't I turn out?"
"Not yet, sonny; you's too weak."
"Flour, did the porpoise get away?"
" Forgot all about him. Me go see."
He found the porpoise still towing astern (but
dead), and hauled him in.




86        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
CHAPTER VI.
DEAD MAN'S KEY.
THE land tIey had just made - "Dead Man's
Key" — was on the north part of Salt Key Bank,
so named from an island upon it bearing that name,
where salt is made. It is much smaller than the
Great Bahama Bank, having a greater depth of
water, and is about thirty hours' sail from Havana.
Between the western edge of this Bank and the
Cuba shore, the Gulf Stream runs at the rate of four
or five knots an hour, setting to the north-east, and,
when the northerly gales blow against this current,
it makes a sea that is frightful. At the southeastern extremity there is but little current, and
vessels, in order to escape it, endeavor to leave the
Bank at that point. They passed the Bank safely
in the right direction, making Salt Key at daybreak, when the wind hauled to the south-west,
and, after forcing theim into the current, died away,
and they were becalmed.
The first thing Isaac did, after he had recovered




DEAD MAN'S KEY.              87
from the effects of the accident, was to skin the
blubber from the porpoise, and try it out. He also
saved the jaws as a trophy of his success, and a
memorial of his narrow escape from death.
"We are going to have a norther," said Captain
Rhines, "right in the worst place, too, and we all
under water; a nice sea it will kick up, blowing
against the current. I wish we had not left the
Bank. We could have laid to there in smoother
water, and anchored under the lee of the keys."
" Why not run back?" asked the mate.
"I won't do that when so near port, without it's
a matter of life and death. A norther is short and
sweet; don't last more than twelve hours, and
when it lets go, the wind this time of year generally comes round by the way of the north-east,
which is fair. The current against the norther
won't run four knots. We shall make three leeway; and, heading to the westward, we shall nearly hold our own. So that, if we can keep the sea
from sweeping our decks, and tearing her to pieces,
we shall be near our port of destination when the
gale breaks."
The mate shook his head. A thorough seaman,
and regardless of personal peril, he saw no way to
save the deck load of cattle and other things except




88         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
by running back to the Bank at the approach of
the gale, and taking shelter under the lee of the
keys.
"A weatherly vessel in good trim has all she
wants to do in a norther in this channel; and how
we are to lie to in this thing, down to her wales in
the water, without having our decks swept by every
sea, I must confess, I cannot see. I don't believe
all the oil in Nantucket would keep the sea out of
her."
"We shall see," replied the captain.
The gale came on about twelve o'clock at night;
and the Ark, under a balance-reefed mainsail, lay
very broad, and took a good deal of water over
all. The captain manifested not the least uneasiness, whatever he might have felt. But not so
with the mate; he evidently considered the whole
affair as most reckless management. Sam Edwards
and Yelf were thoroughly alarmed; but for the
rest, they reposed such sublime confidence in Captain Rhines that they were as unconcerned as possible.
"If one of these big seas comes aboard, Ike,"
said Yelf, "it will be all day with us. Ain't you
afriaid, Isaac? "
"Not I. I don't calculate to be frightened till




DEAD MAN S KEY.             89
Captain Rhines is. I don't suppose he wants to
founder any more than the rest of us."
" I don't expect he does; but I think there's such
a thing as being foolhardy. Most men grow timid
as they get in years, but he grows worse and
worse."
The cry was now raised, "Horse down!" and,
by the time he was got upon his legs, another was
down, and the wind increased. By and by a sea
came over that broke into the galley, set the sheep
afloat, and filled the cabin half full of water.
"Take in the mainsail, and try her under the
foresail!" was the order; but she lay worse still,
shipping another sea, that, breaking into the foresail, tore it from the bolt-ropes, and came near
taking the long-boat out of her chocks, and sweeping everything and everybody from the deck.
Borne along with the sea, the turtle, unnoticed in
the confusion and darkness, went over the quarter,
and, from the crest of a wave, regarding with
great complacency the peril of his captors, sought
his native keys.
She was now put under the mainsail again.
"I'll make you lay, you clumsy beast! See if I
don't!" said the captain.  "Rouse up that big
hawser from the cabin, and bear a hand about it! "




90        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
he said, in tones sterner than Isaac had ever heard
before.
Rushing below himself, he came up with a long
piece of large, heavy rigging, that had formed a
part of one of the ship's stays whose masts came
ashore at Elm Island, with an eye at each end.
"Be lively with that hawser, my lads; get the
end forward as fast as you can."
Taking Joe, Seth, and Flour with him, they put
the eyes in each end of the span, over the ends of
the spar, to which Joe had treenailed the plank,
drove them on, made fast a kedge anchor to the
spar, and bent the hawser to the bight of the span.
By the time it was completed, the mate, with the
others, had a range -of the hawser forward.
"Over with him! he's no friends! Come, Flour,
you think you can outlift me; here's a chance for
you;" and, watching the roll of the vessel, they
flung the spar from the bow. As the Ark rapidly
drifted away from it, the mate caught a turn with
the hawser over the windlass bitts.
"Handsomely, handsomely, Mr. Strout! If you
snub her, you'll part the hawser. That's a large
spar, and that plank edgeways takes a rank hold
of the water."
The Ark now began slowly and reluctantly to




DEAD MAN'S KEY.             91
come head to the wind and sea, while the strain on
the rope increased in proportion as scope' was
given. It was a new hawser of Russia hemp;
but the smoke rose from the windlass bitts, and
the tar oozed from the strands, as the mate gradually ceased to pay out.
"0, you hate to come - don't you?" said the
captain, drawing a long breath, and wiping the
perspiration from his brow; "but you've got to.
You've had your own way long enough."
The hawser was now made fast; and the Ark,
head to the sea, rose and dropped back from the
waves, as they came along, behaving admirably.
" She rides as easy as a duck in Elm Island Harbor," said the captain; but, in order to make all
sure, get that barrel of ile, and lash it on the cathead."
They found no water in the cabin. It had all
gone out of the scuppers in the cabin floor, and
run out at the bottom.
"It's first rate," said the captain, " to have a ship
without bulwarks or bottom. Everything runs
through or over. They are excellent to ship seas
in -as good as an old lady's colander."
They now put additional slings under the horses,
and stuffed the sides of the stalls with hay and




92         TIE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
oakum, to prevent bruising them. The gale was
now at its height; but the harder it blew, the sharper the Ark lay, although the strain on the hawser
was tremendous. The sea combed all around her,
and she stood at times almost on end; but away
to windward, as she fell back, streamed the thin
film of oil, smoothing the ragged tops of the
waves, and saying to the eager billows, -
"This is the Ark of Elm  Island; you can't
come in here."
Isaac, who was eager to gain all the information
in his power, was greatly interested in this simple experiment of the captain's, which had saved
the Ark from inevitable destruction, and enabled
her, though down to her wales in the water, to
ride safely, although the spray, borne by the
wind from  the crests of the waves, enveloped
her from stem to stern. He approached him, as he
sat on the windlass, with his hand on the hawser,
watching the behavior of the vessel, and said, —
" Please, sir, tell me what you call this operation,
and why it is that the hawser is so taut, and holds
the vessel up to the wind."
" The philosophy of it, my boy, is just this: The
vessel drifts faster than the spar does, because the
wind can't take hold of that, nor the waves either,




I)EAD MAN' S KEY.           93
as the anchor keeps it down; but the wind takes
hold of the vessel, and the sea breaks against her.
If she was held right square up to this sea by an
anchor on the bottom, it would snap the biggest
cable in the world, like a rotten rope-yarn, or ride
her under water, and tear her to pieces; but this
drag, as I call it, gives way, and lets her fall back
when the wave comes; so that it's a sort of scudding, only it's scudding stern foremost.
"It's no use trying to resist the sea. There's
nothing can resist that but the rocks, and they
don't always have the advantage; but you can
cheat it by giving way to it. Old John Green
rides his boat right in the surf by a spring pole
mooring, because, when the sea comes, the pole
gives way. She wouldn't ride there ten minutes
if she was anchored fast to the bottom. I like to
have you ask me the reason this drag works as it
does, my son," laying his hand upon the boy's
shoulder; "I may well call you my son, for you
would have been a dead Isaac if I had not persevered to bring you to life. Always try to look
into the raal groundwork of things, and try to
find out the reasons of them. There is a reason
for everything. Whatever you see, think about it,
and try to find out the reason of it. If you are




94       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND).
going to follow the sea, give your whole mind to
it; study the nature of a vessel, and how the wind
and sea operate on her, and everything connected
with your calling. If I go into a harbor once, I
can go again, because I go to work and sound it
out, and log it in my head. I might just as well be
spending my time so, when lying in port, as to be
idling ashore, or on board other vessels.  Then
if I am caught on that coast in bad weather, and
can't get a pilot, I'm not obliged to run to sea or
lose my ship."
The reader will bear in mind that in those days
there were no sailing directions, very few pilots or
lighthouses, and that the old navigators were
thrown almost entirely upon their own judgment, vigilance, and resources.
"If I had not been on board this vessel when
you fell overboard, you would now be sleeping on
the bottom of the sea. The others would fave
given you over for dead, and buried you in the
sea; and I should have done the same, had it not
been for taking notice, as I have been telling you
to do."
"0, how was that, Captain Rhines? Do tell me!"
"I knew a dead man brought to life in Liverpool."




DEAD MAN'S KEY.            95
"0, but he wasn't dead!"
"Yes, he was dead."
"What! stick, stock, stone dead?"
"Yes. He was a young man, only twenty-two
-a strapping, powerful fellow, and a clever one.
Everybody liked him: he was a blacksmith. One
day he was at work at the anvil, strapping a deadeye for my vessel. I was well acquainted with
him. He always did my work, and all the work
of Mr. Welch's ships, whom I sailed for. This day
an officer was after a friend of his to arrest him;
and, when he came to take him, Robert struck the
officer with the iron strap of the dead-eye, and he
fell dead in his tracks. He said he didn't mean to
kill him. There was no murder in his heart; only
meant to keep him off. But he was a strong man,
warm with his work, and struck harder than he
meant to."
"But they ought not to have hung him if he
didn't mean to."
"That's what people thought. I asked our minister about it. He said they hung him for what he
did, not for what he meant. He, indeed, said he
didn't mean to kill him, but that might be an afterthought to get clear; but God knew, and he might
get mercy of his Maker if he didn't get any of




96        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
his fellow-men. I have'thought a great deal about
that, how, while other folks look at what we do,
God looks at what we mean, sees what we do,
whether we are at home, or way out on the briny
ocean, and knows what we mean by it. I am not
a religious man, but my mother used to tell me
the same thing when I was a little boy. I tell the
same to my John and to you. Isaac, remember, if
you do a mean, wicked thing on purpose, if no eye
sees you, there's two witnesses - God and your
own conscience. They'll make trouble for you
sooner or later.
" But about this man. He was hung, for I saw
him hung. His wife's father was a doctor, and he
brought him to life. They were aftiaid he would
be hung over again; so his folks sent him across
the Channel, and he is living there in Havre with
his family, and at work at his trade.
" I had a man sick aboard, and was afraid he had
the small-pox. So I sent for the doctor. After he
was done with the sailor, I asked him into the
cabin to take a glass of wine. We got to talking
about Robert. Said he,'Robert is alive and as
well as you are.' I asked him about it, and how
he brought him to life, and he told me."




DEAD MAN'S KEY.            97
"But if dead folks can be brought to life, why
don't they bring all of'em to life?"'"It is only those where no vital part is injured
who can be brought to life, and not one in a thousand of them — people who are hung or drowned,
and such like.
"If; when they hung this man, they had broke
his neck, that would have been the end of him;
but where anybody is choked to death with a rope,
or with water; and nothing is injured, it is another
thin g."
"I think I understand something about it. In
these cases it is like a watch. WVhen a watch stops
because it is run down, you can wind it up, and set
it going; and I have seen Captain Savage, when
his watch had stopped, shake it, and start it; but
if the mainspring was broke, he couldn't."
"That's just it."
"'But I don't understand why, if one person
that's hung or drowned can be brought to, —that
is, if they are dead, - why all can't."
"That's what I asked him. He said he didn't
know. Nobody knew. Only they knew that the
age and constitution of people had something to
do with it; and that, if left alone, they would never
come to life any more than a watch could wind
7




98        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
itself up. They must have help fiom outside to
start the wheels. But I learned this much, that,
with proper effort, a great many people that are
now dead might have been saved. I thought in a
moment of little John Ryan, who was drowned in
the mill-pond, and was not under water more than
four minutes; and they didn't take any proper
means to bring himn to, because they couldn't feel
any pulse. I made up my mind that, if ever occasion offered, I would put in practice what he told
me; and you owe your life to it, for you was
dead. There was no pulse, breath, or beating of
the heart. Thus always obtain all the information
you can from those who know more than you do.
Never be above larning from anybody. A person
who, on the whole, does not know half as much as
you do, may know some one thing that is well
worth your larning.
"But this gale is breaking. There is not half
the strain on the hawser there was, and the sea is
not so sharp. We must mend that foresail if we
have to take the flying-jib to do it with."
In a few moments Isaac came running aft, and
said the turtle was missing.
" The turtle missing! " said the captain. " I hope
not. I was going to kill him to-morrow. Per



DEAD MAN S KEY.            99
haps he's crawled under the cattle." But a further
search revealed the disagreeable truth that he was
gone.
"He must have gone overboard with that last
sea. I'd rather John Strout had lost a horse."
"' That's not my opinion," said the mate.




100        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
CHAPTER VII.
HAVANA.
ABOUT twelve o'clock the next day the gale was
over, the wind, as the captain had predicted from
long experience of the winds on that coast, hauling to the north-east, and, with a fair wind, they
were once. more on the way to their port of destination. Just after they made the Iron Hills on
Cuba, Captain Rhines came on deck with a coil of
small line on his arm.
" Boys," said he, " we must have some signal halyards rove. I've never hoisted the Stars and Stripes
yet, except in a privateer. The last time I was
here, it was under British colors. Who of you
is smart enough to climb the mast, and reeve
them?"
"I!" replied Joe Griffin, drawing his belt a little
tighter, and stretching out his hand for the line.
But Isaac, who was coming from the cabin with
a basket of dinner dishes, heard the conversation.
"I'll go; do let me go; it belongs to me; boys




HAVANA.                101
always do such jobs. If that great creature goes up
there, he'll break the mast off!"
" You can't shin up there, you little rat! It's a
long shin, and there's no ratlines. You'll fall and
break your neck."
"No, I won't, Joe. I've climbed a tree enouglh
sight higher than that before you come to the
limbs."
Isaac wrapped the flag around him, took the halyards on his arm, and went aloft. He was red in
the face, and pretty well winded, when he reached
the main cross-trees.  He rested there, recovered
his breath, and started anew. When he got above
the eyes of the rigging, and was obliged to climb
the smooth pole, though the distance was short, he
was well nigh exhausted; his muscles quivered, and
seemed to have lost their power. His breath came
in sobs; perspiration bathed his limbs; he slipped
back more or less, and, in holding up with one arm
and his legs, while he rove the line through the
truck with the other, the last remnant of strength
seemed expended, and it was with the utmost difficulty that he could grasp the mast with sufficient
strength to prevent falling, or, as sailors say, " coming down by the run."
But when he at length reached the cross-trees,




102       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
recovered breath and strength, with what proud
satisfaction did he take the flag —his country's
flag, which had then but recently been given to
the ocean breeze -from between the head of the
mast and heel of the topmast, where he had tucked
it during his ascent, and watch the broad folds as
they streamed out on the wind!
He busied himself as long as possible in setting
the colors, in order that the flush might disappear
from his cheek, and the perspiration from his brow,
as the proud boy did not wish Joe to perceive how
completely he had been winded in the effort.
As they neared their port, and made the Moro
Castle, which guards the entrance to the harbor of
Havana, they saw a large ship two or three miles
to windward, and, with the aid of the current,
making good progress against the wind.
Captain Rhines viewed her long and narrowly
through the glass.
" I know that ship," he said at length. "It's the
Saratoga, one of Mr. Welch's ships, bound to Boston or Salem.  I know her by her short topmasts
and crooked sheer. Captain Radford, an old shipmate of mine, is in her. If we could have spoken
him he would have reported us, and MrI. Welch
would have made every effort to let our folks
know it."




HAVANA.                 103
In order that our readers may have a clear understanding of the situation in which the captain
was placed, we will revert for a moment to the
relations then existing between Spain and her colonies, and also between the United States and the
European powers.
At that period colonies were considered as so
many sponges for the parent country to squeeze.
They were expected to trade with her alone; the
product of other countries must come to them
through her.
Spain, at that time, prohibited the entrance into
her ports, for home consumption, of' the products
of any country except those of her colonial empire;
and, by forcing her colonies to consume no manufactured article, and none of food, except those
imported from certain ports in Spain, she aimed
to render the colonies entirely subservient to the
interests and emoluments of the mother country,
without the least reference to their natural rights,
needs, or wishes.
It was very much the same in respect to Great
Britain, France, and Portugal. It was the spirit
of the age. Thus, by a treaty made between Great
Britain and Spain, in 1667, it was provided that
perfect reciprocity of navigation and trade should




104       THE ARK OF EIM ISLAND.
be established between the King of Great Britain
and the King of Spain, and their respective subjects and inhabitants. But as both those countries
restricted the trade of their colonies, it was stipulated that these privileges were not to extend to
the colonies unless, at any future time, such intercourse should be allowed to the subjects of any
other foreign state.
The commerce of the island of Cuba, to a port
of which the Ark was now bound, was a complete
monopoly.  Its inhabitants were not allowed to
trade with any foreign country whatever, and were,
of course, in respect to articles of absolute necessity, compelled to pay the price which the merchants of the mother country demanded, since
there could be no competition.
In order t6 increase this dependence, agriculture
was discouraged, lest they should in this respect
become independent. The result of this was an
extensive contraband trade, by which the inhabitants of Maine and Massachusetts contrived, both
during peace and war, to supply the French, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies with American and
even foreign products.
All the fleets of Spain, aided at one time by
those of Great Britain, were inadequate to entirely




HAVANA.                 105
prevent this traffic. The inhabitants of Cuba and
the other Spanish colonies did all they could to
encourage it, since an American vessel would bring
them a better article at half the price for which it
could be procured from Spain. The governors of
the colonies also all connived at it.
This contraband traffic was exceedingly lucrative.
As it was neither more nor less than smuggling,
these vessels, for fear of being found out, could not,
to any extent, load at their leisure with coffee or
sugar, but ran in during the night, or into out-ofthe-way places, and received for their cargoes gold,
silver, and precious stones.
During the war of the Revolution this traffic
ceased, but at the conclusion of it was resumed,
and continued till 1809, when the Spanish ports
were thrown open to foreign trade. This trade
was carried on not only by Americans, but English vessels from the Bermudas and Bahamas also
engaged in it; but Maine and Massachusetts were
the great centres of this commerce. From  them
went lumber, staves, fish, live stock, and foreign
goods of all kinds, in vast quantities, to the
French, Spanish, Brlitish, and  Portuguese  colonies; for, although before the Revolution we were
permitted to trade with the British West Indies,




106       TTHE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
we were now excluded from them, and treated as
foreigners.
But it was with Cuba that the largest amount of
trade was carried on, on account of its proximity
to the American coast, its enormous wealth, and
the large amount of business transacted in Havana,
where great numbers of Spanish men-of-war were
built, thus creating a market.
At this period the prohibitory laws, of which
we have spoken, were in full force; nevertheless
they were not only evaded to a great extent by
smuggling, but when, by reason of war or scarcity,
the mother country was unable to supply her colonies, a discretionary power was given to governors to relax the laws and permit trade —a
privilege they were quite willing to exercise, as it
generally resulted in benefits to themselves.
Captain Rhines, though rude in speech, and without the advantages of education, was possessed of
very superior natural abilities, which, had lie been
educated, would have rendered him conspicuous in
any station in life. He was possessed of rare judgment, great powers of observation (which he had
cultivated to the utmost), unbounded confidence
in his own resources, great physical strength, and
energy of purpose, that carried him over every
obstacle, and, with all, sterling integrity.




HAVANA.                107
Thoroughly acquainted with the state of affairs
in Europe, and the colonial policy of the times, he
knew that Spain, which united with France in the
war waged by the colonies with Great, Britain,
had been crippled by it; that Spanish commerce
was in a low state; that the contraband trade had
fallen off during the war; that the islands were short
of supplies, and that the authorities would be compelled to relax temporarily the prohibitory laws.
It was customary for those who were withheld by
principle from smuggling, or who did not wish to
incur the risk and labor of it, to run down among
the islands pertaining to the different powers, for
a market, often obtaining a license to discharge.
Captain Rhines, for the reasons which we have
specified, expected to obtain permission to trade at
Havana. Indeed, it would have been a great risk
to have proceeded in the Ark to any of the more
distant islands. He, to the great surprise of the
mate (who was expecting every moment the order
to heave to, and lay off and on till dark), kept the
vessel directly for the mouth of the harbor.
" You don't intend," he said, " to go in, in broad
daylight?  There are always men-of-war there.
They will seize us, vessel and cargo."
"I shall go in daylight if I go at all. I have




108       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
never been a smuggler, and don't intend to begin
now. I'm not going to sneak into some creek in
the night, and- run my cargo in on the sly. I'm
going to heave to at the mouth of the harbor, go
ashore, and ask the captain general for liberty to
tlrade."'
" But suppose he won't grant it?"
"Then I'll go to a French island. There's more
spirit of accommodation in a Frenchman's little
finger than in a Spaniard's whole body; but don't
you see, England has given them such a mauling
during the war that it has made them a little more
pliable; their resources of food have been exhausted, not having provisions to feed their colonies,
and they won't let them raise crops to feed themselves; their merchant ships have been taken by
the British, and the smuggling ending with the
war, the captain general has missed his pickings.
I tell you they have been kept mighty short
through the war, and those who get here first
will fare the best. The captain general will be
glad to see us, and jump at it like a dolphin at a
flying-fish.. I shouldn't wonder if we found vessels there now that he has let in."
The Ark was hove to off the harbor, and the
captain, going on shore, obtained permission to




HAVANA.                 109
trade — to sell his cargo for money, or exchange
for the products of the island.
"He has let the bars down," said the captain,
when he returned. "I've got liberty both to sell
and take away cargo."
"But you've nothing to take it in."
"I know that; but I always take all the privileges from a Spaniard I can get, whether I want
them or not. Anybody never can tell what may
turn up. The old don was very gracious. Whoever buys this cargo will have to make him a
handsome present. These governors come out here
poor, stay five years, and go home rich."
When they arrived at the mouth of' the harbor
the sun was setting, and the sentry was preparing
to haul down the flag on the Castle, after which no
vessel is allowed to enter.
"What a pity we couldn't have been here just
half an hour sooner!" said the mate. "Now we
must lie off all night."
"I'm  not going to lie off here in this thing.
There's just wind enough left to shove her in. If
it should shift, we could neither claw off a lee
shore nor ride out a gale."
"But they'll fire on us."
" No; they won't be ready to fire till we are by
them."




110        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"But what will they do to you afterwards?"
"I don't know, and don't care. I'll risk the consequences.  Go forward, 3Mr. Strout, and see all
clear for anchoring. When they hail us, I'll sing
out, Let go the anchor, and do you do the same,
but be sure you don't let it go. When I want it
let go, I'll send the boy forward to tell you."
The Ark, with the last of the breeze, shot rapidly into the mouth of the harbor.
"Let go the anchor!" was the order given as
the vessel came under the guns of the Mloro.
"Ay, ay, sir!" was the reply. Still the Ark
kept on.
"-Let go your anchor!" now came from  the
fort.
"Let go the anchor! Why don't you let go
that anchor?" bellowed Captain Rhines.
"Let go the anchor!" screamed the mate.
By this time the Ark was well inside, safe from
all winds, and the anchor was let go. They had
won the victory. Pluck and seamanship had
brought the rude vessel, or rather raft, safely to
her port of destination, and without loss, except
of the turtle, for which Captain Rhines was a sincere mourner.
When the Ark was properly secured, and the




HAVANA.                11l
sails furled, there was still daylight enough to distingruish objects at a short distance. Theyfound
themselves between a Spanish ship of the line, a
four decker, the Santisima Trinidad, one hundred
and thirty guns, and a large English merchant ship
that had arrived just before them, and was waiting
to tow up the harbor in the morning; and ahead,
on the starboard bow, an American brig.
The captain said to Isaac, pointing to the man-ofwar, -
"That is the biggest ship in the world."
Which was true at that time. Lying on a reef
on the western side of the harbor was a brig of:about two hundred tons, bilged, and  heeled
towards the shore, the tide ebbing and flowing
in her.  She had been stripped of everything
except the lower masts and bowsprit.  Captain
Rhines examined her with great attention, but
made no remark.




112       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
CHAPTER VIII.
WARPING UP.
HAD a mermaid risen from, the deep she could
not have excited more attention than did the Ark
from all who were within range of vision. The
soldiers gazed from the walls of the forts on both
sides of the harbor. Every port-hole along the
broad side of the man-of-war was crammed with
heads, and the sailors of the English ship looked
on from the forecastle.
The harbor-master now came on board, and,
after the usual salutations, said, —
"You were reported, captain, as running in after
sunset, which is contrary to the law of the port."
" But what else could I do?" replied he. " Just
out of a norther, eight feet of water in the hold,
and not a pump on board! Just look here." And
going to the well, he pulled up the rod, and asked
the harbor-master to looked down into the box
and see the water.
The Ark had settled so much that her lower




WARPING UP.              113
wale was under water, and as she was covered
with grass and barnacles, the open work was not
apparent to a casual observer.
" If you are water-logged, captain, that alters the
matter. You certainly are not in a condition to
keep the sea."
No communication is allowed with a vessel till
the harbor-master has boarded her; but the moment he was gone, a boat came alongside from
the American brig, and her captain stepped on
deck.
"' Are you the mate of this craft?" he inquired
of John Strout.
" Yes, sir."
" What makes her so deep, with no deck load?"
"She's only a shell, with no bottom, and the
water flows in and out."
"Have you come from the States in her?"
" Yes, sir."
"How imany days?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Where were you in the norther?"
" Lying between Key Sal Bank and Florida."
"And you lived through that gale, half under
water, with all this live stock on deck? Well, I
would rather see the man who got this thing up,
8




114       THE ARK OF E IM ISLAND.
and brought her safely here, than the King of Great
Britain. What is the master's name?"
"Benjamin Rhines."
"The dogs it is!" and the master, without another word, hurried to the cabin.
"Is this you, Captain Rhines, my old friend?"
he exclaimed, seizing him by the hand.
"It certainly is, Captain Starrett!" replied the
other, returning the grasp in a most cordial manner.
"I heard," said his visitor, "that you had left off
sailing the briny ocean."
"I thought I had, but you see I've begun
again."
"Well, Ben, you ought to break your neck now;
you've lived long enough; you'll never go beyond
this. Do you know you've arrived here just in the
nick of time. Got any fish?"
"A few."
"Any staves?"
"A few."
"Provisions?"
"Yes."
"You'll make money."
" How is lumber?"
"High; clear up. There's none in the market.
How much have you got?"




WARPING UP.              115
"Don't know; three hundred thousand, perhaps
more."
"Don't you know what you bought?"
"Didn't buy it. My boy cut it;" and then he
told his fiiend the whole story of Ben, Sally, and
Elm Island.
" He's an awful man, that boy of yours. I saw
him hoist a hogshead of molasses, and he'll head
one up as easy as I can a barrel of cider. You
know he was my mate two voyages, but I didn't
think there was so much business in him."' His head is as good as his arm, and his heart is
better than both. He's a good son to me. I've
been fortunate in my children."
"That is because you was a good boy yourself,
and took good care of your parents in their old
age. Your father and mother have said the same
to me about you."
" Did you load at Portland?"
". Yes."
" What did your lumber cost you?"
"Seven dollars per thousand on the wharf."
"That is a good deal more than Ben's cost him
when it was on board the vessel at Elm Island, -
as much again, - while you had the expense of
loading after that."




116       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
" Yes; ours cost us that on the wharf."
"WVhat did you get for your lumber?"
"Thirty-nine dollars per thousand."
"When do you expect to get away?"
"I shall go the first chance."
"Will you take a letter for me?
" Yes, and I'll send it to your place. There are
coasters that take loads of goods of all kinds, and
go on trading voyages all along the coast, to the
British lines. I'll give it to some of them that I'm
acquainted with."
"What vessel is that ashore on the Ponto?"
(punta).
" She is a Rhode Island vessel - the Congress."
"How came she there? "
" She mis-stayed, and the swell hove her on.
She struck on a round rock, and knocked a hole in
her.  She was stripped and sold.  A  Spaniard
over to the Regla bought her hull."
"Is she old? "
"No; built since the war. They say she was
built of first-rate material - a good sailer and
carrier."
"Who bought the spars, sails, and rigging?"
"An old fellow - I can't think of his name
who buys all such things. I must bid you good
night."




WARPING UP.               117
"Not till you have drank to old friendship.
Isaac, get some glasses."
"I suppose you will warp up in the morning?"
"Yes, the first thing before the breeze comes."
"I'll take my crew, and help you. I've got a
black crew —the biggest darkies you ever saw.
You must expect some noise; for a nigger can
no more work without a song, than a Frenchman
can talk if you tie his hands."
"I like a song. It makes things go lively. I've
got one that's as big as any of them, and I dare
say will make as much noise."
"I don't know about that. They are the noisiest, and, I must say, the smartest set of darkies
that I ever had; and I always carry black crews.
They are all Portland  darkies - Browns, Stuarts, Shepards, and Johnsons, and one Isaiah Phillips, who keeps all the rest good-natured, and is
the great chanty-man among them."
"Well, fetch him on, and calculate that all hands
are to stop aboard to dinner."
Early in the morning, before the break of day,
Captain Rhines, taking his mate with him, on
whose judgment he very much relied, went over
to look at the brig.  She was heeled towards
the shore, and had a hole in her bow abaft of the




118       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
cat-head as big as a hogshead, and the tide ebbed
and flowed in her. After they had examined her
thoroughly, they sat down on the rocks to compare
notes. Captain Rhines began to whittle; his mate
to pick a strand of' rope into oakum.
" What do you think of her, John?"
"She's an excellent built vessel to begin with,
and of first-rate timber."
"She isn't hogged," said the captain.
"No; her hood ends are not started, nor her
stern, garboard, nor any of her butts, nor her
water-ways. Her planks are some chafed, but, as
far as I can see, the injury is confined to the hole
in the bow, and the whole bottom on that side
wants calking."
"But her rudder's gone."
"Well, we-can put the Ark's to her, and get timber, plank, and iron enough out of her to stop that
hole. She will also furnish oakum, and her cables
and anchors will do for her. I'll buy her, John, if
I can get her cheap enough, and her spars, sails,
and rigging, and put a cargo in her, and we'll make
a double voyage and money out of it. But I must
go and find out the Spaniard who bought her before they know the Ark has no bottom. If he
finds out I have no vessel to go home in, he'll




WARPING UP.               119
trump up on the price. I was calculating to get
back in a contraband, but I'll go back in my own
vessel, and make more on the homeward than on
the outward passage, or I am mistaken."
"What a treasure Joe Griffin will be now! " said
the mate.
" That he will; and Yelf and Edwards have both
worked in a ship-yard. It's well for us that we
are so strong-handed. Keep it to yourself, John,
till I arrange matters."
As the distance was short, they were back to the
vessel by the time the sun was an hour high.
Although the war was at an end, and a treaty of
peace made between the United States and Great
Britain, there was still considerable bitterness of
feeling. When the war closed, the British government manifested a willingness to form a treaty
of commerce upon a reciprocal basis; but finding
that the States differed among themselves, one of
them  admitting foreign vessels without imposts,
and that the States, having no federal bond of
union, could not impose retaliatory duties, except
by the act of undivided States, but that their ships
could come to our ports upon the same terms as
our own, excluded us from the trade we had enjoyed with their West India colonies before the




120       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
war.  This tended to perpetuate ill feeling. It
seemed like an effort to retaliate by legislation for
the defeat they had experienced in war. They
were also fond of saying that the colonies, unable
to agree upon any form of government, would fall
to quarrelling among themselves now that the
pressure of a common peril was removed.
The sailors of the English ship were by no
means sparing- in their criticisms of the Ark, and
the vessels were so near that their language could
be heard.
At length one of them sung out, —
"Ballahoo, ahoy!"
"What do you want? " asked Joe.
" What's the name of that ballahoo? and what's
the price of mutton?"
"This craft," replied Joe, "is called the'Bunker
Hill.' She hails from the United States of America-perhaps you've heard of the place.  That
ere striped cloth up there is their flag, and when
I came from home our people were talking about
putting the American eagle on it, he screams so
awfil.  He screamed so amazing one time he
frightened General Gage (perhaps you've heard of
him), so he left."
At length the English captain came on deck,




WARPING UP.              121
with a ruffle-bosom shirt, a white linen handkerchief
in his hand, and a very red face.
Captain Rhines bowed, and said, "Good morning;" but the other'did not deign a response.
"He's not a gentleman, if he is master of a fine
ship," said the captain to his mate. "A cat may
look upon a king."
The captain thought no more of the circumstance; but not so the mate and crew. They were
very much enraged, especially Flour, who had all
the veneration for Massa Rhines that an African
has for the idol of his tribe.
It would have been strange indeed if Joe Griffin could not have thought of some method of
returning the compliment.
"I tell you what, boys," he said, " they are going
to warp up this morning; we'll just warp right
away from them  in this ballahoo, as they call
her."
" You can't do it," said Edwards. "They've got
a large crew, the ship is clean, and not deep loaded, while we are foul and water-logged."
"Yes, we can do it," said the mate. "The brig's
crew are conming to help us, and we will do it."
"We will have two kedge anchors and two
warps, and I'll run the lines," said Joe. "I reckon




122       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
I'm the boy for that. I'll go aboard the brig now,
and ask them to bring a kedge with them." He
did more than this. He told Captain Starrett of
the rudeness of the captain of the ship, and made
his black crew, three of whom had been in the
army of Independence, feel just as he did himself.
He borrowed a warp on board the brig, and
making it fast to her chains, brought the end back
with him, that it might hold the Ark while they
were getting the anchor, and be in readiness. He
had another coiled in the canoe with a kedge. By
the time they were done breakfast the brig's crew
were on board. They justified their captain's encomium, although Flour was, after all, a little
larger than the biggest of them.
They were dressed in checked shirts and white
duck pants, which contrasted strongly with their
black skins, and each one had a handkerchief of
bright colors bound around his head, with the ends
streaming out behind.
Isaiah Phillips, the chanty-mian, was the youngest
of the whole; not so tall as the others, but very
thick set, jet black, and straight as a rush. He
was deeply pitted with the small-pox —a round,
good-natured face, with remarkably fine wool, of




WARPING UP.              123
which he was evidently quite proud, as it was
curled with great care, and hung round his forehead and temples.
They sat round the galley, their black faces and
bare arms shining in the sun, making the acquaintance of Flour (who was giving them an extra
allowance of coffee, at the same time supplementing the previous efforts of Joe by telling them the
good qualities of his captain, and how scurvily he
had been treated by the Englishman), waiting for
the word of command; for the mate had said, " We
will man our windlass the moment the Englishman
mans his, and not one second before."
We have already spoken of the natural disposition of the negro to sing when at work. Their
songs have no merits of composition, being the
merest trash. Neither does the negro think it necessary that they should rhyme, - they may or may
not, - or that there should be the same number
of feet. tie will have the time correct, as he will
leave out or prolong words at pleasure, with the
most sovereign contempt, both of sense and the
king's English.
Songs of labor seem to meet a universal necessity, and supply a common want. They are in use
to lighten labor, from the boatmen among the lochs




124        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
of Scotland to the seamen of the tropics, and accomplish this by securing unity of action.
Suppose eight men undertook to hoist a weight
which it required all their strength to raise. If
each pulled separately, it would be just the same
as though only one man was pulling at the weight.
No matter how many of them were pulling, it would
never be raised; but the song unites all their efforts,
and the more accurately they observe the time of
the song, and connect their efforts with it, the
lighter the labor, and the greater the economy of
strength. The song also renders labor pleasurable,
for there is a love of it in human nature, and, by
furnishing regular periods for breathing, renders
labor less fatiguing.
How much more tiresome it is to pull a boat
with muffled oars, because you miss the click of
the oar in the rowlocks!  Who could thresh all
day if the flails did not make a noise as they strike
the grain? The cooper beats out a tune as he
drives the hoop. What weariness comes over the
soldier on a march when the music stops! and how
instantly his muscles are braced when it strikes up!
The songs of the negro seamen generally refer
to their labor —hoisting or stowing molasses, or
screwing cotton, which is severe labor, where unity




WARPING UP.               125
of effort is of the first importance; and here the
negro's accurate ear renders them  most effective,
and they will accomplish more, with less fatigue
to themselves, than white men. No matter how
many of them are on a rope, their pull tallies precisely with the time of the song, and they will put
in the queerest quirks and quavers, but all in time.
Perhaps there may be one negro in a million who
has no idea of time. If such a one gets hold of
the rope, and makes a false pull, it affects them as
much as a false note would a well-drilled choir.
They will instantly hustle him out, crying, —
"Get away, you waw, waw nigger! You dunno
how to pull!"
These songs produce the most singular effect
upon the negroes, insomuch that they seem hardly
conscious of fatigue, even while exerting themselves to the utmost. Wages have been paid to a
negro for merely singing when a large cargo of
molasses was to be discharged in a hurry, the
extra labor which he excited the rest to perform
being considered as more than an equivalent for
his wages, while it prevented a rival from obtaining
his services.  A  singular illustration of this was
given many years ago in Portland, Maine. Eight
negroes were hoisting molasses, one very hot day,




126        THE ARK OF ELMI ISLAND.
aboard the brig William. They were having a
lively time. Old Craig, a distinguished singer,;
was opening his mouth like an old-fashioned fallback chaise. A negro, - an agent for the Colonization Society, - very black, dressed in white linen
trousers and coat, Marseilles vest, ruffle-bosomed
shirt, nice beaver on his head, with a bundle of
papers in his hand, came down the wharf, and
went into a merchant's counting-room to collect
a subscription. As he came out, his ear caught the
tune.
He instantly came on board the vessel and listened. He grew nervous, imitated the motions of
those at the tackle, and, by and by, off went the
linen coat, the hat and papers were laid aside, he
rushed among the rest, and, clutching the rope, like
a maniac, began to haul, and sing, —
"Eberybody he lub someting;
Hoojun, John a hoojun.
Song he set de heart a beating;
Hoojun, John a hoojun."
When reeking with perspiration, he stopped:
the white pants, vest, and ruffled bosom were
spoiled. As he went up the wharf, casting many
a rueful glance at his dress, Old Craig, looking after
him, exclaimed, -




WARPING UP.               127
" No use put fine clothes on de'possum! What
bred in de bone, dat come out in de meat."
The leader sings the principal part of the song
(often composing it as he goes along), while the
others sing the chorus.
When the winch was introduced to discharge
vessels, these songs in the northern seaports ceased,
the negroes disappeared, and Irishmen took their
places, the negroes refusing to work with a winch, because that kind of labor did not admit of singing.
The clank of the pawls on the ship's windlass
was now heard.
"Man the windlass! " was the order.
"Slip, slap!" cried Seth.  This is a sailor
phrase for heaving the windlass around at one
motion instead of two, as is generally practised,
and as was done on board the ship.
The ship possessed the advantage at the outset
of being ahead of the Ark; but, as the crew of
the latter weighed their anchor in half the time,
the two vessels were now abreast.
"Massa Mate," said Flour, taking that officer
aside, "if you want dese niggers to show you de
time o' day, jes' praise'em, and let'em hab de
music. Black man he lub song; song make him
throw hisself, tear hisself all to pieces."
The English sailors now began to sing.




128         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Stop that!" said the captain.  "None of that
noise here."
"Now, boys," said the mate, patting Isaiah on the
shoulder, "give us a shout that'll raise the dead."
ISAIAH'S SONG.
"Wind blow from de mountain cool,
0, stow me long.
Mudder send me to de school;
Stow me long, stow me.
Den I stow myself away,
O, stow me long.
Way, way to de Isle ob May;
Stow me long, stow me.
Go ashore to see de town,
0, stow me long.
Hear de music, walk aroun';
Stow me long, stow me.
Dere I hear Miss Dinah sing,
0, stow me long.
Washin' linen at de spring.
Double Chorus. -Ha-a, stow me long,
Stow me long, stow me.
Straight I lub Miss Dinah Gray,
0, stow me long.
Dinah lub me, so she say;
Stow me long, stow me.
Get her necklace, get her ring,
O, stow me long.




WARPING UP.                  129
Happy nigger, shout and sing;
Stow me long, stow me.
Wind a blowin' fresh and free,
0, stow me long.
Vessel ready for de sea;
Stow me long, stow me.
See de tear in Dinah's eye,
O, stow me long.
Berry sorry see her cry.
Double Chorus. - Ha-a, stow me long,
Stow me long, stow me.
Tink ob Dinah ebery day,
O, stow me long.
Wishin' ob de time away;
Stow me long, stow me.
Buy her gown, buy her fan,
0, stow me long.
Dinah lub anudder man;
Stow me long, stow me.
Wish I hadn't been a fool,
O, stow me long.
Neber run away from school.
Double Chorus. - Ha-a, stow me long,
Stow me long, stow me."
At intervals they would unite in one universal
shout on the double chorus.  Then Isaiah, bringing the flat of his foot down to advertise them of
what was coming, came out on the word "ha-a"
9




130       THE ARK OF ELH ISLAND.
with a guttural so purely African, that the negroes
would jump from the deck.
In the mean time the Ark was moving two feet
to one of the ship, rocking and rolling to the tramp
of the men and the time of the tune.
"Why don't you pull, you lazy rascals?" shouted the captain of the ship. "Will you let these
Yankees warp a raft faster than you can a ship
with clean bottom and bright copper? Haul, or
I'll start you with a rope's end!"
"Captain Rhines," said Isaac, catching up the end
of the main-sheet, "may I shake this in his face,
and ask him if he wants a tow-line?"
"By no means, since that would be putting ourselves on the same level with a man who is a servant, and has a master; but we, who sail under the
Stars and Stripes, and are citizens of a republic,
whose people govern themselves, owe it both to
our government and ourselves to conduct as gentlemen, especially in a foreign port, where we bear
its flag, and represent its principles."
Isaac blushed, dropping the rope as though it
burned his fingers, and, at the same time, looking
around to ascertain if any one else heard the conversation.
But it was most amusing to watch the effect of




WARPING UP.                   131
the song upon Flour, who was plucking some
chickens at the galley for a stew.  His body
swayed back and forth, and he pulled out the
feathers to the time of the tune, tearing the skin
in all directions.
"Never did see sich chickens as dese. Can't
pick him, no how."
At length he could contain himself no longer,
and, having put his chicken in the pot, rushed
among his black friends, and gave vent to his emotions in song.
FLOUR'S SONG.
"De blue-bird robbed de cherry-bird's nest,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
He robbed her nest, and brake her rest,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
Cherry-bird chirp, and cherry-bird cry,
Iilo, boys, a hilo.
Cherry-bird mourn, cherry-bird die,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
De black cat eat de blue-bird now,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
He catch him sittin' on de bough,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
He nip his head, he tear his breast,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
Pay him for de cherry-bird's nest,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.




132        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
De gard'ner shoot de ole black cat,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
Den dat make it tit for tat,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
De gard'ner pull him down de tree,
Hilo, boys, a hilo.
Den dat square de yards, you see,
Hilo, boys, a hilo."
Elated with their success in distancing the ship,
the negroes and their white companions increased
their efforts, which seemed already pushed to the
utmost limits of human endurance.
Bathed in perspiration, smoking like race horses,
and wild with excitement, they struck up a still
quicker tune, intermingling with the words most
singular yells and quavers.
" That's the time of day, my lads!" shouted the
mate, catching hold of the warp, and joining in the
chorus, completely carried away by the common
impulse. "That's a bully song!" he cried; "you
are worth your weight in gold."
The negroes instantly manifested their appreciation of the compliment by exclaiming,"Gib it to her, hand ober hand!  Isaiah, dat
tell de story dat make de chile cry!"




WARPING UP.                133
"HAND OBER HAND" SONG.
"Cuffee stole my bacca,
Hand ober hand, O.
Scratch him,
Hand ober hand, 0.
Put it in his pocket,
Hand ober hand, 0.
Kick him,
Hand ober hand, O.
Now he's gwine to smoke it,
Hand ober hand, O.
Bite him,
Hand ober hand, 0."
The excitement now mastered Captain Rhines
and his friend, who both added their efforts. By
reason of so much additional strength, the Ark
went ahead faster than they could gather in the
slack.
"Walk away with it, my boys," said the captain;
and, taking the warp on their shoulders, they
walked along the deck, still keeping step to the
song.
WALKING SONG.
"Take de line, an' walk away,
Ho-o; ho, ho, ho.
Gwine to leabe you; cannot stay,
Fire down below.




134        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Gwine to leabe you, Johnny Bull,
Ho-o; ho, ho, ho.'Cause yer dunno how ter pull,
Fire down below.
Like as do dis Yankee crew,
Ho-o; ho, ho, ho.
Warpin' ob de ballahoo,
Fire down below."
Beneath the pressure of this continuous pull, the
Ark went through the waters as though under
sail, and reached her berth before the ship had
made a third of the distance, notwithstanding her
captain, in his mortification at being thus outstripped, permitted, and even ordered, his men to
sing. But the sailors, sulky at being debarred
from their customary privileges, sung a song called
" Old Gregory," the measure of which was so slow,
that the vessel went slower than ever.
"Guess dat ship be gwine tudder way," said
Isaiah. "'Pears so she is. Yah, yah, yah!"
Now that the object was accomplished, the negroes manifested evident signs of weariness; but
instead of getting in the shade, as white men would
have done, they sat down in the blazing sun to
rest and dry off.
They forgot their fatigue, however, when Cap



WARPING UP.               135
tain Rhines, after praising and thanking them for
their services, distributed liquor and tobacco, and
told Flour to give them all they could eat for dinner, and as good as there was in the vessel.
Long after they had eaten dinner, and Captain
Starrett and his crew had gone on board their own
vessel, the ship came along, and anchored near
them.
"I am not satisfied yet," said Joe to the mate.
"These captains will go ashore this afternoon. I
should like to pull by his fancy boat in our old
canoe. That would nettle him as much again as
beating him with the Ark."
"If we got beat, that would spoil all we have
done. Their boat will pull four oars; the canoe
has but three, and the boat pulls a great deal
easier."
"I'll tell you how it can be done," said Seth.
"You, Joe, and Flour are the three strongest men
in the vessel. Now, if you don't think it beneath
your dignity to be boy, and pull the captain ashore,
you three can do it."
"My dignity shan't stand in the way."
The captain of the ship seated himself in his
gig, took up the yoke-ropes, which were made of
red and blue cord, and gave the command, —




136       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Shove off! Let fall! Give way!"
In true man-of-war style they pulled towards
the quay.
Captain Rhines said,"Boys, I guess we'll go too;" and, taking up the
steering paddle, gave the canoe a shove that sent
her clear of the vessel. The old dug-out ranged
up alongside of the ship's boat in a moment.
Joe sported a pair of tow trousers with one
seam, that he had made himself, with a woollen
shirt that had been red once, but was now faded
to a dirty brown.
Flour rejoiced in frock and pants which Seth
had worn on a previous voyage to tar down rigging in. He bought them to drag lumber in. And,
to complete the picture, a bundle of codfish lay
before the captain on the boat's thwart.
"Pull!" said the English captain.  "Pull
ahead! "
His men exerted themselves to the utmost, but
not a foot could they gain upon their disagreeable
neighbors. At length the canoe shot ahead, and,
leaving the boat far behind, occupied the best place
at the stairs, and their antagonists were compelled
to content themselves with an inferior position, and
one where their captain must walk over other boats
to reach the steps.




WARPING UP.              137
"Come ashore for me at sundown," said Captain
Rhines.
"I'm  satisfied now," said Joe, as they pulled
leisurely back.
"So am I," replied the mate. "I'm thinking
they will have more respect for ballahoos and dugouts in future."
When Captain Rhines reached the quay, he
found Captain Starrett waiting for him, by appointment, with his boat's crew.
" I want you, Captain Starrett, to take me to the
Reglas in your boat; and while I am buying that
vessel, I want you to go and buy her spars, sails,
and rigging. These Spaniards play into each other's hands. If the one who owns the sails and
rigging finds that I have bought the hull, before I
get over here to-morrow (for it is too far for
me to go to both places to-day), he will know I
want her rigging, and make me pay his own price
for it."
" But you may not buy the vessel; and then, if I
should buy the rigging and other matters, you
would have them on your hands."
"But I shall buy her. He is going to break her
up for the iron, and I know she is worth more to
me than she is to him."




138       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Suppose I cannot buy at a low price."
" Then I'll take the Ark's masts and rigging, buy
a topsail, and rig her into a topsail schooner."
"What won't you do?"
"I'll have that brig, or my name ain't Ben
Rhines."
Captain Starrett arrived at the boat first. In the
course of an hour Captain Rhines came.
" Well," he said, "I've bought the brig."
"For how much?"
"Six onzas, $102.00."
"I've bought the spars, sails, and rigging, studding-sails, and studding-sail gear."
" For how much? "
"Rigging, thirty onzas, $510.00; sails, twentyfive onzas, $425.00."
" Well, boys," said the captain that night at the
supper table, "I've found a way for us all to get
home, and carry all the corals, shells, sponges, and
presents to sweethearts, parents, and friends you
like."
He then told them what he had done. They
were all delighted. There were happy faces around
that cabin table that night, but none more delighted than Isaac.
"0, how glad I am I didn't go with Captain
Savage! Now I can learn to handle square sails."




WARPING UP.               139
"Yes, my boy," said the captain, "and to put
rigging over the mast-head, send up topmasts and
yards, and stow cargo. There will also be royals
for you to furl, and studding-sail gear to reeve.
You won't have much time to strike porpoise,
and get overboard. Joe Griffin, will you be master
carpenter and blacksmith? "
"I will do the best I can; but what shall we do
for tools? "
" I can hire what we need and have not got, and
also hire some Spanish blacksmith to let you do
what little wol6kwe shall need in his shop. I declare I'm afraid I shan't get home to plant potatoes. I wanted to plant that piece in the eastern
field. I don't know what my wife will say. However, I guess I'll make more than I should planting
potatoes. What possessed me to think I was worn
out, I don't see."




140       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
CHAPTER IX.
SELLING AND DISCHARGING.
LET US glance for a moment at the state of the
country during those sad, disjointed years that succeeded the peace of 1783.
There was very little hard money in circulation,
and that little was seriously diminished by the
great influx of foreign goods.
There was no effective general government to
lay imposts or protect the commerce of the country
from foreign competition. No commercial treaties
with any foreign nation, or national government
empowered to enforce them; for, although Congress
could make treaties with foreign nations, and contract debts, it had no power to enforce the observance of treaties, or to collect imposts to pay the
debts, but was dependent on the will of the thirteen distinct legislative bodies.  No merchant
marine, for that had been swept from the ocean,
except the old privateers and a few small vessels;
but the trade of Maine was in fish and lumber, -




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.        141
all they had to export,- and required vessels of considerable size and full built, while the old privateers
were sharp, well riddled with shot, shaken and
wrung to pieces, by their desperate conflicts with
British men-of-war, or by carrying a press of sail to
escape them.
There was not capital in the country to build
duitable vessels, man and provision them, to any
extent; for the men of wealth had loaned their
money to the government, and Congress had not
the power to enforce the collection of duties in
order to pay it.
But this very state of depression only served to
call forth the energies and reward the efforts of
men like Captain Rhines and his son, and others
of like character, but who, possessing greater advantages of education, and surrounded by different
circumstances, were able to operate in a wider
sphere. The markets were before them, enough
waiting to receive and pay good prices for their
products; but the ships and the capital were lacking. So far from folding their hands in discouragement, they set to work with what they had.
Unable to build ships, they went to the East Indies in vessels that would now be thought unsuitable to go to Cuba, to England in sloops with a




142       THE ARK OF ELMI ISLAND.
topsail, the braces of the yards leading to the bowsplit.
It is on record that a youth of nineteen commanded a ship, on her voyage from Calcutta to
Boston, with nothing in the shape of a chart on
board but the small map of the world in Guthrie's
Geography. The writer referred to adds, -
" Merchants of Boston and Salem, of moderate
fortunes, engaged in branches of business which
it was thought in Europe could only be safely carried on by great chartered companies under the
protection of government monopolies; in short,
they made up in daring and shrewdness for lack of
capital."
Unable to build large vessels, they went in small
ones, or, like Captain Rhines, on a raft. Unable
to raise money to pay seamen and officers, they
gave them a privilege. The same principle was
manifested in the war of 1814, and by their descendants. On the lakes they built vessels of
green pine, put together with wooden pins, which,
indeed, fell to pieces as soon as the battle was
over, but not till they had crushed the enemy.
Thus, if the men of that day used up a vessel in
a voyage (at times), they made money enough to
pay for her and build a better one.




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.        143
Even the general distress and bankruptcy of the
times (as is often the case) turned to the advantage of these resolute spirits, as it had the effect,
by reason of a diminished supply, to enhance the
price of their commodities in a foreign market,
while it lessened the expenses of their outfit.  It
was thus in respect to Ben. Masts and spars
brought a good price, because it required much
energy, tact, and a heavy team to transport them
to the seaports, where British vessels were ready
to take them. Ben, by taking his masts and spars
to Boston and Wiscasset in the manner he did,
had obtained a very handsome profit on them.
But on the same land grew a large body of trees
that were not fit for spars, but made excellent shipping boards, and were in demand in the West
Indies. In addition to this was still another portion of the growth, fit only for wood or staves.
Boards were so abundant, commerce so depressed,
that to cut them for sawing, and then sell them at
the mill, or take them to the wharves of a seaport,
would barely pay for the labor; yet his forethought
and energy, seconded by that of his father, caused
all these circumstances to operate directly in his
favor.
This growth must be cut to clear the land and




144       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
enable him to raise his bread, and must have been
burned upon the ground had he not contrived a way
to get it to market, where it would bring a richly
remunerating price. The depressed state of business aided him as much as own abilities, by reducing the expense of getting it to market to a
very low figure indeed; and, as we proceed, we
shall see that it likewise enabled him to obtain an
increased price for his commodities. So that the
poverty of the mass operated for the benefit of
the individual, but not in any dishonorable way, as
in the case of the speculator in bread, or one who
buys the poor soldier's claim for a trifle to enrich
himself by the future advance. On the other hand,
the Rhineses were endeavoring to start the wheels
of business, and promote the general good. To be
more particular, Ben had a small sum of money,
which, in ordinary times, would have gone but
little way, but, on account of the great lack of
specie, he was enabled to hire his labor, and fit
away the Ark with it; and when she went to sea,
all the money he had in the world was five dollars.
As for the fire-wood on the land, it was worth
only fifty cents a cord, hauled to the landing. He
could have obtained a dollar per cord in Salem,




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.        145
and a coaster would have carried it there for fifty
cents a cord. It was, therefore, better economy to
burn it on the land, and fertilize the earth with the
ashes. The next year's increased crop of grain and
grass would be worth more than the value of the
cord wood in the market.
The next morning all hands turned out in high
spirits, elated with the idea of going home in the
brig, instead of being thrown upon their own resources.
While on shore, Captain Rhines had made inquiries, in respect to prices, of the Spaniards, and of
Captain Starrett, who was familiar with such matters. He gave the crew the results of his inquiries,
and also told the mate and Joe that there was a
Spaniard at the West Reglas who was very anxious
to purchase the horses and sheep, together with whatever of hay and grain they had left, and would give
the highest market price; that he should go to the
city in the morning with Captain Starrett, who was
to introduce him to a commission merchant who
had sold many cargoes for him (all business there
must be done through a Spaniard. No foreigner
can sell his own cargo. Captain Starrett was an
old smuggler, and knew all the merchants in Cuba),
and said, meanwhile, they had better go ashore at
10




146        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
the Reglas, see the man, and trade with him if they
could, and sell the rest to the bum-boatmen.
Captain Starrett came alongside in his boat, and
the two friends went off together, Captain Rhines
taking a barrel of apples, some nice fish, and a box
of spermaceti candles, as a present for the captain
general.
The mate deputed Joe to trade for both. He
sold the horses for seventy dollars per head, which
left him, after paying the expenses, one hundred
and ten dollars clear, in gold, and the sheep for six
dollars per head, which, together with some geese
and provender, amounted, clear of all expenses, to
ninety dollars.
The soil of Spain is one of the most productive
of Europe; but, for reasons which it would lead us
too far astray to specify, its agriculture was, at that
time, and always has been, in a low state.
Cuba was not then, as now, liberally supplied
with the products of this and other countries.
Fruits and vegetables, such as apples, beets, turnips, potatoes, parsnips, and onions, commanded
extravagant prices. An apple is as attractive to
a Cuban as an orange, pine-apple, or cocoa-nut is
to us.
As late as 1806, beets and parsnips brought,




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.        147
when carried from New London to the French
West Indies, sixteen dollars per barrel. Isaac had
three barrels of beets, which his uncle had given
him, and some nice codfish, which he had caught,
cured for his own use, and some butter that Hannah Murch gave him, and he sold the whole for
eighty-seven dollars, which was more than double
the wages of an able seaman at that period. In
addition to this he had obtained a practical knowledge of navigation and the use of instruments;
kept a journal; taken his trick at the helm most
of the time; learned to heave the lead, perform all
the nice jobs in seamanship, and to sew a little with
palm and needle. He had also received a great
deal of most excellent advice, which, coining from
one he loved, made a lifb-long impression. He was
now to have the opportunity of going in a squarerigged vessel, of aiding in getting her afloat, of
repairing and rigging, and of stowing her cargo,
and, what was of no little importance, seeing the
methods taken to do this by a man like Captain
Rhines, without the aid of professed carpenters,
blacksmiths, or calkers.
"Jerusalem!" said Joe; "Charlie thought he
was passing rich when he received ten dollars for
his share in the concern of Bell, Rhines, & Co.




148       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
What he'll say now I don't know. Guess there'll
be some squealing and some surprises for Ben
and Sally. He can buy boat's sails, tools, and a
whole litter of pigs, if he wants to."
"Who is Charlie, I should like to know? " asked
Isaac.
"He's just the smartest, best-hearted, best-principled boy that ever went on two legs -ain't he,
John?"
"Yes," replied the mate.
"Is he smarter than I am?"
" Present company is always excepted."
"Does Captain Rhines like him?"
" Yes, almost as well as he does John."
Joe then told him Charlie's story.
The bum-boatmen having taken away their
property, the sheep were tied, put into the canoe,
and carried ashore.
But a very different plan was pursued in respect
to the horses. They put a long halter on one
horse, and led him to the side of the vessel. Isaac
held the end of this, sitting in the stern of the
canoe, while Joe held her up with the oars; the
others, placing handspikes under the belly of the
horse, pitched him  overboard.  Thus they did
with all of them.




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.       149
Horses are powerful swimmers when free from
encumbrances. These never offered to swim ashore,
but kept snorting and swimming around the other
horse which Isaac was holding. Joe now pulled
for the beach, the horses swimming after the canoe.
On the beach was a pen running down to the
water's edge, into which Isaac led the horse, and
the others, following him, were secured.
The thought may strike our readers that Ben
did not manifest much shrewdness in giving up so
large a part of the vessel to his mate and men to
carry ventures, by which they obtained such high
wages; that it would have been better to have
paid them the regular wages, carried these things
on the ship's account, and put the profits in his
own pocket; but he had no choice in this matter.
He had not the money to buy these articles, or to
pay his crew full wages. Neither would they have
gone in such a craft to be turned ashore in a foreign country, without knowing how they should
get back. But the venture offered inducements
most attractive, and, to Yankee nature, irresistible.
When Captain Rhimes came aboard at night he
found the decks cleared, the hawser that encircled
the vessel removed, the cattle-pen taken away, and
the long-boat in the water astern.




150        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"We are ready to discharge," said the mate.
"So am I; I've sold."
"For how much? "
"Forty dollars a thousand for boards, ten for
shingles, and ten per box for codfish; but I've
done the best on beef. I've got ten barrels of beef
that Ben bought and run in debt for, and I've sold
them to a slaver for twenty dollars per barrel."
"Whew!" replied the mate; "the boards wan't
hardly worth sawing at home and taking to market."
"I guess," said Joe Griffin, " we'll be able to give
Sally a new dress. Won't Ben rig her up if she'll
let him? He can afford to have a crane instead of
a beech withe to hang the pot on."
"There's another thing better than all the rest,
and affects us all."
"' What is that? " asked the mate.
" Well, you see, they are mighty short of slaves.
There has been a disorder -- small-pox — among
them that has killed them off. They are fitting
out a great many slavers; those vessels want a
great deal of beef; they are short of lumber, too,
and the captain general, in order to encourage
trade, has remitted the duties for four months.
How have you sold the ventures?"
They told him.




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.        151
"Have you sold my candles?"
"Yes, sir."
"Charlie's venture?"
"Yes, sir."
" Aunt Molly Bradish's butter?"
"Yes, sir."
"She's a good old soul! My mother used to
think a sight of her. God bless her! Did you
save one coop of hens?"
"L Yes, sir."
"We'll keep them to lay eggs for us. The
Union, Captain Starrett, is going in the morning,
and will take letters. So go to writing, and in the
morning we'll help him tow out."
The captain took his pen to estimate the sum he
had gained by the remission of duties, when he
found it amounted, on his whole cargo, to twentyfive hundred dollars or more.
By the time it was fairly daylight, the Union
had weighed anchor, and set her sails.
Captain Rhines and his crew assisted to tow her
down. She had been a privateer during the war,
was very sharp, and carried a press of sail. Just
as they came outside the Moro, a light breeze filled
her sails, the boats hastily cast off their lines, and
she glided swiftly ahead.




152         THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
The voice of Isaiah came shrill and clear over
the water, singing at the studding-sail halyards, -
"De cap'n's a driver, de mate is a driver,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
Drive her through de water, 0, why don't you drive her?
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
De foam at our fore-foot, rolling white as de snow,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
We sail o'er de ocean, and we sing Johnny Crow,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
We're saucy to fight, we're nimble to fly,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
Like de fish in de sea, like de bird in de sky,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
For de Stars and de Stripes we hab fought wid de foe,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
Now de fighting is ober, we will sing Johnny Crow,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0.
De fair wind he blowing, nebber cloud in de sky,
John, John Crow is a dandy, O.
We sheet home de royal, and we bid you good by,
John, John Crow is a dandy, 0."
"She doesn't leave a wake bigger than a shad,"
said Captain Rhines, looking after her.  "There
go the studding-sails aloft; fair wind and five knots
current after her. Grass won't grow on her bottom, I can tell you. He means to get back before




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.        153
the duties are put on, and while beef is up, and
he's promised those darkies a barrel of rum if they
do it. Well, whoever carries that letter to Elm
Island will meet with a warm reception I reckon,
and will be likely to get the best to eat and drink
there is in the house."
As prohibitory duties were imposed from selfish
motives, they were remitted in the same spirit
when necessity compelled. Thus, in recent times,
Great Britain suspended her corn laws, and admitted foreign grain.
In the great hurricane, which destroyed in Cuba
four millions of property, two hundred and seventyeight vessels, killed one hundred and fifty persons,
and overthrew two hundred houses in Havana, the
Spanish government remitted the duties on lumber
and provisions for several months.
These occasions were of much more frequent
occurrence in past times than now.
The Ark was now hauled on to the beach till she
grounded; then the galley and cabin were thrown
overboard and towed ashore. Rollers were put
under them, and they were hauled up on the
beach with a tackle, and the chimney rebuilt.
They now began to raft the boards, and, by
night, they had removed so many as to have liberated quite a number of the water-casks.




154       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Flour worked with them of his own free will, as
it was no part of his duty. So did the mate and
Captain Rhines; and, as they had but a short distance to tow their rafts, the work went on with
great rapidity.
When night came, Captain Rhines said, -
" Now, boys, that we have casks enough, I want
in the morning tide to work upon the brig. If
there should come a norther, she would go to
pieces."
The vessel lay near the edge of a reef that slanted off very abruptly into deep water. She was
heeled towards the shore, and the hole was in the
bow next to the land. By wading in and putting
their heads under water, they were enabled to get
at that portion of the hole that was beneath the
surface.  They proceeded to stop the leak temporarily with boards and oakum, over which they
nailed several layers of tarred canvas, taking turns
at- working as long as they could hold their breath.
Into the side next the water they drove some eyebolts, and to these secured the empty casks they
had brought from the Ark.
Two anchors were now let go, and tackles made
fast to them and to the heads of each of the brig's
masts. The design was (as she sat quite upright)




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.       155
to haul taut on the tackles, and cant her on to the
casks, which, as the tide made, would buoy her keel,
and she would slide off into deep water. The tide
in Havana only flows about two feet, but they
judged, as the ledge fell off so abruptly, that if
they could heave her well down on her broadside, it would answer their purpose. The ends
of the falls were now taken to the windlass and
capstan of the brig, and hove taut.  The calculation was, the next morning, as the tide made,
to heave on the capstan and windlass as long as
they could stand on deck, then nipper the falls, and
haul her down by hand. They now pumped her
out, and left her till the next day.
"If we can't heave her down ourselves," said the
captain, " I can hire some free darkies."
The English captain, who was really a good man
at heart, though a little vain and inclined to
bluster, had been no indifferent spectator of the
proceedings going on in his vicinity. He noticed
that the crew of this strange craft and the officers
all lived together, while, at the same time, the commands of the captain were obeyed, and even anticipated, with a cheerfulness, intelligence, and
alacrity unknown on board his own ship.  Ile
saw the boards rattled out of the Ark with a celer



156       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
ity that was to him perfectly astounding; for Joe
Griffin had declared before they began that he
could drag more lumber than any man on board,
he didn't care what his name was, and the rest
were putting him to the proof. So much of the
lumber was now discharged from the Ark, that he
could see through her beneath the wales, and noticed that she was the mere skeleton of a vessel,
and could not but do justice to the skill and energy which contrived and carried out so bold an
undertaking. With his glass he watched them
while at work upon the brig, and, himself an experienced seaman, saw that the man whose salutation
he had refused to return was his superior.
"The man is a seaman, every inch of him," said
he to himself. " They will get that vessel off, and
repair, and go home in her, and he'll make more
money than I shall in this ship. Well, if they are
a sample, I don't wonder they got their liberty; and
they deserve to have it," he concluded, with that
sense of justice and fair play which underlies the
English character.
"I'm half a mind to go over there and apologize
to him, and offer to help him. I never felt so mean
in my life."
Just before night, Captain Rhines went ashore.




SELLING AND DISCHARGING.       157
When, having transacted his business, he returned
to his boat, he found the English captain walking
up and down the quay in a state of great excitement.  His men had left the boat -probably got
drunk. He had urgent reasons for going directly.
on board his vessel, and, though he had hailed several times, could get no reply.
"Captain Rhines instantly accosted him with, -
"Captain, I'll put you on board your ship in my
canoe, or, as she is a poor affair, I will tow you in
your own boat."
"I owe you an apology, sir," replied the English captain, "for my rudeness the other morning.
I am both sorry for and ashamed of it. Give me
your hand."
He insisted upon Captain Rhines getting into his
boat, and they took the canoe in tow. When they
reached the ship, he invited Captaini Rhines to take
a glass of wine with him.
"I would return the compliment if I could," said
Captain Rhines, "but really I have no decent
place in which to entertain a fiiend."
"Any place that is good enough for you is good
enough for me.. I shall visit you at the first opportunity. I want to see the man who run the lines
(Joe Griffin) the day you ran away from me. I




158      THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
never saw a man handle himself as that young fellow did. But there's one thing I must insist upon;
that is, sending my crew to help you heave that
brig down in the morning."
Captain Rhines gladly accepted the offered aid,
and they parted the best of friends. In the mornning they succeeded in getting the brig off, and
brought her to anchor near the Ark. By night
they had come up with the Ark's rigging, taken it
off the masts, pitched the spars overboard, towed
them ashore, and hauled the Ark alongside the
wharf.
It was now Saturday night.
"We've no reason to be ashamed of this week's
work," said the captain; "and to-morrow is the
Sabbath of the Lord and a day of rest."




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          159
CHAPTER X.
A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.
SATURDAY afternoon, while the men were towing
the Ark's spars ashore, putting the sails and rigging under cover, and pumping out the brig, Isaac
took the hens into the canoe, and carried them on
shore.
Isaac, you know, was a country boy, born and
bred on a farm, among cattle, pigs, and hens.
When he opened the coop, and let out the hens
that had been shut up in that confined space for
more than a month, into the warm sun and air,
their evident joy delighted him, as it would you,
had you been there. The rooster flew upon the
top of the coop, flapped his wings, and crowed defiance to all Cuba, saying, —
"I represent the United States of America —
who are you?"
Then, jumping down, he ran along towards his
dames, trailing one wing on the ground, and making a little prating noise of mingled joy and con



160       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
gratulation, while the hens dug great holes in the
hot sand, and burrowed, and rolled, sticking out
first one leg, and then the other, cleaning themselves up for Sunday.  He stood and looked at
them a while- it reminded him so strongly of
home. Then, taking some of the boards that had
been used for the cattle-pen, he made a house for
them, with roosts and places for nests, and put in
some hay for them to make nests of. He also
found lying on the beach the shell of a large turtle,
and digging a hole in the ground, he put it in, with
the hollow side up, as a trough for them to drink
out of.
The following morning the crew washed on the
beach, shaved, and put on clean clothes, and. all
kept the day as a day of rest, as they had been
trained to do from childhood —reading some portion of the Scriptures.
"Flour now came to the captain, saying,
"Massa cap'n, read some to Flour."
"What shall I read? "
"' Please, massa, read about de Savior. I lub best
to hear about him."
The captain read to him several chapters in the
First of John. The black then, after whispering to
Captain Rhines, gave him an ounce of gold (seventeen dollars).




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           161
Captain Rhines then went with Isaac on board
the brig. She lay at such a distance fiom the
shore, and, being light, was so high out of the
water, that, as they were seated on her deck, they
had an excellent view of the fortifications, ships in
the harbor, and the adjacent shores.
The harbor of Havana is one of the best in the
world. The entrance is so narrow, that, at a distance, it resembles a gash cut in the land, when it
expands into a basin capable of containing a thousand ships of the largest size.
On the right, as you enter, stands a fort called
"La Punta." On the opposite side of the passage
(which is about four hundred yards in width)
rises the Moro Castle from the edge of a rocky
bluff, its massive walls bristling with cannon.
From the Moro runs a wall, mounted with heavy
pieces of brass called the "Twelve Apostles," almost level with the water; and behind La Punta,
the city of Havana, which is walled, the houses of
stone, and the roofs covered with concave tiles.
As Isaac gazed around upon the walls of the
city, the fortifications of immense strength, the
enornious hull of the guard ship, with her three
rows of teeth, and other men-of-war of smaller
proportions, which lay farther up the harbor, the
11




162        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
wondering boy, who had never in all his life seen
a man-of-war, battery, or fortifications of any sort,
exclaimed, —
"All the people in the world couldn't take this
place."
"It was taken once, at any rate," replied Captain
Rhines; "and I was at the taking of it."
"Taken! these great forts taken! Were there
any war vessels here then? "
"Yes; there were nine ships of the line and four
frigates. It was done right in the hottest weather
-O, screeching hot! We broke ground at the
Moro the first of June, took it the last of July, and
the city about the middle of August. There were
three millions of booty, and no end to the sugar
and molasses. We had only fourteen thousand
men, while the Spaniards had more than twenty,
and were on their own ground, and behind stone
walls. Our people were very eager to take it; we
sent every man we could spare; but, poor fellows!
most of them left their bones here; very few ever
came back."
"But what did our folks want to come here to
fight for?  What had the Spaniards done to
them?"
"At that time they were all by the ears in




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          163
Europe, fighting among themselves, and had been
for years. France and England were natural enemies, always were, and always will be. There they
are, two great nations, with only a narrow channel
between them, looking at one another and trying
to find something to quarrel about.  Did you
never see two boys, Isaac, that were pretty nearly
matched, dare each other?  One will make a mark
on the ground, and say,'Step over that if you
dare.'"
"Yes, sir; or one will spit on a chip, put it on
his hat, and say,'Knock that off, and see what
you'll get, old fellow.'"
" That was just the way with them. They would
fight and fight, and bring all the other nations of
Europe into their quarrel, till they were all worn
out, and could raise no more men, —and only old
men, children, women, and wounded soldiers, were
left to till the ground, - and then make peace.
When they came to square accounts, they would
often give up what they had taken from each other;
so that, as to land, they would stand about where
they did before. They mlight have fought and
mauled each other to their hearts' content, for all
that we cared; but, you see, we were always drawn
in. France held Canada right behind us, Acadia




164       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
on the east, and Louisiana on the other side. The
instant war was declared between England and
France, down poured the savages, with tomahawk
and scalping-knife, on our settlements. They killed
the babe in the cradle, and at the mother's breast,
and the old grandfather in the chimney corner."
" 0, yes, sir; I know all about that! My uncle
has told me. My relations were many of them
killed by them."
"Then the English armies would come over
here to fight, and we were obliged to feed them,
raise men, and go and fight in a quarrel of their
making, in which we had no interest, and in which,
if they got the better, it was of no benefit to us.
But after a while Canada was taken. I wish you
could have seen the gladness there was in the
country then. Men who had been enemies, and
hadn't spoken together for years, hugged each
other in the streets. The people, wild with joy,
came out of the garrisons, and went to their fields.
No more Indian massacres; the mother could nurse
her babe without fear, and the husband could hoe
his corn without being shot at from behind the
stump. No wonder, then, we were willing to do
all in our power to take Canada. We were fighting for ourselves and our firesides, and we were
just as eager to take this island."




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.         165
"I don't understand why you were so willing to
come here and fight. This island was not your
next-door neighbor, and full of Indians to shoot
and scalp you."
"I will tell you. France and Spain had been
fighting with England. Other nations had been
drawn into the quarrel. They were all more or
less exhausted, and beginning to talk about peace.
We were afraid, when they came to settle up, that
England would give Canada back to the French,
and take something else here or in Europe. Then
the next time they quarrelled, it would be the old
story of Indian massacres. We wanted to clear
out that den of vipers. We had no idea that each
would hold on to what it had taken, and thought
if England could take Cuba, it might be given up
at the peace, with other places, instead of Canada."
"But I should not have thought England would
have ever thought of giving it up, or that you
would have been afraid of it. Didn't they know
it would leave you at the mercy of the savages?
and were you not their colonies, their own flesh
and blood?"
"Had the decision been left to the people of
England, we should have had no anxiety about the
matter; but it was to be determined by their rulers,




166       TIIHE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
who, with a very few exceptions, had no interest
in our welfare, no pity for our misfortunes. Thus
we thought that in fighting their battles we were
fighting our own, and, in fighting to take this
place, were aiding to keep Canada.
"France and Spain had made a treaty to stand
by each other against all other powers, and to share
equally all gains and losses. So, when the war was
over, and they came to squarec the yards, England
kept Canada, gave up this island to Spain, and took
Florida. France, to repay Spain for the loss of
Florida, gave her New Orleans and part of Louisiana."
"' I don't see how men could fight in such hot
weather."
"They died, boy, like sheep with the murrain.
The strongest men would die in four hours with
the fever. I have seen them drop dead dragging
cannon up that hill. They had another disorder
that was longer killing a man, but was horrible!
They rotted alive. I've seen worms crawling in
and out of their flesh, like maggots on a cheese;
and, when men died, there was not soil enough to
cover them. You would see an arm sticking out
here, and a foot there.  The turkey buzzards
scratched them out of their graves. They were




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          167
also flung into the water, and bodies were floating
around the shores. We were also in great distress
for water; had to bring it clear from Matanzas,
from San Juan, for this island was parched with
drought. Before the rain came, we drank water
from the ship that stank, and roped like molasses.
You were obliged to hold your nose before you
could drink.
"There were eleven men killed by one gun from
the Moro. We never could have taken it without
the negroes. We had twenty-five hundred of
them to throw up intrenchments, carry fascines,
and drag cannon. I want to tell you another
thing. Some people don't think much of a negro
— consider them about the same as monkeys. Old
Captain Sandford used to say they had no brains;
that their heads were all solid, like a log of wood.
He said he knew they were, for he had struck them
hard enough with a top-maul to beat their brains
out, if they had any."
"I know better than that, sir. Flour has got as
much brains as I have, and can teach me a great
many things."
" It was about Flour I was going to speak. He
has as good a headpiece as any one of us. Ask him
the value of Spanish money, ask him about any




168       THE ARK OF EL3M ISLAND.
of the places he has been to, the productions, and
how people get their living, and you will find out
whether he has brains. He can take a vessel into
Havana as well as I can. He can't read or write,
but he knows more of the Bible than I do, just by
hearing it read. Mr. Peterson, his old master,
bought him  from  Captain Joe McLellan, who
brought him from St. Domingo. He was a kind
master to him, but he ought to have taught him to
read. A bigger heart never beat in a human breast
than lies under that black hide. Did you see him
give me that ounce this morning?"
"Yes, sir."
"What do you suppose that was for?"
"I'm sure I don't know, sir. I expect to keep
for him.":" It was for his old master, who is out of health
and poor. He was afraid he should get drunk and
spend it. So he gave it to me, and told me to take
five dollars more out of his wages, and lay it out
in coffee and sugar for him."
"I don't believe there are many white men would
do that."
"That is not all, my boy. I volunteered, with
my ship's crew, to man a battery. I was young;
knew nothing; so feared nothing. I saw a spent




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           169
ball rolling along the ground. It was going slow,
and I put out my foot to stop it. It broke my leg
as though it had been a pipe-stem. Flour was then
not as old as you, and a boy on board, as you are
now. There I lay on my back, week after week,
in that burning heat. A mother could not have
taken better care of me than did that boy- a
Guinea negro just brought over. He would sit up
in the dead hours of the night to fan me, after he
had been at work all day. He would bring me
drinks, and do everything that an own son could
do. I never shall forget it as long as I live, and
while I have a cent, that man shall not want."
"But he beats his wife."
"Only when he's drunk, and don't know what
he's about."
"I shan't have much studying to do on the passage home. I mean to teach him to read and
write."
" You couldn't do a better thing. He's a firstrate calker, too. He will larn you how to drive
oakum, and larn you as much as you larn him, I've
no doubt."
In the afternoon they all went to walk to see
the groves of palms, the orange and lemon trees,
and the town of Regla. Regla is now a miserable,




170        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
dilapidated place; but then it was the great resort
of slavers, and there were ship-yards, blacksmith
shops, hulks for heaving out vessels, and a beach,
safe fromn wind and sea, where a vessel might
careen -and it was a busy, noisy place.
As they passed the door of a church, which
stood a short distance from the shore, they noticed
lights burning within.
"It's a funeral," said the captain.  "Let us
go in."
The scene was a novel one to Isaac, and of great
interest. The others had often witnessed similar
ceremonies. The walls were profusely decorated
with pictures of saints; over the altar was a painting of the crucifixion, and beside it an image of
the Virgin Mary. There were no seats, the worshippers either kneeling upon mats, or sitting upon
stools brought by negro servants.  The coffin was
made in halves. The part which contained the
body was so thickly cushioned and stuffed, that the
whole front of the body was visible, the edges of
the shoulders and the hips being a little above
the coffin. The body was dressed as in life, with a
a pair of shoes on the feet that had never been
worn. The upper part of the coffin was made to
shut over the other, and held by a rabbet and silver




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           171
clasps, the whole being covered with black broadcloth, put on with silver nails. The coffin was placed
upon a raised platform, which was also draped with
black, and six candles of wax, three feet in length,
and three inches in diameter at the base, placed
around it.
When the priest had performed the burial service, it was taken by negroes to the graveyard
behind the church. The master of ceremonies
now, with a sharp knife, cut the clothing upon the
body, and even the shoes on the feet, into small
strips. The body was then thrown into the grave,
a coarse cloth flung over it, and the negroes, filling
the grave about half full, trampled down the earth
with their feet. This was to leave room to bury
another body on the top of the first. The coffin,
which was the property of the church, was taken
back to serve for the next interment. The Spanish
custom is, to commence on one side of the graveyard, and dig a row of graves the whole length,
and fill them, putting two bodies in each, lime being thrown in to hasten decomposition. When
these are filled, another row is dug, till the yard
has all been dug over, when they begin again,
throwing out the bones of those first buried, and
putting in fresh bodies. The bones are heaped up
in the corner of the yard and burned.




172        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
There was a pile in the corner of that yard ten
feet in height.
It is said that the priests, in some places, sell this
earth to parties who manufacture saltpetre.
"What did that man cut the clothes to pieces
for, captain?" asked Isaac.
"I expect it was to render them  useless, lest the
negroes should dig them up and sell them."
"I hope," he said (gazing with horror on the
ghastly heap of skulls), "I shan't die here, to be
buried in this fashion."
"It is just of a piece with their whole character," said the captain (who detested a Spaniard);
"the meanest, most narrow-contracted nation on
the face of the earth, and the laziest. It is their
miserable religion and government that has made
them so. Here is this brig. I only gave the Spaniard seventy-five dollars for his bargain. We've
got her afloat already. She leaks very little, and
is not essentially injured. The lazy beggar would
have let her lie there till a norther came and tore
her to pieces. Look at this island, the best land
the sun ever shone upon; will produce cattle,
horses, sheep, and two or three crops of food a
year, while they buy beef, pork, candles, and almost
everything of us, with our cold climate and hard
soil.




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          173
"They will waylay in the dark and stab you in the
back; but one Englishman or American will knock
down as many of them as can stand before him.
There lies that great ship they are so proud of. A
couple of English frigates would fight her on her
flanks, and knock her into smithereens.  They
never fight but they get licked and lose a slice
of territory. I believe there's a curse on them for
all the innocent blood they have shed,'both black
and white and Indian; but not a life was lost here
in vain. England had stripped France and Spain
of so many of their colonies, and embittered them
so much against her, that, when our revolutionary
war came, they were eager to assist us, and return
the compliment. Never mind how you are buried,
my boy, if your sins are only forgiven; and thank
God you live under a free government, and are not
brought up in ignorance and laziness."
Our readers will recollect that Captain Rhines
and all his crew, except the black, were of English
descent, and had inherited the bitter national prejudices in relation to Spaniards, as Catholics, slayers of Protestants, and for their attempt to invade
England, and convert that heretical nation by
means of instruments of torture.
It would have been very difficult for the captain




174       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
to acknowledge a single good quality in a Spaniard.
He probably thought it a great stretch of Christian
charity to attribute their faults to their religion and
government.
On Monday the remaining portion of the cargo
was discharged as the Ark lay alongside the quay.
She was now taken to pieces, and her planks and
timbers piled up on the beach to make use of and
sell, and also the cedar.
We are sorry to say that, while this was going
on, the mate and Flour both became intoxicated,
and were of no use when very much needed, Seth
Warren being obliged to take account of cargo,
and Isaac acting as cook. As this did not occupy
nearly all his time, he embraced this opportunity
to improve the condition of his hens. There were
vast quantities of crabs on the shore that he
brought to the hen-house and broke up. The
animal matter he gave the hens, and the shells
furnished lime of which to form their egg-shells.
Captain Waterman, the captain of the English
ship, came over one morning to see Captain
Rhines, and, announcing his intentions of staying
to dinner, sent his boat back, telling the captain
he would like to have him send him back in his
canoe.




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          175
" How bad it is," said the captain to Isaac, "that
Flour is drunk just now, when we have company!
You must do the best you can; kill some of the
chickens, run to market, and get some sweet potatoes and plantain. I'll run out once in the while
to see to you. Think you can make a pudding?"
"Yes, sir; I can make as good a pudding as
Flour can, I have helped him make so many."
"I don't know about that; but it's a good thing
to have confidence."
Isaac was now put upon his mettle. His whole
heart and soul were in that dinner. He had every
motive to excel. He wanted to show the Englishman'what he could do. He wished to gratify
Captain Rhines, whom he loved with an affection
second only to that which he bore to his parents.
He also verily thought the honor of the American
Flag was involved in his success.
Captain Rhines, thinking Captain Waterman
would consider it an insult to be invited to eat
with the crew, had intended to dine before calling
the men from their work; but he insisted upon eating with them, according to their usual custom;
upon which Captain Rhines sent Isaac to tell them
to knock off earlier than usual, that they might
have opportunity to put on clean clothes.




176       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
The dinner was a complete success.  Captain
Waterman showed, by his performance at the table,
his appreciation of the plum-pudding; was greatly
pleased with the appearance of the men; talked
with them, and was so much surprised at the intelligent answers he received, that he inquired of Captain Rhines, after they had gone to their work, in
respect to their history, and was very much astonishied when Captain Rhines told him that not one
of those men intended to follow the sea for a living,
but were laying up money to buy a farm, and stock
it, and merely went in the winter to get a little
hard money.
"But," said his friend, "you have no mate to
oversee them, and keep them at work."
"Keep them at work!" replied Captain Rhines;'they are as anxious to work to earn their wages
as I am to have them; and they know what to do
as well as the mate (who is away to-day) could tell
them. They are all my neighbors' sons. I have
had every one of them on my knees a score of
times when they were children."
"But have you always had such crews?"
"Not always. Sometimes, when I have sailed
from Boston and New York, I have had to take
such crews as I could get, but very seldom. I




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          177
have always had my officers from home - generally
my crews. I have often taken whole crews of our
boys to join vessels at Boston and New York."
"Is this boy your son?"
"No; I wish he was. He's the nephew of a
man that I love better than any other person in
the world, outside of my own family. He has
always been brought up on a farm —only having been one voyage fishing — till he came here;
but he's as smart as anything that was ever done
up in hide, and a born sailor. He has learned
navigation pretty much on this trip; can steer as
good a trick in light winds as any man; make all
the knots and hitches, and, if nothing happens to
him, he'll be master of a vessel by the time he's
twenty-one."
Captain Waterman spent the greater part of the
day with Captain Rhines, and in the afternoon
Joe and Seth set him on board his own ship in the
canoe.
As the friends parted, he said to Captain
Rhines,
"This vessel will come down hard. When you
get ready to heave her out, let me know the day
beforehand, and I'll send you my whole crew and
any rigging or tackles you may want."
12




178       THE ARK OF ELM ISLANID.
Captain Rhines had felt more uneasiness in respect to the dinner than he would have been
willing to own. A failure would have mortified
him very much. He therefore felt a corresponding delight at its successful result. He praised
Isaac in no measured terms, offering him a glass
of spirit. But what was his astonishment when
Isaac respectfully declined!  Had a thunderbolt
fallen at his feet, he could not have been more
amazed.
"Not take a glass of spirit! Why, is the boy
crazy? Do you think I would ask you to do anything that was not right and proper?"
" No, sir; that is not it."
" What is it, then? I should like to know what
put such notions into your head."
"Well, sir, last winter I staid at Uncle Isaac's,
and took care of his cattle, and went to school. I
slept in the bed-room right off the kitchen. I used
to hear him and Aunt Hannah talk when they
thought I was asleep. He said that people were
killing themselves, and running out their property,
drinking; that there ought to be something done
about it; that the boys were growing up in the
same way, and he didn't know where it would end;
that new rum was only three cents a glass, and
everybody could afford to drink it.




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          179
"But your uncle takes his spirit in moderation,
as I do."
"Yes, sir; but he said he wished he had never
seen any, and had very strong thoughts of leaving
it off altogether. He always kept his spirit in the
closet in the spare room; and after that I scarcely
ever saw him go in there. I thought about it
while I lay there, although he never said a word
to me, - only talked with Aunt Hannah, - but he
said, if he was going to begin life again, he would
never touch it, only in case of sickness.
" When I came on board the Ark, I wanted Flour
to learn me knots and do some of my work. I
thought it was the beginning of life with me, and I
would do as my uncle told Aunt Hannah he would,
if he was a boy, and going to begin; so I have
given my allowance to Flour, and have not tasted
a drop; but that is not all, sir."
"What more is there? Let us have it all."
"You know, sir, that day we had the gale of
wind, and I was sitting with you on the windlass,
you told me always to look into the real groundwork of things, and try to find out the reason of
them."
"Yes, my boy, that's right, and I am glad to
find you remember so well what I have told
you."~




180       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Well, sir, I've been looking and thinking. I
heard you tell Captain Waterman that Mr. Strout
was one of the best seamen that ever trod a vessel's deck; that he could cut a suit of sails, or cut
and fit a gang of rigging; was one of the besthearted men that ever lived, and might be trusted
with untold gold, but could not be depended upon,
because he would get drunk when he came into
port, and that was all the thing that kept him from
being master of as good a ship as ever swum. I
saw, too, that just when you wanted him most
about taking account of cargo, and heaving the
brig off, he was drunk; and it was the same with
Flour; that when you had company, and needed
him most, he wasn't there; was spending his
money, and would have nothing to take care of
himself with when he is old. I put all these
things together, and what. I heard my uncle say.
I am very sorry, sir, to disoblige you, who have
been so good to me, but I have thought about it,
and looked into the reasons of it, as you told me;
and I have made up my mind that if Mr. Strout
and Flour had never begun, they would not be
where they are now, and I am not going to begin,
sir."
Captain Rhines was confounded. The clear



A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           181
headed, straightforward boy had turned all his
artillery back upon himself. He recollected Isaac's
encounter with the skunk, and knew that if he had
fairly made up his mind that a course of action
was right, he would pursue it, regardless of consequences. He was also a remarkably fair-minded,
noble-spirited man, and dearly loved plain dealing.
So, without attempting to change the boy's opinion,
or getting angry, he merely said, -
"Well, Isaac, if you think you are right, go
ahead." And, drinking the liquor he had poured
out for the boy, he left the cabin.
Captain Rhines had bought several barrels of
Carolina pitch and tar of Captain Starrett; but
oakum was wanting, and as the work of taking
out the wet lumber, and of breaking up the Ark,
was too heavy for Isaac, he told him to cut up the
hawser, which had been used to fiap the Ark, and
was much chafed, and boil it with other odds and
ends, in order to take out the tar, that it might be
picked into oakum.
In the climate of Cuba, it is very difficult to keep
milk. So the milkmen drive their cows to the doors,
and sell the milk to their customers. A negro
came down to the beach one day with his cow,
and Captain Rhines, finding that he had a family




182       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
of children, hired both him and some of his children to pick oakum for a trifle more than their
board.
The negro belonged to an African tribe called
"Queesees," who are distinguished for industry
and honesty. He bore the distinctive mark of his
nation tattooed upon his cheek.
He brought with him three boys, their ages
varying firom twelve to sixteen years. Colon (Columbus), the oldest, was a very sprightly, intelligent
darky.
Isaac christened the old negro " Governor;" and,
in pursuance of the advice of Captain Rhines, he
soon began to ascertain what information could be
obtained from him by a persistent questioning.' Are you a slave? " inquired Isaac of him.
"No; I is fiee man, and all my family."
"Was you always free? "
"No; I was a slave eight years."
"Where did you learn to speak English?"
"I worked with English cooper.  My massa
hired him from Jamaica."
"How did you get your freedom?"
"I buy it."
"Where did you get the money?"
"I get it make work."




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           183
" How could you work if you was a slave? "
"Slave can work for hisself, if he no too lazy.
He work Sunday, work holiday, double-cross holiday, single-cross holiday, gitee money."
"What's a double-cross holiday? "
"That's holiday all day; berry strict, like Sunday.' Single-cross, half holiday."
"But if it's so strict, how can you work?"
"Priest let nigger work; massa let him work.
No care much what nigger do."
"But, if there's not business doing, I shouldn't
think there'd be anybody to hire you."
" O, great many holiday, - all de saints' day,
allers someting must be done; buckra man allers do
someting. He get permit to discharge vessel, to
load vessel. No many niggers work; dey lub best
dress up, sleep, go see de sights, hear de music.
Me no such fool as dat. Massa gib me piece ob
land. Me raise yam, plantain, corn, garlic — hab
chickens, hogs. Massa buy de chickens, hogs; gib
slave bigger price dan he get in de market."
" Why did he do that? "
"Massa like hab nigger work; make him smart.
He say,' Nigger dat work for hisself holiday, he
work better for him; he worth two niggerg dat
sleep in de sun.' I sell de odd tings in de market;




184        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
get money; bury him up in de ground; keep him
buy de freedom wid. Take too long get money
so. Massa hire de English cooper.  Massa say,'Quacco, go work in de shop.' Den I tink — tink
when I go to bed - I tink, Quacco, if you learn de
trabe, den you hab to pay more for de freedom. I
cut hoop in two when I shave him; break him
when I drive him. Head man tell my massa,' Dat
nigger one fool; he no get a trabe.' Yah, yah,
yah! Massa say to him,'Guinea nigger; head
thick.' Now I get valued."
"What is that?"
"You don't know dat?"
"No; I don't know anything about it."
" Den I make plain; tell you'bout de law. I go
to de Alcalde, say me want to be valued. Alcalde
choose two men; inassa choose nudder one. Dey
ask my massa,' IHow much you gib for Quacco?'
He say,'Tree hundred dollars.''Hab you learn
him any trabe?''No; he big fool.' Yah, yah,
yah! Den dey say,'You no learn him nottin',
he worth tree hundred dollars; no more.' Dey
write it in de book. I gib my massa fifty dollars;
dat be put in de book. Alcalde say,' Quacco, when
you pay two hundred fifty Cdollars more, you free.'
Den I learn berry fast —yah, y:h! — make cask




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          185
berry fast. Leetle while pay massa fifty dollars.
Nudder Spaniard tell me,'You come work for me.
I feed you; pay you so much ebery cask you
make.' I ask massa. He say,'You pay me one
real ebery day for ebery hundred dollar you owe
me, I let you go.' Me say, I will."
"How much is a real? "
"What you call your smallest money?"
"' A cent."
"' It be twelve ob deml."
"'Then you paid your master twenty-five cents
a day?"
" Yes."
"That was a high interest."
"But me make tree dollar one day, sometime
four. Work ebery holiday; work Sunday; work
in de night."
"I shouldn't have thought your master would
have sold you to yourself when he found you was
a good cooper."
"Dat de law. He must take de value when de
black man put it in his hand."
" Was he obliged to let you work for the other
man?"
"Yes, when me pay him de real. Den de udder
free niggers, dey say,'Quacco he owe his massa




186       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
fifty dollars; he most free; pity he work so long;
pity he be whipped, if his massa angry, when he
most free.' One say,'I lend him ounce.' Nudder
say,'Me lend him ounce. He get his free papers.
He pay us when he like.' So I get free."
"What did you do then?"
"I work berry hard till I buy piece ob land,
build de house, get de wife. Den I fling down
the adze bang in de floor, and dance and sing,
work when I like, play when I like. No put any
more money in de ground; spend it; hab good
time; no work holiday; put on fine clothes; go
hear de music; work little; play much; sleep
much."
"Why don't you work, and get rich, and buy
more land?"
" What de use ob dat? Dat no use; dat buckra way; dat no black man's way. Black man
dance fandango under de tree; he no vex hisself.
You go see where I live, Colon climb tree, get you
cocoa-nut."
Isaac was not at all backward to accept the invitation; and no sooner was work over, than he set
out.
Twilight in Cuba is very short; and, by the time
they arrived at the place, it was too dark to discern




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          187
the features of the landscape; but Isaac had an
opportunity to see something else that richly compensated for the loss. They had proceeded but a
short distance, when the air seemed filled with
wavy lines of fire. These were emitted from the
firefly or cucullo. Colon instantly caught two, fastened them to his toes to light their path, which lay
through a cocoa-nut grove, intermixed with lemon
and wild orange trees.
Isaac secured a quantity in his hat, spreading his
handkerchief over it to keep them in.
He now had opportunity to examine them, and
found them to be a kind of beetle. Behind the
eyes were two yellow spots, from which came a
green light; a bright red light was also emitted
from the abdomen while flying, but not when at
rest, as it was then covered by the wings.
Quacco's house was made of bamboos, thatched
with palm leaves, and plastered with lime mortar
It had a mud floor, as it stood on high ground,
which was strewn with dry plantain leaves. The
furniture of the hut was not very extensive, the
bed of the parents being a hide stretched over a
frame, while the rest slept in hammnocks made of
the twisted fibres of some plant, and filled with
dry grass. The drinking vessels consisted of cal



188       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
abashes and cocoa-nut cups, and the spoons were
of wood. Isaac was greatly taken with the calabashes, and Colon gave him two to carry back, and
told him, if he would come over in the daytime,
he would show him the tree, and he could get as
many as he liked.
They found Quacco's wife breaking up cocoannts for the hogs, and his two oldest sons, who had
been at work, one unyoking his oxen, having just
finished hauling sugar; the other just returned
from bringing molasses in kegs from a plantation
to the quay on the backs of three mules, one being
fastened to the tail of the other, the negro riding
the foremost.
Quacco's wife gave him guava jelly. He filled
his pockets with cocoa-nut meat and plantain, and
his hat with lightning bugs, while Colon, who went
to show him the way back, carried pieces of sugarcane to feed the fireflies with, some pieces of bamboo, and the calabashes full of bananas; in return
for which, Captain Rhines gave him a piece of
beef.
Joe Griffin, who was always ready to help Isaac,
took a couple of shingles for a top and bottom, cut
the bamboo into strips, and boring holes in the
shingles with an awl, stuck in the bamboo, thus




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           189
making a cage for the fireflies. Isaac put them in,
and gave them pieces of sugar-cane to eat, which
is the food of these insects. He now blew out the
light and shut the door, to make the place dark,
when he found they lighted the whole cabin, and
he could, by holding a book to the cage, see to
read; but it was only while they were disturbed.
When they became quiet, they gave little or no
light.
The next morning, when they went to work,
Isaac directed his conversation principally to Colon and the boy next in age - Tony; and, it must
be confessed, it turned more upon the doings of
the darky boys than the customs, productions, and
laws of the country.  Colon told Isaac so much
about these matters, and a place in Regla Bay
where there were oysters and shells, and about the
trees, that he asked Captain Rhines to let him go
in the daytime, when he could see the country; and
he had also a great curiosity to see the Governor's
place by daylight.
Flour having now concluded his drinking bout,
and returned to duty, Isaac could be spared; and
the captain, who was exceedingly fond of oysters,
and all kind of fi'uit, gave hlirn two days to go with
Colon where he liked, on condition that they
should procure oysters and fruit.




190       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
In order to make the most of their time, Colon
staid all night, and slept in the galley, with Flour.
As soon as it was light, they started in the canoe,
and went up the East Regla Bay about a mile to a
mangrove swamp. The mangrove will grow in
salt water, as the alder does in fresh; the sprouts
coming up from their roots bend down and take
root in the bottom, crossing each other in all directions, and forming a network of arches about two
feet above the mud and water in the shallow coves
and creeks, upon which you may walk.
From this mat of roots spring other upright
shoots, forming a dense, gloomy shade, among
which the water flows at high tide, making a
secure retreat for alligators, crabs, and multitudes
both of sea and land fowl. To the under side of
this network of roots the oysters were attached,
being moistened with the water at high tide.
Here Isaac beheld large herons, with plumage as
white as snow, blue and white egrets, and, more
beautiful than all, the scarlet ibis and flamingo. On
the high ground at the edge of the swamp were
thousands of paroquets on the sour orange trees,
and blue and white pigeons feeding on the seeds
of different plants.
They had gathered about a bushel of oysters,
when the black exclaimed, —




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          191
" Dere enough!"
"Enough! there's not quarter enough! Do you
suppose we are coming clear over here losing a
whole day to get a bushel of oysters?"
"Nebber did see anybody like'Merican boy;
want to make work out of play; come nudder
time."
"No; we can't. Next week we shall heave the
brig out, and then there won't be a moment to spare."
The negro boy worked a while longer, then announced his intention of seeking shelter beneath
a tamarind tree, that, branching low, spread out
its limbs most invitingly.
"I shan't go," said Isaac; "but I wish I had
some water."
"Me find you water."
He took Isaac to a mahogany tree, from whose
bark were growing wild pines, so called from their
resemblance to the pine-apple. At the base of the
leaves, which are wrapped so closely together as to
form a cup, is found water. As Colon laid his hand
upon one, out jumped a tree fiog, that was luxuriating in the natural reservoir, which afforded more
than a pint of water. Colon then procured some
green cocoa-nuts, and, cutting off the top, they
drank the milk and ate the meat, which, in that




192       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
unripe state, was soft, scooping it out with an oyster-shell. Being refreshed, Isaac commenced work
with renewed vigor; but soon perceiving that he
should by no means obtain the quantity of oysters
he wanted, without aid, he besought the negro,
who lay under the tree sucking sugar-cane, to help
him; to which he replied,"What for you want vex yourself, work in de
sun? Come set under de tree wid me; hear de
bird sing."
"Work first; play afterwards (lazy dog!)" soliloquized Isaac. "I'll make him help me! I'll beat
him! " And he actually cut a stick for the purpose,
when he bethought himself of a more effectual
method. "Look here, Co! you come help me, and
I'll give you three ship bread when I get home."
"I come!" replied the boy, jumping up with
alacrity.
The negroes are extravagantly fond of flour
bread. They eat but very little bread of any kind,
— potatoes and plantain taking its place, -- they
being too indolent to raise much corn.
" Me show you how to get dem! " he cried; and
now, all activity, he thrust the bows of the canoe
in beneath the arches of mangrove roots, and cut
them off with the hatchet, while Isaac scraped




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.          193
the oysters, with which they were covered, into
the canoe.  "Now," said the negro, "we go
play."
They pulled the canoe into the shade, and covered the oysters with green boughs. Colon led
the way through the forest, where he often had to
cut a path with the hatchet, so completely did the
creeping plants, stretching their woody stems from
tree to tree, obstruct their progress. They soon'
came to an old plantation that had been exhausted
and abandoned. All over the cane-fields, and from
the ruins of the building, sprang cocoa and cabbage palms, the former laden with both green and
ripe fruit.  Here were orange, guava, plantain,
and pine-apples, mixed with forest trees, coffee,
and sugar-cane, — all mingled together in one
great jungle.
Here the boys feasted and lolled in the shade
till thoroughly rested, and, unable to eat more,
returned by the middle of the afternoon, when
Isaac planted his oysters on the beach, where they
were bare but a short time at low tide, as a permanent supply, to the great surprise of the negro,
who had not been accustomed to look beyond the
present want, and who went home rejoicing with
his ship bread and a mess of oysters.
13




194       THE AR.K OF ELM ISLAND.
Captain Rhines was greatly delighted with the
supply of oysters, and permitted him to go again
the next day, giving him instructions to buy sweet
potatoes, plantains, and bananas of the negroes.
Isaac had now opportunity to see Quacco's land
and surroundings. The house, rudely as it was
constructed, presented a most picturesque and romantic appearance from the outside, its rude walls
being entirely covered with the vines of the yam
and various kinds of running plants. The garden,
which was four acres in extent, was enclosed with
a hedge of pinguin, whose sharp spines formed an
efficient protection against man or beast. Within
this enclosure, and nearly concealing the hut, were
plantains, which grew to a height of twelve feet,
with leaves five or six feet in length, mingled with
bananas of smaller growth; and at a little distance,
orange and lemon trees, patches of sweet potatoes
and melons, with tobacco, and Indian corn, which
they cut green to feed horses and cattle. The remaining portion was occupied with cocoa palms,
tamarind, and guava trees.
On a bench at the door, Quacco's oldest son was
seated, silently occupied in rubbing indigo into
some figures that he had been carving upon the
edge of a calabash.




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           195
The first thing that attracted the especial attention of Isaac was a calabash tree.
It resembles somewhat an apple tree. He instantly ascended it, and began to throw down the
fruit. It is oval in shape, of a greenish-yellow hue,
and from two to twelve inches in diameter.
He cut one open, and found it was full of pulp
and seeds. When these were scraped out, there
remained a thin, woody shell, which, when dry, will
hold water, and even endure to be put on the
fire.
" How I should like to live here! " said Isaac to
himself, as he looked around upon the profusion of
fruits and flowers; "wouldn't me and John Rhines
take comfort here! We could hire a piece of land,
and build a real nice house of bamboo, and thatch
it, and have a good floor, — no mud or dirt about
it, - raise coffee and corn; catch turtles; get their
shells, and sell them —O0, wouldn't we go ahead!
but then, I shouldn't want to live here, after all,
and I'm sure I shouldn't want to die here; but if
anybody could do as the squawks do, and had
wings to fly over here in the winter, with half a
dozen other boys, and live wild, wouldn't it be
nice! "
The negroes seemed to have no idea of laying up




196       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
anything; they would haul sugar and molasses
fiom the plantations to the quay, get a little tort( se-shell, in the spring work a little on the
land till they earned a small sum of money, and
then have a good time spending it; in the holidays, dress up in the gayest colors, gamble, and
buy tickets in the lottery; and when their money
was all gone, sell their finery, come back to rags;
then earn more to spend in the same way.
The ground was so fertile, so much grew spontaneously, no winter to provide for, and little
clothing needed, that they lacked the stimulus for
effort.
Quacco had worked very hard while fired by the
desire of obtaining his freedom; but now, both
himself and family were about as indolent as
they could well be, working just enough to provide themselves with abundance of food; kept
pigs, fowl, goats, and cows; ate, slept, and frolicked, let the future look out for itself, and were
so happy that Isaac almost wished he was a
darky.
They now borrowed a canoe of a fisherman that
lived on the shore, went out beyond the Moro, and
spent the forenoon fishing.
Isaac caught but very few fish, so much of his




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.            197
time was occupied in looking at them, and admiring their beauty; they were of all colors, and of all
shades of color - green, red, blue, gold, and
scarlet.
At noon they returned and dined at the Governor's (Quacco's) upon fish, with a dessert of different fruits.
Isaac had brought his gun with him, and after
dinner wanted to go to the mangrove swamp,
where he had seen piceons the day befbre, but
Colon would not go at any rate, till he had taken
a siesta, as did all the family; and Isaac, lying down
under the cool shaide of a mango, yielded to the
feeling of languor induced by the climate, and was
soon as fast asleep as the rest.
Onil their way to the grove, they passed again
through the deserted plantation. Isaac noticed a
creeping plant that had wreathed itself, in snaky
folds, around a small tree.
"I'll have that," said he; and, cutting it off
above and below, he stripped it from  the tree;
thus it had a straight point at each end. "This,"
said he, viewing his prize with great satisfaction,
" cut in two in the middle, will make two canes —
one for father, and one for Uncle Isaac."
On arriving at the swamp, Isaac shot several




198       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
wild pigeons and paroquets, and, breaking the
wing of one by a shot, succeeded in catching it.
He also saw and shot two American coots that
were wintering here.
"Uncle Isaac," said he, "is always killing moose
and deer. He can have a deer-horn head put on
the top of his cane."
Quacco went home with Isaac, and carried a
large quantity of vegetables and fruits in the cart,
with which the captain was well pleased, and inquired the price.
The wily negro replied that he couldn't think of
asking the captain anything for a few potatoes and
yams, but would like to do the coopering. (The
job would probably amount to more than a hundred dollars.)
Captain Rhines could not help smiling at the
shrewdness of the negro, but told him if' he found,
on inquiry, that he was a good workman, he should
have the job.
After supper, Isaac ran over to Quacco's again.
He knew it was the last chance for fun, and meant
to make the most of it.
When he arrived there, he found the whole family dancing fandango on the grass under the trees.
Quacco held between his legs a hollow log, over




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.           199
which was stretched a green hide, forming a rude
drum, which he was beating with might and main.
The oldest son accompanied him with a forked
stick, across which were stretched some wires,
strung with pieces of brass, which he shook and
struck with his fingers — a sort of cymbal. Quacco had told them what a good job Captain Rhines
had given him, and they were celebrating in consequence of it.
They had made a fire of branches of trees, which
attracted myriads of fireflies that were darting
back and forth in sheets of red and green light.
The perspiration was rolling down the sable cheeks
of Quacco, when, as the fun grew "fast and furious," his wife's mother came hobbling out of the
house, with her cane, to look on - a withered old
crone, apparently eighty years of age, much bent
and wrinkled, barefoot, her toes eaten off with jiggers, and her feet as round as a horse's.
She stood looking on, leaning on her cane. At
length her old wrinkled face lighted up with the fire
of other days; dropping her cane, she placed both
hands upon her knees, uttering expressive grunts
with her toothless jaws in time with the music;
her body began to straighten, and, sidling into the
ring, away she went, one hand over her head, and




200        THE ARK OF ELMI ISLAND.
the other holding up her old ragged skirt, as young
as the rest.
While the old folks were thus renewing their
youth, Isaac, Colon, Tony, and Pete collected at the
fire a whole parcel of fireflies, strung them  on
strings, and hung them  all over their persons, till
they shone like balls of fire, and then chased each
other through the dark shades of the groves, making them ring with their shouts; and concluded
their evening sport with a feast of cocoa-nuts,
pine-apples, sweet potatoes, and coffee.
Monday morning they brought the brig alongside, -a sheer hulk,- put a double set of tackles
to the mast-heads, one set to support the nmasts,
the other to heave down by.
Captain Waterman sent his men to aid. The
hulk fitted for the purpose had two capstans,
which were manned by the two crews.,,
" We must have a song," said the captain, "' in order to make these capstans work together."
Flour gave the song, standing amidships, where
he could be heard by both crews, and beating the
time on the rail with two belaying-pins.
It was a very lively scene. Joe Griffin, Yelf,
and Edwards went to work upon the hole in the
bow. Captain _hines, the nmate, and Flour began




A SUNDAY IN HAVANA.            201
to calk the portion that was uninjured, while Quacco on the wharf was hooping the hogsheads that
came out of the Ark. Captain Rhines was very
proud of his bargain, as well he might be. He
spared neither timber, paint, nor labor, to put the
brig in the best possible order.
The mate and crew, equally interested, exhausted all the arts known to seamen.
Isaac, busy as a bee, was putting in practice his
recently-acquired knowledge —making bunt gaskets for the yards, and canvas stops for the trysail.
He also sewed leather on the straps of' the loadingblocks, notched the edges, and painted them all
bright red.
The mate and Flour made fancy man-ropes for
the side-ladder and the cabin stairs.
Captain Rhines employed a workman to paint
and gild the figure-head and the carved work on
the stern.
But, as is generally the case, one improvement
necessitated another. The sails were slightly mildewed, and did not satisfy the mate's critical eye.
"Boys," said he, "what say you to taking these
sails ashore on the grass, and giving them a coat
of whitewash, to take out the mildew? "
" I say, do it! " repied Joe. " I shan't feel satisfied till it's done."




202       THE ARK OF ELMI ISLAND.
When all was finished, it would have been difficult to recognize in the Congress, as she rode at
anchor, the forlorn wreck ashore at La Punta. In
order to have all things in keeping, Captain Rhines
bought a yawl, and gave the old dug-out to
Quacco.
Every part of the Ark was sold for something:
the galley for a pig-pen; the cabin to a bum-boatman for a storehouse, and even the split boards,
and broken pieces of sheathing, served for dunnage.
The mlasts were beautiful sticks, and brought a
hundred dollars apiece. Captain Rhines knew that
spars always sold well in the West Indies. Therefore he had made the Ark's bowsprit and jib-boomn
in one piece. It ran on board among the lumber,
till the heel of it rested on the keel. Thus, being
a handsome stick, and very long, it sold for a droger's mast. The Ark, you are aware, was not built
for beauty, but profit.
In the Congress the captain manifested that he
possessed taste, as well as energy and judgment.




THE GOOD NEWS.            203
CHAPTER XI.
THE GOOD NEWS.
WHILE Captain Rhines is buying and taking in
his cargo, let us take a look at Elm Island. When
we last saw Charlie, his fertile brain was teeming
with plans to surprise his mother with a crane, and
to astonish John, Fred Williams, and everybody
else, when he should come out with his canoe.
Uncle Isaac, true as the sun to his promise, had
the crane, hooks, and trammels made; but he would
by no means trust Charlie to put it in, for, should
it come down when full of kettles, it might scald
some one to death.
Thanksgiving afternoon, while Ben and Sally
were spending the day at her mother's and Captain Rhines's, he and Uncle Sam drilled holes into
the stone jambs, and put it in solid.
"There," said he, when the job was done, " you
may hang weight enough on there to break the
crane off, but you can't draw those dogs."
To say that Sally was pleased, when she came




204       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
home and saw the crane, would but feebly express
her emotions. She was in raptures. Sally liked
to have things done with despatch; and, when she
was in a hurry getting breakfast, the beech withe,
on which she could hang but one pot, was an insufferable annoyance. Besides, if she wanted to take
a pot off the fire, or put one on, it burned her
alnost to death, added to which was the danger
of its breaking and scalding the baby; but the
crane she could swing off the fire.
Just as Uncle Isaac was going away, he saw
some old blubber in a barrel at the shore, that he
told Charlie would make good lampblack, and was
fit for nothing else -better than pitch knots, because
it would be kind of greasy, and mix better with oil.
Charlie embraced the opportunity while Ben and
Sally were absent to make it, by burning the blubber under a barrel, and scraping off the lampblack
which collected on the sides and head.
Lest Ben and Sally should observe his proceedings, and thus spoil all, he hauled the canoe into a
little nook in the ledge - a nice, warm spot, open
on the south side to the sun, but so screened in all
other directions by bushes, that no one would ever
see it, except they saw it from the water. Here
he could work secure from  detection.  He al



THE GOOD NEWS.             205
ready had, you know, four colors — white, black,
yellow, and red. He made the red by heating the
yellow ochre, which he got at the Indian campground.  He was now about to paint, when there
occurred a whole week of fog and rainy weather.
When at length the fog scaled, they saw a large
vessel close to the island, which was flying a signal
for a pilot.
Ben and Charlie went on board of her. She
proved to be an English ship bound to Halifax.
Having been unable to obtain an observation fbr
several days, the captain knew not where he was,
and the current had drifted him  towards the
shore. As the wind was ahead and light, Ben
brought her into the harbor, and invited the captain ashore to dinner, and supplied them with butter and eggs.
It fell calm; the ship lay at anchor; the crew
were putting the vessel to rights, and the carpenter
was painting. Charlie helped them fill some watercasks, and was back and forth a good deal. When
they were about to sail, the captain offered to pay
Charlie for his services. He declined receiving any
money, but told the eaptain he would like very
much to have a little paint; upon which the captain gave him some green, blue, and vermilion,




206       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
which was a much brighter red than his ochre, that
being inclined to a brown; the carpenter gave him
some drying to make his paints dry rapidly, and
instructions in respect to mixing them.
0, wasn't Charlie a happy boy when he had succeeded in getting all this ashore without detection,
and safely deposited in his house under the big
maple!
As Ben refused any remuneration for milk and
butter, the captain persuaded him to take a few
bottles of wine. Ben piloted the ship out clear,
and gave the captain his course to Cape Sable.
Then, with mutual good wishes, they parted.
Now that Charlie had all that heart could wish
in respect to paints, he was sorely puzzled to know
how to paint his boat, in order to produce the best
possible effect. He planed a piece of board, and
painted it many different ways, in order to see how
it would look. After a great deal of deliberation,
with half a mind to let out the secret, and ask his
father's and mother's advice, he concluded to use
the ochre and lampblack for the bottom and larger
portions of the boat, reserving the rarer paints to
stripe with and ornament those parts which would
be most conspicuous.
He painted the bottom inside yellow; the top




THE GOOD NEWS.             207
inside, and the head and stern-boards, blue; the
ends of the seats green, in a half-moon shape, and
the middle of them white; the oars green, with a
wave-line of vermilion on the blades. The outside, where it would be under water, he painted
with red ochre; next above the water, he gave a
streak of green; then one of white, quite broad,
with port-holes represented, above this black, and
on top, a broad stripe of vermilion.  He then
painted eyes on each side of the bow, looking into
infinite space.
Charlie was very much at loss for a name, having
so many friends for whom he would like to call
her. He thought he would call her the "Snow
Squall," but the associations connected with that
terrible hour were not pleasant.
The shades of night were stealing around him;
and, as he sat with his back against the high cliff,
still retaining the warmth of the afternoon sun, the
hour itself suggested the object of his search.
Leaping to his feet, he exclaimed, -
"I have it! I'll call her the' Twilight!' It's
a nice name!'"
He had but one paint-brush, and that was too
large for the purpose. It was now dark, and he
went to bed to think and contrive how to make a
paint-brush.




208       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
In the morning he put some bristles into his
mother's pepper-box, and shook them up till he had
the bottoms even; then took hold of the top ends,
and pulled out as many as he wanted that were of
a length; and making a handle, with one end larger
than the other, he bound the bristles very tightly
around the small end of it, with their points towards the larger end; then he placed the brush
over a hole in a board, and drove the handle
through it; as it was largest at the upper end, this
made the bristles very tight around the handle.
Charlie was a very good penman, but had never
tried to print. As he was very anxious to make
his work look well, and could by no means afford
to waste his precious paint in doing it over and
over, he cut out thile letters on a piece of birch
bark, fastened it on the wood, and painted through,
amending, when dry, where the edges were ragged or out of line. He then painted the mast,
sprit, and boom, and, when the boat was thoroughly dry, covered her with brush. The snow,
falling soon after, drifted over the whole, and his
secret was safe.
Ben and Charlie continued to hew timber for the
barn; Ben hired help, cut spars, and made shingles
to sell at'Wiscasset, that he might procure nails




THE GOOD NEWS.            209
for his barn, cleared the land from which he had
taken the timber and spars for a burn, and sold the
remainder of the rifles he had taken when privateering, to pay his hired help. He based no expectations upon the Ark, and, while sending many
an anxious thought after her, made his calculations
as though she was not in existence.
His money was all gone. While the hired help
remained they had eaten up his hog, and now
they were in reduced circumstances.
We have already said that Charlie was a very
good penman, and also had a good knowledge of
arithmetic, being naturally quick at figures, and
could beat Ben and Sally both reckoning in his
head; but he had been to school but very little,
and was a most wretched speller — spelling the
words according to the sound.
One day, early in the winter, he was going to
the store. While he was up stairs, getting ready,
Ben took up his memorandum, and glancing at
it, burst out laughing.
"Look here, Sally," said he; "see how Charlie
spells.' Mllemuradum.'One pownd of korffy.
Harf a pownd of tee.
14




210       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Too quorts of mullasses.
Harf a pownd of purlash.
Too pownd of shooger.
Harf a bushil of korn.'
I declare," said Ben, "it's too bad —a boy that
writes so well, and is as bright as he, should spell
so abominably. He hasn't spelled but two words
right. I must keep school this winter." Accordingly he kept school in the evenings, and every
Saturday night they had a spelling school, and
Ben, Sally, and Charlie all spelt, and Charlie
learned very rapidly.
One morning, as Charlie was digging a mess of
clams for dinner, he saw Uncle Isaac coming to
the island in a most singular-looking craft, sharp
at each end, long, narrow, and very much curved,
and sitting as lightly on the water as an egg-shell.
He ran to the house, and soon brought Ben to the
shore.
" It's a birch," said Ben, the moment he cast his
eye upon it.
"A birch - what's a birch?"
"Why, an Indian canoe."
Uncle Isaac was evidently in great haste, for he
was on his knees in the bottom of the canoe, bare







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/
I   I,'
ji'',
Illm.   1I   Illi  o i




THE GOOD NEWS.             211
headed, and paddling with long and powerful
strokes, making the buoyant craft skim over the
waters with the swiftness of a bird. The moment
he saw them, he dropped his paddle, and waving
his hat in one hand, he held up a letter in the
other.
"It's from father! It's good news, I know by
his actions!" said Ben to Charlie. But Charlie
was half way to the house in quest of his mother.
"Good news! the best that ever was, or ever
will be!" cried Uncle Isaac, just as Sally and
Charlie reached the shore; "at least I expect so,
for your mother's is."
Charlie ran into the water, and caught hold of
the birch to haul her up.
"Careful, Charlie! This thing won't bear such
handling as a log canoe. I took the birch because
I knew I could come quicker in her than in anything else. They say bad news flies fast: I meant
that good news should fly, for once."
Letting the canoe touch gently upon the shore,
he stepped carefully out, and pulled her up on the
beach. They now all gathered round, while Ben
sat down on the rock in the sun, broke the seal,
and read the letter.
Captain Rhines, having but little time to write,




212       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
had merely told Ben about the number of days'
passage, the accident that befell Isaac, and what a
good boy he had proved to be; what he had sold
the cargo for, and that he had bought the brig
Congress, that had got ashore, for little or nothing;
that she would cost him about two thousand dollars when repaired; that he intended to buy a
cargo of molasses, sugar, or coffee, just which he
thought he could make the most on; and that
when he came home he should have good news
for Charlie and John.
When he concluded there was a dead silence;
the tears were running down Sally's cheeks.
"Why, mother, what makes you cry?" exclaimed Charlie.
" For- joy, Charlie."
"I have thought," said Ben, "during the last
month, that if I could only hear that father and
the rest were safe, I would be satisfied, if I lost
every bit of the lumber; but I never dreamed of
such a profit as that - thirteen thousand nine hundred and sixty dollars."
" But your father!" said Uncle Isaac; "his buying that brig! only think of that! They have got
a vessel to come home in; and they will repair
her for very little - make her as good as new



ThE GOOD NEWS.             213
and make as much or more on their molasses as
they did on their lumber, and then have the vessel clear."
At length Charlie, putting his arms around his
father's neck, said, " There's no more paying rent,
now," that idea being uppermost in his mind.
"Elm Island is ours now."
"'Not quite yet, Charlie. We haven't got the
money, nor has the brig got here, yet.  We
mustn't crow before we're out of the woods."
"I wouldn't have you think," said Sally, wiping
away the tears, "that it is the money makes me
cry."
" What is it, then?" inquired Uncle Isaac.
"I have always had the feeling that people
would say,'There is Ben Rhines, on that rock
right among the breakers, living from  hand to
mouth, cutting logs, and rafting boards, which Joe
Griffin or any of our boys, that have not half the
capacity that he has, can do just as well, when he
might be in business, making the most of himself,
his learning, and what God has given him; and,
by and by, he'll wake up, when it's too late, and
be sorry.  It's all Sally Hadlock's fault, who
wouldn't hear to his going to sea, when he had
a vessel offered him, and a good chance to go




214       THE ARK'OF ELM ISLAND.
right into business, and declared she wouldn't
have him if he did. Silly girl! she'll see what
will come of it.' But now, if they get home safe,
he will make more money than a score of those
people, or than he would have done in years of
beating about at sea, and not been out of his
house a night."
" Yes," interposed Ben, "it has all come of marrying you, and going on to Elm Island. The best
of the whole is, that I am not obliged to spoil the
beauty of it, or cut another tree, except I like,
and the brook can run singing among the treeroots and over the ledges, as it has done ever
since God Almighty made it."
"Yes," said Uncle Isaac; "and we ought not to
forget that it is the same Being who made that
brook on this lonely island, for the birds and seafowl to drink at, who gives us every blessing we
enjoy. The very fowls look up to God when they
drink, as if to thank Him, and I have seen the
Indians, — who, many think, are no better than
beasts, -when, almost dying of thirst, they have
found a spring, before ever they would drink a
drop, pour some of it out to the Great Spirit.
And I have seen them, when they had killed a
whole family, and were about to set the house on




THE GOOD NEWS.             215
fire, take the corn and grain, with their bloody
fingers, and put it in a safe place, and leave it,
because they said it was wrong to burn what the
Master of life had made to support life."
"I know that, Uncle Isaac," said Sally.  " I
know, too, that ever since we came on this island,
there has seemed to be some way provided for
us. You know I was always brought up to go to
meeting on the Lord's day, to the weekly lectures,
and catechizing Saturday afternoons; and when I
came on this island with Ben, - neither of us
Christian people, - and couldn't have these privileges, I was afraid we should get to be heathen.
But would you think it, Uncle Isaac? since I have
lived here, I have felt a reality in these things such
as I never knew before. When I have sat under
that birch on a Lord's day afternoon, and heard
the brook in one ear and the sound of the surf in
the other, somehow I have felt that the Almighty
was close to me, and that there was less between
us than even in the meeting-house itself."
"Would I think it?  Why, Sally, if there's a
man on airth knows what these feelings are, I am
that man. It's well for people that live together
to build meeting-houses, and worship their Maker
in them, and teach their children to do the same:




216       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
nothing but necessity ever keeps me away from
the house of God; but I can tell you, the best
place ever a sinful man knelt to pray in, is on
the roots of a tree in the trackless forest, and the
most heartsome music is that which the wind
makes in the tree-tops."
" Well, what are we all sitting here for? Come,
Uncle Isaac, go up to the house; and, Ben, you
shan't do another stroke of work to-day. Go and
sit down, and show Uncle Isaac your barn-frame.
Charlie, get the clams, and I'll make a chowder."
But they had been so long talking that the tide
had overflowed the clams, basket and all. But
Charlie went in and got them.
" I am sorry we can't give you a better dinner,"
said Sally, " but the truth is, it took almost every
cent of money Ben had to fit away the Ark. We
have had hired help this winter, and they have
eaten up all the pork we killed, and what little
beef Ben bought in the fall, — we don't raise anything, — and even had to buy corn for the hens.
Charlie sent all the hens but six in the Ark; so
I haven't got a fowl to kill if any company comes."
"Don't say a word, Sally.  I'm  sure we've
enough to be thankful for; and you couldn't give
me anything I should relish better than a clam




THE GOOD NEWS.            217
chowder. Would you believe it? I've been so busy
finishing a room fobr Sam Merrithew, that I haven't
dug a clam this winter; and I always calculate to
have at least seven bushels in the cellar. I'm sure
I wish Charlie had sent all the hens, and Ben all
his cows, in the Ark. I and your mother and Ben's
could have given you all the hens you needed, and
never missed them."
"Why, Sally!" exclaimed Ben; "what am I
thinking about? Here we are talking about not
having anything to eat, and all that, when there's
nothing in this world Uncle Isaac likes so well as a
roasted coon."' You spoke the true word then, Ben, for there
isn't."'"You remember the time we killed that coon,
when we first came on here to build the house?"
"' I reckon I do; when you took him by the tail,
and flung him on to Joe Griffin's back, and scared
him half to death."
"Well, they've bred since then, and there's any
number of them on the upper end of the island.
I'll go and shoot one; I can get one any day in
the year."
"Father," said Charlie, "is just like the great
folks in the old country. They have their parks




218        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
and ponds, where they can shoot game and get
fish when they like; and he has got his coon
preserve."
"Yes," replied Sally, "and there are those bottles of wine that the captain of the ship gave you,
that have never been touched. It's late to bake
the coon now; so I'll have the clam chowder for
dinner, and we'll have the coon for supper."
"I'll go shoot him, father."
"I'll tell you where to find him, Charlie. It's a
warm day for them to be out. You go look up in
the scrubby hemlock at the head of the cove,
right by the great windfall, and you'll see them
coiled right at the roots of the limbs, close to the
body of the tree. They've got a den in the windfall; and if they are not out, we can dig one out.
Come, Uncle Isaac, go and see if I have got about
timber enough."
Uncle Isaac looked over the timber, running it
over in his mind, and talking to himself as he
stepped over the sticks. "Let's me see; front sills
and end sills, plates, posts; there's the beams, girts,
rafters, collar-beams. Where's the barn floor, sills,
and mow-girts?  I don't see them. Well, I declare, Ben, you only lack about four large sticks
and the purlins!  You haven't hewed all this timber yourself?"




THE GOOD NEWS.            219
"Yes, I and Charlie; he has hewed all the
rafters, collar-beams, braces, and a good deal on
the large sticks. Anybody can hew this straight
soft pine very fast."
"Yes, if they are strong enough to strike right
down through at every clip, as you can."
"Now, Uncle Isaac, I am going to try to frame
this barn. I don't know how I shall make out, for
I have not had much practice with tools, but I'm
going to try. I shouldn't like to have people come
here to raising, and then not have it come right.
I want you to come over when I get it framed, and
look it over."
"Well, I'll come over a week before you want
to raise, and we'll put it together and draw-bore it.
But you'll do it well enough if you only think so;
that's half the battle."
" Thank you. I'll begin to frame long enough
beforehand, that if I spoil a stick, and make wrong
mortises, I can throw it by and hew another, so
nobody shall see the blunder."
After dinner Charlie, first binding Uncle Isaac
to secrecy, removed the snow and brush, and
showed him the canoe. Then he took him to
his house, and showed him the paint and oil he
had left.




220       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Uncle Isaac," asked Charlie, "how much do
you suppose my venture will come to?"
"I'm  sure I don't know; but I should think,
judging by what the boards brought, it must be
considerable."
"You know Captain Rhines wrote he would
have good news for me when he came home.
Think it will be as much as twenty dollars?"
"Yes, I should think it might."
"Wouldn't that be a sight? Then I could have
some tools, and perhaps I could earn something.":" Indeed you could, for I would hire you when I
had work to do, and Ben could spare you."




HOMEWARD BOUND.             221
CHAPTER XII.
HOMEWARD BOUND.
CAPTAIN RHINES was obliged to wait some
time for his molasses, during which period Captain
Starrett came back. He brought the news that
there was no doubt that the Federal Union would
be formed; that New York was coming in; that
the prospect of it had already begun to influence
trade, and sugar, coffee, and molasses were going up.
When they were nearly ready for sea, Captain
Rhines said to the ship's company, "You know,
boys, I agreed to give you four dollars per month,
and Flour six and a privilege; but you were to get
home as you could. Now, here's a vessel; I want
a crew home, and we must make a new bargain.
What will you go back with me for?"
"I, for one, captain," said the mate, " will leave
that altogether with you."
The others said the same.
"Well, I'll give you the same wages and the




222       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
same privileges back; and if you want to put your
money into sugar, coffee, or molasses, I'll buy it for
you; for I can buy it cheaper than you can, and
you will make as much again on your venture
home as you did on that you took out."
The Congress proved to be an excellent sailer, and
a good weatherly vessel in every respect, although
she was loaded "scupper to."  They made Agamenticus in twelve days from  the time they
weighed anchor.
"I want to make a bargain with you, boys,"
said the captain. "I don't know where I shall sell
this molasses. I'm in no hurry about selling, for
Captain Starrett says it's going up. I may sell it
in Portland, Boston, or New York; perhaps sell
vessel and all. Now, if you will agree, after you've
seen the folks, to help me get her to either of
those places, and discharge her, I'llrun her slap
into Elm Island harbor, and give Ben and Sally a
start, that'll start the hair right out of their
heads."
"We'll do it," was the response.
"But," asked Joe, "if you should sell the brig,
how should we get home, and get our things
home?"
"I'll tell you how. The Perseverance is hauled




HOMEWARD BOUND.            223
up at Elm Island. Ben has a lot of shingles,
staves, and clear boards on hand. He can put
them into her; and he, Charlie, and our John can
go with us wherever we go, and bring us back,
ventures and all. There won't be any wharfage to
pay at Elm Island."
Just before the sun went down, Joe, who for the
last six hours had been half the time at the masthead, sang out, " I see the woods on Elm Island!"
By and by he bellowed out, "There's the White
Bull! I see it break! "
"Hold your tongue, and come down," said Seth.
"If you stay there all night you can't see Sally
Merrithew."
The wind died away as the sun went down, and
the vessel made but slow progress. It was after
twelve o'clock, a bright moonlight night, as they
gradually neared the island. By and by the deep
bay of a dog came faintly over the waters.
" There's Tige," said Captain Rhines; "he's out
barking at the moon."
Silently she glided into the harbor, where there
was not a breath of wind. The anchor being let
go, the sails were permitted to stand. They now
landed in the yawl as silently as possible. Not a
word was spoken except in whispers.




224        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Isaac," said the captain, " Ben won't know you;
for he hasn't seen you since you was a baby. Scull
the boat ashore, knock on that western window,
and tell him there's a vessel in the harbor, and the
captain wants to speak to him."
They all went into the cabin, which was well
lighted. When Ben reached the deck, Isaac told
him the captain was below, and invited him down.
Ben, going down stairs, found himself in the arms
of his father, and surrounded by his neighbors.
"But where did you come fiom, and what vessel
is this?" exclaimed Ben, bewildered, and scarcely
knowing whether he was in the body or out.
" This," said the captain, " is the brig Congress,
Benjamin Rhines master, Benjamin Rhines, Jr.
owner, with a full cargo of molasses, coffee, and
sugar, on the owner's account, with some specie."
"But," said Ben, "I must go and tell Sally."
" No, you needn't. Here comes Charlie."
Sally, thinking some vessel was in trouble, and
that Charlie would be wanted, had called him.
He came off in Ben's canoe, and, hearing the news,
went back to tell his mother.
"How do you like the looks of your brig?"
asked the captain.
"First rate, as far as I can see in the night. Is
she tight? "




HOMEWARD BOUND.              225
"Don't leak enough to keep her sweet. Now
let us furl these sails. Sally means to give us
something to eat, for I see the sparks coming
out of the chimney. Charlie has told her the
news."
"I'll take care of the main-topsail," said Ben,
junmping into the rigging; and the giant actually
rolled it up as though it had been a royal.
"Give her a little more scope," said the captain,
"for I want to go home, and so do the boys."
Sally, her handsome face glowing with delight,
received them  with a welcome that made them
quite forget the simplicity of their frugal meal,
which consisted merely of salt fish and potatoes,
and a warmn johnny-cake. But we doubt if a
happier party ever sat down to supper. After
their repast, they all went over in the brig's boat
to the main land. Tige met them at the shore,
and almost wagged his tail off at the sight of his
old master.
"Boys," said Captain Rhines, as they separated,
"to-day is Friday. I shan't start this week, but
the first good chance next week we'll be off. I'll
send John to let you know when I'm ready."
-It was not the custom in those days, nor for a
long time after that, to lock the doors; and the
15




226       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
precaution was especially needless where Tige
Rhines held watch.
The captain entered noiselessly, with a handkerchief full of oranges in his hand, and, going to
the side of his wife's bed, called her by name.
She awoke with a scream that brought John and
all the rest to the spot. It was a glad meeting;
and the morning sun, as it gleamed in at the windows, flung its rays on happy faces. No sooner
had John embraced his father again and again than
he disappeared.
"Where is John?" asked Mrs. Rhines, when,
with' fingers quickened by pleasurable excitement, and assisted by her daughters, she had
placed the morning meal upon the. board.
"Where in the world is our John?  Breakfast
is all on the table."
"I suppose," replied the captain, "hlie has gone
to dress himself."
"He has never been all this time dressing himself. I don't see where he is. I wish he would
come, for I'm sure we ought all to eat together
this morning."
" So we will, wife; let it stand; I'm not hungry.
I've had one breakfast this morning at Elm Island."
The moment John had embraced his father, he




HOMEWARD BOUND.             227
dressed himself, and then ran with the swiftness of
a deer for Uncle Isaac's. He found him on his
knees, just kindling the fire; and, jumping on his
back, bellowed in his ear, -
"Father's come, and the brig is in Elm Island
harbor.  I can see her masts.  He's just this
minute got into the house. O-h!" and without
another word he rushed from the house, hot-foot,
for Fred Williams. On the way he met little
Bobby Smullen.
"Bobby," said he, "where are you going so
early?"
" I'm going over to Aunt Molly Bradish's, to ask
her to lend my grandmarnm her reel."
"Well, you'll go right by the mill. Will you go
in to Fred Williams, and tell him father's come,
and I'm going to Elm Island to see the brig he
came in, and want him to come right down to our
house as fast as he can run - not to stop for breakfast, but to get breakfast at our house? And I'll
give you this, and this," pulling out of his pocket
a great lump of maple-sugar and two big apples,
which he thrust into Bobby's hands, who set off as
though life and death depended on his speed.
"Tell Aunt Molly, too," said John, hallooing
after him, and then ran for home.




228       TIlE ARI( OF ELM3 ISLAND.
"Hannah! Hannah!" cried Uncle Isaac; " Captain Rhines has come!"
"Kindle the fire as quick as you can, Isaac, and
fill the tea-kettle for me. I'll get breakfast in no
time, and we'll run right down."
" Get breakfast! Clap your shoes on, and throw
a shawl over your head; we'll get breakfast there."
"' Why, Isaac! I never heard of such a thing!
How it would look! They would think we had
nothing to eat!"
"' I tell you I'm going to eat with Ben this morning, as sure as my name's Isaac Murch."
The friendship of Captain Rhines and Uncle
Isaac dated from  childhood.  They could not
remember the time when they had not played
together, interrupted for a time by Uncle Isaac's
sojourn among the Indians, only to he renewed on
his return.  A  fiiendship so early formed and
cemented by the good offices and experiences of
years, had become a part of their being, and they
always called each other, except when strangers
were present, by their Christian names.
John had reached home, partially recovered his
breath, and they were just sitting down to breakfast when Uncle Isaac and his wife came in.
" Good morning, Isaac!" cried the captain; "sit




HOMEWARD BOUND.             229
right down with us. I take it real kind of you to
come down to eat with me."
"Hannah didn't want to come, but I told her I
knew you hadn't been to breakfast, and I was
bound to eat breakfast with you this blessed morning.  Well, how glad I am to see you, Benjamin!
and how much I've thought about you!  Here
were all hands, the moment you were gone, telling
how you would never get there, and all that; that
the lumber would soak and settle to the water's
edge, and the sea would break over you, and either
wash you off or tear the raft to pieces; and here
you are safe and sound, and had such good luck!
0, it's the master!  Well, it's good calculations
and a kind Providence; that's what it is."
"She did settle considerable; some of the hogsheads had worm-holes in them, and the water got
in; she was down to her wales before we got across
the Bahamas."
" Well, after breakfast we'll sit down, and have a
smoke, and I want you to tell me all about it,every particular, - and about Isaac. I was right
glad to hear by your letter that he had done so
well. He always was a good boy, and dutiful to
his parents. What an awful thing it would have
been if you had lost him 1"




230       TI-E AIRK OF1 ELMI ISLAND.
"Do you know what this puts me in mind of,
Isaac? "
"Of the times we've cat breakfast together
when we were going off on a gunning scrape."
"Yes, and we will go again.  Have the wild
geese come yet "
" No; it's too early; there's some whistlers."
"Has Ben got his float made yet?  He had a
tree cut before I went away."
"' I declare Uncle Sam and I promised Ben that
we would come over and look at that float-piece
some day when we were out gunning, but the
truth is, that we haven't been out gunning this
winter; there has been no floating ice in the bay,
that we might shoot siles (seals) on the ice-cakes,
and besides we have both been busy. I might
have looked at it when I went to carry your letter;
but we were so full of good news, it slipped my
memory."' "What has Ben been about this winter? "
"He and Charlie have hewed out a barn frame.
Charlie sold baskets enough to buy himself a broadaxe, and he can hew right well; he has also bought
Sally a crane, and Sam and I went over and put it
in for him."
Breakfast now being over, the captain said, —




HOMEWARD BOUND.             231
"John, get those oranges I brought with me,
and put them on the table; and, wife, set on the
decanter."
Fred Williams now came, when John said, —
"Fatherl; may I and Fred take the brig's boat,
and go over to Elmn Island?"
"Who'll take care of the cattle?"
"Fred and me will take care of them before
we go."
"Well, you must not stop, because some of the
crew may be down, and want to go on in her, and
get some of their things."
"Yes, father; we'll come right back; we only
want to go over and see the brig. Father, won't
you tell me what Charlie and I got for our ventures? because, you know, he will ask me."
"I can't tell, John, exactly. I sold the ventures,
- yours for sixty dollars, and Charlie's for eighty,
in gold, —and bought sugar and coffee with the
money, and it's stowed away among the cargo,
and can't be got at till the vessel is discharged; but
they will come to as much more than that as
the profit is on the molasses when the duty is
paid."
" 0, isn't that a heap of money! Father, won't
you tell me what you're going to tell Uncle Isaac,
this evening?"




232       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND).
"Yes. When you get on board the brig, tell
Ben to look in the long-boat, and he will find the
sail, mast, and sprit that belongs to the boat, and
you can sail home."
Having taken care of the cattle, and stuffed their
pockets with doughnuts and oranges, they ran to
the shore, accompanied by Tige, Fred without his
breakfast.
Notwithstanding their desire to see the brig,
some little time was spent in viewing the boat.
They had never seen one like that before. Canoes
were in universal use around there; even the wood
coasters used them.
While Captain Rhines waited for his cargo, the
mate and Joe exerted their skill in ornamenting
the boat. Joe made the mast and sprit; the mate
cut and roped the sails; they painted her a bright
green outside, and blue in, except the seats, which
were green. She had four beautifully proportioned
ash oars. Joe put a shoe on her keel to make her
hold a wind, and, instead of thlole-pins, there were
rowlocks cut in the gunwale, lined with copper,
and the oars were leathered where they worked in
the rowlocks.
Mahogany at that time was very plenty in Cuba,
and used for ship timber and ships' blocks. Ile




HOMEWARD BOUND.             233
had also made a handsome yoke of mahogany to
go over the rudder-head instead of a tiller, and
mahogany gratings to cover the bottom  of tlhe
boat; so there was a level floor to walk on, and any
little water that was in her would not come to
one's feet or clothes. She had, likewise, on the sides,
fenders made of canvas, stuffed, and painted green,
and Flour had made cushions for the stern-sheets.
I can tell you, it was with no little satisfaction that
they pulled Captain Rhines alongside the English
ship to visit Captain Waterman. Whether Captain Rhines felt any better than he did sitting in
the old dug-out, with a bundle of codfish before
him, I don't know; but he certainly appeared very
much at home, and looked very pleasant upon it.
" I suppose," said John, as they pulled along,
"this is the kind of boat we've heard Charlie tell
about -such as they have in England."
"Yes, this is one kind; then I've heard him tell
of a kind that had no oakunm in them only in the
garboard and the hood ends, but were nailed together.  He said they would beat to windward
just like a vessel."
"Yes, I know he did; we'll see if this one will
when we get the sail - won't we?"
" Youl better believe that. How much stiffer she




234       THE AEIK OF ELM ISLAND.
is than the canoe! See, Tige don't heel her a mite,
climbing up on the side! What do you think of
it, old dog -hey? Going to see the brig and
Ben? "
At the sound of Ben's name, the flapping of
Tige's tail could be heard against the boat's seat.
"' He knows what Ben means," said Fred.
"Knows! he knows as well as I do that we are
going to Elm Island to see Ben. He thinks a
dreadful sight of Ben."
Thus chatting, they reached the island, where
they found Ben, Sally, and Charlie on board the
brig. They saw the hogsheads of molasses, which
covered the deck; went down into the cabin, and
saw the captain's and mates' berths, and into the
steerage, where the crew slept, which was right
forward of the cabin, with a bulkhead between
them.
Charlie, who was quite a sailor, having been fishing, and some few trips on the English colliers, had
coiled all the rigging up, and braced the yards
square. Beneath the boom were hanging plantains and bananas, some of which Ben gave them
to eat.
"Now, Charlie," said John, "we know something."




HOMEWARD BOUND.             235
"I guess we do," said Fred; "what would you
give to know?"
"Is it about the ventures? Do you know?"
"Yes; father told us. Guess how much yours
come to."
"Do you know? "
" Yes."
"Will you tell me if I guess right?"
" Yes."
"Fifteen dollars?"
"More than'that."
"Twenty? "
"More than that; more than fifty."
"0, it can't be! You're fooling, John."
"No, I ain't- certain true, black and blue."
" Well, sixty, then?"
"More than that; eighty, and more too; and
mine is sixty."
"0, did ever anybody hear of such a thing?
Father! mother! did you ever hear of such a sight
of money for a boy to have, and to get for such
things?"
" Well, it's not money yet," said John. "Father
bought sugar and coffee with the money, and it's
here in the cargo somewhere, and when we sell it,
it will come to a good deal more."




236        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"I guess it will," said Ben.
"How much more, father?"
"Why, if you retail it out by the small quantity, round here, as much again, and more too."
" O, Fred, I wish you'd sent a venture."
"I wish I had, Charlie."
"' Ben," said John, " father said we mustn't stop;
but there was a sail in the long-boat that belonged
to this boat, and we might take it."
Ben got the sail for them; then they took in
Charlie, and sailed a little round the harbor, just
to let him see how she would go.
" This yoke," said Charlie, " is a fancy article. I
will take the measure of the rudder-head, and
make a tiller. It will be a good deal handier for
us, though it won't look so nice."
"I suppose, while they stay here," said John,
"Ben will let us sail in her; and we should scratch
this yoke, perhaps, and maybe tear the cushions."
" I guess," said Ben, "you had better hand the
cushions to me, and I'll put them below, out of
harm's way."
The boys now made sail for home, took'turns
steering, and were delighted with the performance
of the boat.
"How much better this is than a canoe!" said




HOMEWARD BOUND.             237
John; "' why, she'll go right in the wind's eye. If
we'd only had this boat when we went to the
Indian camp ground, what a time we should have
had! "
" Only look! " said Fred; "we are almost laying
our course, and shall only have to make a short
tack after we get across."
"If we had been in a canoe," said John, "we
should have fetched in way below the house a
mile, and then had to pull up against the wind."
"I hope it will come a head wind next week,
and keep so; then the brig won't go, and we can
have the boat to sail nights after I get out of the
mill."
"Perhaps there won't be any wind."'Then we can row; it's first-rate fun to row
such a boat with such nice oars."
W~hen Uncle Isaac and his wife went home,
Captain Rhines said, "Isaac, why can't you go
into Aunt Molly Bradish's, and tell her to come
over here, and bring her knitting and sewing, and
her turtle-shell snuff-box with the scented bean in
it, gold beads, and all her fixings, and stay a fortnight, and have a regular good time?"
Aunt Molly was one of those old ladies who
had retained the vivacity of youth, was possessed




238        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
of a kindly nature, a fund of anecdote, and could
tell Indian and hunting stories by the hour; one
whom everybody loved, and liked to have come
and see them.
It was a perfect jubilee to the children when
Aunt Molly came. She lived, when a girl, with
Captain Rhines's parents, who were very much
attached to her, and was married from  their
house. Captain Rhines therefore cherished great
respect and affection for her. She was now a
widow, living with her son, a bachelor, and, though
in advanced years, managing, with some help, a
large dairy. Shortly after dinner Aunt Molly made
her appearance, riding horseback, on a pillion, behind her son. She was received with open arms.
"I didn't know how I could come to stay so
long, Benjamin," said Aunt Molly, when she was
fairly seated in the rocking-chair, had smoothed
down her lap, and taken her knitting. "I didn't
see how I could come, for I was lotting to make
soap next week; and Sally Merrithew, that lives
with me, — she's one of the first-rate. girls (you
know Sally), -but then she's not had much experience; but Isaac he set in, and said I must
come, and said Hannah Murch would come over
and help make the soap (and you know she's a




HOMEWARD BOUND.             239
first-rate hand -none better); and our Sam and
Sally they both set in (I'spose Salty's heard that
Joe Griffin has got home, and thought she'd rather
have me out of the way); and here I am."
"And here's what your venture came to, Aunt
Molly," said the captain, dropping five Spanish
onzas ($85) into her lap.
"Goodness gracious, Benjamin! why, it's goold,
raal goold! Preserve us! Benjamin, this goold
can't be mine; you must have put something
to it."
"No, I haven't; that is just what the butter
came to."
"Goodness, now!" said she, weighing each piece
separately in her hand, then looking off, and wiping
her spectacles, and looking at them with great
curiosity and satisfaction.  "Then  this is raal
Spanish goold! How good it does seem to have
some hard money, after the poor trash we've had
so long! Only think, twenty-one dollars a day
was what Joe Dorset had for building Captain
Savage's chimbly, when the old continental currency was on its last legs; and he said it wouldn't
get him his daily bread. But this! I shall never
dare to change it, for I'm sure I don't know of any
bills I would take in change for it."




240       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"I would, Aunt Molly. I wouldn't go to saving
it for Sam, because he don't want you to. He'd
rather you'd enjoy it. I'd buy a whole bladder of
snuff, and rig myself up."
"Ho, ho, ho!  Rig myself up at my time of
life! It would take a pound of putty to fill up
the wrinkles in my old face. But I do think I
shall get a muff and tippet; and I did think I
would get a new foot-stove, to keep my feet warm
in the house of God; and I don't know but I
should like a changeable silk: they say there's
plenty of them  imported since the war.  If I
never live to wear it out, it'll do for somebody
else. You know we mustn't be too worldly."
"I would have them," said Mrs. Rhines. "I'd
spend it, and take the good of it. You've worked
hard all your life; and who's a better right?"
"I should like to make Sally a leetle present
when she leaves me, for she's a downright good
faculized, faithful girl; and if Joe gets her, he'll
get a good wife. But I'm sure I shouldn't dare
to marry him, he's such a harrnum-scarrum creeter."
"Here's something else, Aunt Molly," said the
captain, dropping some fiattish, dark-looking things
into her lap.
"What on airth are these, Benjamin?  I hope




HOMEWARD BOUND.             241
they ain't nothing pizen, or that's got the yaller
fever."
" Smell of' them."
"I declare to goodness!" putting one to her
nose, " if they ain't lraal snuff-beans! What a beautifil, strong scent! And so you've been in foreign
parts, where these grow."
" Yes; they are Vanilla beans. I've seen them
running on the trees by thousands, just like wild
ivy on the elms; and I got these on purpose for
you.))
"How thoughtful you was of an old body like
me, in the chimbly-corner! This bean that I've
got in my snuff-box I've had nigh on to forty year.
The young man that gave it to me you knew and
loved right well. It was George Strout — poor
boy!"
The tears came to the captain's eyes in a moment. He was the friend of his youth, who, as the
readers of Lion Ben will recollect, was lost from
his side upon a stormy midnight —he knew not
when nor how.
16




242       THlE ARK OF ELM ISLAND,
CHAPTER XIII.
JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.
"FATHER," asked John, at the supper table,
"won't you take the things you have brought
home out of the brig before she goes?"
" Yes, my son. I expect the boys will come
in the morning, and we shall go and get all the
small articles."
" May Fred go with us?"
" Yes."
John instantly ran over to Fred's, and told him.
"We've got a lot in the mill to grind, but the
tide is right; I'll grind part of it to-night."
"I'll help you," said John. The boys got lights,
and worked there till eleven o'clock, and reduced
the bags of corn so much that Fred's father could
easily finish without him.
Early next morning, the whole crew except
Flour came to the beach; and while part of themn
began to take the things out of the brig, the
others loaded the Perseverance with some staves,




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.       243
shingles, and clear boards that Ben had on hand.
Charlie and Fred were now introduced to Isaac.
The boys, who were all ready to like each other,
from the accounts which they had received from
other parties, were supremely happy. To them
was committed the work of taking the fruit and
other matters to Captain Rhines's cove.
The captain himself did not come to the island,
but remained at home to receive the calls of his
neighbors and friends, who, he knew, would be
coming in to see him, for the report had spread
like wildfire all over town that Captain Rhines
had come home in a brig built of mahogany, with
her hold full of molasses, her cabin full of gold,
and that Ben Rhines and his father were independent, and need never bring the water to wash
their hands.
The first thing the boys wanted was to have
Isaac tell them  about his being drowned; the
next, to ask him how much his venture came to.
He told them  ninety dollars, which, with his
wages, amounted to more than a hundred. He
said his uncle told him if he would go in the Ark,
he would give him as much to carry as any man
befobre the mast, and that his venture had come to
more than any of the men's, except Joe Griffin's:
his was five dollars more.




244       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"What did you do with it?" asked Charlie.
" Captain Rhines laid it out for nwe in sugar and
coffee. But come, boys, go down to my berth."
Isaac's berth was quite a curiosity, in its way; it
was a lower one, and there was quite a space between it and the floor. He had nailed a board up
in front, so as to make this place tight, then taken
out the boards which formed the bottom of his
berth, and crammed the space full of king conchs,
leopard shells, and other beautiful kinds, which he
had obtained fromn the negroes. Here were also
sponges, coral, the jaws of the porpoise, which
he had gone overboard in killing, and a shark's
backbone - full length.
" What are you going to do with that? " asked
John.
"I'm going to give it to you and Charlie. It
will make two splendid canes. Just put a piece of
stout wire through the joints, the whole length,
polish them, cut off all the gristle, and put a point
and head on. There's some coral, and a piece of
sponge for each of you to wash your faces with
when you go to school; but I guess you wouldn't
have wanted to wash with that sponge if you'd
seen it when I took it out of the water."
"Why not? " asked Charlie.




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.    245
Isaac told him how it looked and smelt -a
description of which our readers will find in the
Ark.
"Here's a comb to comb your heads with,"
giving them a set of porpoise jaws apiece. The
boys tried them on their heads. The teeth of a
porpoise are very sharp, and they lock one into the
other, like the cogs of' a mill-wheel.
" O, but they hurt! " said Charlie.
"You mustn't bear on so bard. I'll give you
them. Little boys ought always to have their
faces clean and their heads combed, and make
their manners when they go to school."
" Only hear grandfather!" said John, taking off
his hat, and making a ceremonious bow. "Whbre
did you get all these? Did you kill the porpoise
they belonged to?"
" No, Charlie; Captain Rhines killed them. I'm
going to keep the jaws of the one I killed to remember when I fell overboard."
" Charlie, I've got something that I brought on
purpose for you;" and he put into Charlie's hand
a large piece of tortoise-shell; "you can send it
to Boston, and have a splendid comb made for
your mother."
" Thank you, Isaac, a thousand times. 0, I




246       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
know that will please mother so! But how came
you to bring this for me before ever you saw me? "
" Because Joe Griffin and Mr. Strout told me so
much about you. They said you was one of the
best boys that ever was; and Captain Rhines said
so, too. There was a black boy there that I used
to play with. They had a lot of turtle-shell that
he and his father had got. I had a knife with two
blades, and a corkscrew in it.  He wanted it
dreadfully, and gave me four or five pounds of
shell and a handkerchief for it. I suppose the
shell is worth more than fifty dollars. I thought,
the moment I got it, I would bring home a piece
to you. I knew I should like you first rate."
Charlie was greatly delighted with this fiank
avowal. Isaac now produced the running plant
that he had procured at the deserted plantation.
"Won't that make two splendid canes, John?  I
brought that for father and Uncle Isaac.
"Won't uncle have a good time polishing them
up?"
" Why, it looks just like a snake!" said Charlie;
1" does it grow so? "
"Yes; it grew around a small tree, and I took
it off. They call it the "murderer" (bijuca), because it will begin and grow around a great large




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.        247
tree, growing bigger and bigger, and pinching it
tighter and tighter, till it covers it all up; and, as
the tree grows, too, stops the sap, and finally kills
it; then grows into a tree itself."
Isaac had nailed some beckets of rope over the
top of his berth, and on the ceiling of the vessel
at the side, and stuffed them full of pieces of reed,
rattan, sugar-cane, and bamboo. He divided some
of these among the boys.
" Now, Charlie," said Fred, "you can make fifes,
squirts, and popguns to your heart's content."
It was a marvel how Isaac could get into his
berth at all, or could sleep in it, after he got there.
Right before it was his chest, and on his chest were
barrels of bread on end; and all the way he got in
was, by taking hold of the berth above, sticking
his legs in between the barrels and the bulkhead,
and thrusting himself in endwise.
He then opened his chest, and showed them
some tamarinds in pots, and boxes of guava jelly,
and told them he would invite them over to see
him, and give them some. He also showed them
pine-apples, and cocoa-nuts; and breaking one, they
drank the milk, and ate it up. Then he showed
some calabashes, which had figures of negroes,
birds, fish, and flowers carved on the rims.




248       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
" How do they make them  sit up?" asked
Charlie.
" Sometimes they make a piece of wood hollow,
and sometimes plait a hoop of palm leaf, to set
them in on the table. Now, boys, I'll show you
something that'll make you stare; but you must
both go into the steerage, and stay there till I
come."
The boys did as he wished. Then he shut the
door, covered over the skylights in the deck, and
made it as dark as a dungeon. Then he went to
the galley, where he had a cage of fireflies, which
he caught the day before the vessel sailed, fed them
on sugar-cane, and kept them in the galley, where
it was warm; so they were very lively.
Isaac now carried the cage into the steerage,
where the boys were, and removed the cloth.
They rushed round him in astonishment, as thile
rays of green and orange-colored light flashed
through the dark place.
"What kind of creatures are they?" cried his
companions.
1" West India lightning-bugs."
Isaac then told them all about them, what good
times he and Colon had playing with them in the
night among the palm trees, and about Quacco,




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.       249
and how he wished that he and they could go and
live there in the winter, and live wild.
"There is one thing, boys, that I have found out
I never knew before, and that is, where the squawks
go in the winter. I went into a mangrove swamp
gunning, and there I saw lots of squawks and
coots.  I shot some coots, and we had a coot
stew right there in the West Indies; but I couldn't
bear to fire at the squawks, because I thought, perhaps, they might have come out of our pasture,
and it seemed somehow just like firing at our own
folks."
"I shouldn't have thought you would," said
Charlie; "perhaps there might have been some of
our own squawks from this island there."
"I shouldn't wonder if there was. I told Captain Rhines about it. He said he thought the
coots got blown off from Florida."
They now loaded the boat with Isaac's traps,
Captain Rhines's plantains, bananas, pine-apples,
sweet potatoes, tamarinds, and other sweetmeats;
also with those which belonged to the crew and
mate, except some which the mate and Joe Griffin
had brought home for Ben. There were so many
of them, that, in order to save going more than
once, they loaded Ben's large canoe, as well as the




250         THE ARIK OF ELM ISLAND.
brig's boat, and took the canoe in tow, as the wind
was so they could fetch both ways.
"Only see the good of having a keel-boat," said
John. "We can fetch both ways now; but with a
canoe, we could not fetch either way."
Charlie was in a state of great anxiety, when
it was proposed to take two boats, in order to
save a trip, lest the boys should ask for his canoe,
as he wanted to go over, some pleasant day, and
surprise his friends by exhibiting her under sail;
but, seeing the big canoe at hand, their heads
were so full of other matters, they never thought
of her.  Isaac now proposed that they should
have some fun on the brig, as they could take
the remainder of the things at the last load.
"I will stump you to put your hats on the main
truck."
The truck is a flat, circular piece of wood on the
top of a vessel's mast, with two holes in the edge of
it, through which the halyards are rove to hoist the
colors. Aside from the courage required to ascend
to such a height, and the risk of falling, - where a
fall would probably be fatal, - the labor of climbing was by no means trifling. The rope-ladders
extended no farther than the head of the topmast;
from there to the head of the top-gallant mast,




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.       251
eighteen feet, there were but two single ropes
on which to climb. On reaching the head of the
top-gallant mast, there was a cross iron, called a
"jack," upon which to stand, rest, and recover
wind. From this point, two ropes, one on each
side, called "royal shrouds," extended about twelve
feet; here the rigging terminated, the mast ending
in a small pole, as smooth as a spar-maker could
plane it, eight feet in length, called the "skysail
pole," at the end of which was the truck. Up this
smooth pole the adventurers, already somewhat
tired, must climb, without any aid from ropes.
Here was the tug.
"I can tell you, before you begin," said Fred,
"I'm not going up there."
"Go ahead, Ike!" said John; "Charlie and I
will be after you; we don't take a stump."
The boys went up to the topmast cross-trees
together, and then, in succession, put their hats
on the truck; but Charlie was so nearly exhausted,
that, although he succeeded in reaching up to put
his hat over the mast-head, he slipped back, and had
not strength enough to climb up again, and left it
there.
"Never mind, Charlie," said John, "you did it.
I'll go get it for you."




252        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Fred stood on the deck, looking at them, and,
mortified at being left behind, felt a strong inclination to follow suit. In justice to him, it must be
remembered that he had been very much confined
to the mill, and had never been accustomed to
climb heights, though naturally a smart, resolate
boy. It is only by degrees that persons become
fearless in respect to things to which they are not
accustomed.
Charlie had been used to going aloft. John,
who, besides inheriting the strength of his race,
was of iron nerve, had been accustomed to climb
trees, and the long masts of the wood coasters,
which never had ratlins (rope-ladders).
"Come up here, Fred,". said Charlie, who had
come down into the top; "here is a nice place to
sit, and you can lie down if you like."
What sailors call a top is a platform  at the
head of the lower mast, made of timber and slatworks, in the shape of a half moon, projecting
about six feet on each side of the mast. In those
days they were much larger than at present, and
had a railing around the after part.
It is reached by a rope-ladder, which, being
fastened to the edge of the top and the lower
shrouds, is very steep, insomuch that the person




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.        253
going over on it hangs horizontally, like a fly on the
ceiling. Near the mast is a hole, large enough to
creep through, called the "lubber's hole," because
used by those who are afraid to climb over.
The rigging of the Congress had been very
heavily tarred ill Havana. Fred ascended as high
as the leading-blocks, then gave the shrouds a
shake, to see if they were strong enough. The
tar, stiffened by the cold weather, cracked. Fred
scampered down as though the masts were going
overboard. Charlie burst into a roar of laughter.
"0, Fred, I wouldn't be such a goose! It was
only the tar that cracked. That rigging will bear
a thousand men. I'll come down and go up with
you.'
The boys ascended together till they came to
the top.
"I can't go over there," said Fred.
"Crawl through the lubber's hole, then."
"I don't like to do that."
"I shouldn't if I was you, for there is Joe Griffin
and all the men looking at us."
"Be they?  Then I'll try it."
Setting his teeth, Fred went over.
"It ain't so much, after all," said he, looking up
at the other boys, who were sitting and chatting




254       TIlE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
on the cross-trees. "I have a good mind to go up
there."
"I would. You can see all round."
Thus encouraged, Fred crawled up the topmast
rigging, keeping his breast and body very close to
the shrouds, quite unlike Isaac, who, swaying his
body from side to side the whole length of his
arms, mounted rapidly and gracefully. The boys
could not rest till they had lowered and furled the
royal and top-gallant sails.
Isaac now challenged the boys to go the rounds,
down the main-topmast stay into the foretop; then
down the fore-topmast stay to the bowsprit. He
then went across from one mast to the other on the
main-topmast stay, his back hanging down, leg
over leg, and hand over hand. Charlie would not
try this. John, however, followed Isaac across.
Isaac had the advantage of the others, as he had
practised all these things with Joe and Seth, while
lying in Havana. Isaac had told the boys about
warping up, and about Flour's singing.
"Why can't we have a song?" said John.
"Charlie is a first-rate  singer; he  can  read
music; and Isaac can sing, too. He's been three
winters to singing-school; and I and Fred can
sing the chorus."




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.        255
"eI don't know any song," said Charlie. "All I
can remember is, -
"' Was ever you in Aberdeen,
Bonny laddie, Highland laddie,
To see the duke in his Highland green,
My bonny Highland laddie? "'
"I can learn you Flour's cherry-bird song," said
Isaac. They sat down on the hen-coop, and Isaac
repeated the song till Charlie had it by heart. He
then hummed over the tune till Charlie got that,
and sung one verse.
"That's it," said Isaac; "that's the time. Now
let's make believe get under way. John, go up
and loose the main-topgallant sail. I'll get a
snatch-block, so that one can take in the slack, and
we'll have a song, and hoist it up."
Fred took in the slack, and they soon made Elm
Island ring with," Hilo, boys, a hilo."
"If you don't look out, Ben," said Joe, " these
boys will heave the anchor up, or cut the canble,
and run away with your brig. They have got the
topgallant sails and royals hoisted up and sheeted
home already."




256        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Boys never know when to stop when they once
get excited; for what one can't think of another can.
"Let us loose the  main-topsail," cried John,
"then we can have a longer song. This is too
short a hoist."
" We can't furl it," said Charlie. "Ben will furl
it for us."
"XW:e can't hoist it - can't begin to."
"Yes, we can," said Isaac; "for we can take it
to the capstan."
"0, that will be bully! I know a capstansong."
"'Heave and she goes, stamp and she goes;
Chorus. - O, my poor sailor-boy, heave and she goes."'
The capstan is a very powerful purchase. Aided
by this, the boys swayed up the yards, and hauled
home the sheets, making noise enough for twenty
men. They would have put studding-sails on her,
for Isaac had actually begun to rig out the boom,
when Ben, interfering, put an end to their proceedings. He sat on the rail till they had furled the
light sails, and clewed up the topsail, when he
made up the bunt, while the boys furled the
yard-arms.
"Ben," said John, "will you do something for
me? You know I'm all the brother you've got."




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.    257
" What is it, John? "
"Why, if the brig don't go, and it's pleasant
next week, you be captain, Isaac mate, Charlie
second mate, and sail her up and down the
bay."
" That wouldn't be crew enough. You know I
can't pull but one rope at a time, if I'm ever so
strong."
"O, do, father," said Charlie. "I'll get Joe to
go; he'll do anything in this world for me; and
he'll like the fun as well as the rest of us."
" XVell, I'll see about it."
"That means he will," said John to the others.
Indeed, Ben's mind had been on the stretch with
anxiety so long, that he had not the least objection
to a little fun himself. And, though he had not
any desire to go to sea again, there was a plasurable excitement in going aloft and handling sails
once more.
"Father," said Charlie, "could you do what
Isaac and John did?"
" What was that?"
"They went across from one mast to the other
on a stay."
"Come here, Isaac," said Ben. "Get on my
back, and hold on tight."
17




258       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
The boy put his arms around Ben's neck, who,
taking hold of the topmast back-stay, went up,
hand over hand, and walked out on the topsailyard, and in again, with the boy on his back,
while the rest shouted in admiration.
"I can show you something worth two of that,"
said Ben.
The fore braces were double. Ben hauled
them taut, and then, walking out on the end
of the fore-yard, sat astride both parts, and
hitched across in that manner. When half way
across, he turned over and came up again.
"I don't charge anything," said he, "for my performance on the slack rope."
" Boys," asked John, "don't you want a
luncheon?"- pulling out of his pockets a lot
of doughnuts and a large junk of sugar; "help
yourselves."
"What is that?" asked Charlie.
" Sap sugar."
"What is it made of?"
"Why, maple sap."
" Maple sap?"
" Yes; didn't you ever see any maple sugar?"
"No; I didn't know there was any such thing."
"Who made it?"




JOLLY TIME AMONG THE BOYS.    259
"Mother."
"Do tell me about it."
"Why, they bore a hole in a maple tree (rock
maple), and the sap runs out into a trough, and
they boil it down till it comes to molasses, and
then to sugar."
"Then why don't folks make their own sugar,
instead of going to the West Indies for it?"
"Because it takes such an everlasting sight of
sap to make a little sugar, and so long to boil it
down."
"How much?"
"From twelve to sixteen quarts to make a
pound."
"Is that all?"
"Yes; ain't that enough?"
" Everybody," said Isaac, "hasn't got maple
trees. In some places the growth is all pine,
hemlock, oak, or birch."
"But we've got any quantity of rock maple,"
said Charlie, " and I mean to make sugar."
"I should think you had sugar enough now."
"I mean to sell that. Do you know how to tap
trees? Come, go right off and show me."
Charlie produced an auger, and John showed
him how to make the spouts and trough; and they




260       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
even had the sap running from a tree that stood
in the sun, although it was early in the season.
"I tell you we've found out something," said
Charlie. "If there isn't some sugar made on Elm
Island, I'll miss my guess"




ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST.         261
CHAPTER XIV.
ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST.
WHHEN they came to take away Joe Griffin's
things, Charlie received a present that delighted
him more than all Isaac had given him, except the
tortoise-shell, because that was such a noble present for his mother.
Joe, who was greatly attached to Charlie, and
knew precisely what would please him most, had
brought him some West India woods -mahogany
in boards, and one log, six feet long and eight inches
square; some small sticks of lignumvitce; three
logs of Spanish cedar, and some smaller pieces of
horseflesh mahogany (a very handsome wood, with
shades and flakes in it that look like flesh);
granadilla, and a piece of a tree they call "breakaxe," it is so hard.
To say that Charlie was happy, would but feebly
express the effect produced upon him by this magnificent present, so perfectly adapted to his proclivities. The tears came into his eyes, and, at an en



262       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
tire loss what to say or do, as the readiest and only
solution of the difficulty, he flung his arms around
his benefactor's neck in silent gratitude and joy.
"If you had burned me up, you young sinner,"
said Joe, patting him fondly on the back, "in the
brush, when you set out to, you wouldn't have had
all this. Now you've got business enough to
employ you till you're twenty-one."
" 0, Joseph, I didn't mean to burn you up! I
was only in fun, and meant to drive you out."
"Meant to be even with me."
"Yes; that's it."
Charlie was now somewhat in the condition of
Aunt Molly Bradish with her Spanish gold, or like
the boy who had an apple so big he couldn't bite
it, and didn't know what to do with it. "0, I
shall never dare to cut such nice wood."
"There will have to be a good many talks with
Uncle Isaac about that, I reckon," said Joe.
Gloating over his treasures, like a miser over his
gold, Charlie deposited his wood in the front
room.
By night, there were so many of them, they had
the Perseverance loaded. The Perseverance was
named fiom her peculiarly weatherly qualities, and
her ability to contend with adverse winds. No




ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST.         263
matter how sharp the sea, with reefed sails, and
the bonnet off her jib, she would put her sharp
nose through the sea, and work to windward. She
was what was then called a Chebacco boat (Indian
name of Essex).
In the early years of the colony of Massachusetts,
there were people at Chebacco who originated a
peculiar model of boats; they were sharp at each
end, and pink-sterned, decked over forward and aft
- a space being left in the middle in which to stand
and fish, and which, in bad weather, could be covered with hatches. At first they were but ten or
fifteen tons burden, but were gradually increased
in size; had two masts, but no bowsprit; the stern
came up above the deck with a notch in it, through
which to haul the cable. But the Perseverance
was a Chebacco boat with improvements. While
the peculiar model was retained, certain improvements, in accordance with the ideas of John Strout,
were added, which were a bowsprit, a rail, and
deck over the whole vessel. The rigging was
also fitted, and every rope pointed and grafted in
a manner not to be seen on board fishermen.
John Strout was unmarried; the sole survivor
of his family. The schooner was all the property
he possessed, and he was very proud of her. He




264       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
picked up a good deal of money in her, and in
other ways; but, being a careless, free-hearted
fellow, spent and gave it away, making his home,
when not at sea, either at Captain Rhines's or with
Uncle Isaac, and was a universal favorite among
the young people, although the older ones shook
their wise heads at his want of economy.
Just before night, Uncle Isaac came on with
Captain Rhines in the captain's canoe. He was as
much delighted as Charlie with the wood. "We
will talk about that some other time, Charlie," said
he; "but what I've come on now mostly for, is to
see that float-piece."
Uncle Isaac now went on board the Congress,
with Ben and Captain Rhines, and examined her
from stem to stern.
" She's a beauty! " said Uncle Isaac.  "How
much did you give for her?"
" I bought the hull, as she lay on the rocks
stripped, with only her lower masts and bowsprit
in, for $102, and I sold the Ark's bowsprit for
$100."
"But why didn't they get her off themselves?"
"Too lazy; it would have taken them a week,
with thirty or forty darkies. We got her off in
one tide, with the help of the crew of an English




ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST.           265
ship. Another Spaniard had bought the spars, sails,
and rigging. I gave him about $500 for the rigging,
and $4tO for the sails. I haven't figured it up
close yet; but, when she was ready for sea, she
stood me, repairs and all, about $2000."
"Yes, and she's worth $5000, and more too."
"You can see what a lazy, shiftless set these
Spaniards are: the brig's masts and bowsprit belonged to him, but he was too lazy to take them
out, and bought the Ark's masts of me for a droger, because they were all out on the beach ready
to hook right on to."
"I reckon," said Ben, laying his hand on the
shear-pole of the topmast backstays, which was
very neatly grafted, "'this is some of Flour's or
John Strout's work."
"No, it ain't," replied the captain; "it's Isaac's;
the becket on the tiller, the bunt-gaskets on the
topsail-yards, and the leathers on the leadingblocks, are all his work. He's a boy and a half, I
tell you; he can keep a vessel's way as well as I
can."
"I'm right glad to hear that," said Uncle Isaac;
"for my brother is having a hard time of it, just
now, with a new farm and a big family; but he's
a tough, resolute man, and he'll win through it.




266       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
Isaac always seemed to have a great love for me
ever since he was a baby. He has been to our
house a great deal, and is just as near to us as our
own children."
" Well, father," said Ben, "by sundown the Perseverance will be loaded, and sails bent, ready for
a start. I don't see how I can go with you. John
Strout and the boys will be crew enough for the
Pinkee, and the others for the Congress; somebody must stay at home to take care of the cattle."
" I think you had better go, Ben; you will want
to see Mr. Welch, and take up your mortage, for
I expect we shall do better at Boston with the
cargo."
"Sam and I'll come on, and make the float,"
said Uncle Isaac; "and we'll take care of the
cattle."
"You don't want any help from me, father,
about selling, and you can take the mortgage up.
I want to get my barn up, and want Uncle Isaac
to look the timbers over, while he is here, and I
want Uncle Sam to underpin it for me. I want
also to get my spars to Wiscasset; they are all in
the water, and rafted."
"Well, about the men. I think we ought to
make them a present besides their wages."




ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST.          267
"Do just as you like, father; whatever suits you
suits me."
"About the brig; I may have a chance to sell
or charter her."
"Do you want her to go in?"
"No. I've always noticed that when a man has
remarkable luck, and is not satisfied, but wants to
get everything, he often meets with a head flaw,
and loses all he has earned. I am satisfied. I
don't believe in laying up property for children,
just to render them good for nothing. Let them
get it as their fathers did before them. Look at
Mr. Welch's children."
"Well, father, do as you think will be for the
best -sell or charter her; or, if you can't do either
to your mind, I will cut a cargo of lumber, and
we will run her on our own account. I shall have
to clear some more of this island, in order to have
land enough for tillage and pasture.  There are
some of our boys here who would be glad enough
to take her, and it would help some young fellow
that's starting in the world. Times are getting
better every day; we might run her till this suit
of sails is about gone, and then sell her for as much
as we can get now. I want you to bring me home a
hogshead of molasses, a barrel of sugar, and two




268       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
bags of coffee; for I can sell what I don't want,
right on this island, to fishermen; and I want to
give the minister a bag of coffee."
"I am going to give him a barrel of sugar," said
the captain.
Ben had a large family at the supper table - no
less than ten, besides their own family. A few
days before, they would have eaten up all he had
in the house; but Captain Rhines had brought
home some gold, which belonged to Ben, being a
surplus, after paying for the Congress and her
cargo.
Therefore, the first trip the boat made, Ben sent
to the store and obtained whatever they needed.
Uncle Isaac, ever thoughtful, had brought on a
hind quarter of a calf he had killed that morning;
and plenty of beef and pork, sweet potatoes,
oranges, plantains, and cocoa-nuts were brought up
from the brig; and a better feast or merrier time
than they had that night at supper, does not often
fall to the lot of mortals.
"We've had something to eat at last," said Sally. "I suppose you thought you was coming to
such a poor place, you would bring your own
victuals this time."
"I didn't think any such thing.  I'm  sure I




ENOUGH TO EAT AT LAST.       269
never want a better dinner than I had the last time
I was here; but I thought a little fresh meat would
come handy."
"I am much obliged to you, and I hope now we
shall be able to let the clams rest and grow a while.
I can tell you, Uncle Isaac, I like clams, coots, and
sheldrakes as well as anybody; but, for the last
twelve months, I have had about as many as I want.
Now, you know, you've been doing for mother and
the children ever since my poor father died, and
for Ben and me ever since we were married, — all
the time working, planning, and advising for us.
I am in hopes we are going to see the time when
we can pay back some part of the debt."
" I'm sure, Sally, you know how much I
thought of your father; and I couldn't do any
more for his children than he would have done for
me or mine."
When the meal was concluded, Charlie besought
John and Isaac to stay all night.
" Stay, boys! " said Ben; " the boat will be deep
loaded with traps and men. We are going over to
meeting in the morning, and will take you home."
They accordingly stopped, and slept three in a
bed; that is, what they did sleep, for they kept
Isaac talking half the night about what he saw and
what he did in the West Indies.




270       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"What a fine fellow Isaac is, John! " said Charlie. "He isn't a mite stuck up, for all he has fallen
overboard, been to the West Indies, and can navigate a vessel."
"HIe wouldn't be any relation to Uncle Isaac if
he was; besides, he hasn't seen so much as you
have; he hasn't been to London."
The boys told Isaac more about Fred; what a
bad boy he had been, and what a good fellow he
was now. Charlie gave them some fruit, a calabash, an orange-wood sprout for a cane, and a
cocoa-nut, to give Fred, that he might have occasion
for enjoyment as well as they.




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS. 271
CHAPTER XV.
TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS.
JUST before the company left, Ben took Joe
Griffin aside, and said to him, "These boys have
been at me hard a-weather to get the brig under
way, and let them put her about, and sailorize a
little; and I've half a mind to gratify them."
"I would. Where can you find a better set of
boys? or boys that will work and stick to it like
them? And if they want a little fun, let them
have it. They'll work all the better for it.":" But it would hardly pay to get the brig ashore;
and I suppose it would spoil all their fun if they
didn't have all sail on her. Will you go with
us?"
" To be sure I will, and bring Flour. Don't
want any better fun."
" Then we shall be whole-footed, and can handle
her like a top. There's another thing I've thought of.
This is the first square-rigged vessel that ever was
owned about here, and everybody is dying to see




272       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
her. I've been thinking I would run her over into
our cove, have supper aboard, and invite the neighbors, and those who helped me in my days of
poverty, to build this house."
"I would, Ben. How they would like it! and
what a good time we could have!" said Joe.
" Father and mother could come, and our girls;
Uncle Isaac, Uncle Sam, and their wives; and
your girl, Joe, and Seth Warren's."
"Yes, and old Aunt Molly Bradish.  She's
making a visit at your father's."
" That will be the best of the whole. I should
like to see the good old soul on board. It would
bring a blessing on the whole concern."
"When would you have it?"
"Monday night, if it is fair weather. If not,
the first fair day."
"Well, I'll invite them to-night, and to-morrow
at meeting."
"I'll run her over in the forenoon. Then Flour
can have all day to get ready. Mother and Sally
can cook up some victuals, too."
"I'll come on Sunday night, and bring Flour,
and then he'll be sure to be sober."
Monday morning dawned brightly. Joe had
brought over Flour and his "ole woman," as he




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS. 273
called his wife, who was a capital cook, and Seth
VWarren.
They took away the bulkhead, made the cabin
and steerage all in one, and Joe, Ben, and Charlie
rigged up a long, table in a short time. They did
most of the cooking on the island, — when Charlie's crane came into play, - only making tea and
coffee on board the brig.
The boys came over by six o'clock, and, leaving
Flour's wife and Sally to do the cooking, assured
that the same thing was going on at Captain
Rhines's, they proceeded to get the brig under
way.
Fred had already made- such proficiency, that
he loosed the fore-topgallant sail, while the boys
were loosing the royals. They had plenty of
music with the black on board, who sung songs
Isaac had never heard before, and which exceeded
all the former ones.
With Ben and Flour at the windlass, the anchor
was soon hove up. The water was very bold near
the main shore; and, as the Congress sailed up
and down the bay, now beating, now before the
wind, everybody had an opportunity to see her.
She was quite near the shore when she tacked the
first time, and the way the boys made the yards
18




274        THE AREK OF ELM ISLAND.
whirl, right in sight of their parents and neighbors,
when Ben sung out, "Let go and haul!" was not
slow, I can tell you.
After sailing a while, they ran the brig into
Captain Rhines's cove, and all went up to his
house to dinner.
"Aunt Molly," said the captain, " you are going
aboard the Congress to supper. Ben has sent a
special invitation to you to come, and he won't
like it if you don't."
"I'm sure, Benjamin, I should like to go, above
all things, but I'm skeered to death to."
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Old Mrs.
Hadlock's going."
" Old Mrs. Hadlock! Massy sakes! She's a
terrible ventersome critter. She's no guide for
anybody. But how could I get in, my head would
fly round so? I'm sure I should like right well
to go. Wal, now I'll tell you - I hope you won't
be offended, any of you: there's just one man,
and but one, in this world that I would trust to
carry me aboard, and that is Ben. If Ben will
carry me up the side, I'll put myself in his
hands."
"I will, Aunt Molly," said Ben. "I'll put you
into the boat, and go off with you."




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS. 275
After dinner the boys went over to the island,
turned the calves loose to suck the cows, as there
would be nobody to milk them, took Sally and
Flour's wife, with the provisions, into the Perseverance, and brought them over, and anchored near
the Congress. When it was time to go on board,
Ben put Aunt Molly into the brig's boat, and,
when they came alongside, the brig was so low in
the water, being deep laden, that Captain Rhines
and Uncle Isaac held the boat close to the vessel,
and Ben, taking his aged charge in his arms,
stepped over the side, and deposited her on the
hen-coop.
"So this is a vessel," said the good lady, with
some perturbation, in tones which were full of awe.
"And it's painted green, and beautiful colors!
What a nice seat this is! anybody could almost
set here and knit. What is this place underneath
for, Benjamin, with the slats all painted green?"
"That's a hen-coop."
"A hen-coop! Do they paint hen-coops? They
must be made of money, I should think.'Twas
an awful waste."
"These, Aunt, are not merely to put hens in: to
carry to the West Indies to sell, but for the ship's
use; and, as we want something to sit on, the coop




276       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
makes a good seat; and, as it is a part of the
vessel, we paint it."
"I should think the hens would be skeered to
death and die in these, especially hens that have
always lived in the country. If they'd been
brought up in a village place, I'spose'twould
be different."
"They do very well if there are not too many
together, and often lay eggs."
"Lay! They must have good courage. But I'spose it's so ordered."
The brig had a deck-load of molasses, which
was covered with boards to keep the sun firom the
casks, and facilitate getting about deck.  Ben
moved the boards on one side, that she might see
the hogsheads, and explained to her that these
were but few in number in comparison with those
below.
"O, Isaac! Mrs. Hadlock, did you ever! He
says these are nothing to what's down cellar. But
what are these long things, sticking up in the air,
with great ropes on'em to keep'em from falling
over. They won't fall on anybody — will they?"
Ben told her they were the masts. But, as he
could not make her understand how the sails were
spread and propelled the vessel, he told Isaac,




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS. 277
who was by no means loath to exhibit his skill in
seamanship before his uncle and the neighbors, to
loose the fore-royal.
" 0, don't, don't! " cried Aunt Molly; "I beg of
you, don't!" as Isaac ran up the shrouds, causing
them to spring beneath his tread, and the trucks
in the leading-blocks to rattle.
"Isaac Murch, will you let your nephew go up
there? The child's blood'll be on your head.
Captain Rhines, do forbid him!"
"He wont fall, Aunt Molly; sailors never do.
He's been up there every day, and many times a
day, during the passage home."
"Wal, I must believe you; but I suppose it's
all ordered."
They hoisted the sail up, in order that the old
lady might see how the sails carried the vessel.
"Ben," said she, solemnly, "I took you in my
arms, the first person, when you was born into this
world. But sartainly I never thought you wouldl
be permitted to own a ship, and all this molasses,
and I should be spared to see it. And they tell
me there's sugar and coffee, too. But we're poor,
ungrateful critters — that's what we are, the very
best of us."
"Well," said the captain, "what do you think
of her? "




278        THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
" Think! I'm  so flustered I haivn't got any
thoughts. Come here, child," she said to Isaac,
who had just reached the deck; "let me feel if any
of your bones are broken. How can you smile?
You've had a wonderful escape. Wal, neighbors,"
by way of summing up, " I've read in the Scriptures
about those that'go down to the sea in ships,' and
now I've been permitted to see it at my time of
life. I'm sure I've a great deal to be grateful for.
I hope I shall be a better woman."
"' Come, Aunt Molly," said Ben, "go down into
the cabin. Supper is ready."
" What, down cellar! I've got nothing but thin
shoes on. Shan't I wet my feet? "
"No, there's no water; it's as dry as a house
floor."
Great was her surprise when she entered the
cabin, and saw the table set and covered with
food, and Flour, with his wife, ready to wait on
the company.  Sally, despite her endeavors to
resign in favor of Mrs. Rhines, was compelled to
sit at the head of the table, and turn out the tea.
Aunt Molly, enjoying a vigorous old age, dearly
loved good things, and relished keenly a cup of
tea. She conversed but little during the meal;
but, as the demands of appetite slackened, she




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS. 279
observed, "Who would think a vessel could be so
much like a house? A table; folks eating; Sally
sitting up there and turning out tea, just as though
she was in her own house. But what are these
places on the side, with curtains on them?"
"Those are the berths where we sleep;" and the
captain held tip the pillow and the blankets.
"Sleep! Wal, I'spose sailors must sleep, for
every human being must. But, my goodness! I
should think they would have to sleep standing up,
a watching and a praying every moment, lest the
vessel should tip over. But to think of having
blankets and pillow-cases, and lying down in a
bed! Wal, I'spose it's all ordered."
As there was not room enough for all to sit
down together, the old folks- were first served.
As it was but four o'clock in the afternoon when
supper was put on the table, in order that the old
ladies might get home before dark, the young
folks enjoyed themselves on deck while they were
eating.
When all had been served, the long, wide table
was removed, which gave room enough for all.
Then oranges, pine-apples, and cocoa-nut meat
were carried round by the boys. Aunt Molly
had been greatly interested in some baked sweet




280       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
potatoes, which were on the supper table. She
had never seen or heard of such a t]hing before,
and had begged a raw one to put in her pocket.
"I don't think it so strange," said she, "that
oranges and sich like should be sweet, because
apples are; but that potatoes should be! I'spose
they must put molasses in the hills when they
plant'em, and that's the reason they are so yaller."
"I'll give you half a bushel to carry honme when
you go," said Captain Rhines. " I'm glad you are
so fond of them. There are some under my berth,
that the boys didn't find."
"Wal, now, what a thing it is, that people like
Captain Rhines should have that courage given
them to go through so much, to bring us molasses,
tea, coffee, silks, satins, and scent-beans to put in
our snuff (that minds me, Mrs. Hadlock, that I
haven't offered you a pinch out of my box tonight), and go where the yaller fever is raging
and way up in the sky to fix the sails, and under
water to sleep. We ought to think a sight of
them, and I'm sure we ought to pray for them."
"You never said a truer word than that, Aunt
Molly; and I can tell you, whether a man is just
what he ought to be, or not; it's a satisfaction to
him, when alone at sea, to think that those who
love him are praying for him."




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS.  281
"I declare, Benjamin, I begin to feel quite at
home,'specially sence you spoke those good words,
for I always feel at home where good words are
spoken: and when I look at that dear little innocent baby, sleeping so sweetly in his gran'sir's bed,
- he's the very image of his father, - I hope he'll
be as good a man. I declare, I've a good mind to
take out my knitting-work. I wonder if'twould
be any harm to knit on board a vessel - any bad
sign or anything."
"Harm! No, Aunt Molly; make yourself at
home."
" My old fingers have worked so much, I don't
feel at home without I'm doing somewhat, or have
something in my hands. But there's one thing
seafaring men don't have to contend with -there's
no Injuns to tomahawk and sculp (scalp) them,
because there's no windfalls and stumps for them
to hide behind. WVal, sailors ought to be the very
best of men; and I'spose they are. I think ministers ought to pray for them on the Lord's day,
when they pray for General Washington. I'spose
they have so many things to think of, they forget
it.'Out of sight, out of mind.' But I mean to
put our minister in mind of it; and then perhaps
he will, when I tell him I've been and taken tea in
a vessel."




282       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"If he don't, I won't give him another barrel of
sugar."
"I hope, Aunt Molly," said Ben, "after you
get through at father's, you will come on to Elm
Island, and make us a visit."
"Yes," said Sally, " and stay a month."
"And who would milk my cows, and make all
my butter I'm going to send to the TWest Indies,
when Captain Rhines goes again."
" Let somebody else milk them; you've done
work enough."
"You must be out of your heads, all of you, to
think of a person at my age going on that island.
Not but what I've been there, and should like to
go again; but I've already lived past the age of
man."
"If you have," said the captain, "you haven't
lived past the age of woman; for my mother was
ten years older than you when she died. Come,
Aunt Molly, if you'll promise to go on after you've
finished your visit at our house, I'll carry you on
in the Perseverance."
"Wal, now, Benjamin, if sich a thing should be,
- I say if sich a thing should be, - that I should
take it into my head to go, there's but one way I
should feel safe to go; and that's in a birch."




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS.  283
"In a birch!" exclaimed the whole company, in
amazement.
"Yes; you know everybody feels most at home
in what they've been used to. Now, I never was
in a vessel before, but I've been hundreds of miles
in a birch, and, when I was young, could paddle
one as well as an Injun squaw. The first farm we
lived on was up the river, and I used to go to mill
in a birch. If Isaac will take me on in his birch,
I might (if I'm spared) go. Then, if anything
should happen, I~ could, perhaps, paddle'myself;
but I'm sartain sure I couldn't do anything in a
vessel."
Our young readers must not suppose that Aunt
Molly was deficient in courage, because of her simple goodness, and her timidity on board ship.
Though now a little in her dotage, she had been
as resolute a woman as ever faced the hardships of
frontier life.
When the merriment, which her novel method
of transportation occasioned, hadt subsided, Mrs.
Rhines said,"Aunt Molly, you can't be in earnest."
"Sartainly I am."
"But what if there should come up a squall?"
" Couldn't a squall come if I was in a vessel?"




284       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
"Yes, but you would certainly be safer in a vessel than in a canoe."
"Indeed, I'm not so sartain of that, Mrs. Rhines.
Isaac's birch is very large (with only him and me,
she would be like an egg-shell; no water could get
into her; for I'm not much heavier than a peck of
bran just ready to blow away), letting alone that
we shouldn't set out in a squall; and, if we saw
one coming when we were half way over, —a
birch goes so like a spirit, - we could go over twice
before a squall could strike."
"Aunt Molly is right," said Uncle Isaac; "she
knows more about canoes than any of you."
"But how did you learn to go in a canoe?"
asked Charlie. "Was you ever a prisoner among
the Indians, like as Uncle Isaac was?"
"No, my dear; but, before the war broke out,
we had Injun playmates; the Injun boys and girls
used to be in our houses, and we used to be in
their wigwams. From them I larnt to paddle a
canoe, and walk on snow-shoes.
" You must know, neighbors, that I never had any
beauty, nor much larning, but was a rude, tearing
critter when I was a gal, and grew up pretty much
like the cattle. We lived right in the woods in a
log-house. My father had five boys. I was the




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS.  285
only darter.  Mother had a great deal to do,
and very little to do with. We were very noisy;
and so, while we were too small to be of much
use, she was glad to have us out doors. As there
was no gals for me to play with, I played and
worked with our boys; whatever they did, I did.
I could paddle a canoe, fire a gun, fall a tree, or
drive oxen. When I grew older, and father got
land cleared, kept cattle, had wool and flax, I
learned to spin, weave, milk, and make butter and
cheese. We lost a great many sheep by wolves,
and hogs by bears, but still we made out to keep a
good many."
"Hogs, by bears!" said Charlie.
"Yes, dear, a bear,'specially a she one that has
cubs, will take a hog up in her fore paws, and walk
off on her hind legs, carrying-Mr. Hog, squeal and
all. Joe Griffin's father lost one that same way
this very winter. That's the way this old critter
that's talking to you grew up, as I said before
— pretty much like the cattle.
"I'm sure, Benjamin, I don't know what would
have become of me if I hadn't gone to live with
your mother, and had the benefit of her prayers
and advice, and the privilege of going to meeting,
which kept me down a good deal. I've wondered




286       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
oftentimes how Robert could fancy me then, because you can see for yourselves that I could never
have been good looking. However, they say love
will go where it's sent, and I s'pose it was all ordered."
"Handsome is that handsome does," said Captain Rhines; "and I know my mother set her life
by you, and so all us boys did."
"That was because I used to spread your bread
and butter both sides, while your mother always
spread on the top of the loaf, and then cut it off;
and I used to boost you up to climb the trees after
crows' nests, and help you dig out foxes.  But,
rude as I was then, and young as I was, I was not
without very serious thoughts at times; they used
to come, just as you've seen, in a bright, sunshiny
day along in April, a white cloud come over the
sun; for my parents were very religious people.
I often had, when I was alone in the woods, a great
feeling that the Lord knew all I did and thought."
"You couldn't have had a better bringing up,"
said Mrs. Hadlock, "considering what was before
you."
"Yes, dear; I suppose it was a preparation, and
was all ordered. People had to do strange things
in those days, I can tell you, they were so hard




TEA PARTY ON BOARD THE CONGRESS.  287
put to it -had to pick off the corn green, gather
the barley before'twas ripe, and dry it in the oven
or in the sun, to bread their families."
"Wal, wal," said Aunt Hannah Murch; "have
any of you looked at the sun lately? tIere we've
been listening to Aunt Molly, and it's almost down.
I'm sure I don't know where the time's gone to."
" I guess," said Charlie, "it's gone to catch yesterdav."
"Wal, who'd a thought I should a hild my knittin'-work this whole hour, and not even knit out
of the seam-needle! " said Aunt Molly.
"Never mind that," said Ben. "I didn't want
you to come here to work."
"I know it; but I could always talk better if I
see my knittin'-work round. These ere needles
and I've been good friends many a long year.
Why, I had'em afore you was born, Sally, and
there's no telling the stockings I've knit with'em,
- to say nothing of the footing up, -for I always
made it a pint to have knitting to take when I
went a watching, and I've been a master sight in
my day."
" Wal, it's beginning to grow a little chilly, and
I'm afraid," said Hannah Murch, "if we stay much
longer, we shall all get the rheumatiz."




288       THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND.
" That's just my idee," said Aunt Molly; "but I
hope Ben won't think we're in a hurry."
The old folks went at sundown, but the younger
portion spent the evening in social enjoyment.
There was a barrel of molasses on board for
ship's use. The boys kindled a fire in the galley,
and made an enormous batch of candy in the big
pot. Ben's tea party afforded the greatest satisfaction to the whole community: it enabled him to
show his sense of the favors he had received fiom
his neighbors; satisfied the curiosity of all, while
everybody said it was just like Ben Rhines, and
just right. Moreover, it cost him nothing, for his
cargo was rising in value by the delay.
The results of the voyage; how much money Ben
and his father divided; what the ventures of the
boys finally amounted to; whether Aunt Molly got
on Elm Island; the future of Isaac, and what became of the Congress; in respect to certain nice
times and adventures of Charlie, John, and Fred;
what sort of a farmer Ben made, - of all these,
and many other matters, we shall inform our readers in the next volume of the series, "The Boy
Farmers of Elm Island."